November 2004

Sponsorship Program Continues to Grow

What a joy it is to send you the second annual edition of the Sponsorship Program Update! We have been eagerly anticipating this opportunity to let you in on some of the exciting ways the Lord is using your generosity, and to express our deepest gratitude to you for making this work possible.

Our Orphan Sponsorship Program continues to grow; as of this writing we are serving approximately 460 children in Uganda. If you have been blessed by the experience of sponsoring a child, would you consider forwarding the link to this Sponsorship Program Update to some friends? There are many more children in need of care, and the stories that follow might provoke others to become involved in the wonderful work the Lord is already doing through you. Enjoy!

Measurable Gifts, Immeasurable Impact
by Doug Hayes

One of the great privileges of my role as director of Covenant Mercies is the regular opportunity I have to observe the connection between your generosity and the impact it is having “on the ground” in Uganda. Your gifts, while quantifiable in their amount, are truly incalculable in terms of their effect. What joy it brings me to witness not only your extraordinary giving, but also the magnificent, life-changing result on the other end. That is the reason I love to send you these updates. I never want you to forget that your measurable gifts are truly having an immeasurable impact!

To fully appreciate the impact of your generosity, you must understand the context into which it flows. As a routine visitor to Uganda over the past two years, I have been stunned to learn just how many of my Ugandan friends have lost children due to disease and other causes. There are many things that separate my typical Western experience from their typical “Third World” experience, but none has been as personally jarring to me as this one. When I hear of a child dying, it is a shock to my system; a unique and unimaginable grief. For our Ugandan friends, on the other hand, this indescribable sadness is a common reality of life.

Recently, I asked one of our Ugandan leaders to estimate what percentage of families living in their region would have experienced the death of a child after childbirth. I was not prepared for his reply: “Over 80%,” he said. Thinking this could not possibly be accurate, I continued my survey. I asked the same question to another of our leaders, without informing him of the data I had already collected. “More than 90%,” he said. Could this really be true? Sadly, while this is far from a scientific survey, it seems that the death of a child is an experience shared by the great majority of families in the region of Uganda where we are serving.

With this as the backdrop, I believe you will have a greater degree of appreciation for the story of a young boy named Onyango. In October 2003, I happened to be in Uganda just after Eric Okello, our director of sponsorship care, had learned of this little boy and his plight. Both of Onyango’s parents had died in 2002, leaving him in the care of an allegedly alcoholic uncle. When we went to see Onyango, it was evident from his malnourished condition that he was not receiving adequate care. At that time, he could do no more than sit on a mat with a glazed look in his eyes. I will never forget the way he gobbled up some biscuits we had brought for him, snatching them with his left hand as if he had not eaten in weeks. He used his left hand because the entire right side of his body had become paralyzed, a disability that may have developed due to lack of proper nutrition.

Upon ascertaining Onyango’s need, Eric immediately began to search for another extended family member who could take him in. He learned of an aunt who lived nearby, and quickly convinced her to begin taking care of her nephew. We took Onyango to the medical clinic for emergency care, and thereafter he has steadily recovered. Improved nutrition provided through the generosity of his sponsor, combined with quality care from Onyango’s aunt, have resulted in dramatic changes in this little boy’s life. It is no exaggeration to say that apart from this, he likely would have died.

When I went to visit Onyango one year later in October 2004, it was difficult to believe I was looking at the same little boy. Though full strength has not yet returned to the right side of his body, he is now able to walk and he has regained some movement in his right arm. But that is not what affected me most when I saw him; it was his eyes that told the greatest story. As the photo to the left attests, this is a little boy who now has hope and a reason to smile! This child has literally been brought back from the brink of death, and I cannot thank our sovereign God enough for bringing Onyango across our path when He did.

I also cannot thank you, our sponsors, enough for the vital role you are playing in the lives of the children you are sponsoring. While Onyango’s story is unique and dramatic, I can say without reservation that many of our sponsored children would have succumbed to illness or even starvation by now if not for the Lord’s intervention in their lives through your generosity. Is there any doubt that He has great plans for them? Are you as excited as I am to see what God intends to accomplish through these precious children whom He has preserved by His mercy? I know you are. And I know that these children will one day realize and appreciate just what the Lord has done for them, through you.

Thank you for your faithful sponsorship; its impact is truly immeasurable. I trust the story of Onyango illustrates this, and reminds you of just how critical and life-changing your support is.

Orphans' Homes Receive First Family

In last year’s Sponsorship Program Update, we informed you that Covenant Mercies had begun building orphans’ homes for children who have no adequate living situation within their extended family. This year, we have completed construction on the first three houses and built a septic system with capacity to serve up to eight homes. In February 2005, we are planning to construct a water tower and install a solar well pump that will distribute clean water to all the homes.

Even more thrilling than this construction progress is the fact that one of the homes is now occupied by our first “family parents” and four children! Please pray as we petition the local government for permission to move additional children in, and keep your eye on our web site for updates on these exciting developments.

Investing in the Broader Mission of Covenant Mercies

When we established our Orphan Sponsorship Program almost two years ago, it was critically important to us that you as a Covenant Mercies sponsor be fully confident in the relationship between your sponsorship contributions and your children. We did not want our sponsors wondering how much of their giving was truly benefiting the children, and how much was being used to keep the organization afloat. For this reason, we decided to hold back only 50 cents of each monthly contribution (to defray the cost of international fund transfers) and send the rest overseas for the direct benefit of the children. Even our complementary work in Uganda (construction of orphans’ homes, drilling of clean water wells, etc.) is paid for with separate funds, because we want you to know that there is a one-to-one correlation between your sponsorship gifts and your children. We have been exceedingly pleased with this policy and we are committed to retaining it, but it does beg the question that so many sponsors have asked: “How do you pay the bills?”

By God’s grace, many friends of Covenant Mercies have been envisioned to give – some in very creative ways – toward our broader mission. One man, Roger McKee of Churchville, MD, recently decided to run in his first ever marathon. While he trained and prepared his body for the 26.2 mile challenge, he also sent letters to family and friends asking them to support his effort by making a contribution to Covenant Mercies. When all was said and done, Roger succeeded not only in completing the Marine Corps. Marathon in Washington D.C., but also in raising nearly $3,000 for the mission of Covenant Mercies. Well done, Roger!

Another new friend to Covenant Mercies is a nonprofit organization called Angel Covers, which exists to raise money for orphans around the world. Angel Covers’ Gifts From the World internet auction, which begins on November 29 and lasts seven days, will include a variety of handmade items from Uganda that Covenant Mercies has provided. In return, all proceeds from these items will be donated back to Covenant Mercies. You can help by telling your friends about this auction, and also by bidding on some items yourself. What a great way to get your Christmas shopping out of the way!

Finally, an anonymous donor recently approached us to offer a $15,000 matching gift earmarked for our solar/water project at the site of our orphans’ homes in Uganda. We have enthusiastically accepted, and you will soon receive a letter in the mail asking you to prayerfully consider participation in this effort.

As you know, our plans would only be noble dreams and visions without the funds necessary to carry them out. Thank you for all the ways you support the work of Covenant Mercies! We pray with expectant faith that your investments into our mission – however you choose to make them – will continue to bear much fruit for the glory of God.