Babies Home and Other Renovations

The vision of having a place to house our younger children, ages newborn to two years old, is becoming a reality as the construction of the babies home is almost complete. We praise the Lord for His faithful provision! The vision of this home came about after seeing the need to provide a safe living environment that will contribute to these children’s healthy physical, emotional, and spiritual development. This home will be equipped and designed specially for the needs of this age group. Please pray for not only the provision of funds to complete this project, but for all the needs of furnishing the home. Also pray for a steady monthly budget to keep up with the expenses of the home, as well for the Lord to raise women with a heart like God’s heart to take care of these precious lives.

We have also recently begun to put in walkways connecting the houses. This has been a project we have wanted to tackle for some time. The main reason is that when it rains it is impossible to keep mud off shoes and out of the houses. Claudia had a design in mind and we went ahead with it. The design is a rock walkway encased with cement. It is much nicer to look at and more importantly it makes for cleaner houses. We are thankful for the funds to be able to complete this

Grace Community Church

At the time of writing, GSF is currently hosting 22 team members from Grace Community Church in Greensboro, NC. This is our largest group in 2009, but only a fraction of the 100+ visitors who will have graced the GSF campus this year. This team’s primary mission is medical work, expanding the outreach of the daily operations of our small clinic. Having completed over 100 wellness checkups on students from the GSF Christian School, the team was also available to treat all of our staff and their families on their first day of clinic. That was followed by three intense days seeing over 500 patients from surrounding villages.

Most people in rural parts of Uganda cannot afford any kind of medical treatment, even though some government hospitals are free and private hospitals charge less than the equivalent of US$3.00 for a consultation with a doctor. People literally walked for miles to be treated, having heard that American doctors were here at GSF. Each patient is given multivitamins to take home for ongoing good health in addition to any medications prescribed. Each person is also introduced to Jesus Christ as the source of our eternal hope and the ultimate healer of our body and soul. Dozens of people have given their lives to Christ as a result of these clinics.

Compared to the vast needs in this area, this country or this continent, we have done so little. But God, in His sovereign way, is using these means to draw people to the Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a difficult work of long hours with many hurting people clamoring to see a doctor. It is a heart-wrenching work to see desperate physical conditions for many people. It is an overwhelming work to consider that these crowds are only from a few small villages. It is a fulfilling work to know that you have been obedient to God’s call, trusting Him to bring about His good plans.

Grace Team members have also led Bible studies for the GSF children, taught Science and Art in the GSF school and presented Young Life Clubs for the GSF teenagers. All of these things have made a positive impact on the ministry, the GSF children and the communities in which we live. We are grateful for this kind of service given to Good Shepherd’s Fold and the people of Uganda!

Jacobsen Furlough

Bob and Carolyn Jacobsen, directors of GSF, are leaving on furlough and plan to be in North Carolina for the months of August and September. They would like to make themselves available should your church be interested in having them come speak about the ministry. They can be reached at jacobsenb@globaloutreach.org.

New Kids on the Block

We have taken in 16 children since January. All of these kids have very sad stories. The saddest part is we know that there are hundreds more that we cannot get to. About three weeks ago, we were at a nearby hospital visiting and were informed of two small girls that were there with their mother. The mother was diagnosed with cancer and also has AIDS. She was too weak to care for the girls. Joanne, the older sister, was caring for the mother as well as the 5 month old named Angel. Joanne, being only 5 years old was responsible for feeding the family as well as washing their clothes. Joanne and Angel’s story broke our hearts and we were compelled to take them into the GSF family. The girls are doing great and are growing accustom to living at the orphanage.

Another story is about a little girl we have named Amelia. She is premature and very delicate. She was brought by her mother and father. Amelia’s mom came to a clinic with massive lumps on her breast. The medics decided she must go for cancer treatments. We arranged for mom’s treatment and told her we would pay. We did not see her again until June. She came with this baby Amelia. She never mentioned she was pregnant and she did not want to go for treatment while the baby was unborn. We took the baby in and sent the mom to the hospital. We are in that process and hope the mom will make it and the family will be reunited. If you would like to hear about other stories similar to these please let us know.
These are just two stories, if you would like to hear more, please let us know.

Interns

Another change at GSF is that it took in its first ever group of interns. Many college age students had inquired about coming to help out at GSF for the summer, and the Lord put the pieces into place. The intern team is made up of 5 young people in their early twenties. Four of the interns will be staying for seven weeks and one will be here for one year.

Zach Smith is from Ohio, and is now a teacher at an international Christian school in Singapore. Sarah Lipe is a student from Greensboro, NC, who is transferring from Gordon College to UNC in the fall. Margaret Rich is also from Greensboro and will be a Junior at UNC this upcoming semester. Chris Webb is a student from Thaxton, MS, and will be attending Mississippi State this year. Also, Ben Baxter, who is here for one year, is a recent graduate for the University of Mississippi and is from Tupelo, MS. The intern’s responsibilities consist of a wide range of things from tutoring students who need help with reading, leading Sunday School, and teaching extra curricular activities in the afternoons.

One thing about the interns that we are especially excited about is that they all have some type of experience in working with children who have special needs. We felt is was necessary that the interns spend time daily with these kids. Each intern is paired with two children who have special needs, and the interns spend 30 minutes to an hour with each of their kids everyday. These special children are very important to us here at GSF, not only do the interns spend one on one time with them, but we also have a Ugandan occupational therapist who comes once a week to work with the kids. This time is spent teaching the children specific tasks that correlate with their specific needs. These 11 special children are a huge blessing here at GSF!