Seven Colorado Christian University students have stepped up to put AMAKA on the map of people's hearts. The team has a passion for joining our orphans, widows, local staff, and fellow AMAKA members to one another across borders, and they are determined to do just that!

Together the AMAKA team has created an AMAKA forum, where those who are committed to investing in ROWAN at $5 or more can talk directly to the people on the ground! ROWAN believes that this connection will not only encourage those in the rural villages, but it will erase the terms "donor" and "beneficiaries." ROWAN believes everyone is an equal family member who can speak and invest into each others lives. Investments can be financial, emotional and spiritual. In the end, this team knows that there just may be more investments coming from the Ugandan community to the outside world in forms of love, friendship, faith, and HOPE.

Consider joining AMAKA (which means family) and begin to build new friendships across borders with those you are impacting! 

What is ROWAN's Strategy? Click Here

Thank you to Falcon High School in Colorado Springs, CO for joining hands with us in our Lets Make Cents Program and raising $225! Miss Murphy's class challenged the rest of the school to join hands and collect change for our orphans in Uganda to go to school. They raised almost enough for 1 student to go to High School for an entire year! So exciting!

Which school is next? More info on Lets Make Cents Here.

UNENDING SMILES

Unmistakable smiles. Unconditional love. Unwavering strength. Unselfish servant hood. Unbreakable relationships. Unending fellowship with each other and with Jesus Himself. Unified hearts, spirits and lives. That is Mawanga.

I can’t seem to find the words to adequately describe my experience in Mawanga but I will try. My vision of the village and what I imagined it would be, didn’t quite meet up to what I experienced. I was stretched, challenged, humbled, strengthened, loved on, embraced, shown grace, mercy, and so much more that I could ever imagined.

From the first steps on the beautiful dirt, to the tears I left behind, I know one thing is for sure…God is moving among the people there. For me to catch a glimpse of His work was such a privilege and honor.

I have so many stories from the village. Journey with me to the remote village in eastern Uganda….We would be welcomed by friendly animals such as the cows, goats, chickens, lizards, the loud birds, and the lovely rats that paid a nightly visit as I dosed off the sleep..but that’s just the beginning. Then we would meet the individuals that make up the Mawanga community- and listen to the testimonies of the hundreds of lives ROWAN is impacting; which include a group of about 30-50 of the most beautiful and strong widows I have every met. Not to mention, 100 plus orphans who are being ministered to throughout the week, and the amazing local ROWAN staff who give their time sacrificially every day. They serve, love, and empower the people of Mawanga with the ability and vision that God gives to them. We would go together on a motorcycle within the 30 villages that ROWAN reaches to sit and encourage people living with HIV in their homes, we would prepare the garden for planting dozens of passion fruit trees, we would visit the adult literacy class that serves 80 community members weekly, and learn patience from the widows that make bead necklaces out of paper! After this long day, we would barely even notice the rats as we fall fast asleep under our mosquito nets! :)

One of my most memorable experiences was meeting all the secondary students (high school) and hearing about their dreams and goals! In addition, I got to teach songs to the young children, and walk around the land that we believe the Lord will give us one day for a school. But even with all of these incredible memories and, I had found something even greater. I realized that the more time I spent in Mawanga, the more I got to SEE Jesus.

From the preparation state I was encouraged to go with an openness of the heart, soul, and mind. I was challenged to OPEN my eyes and SEE. So many times we can go watch and look from afar, but when you are aware and you stop to SEE what is right in front of you, it changes everything. Each time I went to Mawanga, I wanted to see what Jesus wanted me to see. I prayed that He would show me who to see with spiritual eyes, who needs to be loved, touched, and given value and hope. I desired to see beyond what I could physically see. I can’t tell you how that changed me. I saw Jesus do so many things…I saw how He is bringing tangible HOPE to people. I saw how He reaches down and carries the weary. I saw how He supports and provides for the widows. I saw how He is restoring relationships, bringing community and fellowship into a place that has been so desperate for it. I saw how He has brought smiles of joy back on the faces of so many who have felt helpless in the past. I realized that when I was willing to go where He called me, He welcomed me into a family that loves radically and unconditionally. I saw how Jesus is healing, making all things new, and drawing each person to Himself. I saw how alive Jesus is and dwelling there in Mawanga. I saw how much more Jesus’ love is for me.

