BACKGROUND
Eric's comments: I went on a church short-term mission trip to Uganda during September 2003. While in Uganda I
met Pastor Alfred Adundo, Pastor of the Nile Baptist Church in the city Jinja, who hosted a conference attended by about
150 Ugandan Pastors. Pastor Alfred is seminary trained and a very dedicated servant of God. I was impressed with Pastor
Alfred and his son Stephen, who was involved in youth work at Nile Baptist. After sending a Christmas greeting to Pastor
Alfred he responded with a request to support his son at boarding school. In early 2005, I wired money to establish Stephen
in boarding school. See accountability receipts and letter of thanks from Stephen. On 2/10/06, I wired Pastor Alfred $460
to be used in the following way: $400 for Stephen's schooling, $50 to be used to start a kids AWANA program and $10 for
Alfred and his wife to use for a special occasion. Interestingly, the next Sunday I was told the AWANA program in Uganda
required $50 for start-up money and then $20 per month to support up to 120 children. My Church's AWANA program plans to
support this new Ugandan ministry with donations from the our kids. I have found Pastor Alfred to be reliable and
accountable in the use of money provided.
The Joy class of Liberty Baptist Church has been supporting 25 children at $15 per month per child. When on tour of Nile Baptist Church, I noted careful records in a folder for each child in addition to a bulletin board listing all the children. Health records were maintained on each child and I noted many had malaria. Each child is housed with a close relative as many are orphans. The children are taught the Bible (gospel) and skills such as sewing and basket weaving. Pastor Alfred has now expanded this very effective ministry.
MACEDONIAN CHILD OUTREACH PROJECT (MCOP)
Pastor Alfred comments "the Lord saved me at a young age and I was brought up by the Church. In the same way I believe in reaching children holistically for development. We will use the little resources entrusted to us by God for raising up suffering orphans and disadvantaged children......We have a vision to begin a home for needy children and a church for poor families in the eastern part of Jinja... In that area we visited homes during house to house evangelism and found that 75% of the grade school children had no opportunity for formal education."
From this experience, Pastor Alfred has established the MCOP. (The word Macedonian is mentioned in Acts 16:9: "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing beseeching him and saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.'") Pastor Alfred has asked me to serve as one of the seven Directors for the MCOP. Pastor Alfred commented "most board members are from Baptist background but some are born again but not Baptists. We promise to be faithful, responsible, accountable and trusting God as saved stewards of Christ. ' But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion... pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers..' Matt 9:36-38."
Each child in MCOP will have a file to include photograph, spiritual growth record, education record, medical record and home / family info. For $180 per year you can provide for a child: school uniform, school fees, scholastic material, one meal every day, basic medical expenses and upkeep of staff. In case of orphans the child will be placed in a home of a near relative. The Municipal Council has provided four acres of land for the Development Center. See Certificate of Registration and MCOP constitution. Presently the majority of children needing support are extremely poor and not even attending elementary school (grades 1-6). Basically the children don't own much more than their names.
HOW TO SUPPORT A CHILD
A high percentage of Americans think more should be done for the people of Africa but a very low percentage are actually making a direct individual contribution. Providing a Christian education for a child would be a worthy investment with funds benefiting a child with minimum overhead cost. A SMALL INVESTMENT IN DOLLARS WILL PROVIDE A TREMENDOUS BENEFIT TO A CHILD IN UGANDA. Years ago, when I was in the US Army (1964), I heard a radio advertisement from a Christian organization and decided to support a needy child I was assigned a child from Austria named Hans. For years I send in support and even a birthday gift at times which was very much appreciated. We exchanged letters. In the early 1970's, I was notified that the Austrian government no longer needed outside assistance. Uganda has suffered from the brutal dictatorship of Idi Amin, AIDS, other diseases, unhealthy water, and poverty. But Winston Churchill named Uganda the Pearl of Africa. Someday the country will again prosper and the opportunity to help a child will close. Now is the time to make an investment in a child's life.
Norman Clinical Laboratory, Inc. (NCL) will provide the channel for you to support a child. You may send a check to NCL for $180 to cover the child's expense for one year. When we receive your check or visa / MC credit card (number. and expiration date), we will send you a receipt, a picture of the child including name and best estimate of a birthday (many children are orphans), and an e-mail address where you can contact your child through an MCOP staff member. We will also mail you a video concerning the child's community when available. When NCL receives donations, we will wire the money to Pastor Alfred. You will be the child's sponsor from the time you receive the child's picture and e-mail address. Alternatively, if you would like to deal with Pastor Alfred directly, let us know and we will forward your e-mail to him.
NCL will be providing this service for no fee and will pay for postage and processing as a ministry. We do not have IRS non profit status. As previously noted, I have found Pastor Alfred very cooperative and extremely appreciative of support. US missionaries George and Geraldine Smith now serving in Uganda have agreed to provide additional accountability insuring wired money reaches Pastor Alfred and each sponsored child is enrolled in the program. Below please note pictures of Pastor Alfred, board members, the Smiths and some of the children needing sponsorship. "In all things I have shown you that by toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said. 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'". Acts 20:35. To God be the Glory.
Prayerfully submitted,
Eric J. Norman, Ph.D.
Note added: Pastor Alfred used the word 'saved'. What does this mean? It means entering into a permanent personal relationship with the Creator and Savoir, the Lord Jesus Christ. Steps to obtained this 'saved' relationship can be obtained using the following scriptures commonly called the 'Roman Road' :
1. Romans 3:23: ..all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
2. Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. Romans 5:8: But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
4. Romans 2:4: ..do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
5. Romans 10:9,10: because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10. For man believes with his heart and so is justified and confess with his lips and so is saved.
6. Romans 10:13: For, "every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
7. If at this time you want to pray a sincere prayer of salvation you can use a sample one provide in the booklet 'Have you heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?': "Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savoir and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be." If you sincerely read the scriptures and prayed this prayer, congratulations! You have just made the most important decision in your life. Send us a note and we will mail you some additional information to help you grow as a Christian. Become a member of a Christ honoring Bible believing church. God has many 'good works' for you to do. Ephesians 2:8 -10.
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