A Future Uganda
In the late 1980s, Sarah Kigozi heard the story of Jesus from a group of traveling singers who visited her high school one afternoon. Moved by the music and transformed by the words they sang; she followed the direction her young heartstrings were pulled and accepted Jesus as her Savior that very day. Since then, it’s been her passion to know Jesus more intimately, and, more importantly, to share what she learns with others — especially young people.
Sarah became a social worker. In her career, she worked for Watoto Child Care Ministries in the Child Welfare Department in Uganda, meeting numerous families in need of major help; help them she did, but her goals might surprise you.
“My focus is, and has always been, to encourage believers to get to know Jesus more deeply so that they experience a total transformation, which spills over into all areas of their influence,” said Sarah. “God categorically told me not to focus so much on the vulnerable, fatherless children situation but, in my child protection work, to teach and point those young people to their heavenly Father.”
Watoto was the perfect place to combine both passions, as its mission is to rebuild a “beautiful Africa.” Sarah worked with them to help bring hope and healing to vulnerable women and children in Uganda and South Sudan. Through several Watoto villages, orphaned and vulnerable children can find a haven. The villages provide holistic care to more than 3,000 children who receive everything they need to grow up healthy and whole — food, clothing, medical care, education, and most of all, family. Programs within the mission focus on rescuing orphaned babies, providing resources for post-war women to become leaders in their community, and support for young girls going through puberty so they can remain in school. Lastly, Watoto Church offers a place for people to celebrate Jesus together, empowering them through His love and their community.
Sarah attends one of those Watoto Church Campuses in Kansanga, and it was there she renewed her teenage vow to God. What started her faith journey in passion and curiosity now required more wisdom, and to be wise she’d have to learn more.
“God led me into reading the devotional Every Day with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes as my daily Bible study guide, which galvanized my faith in Jesus,” she said. “But with time, I weaned off devotional guides and now read the Bible verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter, and it has entrenched my faith further.”
She also experienced something life-changing when she attended the Virtual Haggai Leader Experience last year. COVID-19 had kept her from sharing the Gospel in person like she was used to doing, and she had doubts about how influential something virtual could be. But the exposure to like-minded leaders around the world changing lives despite a pandemic gave her a resurgence. Her equipping made her excited to see what she could do with new tools and a new network of leaders in areas just like hers.
Sarah’s prior reputation at Watoto was as the one who always started a meeting with encouraging, relevant words from the Bible. She was the one who instituted a monthly prayer and Bible study among co-workers, believing that all Christians need to fan the flame of their faith if they are to be effective witnesses of the Gospel. Not one day or opportunity goes by that she doesn’t live out that belief, and because of her experience at VHLE, she was equipped to live up to that reputation once again.
Today, Sarah is spending time garnering more wisdom to take and share with more people. You’ll continue to find her publicly reading the Scripture, praying with fellow Christians, and sharing what both mean in the lives of the people around her. It’s these habits — inspired by a simple concert when she was a teenager and renewed by her Haggai experience — that’s emboldened her to share her faith with others, who, in turn, are encouraged to do the same.
“Whatever people know me for, they will know that I am a Jesus follower,” said Sarah. “They know I am someone who loves to share the Word, who is bold in her prayers, and who will inspire confidence and compassion in others.”
Cumulatively, her efforts strive toward a positive contribution to the development of a future Uganda. Her goal is to support and equip a community of 1,000 young, educated, responsible, productive, empathetic, supportive, God-fearing ambassadors. Those young people will earn degrees and they’ll know Jesus, she said. And then, they will make Him known.
How exciting for Uganda’s next generation.
Written by Jennifer Colosimo
A Future Uganda
In the late 1980s, Sarah Kigozi heard the story of Jesus from a group of traveling singers who visited her high school one afternoon. Moved by the music and transformed by the words they sang; she followed the direction her young heartstrings were pulled and accepted Jesus as her Savior that very day. Since then, it’s been her passion to know Jesus more intimately, and, more importantly, to share what she learns with others — especially young people.
Sarah became a social worker. In her career, she worked for Watoto Child Care Ministries in the Child Welfare Department in Uganda, meeting numerous families in need of major help; help them she did, but her goals might surprise you.
“My focus is, and has always been, to encourage believers to get to know Jesus more deeply so that they experience a total transformation, which spills over into all areas of their influence,” said Sarah. “God categorically told me not to focus so much on the vulnerable, fatherless children situation but, in my child protection work, to teach and point those young people to their heavenly Father.”
Watoto was the perfect place to combine both passions, as its mission is to rebuild a “beautiful Africa.” Sarah worked with them to help bring hope and healing to vulnerable women and children in Uganda and South Sudan. Through several Watoto villages, orphaned and vulnerable children can find a haven. The villages provide holistic care to more than 3,000 children who receive everything they need to grow up healthy and whole — food, clothing, medical care, education, and most of all, family. Programs within the mission focus on rescuing orphaned babies, providing resources for post-war women to become leaders in their community, and support for young girls going through puberty so they can remain in school. Lastly, Watoto Church offers a place for people to celebrate Jesus together, empowering them through His love and their community.
Sarah attends one of those Watoto Church Campuses in Kansanga, and it was there she renewed her teenage vow to God. What started her faith journey in passion and curiosity now required more wisdom, and to be wise she’d have to learn more.
