When Helping Heals
“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness…”
—Isaiah 58:10 (NIV)
There are moments in ministry that mark you forever. This trip to Uganda was one of them.
For two weeks, I walked red dirt roads and holy ground—places where heartbreak and hope live side by side. I listened to stories that wrecked me in the best kind of way. I worshiped in rooms with no electricity but overflowing with the light of God. I held hands, wiped tears, danced with children, and saw God in places I didn’t expect.
But more than anything, I saw the Gospel in motion—because of you.
Pittman Park, we are a Victory Church. Through your giving, your prayers, and the faithful sponsorship of ten Victory students by individuals, families, and Sunday school classes, we are part of something eternal. We’re not just sending money—we’re sending love. We’re not just funding education—we’re fueling transformation.
I want to tell you about Ronah.
She’s 15. Just over a year ago, she was found scavenging for food in a trash pile—never having stepped foot in a school, never told she was valuable. When I met her last summer, she barely spoke. She clung to the edges of the room, unsure if she belonged.
This year?
She ran to me with joy.
She smiled. She joked. She braided my hair. She prayed over me.
The girl who was once silent now speaks life.
That’s what helping with dignity does. That’s what the ministry of Victory Children’s Outreach makes possible. That’s what your generosity and faithfulness is bringing to life—not just in Uganda, but in the Kingdom of God.
This Sunday, we continue our Summer Reading series with the book When Helping Hurts. It’s not just a catchy title—it’s a challenge. Are we living and giving in ways that uplift or unintentionally tear down? Are we helping with wisdom, humility, and love—or just ease and good intentions?
What I saw in Uganda confirmed it: real help always looks like love. It listens. It waits. It walks with, not ahead. It honors people’s dignity and joins their journey with grace.
And here’s the truth I carry home:
Mission doesn’t just happen across the ocean.
It happens across the street.
It happens in the way we love and serve each other right here in Statesboro, in our church, and in our everyday commitment to loving God and others.
So let’s keep going, friends.
Let’s keep giving generously.
Let’s keep learning to love wisey land well.
Let’s keep being a church that chooses compassion over convenience, presence over pity, restoration over rescue.
Because when we do…
Children dance. Darkness lifts. And the light of Christ shines brighter in us and through us.
God bless and see you soon,
Stephanie
