News for February

BEING INTENTIONAL

What do we hope our children will grow up to be?  Do we believe that it will just happen?  

“Train a child in the way he should go...” - Proverbs 22:6

In the past 25 plus years of New Hope’s existence, we have seen that the primary cause of the orphan crisis is not war or disease, but a failure of children to grow into the men and women God desires.  When a child grows with a skewed world view, that is a wrong impression of who God is or who they are, they are destined to live according to their own passions and their own ability rather than by the grace God has provided and with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Basing one’s life on anything but the truths of the gospel actually creates more orphans.  Our understanding of God’s role in our lives and who He is plays out in the way we relate to Him and the way we live.  Thus, an incorrect world view causes a failure to engage the power of the gospel.  The final product of this wrong world view is yet more orphans who perpetuate the pain they experienced due to separation from God.

Here at New Hope we are entering a new season, one of intentionally training our many children in the things of God.  Of course we’ve always trained them, but have felt a strong compulsion in recent times to increase and coordinate our efforts. Ensuring our children are being trained in all aspects of the things of God for their future means not just providing for their physical or academic needs, but strengthening the foundation of Christ and His word in their lives.  

Our strengthened and more coordinated effort to raise up our children in the way that God desires them to go requires us to thoughtfully and strategically calculate which foundational truths are needed at different ages and to work together with all departments.  It is our hope that beginning in their first years of school through the final year of secondary studies with us, they will mature into adults who will not depart from God’s way. The Children’s Spiritual Development group/department (CSD) is working under the guidance of the Kasana Community Church eldership to prayerfully direct the different aspects of the biblical teachings the children will receive.  We are placing a strong emphasis on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood or BMW and will incorporate the foundation stones of the gospel at every level.  We are also placing a strong emphasis on being a worshiper of the One True God through music education and guiding our children to worship both corporately and individually.  Please pray with us as we work through the many aspects of this plan. We will keep you updated as we move forward.

A little taste from home - Thanks Linda

Kids with the "kid"

Bonfire with our family over the Christmas holiday

Kobwin

I recently had the pleasure of visiting our NHU Kobwin Children’s Center in the eastern part of Uganda.  Many of the Kobwin children we care for and minister to are returnees from captivity to one of Uganda’s rebel factions of the early 2000’s.  Other children that were left parentless due to that rebellion are also being cared for.  We held a seminar with the staff and MANY pastors from the community on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.  It was a tremendous success as more than 60 people attended and many local pastors testified to how they have been living under a lie and vowed to approach their God-given call as men and women of God with a new perspective.  It was exciting to see what God has been doing there as my last visit to Kobwin was in 2007 before we took in our first children.  If you are interested in the work at Kobwin our website is very informative.

Geoff preaching at Kobwin

Musana Camps

As I returned from Kobwin we met Mary, the kids and Uncle Jay’s family along the way and took a side journey to Musana Camps, our camp site on the shores of Lake Victoria.  The time was intended for planning for the BMW program that I am spearheading in Kasana.  Our meeting times were productive, and we were also able to steal some time with God’s creation as we soaked in the beauty of the location.  We hiked with the kids to the waterfall and they swam in the lake, thankfully with no sightings of the resident crocodile, PRAISE GOD!  I would ask you to keep the formation of the CSD department and the BMW program in prayer.  The vision I have is huge and I often struggle with feelings of inadequacy in my role. 

Kids on the beach at Musana