ADOPTION for KEEPS!

 

A permanent commitment of LOVE…

no matter where the road may lead…

Have you ever thought about how much peace & security you have in knowing that God’s adoption of YOU into His family, is permanent? 

“Adoption” is one of God’s most powerful words…it describes God’s love for mankind.

Jesus offer’s God’s love to us in a form we could understand…adoption.

Galatians 4:4-5 tells us that God’s primary purpose for sending Jesus into the world was to arrange for our adoption.“…God sent forth His Son…that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

and in John 1:12 ”But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name.”  

Jesus Himself said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18

He also said, “I go to prepare a place for you …and I will come again to receive you to myself; ( ‘to adopt you’ Rom 8:23) “that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3

A word we love to think of that’s a partial explanation of ‘Adoption’ is the word “permanency”. Christ will come to us, He will come again and He will receive us to Himself. A forever commitment.

We adopted our three boy’s Joseph, Dominick, and Samson with the concept of ‘permanency’ firmly in mind. When confronted with trials parent’s face raising children in this age, we reflect on the commitment of ‘permanency’. To each of His believer’s (us), Jesus makes the commitment of ‘permanency’. We constantly admire our Granny’s so much as we see their infinitely more serious trials they face than we, in raising their orphaned grand kids.We think of the thoughts must enter the minds of children whose biological parents are erased from their lives for whatever reason. “Who will take care of me”? “Does anyone love me”? “Where will I sleep, what will I eat, will I be safe”? what will happen to my sisters & brothers?

… Isn’t this the spiritual condition we face leading up to the moment of decision in choosing Christ as Savior?

Notice an amazing parallel of Christs’ saying He will permanently adopt and care for us, and someone stepping forward and saying “where I am, there you may be also” in answer to these most urgent questions of an orphaned child. Our Granny’s grandchildren can feel comfort and love, knowing that a future was planned for them that’s in their best interest. Their Granny’s love commitment is concrete evidence to them of God’s love and sovereignty in their lives. Our commitment to strengthen the Granny Families and show them the Way Home, is in honor of ‘family’ and of Christ, the true and permanent HOME & Father to every believer.

What an amazing God and FATHER we serve!

AFTER THE FALL!

 

Living in a third world country with it’s lack of infrastructure and conveniences is not always easy… add that fact to raising three young rough n tumble boys in that same 3rd world country!!

WHAT WE DID ON OUR EASTER BREAK:

Here is a little snippet of the personal side of our missionary life in Uganda recently with our 6 year old grand/son Sam after a traumatic fall from a ‘fort’ that he persisted on sleeping in: buckle your seat belt!

a day in the best Uganda has to offer
a day in the best Uganda has to offer
How to delete sound & light in a Kampala traffic jamb??
How to delete sound & light in a Kampala traffic jamb??

 

JOURNAL: WEDNESDAY 3/27 “NO ER’s in Uganda!” Now 18 hrs. later… from the dark and quiet of our hotel room where we camp out closely observing our little Sam with great anticipation of his full recovery in due time (10 days to 5 weeks) I recall how the day began much louder… At 3 a.m. this morning when we were jolted awake by an awful thud…then silence…then terrible moaning from our 6 year old Samson who had fallen 8 ft. head first to his tile bedroom floor…I am shaking and speechless…as the color is gone from his face and the swelling of his whole face competes with the rise of the bumps on the back and top of his skull…God is with us…never left our side…just as He promises! we calmly just do the next thing on our minds…and call our EMT/missionary friend answers his phone!!! he makes a house-call at 3:30 a.m!!) to evaluate…pupils are reactive..good sign…”if he were mine…I would get a scan to make sure there are no ‘bleeds’ …oh my….the moaning continues…he says..”Nana my brain hurts…make it stop!!…it’s getting too big!”…We call our nurse/missionary friend…no answer….we continue with ice packs..and the vomiting begins…every 5 min…then we reach our doctor who says get him to Kla asap…we need to do a brain scan…see if you can get some Prednisalone to reduce the swelling…we pack…we pray…Our “nurse/missionary/friend” answers and’ happens’ to have the meds to reduce swelling…we pick it from her at 6:45 on our way out of town for the 2 hr.trip to Kampala….traffic… vomiting…praying…now MY head is pounding with sympathy pain…wishing it could be me and not him…wishing I could teleport our van..our Sam ..to a 1st world ambulance and a first world ER…away from the bumper to bumper traffic jamb that was keeping us from our best 3rd world resources for our little Sam ..so totally dependent on our making the pain ‘go away’…texts go out to our BIG family near and far for prayer…as the prayers begin the peace comes…and the answers…SCAN IS CLEAR! No bleeds!!! 1st world resources…might give me more immediate peace…the peace that the world can give…but the transcendent peace that passes all understanding has been ours from the moment we were jolted awake to this day that God had made. 18 hours later we still have a very sick boy…but we have great promise for his full recovery and great proof of our God who will never leave or forsake us…who is with us always…wherEVER He has planted us for such a time as this…THANK YOU BIG family for the part you played in our 3/27 from your knees 🙂 We love you

