A Few Vitamins

Here is a God-story that is still developing…

While on furlough, our kids’ previous school, SBEC, asked for a list of supplies they could gather to send back for the orphanage. We told the 2nd and 7^th grade classes that they could collect Gatorade powder (which is good for hydrating sick children, but is unavailable here) and children’s gummy multivitamins (to improve overall health of the children). The students collected enough Gatorade to make about 400 liters – that should last quite a while! They also collected over 30 bottles of vitamins – fabulous. But God had bigger plans from this great group of students…

At the end of November we got a call to inform us that one of the student’s parents had organized a donation of vitamins from a pharmaceutical company. They were shipping TWO PALLETS of children’s vitamins to the school for Good Shepherd’s Fold! We were blown away by a gift that is literally “more than we could have asked or thought possible.”

When the pallets arrived at SBEC, we took a picture with some of the 7^th graders and more than 250 boxes of vitamins in the school lobby. In total, there are 3,108 bottles of children’s multivitamins. Praise the Lord! They literally donated “a ton” of vitamins as the total weight is over 1,930 pounds.

Being unable to pack that much in our luggage, we began looking for shipping options with the help of a few friends. One person offered to donate the cost. Another friend in the shipping business looked up shipping rates for us. Someone else contacted their FedEx international shipping rep to inquire about a charitable discount. Meanwhile, we headed back to Uganda, waiting for more information. The offer from FedEx was the best rate and we were grateful for their generosity; yet the cost was still almost $4,000. FedEx was offering a HUGE discount, but it was still more than we felt we could responsibly pay. Customs fees can also be huge on incoming shipments. We turned to the Lord, grateful for the miracle of the vitamins and asked for another miracle to get them to GSF.

That is where the story is still unfolding. We asked the 7^th graders to be praying – the students at SBEC have a daily reminder to pray, because the pallets are still sitting in their lobby. I can’t give too much information regarding a plan that hasn’t come together, but… We have contacted a large team of people who are coming to Uganda in March. They are not coming to work with GSF, but we had already discussed ways we could connect while they are here. They have told us “not to worry” and a plan is being developed whereby they may be able to bring all 3,108 bottles of vitamins to us. Please pray with us and stay tuned. God is not finished with this miracle just yet!