Monday, December 28, 2009

The Loss of a Friend

It's with much sadness of our hearts that we share the loss of another friend from Bethesda International, in Jinja Uganda. On Christmas Day 2009 Rebecca Kimbugwe, home foster mother of 30 children and young people at Guardian Home, passed away in a Kampala Hospital. It was quite painful to hear the news since we just saw her in early November on our last visit to Jinja and we spoke about seeing her again on our next visit. It has been a tremendous shock and heart ache to everyone since her death happened so suddenly and unexpectedly.

We met Rebecca in 2003 when we first met Ruth Mirembe who founded Bethesda International. Ruth and Rebecca were both foster mothers to the first children of Bethesda when it first began. Rebecca has spent most of the years of her adult life caring for the orphans and vulnerable children of Uganda by working with Bethesda International. She was an amazing woman full of energy and passion for life! The kids and I just visited Bethesda Int'l. in early November and were able to see Rebecca for a short visit where she shared her excitement of their home church where her and her husband were pastoring. She was a woman who was full of faith and wanted to share her love for God with everyone she met! I will so miss our conversations about life and family, and about our dreams and ideas for new projects. I will miss hearing her call my name, "Kate". She was one of my only Ugandan friends who called me Kate, not Katie and it always brought joy to my heart to hear her friendly greeting. We will miss her dearly!!
Please be praying for her husband and her family and especially the many children that have now lost their mother! Although many of her children are sponsored by a German NGO, Bulungi e.V. (http://www.bulungi.de/index.php?id=55 ) there are kids that are in Guardian Home that are not sponsored. If you would like to help this family financially during this hard time please contact me, the above address, or http://www.bethesdainternational.org/.
November, 2009

3 comments:

Caleb said...

Wow im so sorry to hear this she must have been a wonderful person to have taken care of 30 children and now our father in heaven well be taken care of her now but she looks very young. but we well be praying for you kate and jeff.

Caleb Lorenzen

Laura said...

Oh friend, I'm so sorry.

I pray for each of those kiddos and for all the people who are grieving for her right now- including each of you. I hope that God holds you in his arms and tangibly lavishes you with His love and peace.

Lisa G said...

Dear Katie,
It is such a shock when someone so vibrant, full of passion and purpose is taken. Her loss will be deeply felt and grieved. I pray for these precious children whom she mothered that they will know the comfort and love of their Father in heaven and continue to find help for their needs - emotionally, spiritually, and physically. So sorry!

Lisa