Jail Time

   I walked to Smile yesterday in silence. All I could think about was Bogere. I wondered how is he was going to behave and what he was going to say. I was really nervous about the day that awaited me. I saw Michael on the way to Smile so I stopped him and asked him how Bogere was doing this morning. Michael said,

"Actually, he is doing fine. He is more behaved today than he has ever been, to be honest with you."

   That was good news. Although Michael eased my mind a little bit, I was still concerned to how he was going to behave the rest of the day. When I finally arrived at Smile I walked into the babies room and put my stuff down. Bogere came in shortly after, followed by Betty, the cousin. I told them both to sit down and I gave them each a juice box and some crackers. Caleb was really excited to see me! He ran over to me from his bed and I picked him up and gave him lots of hugs! Today I was going to have to give my attention to Bogere and Betty, they may seem fine, but they are old enough to know what happened, so I needed to show them lots of loving.

   For the majority of the day I played with Bogere and Betty. We ran and played tag, then we did jump rope, then we colored. I wanted them to focus on other things. I wanted to make them smile and have them be happy. It was so great to spend so much time with them. In spending time with those kids I fell in love with Betty. She is 9 years old and so sweet. It was really helpful because she speaks pretty good English, so she was able to teach me more Swahili. It was wonderful. During lunch time I got plates for Bogere, Betty, Caleb and Philip and put them in the babies room. All the kids came to eat and they all seemed happy. After lunch though, I noticed that baby Philip had a very high fever. I gave him a cool bath, changed his clothes, gave him medicine, then I put him to sleep. The second I put him down on the bed, he was out. This was so good! Babies that come from the slums to Smile rarely nap. There is too much going on, so they are all over tired, which can make them even more sick. Philip fell asleep at 2:30pm and he was still sleeping when I left at 5:30pm. This was really great! I am hoping that the sleep and the medicine will make him feel better.

   Toward the end of the day, Betty said, "Paris, for as long as your here, you will be our mother." I agreed whole heartedly. These were my children, and I love them very much. Although I was upset that Bogere's mother died, I knew that had to by why God had me here at this time. I was imagining what would have happened to Bogere if I was not there. My sweet boy would have been left on the streets. At the end of the day, God is still God, and although we are upset, God has a bigger plan, one that we can't even imagine. I was so grateful that I did not ignore the pulling on my heart to come back to Tororo.

   What would have happened if I had said no? What would have happened if I ignored the whisper from God in my heart?

   When Pastor Ruth came to pick me up she told me that the husband, Peter, was arrested that morning! I was so happy to hear that news! Peter was in police custody and he could not hurt anyone else. Mama Ruth was telling me that all of Peter's friends came to the jail to beg the police woman to let Peter go. Their reasoning was,

"Beating is normal, you cannot arrest someone for doing something that we are all used to. Every man beats his wife. This is normal! He can't go to jail for this."

   When I heard this I was shocked to hear that these men were actually serious. They actually thought that because it's normal to them, that the police were going to let the friend go. The police were waiting to hear a statement that this man actually beat his wife before they were going to lock him in the cell. Now that the friends had come to "help" him, their plea that beating women is normal, turned into a statement that the police needed. So instead of helping Peter, his friends just put him jail. Oh this made me smile. God is so good!

   "God forgive me, forgive me for doubting your perfect will for the lives of these children, these children that you love more than I do. I trust you! Although it has been hard, I know that through this trial, you are teaching me something and you are making these children stronger. Please Jesus, give me the words to say to these children. I am praying for Bogere's heart, give him peace, a peace that only You can give. I love you Jesus, with all my heart. Amen."

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen!"