A Day in the Life of Our Orphans

The typical day for a child who attends school in our orphan village, baby class to Primary 5, is spent this way:

Prayer

Each morning our children start their day in prayer. They pray for a better life, their families, well being and for you, their sponsors.

Assembly

All of the children gather around together outside of the school where they pray for their sponsors, our ministry team and their days. They then sing several songs including their National anthem. The Principal or one of the teachers then goes over any disciplinary issues and then encourages the children in their pursuit of the day.



Class

Our students have a variety of classes that they attend each day. Classes could include Math, Science, Music, Physical Education, English and Writing.

Breakfast

All students come together in a common area for their breakfast meal, which is typically porridge.

Recess

Recess is a fun time for socializing, as well as, physical activity. Many enjoy playing soccer, netball, or enjoying the playground equipment.

Class

Kids go back to class after their recess break and the learning continues.

Lunch

All students come together in a common area for their Lunch meal.

Class

After Lunch the kids go back to class for their last subject for the day.

Chores

After school, the children begin their chores, which include cleaning the classrooms, sweeping, mopping, trimming the bushes, picking up trash, etc. They will also clean their shoes & uniforms f they are dirty so they will be ready for the next school day.

Homework

Older kids set aside one hour for homework each day. To complete any lessons they were unable to finish, as well as, lessons to complete at home.

Dinner

Dinner is prepared by the house moms for the children in their homes. The mothers then take dinner back to each of their homes where they sit together as a family to eat together.

Devotionals

Daily bible lessons to learn more about God and his kingdom. These can be led by both the house moms or some of the older children.


Our Primary 6 & Primary 7 children start their day in prayer, but then go off campus until they return for dinner. The children’s typical day begins with sun up and ends as the sun sets. You can see that their day is full of learning, both educationally and spiritually.


Weekends

The kids have time to play and enjoy time with their friends. Soccer is a favorite past time for many. On Sunday all children go to church where they learn, pray and sing songs. A typical church service in Uganda last approximately two hours. The younger children divide into classes where volunteers come and teach their classes. All the older children, Primary 5 through Primary 7, attend a service with the house moms.

Because of Calvary,

Jackson Senyonga

New Children at Seeta Village

We are so excited and thankful that God has given us the opportunity to take one step further toward our goal to take in and transform 6,000 children from conditions of abandonment, poverty, disease, and hopelessness, raising them up to become the future leaders of tomorrow. We would like to announce and welcome the 48 new children that now call Seeta orphan village their home. Please join us in prayer for these children, that God will use us to make a BIG difference in their lives, that they will grow up to be smart and capable young men and women, and above all else that they will love God.

Some of our new faces!

Sponsorship Relationship

Have you had the privledge of visiting Uganda and meeting your sponsored child? If so, please email us a picture of you with your sponsored child to Jana Kitts. Her email address is j.kitts@christianlifeministries.org

We have a special project we are trying to put together for all of you, but need some pictures of sponsors and their sponsored child. Please help us with this!


Thanks,

Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Minsitries

One to Love, One to Share

Nine-year old David Holdridge, founder of Happy Blankie and now Chief Happiness Officer, had a remarkable idea. He wanted to combine his little sister's two favorite things, stuffed animals and blankies, to create something that would make the world smile. His mother Emily encouraged him to bring his idea to life – and then added a life lesson that we can ALL teach our children - share. Her idea was to share the happiness of Happy Blankie with children in need of a smile. Thus, One to Love, One to Share, became the core philosophy of Happy Blankie. The concept is based on Emily’s message to David (and her other 3 children) – love one another, share with others and make a difference in the world.


Happy Blankie, a soft, oversized cuddly animal that is the perfect combination of stuffed animal and blanket. Every time someone buys a Happy Blankie, an identical blanket is given to a child in a hospital, orphanage or distressed situation around the world. Their mission is "one to love" and "one to give". What's great about this is that Happy Blankie has listed our orphanage as one of the places to give!


