ONE YES, MANY LIVES
Orphaned and living in the midst of a civil war, Morris, at only age six, had already faced more trauma than many face in a lifetime. He had lost both his parents, he was living in the midst of the terror of Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army, and he was a refugee. Despite all of this suffering, the small boy’s face was almost always lit up with a huge smile.
When Dan Holcomb met this smiling young child in 2002, he could never have imagined the profound impact that their encounter would have on the lives of Morris and his community, or the impact it would have on Dan’s own life and the lives of thousands around the world. This brief initial encounter would grow, just like one of Africa’s numerous acacia trees, into a truly global movement to care for hundreds of vulnerable children and spread transformation and hope in Christ across the region.
Standing here at the 20th anniversary and looking back at the beginning, we can see particular aspects of Lahash’s origins that are still reflected in the character of the ministry today. We see children — like Morris in Uganda, still shining with his radiant smile — now full-grown and caring for their own communities. We see how the Lahash ministry team has impacted 1,500 children, witnessing over 300 children come to faith in Christ, and the global community that has generously contributed over $10 million to help change lives across East Africa. When Lahash International was established in Dan Holcomb’s house in 2005, he and his friends could not have guessed how this ministry would expand. However, after two decades of growth, the heartbeat of Lahash and the passion of its founder have remained constant: to see all children in Africa know Jesus and thrive as they are loved by a flourishing global church.
The genesis of Lahash dates back to Dan’s first trip to Uganda in 2002, when Mama Susan Tabia’s ministry asked him to advocate for the needs of the children at Amazing Grace Children’s Home. This was the small home where Morris was receiving care. That encounter marked the beginning of Dan’s work advocating for East African children. But long before this moment, God had been calling and preparing Dan Holcomb –– the missionary kid who swore he would never be a missionary. The seeds that would grow into Lahash were planted in Dan’s own childhood and watered through a series of incredible encounters just before that trip.
Growing up in Kenya and what is today South Sudan, Dan was exposed to suffering that most American children never even hear about. Dan’s parents were Bible teachers and pastoral trainers who strongly believed in living among the people they served. At one point, the family lived in the city of Juba, Sudan, which Dan describes as essentially living in a large refugee camp. Every day, young Dan saw soldiers and tanks on the streets, observed gun battles, malnourished neighbors, and saw the effects of the region’s violence. A lack of basic sanitation led to diseases that took the lives of many kids in the neighborhood. “We saw just constant need,” Dan remembers.
Being raised in proximity to extreme need enlarged Dan’s capacity for compassion. But it also left him confused. What were Christians supposed to do when encountering great needs? Why weren’t more followers of Jesus addressing these critical needs of the people around him? These questions drove him to the Word of God. As young as 8 years old, Dan wrestled with passages and stories that clearly demonstrated God’s heart for the vulnerable.
He read of the compassion of Jesus toward widows and orphans, and Christ’s tenderness toward those who suffered. As Dan grew, Proverbs 31:8 became a central theme on the importance of being a voice for the voiceless. Luke 4:16-21 highlighted the value Jesus himself placed on holistic care and Good News to the poor. And Isaiah 58 called the faithful to practice their religion in ways that came from deep integrity and all-encompassing care for the downtrodden, and through these actions, a light would rise in the darkness. As he read these and other passages, Dan wondered why he wasn’t seeing more believers around the world taking these words to heart, taking action, and speaking up for those who suffered. He began wrestling with his own faith and began to have questions about how God’s Word was being lived out in churches across the country.
Then God spoke. Just before the 2002 trip to Uganda that would alter the course of Dan’s life, God sent three different individuals from three different church backgrounds to speak different words of encouragement to Dan. They met Dan in various places, including the Pacific Northwest, in Dallas, Texas, and on his flight to Uganda. The strangers separately told Dan that God had given them something to say to him. Each one said they could see the Lord’s hand on Dan and that the Lord was going to do amazing things through him. He wrote their words down in his journal and continues to draw encouragement from those messages to this day.
After years of personal wrestling and confusion regarding faith and the church, these encounters opened Dan up again to the possibility that Jesus might honestly speak to him. As a result of those messages, when he arrived in Uganda and heard the plea of Mama Susan’s ministry to be a mouthpiece for the children, Dan was ready to say “yes.”
Dan does not consider himself to be a great speaker or a “Type A” person. He and his wife Erin often joke that they make a Moses-and-Aaron kind of team, with Dan being “poor of speech,” as the Bible describes Moses. Perhaps it is because he resists the limelight that Dan has built an organization that relies on the gifts of many others. Dan initially offered a “yes” to God, but he has consistently sought ways to draw many people, across multiple continents, into service, partnership, and community with one another.
With his heart broken for children like Morris and those at the Ugandan orphanage, Dan returned to the United States and began forming a team and a non-profit. “Lahash” was chosen as the name, meaning “whispered prayer” in Hebrew –– a reminder that God hears the voiceless and remembers the forgotten.
