Boy in Mbulamuti

This boy was sitting in our group of 50 sponsorship candidates in Mbulamuti on Tuesday.  He wouldn't smile for the camera, but his face lit up when I showed him a picture of himself.

Note the bottle of water in his hands. This is an all too common sight.

Todd

Tuesday Night in Uganda

Wow - no Internet access is a quick reminder of how much I love to use it - even in Uganda! This is Julie, the lone female influence on the trip - and what a trip it has been!

Having been here 9 times before, I knew not to try to predict all of the wonderful things that would touch my heart and trip #10 is no different. The people we have met every day are joyful, loving, Christ-filled reminders of how great our God is.

Nakabango, the village we have partnered with for 6 years through my church, was where we spent all of Sunday. Getting to see 100+ of the kids we sponsor there is always a thrill. They are absolutely precious! The school is thriving and we had some extremely productive meetings late that day.

Monday and Tuesday were spent in Kamuli and Mbulamuti, with a quick visit to Butungala. What a heartbreaking difference in a village that doesn't have a partnering congregation - sicker, dirtier kids - but what a joy to be able strengthen our relationships with those people. Leaving them was hard but we got to give them some good news about new sponsorships for some of their kids and a congregation ready to partner with

Wish I could post some of the pictures I got to take today. Just so many beautiful faces. It was fun to watch Andy, Todd, and Curt interact with the kids; a lot of them don't have many males influences in their lives so receiving attention from those three was priceless.
We continue to hand out bag after bag of candy, bracelets, pencils, t-shirts, and lots and lots of hugs! So blessed to be able to incorporate meetings for Hearts and Hope as we deepen relationships with these wonderful people. Hope to update again tomorrow evening!

T-Shirt in Mbulamuti

Had a wonderful Monday and Tuesday in Mbulamuti & Kamuli.  Julie will post more details, but compare & contrast these 2 photos.







From Messiah in Weldon Springs to Mbulamuti in Uganda. 

I think I know where this shirt will get the most use.

Todd

Off the Bus

We're heading to 2 more remote village today - Mbulamuti and Kamuli.
Saturday and Sunday were amazing when we visited Mafubira and Nakabango - where Messiah Lutheran has been partnering with the village for 6 years.   It's amazing to see the transformation that has occurred there and Hearts & Hope was created to replicate that success for other villages.

Mbulamuti is the first new village to have a partnership through Hearts & Hope and Waters Edge in Allen, Texas is excited about the possibilities.

As we travel to stay at this more remote village overnight, we don't expect to be able to connect to the internet, so for updates be sure to check our Facebook and twitter pages.  Since these updates are based on text messages,  they are short but hopefully they are informative.

Facebook.com/heartsandhope
Twitther.com/HH4Uganda

Off to another adventure!

Todd

Time to Get Off the Bus

Up bright and early and excited for our plans this week.  Can't believe that 9 months ago I was here in Uganda for the first time and had just participared in a morning devotion that was themed "Get Off the Bus" (and engage in service).

And now I sit in the same hotel lobby preparing to get off the bus and start a new chapter in Uganda.  A lot of planning and work since that day and things are starting to move quickly.

Not sure of exactly what the week has in store for us, but one thing I do know is that we will be blessed by those we meet throughout the week and that we will be in a better position to help in this great cause.

Todd

Change of plans!

It turns out that our main website blog isn't accessible from Uganda.  So, we'll be using this blog instead.  As mentioned in other communications, our ability to post will be limited to the internet connectivity that we get, but our Facebook and Twitter pages should contain short text updates from the field.

Facebook - facebook.com/heartsandhope
Twitter - twitter.com/hh4uganda

Note:  anything posted to one of the above will appear on the other.

However, as you can tell, flexibility is a requirement!

Todd

501(c)(3) Status Approved!

Just got word that our nonprofit status as a 501(c)(3) organization has been approved by the IRS!  

This means that any contributions to Hearts & Hope may be tax deductible.  Also, if you work for a large company, you may be able to have your company make a matching donation if they have such a program.

We did not think that this was going to be approved until next year, so this is GREAT news!

November & February Trips!

Excited to think that two trips to Uganda  have been scheduled.  

