Who hasn’t had dreams while growing? No one, I included. I had dreams that I could be a lot of things. I gave myself many talents that God didn’t give me. I did so because I had love for these talents. I wanted to become and know these things either by hook or crook. I wanted to be a dancer, I wanted to know how to play many musical instruments and I also wanted to become a lot of things basing on what I was studying. But we don’t normally become what we want, God keeps pushing us towards what he has planned for our lives. We just have to be patient and willing to trust and obey.
I was in last class of the high school level and wrote my final papers in November that year, the year was 2016. When you get done with high school, you would then have a full year on holiday before joining university. During this period, you would be doing nothing. Most students would end up going out, sleeping and doing all sorts of things. While they did this, I was home looking for a purpose in my life. I needed to do something. I joined a musical group at church and spent most of my time there. I spent a few months there and left because I had gotten a job and thought this would be a great way of supporting mom at home. It was a job of selling clothes in a boutique. I would be paid Ugsh 60,000 (17 dollars) a month. This was my first job out of school. I was excited that I would be helping mom. I would go to work at 7am and come back at 6pm. From Monday to Saturday, and I would then go to church on Sunday and spend the rest of the day at home.
God Connects People
One Sunday, a lady approached me at home and wanted me help her kids with maths coaching. She must have heard from the kids that I was good at that. That was something that would add more meaning to my life. I told her I would do that on Sundays because I spent most of the week days at work. She wanted to pay me money but I told her not to, God took me to school and he paid for my school fees and this might be my way of paying him. I told her I would do it out of goodwill. Anything she gives me would be as an appreciation, not a payment. I started with the two kids the following day. They went to good schools and were from a good family. Two boys and a girl. I took my volunteering very serious. I used to go at their place and would do the classes at their veranda which was behind the house. Kids would see us there; not knowing what we were up to. When you called them, they would run away because of being shy. It was after some days when three girls came and approached us and said they would also want to learn. I asked them to get books and join us the next Sunday. The class of three would then turn to six students.They came without books because their parents couldn’t afford them. I went and got papers out of the books I used at school and gave them to the kids who I later learnt that they were not going to school at all. I went and asked mom to allow us to conduct our classes at home. We got a plywood, smeared it with black which acted us our blackboard. We would do work and then mark it all together. One kid gives their book to the other and we did corrections as they marked. When I got my first pay at work, I gave it to mom, but asked her to buy us some books and pencils to help our class. I went and told the lady about it- that some other kids would join us. She gave me 20,000ughs (approximateley 5 dollars) and she was very happy. I used that money to buy maize flour and sugar for the kids. I had realized that the three girls come for classes, minus eating. There is no way they would understand a lot without eating. We started preparing porridge at home using mom’s saucepans and cups. We would do some maths as we wait for the porridge. I loved what God did, got connected to what I was doing . I had a purpose for my life. They reminded me of the hurdles we had gone through and knew what they were going through. The three girls looked miserable because they didn’t afford school. I quit my job and gave more time to these kids. Sometimes mom would give them food. When the village kids heard about this program, more of them joined, they didn’t come for the lessons, they came because they wanted to have that cup of porridge. Most of their families could live on a single meal per day, which was not enough sometimes . The advantage of a cup of porridge would make sense. This connected me so much to these kids. Their lives were just like mine. We shared the same stories which connected us more.
Felt Compelled
In 2017, I went back to the musical group because my American mom had visited and I had promised to take her there. She came along with her son (Reece), Teresa and her daughter Arianna. I took them there to hear about the youth and see the African music. It was later when they had gone back to the states when I realized that Teresa had taken interest in two of the kids who had performed for them. In the midst of her loving the music, she must have felt compelled. For God’s love compels us into loving his creation.
She had taken their photos and sent them to me asking how she would help them with their education. I didn’t plan this. She wanted to help but asked that she would like to help through me. Was this what God had planned for me, I didn’t know. I actually didn’t know how to do this. Someone was trusting me with an important part of children’s lives. Trust is something we win. It isn’t something someone just throws at you. Teresa was trusting me just after meeting me on one trip. Teresa asked how much she could pay me for doing this? I would be very selfish if I asked for a pay for doing God’s job. Who does that anyway? I had to accept God’s calling into my life. Teresa didn’t just help these two kids. Teresa was brought to Uganda by my American mom, to give me a purpose for my life. It was all blurry and not adding up but it was clear that God was calling me for ministry. I was just out of school and very green about many things and instead of doing a lot, I was called to go and do ministry. It was just like I was going to go to school, pay fees and move out with my other life, but that wasn’t it. I was called to get into the life of another child. Blend with them, know them for God and learn to deal with things that are handed to me, but not mine. Even when you’re personally lacking, don’t use what is not yours. God is faithful enough to know what you need in your life and he always provides. Sometimes he just puts us to the test and see how far we can trust him even when we are lacking.
