Will my Father Return Home?

Will my father return home?This is the question on Joan’s lips.Joan ‘s father was released from prison in January this year ,but he never returned home,he had spent 8 years in Prison ,his children always looked forward to the day he would come home,but alas this not happened yet .

Last Saturday Joan who is 10 years old asked Marjorie our outreach coordinator whether it was true that her father was released and whether he will return home, Joan told Marjorie that she loves her father and would want to meet him outside the prison walls and stay with him but she doesn’t know where he is.

For the last three years with the help of Wells of Hope she has been meeting him within the prison environs, it would be a great joy for Joan to meet her father this time outside the prison. Please pray for Joan so that she can meet her Dad.

Joan is a happy and friendly young girl . she has two sisters,Lillian and Maureen . She loves being at school and believes it is a big chance she has acquired.

Joan’s father was jailed for charges relating to acid burns he is alleged to have inflicted on his wife Aida. as days of Joan’s father’s release drew nearer ,Joan’s mom ,who has many scars on her body became more worried because she feared that the father of her children would return to kill her and when she got to know that he had been released she abandoned the children and went to southern Sudan to work as housemaid. The children are now under the guardianship of Aida’s sister.

This is now a dilemma for these children, Dad is no where to be found and their mother has also abandoned them.

We have other children like Joan whose fathers were released and never returned home, yet they are believed to be alive. Such children include Nagujja Mary, Nalugo Jackie.

On the 21^st and 22^nd July 2011 we will be taking the children to visit their parents in prison, however,for Children like Joan, they have to be helped to handle the disappearance of their parents.

In the picture attached, Joan (Extreme right in green uniform)is seated with her father in prison, this was last year when children visited their parents in prison.

Francis Ssuubi

Young Workers - Watoto North visted childtren of prisoners at Wells of Hope Academy on the 25gth June 2011 Saturday.They played,prayed for them children.They counselled them and donated some foodstauffs and an assortment of clothes

Sports Competition

Children of Prisoners at Wells of Hope Academy are competing with a neighboring school.The games include football and netball

A test of forgiveness

Last week will be one for me and the ministry to reckon, we had a marathon of outreaches in prison. Children of prisoners visited their parents in four different Prisons. Working with VFI we took the gospel to Kasangati and in Kigo Prison we worked with Watoto 360.Everything was real magnificent.

On Thursday, while visiting the prison, I saw Godwin Tumusiime, one of the suspects who reportedly confessed to killing Khan Kakama a 16-month old baby, and dumped the dead body in a swamp. The media was awash with the gruesome murder of Khan for over two months from 8th June 2010 when the baby disappeared.And the story goes that Godwin connived with Molly Nabassa a housemaid who handed Godwin the baby. And Godwin connived with one Brian Ssajjabi to abduct the baby. Godwin had earlier demanded a 30 million ransom for the child which was paid to him and had promised to direct Khan’s parents where the boy was, but this was not done ,together with his accomplice he went ahead to suffocate Khan to death .

When I saw Godwin Tumusiime among the inmates we were going to preach to, I was filled with rage, actually at that instant I wanted to go and confront him (I don’t know what I would do to him),but I remembered immediately that I was within a prison environ and besides I was there as a prison minister who has to reach out to inmates with love and not think of the crimes they committed.

We find ourselves at crossroads everyday as we reach out to prisoners, while inside the prison we are fueled by the love of God to reach out to the prisoners without considering their crimes( we teach the volunteers never to ask the inmates the crimes they committed), Outside the prison walls people are asking us why we reach out to criminals, actually others have said that we are rewarding crime by helping children of prisoners.

But the question here will always be “ What would Jesus do? “ Our answer just like for all prison ministers is embedded in Matthew 25:36,where Jesus says ,:…. I was in prison and you came to visit me.' As you may see,its not the prisoners we are reaching out to, but Jesus Christ the master . I think Jesus understood that all of us whether in prison or not are not worth, so He places Himself in our situation to shield us.Jesus lovingly presents Himself and pleads on our behalf. Again God through Jesus understands the pain of the suffering people for instance the sick, hungry ,poor and prisoners, he places Himself in their position, that is why Mathew 25:31-46 can be regarded a pivot for the future of the Human race. In these scriptures the reality of judgment is brought home where a distinction is made between the Sheep and the Goats.

As the service in the prison went on, I convinced myself that I had forgiven Godwin , and so I was able to re-compose myself because I was the main preacher, the other volunteers from Watoto 360 encouraged the inmates through testimonies and scriptures and words of exaltation. I can witness that the inmates were really touched and blessed.

When the service ended, as it happens normally at the end of the service prisoners come forth to shake hands, I realized Godwin was also stretching forward to meet us and shake hands ,I began struggling inside me, one voice inside me said that if i did that it would be as if I am appreciating what he did and at that point I had already started moving towards the gate out while telling the other volunteers to start moving away, but a still voice came to me and said,’ forgive, when I was in prison you visited me’, so I immediately turned back and at that time he had already finished greeting the other volunteers ,so I gave Godwin a smile, shook his hand .He thanked me for the message and for visiting them and I answered ,”you are welcome, God bless you”, immediately I regained my peace.” This was a test of forgiveness .

Francis Ssuubi