Dear Shining Hope Family,
These heartfelt words are from Kalungi to YOU:
“As we begin a new year, I would like to express my appreciation to all our friends who have helped our ministry through this month. It takes a kind heart to break a piece off your slice of bread to feed others. I’m greatly humbled by your efforts and challenged by your willingness to give, as you don’t expect to receive anything in return but to bring happiness to those you help. Thank you, Randy, Matthew, Lyn, Peter and Sandra, Kent, Herman, James, Ginny, Thomas and Nikki, Leah, John, and Beth. May God bless you abundantly.”
So, how did you help our ministry through this month?
In FOUR incredibly important—and appreciated—ways!
1. You helped us save up enough money to paint three rooms in our children’s home! In a few days, Kalungi will purchase the brightly colored paint (perfect for hiding kids’ dirty fingerprints!). Then he will paint the sitting room, dining room, and either a bedroom or the hallway (he hasn’t quite decided yet).
Being able to start painting our home at this time is an unexpected blessing from God. We didn’t think we could for a while yet, especially after building a protective wall around our home became a necessity. We can’t put all the details online concerning the reasons that led us to build the wall (for Kalungi and the children’s safety), but you are more than welcome to request more information here.
Now, back to the painting! We can’t wait to share some pictures with you of the rooms after they are painted. But for now, you can see in this ADORABLE picture of our Alvin how nice our home’s walls will look after they are painted!
2. You helped provide our children with plenty of food and hygiene supplies for the ENTIRE month of January. The difference this makes for our kids CANNOT BE MEASURED! They go to sleep with full tummies. They have loads of energy to play. They feel secure, well cared for, loved.
It’s past Christmas—but we can’t resist sharing these pictures of our children happily enjoying their very special Christmas dinner! They had platefuls of chicken, rice, matooke (similar to our bananas, but are picked green and boiled), greens, and soda:
Pictured below are Mark, Nagayi, and Ernest:
3. You enabled Nakiranda, our children’s newest caregiver, to receive the prompt medical care she needed. This month she became very ill with malaria. Because her body is already weakened by HIV, she needed to be admitted to the hospital for a one-week stay. She is well now and once again comes every day to the Shining Hope home, joyfully helping to cook, bathe, and spend time with the kids. Though she is deaf and cannot speak, this doesn’t stop her and the kids from communicating with each other through using hand signs!
Here, Nakiranda is preparing the children a tasty meal:
From left to right, Nakiranda, Kalungi, and Rachel (one of the two other ladies who care for our kids):
4. Last—but certainly not least—we were unexpectedly able to alleviate a disabled man’s suffering because you gave! Just a few days ago, Kalungi learned about Francis, a thirty-one-year-old who has been paralyzed from the waist down for over five years.
He has suffered greatly, lacking a compassionate caregiver and many basic necessities because he’s not able to work. He also experiences loneliness and rejection. When he first became paralyzed, his wife took their two young daughters and left him, and the members in his community shun him.
On January 28th, Kalungi traveled a long distance to Francis’s remote village and met with him. He took him rice, soap, catheters and urine bags, toilet paper, and a small amount of funds. But even more importantly, he went to share God’s love with Francis and demonstrate to him that his life has value and that he isn’t an outcast. Francis was deeply touched to know that there are people who cared for him, and he thanked Kalungi for coming.
You helped put this beautiful smile on Francis’s face:
In closing, we wanted to share this prayer request with you. This past week, Kalungi has been seeking God’s wisdom and provision through fasting. He is praying about a sustainable way to ensure the children’s needs are provided for in case of a financial crisis. Please join him in praying for God’s will to be made known and for His blessing and provision upon this venture, if it is His will.
Your sacrifice made it possible to impact our children, bless Nakiranda, and reach out to Francis. All we can say is thank you so very much to our entire Shining Hope family! God is using you in INCREDIBLE ways. From all of us: we love you very much!
With grateful hearts,
Kalungi + Rachel
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