Intervention needed

I had alot of time the other day to ponder the last seven weeks as I sat in the car, stuck in the mud on a little road in the village.............When children have been abandoned by family, they need help. When a young teenage girl is pregnant and has been abandoned by family, her village, and society, she needs help. When a village widow is left alone with several grandchildren to feed, she needs help. When an abandoned, single mom lives in an 8 x 10 hut with six children (one with pneumonia and one with malaria), she needs help.

They need HOPE and they need intervention. Intervenion: the act of intervening. When I looked up intervene in the dictionary, it says: to arbitrate, to occur or be between two things: to come between disputing people, groups, etc., and to intercede and mediate. That is what these abandoned, hurting people need. Whether they are pregnant and abandoned or elderly trying to make ends meet: they need intervention.

I think about how God has used HEAL Ministries the past few years serving the people we have been called to serve through short term mission trips. Short term mission trips have been the heart of HEAL Ministries and we have seen how God has done a mighty work in short amounts of time in various countries. Now, He is calling us to narrow our focus to one area. To this area in Uganda. While we will probably be here long term, we will continue to send teams short term. As I have researched in this particular area, every ministry that we have served has been launched by a person God called through a short term mission trip. These teams that serve short term relieve workers, give a burst of energy to missionaries, help with children, work on projects and grow in Christ. Because of these short term mission trips, I find myself sitting here in Uganda on a long term mission that I am very excited about. I am seeing how God is shifting HEAL to intervention......orphan intervention........widow intervention......abandoned women and children that need HOPE and intervention.

I visited a village with a little boy named Ashriaf. He has been under the care of Amani Baby Cottage the last year or so. His mother died and his father abandoned him at the age of 5. An elderly couple he calls grandma (Jaja in uganda) cared for him and sent him to the orphanage because they could not afford to care for him. He is now too old for Amani and needs to go to school. Amani intervened for Ashriaf and found him another home. He was very reluctant to look around as we visited the village but smiled brightly as he hugged his Jaja. Ashriaf is quite excited about going to his new school. He is a prime example of a child that needed intervention.

Scripture makes it very clear to fight for and to defend the fatherless and the widows. Uganda is a small place on the map but it has an enormous group of people in this category. If you are reading this, I would kindly ask you to pray that HEAL Ministries will do what is right in defending these oppressed people.

"Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow." Isaiah 1: 17

God Rains Wisdom.........

It has been one week since I've blogged. One reason is power problems and slow internet. Another reason is not knowing how to sort out all that I have been exposed to. There are great days. There are not so great days. The not so great days are not because I don't enjoy doing what I'm doing but more because I don't know how to process what I see and learn. I feel helpless at times. Those are the times that I have to make myself focus on the One that sent me and remember that He is in control of everything. Even the not so good, emotionally hard days.

The last week I've been to Canaan, Amani, Amazima, the Pregnancy Crisis Center and several villages for visits and research. The fun part is going to the same places over and over and building relationships. The hard part is what is discovered in the process.

Last week I blogged about a 14 year old girl taking care of a baby less than a year old and a little brother.......all abandoned by their parents. This week, I went back to that same village of Nyenga and discovered that the mother of the baby returned. She said that she had to go away to take care of business and that she did not abandon the baby. We found out that she was arrested for abandonment and scared into returning. Hopefully, she will do the right thing and take care of the baby. Hopefully, she won't abandon her again. She is in the program at the Pregnancy Crisis Center so at least she receives counseling, Bible lessons and food. It is possible that this story ends with a happy chapter. The truth is.......we don't know the truth. Sometimes they make up stories out of desperation and fear and getting to the root of the problem is difficult at times.

On the ride back into town from Nyenga, we stopped to visit a mother that is in the program. She sent her little boy (around 10 years old) to pick up her weekly food (which is about 5 miles down the road). Carolyn, the director of the Crisis Center, wanted to see why the mother did not show up. We walked up to her humble little 8 x 10 home and discovered her there with two sick children. Her name is Mafira. She has 6 children and has been abandoned. The toddler is in bed sick with malaria and another little boy is coughing so deeply that it is suspected he has TB. The 10 year old boy is taking care of all the children so that his mom can feed the baby. His name is Shariffe. In the short hour that we were there, Shariffe bathed his little brother so that he could go in to town with us to get tested for TB. He gathered the water at the creek so that his mom could boil it to make formula for the baby because she is HIV positive and cannot breast feed. He dressed his brother and then went in to gather clothes for another sibling. Shariffe started the fire in the outdoor kitchen so that lunch could be prepared. Carolyn took the family into town so that the children could be tested for malaria and TB. We asked the mother of 6 why she had not taken the children to the clinic and she simply said, "because they ask for money." She pays 10,000 shillings a month for her rent and doesn't have any money for food or medicine. That equals about $4.00 in the U.S. The average salary here is about 120,000 shillings a month which is equal to about $50.00 in the U.S. I'm most certain that this particular abandoned mom with six children doesn't make close to the monthly average income. She is strapped and feeling hopeless and on this particular day God sent her an angel to help her out named Carolyn.

