Day number 2 with
the children is over and all I can say is I am tired and overwhelmed. My day started off with a scare but some
Imodium AD helped and all has been well.
We went down the muddy path after a morning rain and were met with mobs
of children again.
It is hard to
describe the feeling you get when they come running at you with arms open
wide! Some of the same children came
towards me along with a few new faces.
Before we did
anything with the children we just sat on the benches and loved for a bit. During that time today Teddy gave me a
letter. I am pretty sure that Teddy is a
girl because she wears skirts and capris.
It is so hard to tell because they all have short hair. Please take a moment and read the letter if you can. But let me warn you, it is a heart
breaker! Teddy does go to school but
wants more schooling. They know that
when the white people come that they bring hope with them. The children know that some will go home to
America and sponsors will be “born”. We
already sponsor two children through World Vision and I only wish I could take
on more. I keep thinking where could we
cut back and add more children. If you
are reading this blog and think you are interested please take a look at Return
Ministries home page and see if there is a child there that tugs at your
heart. Or you can wait until I come home
and I can name a few for you! I realize
after this visit that I don’t do enough for my other two children and I need to
be a better sponsor!
We decided today
to do some singing with the children and I am so glad that we sing daily in my
classroom! Ashley and Deanne sang “Father Abraham”, “Hokey Pokey”, “If you’re
Happy and You Know It”, and my performance was “Baby Shark”. I was a little nervous singing in front of so
many but I pulled it off!
Next, we broke off
into three stations of coloring books, reading books, and jump rope. They loved all of the stations-especially the
books! One child read to me and I told
them my heart was smiling! Simple books
brought such pleasure to these children!
After playing for
a while it was time to gather children to wash their hands and prepare for
lunch. They sit under the tent and wait
patiently to be served. They were fed a
bowl of rice and beans. After they ate
they would hold up their bowls for me to collect. As I was collecting the bowls I would tell
them, “Thank you” for giving me their bowl and I had to hold back the
tears. Some were licking their bowls
clean and I knew that they might be done eating for the day or even until the
ministry would fix them another meal. I
watched little ones feed themselves.
Little ones that should have a mother feeding them and wiping their
faces clean but they did it alone. Some
of them have an older sibling that will help them and others are alone. I think
of the food we waste in America and what good it could do here. This place is constantly making me think….
We came back for
lunch and decided to take a quick rest before going back for an afternoon
visit. Ally got sick and could not
return this afternoon. She has taken
medicine and is resting now. When we did
return, we were met with the same enthusiasm as this morning. It was very difficult to move to the tent
area because the children grab onto your legs, arms, waist, and any place that
they can and guide you to a seat. They
want to touch you as much as possible.
They are fascinated with our skin and how it will change colors when
they push on it or “smack” it. They are
curious about hair as well. Many early
pictures of me might be good but by the end of the day my hair has been gone
through so many times that it is a great mess!
The hair on my forehead especially intrigues them! They want to pull it back off of my
face!
It was difficult
leaving this afternoon. The children mob
you when you arrive and even more so when you leave. They have to have many hugs when we exit and
we can only say to them that we will see them tomorrow at church. Church is tomorrow morning and Deanne will be
giving the sermon. Pray for her as she
is nervous.
Return Ministry is
not a large orphanage and Pastor Samuel doesn’t even call it an orphanage. He wants the children to “return” to their
homes or other families. He has an awesome
vision and has a building in mind where he can help the children do just
this. His vision is to teach these
children to become responsible adults and to build family life. There are only 17 children that live in
Return Ministries. The other children
that we are serving are from the community.
Some of them live with a mom, grandparent, or maybe neighbors have taken
them in. Tomorrow will be our last time
to see some of them since they do not come to Return on Monday. School is based on how much they can pay and
if they do not have a sponsor they go to government school, which is only two
days per week. On Monday, we will be
going into some of the homes and visiting with families. That will be very difficult I am sure. Tomorrow will be hard because I know that I
will say goodbye to several children that have carved out special places in my
heart!
Worship tomorrow will be different
here but I am so looking forward to praising the One who brought me here! I am so thankful for all that I have in my
life and am so sorry that I have ever thought I didn’t have enough.
Pastor Samuel's wife, Sarah, and Israel and Pearl (their two children)
- A view of Kampala from inside Return Guesthouse
We returned to the home this evening to have a special time with those that live in the house. We treated them to manicures! They were very excited to pick colors for their nails and to be pampered for such a short time.
Until next time-Blessings from Kampala, Uganda,
Tori
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