March 29th: GOOD FRIDAY 6:45 a.m. after-the-fall I am awoken with this monologue from my sleeping buddy in the hotel…Sam : “Nana…it’s morning-time and God has answered our prayers!!! I am normal again!!!!!…God healed me! I can see light and hear sounds and it doesn’t make me throw up…I’m normal Nana…….can we go swimming today ??? ” then without waiting for an answer…he turned over and went soundly back to sleep 🙂

Praise The Lord…He can see the light! … WE CAN ALL SEE THE LIGHT …Praise the Lord who hears and answers our prayers 🙂

April 1st: NO APRIL FOOLING :  just arriving home to Jinja after our emergency exit to Kampala for Sam…He is doing SO well! Just before arriving home tonight he said “Nana & Papa…do you know what the great news is??” we said ..what is it Sam? He says “that I can SEE the Sun without a headache… God heard all of the prayers of our friends and healed ME!”

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.

Isaiah 65:24

 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

 

Pray-paring for ABUNDANCE!

ABUNDANCE!!! what a great problem to have in the village where food is scarce and lives hang in the balance every day.

This is the ‘problem’ we have in Luuka district where our widowed grannies have now been convinced that if they FARM & LIVE God’s Way He WILL provide abundantly beyond what they could hope or imagine…and they have the visible ‘fruit’ to prove his promise!

Preparing for Abundance
Storehouse additions!
Granny-family house addition
Granny-family house addition

SO WE PRAYpare for His abundant provision this growing season with our newly designed secure additions of STOREHOUSES to enable these granny-families to eat, pay for school fees, and even have an income from their abundant harvest provided by the Lord!

A WONDER TO BEHOLD…God’s faithful provision to HIS faithful widowed grannies who have taken on the responsibility to raise their orphaned grandchildren.  Glory to God!

 

gazing on Abundance!
Granny Katerine gazing on Abundance!

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’   Matthew 25:23

 

Do orphans celebrate birthdays??

 

Sadly enough…I have never met an orphan that knew when their actual  birthday was 🙁 …. but as a part of being  called to look after widows & orphans in their distress… we can each celebrate our OWN birthday in a way that significantly impacts the orphans that don’t!  Let me tell you how by sharing our story…

I thought of this yesterday as we celebrated our Joseph’s … 13th birthday!

Joseph is 13 at his 10th birthday celebration

Ten years ago, when Joseph became our fourth child, he was estimated to be 2.5 years old. So since no one knew when his actual birth date was… we chose a birth date that would align with that timing and gave him the reverse of  Russ’s birthday and month 11/9/99 (just in case, in our old age, our memory’s failed us :)).   So approximately 6 months after Joseph became our son, we celebrated his birthday for the very first time. We called it his 3rd  FIRST birthday… and it was sweet beyond words!!! He loved the packages that came so beautifully wrapped…but was perfectly pleased to just be getting a beautifully wrapped package…he had no idea that he was supposed to actually OPEN it!

Now…10 years later our lives have been blessed by having Joseph in our family…and even though he knows now,  that he’s supposed to open a gift when someone gives one to him…he is still abundantly grateful for it as he is with most things in life and especially in family… even 10 years later at 13…he  does not take life or family for granted!

When we were in the USA this past September,  one selfless little girl who had been so inspired by Walloon Lake Community Church’s VBS program where the kids raised enough money to build a whole house for a Granny and her Orphans in Uganda, that she decided to ‘dedicate’ her own birthday to the orphans.  She sent out invitations to all her friends but asked that instead of a gift, if they could bring a donation for the orphans of The Way Home project! All her friends came to celebrate with donations for orphans in Uganda…so while she celebrated in Mancelona Michigan…she made impact on orphans, who never celebrate their birthdays,  in Uganda…what a GIFT!!!

