Day Two/Saturday

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. Oh love of God how rich and poor how measureless and strong -he shall for evermore endure the saints and angels song....Frederick Lehman, 1917

Our first full day in Uganda was difficult to describe.  We spent the entire day in Bweya Village, starting with a visit to Landowner Robert. Robert is the gentleman that we are purchasing 3 acres of land from. ekissa plans to use this land to serve Bweya village beginning with a much needed church. Robert is a gentle man with an infectious smile whose heart for the Lord shines through his eyes. He is robust and laughs a lot. He introduced us to his parents who have been married 73 years. His dad is 106 and his mother is 87. We enjoyed listening to them share about their life together. We prayed with them and then began our walk on the property. The land is full of lush vegetation

and in the distance you can see Lake Victoria. Robert explained the lay of the land. I don’t know who is more excited about this venture..Robert or Sarah. We joined hands and prayed together over the land. The act of joining hands and hearing prayers lifted in English and Luganda as the breeze blew on our faces was surreal. 

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It was a good thing that we had covered ourselves in prayer because from there we journeyed to the orphanage where it all began: Mercy Children’s Home.  Our new friend Robert Fleming, who has been working in Uganda for years, was thankfully successful in transferring all the girls from this place to a safer environment, leaving only a string of boys of all ages.  Some of the boys seemed content - a couple of the older boys even expressed interest in plans for the future - but the majority of them seemed sad and without hope.  A few boys were bullying another, but they stopped when we passed by. Their accommodations are sparse and without basic essentials. The walls are concrete and very hard and dry feeling. The beds are twin bunk beds made of metal-similar to those you might see in a prison movie. The few pieces of clothing the boys may have are hanging from the ceiling on a clothesline. The bathrooms are outside with a hole in the floor and a shower head. There is an open courtyard where they congregate. There is no sign of vegetation. Just dry and barren-very similar to the faces of the children.

Our next stop was Airfield Primary School. We were greeted by children standing at the fence The ages at airfield range from 3 to 13 and it houses both girls and boys. It is also a dusty place with very little vegetation but there is some sense that this is a home where children live. There is a tattered volleyball net and we did see some markers and legos out on a table. But what was missing was the laughter that normally accompanies children. They stare at you with blank eyes. Because some of our group had been to this home there was a spark in a few eyes when they recognized some of our faces. But the overall feeling is heaviness of heart and mind.....

  I would be remiss if I didn’t stop now and give you my personal first hand experience at this orphanage. Because I had never been to Africa much less an orphanage I honestly had no idea what to expect. Prior to arriving Sherry and I had been talking about a young boy that she had met the last time she was here. His name is Benard. She wasn’t expecting him to remember her. How many other “mazungus” had he seen since last year? We opened the van door and when Benard saw Sherry his eyes lit up and he ran to her with open arms. It was the saddest and sweetest moment I had ever witnessed. The love that she was expressing to this young boy that she had only met once and the joy that this orphaned boy showed to her was such an exhibit of raw love. Sherry and Joey then embraced Benard together in a big bear hug as he cried. All the questions that I had asked myself about how this experience was going to make me feel were being answered. Tears abound and we hadn’t even entered the gate of the orphanage. 

   When the kids recognized Sherry and Sarah they did smile and light up. Seeing their faces caused these kids to have a light in them that hadn’t been shining prior to our arrival. Just to have their name spoken was a thrill to them. Someone recognized them. There were several children who were in the background not really what sure what to do with our presence. There was a little girl in the corner who I motioned to come to me. She hesitantly sat on my lap and settled in for what would be the rest of my visit. She watched the others from my lap and as she became more comfortable she melted into me. This precious child was named Edith and she doesn’t know how old she is but the director told me they think she is approximately three years old.

 It was apparent that the children hadn’t eaten in awhile so we got the extra bread and bananas that we had in the van and brought it in to split between the kids. They all “waited” obediently for us serve them their small serving. It amazed me at their manners and the fact that they were so happy with so little. How many times have we heard our own kids ask for seconds or want more? They sat and watched all their friends eat and when there was some left over we split that again and shared with them. There was no pushing, shoving or arguing.They were just content with what they had been given. Edith continued to sit on my lap and eat her food. She speaks very little English but did respond when I said her name or asked her if she wanted more food. The other boys were playing with balls and games that Sherry and Joey brought with them. There was now laughter in this concrete yard. 

  The children were then served lunch and they all ate quietly. There was very little left in the bowls that consisted of a grits substance with beans and avocado. When lunch was over all the kids washed their own plates in a plastic pan with water. This included 3 year old Edith. I put her on top of the table and she leaned over the pan and washed her dish. I couldn’t believe the “independence” of such a small young girl. What had she seen and felt in this lifetime that most 3 year olds never have to experience?She lost her father and her mother could no longer afford to keep her so she was brought to Airfield. There are very few younger kids here so my thoughts went to where she slept and who took care of her when she was in need. By this time a few hours had passed and Edith and I had bonded. She knows such little english that talking to her was impossible but the love that was passed between our hands and bodies was evident. It was getting closer to the time for us to leave and travel elsewhere. I didn’t know how I was going to let go of this child who now had her head against my neck-she was also aware that we were leaving. How could I love someone so easily and quickly that I didn’t even know? We were now forever bonded. God sacrificed his only son so that we would know this love. If I can love this child so quickly can you imagine how our Father loves us? How he desires for us to climb into his lap for this same bonding time as I was giving Edith. 

We were returning to Airfield tomorrow so when I put Edith down to join her friends I was able to reassure her that I would be back.  That will not be possible the next time I go there. My leaving brought forth a lot of tears and many emotions.The funny thing about this is that I needed Edith as much as she needed me, actually I think I needed her more. This experience opened my eyes to the basic needs that humans have to be loved and no matter how far the distance or the time away from that individual- we know true love. It was evident in the joining of Sherry and Benard. We need that love more than anything else. It is for our survival. What has made our society so inside out about establishing relationships with orphans or widows that we won’t reach out? “Undefiled religion is this, to look after orphans and widows in their time of need.” James 1:27 We are all orphans to Christ. He is waiting to adopt each and everyone of us. All we have to do is believe.

  We all felt when we left that we had seen the hand of God at work. We were tired, rejuvenated and quiet. The Holy Spirit was at work and we felt privileged to be a part of what was happening.