The best part is that you can choose where you want your second blankie donated. When you receive your blankie you will be able to follow the instructions on the "giving is cool" tag in order to donate your second blanket. Happy Blankie will allow for you to choose Uganda, Africa as the place to give your second blankie. So if you are needing a gift or want one for yourself, then this is a great oppurtunity to make sure our kids get one too.


Here are pictures they took while delivering Happy Blankies to some of our orphans.

By His Grace,

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Senior Pastor and Founder
Christian Life Ministries

Pillowcase Project

This weekend The Oaks Fellowship hosted their first Pillowcase Project and several from our office attended. God is truly using these women to bring joy to our sweet orphan girls. The dresses are turning out great and I know that our girls are going to be so excited to wear them.

These are the wonderful dresses we completed at this event!

And here is what they have finished thus far!

Remember, if you are helping with this and are making them at home. Please send them to our office when you are done. We are excited to see what you have come up with!

Renaissance Ribbons

Thank you Renaissance Ribbons for your donation of ribbons to support our efforts in getting new dresses to all of our girls! We are excited here in the office to start this project. The girls in the office were having fun trying to envision how the ribbons would best work with what pillowcase colors. I personally am excited to see the final product and to see the faces on our orphans when they receive a dress made with love!

If you choose to purchase ribbons to send to our office, then please support this organization as they have already supported us in our efforts. Thanks!

Birthdays

As many of you know already, many of our children are unaware of their actual birthdates so we celebrate everyones birthday together in July. We will throw a birthday party in both the Lira and Seeta Villages where the children will be treated to a large meal, complete with cake and soda (their favorites)!

The children love knowing that are experiencing this party because they are loved by not only their house moms and the CLM staff, but by their sponsors and donors that make the party a possibility.

If you haven't already, please consider sending in a donation for a birthday gift. A #20 donation will buy a small gift for a child as well as provide for the party. You can mail in payment or you can call in with your credit card of banking acount information. Please be sure to send in payments before mid-July!

Thanks for you continued support of our ministry and our wonderful children!

Soccer

It has been really neat for me to see the picture of our boys playing soccer. I am honored that they have been provided soccer uniforms and get to compete against one another. We desire for them to have shoes now too so we are trying to brain storm some ideas of how to get shoes their way. We have been looking into hosting a benefit soccer tournament or possibly getting donated gently used shoes. What a blessing it would be for our boys to have shoes to go with their uniforms.

Prayer

A picture speaks a thousand words.

In honor of National Day of Prayer, which is Thursday, these pictures are posted.

The Pillowcase Project

How many of us have tons of extra clothes lying around in our closets that have never been worn? Some of you are probably like me in that you actually have clothes that still have tags on them. Can you imagine a life in which you only had one or two outfits? The little girls in our orphanages live that life. They don’t have the luxury of going into a closet full of various options. So we are going to partner with The Pillowcase Project to make pillowcase dresses for the 375 plus girls in the Seeta and Lira Villages.

This is a project that I want you to partner with our ministry in making happen. There are various ways that you can participate in this project.

First, we will be hosting a local Pillowcase Project in our office in the month of May. We will have several people come together with sewing machines in tow to starting making our first batch of dresses. If you live in the area we would love to have you join us. You don’t have to know how to sew to be part of this as we need people to cut, iron, and hand stitch. We need all the people we can to make this a success!

Second, if you live somewhere else but want badly to help in some way you can do so my sending supplies to our office. You can send pillow cases, fabric, ribbons, and buttons to our office so that we can use them to make the dresses.

Third, host your own Pillowcase Project and send the final product to the office. We will provide you with the proper information on how to make the dresses. You get together your church group or a group of friends and start sewing.

I am getting very excited about the projects and getting these dresses to our girls. We are already talking with a fashion designer to see if we can get a basic pattern made in order to make shorts for the boys. If we don’t come up with a way to make them we will actually buy them clothing there in Uganda so we will also be taking cash donations. If you prefer to make a cash donation to help with supplies please specify this in the check memo by writing “Pillowcase Project”.