I also visited Mafubira. Mafubira is just outside of Jinja town and is the place that I have heard over and over (from missionaries and officials) that needs assistance. I was actually quite shocked when I was there walking around and even talking with the LC (local chairman of the community). The homes are nicer than most villages I've visited (mainly brick with concrete floors) and it is considered a decent community. The sad part is because it is a more prominent community, there is prostitution. Children are prostitutes. Families force their daughters into prostitution to bring money to the table. Then, when the daughter becomes pregnant, she is kicked out of the home. Sometimes kicked out of the community because she is considered a disgrace.

This is what I kept thinking that day as I sat and listened to the LC.: I am sitting in a village surrounded by children laughing. They are eager for me to take their photograph. They are polite and bow down to greet me out of respect. One little girl went to wash her hands so that she could properly greet me. Greetings are important here. They are not in school because their parents have not paid their school fees (mostly because they choose not to). The children are creative. They can make spinning toys out of tin and batteries and they know how to make push cars out of tires and empty bottles. And as the LC continues asking if we can help his community by talking to girls about purity I begin to look around at all the beautiful little girls that have come to greet us. They are excited that muzungus are in their back yards. I can't help but wonder: what will happen to them? Are they just a few years away from being in the streets and selling their little bodies? Overwhelming sadness comes over me for this particular community. It is more evidence that the root of the problem is the family. Families need help. They need training and counseling. And there needs to be a place of safety for those children that are in harm's way and there are many children in harm's way.

The locals tell me that the rain season has started early here. It is so wonderful when it rains because it gets rid of the bugs for a while and it cools the temperature down. True wisdom comes from above. On this night in Uganda, I'm praying for God's wisdom to rain on me and Heal Ministries in every decision that is made here for His glory. And like the temperature being cooled by rain, so God cools down all our problems when we focus on Him.

"For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 2:6

"God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way."

A message from our Chairman

As I sit here in my quiet office, working on this official President’s Day Holiday, I can’t help but to reflect on what is about to come my way. As Chairman of the Board of HEAL Ministries, myself and a few other of the board members are soon to embark on a journey to Uganda. This will be my first trip there, which will be over spring break. I am really not certain what to expect, nor do I want to make assumptions. God has put Uganda on my heart through His Holy Spirit and I must say I am extremely blessed and honored. HEAL Ministries, has been together for about 4 years, however, this past 8 months has brought a new vision and focus, as well as, a new and passionate Board of Directors. God has given us so much to think about this past few months and although it can be very overwhelming, it has almost taken over our hearts. Our new vision, “To serve widows and orphans, abandoned women and children, in a Christ centered environment” is still a work in the making. God has blessed us all is so many ways, yet, we tend to forget what His true direction for us on Earth really is. He wants us to sing on the mountain tops about His love, His grace, and to further His Kingdom. God wants us to honor Him by serving others, yet, we often tend to want to serve ourselves. HEAL Ministries is changing my life daily and I can’t imagine the feeling I am going to have when I am with the women and children of Uganda who desperately need us, but more importantly we desperately need them. As we embark on this journey ahead of us, I hope to share more and more of my story and the unfolding story of HEAL Ministries, as we try to understand God’s calling for us in Uganda. I hope anyone that reads this will begin to feel my heart bleeding more and more for the Lord as He challenges me during this process. I have yet to truly understand what this means but am ready for obedience and look forward to what I believe will be many journey’s.

Kevin Hagan,

Chairman of the Board

love the villages

I went out with the Pregnancy Crisis Center to the village of Nyenga to meet with 16 young ladies that are in the weekly program. Now, quite honestly, the young ladies are committed because of the bags of food they receive each week. They receive beans, rice, oil, eggs, tomatoes and flour. In order to receive the food, they must attend the bible study and counseling. They are being fed physically and spiritually.

Most of the young ladies have accepted Christ! Nyenga is a small village just past Buziika (where the Canaan Children's Home is located). It is out in the villages where the most needs are. It is there where you can discover situations that would not otherwise be discovered.




