Help Us Protect Gem Village This Earth Day!
When we bought Gem Village six years ago, it was better than we had thought possible! The only strange thing about the property was the triangle shape that seemed to have been cut out. Before we bought the property, the land broker who helped us find it asked the neighbors if they would sell their land to "fill in" the space. People at the time were skeptical and in no rush to sell.
We have consistently prayed that God would somehow make that piece of land available. However, this year, much of the land in our area has started being sold to different property companies. These companies buy land and divide it into small 100-foot by 50-foot plots, typically 7 plots per acre.
One day, as I {Josh!} was driving home from the office at the end of the day, I was shocked to see that every tree in the property, just 30 feet up the hill from where the assisted living homes sit had been bulldozed to the ground. A small dirt road was cut, and a company was surveying plots!
We asked around only to find out a prominent real-estate company had purchased the four acres adjacent to our property and is planning on putting in about 32 single-residence plots. This greatly burdened our hearts as we loved being tucked away in the forest and having the Gem’s grow in a protected, peaceful, and healing environment.
Since the planned plots are only 30 feet from the doorstep of the assisted living homes there is also an enormous concern for flooding. The assisted living homes are all downhill from this property.
One of our guards messaged me one Sunday at 1:00am to tell me that water was running down from the newly put-in road, and a mudslide was flooding both assisted living homes, leaving a muddy mess inside the homes.
A second issue with flooding is that when it rains heavily in Uganda, trash and sewage are released into the flowing "stream" to "take care of" the sewage.
With much prayer and help from our Ugandan Gem board members, we arranged for the company's owner to meet with us. We did some basic negotiating to find out what his asking price was. We have felt conflicted with Gem raising money to finish building the Gem school and yet still, we are praying that there will be another solution and that the Lord will provide for the Gem and do a miracle again. We hold onto this hope and ask for your prayers to make it a reality.
So far, a few people have pledged toward the land! We need $52,000 more to reach our goal of purchasing the land to protect our Gems! We have an enormous God and are confident He will meet and supply our needs. With this huge burden on our hearts we are humbly asking if on Earth Day you would help us finish purchasing this land?
Together we can purchase the land for our adult Gems! Click HERE to learn more and to help. Thank you!!