I personally had to go back to our maths project with the kids in my community. The number had grown up. The kids of the lady who had hired me took the kids to a boarding school and they got out of the project. I remained with the three kids and the kids that had joined because of a cup of porridge . The number became high and home became a small place for us. We could go in the neighborhood but we could always be sent away by the owners of the place. We could then go to the play ground and left when the soccer teams came in. At this time, what we did was becoming monotonous and hence boring . Some of the kids didn’t see purpose in this and started breaking up. We did maths but we didn’t have a purpose for doing it. I needed something with a purpose in these kids lives . Something that would make them forget about their life at home. Something that would explain life to them. One day I told them that we would do praise and worship in the next session. They didn’t enjoy that because they knew less about it. I then went and got a speaker in the neighborhood and played circular music for them . They were very happy, they danced until they were all sweating. I saw happiness in their faces, joy and a signal that despite all the challenges , there are things to be grateful for. I told them we would have a dance competition and we would be in groups. The winning group would get a prize. I asked them to have a week off and prepare. I had promised them a cake, which I lied. The competitions were very good and the kids enjoyed them. We didn’t have the cake but we prepared food for the kids. We invited all the other kids in the village and it was like a party for them. When I went back home after a day long with the kids; I started thinking so much about what could be next. We did the dancing but this didn’t have a purpose. We loved it but it didn’t make sense to me. That’s when an idea came in. I thought these kids would be taught music , their talents would be discovered and this would give a purpose in their lives. This would be something that speaks to them and their lives. We then started the music project in the next lessons . Our first instruments were Mom’s jerrycans and buckets. The kids would come in front and gave in any dance moves any of them knew. Those that knew how to sing would come and sing. There was love in what they did. I saw most of them participating. We needed something more organized . I went and talked to a friend and asked if he can come and help me with teaching the kids. He said he would always come as long as he’s available. We would start with singing, telling stories, and using music to bring hope to the kids in the slums using our talents. We would go, stand in the center and start dancing . Many people would come to look at what we were doing . Sometimes we would do community cleaning after dancing. There was talent in the slums but it was only unnoticed. When you are born in the slums, you are born to stay there , to study there, marry there and die there. They need someone to lead them out of there and give them hope that there are many other things to do and hope for. Many of these kids became more and more interested in the project. When it was time to go to school, I could buy books and give to those that could go to school and stayed with those who couldn’t afford school. This became so hard for me. Looking at these kids missing school like I did back then. I thought I needed to do something, I needed them to go to school.
I Asked God….
When Teresa came in and asked me to help with the children . I asked God what he wanted me to do with this life he was bringing ahead of me. I sat with many of my friends and as they were sharing life, my mind was off to what I was going into and what I was going to do. I started connecting all the dots, of my dreams and what I wanted to be. With music, dancing and a lot that I couldn’t be.
God Communicates
God was communicating a lot to me at that point. God was telling me something I wasn’t understanding. To me, this is what God was communicating: *Son, I cannot make you one or all of the things you want to become but I am going to make a whole new desire for your life. I am not making you a dancer, but I am going to see many great dancers from you. I won’t make you have beautiful singing voices, but wonderful singers are going to come from you. You won’t be a great artist, but many artists are going to come from you. For the engineer you wanted to be, many engineers are going to come from you. The doctors, teachers and all of these people will come from you. I am going to make you nothing professionally, to make many professions. There are things you’re going to lack, but many will get them from you. *
What hasn’t he done? God has made a lot from me being totally nothing. He has reminded me of the fact that we cannot really be the things we want, but only the things he desires for our hearts. I always remind the children about this Scripture:
PSALMS 139: 14-18
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them they would outnumber the grains of sand – when I awake, I am still with you.
