Planting seeds

Ken and Gary helped dig and plant 150 small bushes for the new site at Amani Baby Cottage. The new site will be the new home for the babies and they need help reaching their final goal so that they can move in. If you feel led to assists them financially, please go to amanibabycottage.org for more details.  The fact is, the plants would have been planted regardless.  But to be able to have hands on opportunites in serving orphans is a remarkable feeling.

 I went into Bujagali the other day to assists and learn about making home visits with the Amani social worker. Home visits are hard. We think we go with an objective point of view, but we don't. The best possible situation is for children to be reunited with their families if the families are capable. After going on several of these visits and talking with family members, I realize the tremendous burden and responsibility that places like Amani Baby Cottage have gone through. It is not easy. Sometimes the decisions are so difficult to make because it is the life of a wonderful child that you are dealing with.  I see the pain in so many family members' faces when talking to them about what to do with a child that needs to either be placed in another home or be returned to the family.

The other day, I got to see the joy in an uncle's eyes when seeing the picture of his nephew.  This particular nephew was not known about by many family members.  His family (clan as he described it) have not even known about the little boy. The parents ran away and the grandfather passed away. What I appreciated about this great-uncle is that he is willing to listen, and willing to discuss the problem with the rest of the family members and tribe that he belongs to. We will make a visit back to see what they decide in a month or so.

I heard back about the little boy that we took to the clinic this week from Masese with the malaria and pneumonia.  He is doing well and recovering fine.  I'm very thankful.  I also heard from one of the young teenage girls that I have gotten to know at the Crisis Pregnancy Center that just had a healthy baby boy.  I cannot wait to meet with her and meet her new baby.  She is keeping him and I'm praying for her new life and new responsibility.  We also stopped by my friend's house that I have blogged about several times, Fazirra.  She is the lady in the village that has six children and two were dying.  What a joy it is to see Vincent (the little boy that had typhoid and malaria) run up to me smiling.  They are doing great!  I see the joy that results from family intervention.

Everywhere I turn, I see progress.  It may not look like alot of progress to the outsider, but I get the joy of being here and seeing week after week transformation in the lives of those I serve.  The transformation is visible and it is a gift from above.  Young girls are learning to care for their babies and making decisions to keep them.  Young mamas are seeking medical assistance for their sick babies.  Widows are taking care of babies when mothers run away.  Family members of tribes are taking responsibility for their children that are being abandoned.  Women are showing up each week for Bible studies and each week I see the joy grow in their eyes.  Children are more joyful each week at church and in the villages as we learn simple Bible stories.

This morning at church, we talked about the seven days of creation with the children at Sunday School.  They made a bracelet with 7 beads to represent the 7 days of creation.  This is a small way to plant a seed all over the villages because it is a visible symbol that can be asked about that and the children remember.

Whether our teams come and plant bushes and seeds literally, or whether they are helping to plant seeds by teaching Bible lessons, seeds are being planted in Uganda.  God is at work and He is in-love with His people here.  He is calling them all to Him.  I am fortunate enough to have a front row seat during this season.  I get to see the joy that happens with team members, family members and those we serve.   Right now, I'm experiencing the JOY of spending time in the land I love with my own family.  

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed."
Robert H. Schuller

Excited in Uganda to just show up!

It is very exciting when friends and family come to Uganda. Part of the excitement is because we love to be around our friends and family that we love. But, mostly for me, it is excitement because I love to see my family and friends catch the vision. When you love something so much that is from the Lord, it is natural to want loved ones to experience it. The vision is from the Lord. Today, in Masese, I got to see my brother, Ken, and his brother in law, Gary, catch the love and vision of Uganda.


We drove around to several places that I am involved with. They got to experience the love of Amani Baby Cottage, the love of the Crisis Pregnancy Center and the love of Masese! That is a pretty full day in Jinja! The majority of the families that live in Masese are single parent families. Masese is one of the largest slum areas in Jinja. I had to change the weekly Bible study in Masese from Monday to Tuesday this week, but the importance of just "showing up" each week is critical. One of the ladies in the village reminded me of that today.

