God's blessings in Uganda

It's amazing to see how dramatically God has changed my heart during the last few days. I can't begin to describe to you how AWESOME this last week has been and how HAPPY I am to be here. I'm finally at the point where I get excited about each day and feel like my heart is here and not a thousand miles away. I will miss these amazing kids and friends I have made while here. I can't believe how quickly these last few days are flying by. What a blessing. The slum program has been so much fun lately. The neighborhood kids have been coming arund so there are a lot of little ones to play with. That's what I love. It's a disappointment that not more of our street kids are coming yet but, with time, I believe they will.

I have become especially attached to one little girl at the slum program, Martha. She's probably about 4 and she lives in a house next door to the church. She latched on to me riht away on Friday anmd I sat with her and colored with her and carried here around all afternoon. She even fell asleep on my lap towards the end, which was the most amazing moment. It made me want to be a mom someday. At the end, when it came time to leave, I went to put Martha down, and he said, in english, "No". She grabbed on to me so tight, it was hard to get her down. Once I did, she wrapped her arms around my legs and wouldn't let me go. She held on to me so tightly, that I had a really hard time trying to get away. By then, the whole team had left and I was having such a tough time getting away. It was the most traumatic goodbye I've ever experienced. She cried and cried. Finally, George came back to get me and tell her in Lugandan that we had to go and would be back on Monday. I cried. It was incredibly emotional. On Monday, she found me right away and we still spent most of the afternoon together but \I me much more of an effort to spend time with lots of different kids at the same time. It helped ans she actually played with the other kids this time. She was more involved with others and when it came time to leave she was able to wave goodbye to me, rather than cry. She is in the pictures below. The one where I am holding her, I am standing next to Martin, one of the leaders of Voice of Hope, an organization that works with African Hearts to get kids off of the streets.


We have experienced so much in the last few days that I can't begin to describe it all to you. We had an awesome church experience on Sunday. We went out to Ssenge to go to church with the boys. It's in a rural area, so the building has four walls and a roof but no doors and open windows. We got there a little late and everyone got up and gave us their chairs. It was embarrassing but such a friendly, welcoming gesture in their culture. There were maybe a hundred people crammed into the small space. They had awesome worship. They sang acapella, except for a drum, and they DANCED the whole time. I had such a blast. It was fun to be with the boys there. They sang a song and I felt like a proud mother. I just look at where they are now and am amazed at what God has done. They are the sweetest, smartest boys I know. At that moment, I knew that this is why we came here. These boys didn't need money to be saved, they needed love, a safe place to live, healthy role models, and lots of hugs. When I look at the incredible role models they have in these men who call themselves their "uncles", I see how blessed these boys are. These guys don't just take care of their physical needs like food and beds. They sit down on the floor and color with them, they play soccer with them, they hug them, they talk to them, they show love to these boys that is rare. These boys adore their uncles and I can't think of better men for them to look up to. They show these boys who Jesus is in every sense. Although, Raquel and i play a small part in this, I can see so clearly how only 6 months of love has built the self esteem of these kids. Giving them worth and showing them that do have so much to offer is huge! Being here and showing them that is so important If I can reach one boy and Raquel another, and so on and so on, as volunteers come, that is something to praise God for!

New slum program

Well, I found out a little more of Shafique's [pictured above] story on Wednesday. We all headed toward town to get lunch but we passed through the slums on our way. Of course, a few of the kids saw us so they walked with us for blocks, until we got to the restaurant. Shafique was one of them. Once we got to the restaurant, the boys stopped at the top of the stairs as we walked in. We had to turn around and convince them it was ok to come in with us and have lunch. Four boys came with us and you should have seen how big their eyes got when they looked at the menu to choose what they wanted. Each boy got a huge plate of food. We gave them our leftovers to take home, too. They were smiling so big that day, especially Shafique. It turns out that he has only been on the streets for a month. No wonder he still has some innocence about him. He ran away because his mom left him and his father beat him. It's the most common story you'll hear in this city (or in most of Africa, for that matter). He comes from a village about 6 hours drive north of here so I'm not sure why he ended up coming here but he did and now African Hearts is working on ways to get him off the streets. It was encouraging to hear Abby talk about their goals since we haven't been able to see the program in full effect yet.

Due to the disintegration of the previous slum program, they had to start over and I didn't know exactly what it would look like. She said that they had a program that involved literacy, food, medicine, and Bible stories. They were able to invite the government, as well as other NGOs to come observe their program and partner with them. This allowed them to get more kids off of the streets and into school than African Hearts alone could do. This is what they are starting to implement again. It is encouraging to know that Raquel and I are in the right place at the right time. We are actually going to be able to help them implement this program while we are here. So, we are making a difference. We had our first meeting in our new place on Wednesday. It's an outside shelter, next to a church. The church is providing it for us, as well as a locker to put medical supplies and things we'll need.

Today is our first official day of starting the program. Wednesday, we kept it simple and had the kids color and draw. They loved it!


One boy in particular was so adorable. I handed him paper and crayons and he kept saying something to me in Lugandan and wouldn't take it. I asked Collins to translate. He said that the boy, Robert, didn't know how to draw. Collins told me to teach him. Yeah, like I know how to draw. I drew a simple house. He took the paper from me and colored it in. Then he asked me to draw something else for him to color in. He was sooo proud of that drawing, let me tell you! Look at that adorable smile!About 5 new people came 2 days ago so we are all working with the street kids together. These people will be here until next week, same as Raquel and I. I love our new team. They are all so awesome! There's a retired grandma who came, who is so sweet. I love that she travels to other countries in her retirement to work with kids! Anyway, so today, each of us on the team is responsible for something different. Some people will do games, some art, some songs, and Raquel and I a Bible lesson. Fun! I'm excited for the first time to be going! I also feel really good this morning for the first time in a week. I slept most of yesterday so I missed a lot. I'm grateful to be back in the game. I am still eager to be home but I am counting the days we have left and trying to be excited about each event we have planned.

I just want to tell you all thank you so much or your comments and constant encouragement for me while I've been here. It's helped so much. Some days I have felt a thousand miles away from God and I have felt spiritually attacked on all sides. Your encouragement and prayers has made an impact. Yesterday, I sat on my bed and listened to worship songs on my ipod for the first time since I've been here and just worshiped my amazing God. It was a breakthrough for me and has given me the light spirit I have today. Thank you for your prayers in getting me to that point. Praise God for His constant goodness!