Madelyn Montgomery

Nkwagala means “I love you” in the native language of Uganda, an agriculturally-based country  in the heart of Africa. This collection is a collaboration between my personal brand, Madelyn Elaine Designs, and Sozo Children, a non-profit based out of Birmingham, AL. Sozo runs a children’s home in the village of Ngongolo, which is located right outside of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. They work not only to provide and care for the children in their homes, but also, at the same time, to establish community with the people in the village of Ngongolo. The community work that they are doing is what this collaboration celebrates. 

To establish relationships in Ngongolo and in an effort to help the villagers discover the skills they already have and gain the determination and the means to turn these skills into careers, Sozo is building programs to help the Ugandan people become entrepreneurs, grow their agricultural businesses, and in turn, be able to provide for their families.

It’s amazing to see the impact Sozo is making in the Ngongolan people’s lives financially, but even more so, it’s amazing to see the impact God is making in the community itself. Of course Sozo wants to see the villagers living comfortably, with enough food, water and shelter to keep them happy and healthy, but most importantly, they want to see them come to know the amazing love of Jesus Christ, growing in community with each other and with Him.

I’ve never seen people happier than the villagers of Ngongolo. I’ve never seen people in want of less, who are more content, who have so little physically but possess so much. Even though Sozo has brought financial freedom to the villagers, they are not thriving because of that. They are thriving because of the love of God. They are thriving because they know that the God of the entire universe loves them so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross for them. He carries their burdens, He lifts them up, He comforts them in times of trouble. He loves them with a capacity so incomprehensible that we will never know its bounds, and  they are so incredibly grateful. 

Two years ago I was able to travel with Sozo to Uganda. During my time there, I experienced the most real representation of the love of Christ that I have ever felt before through the people of Ngongolo. That trip changed the way I saw my relationship with God. I finally understood the gravity of who Christ was, the sacrifice He made for me, and the freedom I could experience when I lived fully submerged in His love. That trip changed the way I saw people. It put a passion in my heart to share this new discovery with the people around me. I wanted everyone to know the love that I had finally discovered.

I believe that God’s love is something that we will never be able to comprehend. It’s something that our human minds can’t fathom because we could never love someone in the same way God loves us. It’s a love that knows no bounds. It’s a love that crosses all borders, all sins, all shortcomings, all hatred, all darkness. It’s a love that allows us to thrive and to grow and to find restoration and to pass love to our neighbor in Christ and through Christ and by Christ. 

So, I have created this line of t-shirts and prints to celebrate the mission Sozo has begun in Ngongolo, Uganda. They will be available to purchase at madelynelainedesigns.com, and all profits will support Sozo’s ministry. My hope in this collaboration is to support them in their efforts, but my hope is also that as you wear these t-shirts and see these daily reminders hanging on your walls, that you would know, to put it simply, that Jesus loves you. My hope is that you could one day see the beauty of the love of God, that you could grow in community with your neighbors, that you could restore broken relationships through Christ’s love, that you could thrive in the freedom you find in Christ, and that you could love in a way that only Jesus can. My hope is that every person, whether in a village in Uganda or a suburb of Alabama, would live in the truth of Christ’s “Nkwagala.”