Be The First To Believe Someone Else’s Dream
I shared this music project with Teresa who was the first person to believe in this dream. Sometimes it only takes a single person to believe in your dream and support you in doing God’s work. Her belief in this, I realized how many at-risk kids we would bring closer to God and help them redefine their life through music. The community we operate in, is a slum . The slum is densely populated. Before I met Teresa, I didn’t have what it takes. I even stopped collecting the kids or doing anything with them . I saw it as something that I couldn’t do because I needed to go work and get money to help at home. Teresa’s interest in the two kids made me think about the many kids in the community i grew up from. I told myself that I would share it with Teresa and ask if she could help find funds to help more kids go to school. I love the generosity of this woman and her family. She did all she could and got all she could get. I always sat down and talked to God: We are going to be so faithful with the little you provide everyday and we shall do all it takes to do more with it.
When we started the music group , I looked at all these statistics and it gave a meaning to my life. Teresa started helping more than the two kids she had. She did this by finding sponsors to help them. The number of sponsorship kids started increasing. This was time to always find joy in the Lord. To hope that he is always up to something. God talked to me through the Roman 5:2 ‘We rejoice in hope of the glory of the Lord.’ We only did music to glorify the Lord, to rejoice in him and to always hope in him. And to always trust in him. This birthed the name JOYFUL HEARTS OF HOPE. This name was only saying , ‘Hey, we might be going through a lot but our hearts are joyful because our hope is in the Lord.’ Our main focus became to bring life and hope to at-risk child, those that have been abandoned and vulnerable in the society. Our journey of humble beginning since then is almost unbelievable. I shared the dream with Simon and some of my friends, we had joined with the other musical group. I told them to come and make a purpose for their lives. These children needed them and they came and gave in all they knew. We continue to grow as a family, physically , numerically and spiritually. We now have over 15 kids in primary and 6 kids in secondary school. This has been brought about through the generosity of Teresa who has committed to helping these kids. Our ambition to educate programs through music has helped fight hopelessness in the lives of many kids. Education is the most difficult necessity in Uganda and yet the most needed by a child growing up. Many children are orphans or with single mothers who cannot educate them. Education is not only a vital aspect in Uganda, but also the whole world. It’s the key to a better future or breaking the poverty circle. I cannot break it but these children can, if educated. And education goes beyond the walls of the classes. It teaches children love, discipline, respect and service. It’s a a weapon against poverty and a life of misery.
Joyful Hearts of Hope
Joyful Hearts of Hope has enabled these kid’s to move from one place to another . From churches , schools , hospitals, as they share their stories for hope and healing. This has inspired and changed the lives of so many people and kids. They have shared with the hurting and hopeless. They have put a smile on the sorrowful faces. Churches have given love offerings which has helped to run the project. Teresa has continued to help these kids with fees. Sometimes it must be overwhelming for her and sometimes people lack. But being obedient to God’s calling over our lives, even when it isn’t comfortable for us is the true purpose for our life for Jesus. The desire to become something I couldn’t, and the love for helping someone with fees by someone who paid tickets and spent money to stay in Uganda for few days gave birth to a big thing that we cannot contain as individuals. Whenever things get out of hand and I cannot hold it anymore, I look up to the Lord and tell him, “God, I am only here to serve you. “
One Prayer Can Change Your View
This one statement has made me look at things and do more. Through small messages on Facebook, back and forth with Teresa; a whole big thing has brought God’s people together. He is making many labors for the harvest that is plenty.
Putting Aside Youthful Pride
We have set our minds and prayers on a lot of programs we wish to do in the near future and the kids and youth are putting aside their youthful pride while serving the Lord through music. We want to reach as many kids as possible. As we continue to grow so as to increase our reach and impact on the community in the slums, the family continues to have better plans on how to support the community more. We have our sight set on further growth and consolidation of our own operation as well as the sustainable development of the community we serve. This includes plans to introduce vocational and skills training for teenage mothers and vulnerable women in the community. We plan to play musical instruments in a small center we want to have in the slum to engage more and more kids in the community and help them redefine their lives and find a purpose. We also plan to reach as many slums as possible to share, connect and serve them through music. As the family grows, we pray to God for a long term goals that will help give life and hope to the many at risk children in Uganda and the world at large . We do not want this to be a place of sympathy but one that celebrates the love of God and His grace for our lives. We don’t need to look at the sad side of this life. We have got joy in his Love. How about we all have that perspective? A little smile for a child will make them see the world as a beautiful place to live in .
