Blog Archives | The Way Home Africa

One of our Grannies folding her hands in a hut as if to pray

Blog, Covid 19, granny-families, Poverty, Uganda, widows & orphans

July 8, 2020July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Seeking His Face…

From our isolation compounds in Uganda & USA in this unprecedented time we are inviting you to draw near (no social distancing required) to our UNEQUALED sovereign King of Kings and seek His face in humble prayer…

Farming God’s Way Garden beginning with planting stations

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”
2 Chronicles 7: 13-15

That is the prayer of The Way Home (TWH) staff in Uganda, received from our Farming God’s Way Manager, Asaph…

Baby eucalyptus trees as part of TWH’s future sustainability project

“We are having silent and hiding prayers. Mainly we are basing in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. That’s our main prayer line scripture.”

As he trusts God and carries on with his job for those He cares for at The Way Home: “Just from dropping windows and doors to (a very grateful) granny Baffakuwulira Elizabeth this morning.”

Delivery of windows & doors for granny Elizabeth’s new house

The prayer of our Bookeeper, Ethel, who knows Uganda is closing doors, borders and shudders of the workplaces and schools, and believe it also Uganda is suffering from millions and millions of Locusts descending on its lands from the deserts north of Uganda. She prays: “Oh Uganda my God uphold thee. We lay thy future in God’s hands. For God and my country.”

more windows & doors for a new granny-family house
(original house in front of new home)

Unexplainable..unprecedented outcomes and impact.
We’ve thought of and prayed for Uganda, it’s people and of course TWH…we invite you to persevere with us in prayer and full dependence on the Lord.

We’ve prayed for you where you are, praying you’re trusting Him absolutely. (Matthew 6:25)

Both here and there, He remains…our safe place to be. (Psalm 91:4)

In Uganda the President has restricted all he could. The borders and airport were just closed. Now it’s up to the people there to do and pray 2 Chronicles 7:13-14.
The same for us and our beloved nation the United States, it’s lands and people.

Needless to say, we are eager to be in Uganda soon, all of us are here waiting it out like all of you in your various safest ways possible. Wavering between “this is good” and “let’s get to work”.

Our boys will stay on their school terms via the computer. Our other two children, Ben and Liz and their families are too, waiting with all of us, for the day to come when life will turn from this ‘temporary normal’ back to return to the “normal” we’ve known…as the Lord wills.

On the other side of the globe, our staff also practices safe distance and sanitation while they serve others and advance the ministry of TWH. As the circumstances in our days are now with us, it is comforting to know that God is in control of all things and He’s trustworthy.

We believe He’s the best for us. It’s time to turn to God, humble ourselves, repent of our sins, listen for and look to God for His forgiveness, and believe in His conditional promise; that if we as His people will do these things, He will heal our land.

So let’s do this…Together from our knees

sunrise view of The Way Home compound from Guest House

Blog

December 24, 2019July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

UNWRAPPING the HEART of CHRISTMAS!

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” – 2 Corinthians 9:15

“Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.”
– Corrie Ten Boom
Have you unwrapped the true HEART of Christmas ?

One week ago…

We had a Christmas Newsletter ready to go out to you. It was filled with joyFULL updates along with prayer requests and invitations to consider our end of year needs for this sweet ministry to widows & orphans, that God continues to bless and guide us in overseeing, to a point of sustainability….

but then the phone call came…
.
That changed our content & urgency of our Christmas message to you. The independent living home of Marcia’s mom called Monday during dinner, to inform us and her sisters that mom had been taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital for a ‘medical emergency’. After several more phone calls we were informed that she collapsed in the dining room with a ‘sudden death’ cardiac arrest! No pulse, 18 minutes of CPR, as well as 3 shocks had been delivered in attempts to save her life in transit to Cleveland Clinic ICU. The Doctors gave little hope that she would make it through the night.