“God led me into reading the devotional Every Day with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes as my daily Bible study guide, which galvanized my faith in Jesus,” she said. “But with time, I weaned off devotional guides and now read the Bible verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter, and it has entrenched my faith further.”
She also experienced something life-changing when she attended the Virtual Haggai Leader Experience last year. COVID-19 had kept her from sharing the Gospel in person like she was used to doing, and she had doubts about how influential something virtual could be. But the exposure to like-minded leaders around the world changing lives despite a pandemic gave her a resurgence. Her equipping made her excited to see what she could do with new tools and a new network of leaders in areas just like hers.
Sarah’s prior reputation at Watoto was as the one who always started a meeting with encouraging, relevant words from the Bible. She was the one who instituted a monthly prayer and Bible study among co-workers, believing that all Christians need to fan the flame of their faith if they are to be effective witnesses of the Gospel. Not one day or opportunity goes by that she doesn’t live out that belief, and because of her experience at VHLE, she was equipped to live up to that reputation once again.
Today, Sarah is spending time garnering more wisdom to take and share with more people. You’ll continue to find her publicly reading the Scripture, praying with fellow Christians, and sharing what both mean in the lives of the people around her. It’s these habits — inspired by a simple concert when she was a teenager and renewed by her Haggai experience — that’s emboldened her to share her faith with others, who, in turn, are encouraged to do the same.
“Whatever people know me for, they will know that I am a Jesus follower,” said Sarah. “They know I am someone who loves to share the Word, who is bold in her prayers, and who will inspire confidence and compassion in others.”
Cumulatively, her efforts strive toward a positive contribution to the development of a future Uganda. Her goal is to support and equip a community of 1,000 young, educated, responsible, productive, empathetic, supportive, God-fearing ambassadors. Those young people will earn degrees and they’ll know Jesus, she said. And then, they will make Him known.
How exciting for Uganda’s next generation.
Written by Jennifer Colosimo
A Future Uganda
In the late 1980s, Sarah Kigozi heard the story of Jesus from a group of traveling singers who visited her high school one afternoon. Moved by the music and transformed by the words they sang; she followed the direction her young heartstrings were pulled and accepted Jesus as her Savior that very day. Since then, it’s been her passion to know Jesus more intimately, and, more importantly, to share what she learns with others — especially young people.
Sarah became a social worker. In her career, she worked for Watoto Child Care Ministries in the Child Welfare Department in Uganda, meeting numerous families in need of major help; help them she did, but her goals might surprise you.
“My focus is, and has always been, to encourage believers to get to know Jesus more deeply so that they experience a total transformation, which spills over into all areas of their influence,” said Sarah. “God categorically told me not to focus so much on the vulnerable, fatherless children situation but, in my child protection work, to teach and point those young people to their heavenly Father.”
Watoto was the perfect place to combine both passions, as its mission is to rebuild a “beautiful Africa.” Sarah worked with them to help bring hope and healing to vulnerable women and children in Uganda and South Sudan. Through several Watoto villages, orphaned and vulnerable children can find a haven. The villages provide holistic care to more than 3,000 children who receive everything they need to grow up healthy and whole — food, clothing, medical care, education, and most of all, family. Programs within the mission focus on rescuing orphaned babies, providing resources for post-war women to become leaders in their community, and support for young girls going through puberty so they can remain in school. Lastly, Watoto Church offers a place for people to celebrate Jesus together, empowering them through His love and their community.
Sarah attends one of those Watoto Church Campuses in Kansanga, and it was there she renewed her teenage vow to God. What started her faith journey in passion and curiosity now required more wisdom, and to be wise she’d have to learn more.
“God led me into reading the devotional Every Day with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes as my daily Bible study guide, which galvanized my faith in Jesus,” she said. “But with time, I weaned off devotional guides and now read the Bible verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter, and it has entrenched my faith further.”
She also experienced something life-changing when she attended the Virtual Haggai Leader Experience last year. COVID-19 had kept her from sharing the Gospel in person like she was used to doing, and she had doubts about how influential something virtual could be. But the exposure to like-minded leaders around the world changing lives despite a pandemic gave her a resurgence. Her equipping made her excited to see what she could do with new tools and a new network of leaders in areas just like hers.
Sarah’s prior reputation at Watoto was as the one who always started a meeting with encouraging, relevant words from the Bible. She was the one who instituted a monthly prayer and Bible study among co-workers, believing that all Christians need to fan the flame of their faith if they are to be effective witnesses of the Gospel. Not one day or opportunity goes by that she doesn’t live out that belief, and because of her experience at VHLE, she was equipped to live up to that reputation once again.
Today, Sarah is spending time garnering more wisdom to take and share with more people. You’ll continue to find her publicly reading the Scripture, praying with fellow Christians, and sharing what both mean in the lives of the people around her. It’s these habits — inspired by a simple concert when she was a teenager and renewed by her Haggai experience — that’s emboldened her to share her faith with others, who, in turn, are encouraged to do the same.
“Whatever people know me for, they will know that I am a Jesus follower,” said Sarah. “They know I am someone who loves to share the Word, who is bold in her prayers, and who will inspire confidence and compassion in others.”
Cumulatively, her efforts strive toward a positive contribution to the development of a future Uganda. Her goal is to support and equip a community of 1,000 young, educated, responsible, productive, empathetic, supportive, God-fearing ambassadors. Those young people will earn degrees and they’ll know Jesus, she said. And then, they will make Him known.
How exciting for Uganda’s next generation.
Written by Jennifer Colosimo
