Red dust billows behind our van as our driver expertly navigates the narrow dirt road, pulling creative moves whenever a truck or boda boda (motorcycle taxi) passes in the opposite direction.
Matooke trees and tethered goats pepper the ditches, alongside small brick homes and gaggles of children. Both children and adults stop to gape at the large van piled with luggage.
We nearly get stuck in the ditch at a tight intersection, finally pulling up to a walled compound painted a welcoming shade of green.
The gates swing wide to welcome us into a small oasis of calm. Guesthouses, dorms, and a group-use building surround a verdant lawn lined with waving palms.
They welcome us into this place of peace.
Rosemary (the National Director of Lulu Tree in Uganda) described driving into the Lulu Tree compound as a metaphor for the ministry itself. “This is what Lulu is.” It’s a place of calm, peace and joy in the midst of turbulence.
This is the image that Emily Wierenga, founder and Director of the Lulu Tree, was given by God after a heartrending blogger’s trip to Uganda in 2014. God convicted her of her motives for going on the trip, for being a blogger, and even for writing books. She felt moved to stop striving for influence of her own, and, after time, to even delete her entire internet platform. She had no idea how she was going to help Uganda, but began to fast and pray.
Soon after, she met someone from Uganda at a conference. Emily took her out for coffee, and the woman connected her with the first person she would work with in Uganda.
A lulu tree is an actual tree in Africa, a shea nut tree that is most productive during the annual season of hunger, another incredible image for what the team hopes will happen through this humble, prayerful ministry.
Through the years, the ministry evolved to include the Lulu Tree Mama program, which ministers to 20 teen mamas at a time, helping them finish their education and become strong disciples.
Over time it became evident that local pastors needed Bible training as well, since many of them had no formal Bible education…and sometimes preached without even having owned or read a full text Bible.
The Lulu Tree sourced out a theologically rich (and free) curriculum and trained Baptist, an anointed preacher absolutely on fire for Christ. Baptist travels all over the country to train pastors and leaders so they can disciple their own congregations better.
While we were visiting in March 2026, 190 pastors and teachers (both men and women), came to the compound from all over Uganda to graduate from the Harvestime Bible training!
Lulu Tree now works in 13 countries, going wherever the Spirit leads. In most places, God points them to a local leader who has a heart for single mothers.
The pastor then oversees the Mama Program, with 20 women per year.
To qualify, a mother must have young children, be a part of the local congregation, be raising their children alone (via widowhood, a disabled husband, or an absent husband/boyfriend) and have a vision for what they’d like to do with their future. In turn, the Lulu Tree (through the local pastor) equips them with sustainable work and parenting skills, alongside discipleship training.
Each country’s ministry has a unique spin, determined by the local leader’s gifts and vision, as well as the needs. Then, if ministry becomes financially sustainable, Lulu Tree prayerfully pulls out and invites God to speak into the next chapter.
The oasis of peace that is the Lulu Tree Uganda is the most robust of the ministries, as it’s the first country in which they worked. Over the years it grew to involve a clinic, the School of Hope (which has over 400 students currently), the teen mama and Harvest Time discipleship programs, and the compound with its guest houses and dorms.
If you find yourself in Jinja, Uganda, take a drive down the dusty red roads along the White Nile river. Velvet monkeys will hang in the trees and you’ll need to navigate around uniformed school children, boda bodas…and the occasional cow in the road.
But I hope you’ll also find the Lulu Tree Uganda, bringing hope and peace to a few families at a time, preventing tomorrow’s orphans by training today’s men and women to become strong, resilient, and influential followers of Christ.
(To learn more about the ministry of The Lulu Tree, please visit https://thelulutree.com/)
🌱 Growing with you,
Christie
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