Please send any ideas, comments or questions to me, Jana Kitts, at the office: j.kitts@christianlifeministries.org or call me at 972-307-5433.

Also, hoping to making headbands with bows and flowers to match the dress!!

Yours

Yesterday as I was working in the offie this song came ont he radio and caught my attention. The song is Yours by Steven Curtis Chapman. I thought I would share this with you today.

I walk the dirt roads of Uganda
I see the scars that war has left behind
Hope like the sun is fading
They're waiting for a cure no one can find

And I hear children's voices singing
Of a God who heals and rescues and restores
And I'm reminded
That every child in Africa is Yours

And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky
To the depths of the ocean floor
And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
You're the Maker and Keeper, Father and Ruler of everything
It's all Yours

May God continue to take care of and bless the children in the homes in our villages! I feel honored that he has allowed me to be used as vessell to find homes for some many of these little children. These children are such a blessing in our lives as we get to see them live in joy despite difficult life circumstances! Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!

Blessings,

Pastor Jackson Senyonga

Volunteers Needed

I know many of you do not live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but if you do we could use your help in our office. We send out newsletters once a month and this is a large task for a small office. Also, soon we will be working on progress reports for all of our children which is a very large task for our small office. If you or anyone you know would like to volunteer in the office your help would be greatly appreciate. Contact our offices at info@christianlifeministries.org if you would like to help with this!

Happiness Among Children

Visiting Uganda was such a blessing for both Eve & I. As we were spending time in the villages I enjoyed watching the children play and interact together. It truly is like watching the kids playing at a party. All you can hear is laughter and chatter as they cover the grounds of the village.

A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn and a time to dance.

Ecclesiastes 3:4

I am so grateful to God that our children are now in a time to laugh and a time to dance. It is a joy for me to see them doing so well and enjoying their lives as much as they do. It's always refreshing for me to visit Uganda again and see our vision living out actively.

Transformation

I cannot be more thankful to God for rescuing such a sweet angel like this. When I see pictures like this I am reminded of our mission in building these villages. I love that when you look at the second picture you see the absolute transformation that has been made since she began living in the Lira Village. What a beautiful picture of God's grace in our lives!

For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Psalm 72:12-14

Mission Minded

I ran across a picture today of two of our sponsors with the children they sponsor. They had entitled the picture "Our Uganda Children, Joseph and Joyce" Seeing this picture was such a blessing to me to see that these sponsors have made a connection with their children.



With all that being said, you have the oppurtunity to meet your children through our Mission Trips. It is not too late for you to go this summer! We leave July 23rd and would love for you to join us. The other trip date is set for December 29th.

Seeking Prayers

I write with sad (but not tragic) news today. One of our orphans in our orphanage village in Seeta, Uganda, Africa was bit by a stray dog this week. The dog was running through the village chasing a pig. When our child tried to divert attention and "shoo" the dog away, the dog turned and chased after the child. The child, not knowing better, ran away. The dog bit the child in the calf. The child was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Thankfully, the child will be just fine! There will be some painful healing in his future, but he is expected to fully heal (with the exception of some scarring). Please pray for this child and his recovery!

Many blessings!

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries

School in Uganda, Our Secondary Students

Hello Friends,

As many of you may have read on my blogs and Facebook, we are very proud of our children from our orphan village in Uganda whose test scored earned them admission to St. John’s Secondary School, a prestigious secondary school in Uganda. In past years, we have had children get admitted there, but this year was astonishing. We had 17 children qualify for admission, which is so wonderful! We are proud of our students and our teachers. I found this article, and I wanted to pass it on to all of you. It explains the school system in Uganda. The children we are talking about have finished P.7 (primary, level 7) and are starting S.1 (secondary, level 1). I hope this article helps.

