The rest of my weekend

I said that I would share the rest of my weekend and all of the God-given moments in it in my last post but haven't yet. So here goes...

On Friday, one of the uncles was supposed to be going to a prison to look for one of our kids that was taken during the riots.  So I was going to get photos developed of the boy so they knew who to look for at the prison.  I was told that there was a shop in Kivulu that would print them, but when I got there I found the machine broken.  Since I needed medical supplies also, I decided to just go to town and get them printed quickly and get the supplies and return.  As I was leaving, 2 of the boys(Ibra and Junior) started walking with me and I told them they could come if they wanted as I was just going very quickly.  Two hours later we were finally heading back to Kivulu but those 2 hours were precious.  The kids looked a mess and it was obvious they were street kids so everyone was staring and wondering what I was doing.  Some even made comments and asked what I was doing.  The best part was both of the boys are kind of new so I don't know them so well.  It gave me plenty of time to just spend with them and build that relationship.  Ibra is a really sweet kid and the time helped me to connect more with him.  Junior, is a bit of a handful and always wants attention, no matter if it is good or bad, and doesn't listen very well.  Because of this, I find it difficult to connect with him on a regular day because I am always losing my patience with him.  This afternoon, he was a perfect angel and so nice and well behaved that I saw another side of him and it really made me love him.  The difference of being away from the crowd of kids and not having to fight for my attention made all the difference.  Had I not taken them, I would still lose my patience with Junior because I would have never seen a good side to him.

As soon as I got back to Kivulu, Ibra was getting the medical stuff out.  A month or so ago, he would be willing to help every day with medical treatments.  As of late, he has been kind of distant and not making good choices for himself.  Therefore, he hasn't really been with it enough to help or been around.  I really love Ibra and he is definitely one of my favorites, so the recent difficult times have really been breaking my heart.  I don't know how to help him or to get him to make good choices.  So this day when he was completely sober and ready to start medical, I was SO happy.  He helped me the whole time and was really good and patient with the boys.  He has a good heart and it just reminded me what a good kid he can be and that I shouldn't give up on him, no matter how frustrated I get.

After medical was over, the other boys were going to play soccer.  As I was getting ready to go to the field, I saw our youngest boy, Yehaya, laying on the ground.  I knew something had to be wrong with him because he is usually a ball of energy, running, screaming and yelling at someone.  When he wouldn't respond to me, Ibra helped him to his feet and helped him walk to the clinic.  Yehaya makes sure that no one gets close to him.  I don't think he has any friends, only boys that tolerate him.  Because he is the smallest, he gets picked on a lot, especially since he flips out.  The boys think it is funny when he goes into one of his rages(imagine a Tasmanian devil) and many of them will pick on him just so he will flip out.  Ibra was so sweet with him and really paying attention to him and making sure he got to the clinic ok.  Yehaya is afraid of needles so Ibra sat with him and reassured him and helped him to take his medicine.  Even when Yehaya got sick and threw up everywhere, Ibra didn't leave his side.  It soon became obvious that the lady at the clinic couldn't help him and we needed to go to the hospital.  So an uncle carried him there but Ibra and I were left to tend to him.  Since he couldn't walk, Ibra carried him to the lab and to the room, and held him while they were taking his blood.  The doctor wanted him to stay over night and I feared he would wake up in the night and try and run.  Ibra offered to spend the night in the hospital with him and make sure he was fine.  When another boy Matthew found out Yehaya was in hospital, he insisted in staying with him also.  I was so proud of them, especially Ibra.  He was the boy that day that I know he can be.  I wish I saw it more often.

The next day, Saturday, we had planned an outing for the leaders and decided to rent a taxi and take some of the boys with us.  We were going to a musical at an international school here.  We got Yehaya out of the hospital in time, and so he, Ibra, and Matthew were the first boys chosen.  When we got to the church, the uncle had told many boys to go and bathe so they would be ready to go.  I wanted John to go, because he is one of my favorites, but sometimes he can be a bit stubborn with the uncles and other boys.  Since the uncle knows how much I love him, he told him to get ready and we went with him and 9 other boys.  John doesn't really show any emotion to anything and always acts like he is too cool for everything.  During the play, both him and Ibra, were on the edges of their seats, so involved and paying so much attention.  Regardless of how he acts, he is still just a kid, and it is moments like these that let them forget having to survive the streets and be tough so no one takes advantage of them and just be kids.  It was a beautiful thing to see.

