Jana Čížová, a former teacher at the Lutheran Elementary School in Martin, is now volunteering at the Center of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a refuge center in Uganda (SKCH) for children with HIV. Jana’s main role is helping the employees of the Center with caring for the physical and mental needs of the children.
“Caring about the children means primarily being concerned for the children´s education and teaching them English. Most of them can speak only in their language called ´Madi´, so they cannot communicate with other people in the Center or with their teachers or doctors”, says Jana. Jana´s experience in the Lutheran Elementary School is very helpful in this ministry in Uganda. “Many of my experiences from the Lutheran Elementary School in Martin are useful for me here because children are similar everywhere,” she adds.
Jana will be working as a missionary in Uganda for the next four months. This is a dream come true for Jana. Her decision to spend time in Uganda and help children has been a long term dream. “I have been interested is missions forever! When I read the ´profile of a volunteer in Uganda´ it felt like I was reading about myself. It encouraged my passion for missions and my desire to help children in Africa.”
The Center of the Immaculate Heart of Mary helps daily twenty girls, and thirty-five other younger girls go to the preschool which opened last May, said general secretary Radovan Gumulák. Most of these girls lost one or both parents to AIDS. They have daily healthcare and food at the Center, and thanks to our teacher Jana, will also be receiving training in English and Bible.
The Center of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is operated only by Slovak donors. Slovaks also participate in another related project called “Adoption from a Distance.” Today sixty children from Uganda have their ´Slovak parents´ through this mission project. “Children are growing in their culture. They learn how to be Christian and how to serve others in their homes, which I consider as very necessary,” said general secretary R. Gumulák. “We hope that the children from the Center of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Uganda will grow in Christ and as adults, will stay in their country and work to serve God and their neighbors.”
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A unique opportunity to do mission work in Eastern Europe is HERE FOR YOU! We call it “Adopt a CCE Staff Member.”
A number of Slovaks are proclaiming the Gospel through education right here at the Center for Christian Education. We would love to act as your proxy in the mission field of Eastern Europe. Your support (either through finances, prayers, or encouragement) will enable us to continue this invaluable work.
Our strategy is to connect every staff member with a partner congregation, institution, or individual(s). Our hope is that those who are willing to do so will perceive this staff-member as their very own overseas missionary. To adopt one staff member will cost $13,440 a year (or $1,120 a month). Our support cycle ranges from May 2013 – April 2014.
If you are interested in supporting a missionary through adopting one of our staff members, please learn about the different “Ways to Give” and find out how to make your gift tax-deductible. If you would like more information, please contact Sisa Brndiarova, our director of development at sisa.brndiarova(at)cce.sk. We are happy to answer any questions.
Jana, how delightful to meet you this summer. Some good friends of ours have just returned from Uganda after living and working with hundreds of orphans there as well as training many young men in their Bible school to prepare them for ministry in evangelism among their own people. How wonderful to read that God is directing others to reach out to Uganda as well. Emmanuel!