The first trip will be a business trip to plan & coordinate the January launch in Mbulamuti.   Our agenda is packed and one thing that we can expect is the unexpected.  

The second trip is in February which will be when a team from Allen, TX will be able to travel over to Mbulamuti to meet the village leaders in person.

Kamuli Sponsorships

We've had a few discussions with another organization that has installed a well & constructed several school buildings in Kamuli, which is located about 2 hours north of Jinja.  


GREAT NEWS!!!


They've agreed to let us start a student sponsorship program there since they do not have any plans to provide that type of support to the community.

We now have our first group of students to sponsor listed on this site! 

501(c)(3) Filing Submitted

We've formally filed with the IRS to be a non-profit organization.  Once submitted, the process can take anywhere from 90 to 180 days, so hopefully we'll have it completed by the fall.

Our vision, mission, and operational plans have been drawn up and we're excited to begin this new adventure that will build upon the success that Messiah Lutheran has had in Nakabango, Uganda.  

Over the past few months, as Andy, Julie, Chuck, Paul, Curt, Tim, and I have met with each other and others to shape how this non-profit will move forward, a number of key conversations and phrases have stuck in my head.  

• "Get off the bus"
• "If this is something that you think you can do on your own, you're not thinking big enough.  Make it bigger than you can support so you have to trust in Him and invite others into the joy that is serving His will."
• "Stay Crazy"
• "What really will be different about Hearts & Hope from other organizations?  What is truly different about what Messiah & Nakabango accomplished that sets it apart from everything else?  It's the power of the relationship that developed over the past 5 years."
• "20 villages in 10 years?  We should be looking at 100 villages in 20 years!"

Mbulamuti Partner Identified

The village of Mbulamuti will have a sponsor beginning in 2012.  Waters Edge located in Allen, Texas has decided to join Hearts & Hope in our efforts to support villages in Uganda.  Curt Moothart joined a trip to Uganda in January trip  and was deeply touched during his visit to Mbulamuti.  

Located near the town of Kamuli, which is several hours from the city of Jinja, Mbulamuti is packed with kids who desperately need our help - and Waters Edge-Allen has jumped at the opportunity!  A new website will be used specifically for the WE-Allen / Mbulamuti partnership.  (Please note that this is a work in progress!)

http://mbulamuti.heartsandhope.org

As we formally launch the partnership in 2012, this will be a key destination for all information related to Mbulamuti and the transformation we have planned there.

Messiah Uganda Team Reunion

We thought it would be a great idea to invite everyone who's been to Uganda to support Messiah's mission in Nakabango to a Reunion at Andy's house.  

It was amazing how many people were able to join us and reflect on the awesome transformation that Messiah has had on the village of Nakabango.  After everyone got to meet and share there experiences from their trips, Julie had a slide show that demonstrated how much had changed in Uganda since the first trip 5 years ago.  What was once just a simple field with a small hut where a few families met to worship, there is now a carpentry shop, a sewing center, a well, and a large multi-purpose school/community center.  And the children who were educated thanks to child sponsorships from Messiah are now contributing to not only their village, but the surrounding villages like Bufuula where Tim Radkey's Hope Lutheran is now involved.

Chuck made some brief comments about the situation in Uganda and talked about the next steps for our efforts - to learn from the successes and failures that Messiah had with Nakabango.  To expand and streamline our efforts in order to allow other congregations, charity-minded organizations, and caring individuals to also get involved and get their hands dirty in Uganda.

Andy and I gave a brief presentation on the concept of Hearts & Hope.  Any of our efforts to setup this non-profit pale in comparison to the amazing achievements of the people who did more for the children of Nakabango.  Hopefully we'll be able to benefit from their expertise and experience to make Hearts & Hope something truly different.

It's Official!!!

It's official!  Hearts & Hope has been registered as a non-profit within the State of Missouri.  After a number of meetings to draft an initial vision, mission plan, and potential operational model, we took the step to register as a formal company.  Fortunately, we were able to grab the domain name heartsandhope.org, so we'll have an 

Next on the agenda is to visit with the partnering churches who traveled to Uganda with us in January to align with our vision to streamline support efforts in Uganda.

After we return, it will be time to submit our filing to the IRS for 501(c)(3) designation, allowing contributions to Uganda to be tax-deductible.

Stay Crazy!
Todd