News

There is Still Time

Over the past week our team in Uganda has had the opportunity to meet the 3 girls from the Restoration Home who are in need of immediate medical attention.  Through your generous donationof $25, $50, $100, $250, or whatever you are willing to give, you will provide access to the crucial medical care that the girls need.  You can donate today by visiting www.passionpartners.org/donate.  Thank you for taking this opportunity to #GetLocal with us! Restoration Home Medical Needs Fundraiser from Passion Partners on Vimeo.

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Believe and See

Gradi Ellis is a guest blogger from Nashville, TN.  She will be traveling with Passion Partners on the Summer 2014 Missions Trip.  To learn more about joining Passion Partners on an upcoming trip, visit http://passionpartners.org/get-involved/go/. “Jesus responded, ‘Didn’t I tell you, you would see God’s glory if you just believe?’” John 11:40 (NLT) It was a few weeks before I decided to embark on this journey, that I read those words in my daily quiet time.  My inbox was filling up with unread messages that needed tending to and I was halfheartedly trying to get a couple of moments in with God before my day started. I don’t know why, amongst all of these distractions, but I could not help but focus on this simple sentence. To simply believe seems like such an easy task. However, when I was faced with having to believe in the calling I felt God had placed on my heart, to travel to Uganda and share His love, the mere simplicity of the task seemed to diminish. I spent a lot of time wrestling with this calling and the fear of doing something so big. Yet, in spite of my fears, I knew that I needed to trust in His calling. So here I stand, overwhelmed at the abundance of love that has been poured into my life over the past six...

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Make An Impact Today

Recently, Passion Partners learned that 3 of our Restoration Home girls in Wakiso, Uganda were in need of additional medical care beyond what is accounted for in our annual budget. To raise the money that is necessary to provide the girls with the treatments they need, we are asking for you to take part in our #GetLocal campaign. Your tax-deductible donation of $25, $50, $100, $250, or whatever you are willing to give, will go a long way to meeting the medical needs of the girls. To donate TODAY visit www.passionpartners.org/donate. To learn more about the needs of the Restoration Home girls, watch the video below to hear directly from our partners! Restoration Home Girls Fundraiser from Passion Partners on Vimeo.

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May God Be Glorified

May God Be Glorified In just a few weeks, 10 individuals will come together as a team from all over the southeast and board a plane bound for Uganda as a part of Passion Partners’ 10-day summer mission trip.   During their 10 day journey, the team members will get to serve alongside our partners in various ways including: loving on the girls of the Restoration Home (pictured above); spending time with local teen mothers and their children; serving food as a means of community outreach; performing general maintenance work around the Restoration Home; and demonstrating Christ’s love to every person that they meet. While you may not be travelling with us, this time, you too can take part in what God will be doing in Uganda by praying for our team.  Some of the things you can be praying for include: that they would be able to effectively serve, love, and bond with our partners; for safe travels to and from Uganda; that all of their luggage would arrive with them; and that God would be glorified in every way as the trip unfolds.  If you would like to pray specifically for each team member their names are Alisa, Allie, Daina, Gradi, Kim, Lesley, Margaret, McClain, Sandra, and Suzanne.  If you would like to stay up to date with the team be sure to follow Passion...

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Overcoming Adversity

Overcoming Adversity By Sam Sempijja Meet Josephine Nabukeera.  She is 15 years old and is a Junior at Buganda College. Things were tough at the beginning of Josephine’s life.  She was born to a teenage mother and a father who was already married with multiple wives.  Consequently, there was no room left for her mother to stay with him.  Left to fend for herself and her newborn, Josephine’s mother struggled to meet their basic needs.   She eventually married, and Josephine’s stepfather does not value her education and refuses to pay her tuition to school.  Therefore, her mother is left to struggle to find the money to pay for Josephine’s education. However, all hope is not lost.  Through God’s providence, Josephine is one of the girls whom Passion Partners serves in partnership with the Uganda Purity Project.  To help Josephine and her mother with the expenses that can come from sending a child to school, the Uganda Purity Project staff recently visited their home.  To provide assistance, the Uganda Purity Project staff delivered some basic necessities such as sugar, rice, cooking oil, and bread as well as scholastic materials such as books, pens, shoe polish, and knickers.  These simple items help alleviate the financial burden by meeting not only Josephine’s needs, but the family’s basic needs as well. It is through outreach programs such...

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Meet a Future Doctor

Meet a Future Doctor By Sam Sempijja In late may, the other members of the Uganda Purity Project Team and I visited a girl named Josephine Nakato. She is a Junior at Kikandwa Community School. When Josephine finishes school she aspires to become a doctor, and she is working as hard as she can to ensure that she attains her goal! At a young age, Josephine lost both of her parents and is now living with her brother, who already has several children of his own. As we visited Josephine and her brother, we encouraged her to continue studying and to trust the Lord with everything she does. Josephine explained to us how she had become a Christian early in life, and we were so happy to hear her testimony! During our visit we presented Josephine with scholastic materials like books, pens, pencils, and a Geometry set. We also brought her family a variety of other necessities such as rice, bread, sugar, cooking oil, shoe polish, Vaseline, and soap. Josephine and her brother were both so thankful for all that the Uganda Purity Project provides for the girls of Wakiso,Uganda.  Some of the other services that the Project provides include: counseling, teaching, guiding, and the purchasing of sanitary pads for the girls. Before we left we asked Josephine and her brother for their prayer...

