Sunday 30 September 2012

1 Month Down

   It was an early morning yesterday. I woke up at 5am to be at Watoto Church at 7:30am for their early morning service. It was a great service and it was just 1 hour...lovely. Then after my short service I packed my bag and headed for the taxi. I knew that it was going to be a long journey, 5 hours to be exact. So I was mentally preparing for the crowded taxi once again! Turns out, nothing could have prepared me for what was about to go down.
 
   They crammed me in the taxi and I looked behind me and there was a girl about 8 years old also jammed between 2 grown men. I smiled at her, but she did not look happy. Then she started to cry, in the little amount of Swahili that I know I asked her if her parents were on the taxi and she said no. Then I got concerned. Another gentleman overheard my conversation with the girl and he got worried. He told the driver that he was a lawyer and he wanted this young girl to get out of the taxi because she did not want to be there. The driver refused to remove the young girl. The lawyer then accused the drive of kidnapping this girl! I could not believe my ears.

   The young girl looked scared and confused at all the yelling that was going on. We waited in the taxi for a good 45 minutes to make sure that this girl was not being kidnapped. I just smiled at her and tried to distract her from the madness that was going on. Finally everyone came to a conclusion that she was not being kidnapped, but she was going to be with her father. So we left and headed for Tororo. After many stops we finally arrived safely in Tororo. I was excited to get out of that taxi and stretch my legs. This taxi was more crowded then the last one!

   I went to Pastor Ruth's house and she was so excited to see me! She made lunch for me and wanted to talk to me about how the weekend went. It was nice to finally be home. Once I got back to the hotel, I unpacked my bag and decided to go for a run. It was so wonderful! I ran and ran...and ran. I thought about how 1 month has already past! Time has really flown by. I thought about all the great things that God has already done in just 1 month. I am so excited to see what God will do with the other 3 months that I have remaining here.

   Toward the end of my run, it started to pour rain! It was so perfect. For those of you who don't know me very well, I LOVE RAIN! It is my favorite weather. When everyone else is inside trying to stay dry, I am out in the middle of the pouring rain. I have always been that way. I then went inside and decided to do some laundry. This is becoming so normal, a routine that I'm getting used to. Washing my clothes in a bucket...no big deal ;)

"Thank you Jesus for allowing me a weekend to be refreshed! Thank you for getting me home safely. Thank you God for giving me a strong heart. A heart that will stand in the rain, while everyone else hides. Thank you for making my first month here a successful one! Thank you God for choosing me! I love you! Amen"

Passion Kampala

   Passion Kampala was amazing yesterday! Chris Tomlin was leading praise and worship. I stood amongst 5,000 young people as their hands were raised to Heaven. It was such a beautiful thing to see. Not to mention how the event started. A young lady came up to the stage with music behind her and she read Isaiah 61:8, which reads:

"For I, the Lord, love JUSTICE; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them."

   This was the chapter that was prophesied over my life! I just about lost it! I knew at that moment that this was going to be the best night ever!

   The place was packed out with people worshiping the Creator. I have to say that this was something that I really needed. I had a chance to be filled up so I could again be sent out. People from all over Uganda came to see this amazing event. 

   During the day I was visiting with a few friends that live in Kampala. We went to, what they call, a beach. It was Lake Victoria and it was beautiful. We spent the day walking around the beach area and walking through the markets. I just love this city. The whole time I was with them I was trying to convince them to come see Passion with me. I knew that it would impact them, I mean, how could it not? They were hesitant, but they said that they would walk me there and they would see what they thought when they got there. 

   Once the concert started they said, "Okay, we'll stay!" I just smiled and said, "I thought you might!" They were in shock at what was happening right before their eyes. 5,000 people singing all the songs and totally focused on Jesus. Toward the end of the concert everyone was given a special opportunity. An opportunity to live for Jesus! One of the people that I was with raised his hand and make a decision to follow Jesus! This was really one awesome night! The worship night lasted 4 and a half hours and the time flew by!


   When it was time to go home I was on, what I call, a major Jesus high. I was so excited for life and I could not wait to get back to Tororo and continue all the work that God had for me there. I found the pastor that I was staying with in the middle of the crowd. He informed me that his wife needed the car, so we were going to take different means of transportation. As we were walking to the parking lot, the pastor through me a motorcycle helmet, pointed to his motorcycle and said, "This is our ride, you ready?" I didn't think it was possible for my night to get even better...it did!!! I put the helmet on and jumped on that thing so fast. He just laughed at my excitement and off we went! We were flying down the streets and I was having the time of my life. 

"Thank you Jesus for giving me a night to just worship you! Thank you for safety on my amazing motorcycle ride! I love you and am not ashamed! Amen!"

Friday 28 September 2012

The Journey to Kampala

   Yesterday was a day of traveling! First thing in the morning I woke up and packed a bag for the weekend. Julian and I would be traveling to Kampala for the weekend to see a show called Passion, where Chris Tomlin would be performing. I was really looking forward to this concert. It would be a nice break and a chance for me to be filled up.

   Pastor Ruth picked us up and we went to Smile Africa so that we could take Baby Eric and Baby Ruth for immunizations. On the way to take the babies to the doctor, Ruth dropped us off at the taxi that would be going to Kampala. We put our bags in and we were told to sit in the very back. The taxi's here are more like vans that seat like 12 people. There are rows of 3 and everyone is usually jammed in tight. I knew that this was going to be an interesting ride.

   We were sitting in the car for a good 45 minutes before we actually left. That was so not fun, it was hot and a lot of the people smelled really bad. When we started driving I immediately stuck my head out the window. It was a desperate attempt for fresh air. On the way to Kampala we picked up 3 more passengers. Our driver now had 17 people in this van. I looked at a note pasted to the side of the van that read:

"THIS DRIVER IS LICENSED TO DRIVE ONLY 12 PEOPLE." 

   As I read that sign I did a head count. I counted 17 people, 18 including the 6 year old sitting on his mom's lap. I pointed this out to Julian and she laughed as well. I just ignored it and put on my music and thought to myself, "Welcome to Africa!"

   Once we arrived in Kampala we went right to Watoto Church. I walked in the doors and instantly felt right at home. I knew everyone there and I was being reunited with all my friends that I had not seen for years. It was a home coming, for both Julian and myself. We stayed at Watoto all night and watch a performance that was going on. We sang praise and worship and had church! Well church like I am used to. It was a wonderful night. Tomorrow night is going to so awesome. I am really looking forward to seeing Chris Tomlin as well as the other guests speakers. 
"Thank you Jesus for allowing me to arrive safely in Kampala! Thank you for all my friends at Watoto Church! Please keep Bogere safe as well as the other children while I am away this weekend. Thank you for your love. Amen."


Thursday 27 September 2012

One night at Smile Africa

   Yesterday was a great day! In the morning as we were walking to Smile Africa, Julian and I stopped at Pastor Ruth's house to pick up her youngest daughter Esther. Esther is 2 years old and has a lot of energy, so I knew that this would be good for her. When we arrived at Smile Esther stayed pretty close to my side, but within an hour she was everywhere! She was running around with the other children and getting into everything, it was perfect. Bogere had stayed at Smile over night for the first time, so I wanted to see how it went. When I saw Bogere he ran over to me to say hello. He was so happy! It was so comforting to know that he was happy and safe. I knew that this was going to be the best situation for him, so I am just continuing to pray for his restoration. It was interesting, one night at Smile and his attitude was already loads better. Since Bogere was not surrounded by evil, he is able to grow and to flourish. 
   I am in the middle of trying to teach Bogere English and he is trying to teach me Swahili, so he likes to look at picture books and point to the animals and say them in both languages. It is very cute to watch him. Bogere just sat in the babies room quietly and looked at his book. He was being so well behaved.

