August 2025 Newsletter
What’s happening?
This month has been a whirlwind of miracles and busyness around here! What started out as a pretty chill first few days, quickly turned into all hands on deck going in multiple different directions every day. I’m very thankful for the team I have who are willing to do anything necessary for these young men and the organization, because we have all been going non stop since August 9th.. On the 9th a young man was dropped at the gate of the organization, unresponsive, then soon after began seizing for an extended period of time. I took him for a CT at a local hospital the next day, which showed a significant brain bleed, then for an MRI which showed an even larger bleed, less than 24 hours later, then came an Emergent craniotomy, and a miraculous recovery that only God could orchestrate. As a matter of fact, this whole situation is a miracle of God! Swalic shouldn’t have been alive with the extent of the bleed in his head, 2 trips to Kampala (over 3 hours one way) on terrible roads to get proper imaging, and finally a very meticulous surgery to relieve pressure in his brain, remove the clot, and stop the bleeding. But, because of God, he’s alive and doing amazing! He’s spending the next few months with me personally so his brain and skull can heal properly. We don’t want him put in any risk of being hit in the head because it could kill him. So he’s soaking up the time with “mama”, a comfy bed and 3 healthy meals per day, plus kicking my butt in Ludo (a popular board game here) as much as he can!! He started asking me if he could pray for meals and before bed, whereas in the beginning he asked me to when I gave him the option. Watching this young man innocently explore and be a child with legos and art, watching him seek to know more about Christ, and watching him just live in peace, has been beautiful. Please continue to pray for him as it will take many months for his skull to completely fuse back together. That as he heals physically, God also restores his mind and soul during this process.
3 days post-op, while I was still in the hospital with Swalic, we also had to pick up 40 students from school, in 2 different directions, for their term 2 holiday! Ben went an hour one way on a taxi to get our secondary students picked up, and Joy went 45 minutes the other way on another taxi to get primary. It was a bit like hearding cats that day, apparently, but everyone got home safely, things somewhat organized and back to families or their safe living spaces for the holiday. The next day Swalic and I got to leave the hospital (another huge miracle) and head back to Jinja to get settled in.
2 days later, 3 students went back to primary school for a holiday program for 3 weeks of their 4 week holiday and the teacher we used last holiday started coming to the project for bi-weekly lessons with the rest of the primary students to help them continue to catch up. Swalic and I stayed pretty hunkered down for the first week so he could rest and not be overstimulated, Joy and Ben and the boys at the house helped with so many things so I could focus on caring for him.
The holiday programs are all going well, and other than a few cases of pretty severe malaria, everyone is healthy as well. Our secondary school candidates (Senior 4 and Senior 6) go back to school today for an extra week of lessons, as they all have major tests starting in October until December that will make or break the rest of their future in school. They’re all worried about the testing, as it’s very intense and Uganda puts a lot of pressure on students to memorize so many things. So please pray with us that their minds are at ease and they all perform well!
In the middle of all of this, let’s add another thing to the mix. I’m also in the process of shifting from my apartment to a friend’s guest house. My apartment had become a not so restful place, between constant construction, a very loud neighbor at all hours of the day and night, and inconsistent security it just wasn’t a peaceful place to be anymore. Swalic and I had been staying at a friend’s guesthouse for recovery since I only had 1 bed at my place, so when my friend heard my rent was due September 1st and she knew I was miserable there, she offered me a permanent spot at her guesthouse to live that’s a great fit for me. So all this past week I’ve been going back and forth moving and trying to get out of my apartment. I officially have everything moved in here now, just not out of boxes yet! This place has great security and a wonderful big green compound to rest and garden in! I’m excited! My friend also has students home for holiday who are wonderful influences, so Swalic has been able to spend time with them playing board games and card games and listening to a lot of worship music! Thankful for all of them being able to step in and keep an eye on him so that I could get moved over quickly, since Joy and Ben are also so busy with our own students this holiday.
We are all praying for a more chill/restful September!
What’s to come?
Bosco and Kodet, 2 of our vocation students, got all set up with their internship at a local sugar cane factory, thanks to a friend of mine connecting them! We are getting them moved into their new house that’s just off of the sugar mill property, Monday, and they’ll start their internship by the end of the week once the director calls us that the paperwork is finalized on their end. Please pray with us that they do well, make wise choices, and stay safe! (Lots of cobras are in the sugar cane fields and anti-venom is scarce!) They both have already been promised jobs at this same location when they finish their 4 month training, if they do well, and that’s a huge blessing for them!
