Eveline & Jude
One of our greatest passions and our cornerstone program is called The Faithful House. You’ve probably heard of it, but it’s worth repeating the power of this program, healing families and fortifying them against the tribulations of the day. As our longtime followers know, The Faithful House is aimed at protecting and nurturing families, especially those under the hardship of extreme poverty.
In February, I spent time with a couple in Uganda named Eveline and Jude. They participated in The Faithful House training 10 years ago, and its effects on their family life endure today. When asked about what life was like for them prior to the training, they told me that Jude was an absent father, Eveline an overworked mother, and their children craved the attention of their parents. Neither Eveline nor Jude had received good parenting examples in their childhood. Both of them came from polygamous families. Jude has 24 siblings, nearly all of them from different mothers. When Jude was growing up, his parents did not invest time in knowing their children for their ideas or in preparing them for the future. Eveline said from the time she was born, she never received a hug or any affection from her father. It was just the way things were, but it stunted her emotional development, to the point that she feared falling in love and trusting any man with her heart. For this reason, although together for more than 20 years, the couple only married officially after being trained in The Faithful House. She saw a different man and father emerge from that program from the Jude she had known before, and she knew that he would care for her as she always imagined a husband would. Today, they are thriving beyond all their expectations.
You can meet Eveline and Jude and hear them in their own words and the bottom of this post, and on our website and social media pages. Find “Maternal Life International” on Facebook, YouTube and on Instagram to hear them for yourself. We are sure you will be inspired.
The Faithful House program is important now more than ever. In our living memory as well as in the roots of the last century, we have seen damage to the traditional family play out in the sexual revolution, resulting in the current state of affairs in the West regarding marriage and faith, and the definition of the family. When life becomes about the quest for self-fulfillment instead of God, a variety of pursuits try to fill the void. Lost in its wake is the expression of self-sacrificial love within a family, a commitment firmly grounded in the divine. Rediscovery of this kind of love is a vital antidote to Western society’s current ills, a darkness which we see all too often with a quick look at our daily newsfeed. Crime is increasing, an epidemic of fatherlessness proliferates, addictions to stave off feelings of hopelessness is commonplace.
Unfortunately, despite being somewhat insulated from the current trends of Western culture, Africa, and families like Jude and Eveline’s, are under threat. There is a well-funded push for this alternative view on human life and sexuality that is being promoted in Africa. Some Africans call it the ‘new colonialism.’ Foreign aid is tied to promoting social causes, like abortion, and other causes that undermine traditional marriage and family. As the late Holy Father John Paul II said, “As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live.” When living under the hardship of extreme poverty, it becomes all too easy to accept conditions that will ultimately destroy the very fabric of your society.
What we need is a renaissance of the cooperative kind of love and faithful marriage illustrated by the witness of Eveline and Jude. An intact faithful family can adapt superbly to changing economic and political realities. In fact, in our experience, we’ve seen husbands and wives pull themselves out of the direst situations, with no increase in income, simply by learning to work together in financial management, by planning their families together, by sharing in all family activities, from household chores to educating and raising their children, and above all, by placing God at the center of their lives. Please meet Eveline and Jude by watching our video and remember the countless couples who have been similarly transformed because of your support of MLI’s work. Thank you!
Mark your calendars, folks! We are embarking on MLI’s first annual, once in a lifetime opportunity to experience Africa as few have seen it. We will step off on a 7-day charity walk in Kenya, traversing some of the most pristine geography in the world, tent camping among God’s creation with camels walking alongside to carry our gear, and sharing an adventure with like-minded people who have the heart for MLI’s transformational work. It will also offer a chance to see in action MLI’s powerful work to nurture secure families and safe birth. We will introduce you to our program partners in Kenya and you will hear first-hand from many whose lives have been transformed from your support. The process of walking continuously for 7 days has great significance. We walk in solidarity with all those children who walk miles to fetch water and find sticks for firewood for their families each day. We walk in solidarity with those pregnant mothers who struggle for hours to reach a safe facility to give birth. We walk in solidarity with those fathers who must awake before sunrise to find work that will supply their family with a sustainable wage. May the steady rhythm of our steps mirror the steady rhythm of the heartbeats of all those families in Africa who are healthier, more secure and more prosperous because of our walking. We are looking for 10 of our most adventurous supporters to join us on this trek, people who have the time and resources to make the journey, and the passion to help us fundraise for this mighty cause. Our goal is to raise $50,000 through our communal efforts, so that MLI can take our programs to new locales where marriage, birth and family suffer from the hardships of extreme poverty.
If this adventure and cause speaks to you, if you have always wanted to visit Africa and if you want to have a greater appreciation for this cause, please contact Jeff at maternallifeinfo@gmail.com for more information. Perhaps you’d like to embark on this walk for families with a family member of your own at your side. Even better!
Twende Pamoja!!
SPEND A FEW MONTHS IN RWANDA
We are looking for an adventurous volunteer to spend a few months in Rwanda working with our partners on a new project there. We have been invited to introduce our family life curriculum to the diocese of Byumba, and are hiring a local couple to serve as facilitators. Our volunteer will work alongside the couple and officials in the diocese, helping to organize the roll-out of the program, making sure deadlines are met, and helping us with grant updates and reporting. Are you a public health professional, nurse, or highly organized individual with experience abroad? Do you happen to know French? Are you interested in spending a few months immersing yourself in a new culture and helping promote safe birth and secure families in Rwanda? Then we are looking for YOU! Give us a call at 720-320-4284 or fill out an application. We look forward to hearing from you about this unique opportunity.