On the way back to Kivulu, Richard got really sick.  That is where my other post picked up.  But again, Ibra was the first to volunteer to stay at the clinic.  In a different environment, that kid would be so different.  The other day, he told me he wanted to be a doctor.  It isn't impossible, but it is going to be difficult for him to make it, which is sad.  He would be a great doctor...

God is working in these boys' lives, even if they don't know it or realize it.  I pray that He continues to and gives them the strength and courage to do the right thing and make good choices.  I hope you will pray for them also.

**If you are interested in supporting me and my mission/work here (everything helps!) you can give online at www.globaltrainingnetwork.org and all donations are tax-deductible, just go to the support tab and preference my ministry. 

War of the worlds

Let me paint a picture for you...


Richard is sick and needs to spend night in clinic.  He refuses until I offer to stay with him.  Everyone else being concerned for my safety, also decides they must stay in the clinic.  Two boys, one uncle, Richard, and me later, we are ready to sleep in the cramped quarters we call a clinic.  Richard has the only bed, I have the chair next to it, uncle is on the waiting bench, and the 2 boys are on the floor.


Of course I am not tired, and cannot fall asleep.  Everyone else is passed out, snoring.  AND THEN, my war began.


If anyone has been in a kind of tropical country, you can attest for the size of the gigantic killer cockroaches that inhabit them.  Uganda is no different.  The cockroaches are huge and disgusting and everywhere.  Because they are so enormous, they make very much noise when they are moving.  They actually sound like mice scurrying around.


So I was tired of the chair and decided to sleep on the ground.  As soon as I laid down, I heard the scurrying.  I kept trying to tell myself I was imagining such things but when the cockroach was touching my face, I kind of couldn't ignore it any longer.  Anyone that knows me knows my number one fear is insects.  So you can imagine how I was feeling to have a cockroach on my face...


Because my logic is always sound, I decided if I got back in the chair the cockroach could in fact NOT get me.  It worked, until I decided to lean on the table to sleep.  There staring back at me was the same "little" bug that had just crawled on my face.  I decided it must die for its crimes (Again if you know me you know I don't agree with killing things hardly ever and especially not insects with hard shells because the sound is gross :-( ).  I realized I couldn't use my shoe, because that is just gross so I picked up Richard's and hit it.  Keep in mind this is all happening in the dark when everyone else is SOUND asleep.  It appeared to be dead and so I brushed it to the floor and hit it again for good measure.  Obviously giant cockroaches are much harder to kill than I thought.  I decided it was time to get my phone to use for light and found the roach on its back.  Then it started spinning in circles somehow.  As if the scurrying noise didn't make me want to run, that noise definitely did.  So I hit it a couple more times and then pushed it to the other side of room.


Feeling like a hero and I had won, I decided the floor was safe to sleep on again.  I was feeling so good about myself.  I killed a monster bug.  I didn't scream.  I didn't wake anyone.  I was feeling invincible.  So I laid back on the floor again and was starting to fall asleep when I heard it again.  I search for my phone, to get some light and don't see any bugs anywhere.  After some time searching, I find it and try to kill it and FAIL miserably and it runs off.  Now there is an angry cockroach out to get me for my  murder attempt.  So I decide to pray because I realized God has nothing better to do than to protect me from cockroaches.  Oh I also turned the other way and put my feet by where it was because again its not like those things can run to the other side of the room or anything.  So in doing so, I then get kicked in the head by one of the boys but I actually start to fall asleep.  


Suddenly, I am startled awake only to find my "friend" on the door staring at me.  I sit up with a start, and then think I am dreaming because I don't see it anymore.  But then I did see it and by the time I got a shoe, it was gone again.


