Hey Sweet Friends,
We’ve been reliving these special moments from The Groundbreaking ceremony over and over again. We are so thankful for our sweet friends who gave of their time to document our special day!
With it being the rainy season I was nervous for the day and the possibility of mud with the wheelchairs. We prayed together and God held the rain off until the afternoon! It was sunny blue skies and excitement was in the air. From the moment The Gems and Staff arrived you could hear the bus turn off from the main road with shouts of joy from our Gems! The Gem Village will be home for our kids and a place of complete wheelchair accessibility – a home and village with no limits. What that means for our Gems fills me with such excitement and joy and boy did they know this day was about them!
It was a joyful celebration as we held a ceremony with our Gems, Staff, Board members, Government officials – including the Mayor of our area and Town clerk. We also had partners and friends attend this special day! We wanted the ceremony to celebrate what God has done as well as dedicate the land to the future of The Gem Village. We asked our dear Pastor’s from Watoto Church as well as some of our closest Pastor friends to pray over the land.
We prayed, we sang and we even danced. Some gave speeches and shared the vision for The Village. In our Village and surrounding area, there are already six known families of children with special needs. God knew and I can’t help but know that He chose us to move there “for such a time as this”! We are so excited to be a part of sharing the value of every person adult and child alike!
We wanted to thank you again for your generosity in giving towards the Gem Village! On behalf of our Gems, thank you, thank you, thank you! We couldn’t have done this without you and we are so thankful for your love, prayers, and support!
Lots of Love from Uganda, – EmmaLee & Joshua Quisenberry and the whole IVO and Gem team
DONATE TO THE GEM VILLAGE
We are so excited that this long-awaited week is finally here! For several years you have prayed with us and stood with us as we searched for land to call, our forever home.
Finally, after diligently searching for years – the Gem land was found! A beautiful piece of 88.8 acres with fertile soil, beautiful trees, and open spaces just longing to be called home. We were overjoyed when you gave generously to make this land a reality! In April of 2017, we officially purchased the Gem Village land and dreamed of the day building would begin.
In September of 2017, we hosted a team from Engineering Ministries International a team of engineers and architects from around the world. This wonderful team included those from Iran, America, Canada, Australia, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Each day they heard our hearts, dreamed with us and eventually developed the master plan for The Gem Village. In just a little over a week with the team, the first building designs were finished as well as a master plan. Our dream of a fully accessible village for our Gems was becoming a reality!
Then Christmas season came around and so many of you gave above and beyond and the funds to build not one but four homes!! You guys blew our socks right off!
In Spring of 2018 began the detailed designs of the Gem’s homes. This would allow us to have blueprints and officially get the ball rolling towards building!
The Engineers and architects have worked tirelessly, and the dream placed on our hearts from God is about to come into fruition and we couldn’t be more excited! This past week we hosted a team of contractors who will be making bids on the actual building, which EMI will oversee. The proposals have all been submitted and now begins the time where we review the bids and get to choose a contractor that will make this village a reality for our Gems!
This Thursday, October 11th, 2018 is the official groundbreaking ceremony! We are overjoyed and so humbled that this long journey has led us here. We couldn’t have come this far without prayer and each of you! Thank you for praying for us, supporting this vision and walking this long road with us. We are so thankful for you! We truly wouldn’t have come this far if it wasn’t for you. On behalf of our precious Gems thank you, thank you, thank you!
Lots of Love from Uganda,
– EmmaLee & Joshua Quisenberry and the whole IVO and Gem team
With it being the rainy season I was nervous for the day and the possibility of mud with the wheelchairs. We prayed together and God held the rain off until the afternoon! It was sunny blue skies and excitement was in the air. From the moment The Gems and Staff arrived you could hear the bus turn off from the main road with shouts of joy from our Gems! The Gem Village will be home for our kids and a place of complete wheelchair accessibility – a home and village with no limits. What that means for our Gems fills me with such excitement and joy and boy did they know this day was about them!
It was a joyful celebration as we held a ceremony with our Gems, Staff, Board members, Government officials – including the Mayor of our area and Town clerk. We also had partners and friends attend this special day! We wanted the ceremony to celebrate what God has done as well as dedicate the land to the future of The Gem Village. We asked our dear Pastor’s from Watoto Church as well as some of our closest Pastor friends to pray over the land.
We prayed, we sang and we even danced. Some gave speeches and shared the vision for The Village. In our Village and surrounding area, there are already six known families of children with special needs. God knew and I can’t help but know that He chose us to move there “for such a time as this”! We are so excited to be a part of sharing the value of every person adult and child alike!
We wanted to thank you again for your generosity in giving towards the Gem Village! On behalf of our Gems, thank you, thank you, thank you! We couldn’t have done this without you and we are so thankful for your love, prayers, and support!
Lots of Love from Uganda, – EmmaLee & Joshua Quisenberry and the whole IVO and Gem team
DONATE TO THE GEM VILLAGE
