August 2024 Newsletter

God’s plans, not mine

Never in a million years did I think that I would be living in Uganda, doing what God has me doing right now. When I was a little girl I had hopes and dreams of being a Doctor, a Teacher, and a Nurse, all at the same time. I guess in some ways, that dream still came true, just in different ways than I imagined were possible. When I finished my therapy degree in 2017, I finally felt settled and in the right place in my life, but God quickly turned my world upside down, for the best. When I realized God was calling me to be a missionary, I told Him I would never be the next white girl in Africa, because so many people come to Africa, yet here I am, writing this update from Africa. It’s funny how all of our lives we imagine and strive for the “best” for ourselves, we place limits on ourselves, and restrictions on God, yet most often that idea of “best” isn’t at all what God has planned and isn’t truly what’s best for us. Even in Proverbs 19:21, the Bible says “Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.” How often do we sit and look back over our life at the many decisions we made and really see the extent of God’s grace in our stupidity? How often do we look at the decisions we made that could have cost us our lives, or someone else’s life? How often do we really just sit and ponder how great is our God who saved us from ourselves? It’s something that has been on my mind a lot lately, just how many of my stupid choices could have prevented me from being here, in Uganda, yet because of God I’m here ministering to the next generation of husbands, fathers, and leaders, so that they aren’t stuck in the same vicious cycle I was stuck in. I’m here to counsel young men who are making many of the same stupid choices I did. I’m here to meet them where they are and lovingly discipline them and guide them closer to Jesus. Do I fail? Many times. Do I get discouraged? Absolutely. But, every time I get myself in a slump over a young man who went astray, a lie that keeps getting deeper, or worrying about provision for the future, God always reminds me that He brought me through my life of adventures, to here, for a purpose, and even if just 1 of these young men changes, it’s one more than it was. I’m thankful for my life and all of the experience and wisdom it brought me, but I’m more thankful for God’s mercy in showing me His life for me now. He brought me to this very place, for this very purpose, and I never could have arranged it on my own. For that I am forever grateful.

What’s happening?

It’s been a crazy busy month. So busy, in fact, that I just realized it’s the end of the month already! This year has flown by. I know my parents and grandparents always used to say that as you get older the years go by faster, now I see how true that is. I’m closer to 40 as each day passes, and yet it seems like just yesterday I turned 20.

We started the month off by picking up a few students from a local Vocational school for their 2 week holiday and getting them settled back in with their families. The very next week we picked up all of our primary students for their 5 week holiday and got them settled with family, and the week after that we picked up our secondary students for their 5 week holiday and got them settled in. We were able to have 2 very successful parent meetings with all of the students and their real families. (I say real families, because we have been deceived for some time about a few of them and have finally found the truth of who the family really is.) We all signed family agreements with the parents and students so that they are involved in their child’s education and shared a meal together at both meetings.

We completed more home visits of some boys who will be starting school next year, Lord willing, so that we are in contact with the correct people early. A common misconception here is if the students and parent’s lie about family whereabouts, someone will just come in and give the child a better future without questions. We want to empower the families and rehabilitate the relationship, so we are trying to find truth, which is a big challenge sometimes. Thank God that He is giving us great discernment and wisdom in this task. We had one home visit earlier this month that could have ended terribly, but I’m so thankful that God protected the young man and all of us who were there. These boys don’t come from great family backgrounds most of the time, so we don’t always know what we are walking into. Please pray for us as we continue following God’s lead in rehabilitating these families.

As soon as everyone was home from school, it was time for the vocation students to return. 2 of the 3 went back to finish their last semester and will be graduating at the end of the year. The 3rd was put on hold because of many bad decisions he made, yet it doesn’t seem like he’s learning his lesson yet. Taking away school fees or opportunites often helps them to realize that they can’t keep living the same life they’re living and have the opportunites we can offer them. Some learn their lesson the hard way, and unfortunately some don’t learn their lesson at all. We pray for him daily that one day he will wake up and smell the coffee!