Today, I shared my story a little more with them. Each week, I share more and more and each week, our friendship strengthens. At the end of the lesson, I asked if there were any questions and one lady spoke up and asked, "How long are you going to be coming each week?" Behind my sunglasses I could hide the fact that her question hit me like a big mack truck with tears that welled up. You see, in Masese, the 300 plus ladies and children that were present to hear about Jesus today, have not experienced consistency. They have experienced hopelessness, abandonment and people quitting on them over and over. And so......the question brought pain to my heart.

I shared today with the ladies and the children about HOPE and TRIALS. I have certainly had my share of trials and I explained to them why I could not talk loudly anymore. They could not believe that cancer was a part of my life. They laughed when I said that my friend is bringing me a speaker megaphone! I explained that God sent me here to be with them and that I was committed. When the sweet lady asked me how long I was committed, I simply answered "as long as God allows me to be here, I will be with you every week." I also explained that I would be traveling to America in the fall but that I would return if God allowed it. They began clapping and the happiness is really not about me at all. It is about teaching consistency, love and just "showing up" for those in need.

The next few weeks, I'll be visiting Masese and taking crafts and just spending time with the ladies and the children. I'm researching the area and trying to figure out the situation of the children with Pastor Andrew. There are many women that are taking care of children that do not belong to them. There are street kids living in Masese and I want to know where their families are. They show up each week to get a "sweetie". Today, Ken and Gary brought dum dums to share and they were so happy!

I am blessed to be working with Pastor Andrew of the Canaan Church in Jinja. He and I are making plans to really grow the women's ministry which is focused in Masese. We hope to be able to council, train vocationally, help with preschool and have continued Bible lessons in the future in a central location. Every person that I feel called to serve lives in Masese: abandoned women and children, orphans and widows. As I look around each week at the hands that are raised when I ask the question, "how many of you are raising children alone?" I'm reminded over and over the need for family focus.

The crowd of 300 ended with dance and song. They were so excited to be able to perform for us. What a blessing! There is nothing like the african drum and dancing. What an exciting day for Ken and Gary to experience. They are excited to go back to their home church and town to spread awareness. And, how exciting for me to see God's seeds grow and spread in a way that I never could have imagined. God is at work in Uganda and it is bigger and better than I could have planned. I am just here because the women can relate to a broken woman that has had trials.

As we were leaving, a sweet young lady named namayambo (I am sure that I am butchering the spelling) came up to me and Pastor Andrew worried about her baby boy. He was so hot with fever and lathargic. We asked how long her baby had been sick and she said for many days. We took her to the clinic that was nearby. The baby had 103.5 fever, malaria and pneumonia. The mama could not afford to take her baby to the doctor and was so worried about him. My sweet brother offered to pay for her care. For only 25,000 shillings (about 10 u.s. dollars) we were able to get the baby treated, medicine and an IV to start antibiotics.

It is no accident that I blogged about malaria in the previous post. God has really placed that on my heart lately and when I looked at the baby, I knew that he had malaria. Maybe I really didn't "know" but I felt like that is what it was. Fortunately, for Namayambo, it was malaria and it was caught in time to save her child. Maybe God called me to Masese today to spend an afternoon in the clinic with Namayambo and her sick, sick baby. Maybe it was to see that new excitement and passion through the eyes of new viewers like Ken and Gary. Maybe it was to simply talk to the ladies and the children and to say I care and that I will show up as God allows. Maybe it was to see the excitement in Pastor Andrew's eyes as we discussed working together with the women and the children.

Whatever the reason, I'm blessed and excited to be able to just "show up" again!

“To me it seems that to give happiness is a far nobler goal than to attain it: and that what we exist for is much more a matter of relations to others than a matter of individual progress: much more a matter of helping others to heaven than of getting there ourselves.” Lewis Carroll

Uganda is a small country with BIG problems

It has been a week since I blogged and sorry for the delays lately. Part of the adjustment to living here is getting used to the fact that communication is not instant. The first two months that I was here I found myself getting so frustrated with the slow internet. I felt so disconnected from my "normal" world. Now, I am settling in and realizing that I am much more content living in the moment and that most of the time that "moment" means enjoying the now and NOT worrying about communication. Life goes on.

