One man can make a difference in a community filled with orphaned children.
By Jervae Brooks
– Jan Winnes and Bossa John departing from Seattle in July, 2023.
Jinja, Uganda is a city on the northern shores of Lake Victoria and known for its location at the source of the great River Nile. It is a city of roughly 300,000 people, not far from the capital city of Kampala. There are many factories located there, but the main economy of Jinja is agriculture.
Whenever we think of the children of Africa, for most of us the plight of orphans quickly comes to mind. A brief Google search reveals there are an estimated 3.5 million children in Uganda alone, who are orphaned. Many were orphaned due to either Aids or violence. These children, at no fault of their own, face discrimination and are often marginalized because of the culture’s stigma that accuses AIDS orphans of committing witchcraft or sorcery.
In the city of Jinja alone, there are no fewer than 73 orphanages listed in Google! The needs are overwhelming, and no one can help them all – but God has placed the call on many people to each help the ones they can.
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Recently, during The Way conference at Sonrise, we were joined by brothers and sisters in Christ from a number of nations, including one man from Jinja, Uganda. Maybe some of you met him? He may have seemed quiet but there was a lot for him to take in. This was his first experience in a charismatic church, and his first time at a Christian conference. He loved them both! Our Sonrise family reached out and welcomed him warmly and joyfully.
John Bossa, or Bossa John as he is called in Uganda, is a young man of 30-something, who is carrying a huge responsibility on his shoulders. He is the husband of his wife Doreen, the father of four natural-born children, and the adoptive father of more than 300 orphans. He rents two houses in Jinja, providing a permanent home for nearly 100 of the children that God has led to his door. He owns no home or apartment of his own but he and his family of 6 live in the larger orphanage in a shared bedroom. Many of the other 200+ children come for weekends, holidays and times when they have nowhere else to find safety and a meal to eat.
Bossa John understands the plight of these children. He was orphaned himself at a young age, and for many years he never knew when or where he might find his next meal. He remembers feeling as though he was on a perpetual fast for about 7 years, some days having no food at all and some days one meal. He understands the physical as well as the emotional needs of his children. He also deeply understands their need to learn about their heavenly Father and develop a strong relationship with Him. Daily he seeks God for ways to provide both.
Bossa John is well known and respected in the community. They know his children because they are not like many other of the youth who have fallen into the drug and sex business. Every week, he says, the police come with children for him to care for, or someone in the community brings him a child, or children themselves come to his door looking for a safe place. With a broken heart, he often must turn them away because he has no more room. His 12-year-old daughter tells him, “We can take her Daddy. She can sleep in my bed,” and John knows she is already sleeping with several small ones! He makes hard decisions to accept them into their big family, trusting God to provide for them all. He places as many as he can into homes in the community, in a foster home situation, and then provides all their needs for food, clothes, school, and medical needs.
Bossa John was introduced to us by Jan Winnes, a friend of Dwight and Jervae Brooks. Jan and her husband Larry, who was called to heaven in May 2022, were missionaries together for many years. In the early days they smuggled Bibles throughout Eastern Europe, and later lived and ministered in China, Mongolia, and a number of other nations*. When Jan met Bossa John at a Christian leader’s retreat where he had been sent on a scholarship, God spoke to her heart to “help this man.”
Both Jan Winnes and Bossa John were blessed to be with us for The Way conference, and to feel God’s love in true Sonrise fashion. While they are seeking God together for His avenues of provision, they know that all provision comes through prayer, trusting God for all things.
Thank you for your prayers for Jan Winnes as she mentors and helps to seek provision for the orphans in Jinja who are under the care of Bossa John and his wife Doreen – The Master Children’s Ministries. And for your prayers for Bossa John and his growing family in Jinja!
– Bossa John and many of his children outside one of the homes he rents in Jinja, Uganda.
CLICK AMAZON BOOK LINK https://a.co/d/h8SU2tc
(* Read their amazing story in the book, River of Faith: A Life Story of Serving the Persecuted Church, by Larry Winnes – available on Amazon.)https://a.co/d/h8SU2tc
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