08/02/2026
A roaring success for our Little Lights’ march toward “Dream Big” empowerment.
At Little Lights, we often try to find a move that offers much more than entertainment. Over the past couple of weeks, Deb has been working with a select group of Little Lights, preparing them for an activity rarely experienced at this age here, especially in remote areas of Uganda, such as Mbale. She has been preparing them for a debate to sharpen their presentation and analytical thinking skills. Last Saturday afternoon, six of our amazing Little Lights, young men and women between 16 and 18 years old, gathered in our living room to watch the movie “The Great Debaters”. The movie, based on a true story, centers on a small, little-known college debate team in the American South that soundly defeated the mighty, prestigious Harvard Debate Team. I captured the closing moments of the movie in pictures. In that moment, I was more captivated by those young Little Lights than by the movie.
The excitement in their eyes. The smiles. The hope. The belief that impossible things really can become possible.
That moment captured exactly why we do what we do.
We intentionally invite these young people into our home. They sit among shelves filled with hundreds of books because we want them to see that knowledge changes lives. They experience a home unlike any they have ever known, not to impress them, but to help them imagine what is possible. Dreams become more believable when you can touch them, walk through them, and realize they were built by ordinary people who simply refused to quit.
At Little Lights, we aren’t trying to raise children who merely survive poverty. We are raising young leaders who believe they can overcome it.
- Leadership.
- Knowledge.
- Character.
- Faith.
- Perseverance.
Those are the tools that change families, communities, and eventually nations.
As I captured their reactions, I couldn’t help but end on a photograph we have hanging quietly on our wall… our son, Sean.
A few days ago, on July 30, as with every anniversary, we marked and will always remember the day we lost him. His passing dramatically changed the course of our lives. The work of One City Ministries, Light Village, and The Sean Medical Center stands today because of the love, compassion, and purpose that emerged from that heartbreaking loss.
In many ways, every dream awakened, every child encouraged, and every life saved or transformed carries a small part of Sean’s living legacy forward.
Watching these young people that evening, I couldn’t help but think… how broadly Sean is smiling.
On the day of the event, this past Saturday, all the coaching and vision-casting paid off big. I’m sure Sean was smiling again as he watched Deb work her magic at the Little Lights debate event, which I had the honor of judging. What a monumental, fantastically empowering event it was.
The Little Lights motto, Dream Big, Aim High, Go Far, became a little more attainable for the entire Little Lights community. That day, they all watched as this team effectively and skillfully presented their argument.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” — John 1:5
