Archive for August 10, 2005

Hope Children’s Home is COMPLETE!

It has been a little over a month since our last update and we want to apologize for not keeping everyone updated a little more regularly. We had hoped to get this report out sooner, but so many great things have been going on. First, we have changed our name from Show Mercy Ministries to Show Mercy International. You will notice our new logo at the top of this page. We also have been in the process of setting up a secure payment site for those of you that are desiring to sponsor the above pictured children monthly. In the process, we ended up changing the look of our Website. Take a look when you get a chance.

Help Us Help Hope Children’s Home

One of our greatest desires is to see this new home become financially self sufficient. We believe that one way we can do this is by helping them to establish a business that will produce monthly income that can be used to support the needs of the 54 children who now call this house home. We are desiring to buy a minivan/taxi for this home. It will serve multiple purposes, but the main purpose will be to bring in a monthly income. Although we are raising monthly child sponsorships for this home, we are also desiring to purchase more land around our property that can be used to build a school for the children in the Gganda Village. We have been promised by the district official of the Wakiso District where we are located that if we will buy the land, he will build a school building for the village. Buying this van will bring in a steady income that will support the children in the home and allow us to focus on expanding into other areas and helping even more children. The cost of this project is only $5,000. If you have a heart to donate towards this project, just say the word.

Our Trip in June 2005

Mike with District Official Mr. Kyeyune

As most of you know,we took a team of 11 to Uganda to dedicate the new children’s home. The home looks wonderful. The people in the village have given it the nickname, "Paradise." It is the nicest building in the village. The day we arrived at the home, we were greeted by several hundred people as well as the District Official of the Wakiso district. The official’s name is Ian Kyeyune. He gave a wonderful speech to the community and was in awe at the great work that Show Mercy International and Bethel Church in Gganda Village had completed. He was so impressed that he pledged to help out by providing the labor and materials to build a new school for us as mentioned earlier. As soon as we acquire more property, he said he would begin building. He also promised to give our teachers at the Alpha and Omega school (which meets in the church) textbooks. His last promise included free immunizations for the children in the home! He also mentioned that he thought that the children’s home would be a great place for the people living in the local community to come to get their medical care. As we have stated before, this is a part of the heart of Show Mercy International. We desire that this children’s home would not only be a physical house for the orphaned and abandoned children, but it would be the beginning of helping to serve the surrounding community.

Sponsoring a Child


Esther needs a sponsor

We had a wonderful time loving on the kids that are living in the home as well as the children that attend the church and school. We also took the time to interview each one of them to hear a little about their story. We were very moved by the poor quality of life that these children have had to endure. It made us understand even more why we have pressed through many obstacles to build this home….We have now put up pictures of the children that are still in need of sponsorship. For as little as $30.00/month, you can sponsor one of these children. This money will ensure that they continue to have their daily needs met such as food, education, clothes, medicine as well as a loving family environment. Please visit our Website to view these children. We have received sponsors for 14 children as of now and we need another 40.

Thank You for Helping "Joy"

As some of you know, back in March of this year, we told you about a situation with a family in Uganda (if you aren’t familar with this request, please check the journal entry on our website for March). Joy asked us to say "thank you" to everyone that made it possible for Show Mercy International to provide the above pictured new home for her and her family. Because of your quick response, we were able to get them out of that terrible situation of abuse. She has emailed us many times that her life is so much better and she and her daughter now have peace. Thank you for your prayers, thank you….

 

Pastor Hudson Visiting

 

Pastor Hudson, who has been the Show Mercy International coordinator in Africa, is currently visiting with us in Oregon!. He is also the Pastor and overseer of Faith Children’s Home. This is his first trip to the United States. Everyone here loves him. He is a wonderful and caring man who has been sharing his life stories with us. We are so amazed and in awe of his life. You can check out our Website in the next few weeks and we should have one of his testimonies posted. We believe it will encourage you just as it has encouraged us.

 

The Great Northwest Challenge

We are so excited about The Great Northwest Challenge. One of our good friends came up with this brilliant and exciting idea to help raise money for our upcoming projects. We are in the process of putting together a challenge that will be similar to The Amazing Race, Survivor and Fear Factor. We are getting corporate sponsors that have a heart for this cause to contribute. The grand prize will be $5,000. Teams of 2 will complete a total of 10 challenges. The team with the highest score will win. Each team entry cost $400.00. Please visit our Website for more details. All of the proceeds go toward our next project. What is our next project you ask…well read on.

Mubende Project

 

We had the privilege of meeting with a Pastor from the Mubende area while he was visiting the United States. Mubende is located about 2 hours West of the capital city of Kampala. Hope Children’s Home is only about 20 minutes from Kampala, so this new home will be further out into the more remote and underdeveloped parts of Uganda. This Pastor, Barnabus Fred, was telling us that there are not any children’s homes in this area to his knowledge. There is also a tremendous need for homes to care for the many orphans who live in this area. Most people that come into Uganda tend to visit and set up their ministries in a more centralized area closer to Kampala. We are planning to build the first children’s home in Mubende! We are also planning to build in the town of Lira which is in northern Uganda, an area that has been greatly affected by the war between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan military. We are so excited about these next projects! You should consider joining with us to make these projects a reality. It will only take around 12-15K per project to provide homes for around 50 children. We have an organization who has agreed to match funds with us for these homes. If we provide $6000 for a home, they will match the $6000! This is an incredible opportunity to partner and make an even bigger difference in the lives of children who really need some assistance. Please consider making a tax deductible donation for these projects.

 

 

Take a Trip With Us

 

We are planning to take a team to Uganda in the first part of January 2006. You will never be the same after you go. You can take a look at our last team trip video and hear short testimonies from some of our previous team members. If you desire to go on a trip with us, please let us know by sending an email to info@showmercy.org.

 

Thank you so much for your generosity and support!