Blessed and Thankful

It is only fitting that God puts a HUGE TREE in the front yard of the place that He ordained for HEAL Ministries in Jinja, Uganda.  It all started under a tree in Masese.  This big, beautiful tree on the property  we call The James Place is a reminder to all of us how HEAL Ministries started in Uganda.  Today was a special day under that tree.  We invited the women and children in our programs to come and do a prayer walk around the property.  Today, we dedicated the property to the Lord and we wanted to stand together in prayer and claim this ministry in HIS name.  What an overwhelming response and successful beginning for the James Place.  The James Place is named after James 1:27 (the scripture that has been a part of HEAL Ministries since the beginning.) We had over 150 women and children.  To stand there and watch the women walk all around the property singing, praising, praying and claiming this land for God, binding Satan and witchcraft and claiming it all for Jesus was just about the most blessed event that our team has experienced.  

 The women brought scripture cards and signed their names on it.  Dee Anne Proctor (a HEAL board member) was present to witness all that God has ordained and she is going to take the scripture cards that the women prayed over the property and laminate them to hang all over the classrooms and house that the programs will take place in.  We both were overwhelmed at the amount of scripture and prayer and praise that was lifted up for HEAL Ministries.  The abandoned women and children of Jinja, Uganda are excited about the programs that they will be a part of.

 We have become friends with many ministries here and it was only fitting that our friends from Amani Baby Cottage came to this special day.  The director and mamas that have been on this property for years with babies came to share our joy, our excitement and our prayers.  Mama Susan (a prayer warrior at Amani) prayed a prayer that brought tears and cheering from the crowd!

 After singing and praising the Lord for over an hour, we watched the children's village dancers from Masese.  The children are led by two young men that had a desire to teach children dance and music and keep them off the streets.  What a wonderful ministry (Talent Africa) to celebrate with us.  The women and children loved the many tribal dances.  When a certain tribe's dance was being performed, those women would get up and dance and cheer.

 The dances took us all around Uganda and even other countries of Africa.  The beauty of this was that all the women present represented many tribes.  There was a day in the past that this joyous celebration would not have happened together.  Today, they all sang and danced and prayed together!  God is at work in Uganda and it is humbling to be a part of it.

 The team had a wonderful experience today as they were a part of a very special beginning.  A beginning that has been prayed about for two years.  A beginning that is only possible because of a Mighty King that brought a group of people together that share a passion for the abandoned women and children, the orphans and widows of Uganda.    While there was one board member present, they were all across the world praying for us.  The women were most excited to know that people on the other side of the world were praying for them.  As they lined up to walk out of the gate, the team members and Dee Anne thanked every single woman and child for coming.  Every team member shook every woman and child's hand as they lined up to walk out the gate.  I am so thankful that the Harpeth Hall team was a part of this very special day that will forever be embedded in our hearts.  

 As I drove back to the James Place to unload some supplies at the end of the day, I saw the sign that a local Ugandan artist painted for us.  It is absolutely beautiful.  Beautiful describes the sign, the property and God's work.  We are blessed and thankful on this very special day.