Divine Appointments

By Mike Warneke

With this being only my eighth trip to Uganda I know that I still have so much to learn about the culture, the people, and the partner schools that we are serving. On each trip I try to make sure that we have a game plan for our teams, but I also like to make sure that I am leaving some room to be ready for the unexpected, and the miraculous to take place. Today was one of those days where our team had the opportunity to be present for a new beginning for some of our new friends from Masaka.

A few months ago, an acquaintance in the U.S. encouraged me to reach out to a young man by the name of Paius in Masaka, Uganda. It wasn’t much effort to connect to him via Facebook, and we have discussed our respective work for the past few months. It was great to see the good work that they are doing this past week, using the sport of soccer as a tool to encourage and inspire the young children of Masaka that have fallen on hard times. What is even more amazing is what has transpired since our meeting one week ago to the day.

We are so blessed to be working with amazing partner schools in the Central and Northern regions whom truly have a heart for the orphaned and vulnerable child. One of the schools is Wakiso Children’s School of Hope, also known as Africa Greater Life. This school has blessed our organization with three boarding scholarships for children in deep need of an education; and today, we were able to fill those waiting scholarships with three very talented and special boys from Masaka, Paul, Paul and Fahad. It was such a joy to see this new beginning taking place. This is a fresh start for these boys that have lived very difficult lives, some of whom have never had the blessing of a formal education. I am excited to visit these new friends at Wakiso during our upcoming trips to see how they are doing, and to better learn about their dreams for their future.

Our time with Paul, Paul and Fahad was not on our agenda for this trip, but I am so grateful that we left a little room open for this fresh start to take place. Life is full of opportunities that we so often walk past, daydream through, or simply ignore. I am beyond grateful for the divine circumstances that have allowed these three young men a new chance at a promising future. Slow down today and leave a little room for the miraculous, you never know just what you may have the opportunity to experience.

If you are an individual who prays, please lift up these three young men as they create a new home in Wakiso and adjust to their new surroundings. And perhaps one day you will have the honor and privilege to sit with these young men and dream together about their promising new future.

Mike Warneke, Executive Director