   While I was playing with Bogere, Esther and Caleb, they would often fight about the toys that belonged to "them." I would explain that they had to share their toys and be nice to each other or I would remove the toys altogether. It is really hard to teach a child a life lesson like sharing or being nice to each other, when they go home and learn the opposite, from their drunk parents. I remember babysitting a pair of siblings named Ella and Andrew. They would sometimes fight over toys or what movie we were going to watch, or something simple like that. I would correct the fighting and tell them that they needed to prefer one another and share their toys with each other. What made my correction so constructive was not that I, alone, told them how to properly behave, but when their parents came home, they also were telling them how to behave. The parents and I were on the same page and we were both telling their children the same thing. That made it easier to make those kind of corrections in their behavior. It is hard to correct the children at Smile sometimes. We tell them one thing and then they go home and their parents are drunk and think it's funny when they fight or act rude to one another. It was just an interesting thought. 
   Toward the end of the day I took Caleb on a walk. He loves to be outside and now that he is getting healthier, he is able to go outside and play with the other children. Caleb's legs were very weak when he first arrived at Smile. They are not were they should be yet, but the more he walks around, he will get stronger and stronger. He is such a happy boy and I am so proud of how well he is doing at his new home. 

   Overall, the day was a success. I had 2 happy boys the whole day and we learned important life lessons that I know will stick with them. "Thank you Jesus for loving your children more then I do. Thank you for making it possible for me to be in their lives. Thank you for trusting me with the lives of your precious children. I do not take it lightly. I know that not everyday will be easy and not everyday will these boys be well behaved, but I want to thank you for never leaving my side through every battle. You have never left me and you wont start now. I love you. Amen."

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6


Wednesday 26 September 2012

Answered Prayer

  My day yesterday started off with a phone call, a phone call that changed the course of my day. I was packing my bag and throwing some last things together when Pastor Ruth called me and told me that Tereza, Bogere's mom, refused the house that we had purchased for her. I was so confused. Ruth told me that she did not want to leave her abusive husband, she wanted to stay with him, so she refused the house. I'm going to be honest, I was a little hurt. I was trying to help them and I thought for sure that this would be the best solution. With this house she would be away from the man who beats her and she would be safe and her babies would be safe. Tereza refused the offer that we had given her. So now we had to think of another plan for Bogere. The stepfather still wanted Bogere out. Now my head was full of ideas, questions, comments, concerns for the life of my little boy. 
  Once I got to Smile, I found Bogere in trouble with Michael. I have to say I was not surprised, especially because of the day we had before. I knew that he was going to be upset, so I was kind of expecting this. I gave Bogere his medicine and took him to the babies room to play with Caleb and to eat. While that was happening a group of men came to deliver the fridge that I had purchased for the babies room. I was so excited to see it! We really needed a fridge. All the medicine that required us to refrigerate after opening, we could not, so it went bad. This was very important and all the teachers and the nurse were so excited about our new fridge! Thank you Pastor's Casey and Wendy Treat for your generous donation! Bogere thought it was the coolest thing he'd ever seen. He was fascinated. Once our fridge was in place, the 2 women that had come the day before, came back. They asked me if I would show them around the slums, they really wanted to see where these children came from. I told them I would take them, so I grabbed my camera and off we went.
   When we arrived at the slum I showed them around and pointed to different childrens' houses. I then saw Bogere's mom. Tereza came over to greet me and she thanked me for me help. I told her that I cared about her and I just wanted her to be safe. Tereza walked away from me and came back with a bag of clothes. As she handed me the bag she said that Bogere was not allowed to come back home. She informed me that if he came back home the stepfather would not be happy and Bogere could get seriously hurt, or killed. I had enough of hearing that Bogere might die and I was not just going to sit there and do nothing. I took the clothes and thanked her for caring about her son's life. The 2 women that I brought were shocked at what just happened. They said, "Does this happen to you often? How do you deal with that?" I said, "It would appear that way wouldn't it...and I don't know how to deal with it either, I just pray...a lot!" I couldn't really say much after that, I was thinking of all my options with Bogere. I called Pastor Ruth and we worked some things out. Mama Ruth then said, "Okay Paris, Bogere can stay at Smile Africa." My heart just about leaped out of my chest! "Are you serious?! He can stay?!" This was what I have been praying for! I have been asking all of my friends and family to pray that Bogere could stay at Smile, and now he can! This was my dream come true, and his. I told Bogere that he would be staying at Smile Africa and that he needed to behave himself and listen to the teachers so that he would remain there. The biggest smile came over his face. He literally cartwheeled down the street. Bogere was laughing and running, I have never seen him so happy in my life. 
   The rest of the day Bogere was so well behaved, he helped me take care of the babies and had a wonderful attitude. He was making baby Eric laugh so hard!

 Bogere's happiness was contagious, all of his friends were happy too and they all started playing nicely together. I could not believe what was happening. This is what I have been wanting, this is what I have been praying for and asking everyone else to pray for as well. I was so shocked and so happy. Now I will be praying that God continues to do major work in his attitude so that he is a well behaved boy and does not get removed from Smile. I just looked up to Heaven and fell to my knees and said, "Thank you Jesus, Thank you so much!" It's funny to me how we can aggressively pray for something, pray without ceasing, and then we are shocked or in disbelief when God answers our prayer. We will say all day long, "I believe in the power of prayer!" But when it is something that is so personal to you, then we have our doubts. It's as if we tell ourselves that our prayer will not come true, so that just in case it doesn't, we aren't disappointed, but reality we need to trust God with our prayers! He hears us, loves us,  and wants the best for us. Can I give you a thought for the day? Have you ever prayed for something and felt like God did not answer your prayer? "God please let me marry this man! God please give me this job! God please give me this house!" And you were frustrated because you didn't get what you wanted and you wondered, "Why didn't God answer my prayer? He didn't hear me or He wasn't listening!" Well can I challenge you to know that God did hear you, but maybe, just maybe, His answer was no? I prayed that Bogere's mom would accept the offer for the house, but God said, "No, I have something better." And now I got what I was praying for in the first place, something better. Bogere is staying at Smile Africa! Always know that God's plans are better than we can ever imagine. 

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Take My Son Away

Yesterday was laundry day! In the morning I was rinsing and hanging my clothes to dry, so we arrived at Smile a little later then usual. It was an overcast day, so it made the walk a lot cooler! When Julian and I arrived at Smile I went right into the babies room to find every baby asleep. Caleb had fallen asleep on the floor with his toys on his belly. It was so cute. While I was putting my bag down I heard a piercing scream. I knew instantly that it was Bogere. I dropped my bag and ran out of the babies room. I have never run so fast! I found Bogere on the ground holding his foot. I asked him what happened, but he couldn't respond because he was balling his eyes out. I removed his hand that was on his foot and saw that he had ripped his toe nail off as well as a piece of his toe. There was blood everywhere. Kids began to gather around the scene. All I could say was, " Oh my gosh." I told all the kids to go away as I tried to pick Bogere up. Remember, Bogere has HIV and I had nothing on my hands to protect me and there was blood all over his foot and his hands. I picked him up and held him away from me just to be safe. I brought him to the nurse, who saw all the blood, instantly put gloves on and took care of his wound. I felt so bad for my sweet boy. After that incident it was really hard for him to walk, so I had to carry him everywhere, which I didn't really mind and neither did he. Later in the day, 2 women from out of the country came to see Smile Africa. Pastor Ruth had asked me to show them around and share with them the heart of this place. So I did just that, with Bogere in my arms. By the end of the walk, Bogere had fallen asleep in my arms. Which is just what he needed. An hour later he woke up. My boy looked so well rested and so much happier. I took him to the babies room and he played with my phone and with Caleb and the legos. It was a good day. Michael also came and told me that Bogere did very well today. He told me that Bogere was respectful to the teachers and he even greeted Michael when he arrived at Smile. I was so proud of him. 
The day was finally coming to and end. Since Bogere could not walk on his foot I had to carry him back home to the slums. Julian accompanied me as well as a male teacher from Smile Africa. I wanted to make sure that we were going to be safe. Once we arrived at his home I saw the stepfather. I saw him sitting there, drunk. Tereza finally came out of the house, limping and she pointed to the man and said that he was the one that beat her. I knew it before she even said it. I could tell by the way that he was talking to Bogere that he was one the one that needed to be in jail. I had my camera out, so he asked me to take a picture of him. I was thinking, "Sure, I'll take a picture of you...then show it to the police." So I took his picture. Then he asked me to take a picture of him and Bogere. I looked at Bogere and he did not want to take a picture with this man, he was terrified of him. The man grabbed Bogere's arm and pulled Bogere to him. Bogere's eyes got big and he started crying. I removed the man's hand from Bogere and I picked Bogere up and said, "He doesn't want to, its okay. Once Bogere calmed down, I placed him on the mat that the man was sitting on and took a quick picture and then I picked Bogere back up. I don't hate people...but I really really dislike this man. I won't wish death on people, but I do wish life in prison for this evil man. 

This man then said that he heard that Bogere was misbehaving. I did not think it was necessary for this man to know what goes on at Smile. Especially since Bogere's behavioral issues were the stepfathers fault anyway! So I just said, "Bogere is a very good boy and everyone loves him." The stepfather then began to cuss Bogere's mom out in Swahili. When I asked the teacher to translate for me what he was saying, the teacher refused. He said, "Paris, I cannot even repeat what this man is saying to Bogere's mom." I looked at Bogere's mom and she reached her hand out to me and said in english, "Please come." And she escorted me away from her husband. It was interesting, it was as if she was trying to protect me from the hurtful words of her husband even though I couldn't understand them. She knows that I care for her and her son, so she wanted to protect me from the abuse of her husband. Once we got away from the crowd, she dropped to her knees and grabbed my hand and started crying. She said, "Please take my son away. My husband has kicked us out of the house. We sleep over there." She pointed to a pile of trash and human feces. My heart was breaking into a million pieces. Tereza said, "My husband has kicked me and Bogere and my baby out of the room we stay in, so we are forced to sleep here. Please take Bogere away before he kills him." I was trying my hardest to not break down in front of her. So I stayed strong and I said, " I will talk to Pastor Ruth and Smile Africa will help your family." I wanted her to know that her support came from Smile, not some American that came to save the day. I made sure that Bogere was going to be alright tonight and then I ran back to Smile. I was crying my eyes out as I ran to Pastor Ruth. She saw me in tears and said, "Oh my daughter, what happened?" I explained the situation to her and within 15 minutes, we got a house for Bogere and his mom and the baby. Praise Jesus! God is so good! This was a very hard day for me. Can you picture for a moment, your child, or little brother or sister sleeping in poop every night? It's hard isn't it? That was the harsh reality I had to face yesterday, but I am praising God for He is still good! When I arrived in my hotel room I cried out to God and said, "Daddy?! Where are you in all of this?! How can You stop this?! Please God! Make it stop!" Once I stopped yelling at God it was easier for Him to speak to me, so I laid down in silence. Then my Heavenly Father spoke to me and said, "Daughter,  I have not forgotten these people, in fact, I love them more than you do. I am here. Don't you see? I am stopping this...one child at a time, through You. Never loose sight of the one."

Monday 24 September 2012

Terrible News

It was so great to be back at Smile Africa after the weekend off. I missed that place so much, and my beautiful boys! I have really made some great friends that work at Smile. The second that I walked through the doors everyone was so happy to see me and they were excited that I was back. They all said they missed me over the weekend. I was so happy that God had blessed me with true, good friends while I am in Tororo. These girls are so sweet and loving, it is an encouraging environment to be in. Today I decided that I was going to get in touch with my inner African, so I decided to tie Caleb to my back. It was the funniest thing! Everyone was laughing so hard!

That was a really fun part of my day. I was organizing the babies room with Caleb on my back and we went for a walk. I had a lot of fun with my sweet boy. Then I went to the office to help organize things and to brush Caleb's teeth. While I was doing all that Michael came in and asked to speak to me about Bogere. My head dropped and I said, "Okay, let's hear it." Michael began telling me about Bogere's terrible behavior on Saturday while I was gone. It was the usual stuff like not listening to teachers and being blatantly disrespectful. The good news is that he didn't throw a stone at Michael, this time he just picked it up, but then he dropped it. So that's progress right? Michael then informed me that Bogere was waiting for me in the slums. I was confused as to why Bogere would be waiting for me to pick him up and then Michael told me that he had made the decision to have Bogere wait at home until I got him. That was the punishment. When I was about to leave, Michael stopped me and got quiet. When I asked what was wrong, Michael told me some terrible news. It turns out Bogere's real father had passed away a few years ago, which means that he was being raised by a step-father. In this culture, step parents feel as if they have no obligation to the child, so the child often gets neglected or abused. This step-father has decided that he wants Bogere to go away, so he is trying to send him to a village very far away to stay with his grandmother...who doesn't want him either. This broke my heart. If he goes away, then he can't get his medicine and he will die. Jesus!! Please help me! After I heard that news I took Caleb back to the babies room and I ventured off to the slums to pick up Bogere. He seemed very sad and not himself today, which was understandable. I just picked him up and told him how much I loved him. The whole walk back to Smile I was just thinking of things that I could do to keep Bogere here, with me, with Smile. There had to be something that I could do. For now, the only thing I could do was try and make Bogere happy and make him smile. So we played games and I kept him so close to me yesterday. The thought of loosing him and not knowing if he was going to be safe was tearing me to pieces. I love that boy so much. I choose to trust God with the life of His son. I choose to not worry, but to believe that God has already worked it out. Jesus I give it all to You.


Sunday 23 September 2012

Chicken Sunday

Yesterday was a pretty laid back day. We went to church...which pretty much lasts the whole day. It was not as long this time, it lasted a little over 3 hours. This sunday I did not have any chicken extravaganzas like last Sunday. Let me tell you a little story about the chicken. Mama Ruth, Julian and I were sitting in the chairs as people came to greet Pastor Ruth and express their sympathy for the loss of her mother. People would also bring her gifts. A man came up to her with a bag and said, "This is for your lunch. I'm sorry about your mother." Mama Ruth handed me the bag and I looked inside it, it was cabbage. So she said thank you and I put the bag of cabbage on the ground. Then a little boy came up to Ruth and also expressed his sympathy. This little boy was holding something, but I could not see what it was. His hands were behind his back. I looked away and began talking to Julian. After he hugged Mama Ruth he removed a live CHICKEN from behind his back and he put it on my lap. It caught me so off guard. I screamed so loud! It scared me to death. Julian and Mama Ruth just about peed their pants in laughter. Once I got over the shock I removed the chicken from my lap and put it on the ground as well. Now every time someone brings a chicken to Ruth, everyone loves to tease me and say, "Paris will you come take the chicken?" hehe. I was just thinking of how hilarious it would be if someone came to Oasis Church and wanted to thank my dad for such a great sermon and they handed him a live chicken...now are you getting the visual with me? It was so funny to me!
Once church was over we went to lunch and then back to the hotel to rest for a little bit. This week was going to be a busy one as we get things ready for the babies room. Julian and I just watched a movie on my computer and relaxed for a minute. We then walked to Mama Ruth's house so that we could help with dinner. It was nice to just be in the kitchen with the girls and laugh, talk and just have a good time with each other. We had guests at the house for dinner, so I was being a host in the home. We all feel like a big family and I love it so much. After diner Mama Ruth informed me that she would be driving to Kampala with her son and Christine on Monday and that I was to take care of things at Smile. I gladly accepted the responsibility! So now I am preparing for a big week ahead. I cannot wait to see what God has in store.

Saturday 22 September 2012

Holy Sheep

I had a more peaceful day yesterday. Pastor Ruth and her husband, a lady named Christine, Esther and Abby, Julian and myself all went to a remote village about 2 hours away from town. It was a very nice and peaceful drive. Our plan was to check on Mama Ruth's crops and check on her house out there and just make sure that everything was running smoothly. We were planning to have lunch and just relax for a bit since everyone had a pretty hectic day the day before. On our way to the village we had a brief delay because a herd of cattle started to cross the road. There was a mixture of cows and sheep. Pastor Ruth's husband began honking to get the cattle to move. We sat there for minute waiting for the road to be clear, then Mama Ruth said, "They seem to not be moving in the right direction, they aren't looking at the shepherd." When she said that, something registered in my head. The sheep were distracted by our van and the noises that they heard. They lost sight and focus on the shepherd, which nearly got them killed. It reminded me of my relationship with my Father in Heaven. I can be so focused on Him that I do not stray from His perfect will and plan for my life, but then a distraction can come that can take my eyes away from the Shepherd. Even a split moment of distraction, I could destroy something that God had planned for me. As human beings we are not perfect. It's funny to me how we can be walking with God one moment, then be distracted by something and get hurt and blame God for it. We will say things like, "Why did you allow me to be hurt like this?! Where were you?! I thought you were  never going to leave me?!" When in reality, it was never God who left nor was it God who strayed. It was US who was distracted, it was US who took our eyes away from the Shepherd, and it was US who got ourselves into a mess. Our God is a loving God though, so He sees us distracted and making mistakes and He loves us anyway. We can yell at Him and blame Him for everything that went wrong, and He loves us anyway. By His love and mercy are eyes are then focused back on our Creator and we are again walking the glorious path that He had for us all along. Sadly there are consequences to every action, so sometimes our distracted path can gives us some cuts and burns. The sheep that were crossing the road almost got hit by our van, but the Shepherd stood in the middle of road so that we could see the sheep that were crossing. Even though they were going the wrong way, the shepherd saved their lives. When the sheep got caught in the thorns and started to bleed, the shepherd got down to their level to begin the healing process of all their wounds. This is just like our Father in Heaven. We can make huge mistakes, and yet our lives are spared, because God loves us so much and has great plans for us. When our bad choices leave us with cuts and scars, our Shepherd meets us where we are at and begins the healing process of our heart and soul. God really spoke to me on our long journey to the village.
We had a wonderful time in the village! All of the children played and we walked around to look at all the gardens that were growing. It was a very nice and peaceful afternoon, which was exactly what the doctor ordered!

The village was beautiful and the people were so sweet. On our way back home Mama Ruth informed us that we would find baboons running all over the streets! I was so excited about that! I really wanted to see a baboon. So as we were driving I was on the look out. Sure enough, the streets were filled with them! All on the side of the road, baboons were running around! A huge male baboon came up to my window, it was so cool! I handed him a banana and he took it and ate it. It was the coolest thing! I then saw a mommy and a baby baboon and that was so cute. I threw them a banana as well. That was the perfect way to end the day! Thank you Jesus for a peaceful day. Thank you God for never losing sight of us, even though sometimes we lose sight of You. Thank You for loving me no matter what.
Amen.

Friday 21 September 2012

Abused

Every year while I was in high school I had Isaiah 61 prophesied over my life, by more then one person. "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,"Isaiah 61:1. Just look at how powerful that verse is, and that's just the first verse! Every year that was prophesied over my life, but I never really understood the meaning, until now. During my trip here I have just gotten a taste of what God has planned. One thing I noticed about that verse is that it never says, "And it will come as a breeze to you, your life will be easy and painless and you can just skip and dance through life." I've been looking, I can't find that part of the verse anywhere! In fact, it says just the opposite.
Yesterday was the hardest day I have experienced so far. I arrived at Smile in the morning and a driver came to take me to the hospital to help look after 5 of our Smile Africa children. Every month we take 5 children who are HIV positive to get a check up and get more medicine. I heard a honk at the gate, so I grabbed my bag and headed for the door to head to the hospital. I walked past the clinic and I noticed Bogere's mother sitting there. I asked her if she was sick and she handed me a rolled up paper. I opened it and it was a police report. The report told me that Bogere's mom, Tereza, had been beaten constantly for 2 days in a row by her husband. It also said that the husband had destroyed her medicine that she needed to be taking for HIV, as well as the card that allowed her to keep getting more medicine. My heart was pounding so fast and my heart broke into a million pieces as I watched her sitting down with tears and blood on her face and pain shooting through her body. Mama Ruth told me to take her with me to the hospital. I held my hand out for her to grab onto, but she didn't even have the strength to do that. As she stood up and yelled with pain, I held her arm for support. In the little Swahili that I know I asked her where the pain was and she told me that it was her back. So I carefully took her to the car and we drove to the hospital. I sat in the front seat and quietly cried my eyes out. I could not believe what I was seeing. As soon as we got to the hospital I took her to see the doctor and I went to tend to the children.
When I was with the children in the waiting area everything was fine. I could not get Tereza out of my mind. My heart was breaking for her. When it was finally our turn I took the children to the doctors office where they were going to get measured and get new medicine. Bogere was misbehaving like I have never seen before. He was out of control. When the doctor would talk to him, he would not answer back, instead he just threw himself on the floor, then pretended to be hurt, started crying, then started hitting everyone in the room. Everyone in the waiting area was just starring at me try to calm this boy down. Finally Bogere just ran out of the room and took off. I was definitely not going to chase after him, so I just focused on the 4 other children that were with the doctor. The doctor's office was giving free food to the children, so I got 4 plates of food and handed them to the children that were behaving. I look at Bogere who was keeping a distance and I asked him if he wanted food. He didn't answer me, so I took that as a no and I continued tending to the other children. Bogere then picked up 2 stones, out of anger he threw a stone in our direction. I didn't even know what to do. I was shocked. I wasn't even sure why he got so upset all of a sudden. Then it dawned on me. Bogere probably witnessed his mom getting beaten nearly to death. This little boy was so angry, he was devastated. Bogere sits in his house and watches as his fathers rapes his mother and beats her every night. Then I expect him to come to Smile in the morning and be well behaved and happy. I felt so bad for my sweet boy. Bogere is just a little kid and he does not know how to express how he feels. Instead of punishing him because of his behavior, I just walked over to him, dropped to my knees and hugged him. I held him so tight and refused to let him go. He is used to getting beaten for throwing stones or hurting people, so this was confusing to him. This is exactly what I felt like he needed. He tried to get away from my hug, he was fighting me and trying to break free and then he just collapsed in my arms and cried. As I held onto his tiny body, tears rolled down my face and I said, "I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry." I picked him up and brought him over to the other children, he had a plate of food and calmed down a little bit. While the children were eating I went over to check on Tereza, the mother. The doctor was through with her, so he handed me all her medicine and a new medical card for the HIV medicine. I carried her to a tree where there was grass and shade so she could lay down and relax. I went across the street and bought her some food and juice and handed her the medicine that she needed to take. I looked at her and said in Swahili, "You are beautiful and Jesus loves you." Tereza just smiled at me and began eating. While I was walking to the children I heard a scream that sounded like Gloria, Bogere's little sister. So I ran to where the children were. Gloria had tripped over broken cement and had fallen down. She was not hurt, she was more scared, so I bent down and picked her up. As I was coming back up with her, I did not notice that there was loose barb wire hanging down from the fence. So as I lifted my head up, the barb wire cut my forehead open. Please get this visual, it's really priceless. I have a screaming baby in my arms and blood pouring out of my head. We were quite the scene.
After our hospital extravaganza we drove back to Smile Africa. All the kids went to play with their friends and Tereza went back home. Pastor Ruth came out of the office and told me that a man who writes for the newspaper was here and he wanted to interview me about my work with Bogere and Smile. She informed me that he was going to put the story in next week's paper. This was very exciting! I spent the next hour with the newspaper writer. We talked and he took pictures of Bogere and me.
Finally my day was done and Mama Ruth drove Julian and I back to the hotel. When I walked through the doors of my hotel, it looked like I had been hit by a train! I was covered in dirt from head to toe, my hair was going in all directions and blood was still pouring out of my head. But GOD is still good! When I got to my room and turned on the water for a shower....HOT WATER!! Praise Jesus!!! I was so excited!! The words out of my mouth when I felt the hot water were, " Oh Jesus loves me! Thank you God!"
So as you can see, this was the hardest day that I have experienced so far. God never promised me that it would be easy, He did promise however, that I would get the strength I needed and that He would never leave me. He was right there with me, through it all.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

Thursday 20 September 2012

Perseverance

Yesterday was such a great day! When I arrived at Smile Africa I went straight to the babies room with my head full of ideas to make the babies room a little brighter and more fun for the babies. I had gone to town before I went to Smile to get prices for things that I could purchase for the room. I walked in the room with determination to make some kind of positive change for the babies. While I was in the room writing things down and measuring things I heard a knock at the door. When I opened the door, there stood Bogere. With a smile he said, "I come?" Meaning, "Can I come in?" I looked at him and said, "Have you been a good boy today?" Bogere told me that he was being good and listening to the teachers today, so I let him in the room. Caleb was sitting on the floor trying to figure out how to put the legos together, so Bogere went over and sat down next to Caleb to try and teach him how to use the legos. It was very sweet to watch them working together.

It was a very busy day for me, trying to figure out where put new things for the room and where to move the old things, taking measurements and getting approval from Ruth. I was all over the place! Since I was so busy, it was really good that the boys could spend time together to keep each other company. Throughout the day my mind was racing trying to think of new ideas and new ways to keep the babies room organized and working properly. At the moment, it is just one room for the babies, so I have to make it the best room at Smile. I have work with what God has put in front of me, not take it lightly, and do the very best that I can! After lunch the day slowed down and I had time to focus on Bogere and Caleb. I played legos with them and read them a book. That is Caleb's favorite thing. The funny thing is, Caleb's first language is probably going to be English, because that is what I speak to him. When I point to something, I say it in English, so that is what he is learning. Bogere is also learning English, while I am learning Swahili, so we are teaching each other. I was very happy with Bogere's behavior today. He was such a good boy. When it was time to give Caleb a bath, Bogere helped me fill the basin with water. While I was bathing Caleb, Bogere was making him laugh. Before I left for the day I let them play with my iphone. Bogere loves to play with all my talking animal apps. Today he showed Caleb how to play with it and Caleb was laughing so hard. It was very cute.

I had such a great day with my boys. I realize that we have good days and bad days, but when there is a day that I don't have to discipline Bogere for bad behavior at all, it is a wonderful day! My hope and prayer is that Bogere is starting to learn the correct way to behave. Thank you Jesus for giving me perseverance! I know that with time, it will all pay off. I have learned that just because Bogere and I have a bad day, doesn't mean that he has forgotten how to behave, it means that he is a child and is learning. Also, when we have a great day, like yesterday, doesn't mean that everything is perfect and he has learned all that he needs to. I  have learned to not get discouraged over a bad day, and to not assume that all the problems are fixed because of a good day. Perseverance, consistency, and a good attitude will get me, get us, through every trial that comes our way.
"More then that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope."
Romans 5:3-4

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Patience is a virtue


Yesterday had good and bad moments. The good moments however, did outweigh the bad, thank you Jesus! Caleb was so wonderful! He is learning to be more interactive with the other teachers and the other babies as well. The second he wakes up and sees me his face lights up and he gets the biggest smile on his face. It just makes my heart so happy as he reaches his arms out to me, and smiles. I tell him good morning and I give him a big hug. Caleb gives the best hugs. He wraps his little arms and little legs around me and puts his head on my shoulder. I have never felt so loved in my life. Caleb also knows his name now, which is awesome! Slowly but surely he is learning how to communicate with all the teachers. I taught him how to wave ‘bye’ to someone that is leaving, and we started working on blowing kisses to people. He is just the sweetest boy.

The babies’ room gets so hot! It is a smaller room with little windows so we don’t get much of a breeze. Baby Eric gets so hot that he cries because he is so uncomfortable and now he has a heat rash. I knew that I could fix this problem, so I did. That morning I went into town and bought a fan! So now we have a fan in our babies room that makes it so much cooler and the babies, and the teachers, are so much happier! Thank you Jesus for giving me the resources to purchase that fan!
Mr. Bogere and I did not have a successful day unfortunately. While I was in the van with Mama Ruth heading to Smile, she informed of a phone call she received earlier that morning. Apparently Michael called her to let her know that Bogere was refusing to go to class and he was not listening to the teachers when they asked him to move. When he did not get his way and Michael told him to sit on the bench and wait for me to get there, Bogere picked up a stone and threw it at Michael out of anger. Although Michael is a grown man and it did not hurt him, the fact that he threw it at all is unacceptable. When I arrived at Smile I went to Bogere and said hello and gave him a hug. I picked him and we walked over to Michael. As soon as he saw us nearing Michael, he knew that I was aware of the drama in the morning so he tried to break free from me so he wouldn’t have to apologize to Michael. At the end of the conversation he refused to apologize, so I told him that he could not come near the babies room today. He had to remain outside with the other children and I would come talk to him before I left for the day. When I was about to leave for the day 2 little girls came running over to me and said, “ Come Quick!” I ran after them and they lead to Bogere who was beating his little brother with a stick! I was so disappointed in what I saw. I grabbed the stick and broke it. I got down on my knees so I could look him in the eyes and I said, “ Bogere, I have told you more than once that you could not hit people, especially your baby brother who has done nothing wrong! You cannot behave like this or Smile will not allow you to come back. If you are going to act this, then you have to leave.” So I took him by the hand and escorted him out of Smile. I explained that I made him leave early because of his behavior and that I would see him tomorrow. I told him that if I saw that kind of action again, that he would have to leave Smile for an entire day. Now that I said that, I have to stick to my word. Although it hurts me to see him hurting, he needs to know that when the teachers say something, they are serious and that every action will have a serious consequence. I really hated that part of the day. It is because I love him that I had to do that. I want to see a huge change in him, so that when I leave in December, Bogere can stay at Smile and grow in Jesus. This day was a true test of my patience. Thank you Jesus for giving me the opportunity to grow and please keep me strong!
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Bogere meets Caleb

"You inhabit a fallen disjointed world, where things are constantly unraveling around the edges. Only a vibrant relationship with Jesus can keep you from coming unraveled too." This was my devotional yesterday morning and oh how appropriate this was. Dealing with over 400 children and not speaking the language very well can be overwhelming. It is easy to be consumed by all the chaos that is going on around you and lose focus on the wonderful and beautiful things that Jesus has placed right in front of you. Yesterday was a very long day, but it was a great one! I spent the majority of the day with Caleb, trying to get him acquainted and settled into Smile. I took him around the property so he could see all the children and all the things that Smile Africa had to offer him. Caleb was a little scared at the amount of children running around. One thing I learned about Caleb was that this boy could eat! In the morning he had had 2 cups of porridge and at lunch he had 2 bowls of rice and beans. Having an appetite was not something that this boy lacked! This is a good thing, he will get healthy and strong in no time! When it was time for me and a few other teachers to eat lunch I left Caleb in the babies room with one other teacher. As I started to head for the door Caleb reached his hands out to me and started crying. The teacher who was there said, "Paris! Get back in here and take Caleb with you!" So I turned around and grabbed Caleb and we had lunch together. This little boy has been through so much but he can really smile! He is a true example of what finding in joy in things looks like.

I also spent a good amount of time with Bogere as well. His behavior is really getting so much better. I had no complaints from any teacher. I was so proud of him. When I brought Bogere to meet Caleb I did not know what to expect. I know that Bogere can be jealous of other children that get my attention so I did not know what his response would be to Caleb. When Bogere entered the babies room I pointed to Caleb and said in Swahili, "This is Caleb, he is new here. Will you be his friend?" Bogere went right over to Caleb who was sitting on the floor and Bogere sat down with him and smiled at him. He then reached his hands out and hugged Caleb. I was pleasantly surprised at his behavior. I rewarded him and told him what a great job he was doing. It was a very successful day at Smile!
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive and inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
Colossians 3:23-24


Monday 17 September 2012

Rescuing Caleb

WOW! That's the only word I can think of to describe my day yesterday. Pastor Ruth and myself drove to Mbale yesterday to rescue a little boy. The whole drive I could do nothing but pray. I was praying that God would keep this little boy safe and healthy. I prayed that we would get there fast enough so that no harm could come to him. When we arrived at the police station the wonderful police woman told us the little boy's story. This young boy is a product of a rape. The father raped his step daughter and she gave birth to this baby boy. No one in the family wanted him. In fact, his very life is in danger. The family is trying to kill him. In order for them to feel set free from the pain and the mistake, they want this little boy dead so that they no longer have to live with the guilt. When I heard that, my heart dropped to my feet. How could someone want to kill a baby? Let's not forget that the mistake was the father's, not the baby's. This just made me angry. In order to save his life, the police called Pastor Ruth so we could bring him to Smile Africa. That way the baby would be far enough from the family who is trying to kill him, and his life could be spared. We then got in the van and drove to the hospital where this boy was. The nurse brought him to us and I instantly fell in love with him. All I wanted to do was hold him and love him and protect him. Pastor Ruth told me that I could give him a name. I prayed and prayed for him and I finally gave him the name Caleb. Baby Caleb was born for a purpose, not a mistake, not an accident. What the enemy meant for evil, God will make beautiful! Caleb was born to be a leader, I just know it!

We were in the car for about 2 hours driving back to Tororo. Caleb was in my lab the whole time. I fed him and just loved him. He was scared of everyone that tried to touch him, everyone except me. After some time, Caleb fell asleep in my arms. I held him and prayed hard over his life. I prayed for his future and the huge plans that I know God has for this sweet baby boy. Toward the end of the car ride, he began to smile and I would tickle him and make him laugh. He is such a sweet baby boy. Once we got back to Tororo I took him to my hotel room and gave him a bath and put new clothes on him. I wanted him to know that he was loved, loved beyond measure. Once that was done and he was clean, we drove him to Smile and put him to bed in the babies room. Caleb was upset to see me leave, but I knew that he will be well looked after and I would spend a lot of time with him in the morning. I cannot wait to see the transformation that this little boy goes through during my time here. Being shown the love of Jesus can truly transform people. I am believing that for baby Caleb. 











Sunday 16 September 2012

CHURCH like never before

My day yesterday consisted of church...and that's about all we had time for. This service was not like one I am used to, and I'm not even talking about the fact that it was African style. I'm talking about the length of the service. The service lasted for 4 hours...and I left early! 4 HOURS PEOPLE! I have been to church since the womb, I have sat in countless services, but never one that lasted this long. It was a great service though! I loved it! It was so much fun and the dancing was really cute. It was a really great experience for me. And let me tell you, 4 hours later, I walked out of that building a saint! hehe ;) I love the people here, they have so much energy and passion about Jesus while they are worshipping. They don't hold anything back, which I believe, is how it should be. It was so amazing to watch these people worship their Savior. If I could even move my body like that, then maybe I would join them, however that is so not the case. hehe! During the service Mama Ruth spoke for a while, and it was really great to watch her speak her heart.

She called me on stage to stand with her, so I held her hand and stood with her. She told the congregation that I was her daughter and that she was so happy to have me with her. Then she handed me the microphone and asked me to share with them. This caught me off guard, but after 21 years of being a pastor's daughter, I've learned to stay on my toes. So I just shared my heart with the people and I expressed my gratitude to them for sharing their beautiful country with me. Thank you Jesus for giving me the words to say! After church I got to spend some quality time with our new volunteer, her name is Julian. It was really great to have a friend to laugh at all the awkward moments with me. We had a great time together. I took Julian into the town and we walked around and I showed her all the places to go for whatever she might need. It was pretty fun to be the one to show her around, since I'm like a native now ;). Julian and I walked all around town and laughed and just had a great time! Thank you God for bringing me a friend. We then had dinner at Pastor Ruth's house. After dinner we helped clean up the dinner and we hung out with the family. I truly feel like I am one of the family now. I have 2 older brothers, 2 older sisters and a baby sister. We laugh together, tease each other, and have a great time with one another. I am so happy with my new Ugandan family and my new Ugandan life!

Saturday 15 September 2012

Baby Steps

Yesterday was a rough day in the parenting department. Bogere would not listen to any teacher at Smile Africa, he began hitting his friends and making a scene. All this happened while I went into the office for about 5 minutes. When I returned, a few of the teachers complained to me about Bogere's behavior and how frustrated they were that he doesn't listen to them. The teachers expressed to me that their biggest worry for Bogere is that he is a leader. All of the other children do everything this boy says without question, which can be dangerous if Bogere is leading them the wrong direction. I called Bogere to come over to me, but he did not listen to me either. Once he came over I asked him to apologize to Michael, a teacher at Smile, but Bogere refused to do so. At that moment I knew that this was going to be a rough day for Mr. Bogere, but a very important one. I was not going to demand him to apologize. When I told him that he was not allowed to each lunch with me because he refused to apologize when I asked him to and he because he did not listen to the other teachers, Bogere threw a tantrum. Which I completely ignored. I simply walked away from him and went about my business. I knew that all he wanted was my attention, but I was not going to give it to him. Once he realized that I was not apart of the audience that was watching him wail, he decided to calm down. Bogere went into the babies room where I was and sat quietly. Once it was time for lunch and I told him to go and eat with his friends, he realized that I was serious about his punishment and he threw another fit and then said, "Sorry Michael". As annoying as this whole situation was, it was important to me that he realized that he needed to say sorry when I asked him to, not when he felt like it or when he thought the punishment was real. Bogere needed to realize that there are consequences to every action, good and bad. When he was nice to the other kids and he shared his stuff, then he got my positive attention, but when he was acting crazy and not listening, then he did not get my attention at all, which is what he wants. I sent him out with the other kids to eat and I went into the office with the other teachers to eat lunch. A teacher came to me and told me that Bogere was refusing to eat. I just said, "Well that's a bummer. I bet he will be first in line tomorrow for breakfast." Bogere also needed to learn that just because he was going to throw a tantrum and refuse to eat because he was upset, does not mean that I was going to cater to the drama and give him food. That kind of behavior does not get rewarded. After that whole catastrophe was over, Bogere calmed down and played with the other kids and was happy again. That was a really rough situation. I love him so much and I want him to be happy and to eat, but this was an important lesson that he needed to learn. Come December he will not have anyone to teach him how to properly behave, so this one on one discipline is so important for him. I was exhausted from dealing with the drama, so I went back into the babies room and carried baby Ruth. I laid down and we both fell asleep!

It was a very long day, and an exhausting one at that. Bogere is not perfect, and not near where he should be yet, but he is learning and is doing a great job! I am so proud of him. That boy is a born leader and once he realizes the man of God that he can be, there is no telling what he can do. No major change is done over night, it takes BABY STEPS, but we can do it! "We can do all things through Christ who gives us strengthen!" Philippians 4:13
(Me holding baby Ruth's feet) 


Friday 14 September 2012

Shaved Head

Yesterday was a very long day! I was at Smile from 9am-6:30pm. So by the time it was time to leave for the day, I was ready! When I arrived in the morning, the teachers in the baby's room informed me that they had to do a few things and they would be back in a few hours....A FEW HOURS! Let me quickly inform you of something called "African Time". In Africa 10 minutes is really 45minutes and and 1 hour is really 2 hours. So picture with me my blood pressure as they said, "We'll be back in a few hours." I didn't know if they meant a few hours...or 'African time' hours. Who knows how long that would be! I looked at 3 sleeping babies, which is not hard at all. But I knew that they were all going to wake up...at the same time and they all needed to be fed! I knew I could I do it, so I said ok and they left. 20 minutes later...all 3 babies woke up. I quickly made bottles for each of them and attempted to feed all 3 of them at the same time. It was tough...let me tell you, but I did it! Every baby was fed, bathed, changed, and loved. I finally got the twins to sleep, so I rocked baby Joshua and had one on one time with him. He finally fell asleep in my arms and that is when I got to take a second to lay down as well! 4 hours later, the teachers came back!

After my time with babies, I took Bogere to get his head shaved. It is important that all the children, including the girls, shave their heads. The places that they live are very dirty and lice can be a huge problem, as well as other types of fungus. In order to protect them from disease, their heads should be shaved. I wanted to make this a special moment, so I took him to a salon to shave his head. This was his first time he had ever been in a salon. He loved it! The gentleman that shaved his head was a very nice man and treated Bogere like he was someone special. It made my day. After Bogere's haircut he could not wait to show all this friends his new look. It was so cute to see how proud he was of his new hair! 
 


Thursday 13 September 2012

Grass Stains

I had an amazing day yesterday! I walked from my hotel to Smile Africa, which is roughly about a 4 mile walk! That was the perfect way to start the day. As soon as I arrived, I went straight to the babies room, as usual. Bogere came in shortly after. I greeted him, gave him a hug and handed him his breakfast. I didn't leave that room at all for the first part of the day. I wanted to give the teachers as much of a break as I could. After my lunch break I came back to see Bogere in the baby's room feeding his little brother! This is huge progress. He doesn't usually like to share me with other children, especially not his own family, but now he brought his little brother to hang out with us and he was feeding him lunch as well. This was amazing! I was very proud of my sweet boy.

After lunch I decided that I was going to spend the rest of the day with the older kids that were playing outside. I went outside and we sang and danced and played games. It was so much fun! Bogere does not usually like to play like this with the other kids. He talks to them and laughs sometimes, but he doesn't usually play with them. Yesterday was a different story though! Bogere was running around with the other kids and making them laugh and he was singing with us! It was so great to see him interacting with the other children in a positive way. I grabbed the hands of 2 of the girls and we went skipping down the grassy hill. All of the other kids followed and then we started running and they chased us. Everyone was having so much fun! I taught the kids how to flip after that. They thought that was the coolest thing! Once I taught them how, I could not get them to stop! It was a really great moment for everyone. While all the kids were flipping all over the grass, I look around to find Bogere and I couldn't find him! Then a little girl points up and says, "Auntie Paris, Look!" Sure enough, there was Bogere. He climbed a metal pole and went to the top of the building! 


This day was very exhausting, but so much fun! I am so glad that I got to spend so much time with all the other children as well. Once I got back to the hotel I noticed massive amounts of grass stains on my pants from rolling and flipping on the grass. I washed my clothes and Bogere's clothes in my washing bucket. And guess what?! I got the stains out with a simple bar of soap! I'm getting pretty good at this whole washing clothes by hand thing! :) As I got in bed, I prayed for my new friends and I was really looking forward to seeing them in the morning! Thank you Jesus for giving me a lot of energy and patience!
These are my new friends :)



Wednesday 12 September 2012

Nanny 911

I have been a babysitter for as long as I can remember! I love kids. Ever since it was physically possible for me to hold a baby, I was. The thing about babysitting or even being a nanny, is that typically the children have parents, and more often then not, the parents have some kind of rules and boundaries that they want their children to follow. It's the babysitter's job to make sure that the rules get followed and come along side the parents to uphold some kind of discipline. Multi tasking is key in babysitting as well as being a parent, so I've heard. The maximum number of kids that I have babysat before was 5, so I learned the skill of multi tasking. Yesterday I was babysitting 35 children...this took multi tasking to a whole new level!
At first, it was just a typical day. I arrived at Smile, fed Bogere, and headed to the babies room to help out the teachers that had been there all night and could use a rest. On my way to the babies room, I happened to notice a 2 year old girl with a burn on her face. I picked her up and quickly took to her to the nurse so she could have it cleaned and bandaged. Once she was all taken care of she went back outside to play with the other children and I went into the babies room. All 3 of the teachers said they needed to eat and get cleaned up, so they left. It was me, the 2 month old twins, 1 week old Josh, and Bogere. Everyone was wide awake and wanting my attention. I got some toys out for Bogere to play with so he was occupied. All 3 of the babies needed to be fed, so I quickly made their bottles and fed all 3 of them at the same time. One of the teachers finally came back and began bathing Josh, so I was left with the twins. Taking care of twins is really no challenge for me, thanks to Michelle Lutz! I have had plenty of practice with twins. The teacher then told me that we did not have warm water to bathe the babies in today, but they still needed to be clean, so it was going to have to a quick bath. The other teachers just watched as I bathed the twins together really quickly. They were not happy with no warm water. Once the bath was done I needed to quickly get them dry and clothed so they were not freezing. I put a diaper on Eric with my right hand and a diaper on Ruth with my left hand. I did this with Jack and Phin Lutz when they were still little and couldn't move around as much. So I have had a lot of practice. Thank you Jack and Phin. :) I took the bucket of water outside to dump it and I noticed that the teacher for the 2-5 year olds was not there. So there was about 35 children running everywhere. So I grabbed Bogere and left the babies with 2 teachers. I needed to feed the little kids and make sure everything was running smoothly. A few of the kids ran up to me so I bent down and hugged them and played with them. Bogere got very jealous! He is at a stage now where he is comfortable with me, so now he starts pushing his limits to see how much I will let him get away with. All the parents whose children I have watched before, know that I don't let them get away with much! hehe. As a little boy comes to greet me, Bogere kicks this boy in the leg. My jaw drops and I get down on his level and I tell him in Swahili, "Bogere, you cannot hit other people! That is not ok. Do not fight with other children. Tell him sorry for hitting him." Bogere refused, so I picked him up and took him to the office and sat him down. I told him that he was going to sit in the office and not move until he was ready to say sorry to that little boy. I then told him that I was going to go back outside with the other children. I left him without looking back and I came back about 4 min later. Bogere then said sorry to me and the little boy. I hated leaving me out and I hated seeing him upset. There is going to be a time when I have to go home though and he is going to remain here. If he wants to stay at Smile then he is going to have to learn to behave and get along with the other children. I love him very much, but I am not here to spoil him and let him get away with everything. I am here to love him, show how to behave, and teach him how to be nice to the other teachers and children.
After the fighting incident, the day got a lot better. Bogere realized that I was not going to put up with the fighting or being mean to the other kids. So he calmed down and began helping the little children, including his brother. At the end of the day Bogere hugged me and said he was going home. He put his little brother on his back and walked home. I was very proud of him yesterday. I have been giving him a lot of one on one attention and he learned to share me with 35 other children! This was the most epic babysitting job of my life!

Tuesday 11 September 2012

An attack of the enemy

"Spending time alone with Jesus can be a difficult discipline, because it goes against the activity addiction of this age. You may appear to be doing nothing, but actually you are participating in battles going on within the spiritual realms. You are a waging war-not with the weapons of the world, but with heavenly weapons, which have divine power to demolish strong holds. Living close to Me is a sure defense against evil." This was the topic of my devotional this morning. I have to say, it was perfect. My mom and I had a discussion before I left to Africa. She was explaining to me that now that I am leaving home and going to a place where the attack of the enemy is strong, I have to understand that I am being placed on the front lines of a battle. Being in the Word is so important because it is my offensive weapon against the enemy. It is says in 2 Corinthians 10:4 "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." To many people, what I'm doing here is great, it may seem sweet or cute even, however, I am also fighting a war. Im standing on the front lines as the enemy tries to attack God's children. I am covered by the blood of the lame and NO weapon formed against me shall prosper! I know who I am and I know who God is, so I stand here taking "bullets" for these children who have yet to understand the mighty power of Jesus Christ. 
The enemy works in mysterious ways. He doesn't always make a big commotion when he is trying to attack you, it can simply be a moment of distraction, a moment of discouragement, a moment of weakness. It is important that my eyes are constantly focused on Jesus. Yesterday seemed like nothing important. I did the same things I always do. I fed the children, bathed Bogere and took care of the babies. I've been doing this for almost 2 weeks, so for me, it was just another day, the same old thing. Then it dawned on me. THAT is an attack of the enemy! He wants me to think that what I am doing is not important, he wants me to think that this is not going to have an impact. The enemy would like for me to get caught up in the day to day instead of focusing on what is really going on, which is the battle that I have been called here to fight! Oh Satan, you have messed with the wrong blonde!! ;) Let me tell you! For I know that your greatest power is to mess with the minds of your children. I also know, that everything I am doing is important, every plate of food I pass out, ever diaper that I change is important to the Father that created these children. Everyday that I pray for these children and love them like the Father does, is so important. I am fighting this battle for them, and I will not be shaken!

Monday 10 September 2012

Plowing the Field

I had an amazing day yesterday! In the morning I made breakfast and brought it to Bogere. As soon as I arrived at Smile, Bogere ran to me and put his head down on my shoulder. I knew that something was not right. It's a mother's instinct. So I picked him up and took him to Michael, who is an American that lives in Tororo and works at Smile Africa. I asked Michael what happened this morning and he said, "how did you know that something happened?" I told him it was because I love Bogere and I know that something isn't right. So Michael then informed me that Bogere was not being very polite in the morning. Apparently some of the teachers came to greet Bogere and he would not talk to them, he just starred out of the gate and waited for me to come. Then Bogere's mom came and saw that he was not responding to the teachers so she grabbed a stick and beat him over the head with it. When Michael told me that, anger began to brew in my heart. I could not believe that happened to Bogere! I was so upset about that. The thought that came into my head was, " No one is allowed to touch my son like that!" Then I imagined all the things I wanted to say to that woman, but I chose to act in wisdom and keep my mouth shut. I kissed his head and said, "Sorry baby."I then gave him a bath and changed him into new clothes and took him to the babies room with me. He likes to sit there and play with his toys as I take care of the babies. Pastor Ruth as been out of town and she put me in charge of the babies. The first thing I do when I get there is let the teachers get a break from them and go get something to eat. 2 of the teachers at Smile Africa stay with the babies over night, so they are exhausted by the time I get there. As soon as I arrive the teachers are happy to see me, they can finally get some rest while I look after the 3 babies and Bogere.
                  The twins Eric and Ruth

I find it really fun taking care of these children. During lunch time the teachers come back and I take Bogere to lunch. My boy is looking so much healthier already! All the teachers have commented on how happy he looks and how much healthier he seems. I am so glad that only after a short time he has changed so much!

After the day was over I walked Bogere back home. I carried him with one arm and had about 4 other children hanging from my other arm. As soon as we arrived at his house I handed him a bag of food that I put together for his family. I also handed him a water bottle and I kissed him good-bye. I stood their and smiled at him as I watched him walk home. The only thought that was in my head was "Please God, don't let her hit him, please God!" You can't even imagine the feeling of letting your child go to a place where he gets beaten for ever little mistake. The thought of someone hurting him like that makes me sick to my stomach, so I chose to trust God with His baby and I walked away. On my way back to Smile I saw 3 women from the village digging and plowing the soil. So I stopped and said hello and asked if I could help them. 1 of the 3 women handed me a hoe and a shovel, showed me how to do it, and sent me to work. I helped them plow a huge portion of the field. It was actually really fun. They all thought it was the funniest thing that I wanted to help them. I did as much as I could until it was time to go. I thanked them for allowing me to help and then I got in the car and went back to the hotel. It was a very eventful day and I had so much fun! Thank you God for allowing me to help everyone that I see. Thank you for teaching me new ways to love each of your children. I am so honored that God has chosen me to be His hands and feet in this beautiful country!