First Class Mail

My brother, Jeremy just tagged me in this photo.  He said he was sending them to me!  Made me cry.  I sure do miss them.

1600

We had 1600 children today at Esangalo!

I never get tired of seeing the children - laughing, playing, running, jumping, learning, eating.

Whose poop?

I keep finding poop in the floor every morning. I was baffled. No dog.  No cat.  No babies.  Too big for a rat.  Bats don't come inside. Too big for the resident lizards. Not Brenda. I was stumped!

I finally put two and two together (which  is four, if you are still wondering). Then I confirmed it with Google. 

Toads!  We have at least 3 or 4 that come in each night. ( we try to get rid of them but a few always slip by)

So, one more blessing I get to experience each morning here in Uganda is cleaning up the toad poop!

Storm Coming

I love these picture of the girls. They are trying to finish the laundry before the storm comes.

Desperation

We held a three day medical clinic (Monday – Wednesday).  We saw about 375 people in all and about 500 heard the Gospel!

This was the line at 8:00 on Tuesday morning!

Robin Broom, checking blood pressure

We were able to give away 750 items of clothes, shoes, etc to the people!

Unfortunately, we were not able to see everyone that came to the clinic – there were too many people and not enough doctors.  On Wednesday, I went to the front gate at 6:30 am, thinking I would write numbers on the hands of the “few” people that had already arrived, ensuring they would get seen.  There were at least 200 already in line!  I told the guard to close the gate.

I was in charge of running the clinic.  This meant I had to make sure everything ran smoothly – all teams members knew what they needed to do and were doing it.  The pharmacy was fully stocked, the doctors always had a patient in their office.  All stations had translators and EVERYONE heard the Gospel. The list goes on and on.   Not an easy task.

One of my hardest jobs was controlling the front entrance to the church.  The people lined up there and waited for hours to be seen. Unfortunately, some did not get seen because there were just too many people.  Monday was difficult.  Tuesday was worse!  Tuesday, I stood on the porch around 10:30, watching as two women began fighting over their place in line – hitting, screaming, you know, a cat fight!  People were pushing, children were getting pushed down, men and women were yelling.

I started to get upset, but instead prayed,

“Lord, let me see these people through Your eyes.”  

In that instant, I didn't see anger or pushiness or violence – all I saw was DESPERATION.  The faces were filled with desperation.  These people who had walked for hours to get help, were DESPERATE to be seen by the doctors.   These women with 5, 6 or 7 kids were DESPERATE to get help for their kids.  These grandmothers that are caring for their grandchildren were DESPERATE to get help.  These fathers who have lost their wives are DESPERATE to get help. 

My face with a set, determined look of “why are you not grateful for what we are trying to do” was replaced with tears and a broken heart for the DESPERATION in the faces of the people.

I am so thankful to the Lord for giving me that brief glimpse through His eyes.

Faces of Joy

I was scrolling through my photos from yesterday at Esangalo.  I was so overwhelmed to see all the photos of sheer joy on the faces of the children.  Esangalo means joy in Samia!  You can see that the Saturday program is bringing joy to so many lives.  I know it is not OUR program that brings the joy, but rather, the love of Christ that is being shared!  The  children have a safe place where they can come and play, eat and learn about Christ's love - JOY!

A Heavy Heart

My heart is heavy.

 I just spoke with one of our teachers at the VOE School.  She told me this story:

An 18 month old girl, her cousin, was kidnapped on Sunday from the Jinja area.  They found her body at the community well last night.  She had been sacrificed.  Someone bored a hole in her neck and drained her life blood out.  The teacher told me that the person who did the sacrifice believes that it will bring them wealth.

I have always heard that there are child sacrifices here in Uganda, but it had never reached this close to home.  Evil is something very real and present.

Please pray for Jenny, the mother of the child.  Pray that she can somehow be comforted during this traumatic time.  Pray that her family can find comfort in the Lord.

The teacher did have some good news; another baby girl that had been kidnapped was found last night, unharmed!

Please pray also that we can continue to teach and influence the communities surrounding the Village of Eden with the Truth – the Word of God.  I truly believe that His Word is the only way that Uganda can be changed and this great Evil be dispelled.