I cannot think of a more beautiful place to have spent my time. There is life, freedom, and HOPE rising! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have come alongside ROWAN and everyone involved! I am looking forward to many more moments in the village as I plan to go back in April. Time to head back to my second home. Wanna come visit? :)

REQUEST MORE INFO TODAY!

Download Application Form Here

Current volunteer opportunities in Mawanga:

Ministry Team: June 29-July 15 2012

Vocational training, Sunday school training, Orphan camps, Widow seminars, Evangelistic Outreaches, Music/Drama/Dance

Medical Teams: June 29- July 15 2012 with Ministry Team

Are you a doctor, nurse, physician’s assistant, public health professional, dentist, or medical student? Mawanga’s private clinic, which consists of five local staff members and one dentist, could use assistance any time of year—from conducting medical seminars on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, counseling, to conducting check-ups and focus groups. Internships also are available for up to six months.

Work Teams: June 1- June 17 2012

Come build a ROWAN Main Hall on our new property in 2012! Or perhaps upgrade the ROWAN guest house for future volunteers! Everything from laying bricks- to painting - to gardening. These opportunities are available NOW.

1. Dig those coins out of the bottom of your pockets

2. Drop 'em in our ROWAN piggy Bank

2. Tell everybody what you are doing

3. And who you are doing it for

Even if you are a Sunday School class, a Small group, a Family- ANY Unit of people willing to come together and collect change for these orphans is welcome!

So far two classrooms out of Southern California raised $90.60!

Check out more about how your school or class can get involved HERE!

Our widows are working hard in the village this week creating more of their Signature Collection beads for the Christmas season! Each woman makes a specific color bead when she signs her name on EACH bead for a personal touch! You can read more about this Collection HERE.

Interested in buying these necklaces for Christmas gifts? Email us at elaina@loveROWAN.com with your order.

Interested in helping ROWAN sell these beads at your local Christmas boutique or store? Contact Kelsey@loveROWAN.com right away!

One of the current micro enterprise projects ROWAN initiated is Passion Fruit! I had the honor to take part in the preparation and planting of the very first passion fruit trees. I joined 20-25 widows from the ROWAN program and what a privilege it was for me to stand next to these beautiful and strong women. I absolutely loved watching them in community with each other, laughing, and working alongside one another. Each one of them carry their own story of hope and it is evident in every way.

Not only is this Passion Fruit garden going to provide income for these women, it is the beginning process for the entire community to adopt and benefit from the fruitful harvest. The trees we planted created a demonstration garden which will be a way for the entire community to learn and begin to plant in their own homes! ROWAN’s hope is to equip and empower the entire community which will in turn have a greater impact on all those in Mawanga and beyond!

*Read more about Joy's journey into Mawanga and the heart of ROWAN here.

Remember that one verse that says to never look down on those who are young? Well, ROWAN has learned the full meaning of those words after receiving 1000 Singapore dollars from the students of Fairfield School for our orphans' uniforms. The students pictured above, along with their kind teacher, Sheena Sutherson, held a fundraiser. For eight hours they toiled in the kitchen, cooking yummy chocolate baked goods and then sold the fruits of their labor to friends, neighbors and family. Because of those young students, our HOPE metre increased significantly--and more than thirty of our orphans will have uniforms for school this year. Inspiring, to say the least!

Want to hold a fundraiser of your own? Go for it! You can email ROWAN for support, ideas and details at info@loveROWAN.com.

Want to come alongside these students and donate to make another orphan's school year? Click here!

For the second year in a row, ROWAN children received Samaritan's Purse boxes full of toys! Boys and girls immediately ripped open the tape and started rummaging through the unknown shapes and sizes of gadgets, calculators, hats, toothbrushes, bibles, baby dolls, play-doh, and sweets. The laughing and smiles in the room were simply breathtaking.

Watching it all take place, ROWAN team members realized that the saying is true: It is truly better to give than to receive.

If you make a Samaritan's Shoebox every year, keep it up! Tangible blessings like these keep our children's hope very much alive.