As we arrive at Granny Getulida’s small mud hut after bumping many kilometers deep in the village of Luuka district, in a cloud of orange dust from the dry mar-rum roads…we are greeted with dancing and clapping hands from the grannies and their older orphans, while gathering whatever benches or chairs they can find for US to sit on and grass mats for themselves.
Then the fearful tears erupt from the younger orphans who’ve never seen a “Mzungu” (white person) before. Several minutes of greetings begin as the Granny and her grandchildren all drop to their knees in the dirt overflowing with expressions of gratitude for our visit…in Lusoga, their local language.
Present are Arch Deacon George Impande who helps us organize and screen our Grannies under the qualifying criteria, the local pastor of the village church that the granny attends, Alfred Nabudere (TWH construction manager), Charles Kyakola (TWH Farming God’s Way manager), Russ & Marcia, as well as ever increasing numbers of inquisitive adults & children that accumulate from the village as we begin asking questions through Arch Deacon George as our interpreter.

How long have you been widowed? 15 years
How many biological children do you have? 2 how many are still living? none
How many orphaned grandchildren are you, alone, caring for now? FOURTEEN !!
What are their names and ages? Louisa 14, Robert 11, Sharon 10, Isaaka7, Rose 7, Betty 7, Memu 6, Jennifer 6, Eflance 5, Daniel 5, Apaphra 5, Charles 3, Cate 2, Sarah 2
Are any of them in school? no
What is the size of your land? 20 by 50 sticks (200 ‘ by 500’)

In the meantime Alfred gets permission, and is taking photos of the Granny, her children, the condition of her present home, and determining the degree of her need & and property and Charles is evaluating the land for placement of a “well-watered” Farming God’s Way garden. Alfred finds one small mud-brick hut with a sparsely covered grass thatch roof  with a cook fire inside, and NO bathroom or latrine at all, only some bannana leaves tied up to provide a screen with a plastic basin for bathing on the ground.

Russ then thanks the Granny for taking in her grandchildren and caring for them..and reminds her what an important job God has given her. He explains that The Way Home is a ministry made up of Christians who love the Lord and because of that, “care about YOU and your family!” They desire to give sacrificially from what God gives them to make it possible for us to help build you a stable home that will keep your family together after you are gone, and teach you about farming in a way that you will SEE God’s all sufficiency, with the resources God has already given you. He explains further about the details of the spiritual and health teaching we will provide for the grannies in groups with their orphans and promises to return to begin building a new family home and latrine/bathroom for them in the next few months.

Their local pastor then closes our meeting in prayer and breaks into a familiar song all in Lusoga language…we join them in English and for a few moments worship together 🙂

FOUNDATIONS

The Wise and Foolish Builders

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” Matthew 7:24-26

Granny Florence’s DIGNITY returneth!!
How can we even imagine being a widowed granny, having a family of 7, loss of sight and mobility AND having NO BATHROOM at all?

Granny Florence’s previous Latrine/Bathroom
BEFORE

Do you think it’s possible that this Granny and family might be even more excited about having this new Latrine/Bathroom than their new house?

Wouldn’t you be? 

AFTER!

BEFORE…

This was the life of Granny Florence and her 6 orphaned children:
In a matter of a few weeks, with an investment of about $2,000.00 this Granny’s life and the future for her 6 grandchildren HAS BEEN forever changed.
Being hernia-free, having a proper latrine and bathroom, a new house with separate bedrooms for she and her young grandchildren will empower this family to survive and prosper with God’s help.

 AFTER !!

MISSION:

THIS mission that is not just building homes that provide PHYSICAL foundations for widowed grannies and their orphaned grandchildren, but SHOWING them through Word and Deed, the FOUNDATION…the ROCK…JESUS who IS truly: THE WAY HOME! As we write to you today, the foundation for the third Granny’s house is being laid!

Generous support of this ministry both prayerfully and financially is the catalyst to bearing lasting fruit for the Kingdom!