 You can be part of  “looking after orphans & widows” too with a birthday or any other creative way the spirit may move you to be part of impacting  those less fortunate on the opposite side of the globe!

Imagine the memorable gift that would be to you ?  A gift that keeps on giving…

Need some help getting the creative juices flowing??  browse our MAKE AN IMPACT  page for ideas

Be sure to keep in touch with TWH ministry to widows & orphans by clicking here for our  NEWSLETTTER

 

The Way Home Africa logo

YOUR VOTE MATTERS!

YOUR VOTE MATTERS!

  TAAAA DAAAAA!!!  We are very excited to share our joy in unveiling …

our new website WWW.THEWAYHOMEAFRICA.COM ;

share it with your friends and keep in touch by letting us know what you think…at info@thewayhomeafrica.com 

With God’s provision of an extremely patient and gifted missionary / webmaster from the Ukraine, Jason Wiser (http://webinationstation.com), our new user-friendly website and store to benefit destitute widows raising orphans deep in the village of eastern Uganda…is now LIVE and responsive on an internet connection near YOU!

 

Get involved and stay in the loop of all the latest news by subscribing to our updates too! 5 minute overview of just what The Way Home is all about:

 THE WAY HOME MINISTRY in REVIEW 2012

THE WAY HOME MINISTRY OVERVIEW 2012PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYER:

  • Our staff in Uganda has successfully kept the foundations building, the families thriving, and the futures developing for our 40 granny families and the surrounding village community while we were in the states
  • Even though the drought has been long & the rainy season late…our Granny Families Farming God’s Way gardens have produced testimony harvests to God’s Glory!
  • Pray for wisdom as we emphasize outreach through Farming God’s Way to the rapidly growing Muslim community in our Luuka district.
  • Please pray for our planning of our “adoption-God’s idea!” seminar to 100 pastors and their wives in early January

how do I get involved?

 “I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU AS ORPHANS;
I WILL COME TO YOU”…

John 14:18

The Way Home...click & give on purpose! Grateful & Blessed from YOUR FEET… keeping FAMILY together in Uganda!

       Russ & Marcia …Joseph, Dominick & Samson 🙂 

Walk through a Granny interview with US!

 20 Grannies raising 122 orphans
2012 INTERVIEWS
Will you join us in the village?

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 🙂

“Oh God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come;
Our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal HOME! ” 
Followed by jubilant dancing and expressions of thanks from young & old…and then by the most humbling ending …the widow’s mite -Luke 21:1-4
We have received various gifts at the conclusion of the interview: ground nuts (peanuts), beans, eggs, jack fruit…but the custom of most is to show their gratitude by giving us a chicken…however this Granny had NO chicken, or anything else to give us…so as we walk to the car to leave…she gives Russ a big hug as she quietly stuffs a 10,000 shilling note (approximately  $4.00) into his hand to buy a chicken!!!To receive this fortune from this destitute Granny was excruciatingly humbling…but to not take it would’ve been the ultimate insult and cultural fop-aux.With a lump in our throats and a humbled understanding of the widow who gave the Lord her two mites, we press on to the next Granny family…
Granny Lakeri
Granny Tapenensi
Granny Louisa

YOU CALL IT CORN… WE CALL IT MAIZE!

 

WHAT YOU SOW YOU WILL REAP!

 

