June 2020 Update
Heads Hearts & Hands has been active in Uganda over the past few months, supporting individuals in financial need through the country-wide lockdown. Continent-wide, nations such as South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt are dealing with the largest coronavirus outbreaks, while Uganda has only around 550 confirmed cases and no fatalities at this time. The bigger challenge is to support daily wage workers who are facing poverty and hunger as they are quarantined at home.
H3 funds have been distributed by our Ugandan team to those in need, including our friend M, who wrote back to say:
"We were able to buy some maize flour, salt soap and some sugar. We were at the white end with no hope of more food. I was able to also buy some medicines and trust me we are thanking the Lord. We pray for a blessing to everyone that contributed something for us. May the Lord reward y'all for saving lives. We give the glory back to God... Thanks message to all those that are standing with us, the H3 and everyone. Our sincere thanks and gratitude."
Pastor Rodgers from New City Church wrote us to say thank you:
We received your general gift with great joy and are truly grateful. Your gift came at a time when things are indeed hard for many Ugandans who struggle to find food in this lockdown and as you may well know, we have many members of our church who do "hand to mouth work" as with this lockdown are not able to go out daily and work for their families. With your gift, therefore, we were able to give out some funds (about $25 each) to at least 30 people, including some of our yellow patients who were badly in need. This will get them the following as you will see in the pictures attached:
Posho (maize flour 10 kg)
Beans (5 kg)
Sugar (5 kg)
Rice (10 kg)
Some Irish potatoes (1/4 of a sack)
Cooking oil 5litres
These foodstuffs will take them for about 10 days depending on the family size.
Exciting news from our friend Kennedy, who has been a leader at New City Church and for H3 for years:
After completing my Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling (MABC) at Africa Reformation Theological Seminary (ARTS) I embarked on applying for a Doctor of Ministries degree (Biblical Counseling) at Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) in Pittsburgh. After the rigorous process, I was successfully admitted and planning to start school in August 2020.
This program is particularly exciting to me because I will not have to stay long term in the USA – I will only have to travel once every year, have one month concentrated courses and return to Uganda to do my coursework assignments. I am also thrilled about this opportunity because on completion, I will be a certified Biblical counselor, helping with counseling God’s people here in Uganda, and Africa as opportunity may arise. Secondly, I will be able to train other counselors both here at ARTS and in other formal and informal settings. It is important to note that trained biblical counselors are in short supply in Uganda and Africa as whole, which exposes our Christians to secular psychiatrist and false ‘prophets’ who in most cases do more harm than good.
H3 is pleased to support Kennedy in this endeavor and we'll be updating you on his progress going into the fall. Here is a photo of him with his wife Vicky, his son Jesse and daughter Katelyn.
How can we be praying?
Praise and thanks for God's care for several H3 team members who contracted coronavirus with no serious health complications
Guidance as we plan for our future trip
Provision for those in need in Kampala
Our team in Uganda as they distribute food and medicine in difficult circumstances