a full week - Kampala and Water Days

A drive to Kampala, 50,000 shillings - the price of a frying pan, 40,000 shillings - getting back to Jinja to see the children at Amani playing with water and making it rain - PRICELESS!!!





Trey and I went with our friends to Kampala Tuesday. Kampala is the capital of Uganda and is very big, very busy and very different from where I am living. We went shopping, looked around and even got in bowling! I never thought I would see a bowling alley in Uganda! It takes about 2 hours to get to Kampala from Jinja if there is no traffic. Then it can take an hour just to get out of town once you arrive in Kampala. The traffic is crazy. It is so slow in town that you can actually shop from your car because there are so many selling a variety of things. I bought a map of Africa from a little boy that was walking between the cars. You can find anything in Kampala - tons of beds on the side of the road, tons of kids selling things, a mall and slums all around the developed city. It is not hard to forget about the needs.

This week the topic for Preschool is Day 2 of Creation - everything is about the sky and water. And my babies at preschool LOVE water!!! You can look at the pictures and see the expressions on their faces that are priceless. They have been practicing Montessori activities with cups and water and now when they pour out water they yell "rain". I get so excited when I see their little brains at work!

I visited the Pregnancy Crisis Center this afternoon and arranged some Bible studies with the girls. I'll be going to the village to see where some of them live. This is truly the abandoned and neglected in this society. I was glad to learn about a home in Kampala that works with abandoned teenage pregnant girls. They live in the home while pregnant and learn a trade. The most remarkable thing they are doing is counseling and working with the families in the village to accept the girls and the babies back into the village. I am looking forward to working with these girls and their families in the Jinja district.

What a contrast this week. I see Christ everywhere I go. He reminds me that all of this is about Him. I see Him in the center helping a little girl that is scared and pregnant begin to smile and have hope. I see Him in the laughter of a child splashing water. I see Him in the busy streets of Kampala and in the eyes of a little boy selling a map of Africa. I see Him in the town with the vendors and the ladies at the market. And I see Him in my life everyday, always there leading the way.

I thought about Nelson Mandela as I passed the Nelson Mandela stadium in Kampala and how he was never afraid to to reveal his source of Light and encouragement................

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech

No snow in Africa!

January and February are the hottest months here in Uganda......and HOT it is! I visited the Canaan Children's Home on Saturday afternoon and it seemed hotter in the village of Buziiki than in town by the lake. We had a Bible Study with the children and then I got to spend some time with the older girls. We talked about girl stuff and then one little girl asked me to explain snow. Think about that.......trying to explain snow to a little girl that has never even seen it! It made me think of the song that was written during the 1980's "and there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time.....do they know it's Christmas time at all?" and they do.


They don't need snow or winter time to know about Christmas. They are probably even better off because they know the real meaning of Christmas. Talking to the girls about Christ and faith and purity was on a new level. I told them about my visit to the Pregnancy Crisis Center and how my heart was broken over a 14 year old girl that was having a baby. I told them about her being kicked out of her home and even out of her village because she was considered a disgrace. It scared them. I explained that I wasn't trying to scare them but that I was trying to paint a picture of why it is important to remain pure. We talked about how no male should take advantage of them and how love waits. Then, that same little girl that asked about snow raised her hand when I asked if there were any questions. She wanted to talk more about snow! For that 12 year old girl, the conversation had gotten too serious and she was ready to talk about snow again.

The snow made me think of how innocent the girls were and how that innocence is taken away so many times here. Sex trafficking is a sickness that must be dealt with. It happens everywhere....in countries all over Africa, Europe and the U.S. On this Super Bowl Sunday, there will be girls that are sold for sex in all those continents in various countries. For the little girl that wanted to learn about snow, I ask for prayer. Prayer for all little girls at all ages that their innocence will not be stolen.
After Bible Study, I watched the children on the playground. They were playing and laughing and what struck me the most was how the older children looked after the younger children. One boy was helping a younger boy down the slide and onto the monkey bars. Another older girl was teaching younger girls how to do jump rope games. The older girls were helping each other with laundry. All around, the Canaan children were working together, playing together and helping one another. They were finishing chores, cleaning rooms and making sure their sisters and brothers were finished so they could play. They are family.
Trey was able to go with me today to visit the children at Canaan and I was glad because they love him so much! We left Canaan and stopped by the boarding school where our friend John lives. He is the 18 year old young man that I wrote about a week ago who wished he had a pillow. We stopped by to give him his new pillow and he was all smiles.
I am blessed. I get to visit children and see their smiles. I get to love on them, talk with them, serve them and build relationships with them. It's not about the snow or the pillow or even me. It is about growing stronger in Christ and spreading hope.

There won't be snow in Africa but there will be smiles and love and .........................

hope!

Music and Dance Everywhere!

We have musicians in our preschool! During music time, the children played drums, xylephones, jimbe, triangles and sang.....well......okay, it wasn't exactly in tune or even all together to a beat - but they had fun and made a joyful noise unto the Lord. It must transfer somehow more joyously when it lands in Heaven!

And the three "genius littles" are.........William, Benja and Matthew. They received the most stars this week during preschool so they got to go to town for ice cream........and yes....town did notice them! So maybe taking "three" wasn't such a bright idea but they certainly had fun and made people notice them everywhere we went!