There was much to learn, discern, and grow in as Lahash matured. Early on, the team undertook work, feeling overwhelmed and inadequate to meet the enormous need they were facing. In the very beginning, Dan recalls, “Anyone who needed help, we wanted to help.”
Early on, the team’s fundraising efforts supported diverse groups such as adults with leprosy, widows impacted by war, and women recovering from the sex trafficking industry. But the work was overwhelming and incredibly complex. The team quickly realized that effectively serving any one of those populations would require years of specialized training. A more specific focus was needed.
In 2009, the team came to recognize the importance of taking a step back to avoid burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance. By understanding the limitations of their physical bodies, they learned to establish rhythms of rest and community. This approach enabled them to serve according to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, rather than solely reacting to the urgent needs around them. It has taken time to adopt these practices, and Dan openly acknowledges that he is still learning on this journey. God’s grace has supported the staff in their weaknesses and provided them with the strength necessary to care for themselves holistically, which in turn allows them to better care for the children they serve.
In 2005 — the same year that Dan and his friends formed Lahash — a request came from leaders in Tanzania. Church leaders in the area had recognized that some children were too vulnerable to qualify for existing child sponsorship programs. Children who were HIV positive, who didn’t have stable family structures, or who lived with other factors of extreme need were barred from accessing sponsorship. At that time, many children with HIV in the region were left to die, with community members saving resources like food and shelter for healthier children. So, the Tanzanian leaders asked Dan if he would consider finding sponsors for these children so they, too, could be fed and cared for.
The following year, Dan and the team at Lahash established sponsorships for the first 21 children. Dan did not realize it yet, but by listening to the request of their Tanzanian friends, Lahash had found its calling. Within five years, the ministry would shift its focus exclusively to child sponsorship as its primary means of serving and blessing African communities.
The Lahash community has not only grown spiritually and emotionally. The organization has also grown in terms of numbers. Over the years, 154 volunteers from 12 nations have partnered with Lahash’s work. Lahash works in 5 African countries and has hosted eight ministry conferences in the region. And the number of children cared for now exceeds 1,500. This year, as Lahash celebrates 20 years of service to children in East Africa, Dan looks back with amazement on all that God has done. It’s a moment for everyone involved with Lahash to stop and recognize the fruit God has grown through the diligent and faithful labor of hundreds.
Morris has grown now, but he still has that radiant smile that Dan remembers from his childhood. As Morris was cared for by Lahash, he flourished. He eventually entered the higher education program and graduated with honors from Uganda Christian University!
“Morris is using his degree in business to build a bakery from scratch! And he’s giving back to the community as well,” shared Dan. Morris is dedicating his time to training young single mothers in baking techniques, enabling them to provide for themselves in northern Uganda.
“There is high unemployment, and many young people don’t have skills or capital to start something,” said Morris. He runs a bakery and trains other bakers so they can also start their own businesses or secure jobs in the baking industry.
“Living in Amazing Grace gave me a safe place to grow up and discover who I am. Being sponsored through Lahash helped with my education and spiritual growth, which also later paved the way for success through the way I was taught to love and lead with humility,” said Morris. “I’m forever thankful to the Lahash organization and all those who stood by me throughout my education and my entire life. So far, you’ve made a difference in my life spiritually, mentally, and academically. I am forever grateful for that. God bless and reward you all for that,” he said.
Morris is just one example of how “God has used the local church and the involvement of the international community to bring about healing and salvation,” said Dan. The 20th anniversary is an invitation for everyone to “look at what God has done, look at what God is doing, and celebrate the beauty that has come about through the investment in people’s lives!”
I got to see some of that beauty with my own eyes when I traveled to Lahash’s 2024 conference in Rwanda. When I looked around at Americans and East Africans alike living, eating, and worshiping together, I could see the fruit of the example Dan’s parents had set when they refused to hide behind the walls of a compound. As I listened to the personal stories of leaders from around the region, I marveled at the way God has called and equipped so many remarkable men and women for service in His Kingdom. When I observe how Dan interacts with everyone, from program directors to recent student graduates — he can even tell me stories about the child I sponsor — I see how his humble and relational character has shaped the culture of the entire organization.
God called Dan Holcomb, and he said, “Yes.” But that one “yes” has broadened out to include and impact so many different lives. The work of Lahash is about lifting and amplifying the incredible work that our East African partners have already been doing long before Lahash arrived.
This work is made up of all of us: sponsors, supporters, travelers, team members, and donors. The African community has deepened our understanding of the Kingdom and allowed children and families to be blessed in the process.
The origin story of Lahash is a picture of how we, as the whole Body of Christ, are growing together to become more like Jesus. Who knows what we will grow up to become in the next 20 years!
Sarah Sanderson is a writer, a Lahash volunteer, and a traveler. Learn more about her and her recent book, The Place We Make, at sarahlsanderson.com.