I’ve been helping some friends from my missionary Bible study with house renovations and moving over the last few weeks as well. In the process of this, one of these friends saw Jesus working in a new and mighty way. She’s never been a fan of street children and has often said they can never change. Over the last few weeks of working, I’ve had 2 of my boys with me and she’s seen that anyone really can change. She’s even stepped out of her comfort zone to testify to others what she’s witnessed. It’s softened her heart toward the work I do here and for these young men who are capable of change. It makes me really happy when people realize this change can only come from God, because in our own power it can never happen. From this work we’ve been doing, one of the young men who was helping got a new job as a chef, with better pay and better hours. He’s been there about 3 weeks now and is doing an amazing job! We were also able to bless another mama of one of our boys, while helping this friend, because Mama Daniel is a local cook and my friend got meals for her workers from her daily! It was so good and Mama Daniel was so blessed!

We also had a young man come in with a very serious injury last week, that in all reality should have killed him. I’m so thankful for the medical wisdom God has given me to be a provider and a voice for these young men in these situations.

All of our students will go back to school in 2 weeks, so we are soaking up every moment we can with them, while preparing for school fees and getting requirements for another term. The boys are preaching at bible study, leading worship and praying boldly at our weekly gatherings. It’s so sweet watching these guys boldly profess their love of Christ.

What’s to come?

As we prepare for going back to school, we still need individual sponsors for several of our young men to keep them enrolled in school. We are also in the process of planning for a Bible boot camp in December and enrolling more students in school, who have been out of school since before covid, in Jan.

We are still waiting on our NGO approval, which apparenlty now has changed hands in the government so approvals are put on the back burner while they figure out the new process. I have a tentative approval for a visa extension and have to go to the immigration office this week to see if they’ll actually approve it for another 3 months. This has been a battle I’ve faced the whole 3.5 years I’ve been here, but once the NGO is finalized it shouldn’t be an issue anymore.

I can’t wait to have a team with me from GoSendMe Global in October as they come to pour into me for a week. Please pray for them as they prepare to come.

My car has been having serious issues lately, some even quite dangerous, but I’m thankful the Lord has protected me. I’m trying to sell it before something worse happens, so that eventually I can get a better one for the long drives and village roads I drive on regularly. Cars here are mostly from the early/mid 90s and the roads are terrible, so they become worse quickly, over time, especially since none of the parts can actually be bought new. My car was wrecked by a mechanic in training a couple of years ago in November, and it’s never been the same since then. So please pray I can sell it for a decent amount soon and save for a safer car before something worse happens.

Thank you

Thank you to both our new and our faithful partners and friends who have joined us on this journey! We continue to follow the lead of God in this ministry and he continues to bless us beyond measure. But, the reality is, we can‘t continue doing the work we do without both prayer and financial support. We try to make sure that basic needs are provided for these young men so that they aren‘t tempted to continue living the life of survival, theft, fighting, etc that they‘re used to. As we rehabilitate them and help them come off the streets we also help them to reintegrate back into society with financial counseling and slowly start introducing them to paying their own rent, food, etc. The goal is not for us to support them forever, but to meet them where they are and help them be successful in the future. As some of the boys graduate we continue to bring in more street connected children to rehabilitate. Jinja, alone, has over 1000 street connected children documented, and many more undocumented. This is a continuous effort right now to rehabilitate and restore hope in the lives of those we serve. We provide safe housing by renting rooms with basic necessities, as well as food, medical/dental care, schooling, counseling, routine hygiene items and medical checkups, and so much more as these young men continue to show us they want to change and be better. None of this is free to the citizens of Uganda, so to be able to provide these services to the young men, as they rehabilitate, is huge! My amazing team of Ugandans, some of which are boys who have graduated from the program, are given a salary so that they can also provide for their families and theirselves as they serve with us. We would love for you to pray about how God can use you to partner with us in these very tangible ways. If at any time you have any questions please don‘t hesitate to reach out to me! Email is the best option due to the difference in time zones. (thens1213@gmail.com)

Musolobozi Solomon’s Testimony

The following is a written testimony of Musolobozi Solomon, one of our, now, very successful young men. He wanted to share with you his story as a testimony of what God has done in his life, through Experience Hope. I have adapted some of the spelling and grammar so you can better understand the story.