Needless to say…our Christmas priority lists turned upside down with our world and Marcia and her sisters were all on early morning flights to Ohio each hoping to make it before she was gone…

When life is hanging in the balance all that matters is whether the indescribable gift of Jesus, the HEART of Christmas, has been unwrapped.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

God GAVE us the GIFT of EVERLASTING Life … to never experience death but be immediately transported to heaven when the days that are numbered for our lives are up. Heaven is a Holy place…Only perfect people can live there…none of us are…only Jesus is. He IS THE WAY Home.

That’s the GIFT…We each need to understand, receive … and unwrap.

If you’ve personally received it, then share the good news…go tell it on the mountain!…RE-GIFT it…don’t keep the HEART of CHRISTMAS to yourself.

It’s the gift of an eternal lifetime- nothing will ever compare!

How to unwrap the HEART of CHRISTMAS:

Admit you are a sinner. (Romans 3:23; 10:9-10)
Believe Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you from sin and death and give you eternal life. (Romans 5:8; John 3:16)
Recognize your sin before God and let him help you turn from your old life to a new life in Christ. (Acts 3:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Receive, by faith in Jesus Christ, his free gift of salvation. (Ephesians 2:8)

We extend to you our love & joy filled Christmas thanks on behalf of:
us (Russ, Marcia, Joe, Dom and Sam), and THE WAY HOME Staff of 35:
Managers,
Pastors,
Farming God’s Way workers and Pastors,
Student Pastor Teachers,
School MailBox Club teachers,
Granny Coordinators,
TWH home construction workers,
and of course,
from all 119 of our GrateFULL God praising (hallelujah) Grannies and Granny-Families!

Blog, FAMILY, Grannies, Servants serving, Uganda, widows & orphans

September 22, 2016July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Visiting Widows & Orphans in their distress

Biography of a “Granny”:

Mwamini Kaswa became a widow several years ago when her husband died in a tragic motorcycle accident. Mwamini, her 4 children and 2 grandchildren were eventually evicted from their home and are currently living in a neighbor’s hallway. But all of that is about to change! Contracts for the construction of her new home on family land have been signed and a three room brick home with two room latrine & bathing room is being built by The Way Home’s local laborers, funded by our dedicated ministry partners at ‘Homes for Homes’.

Praise the Lord as He faithfully directs His obedient followers to look after His vulnerable widows & orphans…

God has not forgotten you Mwamini.

Blog, evangelism, Missionaries, The Way Home Discipleship Village, Uganda, widows & orphans

September 1, 2016July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Feeding a SEA of hungry souls in Uganda

A personal update from Paula, The Way Home’s outreach teacher in local village schools, where the majority are Muslim. As you can see the classes are large..but very hungry for this ‘new teaching’. The Gospel
“Praise Jesus, second term is nearing its end. I have 45 kids in primary four, 51 kids in primary five and in both classes 65 kids are saved 10 are not yet and the rest are not sure, am so far on lesson 10 with these two classes. These two classes are my very first classes in mail box series. on 28th-June-2016, i started teaching primary six which has 43 kids and i am now on lesson 6. These three classes are all from one school called Victoria Day and Boarding Primary School. I teach at this school two days a week on Tuesday(primary 6) and Thursday(primary 4 and 5) for two hours on both days. Similarly i started teaching at another school called Nabukone Primary School in term two. i handle only one class primary 5 which has a total of 172 kids whom i teach every Friday for one hour and i am on now lesson 4. A thorough report of these three classes will be sent when i finish all the lessons in each classes. I received 300 mail box books but i have a bigger number of children than the books. Attached are photos of the children.”

Pray for Paula:
That her joy will be contagious,
her perseverance unwavering, and the lasting Fruit…ABUNDANT!

Praise The Lord with us for this unlikely opportunity to share the only Truth that will satisfy hungry souls ????

Blog, granny-families, The Way Home Discipleship Village, widows & orphans

May 22, 2016July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

a Shepherd to Granny-families

Richard grew up in. the village of Embolie, near Mbale. He has five siblings. His father died young and was raised by his mother, than after she remarried his Granny raised him.

