Though we are Many who make up the church, our Mini Stories Matter
One Journal would not be sufficient to even write down the names, let alone each individual story.
There were common denominators:
Split Homes, Absent Dads, Muslim Fathers, Father with Multiple Wives
No Parents, Refugee, Without a Sponsor, Bread Winner for the other Siblings.
Limited Resources, Pride in their Tribal Identity, Respect for Authority, Hunger for Friendship,
a Smile that Beams, a Sadness that Numbs, etc...
An aspiring Architect, a Nurse, a Daughter who is Struggling, an Orphan etc...
all of them have inspiring stories, uniquely crafted as God continues to write their next chapter.
I have to at least share one story - His name is Farouk.
Hope Alive under the umbrella of World Venture and in partnership with the Masaka Church,
has been setting up sponsors for youth for a couple decades now
- long enough to see the fruit of their labors.
Pictured above is Catharine (World Venture Missionary) at their headquarters in Kampala.
she is the visionary for the branching ministry, and gave us a tour & inside scoop of the ministry.
Rather than focus on quantity they focus on quality sponsorship, hoping to produce student leaders
that will engage their sphere of influence and become world changers right here in Uganda.
After meeting Catherine in Kampala we journeyed to Masaka where we set up camp for the week.
The local branch in Masaka also had a growing network of mothers (Sisters of Hope) that Anna
spent a great deal of time consulting & supporting while in Masaka.
Anna, Catharine, Phil Andrew & Jen Reep
At the end of the 1st Day in Masaka, I received a message from a Youth Pastor/Friend of mine, back home in West Virginia. Andrew & Jen Reep have been in the process of adopting kids from Ethiopia over the last two years, but little did I know that his/their heart for Africa actually started in Uganda... Moreover, come to find out he had done a short internship in Masaka years ago.
Guess who his supervisor was - Yep Catharine. He informed me that he had sponsored a kid in Masaka and I should try and look him up. Little did we know that the connection had already been made, (I didn't know it because I had been referring to Farouk by his other 1st Name Mutebi.)
So upon finding out Farouk was sponsored by a good friend back home, we spent some extended time together, sharing with each other our stories,
and adding additional layers of bonded, albeit global relationships.
Farouk basically helps support his mom (Catholic Background), His dad (Muslim Moderate)
is absent except for once a month when he comes to Masaka to spend time with his 4th wife
(Farouk's mom), which was kind of awkward for me, but to Farouk this was his norm. Farouk real mentor, besides an older brother was an older man from the Masaka Church who had taken him under his wing the last couple years and taught him about Christianity, lead him to the Lord, and was discipling him as a "Born Again" believer. This older man had invested in him quite a bit over the last couple years, so much so that he had taught him a trade just by hanging out with him. Two more years of school and Farouk will enter into a vocational study (plumbing).
Farouk had mentioned, in passing without a name that his mentor had a freak accident last autumn.
He had fallen and busted his head open in the shower - killing him instantly. Pretty despairing for Farouk, but he is staying focused and pursuing the vocational field of his mentor.
We shared many stories, played some volleyball & soccer together making our own memories to take back to Andrew and Jen. There are some miraculous things that I can't share here, but God has definitely been working in and through Farouk's life.
Just before we departed from the conference, one last piece of the puzzle was given to me.
I found out in the course of another conversation that Pastor Aloys the Patriarch and head of the church in Masaka, had a son that could not be with us for the Conference. His son Ben, had been one of the driving forces behind putting together this youth conference which I had been invited to, and I believe he would have been overwhelmed, and blessed beyond measure at the response from the Conference. Nearly twice as many students then originally conceived came to his Conference that he was unable to attend. He was unable to attend because, he had died of a freak accident back in the fall, having slipped in the Shower, and losing his life instantly...
This was the mentor of Farouk -Ben - the Son of Pastor Aloys... and now I was witnessing the next generation of his discipleship rising up. Not only in Farouk, but many others like him and his story.
I love it when our stories cross, and God's hand is undeniable.
This is Farouk's Story, This is My Story, This is the Story of Andrew & Jen, the Story of Ben & Aloys, and the stroy of hundreds of students in Masaka Uganda, and now his story has crossed paths with your story...
God is Good, All the Time, All the Time, God is Good... It is His Nature!
