Ezekiel 47: 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail.
Every month they will bear fruit because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.
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I want to share the incredibly humble beginnings of the tiny seed God planted one night. A young man seeking God through prayer and fasting was desperate to hear from God. This man was seeking to hear the call on he and his family’s life. Then at 1:00 am he received a message from a man named Patrick Kunihira in Uganda asking on Facebook for prayer because he had broken his femur and was unable to get out of bed. Patrick had shown up on Facebook through Jonas McBride's feed due to a mutual friend Rod Tucker who had been Jonas’s assistant basketball coach in college and was now a pastor in Michigan. God’s intervention answering both Jonas and Patrick’s prayers led to a deep friendship late summer of 2016.
From that seed, God moved on Jonas’s heart to help Patrick with a Youth Conference where Jonas went to Uganda and shared his testimony encouraging 400 youth to share their own story of trauma and abuse and receive God’s miraculous love and healing.
Patrick and Madinah Kunihira are the founders of Pillars of Africa Children’s Ministry (PACM) which began in 2012 with 9 children as a Sunday School Children’s Choir.
Since that God encounter between Patrick and Jonas in 2016, Pillars became a solid trunk who now cares for 56 orphans and vulnerable children from their Ugandan community. You can see how God has taken that tiny seed and grown a mighty tree that has become a strong PILLAR.
One of the first branches to form was HUGS. It grew as a response to help build supportive relationships and awareness. HUGS provides resources through child sponsorships and donations. Of the 56 Pillars children we currently have 27 children fully sponsored, 10 children partially sponsored and 17 children unsponsored. We would love to see all the children sponsored in 2023 so please branch out and share this story with others who can also rejoice in bearing much fruit. (hugsforuganda.com)
Pillars Nursery began as a branch of that tree in 2017 so that children at Pillars and in the community would have access to an education.Then in 2020 the branch began to grow sturdier by the Primary School being built from donations and a substantial grant from the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation. The school being grounded on Godly principles provides life giving water flowing from God’s sanctuary for children in need of healing and food.
In 2022 God sprouted more branches through HUGS growing team of partners. The goal of missions is to not only spread God’s love through giving but use God’s creative resources to help communities build self-sustaining sources of income. Pillars not only has the Nursery School for younger sprouts but for those ready to start growing a business they have Pillars Vocational and Business School. (It seems trees have slow growth but after their 3rd year a tree seems to take off with supernatural height).
I feel God also used His supernatural creativity to expand Pillars opportunities by the overwhelming generosity of all of you, our faithful HUGS team. Pillars Vocational school offers classes in hair dressing, business administration, catering, carpentry, tailoring, welding, and computer. I get to so excited about these classes I want to go back to school myself.(Funny because I just retired from teaching)
Hair Dressing Welding
Tailoring
The good news doesn’t end here. The first HUGS Mission team is heading to Uganda in March. First, please pray for their protection in every way and that the Holy Spirit would give each of them discernment in His plan for future ministry opportunities. God, please give them eyes to see the Pillar’s community needs as You see them.
The mission team will consist of many of the HUGS board members. The team will have an opportunity to see the PACM ministry first hand, meet the beautiful children, help prioritize projects, and create a plan for future mission teams. A possible project for the March trip is to get electricity into the school.
HUGS Board Members:
Melissa Street: HUGS President
Pastor Adam Dichsen: Vice-President
Jannie McBride: Co Vice-President
Donna West: Director of Development
Holly Grasch: Treasurer
John Berry: Board Member
Patty Nelson: Board Member
Patrick Kunihira: PACM founder
Words can’t express how grateful we are to each of you for the fruit you are helping produce and be encouraged by experiencing God's abundance through your seeds of compassion.
I will end with this scripture, Melissa Street, our HUGS President shared with us recently.
Ephesians 3: 20-21
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