Cruciform Life International Ministries grew out of the heart of service of Ugandan Christians fellowshipping at Bulenga Healing Center, a church in the village of Bulenga. Bulenga, which is part of the Wakiso District, is located just west of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The Christians of Bulenga Healing Center were striving to promote the physical welfare and spiritual well-being of those around them – people in need of regular food and good nutrition, medical care, school fees, and other assistance, many of them children – while living in poverty themselves.
On a mission trip to Uganda in 2016, Lori Thomas met some of the young men from Bulenga Healing Center who were involved in this work. She heard how they, with the other young men they lived with, had agreed to rely on posho (a type of cornmeal porridge) for their everyday meals, foregoing protein themselves, in order to save money to be able to provide a few boiled eggs to feed some of their church’s children in greatest need of nutrition. Convicted by such sacrificial giving and upon hearing that the need was greater than what their very limited funds could support, Ms. Thomas began partnering with the native missionaries to fund efforts to expand the feeding program and child sponsorship ministries. With increased funding, the feeding program quickly grew to over 200 children per week, and by God’s grace, many children and adults have given their lives to Christ so far through this ministry!
Back in the U.S., Ms. Thomas and others in her church worked to raise awareness of the needs in Uganda and to bring in others to support the efforts financially. As the number of donors grew and, subsequently, the number of people being helped, it seemed prudent to formalize the work being done by creating an official non-profit organization/non-governmental organization (NGO). An official NGO would allow the ministry to recruit additional donors and provide a firm foundation for the ministry to grow in an orderly fashion. This work began in early November 2016 and was completed in September 2017 when Cruciform Life International Ministries obtained its official NGO status approval from the Ugandan government. We have established the U.S.-based Friends of Cruciform Life International Ministries company to support the ministry and were granted our 501(c)(3) status effective October 2017.
In March 2018, Ms. Thomas (now Mrs. Thomas-Weber) and her husband Brian moved to Kampala to work full-time with the ministry. Thanks to their efforts, Cruciform Life International Ministries now has approximately 65 sponsored children and continues weekly feeding and medical ministries, among other endeavors.