Our 3 candidates go back to school today, but then next Sunday, the rest of the Secondary students go back, and the following week all of the Primary students goes back. So this week is still full of holiday programs, getting school supplies and requirements bought and packed up for our students, and making sure everyone is prepared to go back to school very soon, for their last term of the year.
We also just enrolled one of our guys in University this past week! He’s on a taxi now, as I type, on the way to Kampala to get checked into his hostel and start classes tomorrow! This is our first student to go to University (several have done vocational school, but this is higher level). Ben went with him last week to get registered and pay fees and we quickly got everything together for him when we found out classes had already started. We are so proud of him and pray that he settles in well and does well in his course of choice.
The day Ben picked up secondary students, the taxi got diverted on the way back to Jinja due to riots in one of the villages, because of elections of local officials. Tires, cars, and shops were burned everywhere along the main road, people lost their lives, and police ended up firing a lot of shots into the crowd, also killing and injuring more bystanders. We also have had a major increase in break-ins and robberies in town over the last few weeks. Things continue to ramp up here, so please pray with us for safety and protection for all of us and our boys.
I did get a positive report about my work permit, last week. I still don’t have it, but it’s finally passed the stage it’s been stuck on for the last 10-11 months. The lady assures me I’ll have it before I leave in October to head to America, but she’s promised me “end of the month” many times before. I’ll believe it when I see it, but at least it is one step closer this time...maybe.
Thank you
Thank you is only a small phrase that we can say to all of you who pray for us, support us, and help us to continue the work we do with these young men. We have many challenges every day, but God continues to give us wisdom and discernment to pour into the guys we work with. Sometimes we see failure and it’s easy to get discouraged, but then God always shows us a wink of success and renews the hope we have for these young men. While there are still many who are not ready to change, there are many who can’t turn back to their old ways. We count each successful transformation a great blessing from God. Thank you for standing with us in this gap as we serve those that God has called us to work with here in Uganda. May God bless you!
After 4 hours of seizing, bless him
14 hours post Craniotomy just before leaving ICU!
Thankful for the life of this sweet boy!
Staple removal! Incision looks amazing!
Breaking out of the hospital, 4 days post Craniotomy!
Road snack of roasted maize after a great post-op followup with Neurosurgery!
THANK YOU! For praying and donating for Swalic’s lifesaving surgery!
The sugarcane factory where Bosco and Kodet will be doing internship and then working, Lord willing!
Sweet Swalic is so at peace here as he recovers
Swalic had major tooth pain, less than 2 weeks post op and had to have an extraction done. A lot going on for him!
We also have a new pup on the compound. New to us, not the compound! Swalic loves him
He’s loving legos!
Some of our more calm and chill boys came to play some games with Swalic one day. Fun was had by all!
Primary students home for holiday! Secondary boys wouldn’t do a pic this time!
Big furniture moving day for me.
Can you help?
I will be heading stateside in October for a little over a month to do fundraising for the next year. During this time I’ll be in Tennessee mostly, but will also fly to Jacksonville, Florida (Oct 21-29). I’m also willing to travel other places but my own personal funds are limited on long distance travel. I’m also in need of a few things during my time stateside and ideas/help with fundraisers.
Does anyone have any connections with businesses, coffee shops, restaurants, etc who may be willing to do a fundraising night where part or all of the proceeds can go to our ministry here in Uganda to support the young men we work with?
I would also love to come share with others what God is doing here. If you have a church or small group, or even a group of friends who would love to hear more about the ministry and what we do, I can arrange it!
If anyone has ideas or wants to connect regarding any of these things, please email me thens1213@gmail.com. Also feel free to please share my newsletters or email with listening ears who want to support/pray for missions.
How can you help?
Prayer requests:
Pray for Swalic’s continued healing of mind, body, and soul. He still has a long road of recovery.
Pray for wisdom for me in who to leave him with while I’m gone for a month, because he can’t be left alone yet, and I can’t trust him to be supervised close enough at the project 24/7. His skull is still very much not healed and one hit or accident could be deadly. He shouldn’t be running or jumping or rough housing and that’s what happens in a house full of boys!
Pray for our students as they go back for their final term of school this year and for the 3 who are testing this term, to have wisdom and peace about their answers and to do well. These tests determine their future and careers.
Pray for this transition for me in housing
Pray for safety for myself, my staff, and my boys as crime and violence continue to escalate here.
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 here tell them. Education and Medical are typically our biggest expenses and both are life changing for these young men. We spend about $19,000USD on school fees/requirements per YEAR for 40 students and approximately $1000-$1300 USD per MONTH or more on medical care.
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- but not written directly on 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.”