That is how we found a 14 year old girl taking care of her sister's baby. Her sister abandoned the baby and the 14 year old girl was taking care of this baby less than a year old and her brother who is about 7. We started asking where the parents were and we walked with the social worker to her home. It is there where we discovered that the 14 year old girl had been abandoned by her own parents. This 14 year old child was the head of the household. She changed her story a couple of times and we think it is because she has become attached to the baby. After much translation and conversation, the social worker called her father. The father has a shop in Kampala and Jinja and wanted the baby to go to a home. The sweet little 14 year old girl (whose name I could not get or understand) asked to keep her until she starts school on Monday. She showed us the bed where all three children sleep. The social worker will now contact the authorities and get the probation officer to sign off a release for the baby to possibly go to Amani Baby Cottage. Carolyn (the director of the Pregnancy Crisis Center) explained to the 14 year old girl that it is not permanent and that she can visit her. And so, that is one story of how an orphanage receives a child. Amani is the perfect place for this sweet baby because they work to put families back together. This story will hopefully end with a 14 year old girl finishing high school and getting her niece back. She is a very special young lady that has a sensitive heart and loves the two she is taking care of.
We walked back to the group and finished a Bible Study with the other ladies and their babies. A new pregnant teenager joined the group today. We do not know her story yet but she looked very young. The social worker will gather all the information and find out where she lives. She was very nervous and her hands were shaking when Carolyn talked to her and gave her food to eat. She asked her to come back next week. She is an example of a young girl joining the group for the first time. She was sad, scared and lonely.

Several of the other ladies in the group will be graduating from the Center. Their babies are almost a year old and they are healthy and happy. It was very rewarding to see the two examples: one pregnant scared young girl starting the program, and eight happy, healthy young ladies with healthy babies graduating from the program.

As I have researched and visited different ministries and villages, the one thing that the Lord keeps putting in front of me is this: Heal Ministries is supposed to be here and we are supposed to start a family care Christian Center that helps the orphans and abandoned children and women. This abandonment includes pregnant girls with no place to go. I really believe that the heart of the center will be the family unit and the importance of keeping the family together. Even the abandoned children and true orphans can grow up in a family style setting. I left today thinking that I wished there was a place that could take all three abandoned children that we visited in the home: the 14 year old girl, the baby and the brother. They will probably all be separated.

The other thing that the Lord keeps reminding me is that this will happen in His way and His timing and He will provide the people that will make this happen. I am so humbled and blessed when I think about the people that God has placed on the board of directors and the board of advisors for Heal Ministries. They have caught the vision. They are passionate about God's plans and the next phase for Heal Ministries. And it is not about me or because of me. It is about a God that is so great and so much all over His plan that He has put the passion and desire in others. What God starts, He will finish and I'm excited to see what unfolds. Several of the board members will be coming to visit next month and I cannot wait for them to see everything that I have been experiencing. I hear their excitement when I talk to them and I see their love through the encouraging emails.

Love. All that the Lord asks of us is to love. Imagine a world where all people love each other. That would be a place with no orphans or abandoned, hurting people. That will be Heaven.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22: 36 - 40

LIfe at Canaan on a hot afternoon

Saturday was another hot afternoon at the Canaan Children's Home. I passed out "sweeties" for the children and they were so patient and happy as I passed out the lollipops.

There was a new little boy that had only been there three days. I do not know the story about him yet but he had the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. His name is Elijah and he wanted to just sit next to me. He could not speak English and an older boy translated for him. He said that he had a sister there also but when the girl came out, she said that she was not his sister and that she thought he belonged to one of the mamas. I'll be interested in finding out his story as I find out the stories of so many of the children.

One little girl was crying and nobody knew why. A group of boys were playing as all little boys do: with guns that they had made out of bamboo. Some girls were playing hopscotch. The smaller toddlers were napping. The older girls were sorting rice. The older boys were working on a storage house. Life was going on all around. With all the smiles and laughter, it is easy to forget where the children come from. As I have learned about their stories, it made me sad for the parents more than for the children on this particular hot afternoon. Why? Because the children are being cared for and while they are certainly sad to be away from family, it must be even harder on a mother to be away from her child. Many of the children here are in orphanages because their family cannot afford to feed them or send them to school. I'm realizing more and more that it is the heart of the family that needs help. Help with training on how to keep a family together, how to work, how to make a difference for the next generation. Many are missing out on their own children's childhood because their love is so great that they want their children to have a better life. They do not have the tools to make it work.




I spent a couple of hours with the girls and we had our usual "girl talk". They promised to write scripture cards during the next week and were so happy to receive some things they had requested.........razor blades for shaving and .......what all teenage girls want.....nailpolish!

It was so sweet to see them helping each other, painting each others nails and laughing and talking. Teenage girls are the same all over the world! They love pink and laughter! Only the older girls were allowed to paint because the younger girls (middle school age) are not allowed to wear polish to school.

Amidst all the laughter and life going on at Canaan, the stories haunt me. They haunt me because each story brings sadness. Each story has a chapter of how a mother is separated from a child. Separations due to illness, poverty, death and abuse. Because of this, I'm thankful that each of these particular stories has a chapter of life at Canaan. It is at Canaan where they are learning to be strong in the Lord. It is at Canaan where they will have a chapter in their story about being courageous and learning where Hope resides.

“It is only when you exercise your right to choose that you can also exercise your right to change.”

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1: 9