Now I just know they are plotting against me and the cockroaches are totally winning.  I decided if I turned over, it couldn't get me.  That is when it started crawling on my arm, and I am awoken again.  Each time, I am wide awake and all I hear are the boys snoring, completely unaware and oblivious to the life or death match going on right next to them.


Finally, I get back in the chair, deciding it is the safest place and fall asleep.  I don't know how many cockroaches crawled on me and I have a suspicious looking wound on my finger that I didn't have when I went to sleep.


My war with the cockroaches was an EPIC failure, but if I had to do it again I would.  There have been many God-given moments this weekend, and the cockroaches was just the funniest(I will share the others tomorrow).  Just a few months ago, this episode would have left me in tears and  hyperventilating.  Today I think it is funny and laugh.  Not only has God changed my heart and taken my fears but he has also put someone in my life that I love enough to brave all of my fears for.


God is all around us.  Even in the situations we think are terrible.  If we look, He is there.  He is ALWAYS there.  


God bless!


**If you are interested in supporting me and my mission/work here (everything helps!) you can give online at www.globaltrainingnetwork.org and all donations are tax-deductible, just go to the support tab and preference my ministry. 

Love

Richard.  I don't know when he captured my heart but it is definitely his.  He smiles and could ask me for the moon and I would definitely tell him, "ok I will get it for you."  He tells me he loves me and I melt and cannot imagine loving anyone more than I love him...

But then there is Emmanuel John and I love him just as much.  He looks at me with his mischievous smile whenever I catch him doing something he shouldn't, and it is difficult to be mad.  Every time I see him with food, he offers to share and entrusts me with the responsibility of keeping his money.  He isn't as affectionate but his small gestures say it all to me.  He came from so far away and I wonder how he made it.  I wonder how they all made it....

I cannot forget about Ibra.  Dr. Ibra.  He has his issues and sometimes frustrates me SOOO much, but I love him all the same.  He has been sick the last few days.  His toe is very infected, so I have been taking him to the clinic.  The time together has only endeared him to me even more.

Gabriel.  Temperamental Gabriel.  He is making such better choices for himself but still isn't there yet, he will be though.  He can be the sweetest kid.  On several occasions, he will do the dishes after eating without being asked.  He wants to help and takes joy in it.

There is Derrick.  Such a cute kid.  Very reserved and difficult to connect with but once you do, you see his funny side and he just makes you laugh.  He was given a new pair of tennis shoes a few sundays ago.  Instead of selling them like most of the kids would, he washes them almost daily and at times even walks barefoot just so he won't ruin them.

There is also..
Simon, the little ninja always dressed in camo.
Tom, the crazy kid that tells me to be steady and karate chops everything.
Peter, the boy that is so smart and knows the Bible so well.
Dunkan, the boy that willingly cuts bunches of onions and jokes around so much.
Wasswa, the most talkative and mischievous boy you will ever meet but with the biggest smile you can hardly shout at him and will share his food with the little puppies around.
Nathan, so quiet you almost forget he is there but you can't because he is so sweet.
Michael, so smart and well behaved and always wanting to participate in class/devotions/whenever.
Kasime, his smile could definitely kill you and he loves joking around with me so much, telling me he will beat me (he never would) and laughs hysterically if I chase him trying to beat him.
Ronald, the boy that I am sure has no idea how much I love him.  He is too busy being tough and acting grown up to notice, but then he has moments where he takes joy in being a kid or comes out of nowhere to say hi and I think he knows.
Mukasa, always wanting to take me to get a boda or play around.

So many kids.  All that I love so much.  All so different.  All with a story.  All on the street.

My boda driver told me the other day, "Wow, those kids really love you! They never want you to leave."  I told him I felt the same and we spent the rest of the ride home talking about all of the boys.  But it made me think.  How did I get to be so lucky to have so many amazing kids love me?  I am not sure but I know I am one of the luckiest people in the world because of it...


