Non-Profit Ministry
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5, NIV
CJ Millican has had a heart for Africa since she was a little girl. The music of the drums, the vibrant colors, the perseverance of people born into extreme poverty who still found a way to praise God in the midst of it all… these seeds of affection were planted in CJ’s heart when she was just 10 years old.
Read Christina's Story
The African Children’s Choir was touring the US raising money for their network of orphanages across the continent of Africa by performing concerts in churches, and (READ MORE...)
moving from city to city across the United States. CJ’s family hosted two little girls and their chaperone in their home while the group was in her hometown. “That’s when I fell in love.” CJ says of that experience.
As an adult, CJ has partnered with multiple charities to visit Uganda, Ethiopia, and Zambia, sometimes even flying over solo, with no group association, to do the work God placed on her heart to do. She’s handed out mosquito nets in rural villages, and ministered to single mother’s of medically fragile children in volunteer hospitals, drawing from her own experience as a single mother of a pediatric cancer survivor. Her mission for this season in her life was “Spend myself to the empty and poor, until I’M empty and poor. Love them hard and return home having poured out every ounce of love and compassion the Father gives me.”
When CJ married Ken Millican in 2019 she couldn’t wait to take her husband to her home away from home. Becoming a blended family took priority for their first year of marriage, but they began dreaming about their first trip together and set their sights on Uganda.
CJ has three “brothers”, Ugandan young men she met on her first trip to Uganda, who have grown up to become Pastors and public servants.
In a series of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp conversations early in 2020, the friends became convinced God was calling them to do something about the problem of sexual slavery in the slums of Kampala, Uganda. Most children in Uganda do not progress past elementary school grade levels because they are forced into child labor, early marriage or sexual slavery. CJ’s friend Alex, with the help of his small church, had begun moving about the slums looking for opportunities to help. They found several women open to escape, but malnourished, and in need of medical treatment for STD’s and prenatal care.
What next?
The Millicans wired money to provide shelter, food and medicine for 12 young women at first. But the question of “what next?” kept CJ up at night. The women couldn’t read or write and they had no means to support themselves. After two weeks, 4 of the girls actually chose to return to the men that had held them captive. CJ knew they needed to offer something beyond a temporary band aid if they were to be successful at giving these women a new path forward in life. And then, one night, she dreamt of sewing machines….
Sewing is a highly marketable skill in Uganda. All schools are private and require sewed school uniforms for primary and secondary students.
The team found a seamstress willing to come teach the skill of sewing for $12 a day. Basic Singer sewing machines were available in Kampala for just $150 each. So the Millicans started asking friends and family on Facebook to help. “$12 Tuesdays” was their simple way of asking people to give a little, or a lot, to a good cause. They initially purchased two machines and two months of sewing lessons. The goal was for each young woman to become a “fashion designer”, as professional seamstresses and entrepreneurs. They could each take ownership of their own sewing machine incrementally over time, become completely self-supporting, and then help rescue other women. It seemed like the perfect plan.
And then Covid…
Uganda experienced the longest Covid school shut downs of any country in the world – 18 months. Schools did not reopen until January 2022. With the school closures, the team lost the guaranteed steady income of sewing school uniforms. So the sewing teacher pivoted. The ladies started focusing on learning to design and create menswear and ladies dresses, in native African styles and contemporary fashions as well. Covid social distancing meant that only two women could practice in the small office space they’d been given by a local charity. They needed a bigger location, and they needed a name. The Millicans chose Living Stones Mission, based on 1 Peter 2:5, believing that each of these women were precious jewels in God’s eyes. They had been victims, but now they identified as daughters of the Most High God, beautiful, capable, loved, and worthy.
September 2021
Alex and the team on the ground in Uganda found a 2nd floor store front with a balcony overlooking a busy street in Kampala.
The Millicans have been providing the rent of $200 a month. The sales of dresses has provided just enough income for food and toiletries and necessities of life for all 8 women and their families during the pandemic. God has been so good. This is only the beginning! The Millicans are believing for a facility where young people rescued from the horrors of sexual slavery and child labor can encounter God’s love, and walk out the radical transformation that comes from freedom and education.
We need your help!
Mission Needs:
Hiring a Ugandan CPA and business attorney
Secure location for expanded training center
Expanding education opportunities by offering new trades and market ready skills training. (Hairdressing, and food service work are first possibilities)
Providing training opportunities for young men (carpentry and small engine repair to start.)
Hiring a full time Teacher and Pastor