We are back in Uganda and as we move forward we think of the many of you we know so well. In many cases as we grew in maturity together over the past years, didn’t we increasingly understand it is God’s Word that’s the ultimate authority for the truths we live by and that turning to His Word brings the revelation and enlightenment that loosens, removes and breaks the yoke of spiritual poverty? For villagers in the part of Uganda God has us, enormous strongholds of witchcraft and ancestral worship and the active witch doctors are found in enormous numbers along with the advancement of Islam. People consult them in nearly all critical stages of life including birth, sickness, adolescence, circumcision, weddings and funerals. Witchdoctors and Imam’s are brought in to pray over land and the harvest. Many consult witchdoctors and here they perform rituals including sacrificing chickens, sprinkling of animal blood, spreading bones, placing potions and putting of animal skulls on corner posts. These efforts seek to bring temporary relief until the next crisis arises. These efforts feed the African state of hopelessness, poverty and spiritual bankruptcy. No technology will break the curse of poverty over Africa. But the curse can be broken both by His Word and deed applied to the life of one in need of Him!
For Annet and Florence, the good news of God’s solutions to life in spiritual and physical poverty was told at our first Farming God’s Way (FGW) conference. Along with the Technical and Management teaching of Farming God’s Way we taught most of the two day conference on the FGW Biblical Keys. They are:
1) Acknowledge God and God alone. Prov. 3:5-6; Dt. 8:18.
2) Consider your ways. Haiggai 1:2-11 It’s God who withholds rain and curses land and as it was for Israel, it is for anyone who turns their backs to the Lord in rebellion. We may not alone change a nation, but each can consider our ways and influence others change his ways. 1 Peter 2:5.
3) Understanding God’s All Sufficiency. 1 Corinthinans 9:8.
4) What you Sow You Will Reap. Too often there and here the poor look to the wrong source. Others become the provider in place of God. 2 Thess. 3:10 (Land becomes fallow because we cannot keep taking without giving back). FGW teaches to sow bountifully, knowledgeably, faithfully and with joy!
5) Bringing the Tithes and Offerings to God. Mt. 6:20-21.
6) Stake Your Claim. Humbly seek His Face, Confess and Repent, Ask in Prayer and Stand Firm. James 5:14; Prov. 15:29; 2 Chronicles 7:14.
These Biblical Keys are followed and supported in teaching the Technical and Management legs of the FGW system of agriculture that can increase the farm produce production by 3 to 10 times the traditional farming methods…
ALL PRAISES TO GOD OUR PROVIDER !!

SEE YOU SOON ?

 ARRIVALS

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3: 5-6

When you hear that their are 143,000,000 orphans in the world and that shoulder to shoulder they reach around the globe two and a half times…. what comes to your mind? Here in Sub-Saharan Africa live a great percentage of those orphans, increasing the population by one orphaned child every 15 seconds!!! This is the tragically victimized and most vulnerable people whom God loves and has clearly commissioned each of us to be blessed by “looking after” in James 1:27. A few are called to Uganda to obey that command…but all of us, as a child adopted into God’s family, may do something really good to join in caring for this most vulnerable group of God’s littlest people…a life-changing challenge He has issued, coupled with responsibility, privilege and blessing!

 

ARRIVING in the USA August 2-October 27
 

The Way Home’s foundation has been providentially rooted in one of the poorest areas of east Uganda having the highest AIDS statistics and Muslim population. God has been cutting an amazing trail here that is empowering these orphans and their grannies to survive and thrive not by traditional practices but by dependence on God’s provision and learning more of living according to His principles. We are coming to the States to update and encourage you with the incredible journey to date and bless you with a peek at the potential. The Gospel of Salvation and of Kingdom living brought to them through Word and Deed is changing lives before our very eyes!

WE WOULD LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE, WITH OUR TEAM THERE AND ANY WHO WOULD LIKE TO HEAR WHAT GOD IS DOING THROUGH THE THE WAY HOMEIN THE LIVES OF ORPHANS AND WIDOWS HERE IN UGANDA. Summer is not over yet and we will be there soon…

PLEASE CONTACT US TO SCHEDULE A TIME TO SHARE OR SPEAKmailto:BAUGHSINAFRICA@YAHOO.COM

With Granny Annet’s thumbprint she secures a home for her 6 orphaned grandchildren’s future

TRANSFORMATIONAL FOUNDATIONS

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:
By Word and Deed, THE WAY HOME seeks to
advocate for the physical, emotional and spiritual
needs of abandoned and at-risk children in Uganda,
to grow up in a loving family and know the love of Jesus.

 

 


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!

We remain merely the PHYSICAL FEET sent to SHOW THE SPIRITUAL WAY HOME… THE STRONG FOUNDATION…ONE FOUNDATIONAL BRICK AT A TIME…

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.

Granny Florence is number ONE!!!

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!!!

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Do you have questions?
Call or visit us.

1 (231) 735-7441
Every Child Ministries
c/o The Way Home
P.O. Box 810
Hebron, IN 46341