Visiting and Serving

The last two days for the Harpeth Hall HEAL Ministries team has been rewarding beyond words.  The visits to Masese bible studies and kids club programs have given us all a new perspective on life.

Yesterday, we visited Serving His Children in Masese.  This program is incredible.  Renee, the founder, talked to the team about her passion and ministry focus and it so fun to see God's plans unfold for a person and a ministry.  This program accepts children that are malnourished, most to the point of death around the corner.  The best part of the program is that the moms (or guardians) must be in the program with the sick child.  That way, they learn how to nourish their child back to life.  Seeing the before and after pictures are shocking.  Most of the children are only in the home for about a month.  There are some cases that have needed 3 months.  Seeing these drastic results in such a short amount of time, shows me the value of nutrition and the value of teaching this to the young moms in our programs.  While it was difficult for the girls to see the children and even more difficult to understand how a mom could allow this to happen, the girls did walk away seeing the beauty of God all around it.  They are beginning to see the value of education and how ignorance can lead to death.

Today was a sunny, joyful morning!  We arrived on the Ekisa property with children running and laughing all around our van.  Ekisa is a special needs orphanage.  Emily, the young lady that started the ministry is a rare find.  The first thing the team noticed was how wonderful it is to see these children being treated "normal".  They are so loved and happy.  There was one young boy that could not go swimming because of getting in trouble and not swimming was the consequence.  Another boy was in time out for yelling.  While these "things" seem normal to most of us, it is not typical for children with special needs to be treated with love and respect and discipline.  Especially in Uganda - where these children have been deemed outcasts and not wanted.  We loaded the van up with all 12 team members and 11 children and took them to the swimming pool.  For the next hour, the children were screaming and laughing and swimming and I'm not sure if the children had more fun or if the team members had more fun but for sure:  we were the ones blessed to serve.

We ended our day at Amani Baby Cottage which is always a favorite place for our HEAL teams.  The girls played with the children for a little bit and then we gave Mama Cook (Sarah) a ride home.  She invited us into her house and as we sat around her living room, the girls on the team were amazed at how pretty her house was and at how proud she was to have us in her home.  This hospitality is very typical in Uganda.  Mama Cook (Sarah) is another example of selfless love.  She has a daughter and a son and has taken in three girls.  One of the young lady's just had a baby.
We have learned alot in the short time here.  We have learned about selfless LOVE, HOPE, and FAITH.  We have seen the need to help the abandoned women and children and we have learned that the best way to prevent orphans is to keep the mom and baby together.  And we have learned from God's people around the world that every single one of us can make a difference.  We can all reach out and love our neighbors and we can be a light to every person that we meet.  Because one day those are the very people we just might be spending eternity with.