Uganda: Agape Needs Our Help!Agape Total Childcare Center, the orphanage and school SIFAT mission teams built in Uganda, has been hit hard in recent weeks by COVID-19. Although Uganda had been spared during much of last year, it has now been declared a Level 4 country by the U.S. State Department and CDC because the disease is spreading rapidly. The Ugandan government has declared a lockdown, and most students in boarding schools have been unable to return home to their families. At Agape, three of our original children (now young adults) are currently in the hospital, and several more have tested positive with COVID. In the close dormitory conditions in which they live, it is very hard to isolate and quarantine those with symptoms. Although WHO safety protocol is being adhered to as much as possible, the virus continues to spread. Funds are desperately needed for food, medicines, hospital care and to replenish sanitizers and masks.  Prior to this outbreak, Agape implemented COVID-19 protocols to keep everyone healthy. Here early in the pandemic, the students in the secondary school have the temperature taken by the school nurse (an Agape graduate) before entering the classrooms. June 2021: Summer at SIFATEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. This month, we share about summer at SIFAT in Alabama this year – Worship on the Water and Learn & Serve Retreats! Written by Marie Lanier, Promotions and Marketing Coordinator Worship on the Water 2021The summer season has kicked off in Alabama! From Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend, SIFAT sponsors Worship on the Water (WOW) for our local community and visitors to Lake Wedowee. A guest speaker and musician/musical group lead the service, which starts at 9 a.m. and lasts about an hour. We meet under the pine trees on the shore of the lake at Lakeside Marina, just north of downtown Wedowee on US Highway 431. After postponing and eventually making the difficult decision to cancel last summer, it has been a breath of normalcy to return to our Sunday morning tradition. May 2021: Meeting Immediate Needs in EcuadorEditor’s Note: Each month, we mail an article with our contribution statements to the previous month’s donors. Click here to download a PDF version. We began SIFAT Doctor in your House/The Golden Bread in response to needs in the communities in which we serve in Ecuador because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. To see all of our previous updates about these programs, click here. Written by Marie Lanier, Promotions and Marketing Coordinator When we first heard of COVID-19, we optimistically believed that our international mission teams would be postponed for a few months, and we would reorganize before too long to serve alongside our SIFAT graduates. As we realized the severity of this novel virus and its ability to spread, we were forced to make difficult decisions to protect our team members, staff, translators and the communities in which we serve. Here in the United States now, our daily lives are being minimally impacted by the virus. We may be required to wear a mask or need to self quarantine after a known exposure. Great strides have been made in treatment, and free vaccines are available for those who choose to have them. No, the pandemic is not over for us, but we have many resources available.  The Golden Bread provides food for families who do not have enough to eat. Worship on the Water 2021
We’re back! Worship on the Water at Lake Wedowee this summer …After having to cancel WOW last year, we are so excited to be looking forward to seeing you in a few short weeks. It actually feels like summer now that we’re looking forward to WOW. Please help us spread the word that we will kick off the summer on May 30 – Memorial Day Weekend – at 9 a.m. under the pines at Lakeside Marina. Come by boat, come by car, come as you are! In Memoriam: John Carr, the SIFAT GardenerIt is with heavy hearts and our deepest sorrow that we announce that our beloved gardener, John Carr, passed away unexpectedly on March 26, 2021. John made an impact on every person’s life who came on our campus from the beautiful landscaping he created to the delicious vegetables he grew. He will be greatly missed, and we join his family in our grief. Thank you for your outpouring of love and support. We received so many social media comments, emails and phone calls from around the world as the news spread among friends, former staff and SIFAT graduates. We will never know how many were touched by the wealth of knowledge John passionately shared during the classes he taught in our trainings, the tours he gave to visitors and the countless conversations held all over campus. We hope you will join our SIFAT family and the Carr family as we celebrate John’s life on July 31 at SIFAT. Time to be announced.  John Andrew Carr May 20, 1960 – March 26, 2021 |
|
