Well it's been a while since I posted anything. Towards the end of our trip, I warned everyone reading this blog that I would be coming to them - looking for support. Well, here I am.
It's been a somewhat slow process, but we have launched the Seeing Is Believing campaign. While still in Uganda, I knew that I would have to appeal to my friends and family to support some specific need over there. I also knew pretty quickly that the specific need would be Mama Mary and her orphanage.
The campaign has been set up under Eternal Impact. My first inclination was to "go it alone" and start up a separate organization, but when I though of the necessary legal and financial accountability hoops to jump through, I knew that I simply wouldn't have the time. So John Garrick and Eternal Impact Ministries have graciously agreed to "host" the campaign. This step also makes good sense in that Eternal Impact already has the strong relationship with UFC and Pastor Kennedy.
Along the way, I sat down with one of the pastors from Rolling Hills to discuss the project. He gave me some great advice - be patient. It likely won't happen overnight, it might take a year, maybe longer. So here we are about 6 months after leaving and I'm just getting our little bird out of the nest, but I'm so thrilled to see it going!
In discussions with John and Kennedy, we developed a budget target for the project. Our target is to achieve commitments of $3,200 per month. This number includes 15% administrative costs to cover such items as financial auditing, web site development, printing and mailing costs, and a part time administrator in Uganda who will be responsible for procuring the needed supplies and coordinating the volunteer help for the orphanage. The monthly total will pay for rent, utilities, food, clothing, medical care and education.
If by some chance God blesses our efforts and we find more people willing to share their resources, we will seek another orphanage to support. In discussing this with my UFC friends over the internet, I was told that there are two of the students whose dream has always been to open an orphanage, so that is one possibility.
But for now we are concentrating on Mary and her children. May God richly bless you as you consider helping out.
Look for updates around Seeing Is Believing at "eternalimpact.org"
Sunday, December 20, 2009
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