I hear music everywhere here. I can hear African drums out of my windows sometimes at night. I hear ladies singing everyday. They teach the children songs and dance. I had dinner with a friend and her 13 girls and was entertained before dinner with singing and dancing. I watch hard workers like Mama Cook and hear joyful singing daily. Even the preschoolers love to sing and dance outside. I think one of the reasons that so many people fall in love with Africa is because it is so joyful. It is full of joyful sounds and the joy is contagious.

I also had a couple of meetings this week that were enlightening. I talked to an official and a social worker about the needs in Uganda. Part of the reason that I am here (besides having so much fun with the children) is to research the needs. This is what I heard................

Families need help. They need to know how to learn to to make it and stay together. Pregnant teenage girls (very young..... 14, 15, 16) need a place to go and need assistance in learning how to deal with their struggles. There are many places that take care of babies (birth to five) but not many places that are willing to really care for the older children, for the street kids, for the babies having babies. It is known as a cultural curse to be pregnant at such a young age. Sometimes it is rape. Sometimes it is incest. Sometimes it is poor choices. MOST of the time, they are kicked out of their villages with nowhere to turn.

Street Kids need to be in school. They need a place that will care for them and teach them a trade. Abandoned moms need training. They need assistance in getting on their feet and they need to learn how to make money. There are alot of elderly grandmothers taking care of babies.......many are widows.

I learned that you don't have to go very far in Uganda to find out about needs. There are needs everywhere. I talked with an official that told me about many needs and suggested for me to meet a particular social worker that lived in Bugembe with an organization that helps get kids in schools. The very next morning that very man showed up at Amani Baby Cottage to check on a little boy and I was able to talk to him. He had no idea about me or that I was told that I needed to talk to him. God is at work. This man and I agreed that God had a bigger plan than just checking on a little boy.

I am excited to see what God does on this journey.........scared, because it seems bigger than me.......but excited because God is bigger than any of these needs. I don't feel equipped at times and He reminds me that He calls people and THEN equips them. He just tells me to stay tuned.......and let Him do the work and THAT is music to my ears! And in the meantime, I'll keep separating light and dark on construction paper with preschoolers and researching and visiting and seeing and listening.

“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more." Mark 4: 24

Preschool and thankfulness

The first week of preschool is already fun and successful and I am thankful for that in just the first two days. The most rewarding thing to see and hear is the sweet prayer that comes out of the children. The first challenge will be separating the children by skill level. Right now we have them separated by age - 3's, 4's and 5's - however, some 3's are ready to move up or down, etc. The children love learning. We have written a curriculum titled "God's Creation" and basing it on the 7 days of creation. The children will learn shapes, numbers and colors as well as the Bible Stories of each day.

They are quick learners! Today the older children remembered the answers to many of the questions I asked about Genesis 1: 1-5. They also love playtime outside and it is almost as fun to watch the mamas and auntees play as it is to watch the children. We played duck, duck, goose and talked about circles and running around the circle and one of the little boy's tagged his mama. She got up and ran around laughing and yelling "circle, circle, circle" just like the children were doing and then tagged another auntee!

One of the crafts that the children did was cutting up yellow pieces of paper and then glue them into a circle to create the sun. Some looked like circles, some looked like mosaic abstract art but all of the little artists knew the difference between the darkness and the light, between black and yellow and even that the light represents God. My little students are Ugandan genuses, but I am probably biased! A simple star sticker each day encourages them to be obedient and we are treating the 3 kids each week with the most stars to a ride into town on a boda boda to get ice cream.

During lunch I visited with Mama Cook and helped her sort rice (or pretended to help - I really am so slow at it compared to her) but it gives me the opportunity to talk about our beliefs. She is a converted Muslim and says that she knows Jesus is her Lord and Savior. She made African Tea today for me and it is the best in Uganda! She loves making it for all the HEAL teams. She is a special lady and I'm thrilled we will be laughing and cooking in Heaven together!

After lunch and naptime, we surprised the children with all the dress up clothes. Outside playtime has never been more colorful and fun to watch! There were firemen, princesses, spiderman, cowboys, Yoda, spacemen and many more little colorful imaginative creatures running around having a fun time. Watching the children play made me aware of all that I am thankful for. The children are so happy and loved and I am thankful.

I am thankful that there are places that allow children to be adopted. I am also thankful for places that allow children to stay in their own country to grow up and make a difference. I am thankful for places here that help families stay together. God is showing me that all these situations are right and perfect. He decides the plan for all of us. And I am thankful that I do not have to figure it out.

I am so thankful tonight that there are places here working with 14 year old girls having babies. Babies having babies and nowhere to turn.......this continues to bother me. I am thankful that I am able to help the girls at Canaan learn about purity and that it is perfectly okay to have a menstrual cycle and deliver something so easy to get as kotex pads. I am thankful that my eyes are opened here every single day. I am thankful for everything that has happened in my life to get me to this point - good and bad. I am thankful that God has taught me how to live through trials and that my weaknesses are okay because He makes me stronger. I feel closest to God here because I know that I am in His plan and I feel lifted up because of everyone's prayers.

“Unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta “We never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can expect that He will get us involved in His plan for the answer. If we are true intercessors, we must be ready to take part in God’s work on behalf of the people for whom we pray.” – Corrie Ten Boom "Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart" – Bob Pierce, World Vision founder