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How the Belmont Nurses Christian Fellowship “Got Local”


How the Belmont Nurses Christian Fellowship “Got Local”
 By Kelsey Maguire As I stood beside the other members of the Belmont Nurses Christian Fellowship in a room full of thousands of feminine hygiene pads, I couldn’t help but beam with unashamed excitement at the brightly packaged products piled in mounds atop the tables. This was our third year hosting “The Pad Project” on Belmont’s campus, and the anticipation was welling up inside each of us as we gathered to count and send off our donation to Passion Partners. Passion Partners gives these pads to hundreds of young women each and every month through their support of local ministries on the ground in Africa. These pads are the entry point to impoverished young women who are learning about their health, their worth, and the Gospel. The story caught my heart from the first moment I heard it. I couldn’t believe that a pad was all it took to open the door for counseling and care to many impoverished girls. These simple packages of pads keeps hundreds of girls in school, gives them a community to belong to, and empowers them to take control of their wellness. To get involved was simple.  All that my group had to do was set up boxes across campus and begin spreading the word. Year after year, these...

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A Widow’s Story

Meet Rose A widow, a mother of three and an AIDS patient, Rose served as one of the most reliable employees to date at the Ashburn Ohuru Medical Clinic.  After losing her job in 2012, Rose was subsequently hired as a nursing assistant at the clinic and worked steadily until her death.  “Rose was one of the best staff members to work for us,” Wilfred, the Ashburn Ohuru Medical Clinic manager proclaimed.  “Rose was the first to arrive at the clinic in Siaya every morning…no later than 7:00 A.M.”  Serving as the sole breadwinner for her family, Rose desired and always wanted to prioritize the schooling of her three children.  Reflecting upon Rose’s excellent work at the clinic, Wilfred sought to meet the schooling needs of Roses children after her passing-to instill each of them in school and to provide the means and support for each. Rose had three children: Mackrine, Dickson, and Faith.  Each of their faces carry a story much more larger than themselves.  Our team had the opportunity to visit Mackrine, Dickson, and Faith at their respective schools across Siaya on Saturday afternoon.  Let’s take some time to get to know each child. Meet Mackrine Wilfred, Peter, Alisa, Margaret and I began the afternoon at Nyamonye Girls Secondary School, where Mackrine attends.  We waited in joyful anticipation as the...

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God Is Great, God Is Good, Let Us Thank Him For Our Food

“This program has been amazing.  As a result of the feeding program here at our school, test scores and performance have increased, health has increased, and attendance has increased among our students,” David, the chairman of the Usingo Primary School.  Ding, Ding, Ding! The bell rang at 12:40 pm and everyone at the Usingo Primary School knew what this sound signaled…lunch time!!! Students ran out of classrooms to form two lines in front of the kitchen. Empty plastic bowls in every hand, were soon to be filled with a colorful mixture of corn and beans.  As each student received his or her meal, they found a place to munch…the older students clustered across the front field to gain some quiet space and the younger ones skipped around and eventually settled under nearby trees.  Smiles spread rampantly and energy heightened steadily.  Three cooks stood attentively to ensure that every student was offered a hearty meal.  Slowly but surely, the satisfied students trickled back into classrooms to finish class for the remainder of the school day.  This is the Usingo Feeding Program at work. What are the effects of the daily distribution of 150 grams of maize and 40 grams of beans to each of the 413 students at the Usingo Primary School? The population of the school expanded by nearly 200 students, two...

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“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.”

  “A picture is worth a thousand words.” That is now a phrase that Fred Kaddu, Uganda director and Restoration Home founder, will be able to own as he portrays the Restoration Home girls…Passion Partners purchased a camera with Fred this afternoon for the Restoration Home! After purchasing the camera, our team enjoyed a meal with Fred and Ronald, who has been our consistent driver since our arrival.  Fred and Margaret worked ferociously together at the dinner table to install batteries and a memory card to ensure a working camera!  A smile was painted across Fred’s face as he took his first couple of photos. Our Passion Partners team finds our camera as such a helpful tool in exposing the stories of our Ugandan and Kenyan partners to those in the U.S. We are thrilled that Pastor Kaddu will now be able to document moments, memories, faces, stories, emotion, and progress of the 42 girls at the Restoration Home.  We are already looking forward to seeing the photos they share! It truly is an honor to serve and equip our partners with the tools that they need to carry our their passion. *Becca Vinson is a fellow with Passion Partners through the Nashville Fellows Program.  Becca is currently in Africa with other members of the Passion Partners staff.

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