WANT TO HEAR MORE?
THE BAUGH’S WILL BE IN THE USA FOR JUST A FEW WEEKS TO SHARE THIS PROJECT WITH YOUR CHURCH, GROUP OR INDIVIDUALS SEPT-OCT, 2011

PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A TIME TO SHARE THE DETAILS OF WHAT GOD IS DOING HERE WITH NEW POTENTIAL PARTNERS WHO MAY ALSO BE CALLEDTO HELP US CARE “FOR THE LEAST OF THESE”

THIS YEAR 20 GRANNIES WILL RECEIVE VITAL HELP. WE ARE ASKING GOD TO PROVIDE $55,000 FOR A 2012 GRANNY PROGRAM WITH EXPANDED SERVICES TO THEM AND 20 MORE.

How on earth does one choose from 19 grannies all struggling to survive in the circumstances they’ve been given?… This one has no latrine…this one is living with animals in her house, but this one is crippled….this one has more orphaned children that are young, this one has crumbling walls and many holes in her iron sheet roof …

We believe, after discerning these variables, the one chosen first, was God’s decision….
Introducing HIS first choice: Granny Florence and her six young grandchildren ages 2-14!
Florence does not know how old she is but on the day that we came to officially read the agreement that would provide her with a new home and a latrine, she literally dragged her lame legs and cataract covered eyes across the dirt and over to the grass mat to be within inches of the reading of the agreement, so as not to miss a word.

With tears, a hand-clap from the gathering crowd and an THUMBPRINT for a signature the ground was broken for her new castle in the village!

Pastor Alfred and Russ prepare for the ceremony!

BEFORE…
This was the life of Granny Florence and her 6 orphaned children:
In approximately 3 weeks, with an investment of about $2,000.00 this Granny’s house will be finished and her life and the future for her 6 grandchildren will be forever changed.
Having a proper latrine and bathroom, a new house with separate bedrooms for she and her young grandchildren will empower this family to survive and prosper with God’s help.

Your generous sacrifice to support this ministry both prayerfully and financially is the catalyst to bearing lasting fruit for the Kingdom!
We remain merely the feet that God has called to bring the Good News of His generous and obedient followers desiring to be an ACTIVE part of making a difference for ONE child and family at a time in Uganda…according to His Word and by His power …ONE STEP AT A TIME…

To GOD be the GLORY!!!

Meet Granny Annet coming to greet us with a smile and a stool to make US… comfortable while we interview HER!
She is mother of 8 biological children- 7 of whom are still living. Immediately after her husband died several years ago, she was forced off her land and out of her home by her 7 children…she fled to this area and sold her only possession, a cow, to buy this 50′ X 100′ land where she lives and cares for 5 grandchildren of her eldest deceased son, in this small hut with no latrine and a small puddle of banana leaves for a bathing area.

Our two days in the villages in the Districts of Iganga and Luuka driving one tracks, in ruts, across fields, to find one of our 19 potential grannies one by one by one was nothing short of an amazing experience. Sometimes groups of neighbors gathered as we talked up to 75. We were utterly aghast and humbled and broken hearted at what we saw and at the same time, felt honored and joy filled that we are in a position to help these faithful hero’s who sustain the lives of their grandchildren.

Even the 2-3 Ugandan pastors (one our construction manager) riding with us, when we loaded the van after talking to the granny, getting the lowdown on her and one to seven grand kids, taking pics of her make shift accommodations, etc. were altogether silent for minutes as we moved on to the next place. These leaders are not newcomers to the poverty in their Church areas and are men who have fantastic senses of humor and who are wonderful evangelical Christian leaders. So as we went along silently together we all were in agreement the Lord is the be all and end all… as we have the amazing opportunity to do this work. We thank you all wherever you are who are generous and giving your prayers and resources so diligently to support us and the project and make this opportunity to serve, a reality!

We have taken many photos…so there is definitely more sharing to come…just wanted to update you on your prayer results !!! Extreme Make-Over Home Edition….Uganda !!! is coming 🙂

With our love and gratitude,
Russ and Marcia Joseph, Dominick and Samson

Losing her children to HIV Aids this sweet Granny, Sefolo-Za, that we met last week, represents a large population of unsung heroes who bury their own children only to begin raising their grandchildren to keep them from being statistics added to the already horrendous numbers of Aids orphans. The area church leader that we met greeted us with this statement..”This year is declared as the ‘year of children and youth’ Thank GOD for your coming…we have been praying for YOU to come!”
We can hardly wait to begin working with and serving these brave, selfless and hard working elderly saints!!