The last week has been very busy going back and forth from Amani Baby Cottage, the villages and the Crisis Pregnancy Center. The young 14 year old girl that I blogged about a couple of months ago had her baby. They are doing great and all of the sudden she looks "grown up". She loves her baby and she is doing a great job taking care of her. The ladies in the villages that I have been meeting with are bonding and forming their own community. Fazirra is doing great and everyone is healthy and sweet Shariff is still in school.

If you have followed any past blogs, you recognize the stories. If you have not, that is okay. The stories just mean that everyone is gradually getting better, gradually growing in Christ, and rapidly winning my heart. Life may be simple here, but the love and relationships are deep and genuine.

I made the mistake of delivering shoes to the villages on last Monday. Monday was a holiday here and so every child was out of school! It only meant that there were literally hundreds of children in line for shoes and I only had about 100 to deliver. We took the names of those that received shoes so that the next time the teams deliver them, we will not repeat giving shoes to the same child twice.

I spent the afternoon at Canaan Children's Home yesterday. Girls are girls everywhere! We laughed, beaded bracelets together and played jumprope. Some of the smaller boys even made bracelets. Each week I learn a little more about their stories and each week they grow a little more comfortable with me. We went around the room to tell what we were thankful for. Most of them were thankful for life and a place to sleep. Several of them were thankful for God's protection over their lives. The older girls are facing life's challenges as growing young ladies and they are really trying to stay pure. Please pray for their hearts and for their protection.

I have been spending alot of time researching the areas around Jinja. There are some villages that have more needs than others. Everywhere that I turn, I see needs. The biggest needs that God keeps placing before me is the need for family intervention. The need for a feeling of community. God allows so many trials in our own lives so that we can better understand and relate to those He places in our path. It is no surprise to me that He placed me in a country that is predominantly single moms. I have read reports that at least half of all families are headed by single parents, usually women. There are many widows due to aids.

Uganda statistics reveal that 88% of the people in Uganda live in rural areas. When I drive around Kampala, I realize how crowded this country is if only 12% live in the urban areas. Uganda is about the size of the state of Oregon in the U.S. There are over 2.5 million orphans in Uganda. One million of those orphans are due to AIDS. Life has been hard here and has resulted in a life expectancy of only 53 years of age. The number one cause of sickness and death in Uganda is still malaria. Education can prevent these statistics from growing. I am so frustrated when I meet a child in the village that needs a simple malaria test. The fact is that malaria contributes to the poverty here. If they are sick, they cannot work. If they are sick, they have to spend 25% of their income on medicines and treatments. Their income is very low. The average Ugandan makes 130,000 shillings a month which is about $57 U.S. dollars a month.

My heart aches for the hurting hearts that I am getting to know. When I am in the villages talking to ladies, I always ask if they are living with a husband. Nine out of ten times they tell me how they were abandoned. Many of the women have a house full of children. Many times the JaJa's (grandmothers) are left to raise children. There are many, many, many children that need a family model. They all want the same thing: a chance for a family full of love.
That is what the sweet little 14 year old girl desires that just had a baby. She was kicked out of her village and lives in a small room behind a house in Masese. The Crisis Pregnancy Center is trying to reunite her with her family. Some of the people here just need someone that believes in them. They need to hear about the HOPE of Christ and they need to hear that it is going to be okay. I would love it if I could help each and every one learn something today that would make their tomorrow better. I am realizing that I am not supposed to help every person I meet but that I can show a smile to everyone I come across. I can show the love of Christ through a simple smile.

There are many languages in Uganda. I'm still learning the Luganda language and working on that weekly. It is a difficult language to learn but even when I don't know what to say, I can simply smile. That translates universally. I take my camera everywhere I go because the people love it. They ask me to take their pictures and then I show them what they look like. In the villages, the ladies will run around and gather their children so that I can take their picture and show them. We may not be communicating to each other entirely all the time by speaking but one thing that we do understand is our smiles to each other and our love for our children. So, I'll keep shooting pictures, loving, serving and smiling until further instructions from the ONE that sent me!

"Let us meet each other with a smile, for a smile is the beginning of love." Mother Teresa