Article Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/2010/feb/08/education-system-explainer

Please, PLEASE, please let us know if you are in a position to help. We have had 4 children receive donations to help with their new school’s expenses and one receive half. We are so thankful for these donations, but that leaves 12 and a half children that need donations for their new school. Each child needs $250 for the new books, uniforms, and additional tuition because secondary books are quite more expensive than primary. Please consider helping us with this cause.

Here is one of our bright children that was accepted that remains unsponsored:


Trevor Kazibwe



Age: 11 (EST)

Village: Seeta

ID #: 5067

Trevor was brought to our village by his grandmother, who was no longer able to care for him. He had not been educated due to lack of funds. As it turns out, Trevor is a very bright boy who loves to learn. He has shown excellent ability in English, Science, and Social Studies. He is also a devout young man.

Please help us send Trevor to secondary school at St. John's. If you know of anyone that may want to pick up Trevor's sponsorship as well, please let us know. He is a remarkable child with a bright future ahead of him. Children like Trevor will change the world someday!

Thank you all of you for your support, whether it be donations or prayers or spreading of the news. We are truly blessed to have you! God be with you!

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries

Please help me find a sponsor for Luke

Hello all,

You guys never let me down! I wanted to introduce an adorable, funny, smart little boy that is in our orphan village in Uganda, Africa, Luke. He doesn't have any sponsor. Can you all help me find a sponsor for Luke?

More about Luke:



Luke's mother brought him to our village. His father had died two years earlier of AIDS, and his mother, who also suffered from AIDS and extreme poverty, could no longer care for him. Luke shows to have a bright future ahead of him, and he has a smile that can warm anyone's heart. We are so blessed to have Luke in our village, and we need to find him a sponsor so we can continue to meet the needs of Luke and the other children in the village.

Please ask around and see if anyone is interested in picking up this sponsorship. He would make a great addition to any family, and he loves to write his sponsors and draw pretty pictures. Sponsoring a child is such a fulfilling act of kindness. Transforming the life of a child can help us transform the nation of Uganda.

Thank you for your consideration and your help! Please let me know if I can return the favor in any way!

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries

http//www.jackson-senyonga.org

A Must Read for Sponsors: Some of our Kids Earn Excellent Marks on Entrance Exam!!

Hello all!!

I write with great news! Our children recently took an entrance exam to be able to go to a prestigious middle school. The scores are in, and boy are we proud!! They earned some great marks and will be accepted into the middle school, which means they will be leaving the village. So, sponsorship for that child will discontinue, but we do need a donation to be able to send each child to school in the amount of $250 per child. We are calling on current sponsors, so please check your voicemail and email if your child is listed below! If you would like to cover this fee for a child whose sponsor cannot, please contact us immediately. We will let you know if any of our sponsors couldn’t donate the full amount to see what sum is remaining to be able to send that child to school. We are so proud!

Isaac Mwesigwa
Joseph Ntale
Rose Kisakye
Mike Kiyimba
Jonathan Kawulukusi
Vincent Sentongo
Elizabeth Nalule
Muluta Bernard
Bernard Onyango
Brian Wamala
Simon Lugolobi
Rhoda Asinde
Daphine Kyakuwa
Trevor Kazibwe
Kefa Tom
Erinah Bakinyomye

Please get in contact with us if your child is listed above. You should be proud of your sponsored child! We would love to talk to you about covering full or partial school admission and possibly transferring your sponsorship to another child who will remain in the village. Our contact information is below.

All His blessings,

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries

P.O. Box 270279
Flower Mound, TX 75028

972-307-5433
info@christianlifeministries.org

Talk to Allison or Tasha

Christmas Donations

If you haven’t already, please consider donating for our orphan Christmas. We are short quite a few gifts for the children. A $20 donation will allow us to buy a gift and throw a party for one special child! That is a low cost to make a child smile on Christmas, isn’t it? Please call or email us for ways to donate.

972-307-5433
info@christianlifeministries.org

Thank you for considering this donation.

Pastor Jackson Senyonga
Christian Life Ministries