April Uganda Prayer & Praise

Update on Pauline - April 12

We shared about Pauline in our March update. You can read that HERE.

Pauline was a beautiful young girl. She came to the school in Senior 1. She struggled with her walk to school of almost 5 miles, as she has had cerebral palsy since birth. In 2022 she was sponsored to move in to be a boarding student, so she didn't have to walk in every day. When she signed the papers to move in, she told them she did not want to be registered as disabled - she wanted to be a student like everyone else. She loved it at school, and the students loved her. She smiled and said hello to everyone she met.  

Our first day in Uganda we had the privilege of going to Dr. Abraham's clinic to pray with Pauline, who had recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor. As we left, she was sitting on the porch, and we were able to leave her with a pair of sunglasses to help her head from hurting so much from the bright light. She was eating and dressed and walking on her own. The doctor said he expected great results if she could get surgery soon. One week later, she was rushed to the emergency room by ambulance, and was taken home to be with the Lord.  

Osborn had called her mother to come to the hospital. She took long to get there, and when she did, he discovered she had walked 8 miles to get there, as she didn't have enough money for transport. Funds donated will be used to pay for medical bills, and we are grateful for that gift for Pauline's family.  

Some of the 100 students from GSM Secondary walking  back to school after Pauline's burial

Pauline's story is ultimately a story about LOVE. Pauline's mother was raped when she was conceived. She held so much shame inside because of that, she left Pauline with her grandmother to raise her when she was 1 1/2 yrs old. The grandmother loved her dearly. The mother moved away. Years later, the mother was raped again, and conceived another child.  

Osborn went looking for Pauline when she didn't return to school after break, saw how sick she was and took her to Dr. Abraham to be diagnosed. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She had been suffering with it since November, but no one knew what it was.

The mother had no means to pay for treatment, so planned on taking her back to the grandmother's house until she died. Dr. Abraham moved her from the hospital to his clinic, where they could care for her without the cost of the hospital. The mother couldn't get there every day to provide food for her, so a neighbor of the clinic made food every day and brought it in for Pauline - even on Saturdays, when her religion didn't allow any work. She loved Pauline. Dr. Abraham loved her too, and stayed with Pauline until the end.  

When Pauline had been rushed to the hospital at the end, she asked Osborn to sing her favorite song. Part of the lyrics are below:

I will put you in front
In front of my melody
You're all that matters
You're all that matters
I'll make room for two
You and I Jesus
You're all that matters
You're all that matters

When she passed, Osborn had them call a funeral service about a burial. The mother had said she had no means to transport the body home, and would have to walk away and leave her daughter there for the hospital to deal with. As God's grace allows, they spoke to someone on the phone who was an alumni of the GSM Secondary School who worked at the funeral home. He told his boss that this was a sister who had gone to school with him. His boss agreed to a 40% discount for their services. Pauline was given a burial that a dignitary would have - certainly not what a young girl from the bush would have. Neighbors came and cooked, the students from the school served, and we were invited to join in the celebration of her life. Her mother felt such shame, she didn't want to come out of the house with so many people there, but Osborn convinced her she needed to be there, and she came and sat on the ground next to the casket. As they moved to the burial plot and lowered the casket, the mother collapsed on the ground in agony for her daughter. It was heart-wrenchingly beautiful and a privilege to witness.  

The mother called Osborn the following day to thank him for all he had done. She said "You have loved my daughter better than I have."  She and the grandmother asked to come to see Osborn at the school, and she has asked if she can have a job at the school so she can stay there and learn about this love that he, and the students that loved Pauline and came to her service, demonstrated. So as Osborn and his team took us back to Kampala and got us on the plane home, he was preparing for a trip back to Masaka to meet Pauline's mother and grandmother.  

"Greater love has no one than this:  to lay down one's life for one's friends." John 15:13

April 17 - Visitations

I have met Pastor John Onyango, Director of Bukungu Center GSM  many times, and have been to visit the center in 2013 and 2023.  On this trip, we were able to visit Kidera, a sub-center of Bukungu.

Community meeting with us in Kidera

Kidera is an area where the ministry focus is on marriages.  Men in this area are abusive to their wives, and the GSM Pastors are working to turn that around.  When the men are abusive, you will find the children abusive too - kicking and pushing others around.  We were so encouraged to see probably 1/3 of the attendees of the meeting were men.  And as the Lord would have it, there were 3 married couples on our team, each of us married over 40 years.  As we shared, they asked questions.  Cindy Womack teaches counselor training at GSM and was able to give a demonstration of how we wrestle with each other in order to find common ground.  

As the teams - Uganda and U.S. - were sharing, we talked about biblical principles, and how you need to know your Bible and read it.  One of the men in the crowd stood up and said "You should buy us Bibles." I LOVED HOW PASTOR JOHN RESPONDED AND HOW HE IS TRAINING HIS PEOPLE! He said "You should buy your own Bible!  If you can afford to buy a shirt, you can afford to buy a Bible.  It will mean more to you if you buy it for  yourself."

In his wisdom, he corrected the victim mentality of this community.  Our team was touched, and one of them has left money to buy some Bibles for this community.  They will NOT be GIVEN to them, but they will pay for a portion of them.  We want them to be able to have a Bible, but agree that it needs to cost them something or it won't be valued.

We had the privilege of visiting 2 homes in the area.  We were able to pray with a 95-year-old woman, who had ridden on the back of a bicycle to get to the meeting.  We sat on the ground outside her home together.  We were also able to pray with a young mother, who was having marriage issues and had a husband who was very angry and abusive.  She was afraid, but knew her hope was in God.  It was humbling to be asked for our prayers, and we will hold her and her family in our hearts.  

We were able to see the goat project the women in the community have started, in hopes to help their families.  Please join us in prayer for this community as they work to be better families and to help their community as they trust in our God.