He grew up in the Church of Uganda (Anglican) and went through confirmation, but then one night he had a vision that he needed to be saved. The next morning in church there was a visiting pastor who preached on salvation and he went forward and accepted Christ. He completed senior 4, and then took two semesters at UBS( Uganda Baptist Seminary), was preaching door to door, and then went to “teacher’s college” and got a job teaching primary 3. He was feeling that God wanted him back in the field. That is when he heard about this job.

He started working with The Way Home in January 2016 and is currently the Granny Coordinator. He loves the opportunity to preach salvation to the grannies, their grandchildren, and neighbors. He has reported many people including Muslim neighbors accepting Christ.

He finds the motorcycle (with muddy road conditions) to be a challenging part of his job . He is now in a diploma program at UBS and must spend three weeks in August and November in class. His job of Granny coordinator is helping to provide the shillings for those classes. He asks for prayer that he chooses the right marriage partner and that he saves the money to buy a home.

Richard Mudde: The Way Home’s Granny Coordinator: daily travels by boda (motorcycle) to do a circuit (350 km./month!) teaching and shepherding TWH’s 73 granny-families in God’s Word through the vehicle of the Mail-box club program lessons and leading them by Word & deed to The WAY Home in Jesus 🙂

Blog, Discipleship Center, FAMILY, Farming God's Way, The Way Home Discipleship Village, Uganda, widows & orphans

March 6, 2016July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

SWEET POTATO JOY!

LOOK at what God does with sweet Potatoes when we farm HIS Way !!

The Way Home applies “Farming God’s Way” with FULL persuasion 🙂

Our harvest has been very good and improving potato crops each season but never such large potatoes. Granny Juliette together with TWH Staff workers exclaimed that they have not seen potatoes this size since they were young children! The likely explanation is that traditional methods of farming in Uganda tend to not sow back into the soil…when we teach them to Farm God’s Way we teach them to sow into the land because in farming as in life…we reap what we sow!!

What did we do differently?

This past growing season we decided to add water during the rain/growing season. We didn’t know what outcome adding water after two weeks passed without rain would bring to our harvest. Our compound now stores rain water in a large elevated container that makes irrigation water available as long as the stored water lasts in the container. If it rains we can add more to the storage. We don’t use it so long as rain comes. The store of water is used to moisten with about 1.5 liter to every plant when two weeks pass without rain. We can see that water seems to be valuable. Is it possible when it’s been dry for two weeks that you carry water to the garden to revive your plants. Farming God’s Way to a high standard means you also have mulched your garden. The water you deliver will help so much until the next rain. Try it! We think you will like the results.

And remember to give God thanks and Glory for He has given everything you need.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

2 Peter 1:3

Blog, Christams giving, Christmas, FAMILY, Grannies, granny-families, Uganda, widows & orphans

December 17, 2015July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Profile of a true HERO!

Granny Topirista has a huge family.

Maybe that’s why her smile is magnetic.

A lovely and not complaining woman.

Her mom stays in the bigger house next to her terrible shelter.

home for NINE ...no not the one that looks like a house but the lean-to on the right — home for NINE! …no, not the one that looks like a house , but the lean-to/shack on the right…

I asked why doesn’t she and the kids she cares for stay in there?

Alfred (our GM and Construction manager) understood the practical part but sometimes even the most practical solution can’t overcome culture.

She stays outside because once a daughter or son leaves the home of the parents they can’t go back.

There are exceptions but it looks like this is not one of the exceptions.

Mainly Topirista cares for the 5 children of her deceased son ranging from ages 8 to 15. In this culture some men (particularly the past generation) took more than one wife and the wives are called “co-wives”. Christianity is making some progress in helping the people of Uganda on this topic. Actually we may be surprised at such practices, but we shouldn’t let that deter us.

We can take a lot of lesson’s from the Ugandan ethics and practices we do not follow. It’s the poverty and existence of so many widow’s and orphans and the introduction of Hope of Jesus Christ we strive to promote.

In addition to the 5 children of her deceased son (Topirista had 9 children of her own!), Topirista cares for the 3 younger children of her deceased co-wife.

Topirista is another of our Hero’s!

