JOURNEY WITH THE OCENS IN UGANDA!
Jordan’s Story
God began writing the story of Gen House when Jordan was just four years old. At that age, he uniquely called her to care for unprivileged children in Africa. In the years to follow, she suddenly lost her dad—the most devastating event of her entire life. That fatherlessness, coupled with an eighth grade school project on the LRA War, blended Jordan’s journey to Gen House as we know it today. However, the clearest signs of that calling came during a study abroad to Gulu, Uganda (the location of Gen House), and then the next year when she returned to serve at an orphanage in the country. All of those events pointed to God’s purposes for her in Uganda and today, she is grateful to serve Christ compassionately alongside her husband, best friend, and Co-Founder, Ocen!
Ocen’s Story
Ocen gave his life to Christ at the young age of five and began the journey to his calling as a pastor and evangelist. He even tells stories of being an eight-year old preacher, passionately sharing the few words of the Bible he could read at the local borehole. Despite growing up double-orphaned amidst the LRA War, Ocen made an early decision to commit his whole life to Christ, and to cling firmly to his Word to persevere. That same zeal carried him through life and sustained some of the hardest battles he would face. Later in 2014, Ocen met Jordan during her study abroad to Uganda and together, they began a friendship that blossomed into marriage and their life of ministry together.
Serving Gen House Together
Today, Ocen and Jordan live as Believers on mission, serving the Biblical call of all Christians to care for orphans and the poor. Together in Gulu (Northern Uganda), days are spent in “the bush”, trekking through the tall grasses of their village to share in the Gospel with their neighbors and build relationships. From hut to hut, they evangelize to make Christ known, whether for the first time or in a way he’s never been shared.
Since opening our first school at Gen House, while awaiting the finished construction of the school’s administrative support house, they continue in the work of our church plant, The Word Community Church. There, Ocen serves as one of the now three pastors, and Jordan, a former schoolteacher, conducts children’s church every week with the help of a translator. This allows them to carry out their organization’s mission in a tangible way: serving vulnerable children and neighbors in the village daily, leading small group Bible studies and youth fellowship, discipling members of the local community from their homes, offering pastoral care for conflict resolution and daily relief, and mobilizing the village for the new school.
Support the Mission of The Ocens
The Ocens kindly ask for your monthly support to sustain their work in Uganda.
Currently, they receive no salary for their work in Gulu.
Becoming a monthly partner will help to cover their housing, feeding, transportation, and routine medical costs. This support will also allow them to continue being consistently present in the village to meet the socioeconomic and spiritual needs of their neighbors.
Click on the button below to join the journey with them!
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