So, Where Is and What Is The Good Shepherds' Fold?

Ok, be honest, before we get into answering the title of this post, do you really know where Uganda is?  Joey has always enjoyed geography, so he certainly knew before Sarah. :)

The safe answer of course is that Uganda is in Africa, but really, where in Africa is Uganda?  See the map below:

Uganda is bordered by Lake Victoria, where the Nile River begins, Kenya, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania.  Over the past few weeks, you may have heard about KONY 2012.  Regardless of your thoughts about the organization behind this project, it has certainly received a lot of attention - right now it has over 86 million hits on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc) - and it does capture a lot of the truth about the continued devastation and crisis in this part of our world.

Uganda is the "Pearl of Africa" where the East African savanna meets the West African jungle, and The Lonely Planet has voted it as the #1 Best Destination for Travelers in 2012 (www.visituganda.com).  But we digress, we are here not to sell travel packages but instead to give you some information about the orphanage where our adoption process is occurring.

Here are some statistics from the Good Shepherds' Fold (GSF) regarding children in Uganda:

1. One out of every four households in Uganda have at least one orphan.
2. 57% of Uganda's population are children below the age of 18.
3. More than 3 million children in Uganda live below the poverty line.
4. In 2007 there were over 2.3 million orphans in Uganda.

The Good Shepherds' Fold was established in 1994 with the purpose and primary vision of evangelizing orphan and destitute children of Uganda with the good news of Jesus Christ, while also providing for their physical, spiritual, educational, and medical needs.  GSF is located approximately 15 miles west of Jinja in the small village of Buundo.  Currently several missionary families work alongside over 60 Ugandan staff each day in the ministries of GSF.  In addition to providing a home for more than 90 children (newborns to 18 years old), GSF offers a Christ-centered education to more than 300 children each day in its primary school.  These school children also receive breakfast, lunch, medical care, and a great deal of love each day.  Here's an aerial image of their property.

The statistics about the number of orphans both domestically and overseas are mind-boggling, and if we are not careful these mere statistics can make us numb to the reality that every child matters, regardless of these statistics, regardless of their race, regardless of their socioeconomic situations, regardless of geographic location.  You may remember the old church song from childhood - "Jesus loves the little children.  All the children of the world.  Red, and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in His sight."

If you have not done so already, would you consider joining us on this journey to making a difference and allowing our family to provide a forever family to a child or sibling group?  Would you consider giving toward the needs of our family to make this journey and process become a reality in 2012?  God has already provided 45% of our need, and we trust in His faithfulness and provision to meet our needs for the remaining 55%.

Blessings to you all!