To top it off, her mom is living and blind. A better sense of humor I have not seen and I’ve seen some good ones. In fact when we were introduced she said: “it’s good to see you” and she laughed and clarified saying: “I don’t really see you because I’m blind but I know you are there”. Topirista’s mom is 88, caring for two children of Topirista’s deceased brother, Moses.

For reasons you now know, Topirista will have her home be the first The Way Home construction team will build this coming 2016 as soon as possible, beginning January!

Thank you for joining in our journey.

We are thankful for your friendship, prayers, and ask if you can help, and encourage you to continue if you are already give, but if not please give what you can to support the expansion of the Kingdom through The Way Home, sending your gift payable to Every Child Ministries, memo note: The Way Home.

Address:

PO BOX 810

Hebron, Indiana

46341

or electronically via our website donation page: http://thewayhomeafrica.com/make-impact/

A monthly gift would help very well.

Merry Christmas!

Blog, FAMILY, Grannies, granny-families, Nasuti, Nasuti Uganda, Uganda, widows & orphans

June 3, 2015July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Gasping @ “Jesus Loves YOU”

Today is Monday, June 1.

It was time for a special time with our staff to talk about the transition from the close of the Gospel’s after Christ had died, rose from the dead (according to the various witnesses, including the report of Dr. Luke) and the beginning of the Church in Acts. Several men were on our compound and are temporarily working with a sub contractor. I’ve enjoyned speaking with them and admiring their work the past few days. None of them believe in Jesus as God or as Savior. They were kind of skeptical, at the suggestion Jesus is God, but were very interested at the testimony of Luke talking so confidently, just reporting what happened but in so doing expressing his own belief in it all. Because they are of another faith, with so many of their friends and family of the same faith around, there’s a lot of pressure to be skeptical of a Christians’ motives. One thing I wanted them to know was what I called an American proverb. I said: ” a person’s judgement is only as good as the information he has”. I told them “we will continue with Acts tomorrow to be picked up by Alfred and Simon when I leave in a week, but remember, whether you believe what the Bible says, or even want to come to a study like this tomorrow or any time, is a matter of free will. Your job is not at risk if you don’t come”. I told them “I examined the scripture for years myself, but after that, I believe it is all true, but you should decide for yourself. The meeting to hear scripture is only the sharing of good, and I believe very accurate, information”. We will see who shows up tomorrow!

We met with three more Granny’s to sign their home construction agreements (one a mother but a terrible situation she is in and an exception was made for her). One is Granny Fatina who with her 4 daughters, one son and three grandchildren all sleeping on the dirt floor together in a 9′ x 10′ feeble hut. Her eye had a thorn in it. It has been worked on by a Physician who knew what to do, thanks to our nurse, Asaph, who took care of her needs. In the process of signing an agreement we talked of a number of points but when I told her “Jesus loves you very very much” she gasped and cried very quickly, caught herself and gained her composure, trying to conceal her emotion. She also is of another faith but something special happened just then. Fatina accepted our Granny Coordinator, Simons’ invitation to join the Granny Group meeting very close to her for the group Bible study Simon leads. Please pray for Fatima and the children in her family.

Our new guard dogs (well…”guard-puppies” so far!) are lodged in our guest house courtyard to allow them to be nurtured and grow. A very nice environment to raise them to a bigger size. The staff love them although generally Ugandans cannot really love dogs. But these dogs are here as “guards that do not take bribes”. As such they protect and cannot be corrupted according to one of our guards. Hope so. Already I’m looking forward to seeing how much Ricky and Lucy will have grown when I return again to Uganda in August, God willing.

God bless, Russ

Blog, Discipleship Center, FAMILY, granny-families, Nasuti Uganda, The Way Home Discipleship Village, Uganda, widows & orphans

May 28, 2015July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Truth going forth!

Praise the LORD for what He has done ~ and will do…

Pastor's training Center classroom! — Pastor’s training Center classroom frame !

