Royal Hope Academy

songwriter, she began helping by doing small fundraisers through concerts in order to help various organizations such as Feed the Children, Compassion International, and local feeding programs. In July of 2007 her dream finally came to pass to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations when she was blessed to travel to Kenya and Uganda! She was immediately captivated and fell in love with the people and the culture of Uganda. During her first trip, she ended up in a recording studio singing songs in Uganda’s local language, Luganda! She also began to see one of the deepest needs in this country was education. Everywhere she went through the nation, the primary request of children was for school fees, backpacks, and knowledge, though they obviously had many other basic needs as well such as food clothing and certainly, shelter and love.

In 2007, Rebecca returned to Uganda and led a small team from her church in Franklin, TN, Grace Center! The team was blessed to be able to take 15 suitcases full of school supplies, backpacks, shoes, clothing, and toys for the children, which were distributed in IDP camps, slums, schools, and village churches. After the team left, Rebecca stayed in Africa for six months and also traveled to Mozambique and Sierra Leone. Through her journey, she encountered desperate situation after desperate situation of death, poverty, hunger, and homelessness. During her stay, she had a powerful encounter with the Spirit of God in which she was commissioned by the Father to walk and war in His love and asked by Him to bring His lost children home! She knew she was being called to be a rescuer of orphans, at-risk children, and children in extreme bondage. The Holy Spirit birthed in Rebecca’s heart a vision to have a children’s village in which children would have a church, a school, a medical clinic, and be put into small group homes with parents who would adopt them and raise them as their own. She had rejected the traditional model of an efficient institutional orphanage and embraced a model that was more costly but would give children the true love, affection, and attention that they needed.

Following this extended stay in Africa, Rebecca returned to the US with a burning desire to continue pursuing this vision. A door of opportunity opened to her in which she was asked by local Ugandans to partner in order to build and open a school for orphaned children in the heart of a slum area in Busega, Kampala, Uganda. In January and February of 2009, Rebecca traveled to Uganda with a vision and a dream. With the help of her Ugandan friends, the dream became a reality! The team built and opened a school she named Royal Hope Academy! The name was based on scriptures and revelation that these children are not orphans but adopted by the Heavenly Father, the King of Kings, and are truly royal princes and princesses! Hope was given to the name based on Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future!” On February 9, 2009, Royal Hope Academy had its grand opening! It began with 60 children, 3 teachers, and 2 staff members assigned to overseeing the school’s operations. Only two months later, the school had grown to 130 children, 7 teachers, and 4 staff members!

During this trip, Rebecca also recorded a project of songs in the local language and was blessed to have a life-long dream fulfilled of singing with African children!! She is using the project as a gift to supporters for the school and is selling unique magazine paper bead necklaces to finance the school as well. Following Rebecca’s trip to open the school, the Lord prompted her to start a non-profit ministry she felt to call My Father’s House International, in order to help the process of seeing the vision of the children’s village come to pass!

Rebecca continues to believe God for her original vision of a children’s village that will be added to the work of the school! He has continuously provided for the funds to operate the school and she knows He will bring the entire vision to pass! If you would like to partner with us in co-laboring to bring his lost children home or to sponsor a child, please visit our page on Getting Involved!

May God Bless You!