We learned about God Cares School, Buyamba, in late 2005. Our church at the time hosted the late Pastor Betheul Dongo in Sebring, Florida. My husband I were blessed to provide his transportation during his stay in our town. To know Pastor Dongo was to love him! He enthusiastically shared his vision for the school with our church and several others.Our church at the time hosted the late Pastor Betheul Dongo in Sebring, Florida. My husband I were blessed to provide his transportation during his stay in our town. To know Pastor Dongo was to love him! He enthusiastically shared his vision for the school with our church and several others.Our church at the time hosted the late Pastor Betheul Dongo in Sebring, Florida. My husband I were blessed to provide his transportation during his stay in our town. To know Pastor Dongo was to love him! He enthusiastically shared his vision for the school with our church and several others. Afterward his presentation to our church, we selected Deborah, age 10, from his display table. We committed to supporting her education with additional support for extra events. It was wonderful receiving letters from her, regular photographs and her report cards. What a joy for her to graduate in 2016. She wanted to earn a college degree. We were grateful we could continue to provide support. She then was accept to attend Nsamizi Training Institute of Social Development for a Degree of Arts in Social Development. She graduated January 2022. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. Her progress was amazing and such a joy to watch her blossom and develop into a well-educated citizen of Uganda. Her heart was set to help others. We thank God for the privilege of providing support while Pastor Dongo’s dream grew and flourished into 25 years of untold lives being enhanced. We praise God for his family that has continued to serve Jesus, one child at a time! We praise God for this privilege. We are enjoying our second child, a young girl. What a joy to help support this fantastic ministry. Bill and Debbie Lees
0 Comments
I was first introduced to God Cares School in 2010 by a friend in our life group at Calvary Community church in Thousand Oaks, Ca. She had been involved in helping Pastor Dongo with his traveling ministry. She invited him to come to a home and share sponsorship opportunities. I was so moved by the stories and excited to be able to sponsor 2 students. One of them has since graduated from university, so now I am sponsoring a different student who was new to the program.
Julie's story of how she came to Buyamba ... It was around 2002 when I first met a visiting Pastor Dongo in the halls of Hillcrest Christian School through the computer teacher, Degna Horton. I was working as an administrator and teacher, and Pastor Dongo shared with us during a chapel about his children in Uganda, and I felt God's leading to open the door to help. I didn't know then that a few years later, in 2007, God would call my husband David and I and a new Board of Directors to take over the Buyamba ministry from the beautiful hands of Jerry & Pat Lehman, who had started Buyamba U.S. ministry in Kingston, New York. Together, we reopened the ministry in California, and from there, God continued his work of expansion into the lives of many churches, schools, sponsors, and donors.
In 2010, I was still teaching at HCS and running Buyamba, and the ministry became so big I could not handle both jobs. The Lord led me to pray about which job he would call me to full-time. It became clear that although I was still passionate about Christian education, God was doing something different. He called me to help God Cares School in Uganda and continue expanding his work in the U.S. as the Executive Director. It has been an amazing adventure with the Lord that has led me to Uganda and back 11 times and the ability to interface with thousands of sponsors, donors, and volunteers in the U.S. that God has called to help! I have never looked back, and I am grateful for the blessing of Buyamba and working sponsors and donors who are making such a difference! One of the fun things about partnering with our sponsors and donors is the creative ways they come up with to give! A recent example of this creativity was Tim Hutchinson's 70th birthday party. Tim decided that instead of having his guests bring something for him on his birthday, it would be more meaningful for him if his friends gave Buyamba Love Gifts to the kids in Uganda. Tim was not new to Buyamba, for he is a worship leader at Calvary Chapel Conejo Church in Thousand Oaks, CA, and he has been involved with sharing Buyamba with others for years. He and his wife, Kathy, are also faithful sponsors of a boy named Jonah Kalumba, who goes to God Cares School in Kampala, Uganda, and is in the 4th grade. Tim and his daughter celebrating his birthday Tracy Lynn, a Buyamba representative, hosting a sponsorship table We were happy to be a part of Tim's big day. We were able to highlight some of our "Buyamba Love Gifts," such as a goat named "Surfer Dude" (to represent Tim's lifetime love of the sport). There were other choices of gifts his guests could choose from, such as a cow, chickens, school uniforms, shoes, bibles, and even a child's sponsorship could be given in honor of Tim's birthday. At the actual party, Tracy Lynn, a Buyamba representative, was invited to set up a "Buyamba Table," highlighting a few of the students we needed to be sponsored and the additional Buyamba Love Gifts that his friends could choose from. Some guests had contacted us directly weeks before through Tim's birthday invitation and had designated a Love Gift to Buyamba. We sent Tim a Buyamba Birthday Card for each gift to say that a donation had been given in his honor on behalf of a particular guest for a specific Love Gift chosen with care. Tim’s efforts were fun and productive, for among many gifts were 11 goats, 5 bibles, shoes, a child named Samson sponsored, and many general gifts to help the children given in Tim's name. Tim loved the part that his friends were excited about giving, and some who are not Christian got involved in the ministry he cared about. Now that's CREATIVE! We love partnering with our sponsors in their creative efforts! Call the Buyamba office if you have an idea about how to share Buyamba. If we can send a representative to be present at the creative event, we will try and be there or send one of our volunteer representatives to host a table.
In the past two weeks, Buyamba shared a total of 169 meal packages in two different delivery efforts. The food was a blessing to those identified student families from God Cares School that are struggling during the lock down period with the basic need for food. Ugandan Schools did not start in May as we had hoped, and now our students are waiting, like many students here in the United States, to start school. Yet, Buyamba's mission remains the same, to educate and disciple our children, and that looks a little different during this season. Still, we are finding creative ways to meet the needs of our Buyamba community. God Cares School's administration and staff are finding resourceful ways to educate and feed our students, sharing the gospel in action as we deliver and provide meals for a week for families in need. We continue to pay the teachers, and we are connecting with students to set up an educational plan for as many students as possible, knowing that many will be required to do national testing when they return most likely in September.
We are grateful for all of the sponsors who have stood with us faithfully and to those donors who have also come alongside us to help feed these families. Together, we are standing as a force of support both here in the United States and Uganda. |
Archives
February 2024
|