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Uganda Mission Trip 2015

WorldHope Corps Mission Team and Friends 2014
Dear Friends of WorldHope Corps:

I  invite you to join us this year on a mission with Uganda in June, or support our mission there.  

Every year since 2005, I've led a service trip to Africa.  We go to communities to which we have been invited, to share in mutual ministry and joint projects; and we find that we gain so much more than what we give.  Henri Nouwen calls this "reverse mission" (See Gracias by Henri Nouwen).

This year we're returning to Uganda on June 22.  

Our ministry partners, Pastor Baaumu Moses (leader of Shalom Coffee Collective in Jinja) and Br. Julius Kasaija (leader of SARS Shalom near Hoima) invited members of WorldHope Corps and Communities of Shalom to come and see, enjoy and celebrate, the good things God is doing in Uganda in the lives of Christians, Muslim and Jews. 

Imam follows two Shalom leaders who lead the Shalom graduates of 2014

Together, we will participate in Five Great Community Events:

Shalom Tree where ShalomZone Training takes place near Jinja
Shalom Graduation Ceremony in Jinja:  Since 2010, a total of 470 coffee farmers, teachers, tailors and community workers, have gone through Shalom Training in Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) sponsored by Communities of Shalom.  This year the next class of 200 "shalomers" expect to receive a Certificate of Completion (on how to move from subsistence level survival to sustainable economic development and shared prosperity in the community).   We also hope to participate in the shalom coffee harvest to sell to Thanksgiving Coffee Company (their direct-trade boutique coffee roasting partner in California). Pastor Baamu Moses is our dear friend, faithful partner and splendid host in Jinja at the Source of the Nile. 

"Games for the Goal" Soccer Tournament:  Four years ago, Pastor Moses and actor Gaius Charles (Friday Night Lights, Grey's Anatomy) started a youth empowerment program connecting kids love for the game of soccer with their need to get tested for HIV/AIDS. Once or twice a year, a thousand kids play in the 2-day tournament for "Baamu's Goat" and learn how to stay healthy.  In the process, they get an HIV test, meet caring doctors, counselors and spiritual leaders, make friends for life, and hear motivational speakers and role models like Gaius Charles share how to "step up to the next level" of good success and spiritual growth.  This is the fourth annual Games for the Goal event sponsored by WorldHope Corps.  We are still seeking sponsors for this year's event. 

Shalom Graduation Ceremony and Cultural Exchange in Mbale:  We will visit the Delicious Peace Coffee Cooperative in the mountains of Mbale and meet Jewish, Muslim and Christian farmers who have found a way to work together.  Shalom Zone Training with 115 participants began in Mbale in January, and if they are ready to graduate, we will witness and celebrate this multicultural event.  As time allows, we plan to drive through beautiful Mt. Elgon National Park with its rugged slopes, spectacular waterfalls, hidden caves, hot springs, mountain vegetation, and an extinct volcano on the border with Kenya.    

Shalom Training in Hoima:   Since 2007, WorldHope Corps has supported St George Hope Health Centre and SARS Shalom Zone in Western Uganda. We celebrated with over 100 community leaders who completed Shalom Training in 2014. This year, we plan to celebrate with another 100+ "shalomers" who will have completed the training by the end of June.  Fr. Paul Bigirwa and Br. Julius Kasaija  are an impressive team of Catholic brothers who know how to fight the good fight against AIDS, lack of clean water, and extreme poverty; and develop a healthy and beloved community of Shalom.  

Installation of Water Filtration System:  Our big project this year is to organize the community to install a complete water sanitation system and community water store in the remote Katikara Trading Centre.  In partnership with Healing Waters International, we plan to deliver cutting-edge technology, purification equipment, and training for the SARS Shalom team.  The goal is for SARS to sustain its community health projects by running a community-based Water Store to provide clean, safe water at an affordable price for 3,000+ villagers.  The scope and scale of this project in Uganda goes beyond the 60+ individual village wells we've drilled in Malawi since 2006, and we need to raise another $15,000 to complete this project.   

I hope you will consider joining us on this mission of hope, and/or support our collaborative work with a generous donation.    WorldHope Corps 

We leave on June 22 for one, two or three weeks depending on individual schedules.   

For more information, please contact me at WorldHopeCorps@gmail.com 

Prayerfully count the cost and consider joining us.

It will change your life and make a difference in the world!


Here's a link to make a donation online:  WorldHope Corps

or send a gift to the address below.


Again, thank you for being a friend and supporter of this mission!


Michael J. Christensen, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO
WorldHope Corps, Inc.
PO Box 7688
San Diego, CA 92167
worldhopecorps@gmail.com
www.worldhopecorps.org 

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