Jimmy

Jimmy just appeared one day.  I am sure he had been around for a long time.  Later on, he even told me he had.  But I had never seen him until he just appeared.

It is funny how you can see someone so many times but then one day, you see them.  That was how I met Jimmy.  One day I finally saw him and then I couldn't forget him.  I wish I recorded things better because I am forgetting things I want to remember forever.  For most of the boys, I can't tell you about the first time I met them.  It was just any other day and they were any other kid.  The difference with them from other boys, is the day that I finally saw them or knew God put them on my heart.

With Jimmy I remember everything.  He said hi to me.  His voice is really soft but very high when he is happy.  He shrieks and giggles a lot.  When he first said hi to me, he was very quiet and shy.  But I took notice.  There was something about him.  Soon I began praying specifically for him and a few other boys.  I didn't know what the plan was but I did know that we were crammed into the house so I didn't really expect an answer so quickly.

But I got an answer.

When I was back in Uganda at the beginning of the year, I didn't really visit programs very much.  I felt my heart being pulled in a different way and I finally felt at peace about not spending so much time on the street.  It was really weird actually because before my life was filled by the boys on the street.  But the home was growing at the same time my heart was growing for it.  One day I woke up and I wanted to stay home and cook beans instead of go to the programs.  It was on the rare occasion that I went to programs that I met Jimmy and began to pray for him.  I asked God what He wanted me to do for Jimmy and if I was supposed to take him now, He needed to show me that and provide a way.  The day I got my answer, I stopped by and there were so many people around.  There wasn't anything to do so I said hi to a few boys and was just standing around at the back of the church.  One of the aunts that I knew came and asked me what she should do.  A boy was really sick.  When I walked over to where the boy was, I was shocked.

Guess who it was????

Yep!  It was Jimmy!

I showed her where the clinic was and helped her take him there.  It turned out he had Malaria and Typhoid and pierced his hand when he was out collecting scrap.  His hand was really swollen, infected, and hurt him a lot.  I told him to receive his treatment and we would come back and get him, he could stay with us for the night.  When the boys get medical treatment in the slum, in an effort to save time and money the clinic won't always remove the pic line.  This of course leaves them in danger of infection and everything else, so I didn't want him sleeping outside or with a bunch of other boys.  I knew once I offered, he would never leave.  But I felt like I had my answer and he was supposed to join us.

There was some confusion that night and he never came home to us.  The next morning I got a call from the aunt asking why Jimmy wasn't at the clinic but was at another ministry's programs.  I explained what had happened and the aunt brought him to the clinic.  He came home with us that day and hasn't left.

Jimmy was a gift from God and an answered prayer.  He is a joy to have in the home and he rarely misbehaves.  He is quiet and shy.  It is amazing how he has stayed that way with some of the boys in the home.  They are so loud and outgoing, but Jimmy is still quiet and laid back.  He can be silly and goofy but always respectful.  He works hard at school and is thankful for everything.  I am so happy for that day when God brought him home to us.  I am grateful for his joy and loving heart despite the pain he has felt.  I am grateful to hear his laugh and high pitched squeal when he shouts Auntie Amanda.   I am grateful for him.

Meet Jimmy!

Jimmy and me

Jimmy and Uncle Steven