Maama Phoebe Orombi is the wife of Archbishop Henry Orombi (Anglican Church of Uganda). She has a strong thirst for God and an unwavering commitment to His Word, and she is deeply committed to the spiritual development of the women of Uganda . Jennifer meets regularly with her to pray and support her vision to contribute to the needs and well-being of the less advantaged women and girls in the country. The following is Maama Phoebe's first newsletter for this vital ministry. We have included some photos of our own.

"Women of Purpose"

I greet you all in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I trust and believe the Lord has kept you well! His faithfulness endures forever and His mercies are new to us every morning.

Let me take this great opportunity to introduce to you the Women of Purpose Ministry. This ministry was birthed out of Prayer and Faith; from a vision that God put in my heart.

Right from the beginning, I believed that God desired to have a relationship with me and you. Bearing in mind that God has created us in his image; we are called to reflect his image in the world. We can only fulfill this by doing the good works that God began as we further His Kingdom. We are called to show love to the hurting world because it is a duty to let the world experience the love of God. This ministry, Women of Purpose Ministry addresses these needs. Just like the Bible women who supported the ministry of Jesus, the Women of Purpose contribute to the needs and wellbeing of the less advantaged women and girls in our country and also offers counseling support to those that need it. God has called us into Ministry to be His feet, mouth, arms, eyes and ears. It is my prayer that God will speak to your heart to join and contribute to the growth of the Women of Purpose Ministry. God bless you.

Activities

The Women of Purpose are involved in various activities around the country; First of all, being a Faith and Prayer Ministry, we plan and organize monthly prayer fellowships. These are either a prayer breakfast at All Saints Church or an evening tea fellowship at a home. These prayer meetings have gone a long way in strengthening the members spiritually and socially because we pray about all issues that concern us and the people we care about as well as study the Word of God.

Currently we are raising funds and other resources for St. Peter's girls' Secondary School. This is an only Anglican Church of Uganda founded School in the Diocese; and it is unfortunate that the school has closed down because the girls have no accommodation. Previously, the Bishop had opted to house them in his guest wing but then the numbers became too big for him. In a bid to escape sexual harassment along the way to school, Parents are not willing to let their girls walk long distances to go to school so they withdrew their daughters and sent them to other boarding schools. There is a lot of female circumcision after which the young girls are forced to get married; sometimes as young as twelve years old, and so helping these girls to study in a secure environment will go along way to curb this practice. It is our prayer that this dormitory will be built and the girls will have an opportunity to come and study.

After raising over 13,000,000 Million Uganda Shillings (about $7000) from individual pledges, we organized and carried out two car washes at All Saints Church. We were able to raise another 1,560,760 Million Shillings in cash. We thank the lord so much. Thanks to all who participated especially the Youth of All Saints Church Kampala and the Women of Purpose; May God bless you! Special thanks to all who allowed us to wash their cars; we could not have done anything without you.

The intercessors have already visited the site for spiritual mapping, prayer and cleansing of the land. The report from there was amazing and encouraging for the Women of Purpose. We traveled to Sebei Diocese for the ground breaking ceremony on Thursday 24th August 2006. The whole exercise was amazing; we saw the love of God being manifested in the lives of many people as each of them committed to helping as much as possible to raise the Dormitory for the girls. We shall post the detailed report and the pictures on our website; still under construction

Mama Phoebe is also at the fore front of organizing many retreats and training workshops for various groups including annual Bishops' Wives retreats. She has been involved in organizing Training and Prayer Retreats for Bishops' Wives and Pastors' Wives in Uganda for the last two years; by the grace of God. So far they have been successful events and testimonies to this effect are amazing. We thank all of you who have given generously to make these trainings and retreats possible.

Activities do not only end here in Kampala; and for this reason, Mama Phoebe traveled to Kitgum to minister to the pastors' Wives from Kitgum Dioceses in a week long Retreat. Having moved from different parts of the Diocese and from Internally Displaced peoples' Camps, the Women confessed that it was worth the effort. All the leaders of the Christian women groups requested that we go back and teach them on the subject of prayer. Some time ago in September 2005, Maama Phoebe also traveled to Nebbi for a Women's Convention. She shared the Word of God and many came to the Lord. All praise, glory and honor belong to our Lord and savior who gives us the grace to serve Him.

Prayer Requests

• Pray that this Ministry will bless many lives to the glory of God
• Pray for the Success of the Bishops wives retreat next year 23rd – 27th January 2007 and the availability of funds
• Pray for good health to all our ministry partners
• Continue to pay for the healing of my back. It is difficult for me to travel and do home activities as any African Woman would desire.
• Pray for our forthcoming fundraising activities for the Sebei Girls Project; that God will touch the people to give generously
• Pray for the availability of funds for the school counseling project. This is a project to intervene against homosexuality and drug abuse in schools

My prayer for you is that you may prosper in all things; spiritually and physically.
Yours in Christ,

Maama Phoebe Orombi Patron; Women of Purpose Ministry