Last night, I woke up so many times and just prayed for all
the precious orphans. I could vividly see each of their faces in my mind as if
they were right next to me.
This morning, I prepared by reading how Jesus feeds 4,000
and how he healed the paralytic. I also read Ephesians 6:10-20 (The Full Armor
of God) to prepare myself and to be filled of the Spirit for today.
For breakfast, we ate toast with peanut butter, boiled eggs,
fruit (pineapple, mango, and bananas), hot tea, and peanuts. It is the best
fruit I have EVER tasted! I would go to extreme measures to have African
pineapple again!
We are on the bus now to go to the Karimojong tribe. We will
be sharing Bible stories with women and children. There are very few men in
this tribe. The community shuns the Karimojong and sees them as useless because
they are so poor. We will be sharing stories, worshipping to music, painting women’s
nails, and playing with the children. I am so excited to be going into the “slums”
of Africa. I’m really praying for God to change my perspective and see him more
clearly. I want to be able to see God’s grace through and through and just how
blessed we are. Most of all, I want to be humbled…humbled before my dear Lord
and Savior. I am so undeserving and he chose me. Me out of all people. I am
still amazed that he chose me to go to Africa and spread his gospel and WALK IN
LOVE. Why me? The only explanation for this is the fact that I am a wretched
sinner redeemed, restored, and renewed by the death of Christ.
WOW!!!!! We just loaded the bus and finished at the
Karimojong tribe. I was not ready to leave….I just wanted more time to
love and serve these beautiful people. The Karimojong is the same tribe where
Katie Davis (author of Kisses from Katie), talks about and visits often. I just
had the most amazing experience ever! Words cannot even begin to describe my
emotions or how filled by the Holy Spirit I am. My heart beats for every second
I spend in Africa. I wish I had more arms to hold children and more hands to
hold their tiny hands and show them love. I wish I could take them ALL home
with me. I want to show them Jesus and his truth and his everlasting love.
The kids immediately ran to the bus screaming, “Muzungo (aka
white person! Haha).” Of course, I teared up but I had to stay strong for these
kids. There were hundreds-no exaggeration- of kids waiting for us as we
arrived. I pray that even my smile gives them the hope of Jesus and the warmth
of his comfort. One girl from the start grabbed my hand and literally never
left my side. Her smile was so beautiful and warm. She had beautiful white
teeth and skin so beautiful and dark from the warm sun. Her eyes a yellowish
tint yet gleaming the whole time. She was wearing pink, orange, and red paisley
little dress and flip flops.
Well God quickly answered my prayer. Remember how I wanted
God to humble me before his feet…well you talk about God answering above and
beyond my prayers. This precious child of God was wiping my skirt and trying to
brush off the dirt. Are you kidding me?! A child who is covered in dirt and
tattered clothes is trying to wipe dirt off of my skirt. Typing this right now
makes me flash back to this special memory. She was also so fascinated with my
toes…probably because I am a Muzungo. The children loved my hair…when I say loved, I
mean they were pulling and tugging like they have never before. They wanted to
take my hair off my head and probably wear it as a wig. It was hysterical!
Blondes really do have more fun! They would run their fingers through my hair
and have the most fascinating look on their faces. Oh how I miss the little
things…
All of the girls on our team were rescuing the little ones
off of the other children’s backs. Children who were not even 4 or 5 years old
were carrying infants on their backs. The infants were held by this tiny cloth
that was wrapped around the older Childs back and waist. The infant’s necks
were not supported at all. Some infant’s necks dangled backwards while flies
gathered in the corners of their mouths. I have never seen or experienced
anything like this before. I mean this was a huge wakeup call. We were in the
slums and all I could think about was how incredibly blessed I am! I don’t deserve
this at all!
I held one boy who was so tiny that we had rescued from a
child’s back. I mean the boy was literally bones with a protruding stomach. He
was wearing a tiny little American flag t shirt and small shorts on. The hold
time I held him he would lean his head on my shoulder. In this moment, I fell
so in love with the Karimojong. The things I had seen in an hour and
experienced and learned cannot begin to compare.
Another little girl stuck around with me the whole time as
well. She is the one in the little pink/purple velvet dress. Oh my goodness how
adorable is she!? Well, aren’t they all? We played the entire time. I took a
ton of the pictures of the children. They also wanted to play with my camera
and take pictures which was a scary thing b/c they were all tugging on it. I
just had to relax and not be so uptight with my bratty American side.
During our time there, two team members played worship songs
for the children. The other half of the group told a Bible story to the women
and painted their nails. We were all dancing and singing along with the
children. You could tell that they had heard these songs before from other
Americans doing mission work there. We sang songs such as, “Jesus Loves Me” or “Jesus
Loves the Little Children.” After singing and dancing, we decided to hand out
stickers to all the children. BAD IDEA!! Haha This was funny yet scary. The
children stampeded each other to get a sticker. I’m talking throwing punches
and fighting each other over a sticker. Yet another humbling moment for me. A
sticker…who know could mean so much to a child? Just goes to show how much we
have yet I am so ungrateful.
Saying goodbye to the children at Karimojong was not easy.
It was so hard to say bye because it seemed like we were there no time at all.
Time flies when you are having fun…with Jesus! We kissed and hugged goodbye,
got on the bus, and waved on the way out. We went back to eat lunch at Canaan’s
Children’s Home in Jinja, Uganda where we were staying for the week. This was
only half of the amazing day we had…To Be Continued with the next blog!
The main thing I learned from part one of today could best
be summed up with this verse…
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James
4:6
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