Sweetest Sixteen {Uganda}
Donation protected
Uganda has been a part of my life for over 5 years, when my family began the adoption process in hopes of bringing home a little boy & girl, & at the time all that really mattered to me was finally having a little sister.
In August of 2012 I traveled to Uganda for the first time. It didn't take long before I knew that my life was changed forever. I was naive and had no idea what the next few years would bring, but I knew I'd never be the same again.
When I started this campaign to raise money for Sonrise on my birthday (the 11th), I was *hoping* maybe I'd be able to make it to my goal of $1600 by the 27th of November, but God had other plans. I said yes & He said "Now watch this". He came through in ways I can barely comprehend, & not only did I reach my goal, but I reached it in EIGHT DAYS! That's right, HALF of my initial campaign length.
Now my goal for this campaign is changing a little, but to really explain it, I'll need to jump back a few years again.
Five or six years ago, somewhere around the same time we started the adoption process, though it could've been even before then, I was incredibly inspired by a girl named Emma. At the time she was around the same age that I am now, and her + her family were helping kids in Uganda. And she had decided years ago that she wanted to move to Uganda to help orphans.
For years before I ever went to Uganda the first time, I followed along with her story, I looked up to her in so many ways, she was without a doubt my role model.
I met Emma in person for the first time in May of 2012, when my parents, younger brother, & I flew to Phoenix to meet her & family to talk about working in Uganda. I was going to Uganda in a few months, so we talked about her past trips & everything I had to look forward to.
Emma moved to Uganda at the beginning of 2013, & we met up & spent the day together that summer. We talked about what day-to-day life looked like in Uganda, I got to meet one of the little boys they had helped through medical sponsorship, & got to hear some of her dreams for the future. One of those dreams that I heard a little snippet of that day, was a home for special needs children.
In July of 2014, Emma opened The Gem Foundation, a home for orphaned & abandoned children with special needs. In Uganda, special needs children are looked down upon, they're seen as cursed & treated as outcasts, but these children are as precious as gems (get it yet?) in the eyes of God. On the day they opened, they already had 11 little boys, & have since welcomed another 20 or so precious children into their home. And that means The Gem Foundation is at capacity, they can't take any more kids.
A few days ago, at the same time i was getting a ton of donations on this page, Emma announced that they had found land to purchase for the Gems, so that they can realize their dream of building a village with homes & a school & not have to turn away any more children. I read her post & in that moment, I promised God that if I reached my goal before the end of my campaign, whatever I raised over $1600 would go to help the Gem Foundation buy land.
God was so faithful, & he provided the entire $1600 in eight days, so I'm setting my goal another $1600, which will buy almost an entire acre of land for the Gem Foundation.
I know it sounds like a lot, especially in 8 days, but I know if God can do it once, He can certainly do it again! I can hardly believe I'm so blessed to be able to do my best to help not one, but two ministries that I have a close connection with.
So here we go again, would you please help me reach my next goal?
In August of 2012 I traveled to Uganda for the first time. It didn't take long before I knew that my life was changed forever. I was naive and had no idea what the next few years would bring, but I knew I'd never be the same again.
When I started this campaign to raise money for Sonrise on my birthday (the 11th), I was *hoping* maybe I'd be able to make it to my goal of $1600 by the 27th of November, but God had other plans. I said yes & He said "Now watch this". He came through in ways I can barely comprehend, & not only did I reach my goal, but I reached it in EIGHT DAYS! That's right, HALF of my initial campaign length.
Now my goal for this campaign is changing a little, but to really explain it, I'll need to jump back a few years again.
Five or six years ago, somewhere around the same time we started the adoption process, though it could've been even before then, I was incredibly inspired by a girl named Emma. At the time she was around the same age that I am now, and her + her family were helping kids in Uganda. And she had decided years ago that she wanted to move to Uganda to help orphans.
For years before I ever went to Uganda the first time, I followed along with her story, I looked up to her in so many ways, she was without a doubt my role model.
I met Emma in person for the first time in May of 2012, when my parents, younger brother, & I flew to Phoenix to meet her & family to talk about working in Uganda. I was going to Uganda in a few months, so we talked about her past trips & everything I had to look forward to.
Emma moved to Uganda at the beginning of 2013, & we met up & spent the day together that summer. We talked about what day-to-day life looked like in Uganda, I got to meet one of the little boys they had helped through medical sponsorship, & got to hear some of her dreams for the future. One of those dreams that I heard a little snippet of that day, was a home for special needs children.
In July of 2014, Emma opened The Gem Foundation, a home for orphaned & abandoned children with special needs. In Uganda, special needs children are looked down upon, they're seen as cursed & treated as outcasts, but these children are as precious as gems (get it yet?) in the eyes of God. On the day they opened, they already had 11 little boys, & have since welcomed another 20 or so precious children into their home. And that means The Gem Foundation is at capacity, they can't take any more kids.
A few days ago, at the same time i was getting a ton of donations on this page, Emma announced that they had found land to purchase for the Gems, so that they can realize their dream of building a village with homes & a school & not have to turn away any more children. I read her post & in that moment, I promised God that if I reached my goal before the end of my campaign, whatever I raised over $1600 would go to help the Gem Foundation buy land.
God was so faithful, & he provided the entire $1600 in eight days, so I'm setting my goal another $1600, which will buy almost an entire acre of land for the Gem Foundation.
I know it sounds like a lot, especially in 8 days, but I know if God can do it once, He can certainly do it again! I can hardly believe I'm so blessed to be able to do my best to help not one, but two ministries that I have a close connection with.
So here we go again, would you please help me reach my next goal?
Organizer and beneficiary
Molly White
Organizer
Junte, KY
Laura White
Beneficiary