**If you are interested in supporting me and my work here (everything helps!) you can give online at www.globaltrainingnetwork.org.   All donations are tax-deductible, just go to the support tab and preference my ministry. 

Thin line

Well it finally happened...my moment where I was hating Africa.  He told me it would happen, and I didn't believe him, but it happened...

and then God showed me His love and mercy and every ounce of annoyance disappeared.  

Being an outsider is not always easy.  I don't understand the language, many things about the culture, I can't find/do/have things I used to enjoy, and sometimes I feel like a circus freak.  People shouting muzungu(white person) from where ever they are, dozens of times a day, does not make me feel good.  On the contrary, it only reminds me how much of an outsider I really am, and no matter how much I try otherwise, I will never completely fit into this society.  People will always see me as a muzungu first and everything else will be second.  And piled on top of other things that have happened this week, I was near a mental breakdown by midday yesterday, and then I almost died...

When I left my house yesterday, all my normal boda drivers were gone.  They over charge me, but I like them because they always understand me and get me where ever I need to go safely.  Since they were not around, I had to find one moving on the street.  It took 3 tries to find one that spoke English well enough to understand where I wanted to go.  We were moving along fine and then we came to an intersection.  I look up at this HUGE blue truck moving towards us, look at the passenger and think it is going to stop but it didn't.  Time kind of froze for a minute, as did the truck, and then it was moving very fast.  I remember thinking, oh no this is going to hurt and then the truck hit us.  It hit the back of the bike where I was sitting, touching my arm.  I thought we were going down, I braced for hitting the ground and waited...

When I finally opened my eyes, we were stopped in middle of road, but still on the boda and unhurt.  I think the driver was just as shocked as me, he just sat there for a minute until other people started shouting at him to go.  The truck hit us hard, we should've been on the ground, seriously hurt.

But we were fine because God was with us...He protected me and kept me safe, just as He promised.  I used to tell people that I have no reason to fear.  I did not think God brought me all the way to Africa to kill me, turns out, yesterday I was right...

I am serving an awesome God, that is merciful and loving, and there is no place or work I would rather be doing.  I am over my mood and am back to loving Uganda.  After all, it is where He wants me...

**If you are interested in supporting me and my work here (everything helps!) you can give online at www.globaltrainingnetwork.org.   All donations are tax-deductible, just go to the support tab and preference my ministry. 

God bless!  :-)

You are not safe...

First, I am happy to report that we were able to start using the church again to host our street programs. We have gone back to having programs Monday through Friday for the boys and it is going wonderfully.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the boys get a lesson, a game, a craft/art, a full meal, medical treatment, and a Bible study.  Tuesday and Thursday the boys receive medical treatment, a Bible study, and porridge and a donut.  So far the program is going amazingly and we have had about 50 boys or more each day.

That brings me to "You are not safe..."

On Monday, we walked to the other slum, Kisenyi, to get boys to bring to the program.  We gathered about 15 or so boys and started the journey back to Kivulu.  On the way back this man stopped his car in the middle of the road and traffic and started screaming at me and Abby that we were not safe.  He seemed very distressed by seeing us with very many street kids and even more so when we ignored him and laughed.  But I assure you, we couldn't have been any safer...

On the way back to Kivulu, there was one boy in particular, DJ (who only had a right shoe on), that wanted to hold my hand and talk with me and Abby the whole way.  He was very sweet and funny and like most boys from Kisenyi, had Chenge on him.  (Chenge is expired aviation fuel and the boys huff it.  It dulls their senses and they say it doesn't make them feel cold or hungry.  It has different effects on each boy, some get emotional, some feel invincible, some really hyper, etc.)  He was told to get rid of his drugs and when they were taken from him and poured down the sewer, he didn't even react.  As we were walking, Abby tripped on a rock and her sandal broke.  Immediately, DJ said take his shoe.  When Abby refused, he insisted and insisted.  Finally, Abby gave in, took off her broken shoe and took DJ's only shoe.  He happily walked completely barefoot, in places I am afraid to walk with shoes, so his auntie would have 2 shoes.

