This was a “Most Needed” moment

When was the last time you were truly hungry?

Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave Me food.”

I’ve read those words a hundred times. And honestly, I gloss right past them. I was thirsty. I was a stranger. You visited me. We read them like a list.

But this week, that scripture has been ringing in my ears.

Because I don’t think we really understand what hunger truly means. At least I don’t.

Recently we shared on social media that we were sending a team seven hours north into Karamoja, a dry and weary part of Uganda that has been suffering from drought for far too long.

I’ve heard bits and pieces of stories. Families struggling. Food scarce.

But I don’t think I truly understood.

These families aren’t just struggling.

Some of them are literally starving.

When the opportunity came to send a team with food, we didn’t hesitate. We said yes and started making plans to go.

You know why?

Because so many of you had already said yes.

Every month, many of you faithfully give to Most Needed. You give without knowing what need might show up next. You trust us to put those resources where they’re needed the most.

Well…this was a “Most Needed” moment.

And this week, “Most Needed” had a name.

His Name Was James

Young child sitting beside an adult outside their home in rural Uganda.When our team found James, he was lying beside his young son, too weak from hunger to get up.

Most of us have been hungry. We miss a meal, our stomach growls, but somewhere in the back of our minds we know food is coming.

There was no such certainty for James. No refrigerator to open. No grocery store down the road. No promise of tomorrow.

Just one week earlier, he had lost his wife under the same desperate circumstances. Now his own body was growing weaker, while his son sat beside him and watched.

I can’t get that picture out of my mind.

A little boy who had just lost his mom, sitting beside his dad with nothing he could do to help.

One of our team members in Uganda said he never imagined he would stand in front of someone whose life was being threatened by something as basic as hunger.

That statement has stayed with me.

This week, “I was hungry” isn’t just words on a page to me.

 

You Were Part of This

When Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave Me food,” I can’t help but think about all of you who gave before you ever knew James’ name.

Because you gave, when a “Most Needed” moment showed up seven hours north, our team was there with food. 10,000 pounds of food. Thousands were helped.

You didn’t know James’ name. But God did.

Community members carrying bags of food after a food distribution in Uganda.

Please keep praying for the families in Karamoja and for rain to come.

We’re already planning to go back with more food. If you’d like to help, you can join us here.

Mike and Lori Salley
Founders

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Grace's Story:

In 2004, when we began Show Mercy, we had no idea the depth and reach this journey would take. We simply said yes to helping 50 children. That’s it. No grand strategy. Just obedience.

And that’s when I met Grace—a quiet, wide-eyed little boy sitting in a church service. I invited him to sit on my lap, and from that moment on, he had a special place in my heart.

Grace’s story was painful. His father had died of AIDS, and by custom, he was sent to live with his grandparents. At just seven years old, Grace was forced to work in the fields from dawn to dusk, digging for food with his bare hands. He wasn’t allowed to go to school. He slept on the hard mud floor. His clothes were rags. He was in constant pain—his feet and hands raw and infected from living barefoot in the dirt.

When he was finally brought into our sponsorship program, everything changed.

A Heart Transformed

Grace was safe. He had a bed. A blanket. Shoes. Meals. Clean water. Medical care. An education. But more than all of that—he had love.He would run to carry my bags every time I visited. He started dreaming big, bold dreams. He told me with glistening eyes that one day he would be a pastor and evangelist for Jesus. And over and over again, he dreamed of fishing—casting nets—pulling in a catch.

One day, as he wept in my arms sharing the horrors of his early life, he suddenly lifted his head, smiled, and said something I will never forget:

“I now know what it means to be a King’s kid.”

Grace discovered who he truly was—not an orphan, not a slave—but a son of the King. That truth changed everything for him. And it became a cornerstone of this ministry’s calling.

The Final Goodbye

In 2008, we received the heartbreaking news that Grace had passed away. While being treated in the hospital for an injury, doctors discovered he had leukemia. It progressed quickly, and we didn’t even have time to say goodbye.

But then, something miraculous happened. My husband Mike had a dream. In it, Grace was sitting on Jesus’ lap—radiant, whole, joyful. He looked at Mike and said something like:

“Thank you… for showing me what a good Poppa is on the earth.”

He woke up in tears. It was as if Grace had come back one last time to say thank you—and to pass the baton.

Send your sponsored child a note!

Use this form to send a special note to your child in Uganda.
You can upload a few small photos as well.