Corinne In Uganda: Giving Back

I had the amazing opportunity today to go visit a children's home started by a girl who was raised at Good Shepherd's Fold. Damali started Sonrise Baby Home in Jinja about three years ago. It has now grown to two locations. One house has 26 babies from newborn-2 1/2 years of age and another house has 19 children from ages 2 1/2 - 7.

It is inspiring to see the way that God is working through this young lady. You can read her full story on her website: http://www.sonrisebabies.com/about/ourstory/. I highly encourage you to take the time to read her story. Damali took the blessings and nurture that she received as a young child and turned around to bless other children in the same way. What is neat is that she is not the only GSF graduate to do this; 6 other GSF graduates have also opened up children's homes.

And that is exactly one of my favorite things about working at GSF: I get to catch a glimpse of the way that God uses GSF children to further His kingdom. I'm sitting next to Gibson, a teenager who has recently moved from GSF to boarding school because he turned 18. His dream? "I want to help kids. I don't really know exactly how. Maybe someday I will help start an orphanage." It's exciting to see God working in Gibson's life. I go to the GSF youth group on Thursday evenings and it is led by Solomon, another GSF graduate. Although Solomon is now aged out of GSF and is working towards university, he returns to GSF to work, lead youth group, teach Sunday school, and conduct the church service every Sunday morning. The Holy Spirit is working through him. His impact on the current GSF kids is awesome.

Luke 12:48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required."

In some ways, the children of GSF have next to nothing. Some have absolutely no family and no money in the bank. In American eyes, they definitely have nothing. But in many ways, they have been blessed with much. They receive education, clothing, food, medical care, and most importantly spiritual discipleship. Not every GSF graduate takes these blessings and multiplies them, but the ones that do make me cherish every moment of service at GSF. It's exciting to be apart of these stories.

In other news, I got my hair braided last week! I say braided, but what I really mean is twisted with extensions. It's been an interesting twist (no pun intended) to have such a different head of hair. The Ugandans say it should last between 1-2 months before coming out...but I'm not sure that I will last that long.

Highlights from the past two weeks:
1) Watching little Phillip dance at the front of the church with every ounce of energy inside of him during praise and worship Sunday morning.
2) Attending my first ever Ugandan wedding. It was definitely quite the (9 hour long) experience!
3) Signing up 21 new sponsors for the child sponsorship program. What a blessing!
4) Giving little 3 year old Sadie a foot soak and pedicure to clean up the open wounds from jiggers in her feet (you should Google "jiggers" - then maybe start praying that I don't ever get them in my feet!)
5) Receiving news that my sister Kimberly had a baby girl! Praise God for healthy little Ellie Mountz.

Thank you so much for your prayers as I enter my second month in Uganda. Praise God that the transition has been smooth! As we go into September, I would like to leave you with some prayer requests. Thank you for your dedication to pray for me. I could not be here without your prayer support!
      - Pray for all of the missionaries of GSF as the Gwartney family goes on furlow for the next four months. The Gwartneys do so much at GSF - it'll be tough to be without them! Also pray that the Gwartneys would have a safe and productive (but restful) furlow.
      - Pray that God would give me wisdom as I seek to grow the sponsorship program. Please also pray that God would give me an extra dose of efficiency as I finalize a couple sponsorship projects before the Gwartneys leave for furlow (in a week and a half).
      - Pray that God would comfort me in the times when I miss Daniel, my family, and friends. It's especially difficult to be away when my sister Kimberly just had her baby, my sister Katelyn is about to have a baby, and my two best friends Kelsey and Naomi are each about to have their first babies.
       - That reminds me, please pray for Katelyn, Kelsey, and Naomi. Pray that God would protect them and their new babies during childbirth!

Ok, here come the pictures! Brace yourself because there are many: