Wednesday -
I woke up not feeling quite right. I went back to bed and slept for an hour or so. Being here with the babies is hard. Not because I do not like them. I love them. They are all so sweet!! Yet, I know my presence is hard. I am outside of their normal routine. The mamas, (ladies who work at the babies home and care for the children) they dote on the children, caring for little ones 24 hours a day. Each mama only gets a weekend off every 6 weeks. These ladies are the very hands and feet of God.
I text a friend back home and she texts me back a prayer.
“Praying for those sweet kids and their desire to be held and loved. Oh God, please continue to break our hearts for what breaks yours!!!! Please continue to burden the hearts of believers for the orphan. Lord, may the CHURCH rise up and be the hands and feet and be shaken from complacency and comfort. Please give Kathy good health so she can love those kids and be able to be used during her remaining time there.”
I went into the courtyard and just began to pray this prayer asking God for strength and peace, thanking Him for my time here.
After this I went in, got my computer and took it out to the gazebo where the mamas were enjoying some outside time with the little ones.
One mama took the 3 and 4 years olds on a walk with little water bottles and down the hill to fill up water. Others sat in the gazebo with little ones and fed the babies snacks as toddlers played in the courtyard on their tricycles and play sets. I put on some of my music including a Ugandan Children’s Choir CD that I had. The women’s eyes lit up and they wanted to know about America, my family, and how I had music from their country. It was a great conversation and one that I have kept close to my heart. They were so encouraging. I thought I would be able to love them, show them Jesus and here they were encouraging me with their warmth and love.
One of the babies is leaving soon. She will be adopted by an American family. Her mama has been dotting on her a little extra. This mama has not lost a baby to adoption or settlement yet. It reminds me again of how much loss happens to everyone on the road to adoption. Everyone involved endures loss. I can’t imagine these ladies' grieving hearts as they give their children into the care of others, knowing that they will never see them again. As a visitor, I must be a reminder of the grief and loss that they experience in their job.
This road we are traveling will be hard. It might be one of the hardest things that I will do in my life. I worry if I will be able to teach these not so little boys, if they will lose too much coming to America. But then I remember God set us on this path. He puts the lonely in families. And if He chooses to allow these boys to come and be a part of our family, then they gain a mother and father, brothers and sisters, extended family who already adore them, a community across America and in Raleigh that has been praying for their physical, emotional and spiritual health. They gain access to education and health care. But most importantly, they will be shown the gospel, tangibly and be able to hear and see the gospel everyday and hopefully, begin to believe in a new way that their Father in heaven cares for them and loves them.
I had brought games to play with the boys. We played Old Maid, Skip-bo and cards. Hannah sent them pop-rocks. Oh if only I could show you the expressions on their face when they experienced this!!! It was pure joy mixed with surprise and amazement!! It was priceless and I’m so thankful for the little things!!!
Thursday
Today I woke up excited to see Rosalie, a friend from church who is living in Kampala. Someone from the babies' home had to go into Kampala and so I hitched a ride to a clinic in Kampala. Rosalie met me there on a boda boda and off we went, back to Wabigalo to see where she has been working these last months in Uganda. Rosalie had been on my heart and mind weeks before I knew I was going on this surprise trip. I had been praying for her each day and hoping to be an encouragement for her and a piece of home. Instead, she was the one encouraging me with the good news of how Jesus is literally changing her community!! The time that I spent with her was so encouraging. She spoke of this community that she is learning to love and that it has begun to feel like home. We walked up the hill to where Sojourn Church meets. Honestly, it wasn’t that big and I wondered how in the world do they have church in such a facility. The space might be as big as the downstairs of my house. It held a small kitchen, a couple bathrooms, two offices and an outside covered sanctuary. Yet it is home to a great work that God is doing to love on the people of Wabigalo and bring gospel-centered change to the community. You can hear more about what Sojourn Church is doing here and get to know this sweet girl who loves Jesus.
God is working and it is amazing to hear how He orchestrates His work. He is caring for the fatherless, the broken hearted, the lost, the sojourner, the widow, the orphan. Today was encouraging to say the least. It reminded me of why I came to Uganda, to visit the orphan in their affliction: to love them, to hold them, to say I will kiss your boo boos, wipe your tears, and hold you when you are fearful.
Rosalie and I hired a driver and began our journey back to where I was staying. She visited for a while and then began her own journey back to Kampala. After she left, I sat down in the middle of the play room. Most of the babies were waking up from their naps, some were cranky. I began to sing “Trust and Obey” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children” to them as I did when Noah was young. They all settled down, staring at me and I was so thankful that God had given me some relief to my grief and sadness. I remembered my friend’s prayer, that my heart would break for what breaks the Father’s and that as a result, I would not be overwhelmed with the children’s cry, but be able to meet them where they are.
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