We had time before the program started when we got back to Kivulu, so we attended the lunchtime service at the church.  That same boy, DJ, sat in the service with us.  And again he amazed me.  When it came time for offerings, he went up and happily put a coin in the basket. Reminded me of the widow.  He HAD given more than us that day...

Yes they are street kids, yes they were high, and to the outsider we probably looked like we were in danger, but I assure you, there is no way we could have been...


**If you are interested in supporting me and my mission here (everything helps!) you can give online at www.globaltrainingnetwork.org and all donations are tax-deductible, just go to the support tab and preference my ministry. 

The last will be the first...

Yesterday was such a promising day...today, heartbreaking.

Yesterday I went to a meeting with others whose hearts are on fire for street kids.  They had brilliant ideas as to how to help them and get them off of the streets and I really had hope and was so excited to see what all the new programs would bring.  Mostly, I was just excited to get to spend more time with the boys.

Today I woke up to a familiar voice outside of my room but couldn't place it.  Didn't pay any attention  but when I finally went outside I was greeted with the sad news that one of the kids from the program was killed earlier in the morning.  His nickname was Owino.  I didn't know him well, but I knew him, he was always around.  I don't think it matters that I wasn't super close to him, but the injustice of his untimely death still stings.  You see, he was out collecting scrap to sell so he could get some money to eat when something began chasing him (dogs, people, not really sure) so he ran and that is when a car/truck hit him.  He was 12 years old.

As if that didn't weigh my heart down enough, I found out later that the police have really been harassing the other boys and the police have told the pastor not to allow us to use the church or else they will beat the kids and arrest us.  So now, mere days before we were going to expand the programs, they have been forced to stop.

But God is good and His heart is hurting for these boys so I know he will provide a way...until then, keep them in your prayers.  With the redo of the elections coming up on Monday, there are sure to be more riots and lucky for the boys, they always start very close to the area where they stay.

Owino is on the bottom row, second boy from the left with the boy in white on his right.

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If you are interested in supporting me and my mission here (everything helps! :-)) you can give online at www.globaltrainingnetwork.org and all donations are tax-deductible, just go to the support tab and preference my ministry. 

This past week has been…

Eye opening.

I have been in a strange mood and just contemplating life. I am surrounded by injustices and wonder how to change them.  I read people’s ignorant comments online about things that are happening in the world and wonder what they are thinking. I have come to realize that my perspective has changed…

I was wondering when it would happen, and it has.  I feared that when I returned home, I wouldn’t be able to relate to people because the things I have seen and experienced are so far out of their frame of reference, I would think that they are ridiculous.  Unfortunately, it is already starting and I am not even home yet.  I don’t know how to fix the problem, but definitely see it as one…

I cannot blame people for not understanding my life here.  If I wasn’t living here, I could never imagine little children as young as 5 or 6 living on the streets and having to fend for themselves.  I wouldn’t believe that people run from rebels and end up as beggars on the street or that death is an accepted part of life and it has lost its sting. It just doesn’t seem possible…

Unfortunately, things like that are happening and not just here.  For some people, it is just a part of their every day life. 

I feel an urgency to do something and that is something else that I cannot expect people to understand.  Without seeing things in person, without hearing a boy beg you to put him in school, or see women blatantly on the side of the road waiting, it is easy to ignore it all. 

My life has changed and so has my perspective.  I was talking to a friend the other day and she was telling me how I received a coupon in the mail from Coach.  Before, I would have been so excited but now I just think about what a waste of money and how that could put a boy in boarding school or feed him and buy him clothes. 

God has blessed me with this opportunity and I realize that with that comes much responsibility.  I need to figure out how to use this opportunity to reach people and educate them without losing my patience, to make them care about the children I love and want to help.  I don’t know how to do that yet, but I am working on it…

Take care friends and God Bless!!!

*   If you are interested in supporting me and my mission here (everything helps! :-)) you can give online at www.globaltrainingnetwork.org and all donations are tax-deductible, just go to the support tab and preference my ministry.