This is my story. My name is Musolobozi Solomon and I grew up on the street. I was born in the ghetto to my mum and my dad, but, he died when I was young. In 2007 my mum died when I was 10 years old. I was put in an organization in town and they helped to pay for school fees, but finding food was the problem. I had to dodge classes many days because of looking for food and places to stay at night. It was easy for me to start taking drugs then because my friends took drugs and were not hungry like I was. My life was hard on the street. I tried staying in school for a time, but when they did not provide any food for me or place to stay, I had to leave to find a way for myself. Actually, I don’t regret growing up in a family where I don’t get everything I want, because it has taught me how to stand for myself and hustle to get what I want.

In 2020 I was very sick and found I had TB from street life. I took tablets for 7 months and am now ok. I thank God he has healed me, but my life was still not ok until I entered Experience Hope and started reading the bible to know who God is in my life. Through Auntie Tara and Experience Hope I learned more and more things like praying, reading the Bible, and going to church which changed my life from the street and drugs. I got saved in 2021. In 2023 Auntie Tara took me to school at Nile Vocational Institute where I did a certificate course in Hotel Management. When I was there I had some challenges, but Auntie never gave up on me. I always know God is there for me, even for us from the streets He knows us. I never knew that one day I would be taken back to school, but by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, He used Auntie Tara to take me back for another chance. God has done me well in my life and I never regret the day I got salvation because salvation has changed my life.

When I was on the street I never knew God until I met Auntie Tara. She let me know how much God loves me and my brothers from the street. She helped us to believe that we could be better in our lives. My life was not easy on the street. You could be sleeping and police come and beat you, even for no reason. I thank God so much for bringing me out of the street and I pray for my brothers who are still on the street that they leave that life too. Now for me I am no longer called a street kid because God has done me well. I am now called Chef Solomon and not a street kid because of the will of God. I pray to God that one day I get a really good job so I can also help my brothers who are still on the street. I still want to tell you, my life was so hard before getting saved by Christ. I used to smoke and drink alcohol and some drugs on the street. I used to see life as easy when I took drugs because if you didn’t take drugs on the street life was more hard. I thought I had to do drugs so that I did evil things like stealing so I could get money to buy food, drugs, etc, but I was wrong.

God changed my life from all of the bad things. I praise Him so much for a new life now.

May God bless you
Musolobozi Solomon

How can you help?

Prayer requests:

• Pray that our NGO gets approved soon so we can expand how we do ministry and so I can get an official Work Permit to stay here. We have been on the “final step” for over 3 months at this point and now they’re changing how things are done at the bureau.

• Pray for our boys. That they see hope and love in Jesus and flee from the years of bondage they’re trapped in. There’s a lot of temptation they face daily and some resistance to change, but we believe they can.

• Pray for wisdom for myself and my staff as we manage these young men and try to guide them and counsel them. Some days are way more difficult than others.

• Pray for our students as they return to school for their final term of the year, in September.

• Pray for financial donors who can help partner with us to do the work that GOD has called us to. It’s only by HIS will that we are here doing what we are doing and we need financial partners to do this work. Tangible things such as a safe room, food, school fees, and medical care show these young men that they’re not given up on, like so many people tell them.

• Pray for my car to sell at a decent price and for provision in getting one that is safer and stronger for the village roads.

How is God calling you to partner with us?

Through prayer? Through financial giving? We believe that even as just one of these young men changes, there’s many more ready to start a new life also, due to the testimony of the one. God calls some of us to go, some of us to stay, some of us to give and some of us to pray. Where do you fit in? Please consider joining us in bringing hope and healing to these precious young men! So many in their community have given up on them, but we know that God has called them to more!

TAX DEDUCTIBLE CHECKS mailed to:

GoSendMe Global
PO Box 913106
Sherman, TX 75091
(Make checks out to “GoSendMe Global” and include a note with the check that it is for me, Tara Henson, Uganda)

VENMO: @Tara-Henson-1

PAYPAL: @TaraHenson

ZELLE: thens1213@gmail.com

How to Connect

EMAIL: thens1213@gmail.com

Isaiah 1:17 (CSB)

“Learn to do what is good.

Pursue justice.

Correct the oppressor.

Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause.”