Gordon and Ellyn Sturgeon Global Outreach International December, 2015

Blog: thesturgeonfamily.wordpress.com Mail: P.O. Box 1873, Jinja, Uganda, East Africa

Christmas Wishes from Uganda! “He had the birthday. We got the gift.” Randy Travis Glory to God in the highest!

Dear Friends: As we celebrate our second Christmas in Uganda, we want to express our gratitude for God’s provision through our faithful donors. Thank you for sharing our vision to bring clean water and hope to the poor in Uganda. May you be encouraged by this brief summary of the work you have accomplished with us in 2015. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Vital Seeds for Africa

In 2015 we were able to distribute two microloans to needy widows in the Soroti district. In addition to a pair of sheep, a new hoe, and two kilos of seeds, each received two letters in their Ateso language. One letter let them know why they were receiving the loan, and the other explained the Good News of salvation through Jesus. Both letters were read to them in Ateso in the presence of their family members and village bystanders.

Adeke (seated in above picture) is a widow with AIDS who lives with her son and his wife and baby. She often digs in other people’s gardens to earn money for her family, and she is so poor that she cannot afford the grass to repair her leaky thatched roof when it rains.

Margaret, like Adeke, is a subsistence farmer. She never had children, so she lives alone.

Adeke and Margaret were thrilled to receive their sheep, hoe, and seeds. In 2016, we will revisit them, and as funding permits, we will distribute more microloans to needy widows and families.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

Scovia Ten-year-old Scovia lived with us for a month while we worked to locate her family and village. Her aunt had sent her to Jinja three years ago to attend school, but instead she was forced to care for her cousin’s baby. The cousin’s husband beat Scovia severely, so she ended up with another cousin, who also beat her and threw her out of the house. With the help of some Ugandan friends, Scovia was safely returned to her village in the District of Maracha in the extreme northwest corner of Uganda, where she lives with her aunt and uncle. Through the generosity of our donors, we are paying Scovia’s tuition, board, and school supply fees. She has successfully completed her first two terms of first grade, and we are praying that God helps her to feel safe and loved as she continues on her new adventure in school.

Gordon and Ellyn Sturgeon Global Outreach International December, 2015

Blog: thesturgeonfamily.wordpress.com Mail: P.O. Box 1873, Jinja, Uganda, East Africa

Gordon continues to locate and map the groundwater in the northeastern district of Soroti. The Soroti economy is based almost entirely on agriculture, and current water supplies cannot meet domestic needs, let alone agricultural needs. In 2015, Gordon completed his evaluation of aerial photographs and satellite images covering 300 square miles of the district, and he identified many drilling sites where the likelihood of finding clean

water is greatest. In 2016, he will analyze an additional 150 square miles, field check all of his preliminary maps, and create six 1:25,000-scale maps that cover most of the district. His maps will be published online and available for free, so that nonprofit organizations and drilling companies can have a better idea of where to drill their wells.

Groundwater Mapping

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. ” I John 3:18

Praises and Prayers We enjoyed our furlough in 2015 – it

was wonderful to see family and friends and share our mission stories with five churches. We praise God

for the giving hearts of our supporters, our good health, and safe travel on these crazy roads.

Please pray for: our safety during the February elections, the

reliability of our car, financial sustainability, continued good

health, and God’s direction and guidance. Last, but not least, please pray for our daughter Sarah, whom

we miss so much.

Used Laptops

Still Needed!

One laptop was donated last year, and it has made a big difference in the life of a local artist/merchant. If anyone has a laptop that they are no longer using, we would love to hear from you. Your laptop would only need to be shipped to a missionary in the U.S., as they can carry it with them when they return to Uganda. The first laptop we receive will be given to a widow’s hardworking 24-year-old son who owns a camera, but needs a computer to start his own photography business.

Medical Care for BenaBena is an elderly widow who suffers from liver disease. Last month, she came to visit one of her daughters in Jinja, but her health rapidly deteriorated, she began vomiting blood and then slipped into a coma. Bena’s family has little money and did not know what to do. The private clinics and hospitals that provide decent medical care are too expensive for most Ugandans, and the supposedly free government hospitals are frightening places, especially for the poor. In the government hospitals, money is everything – if you don’t have money in hand, you will not be admitted. If you only have a little money, you will be given a bed in an overcrowded and unsanitary room containing many people with contagious diseases, and you will only receive as much treatment and medicine as you can pay for in advance. Many of the poor who enter these hospitals die, so people are reluctant to go to them, and many choose instead to suffer and perhaps die at home from curable and treatable conditions. Fortunately, with your financial support, Bena received proper care from the doctors. Her health improved, and she was able to return to her village near Soroti where she is surrounded by family and friends. Thank you for caring for widows like Bena!

Helen’s Land Thanks to a generous donation from a friend, Helen now owns a small plot of land in a nearby village. She has begun to farm the land to feed her family, but she still needs to build a home on her land, so that she will no longer have to worry about escalating rent payments.

“A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with

the poor.” Proverbs 22:9