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A Boy Named Moses

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The start of my freshmen year of high school, my youth group started to pursue supporting (un)adopted in a specific country. Our youth pastor gave us 3 countries to pray about and consider supporting. We took a vote, and Uganda won over the votes and our hearts.

The Lord was planting seeds before we even knew it.

Our youth group started to give monthly to (un)adopted Uganda, and the opportunity to take a trip to Uganda came shortly after that. The Lord had placed Uganda on my heart a long time ago, so I was excited at the opportunity to go.

Since then, I have traveled to Uganda on a couple different occasions and this summer I had the opportunity to visit for the third time. The Lord has truly changed my heart for orphaned and vulnerable children.

To start the trip, Pastor Raphael took us to the new piece of land where the church plans to meet in the future. The piece of land separates the really poor community of Busega and the more well-off community of Busega. We are excited to see how King Jesus Church can be the bridge between these 2 communities. I sense community transformation happening, that Pastor Raphael and (un)adopted have spent 3 years praying and casting vision over.

We were at the school most of the week doing a VBS with the students. The school is flourishing, with more students each year. The ministry is extending its reach to not only deaf children, but blind children and really any vulnerable child.

On our first school visit of this summer’s trip, I met a boy named Moses who is a new student at the school.

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Moses was very malnourished as a child and not taken care of. He was so malnourished that he is developmentally behind about 6 years. He is 9 years old, but he acts more like a 3 year old. He is not deaf, but the school allowed him to attend because his grandmother has no money to send him to school.

The school can provide the love and attention he needs to flourish, since he has not been cared for most of his life. Moses was full of life, loved attention, and always making noise and laughing.

Moses is just one way that we are seeing the gospel engage the whole community through the deaf school. As we played games, signed songs, made crafts, and talked about how we are adopted into the family of God, I witnessed change. Change in the students’ hearts where they have gone from death to life.

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This year when I R(un) for One, I’m running for Moses. I’m running for the vision I see for the entire community of Busega. I’m running for each of the children I have met there whose lives have been touched with the gospel. I’m running to see more hearts raised from death to life.

Who are you running for?

Caroline Gemes, (un)adopted Volunteer

For more information on the R(un) for One 5k, visit runforone5k.org.