Alfred’s contracted with a man having experience to put a proper grass roof on TWH. That looks to be so! Alfred built a foundation with bricks and cement that is very strong and this roofing contractor is doing his part to put the stick built trussing structure up to support grass roofing material. When the poles are all up and in place grass is put on in bundles, layered and secured. I hope the end product looks so good. But by the quality of the rafters the grass will probably be good too! Now, where does he get the grass? He travels by taxi from Nasuti about 5 hours to the shores of lake Victoria, then by boat to an Island where the grass is growing. He hires local men to cut it, and bundle it, and stack it. They don’t have termites there. We do, so we need to spray our grass as it waits to go up and finally again when it gets to the roof. After the cutting on the island, they heap it on one or more boats (it’s going to take a lot!) and the boat travels over pretty dangerous waters (a storm can kick up any time like one of the great lakes of Michigan). When it arrives they load it onto a truck then to its home in Nasuti. We’re hoping all the grass we need arrives soon as the rafters may be done next week.

The Latrine too is nearly done, a four stall beauty with a real septic system hand dug and hand mixed and poured concrete made right there. With the 4 pit latrine style toilets there are two baths for bathing and changing. What luxury we will make available to our Pastors!

Again, you all, thank you for your generous praying, and your generous giving and praise the Lord over and over for what He has done. We look to what He will do as well!

I meet our teacher, Daniel Isabirye Friday, to talk about things I need to know to facilitate a Pastor Bible Training Program. Marcia and I are so thankful it will be run by Pastor Terry Nester (our missionary Pastor from our church in Jinja) and taught by Pastor Daniel and probably a few others along the way. Pray for men on our staff and those others God has to come, that they will come and be faithful to work diligently and persevere to transform, and become the Shepard of their community God calls them to be.

We’ve signed agreements Monday with two Grannies to receive 3 room homes and latrines.

They are Beatrice (having 4 grandchildren ages 2 1/2 to 14)

and Elizabeth (having with her two grandchildren ages 8 and 10).

Yesterday we approved two more after the interviews. Fatina lives in the smallest straw and broken brick home (9 x 10) with four daughters and her son PLUS her 3 grandchildren (ages 9, 6, and 3). She has a thorn stuck in her eye.

We will get her to an eye doctor and hopefully get her agreement signed next week and start her home and latrine very soon. Please pray for God to be their Husband and their God.

Thanks and talk to you soon!

Russ

Blog, Discipleship Center, granny-families, Missionaries, Nasuti Uganda, Servants serving, Uganda

March 4, 2015July 24, 2022 Baugh Family

Barnstorming with Fred in Nasuti

BARNSTORMING

Fred writes: Yesterday we attended church at Acacia Community Church in Jinja, an open-air thatched roof church both reaching out to Ugandans and providing a place to worship for mzungu missionaries. And led by a pastor from West Virginia no less – “Can I get an amen!!” We then ate lunch at a little place called The Haven on the Nile river. Last night I had the privilege of executing our first African rat. Sucker was eating our bananas.

Today it was back on the bodas for a barnstorming run to 20 granny homes. We have only three left which we will get to tomorrow morning. One of the highlights was visiting a home where they had spent the very first night in their new home last night. They were walking on air. We went inside with the family and prayed a blessing on the home and that all who live there would know Jesus and look forward to the day when we all have a permanent home with Him. We also visited a home with a shrine behind it where the clan keeps their demons -not just any demons mind you, specialty demons. They give them a little house out back so they can call on them when they need them. Handy, I suppose. The granny there is a Christian but not all of her clan has followed in her footsteps, hence the continued presence of the shrine. Pray for them to see the Light and turn from their old ways.

I have a lot of time to think as I’m riding down the back roads and trails and today I was captured by thoughts about the masses of people I have seen, even out here in the bush. Walking, riding bikes, standing around in the trading centers, carrying jerrycans of water, pushing old bicycles laden with everything from huge bunches of bananas to massive bags of charcoal for their cook stoves, walking to and from school, laying around on their lawns with their babies (it was a scorcher today). I wondered how many of them have heard of Jesus. I couldn’t escape the question, ” If no one tells them, how will they know?” There are so many great things going on here and yet so much still to do and so many lost who need to be found.

Tomorrow we’ll catch up with the last three grannies and then observe an “interview” with a prospective granny home recipient.