Don't Let Go

   Today was the day...today was the day that I had been waiting for! I was going to see Bogere! I woke up in the morning with more excitement than you can imagine. Those of you that know me, know that I am not a morning person...like at all. But today I woke up with a little pep in my step. I could not wait to go and see Bogere! Pastor Ruth came to pick me up in the morning and we went into town to go and buy groceries from the store. We wanted to bring the family that is looking after Bogere some food as a way of saying 'Thank You' for taking care of Bogere, my son.

   After about an hour drive we arrived in Mbale, which is the city that Bogere is living in. Then Pastor Ruth pointed and said,

"They live just up this road here."

   My heart began to race with excitement. I was now just yards away from Bogere but the van could not move fast enough! As we were driving up the road we saw the Reverend who was taking care of Bogere. I opened my window and I waved to him. This sweet old man had the biggest smile I had ever seen. He smiled big and gave me a big wave. Then we parked our van in front of his home. I was looking for Bogere out of the windows, but I could not see him.

   I slid open the door to the van and jumped out. Within 8 seconds of being on the ground, I heard the best noise I have heard in a long time...It was the sound of my sweet son, Bogere.

"PARIS!!"

   I looked in the direction that I heard his voice coming from and I saw him running! Bogere ran as fast as he could and then he jumped in my arms. It was the greatest feeling in the world. My son, safe, in my arms again.

   As I stood there holding him I could not help but cry. Imagine if you had a child and you did not see him or her for a year. And then during that year that you were apart, your child was abused and mistreated and there was nothing you could do. Then imagine seeing your child again safe and happy. That was the feeling I was feeling. In fact, it is not just one feeling I was feeling, but many all at once. I love this boy so much! This has felt like a very long year apart. Tears began to roll down my cheeks as I held onto this boy with every ounce of strength that I had. When I was about to put him down, he clinched onto me tighter as if to say,

"Don't Let Go."

   After our big hug, we walked hand in hand to his home. The whole family was there to say hello to us. The older boys got the food from the van and took it to their kitchen. We talked with each other for a few minutes and then Pastor Ruth suggested that I go and see Bogere's school. So Bogere, myself and a few of his friends got in the van and we visited his school. I met the head teacher and the director and they were nice people. I felt really great about that school. We then got back in the van and headed back to his home. 

   Once we arrived back at the home we distributed the clothes we brought for the other children as well as soccer balls. They were so excited!

   I was told that Bogere had a best friend, a boy named Emma, that befriended and treated him well the very minute that Bogere came to live at this home. Emma loved Bogere and became his brother right away and looked out for him. They also share a room and a bunk-bed together. When I was told this, I wanted to bring clothes, shoes and school supplies not only for Bogere, but for Emma as well. So while we waited for Emma to get back from taking his exams at school, I gave Bogere his new clothes. His abusive aunt sold all of the clothes that I had brought him before, so he literally had nothing. I pulled out a suitcase and gave Bogere all of his new clothes, new shoes, new backpack, school supplies and a Nerf Gun. Because what boy doesn't love a Nerf Gun? Bogere was so excited to receive all of his new things, he could not stop smiling. He picked out an outfit and immediately went to the bathroom to wash himself and put on his new clothes. 

   Then finally his friend Emma arrived. We talked together briefly and then I pulled out all of the things that I brought for him, new clothes, new shoes, new backpack, school supplies and a Nerf Gun. As I am showing him his new things, I look over and his smile is faint, but his eyes begin to tear up. It turns out this boy has never been given anything like this before in his life. The Reverend said he is crying out of disbelief that this is real life. 

   I was blown away by this boy's reaction to the things I brought him. I did not bring anything fancy, but this boy acted like his world just got flipped upside down. I just kept hugging him and telling him that Jesus loves him and that he is a good boy. Emma just kept nodding and then looking down at the suitcase that belonged to him. This boy is so sweet and I am so glad that I got to meet him. 

   Emma's reaction to the simple things I got him, really reminded me to be grateful about everything that I have and everything that is given to me. I want to be as grateful as Emma for every single thing that I am given. Forgive me, God, for the times when I have acted entitled or ungrateful. 

(The Reverend, his wife, Bogere and myself)

   After visiting for a few more minutes, it was time to say good-bye. The good news is that I will be coming back on Tuesday to see Bogere and Emma again. We all hugged each other and said good-bye. I also hugged the Reverend and his wife and said thank you many times. They are wonderful people who are taking care of Bogere and they all seem to love each other. Bogere seems happy there. Which makes my heart feel happy and at peace. 

I cannot wait until Tuesday! :) 

Good Night. 

In The Stillness

   Have you ever felt in your heart that you were supposed to do something? Maybe it was something that you normally wouldn't do, but you felt strongly that you had to do it? Well that happened to me yesterday afternoon. I was walking from the clinic at Smile Africa back to the baby home when a group of young girls came running over to me and hugged me. I always hug them and then I keep walking, heading to wherever I need to be. I have seen these girls every day since I've been here, so they were familiar faces to me. I hugged them and almost started to walk away, then I believe I heard the voice of God in my heart say,

"Paris, look down."

   

   Then I saw her face. Again, I have seen these children before so I knew their faces, but not this close up. There were about 5 children holding onto me, but I knew who God was asking me to look for. There was a girl hugging me, Mariam, she is 7 years old. She was looking at me and her eyes were squinting and there was fluid running from them. Her eyes were swollen and puffy. Clearly there was some kind of infection. She was also wearing a t-shirt around her waist as a skirt because that is all that she had. This is her picture from yesterday.

   I believe God puts people in your life for a specific reason, and I also believe that God can move Heaven and Earth to literally push someone in your face that He needs you to help. So after making arrangements with pastor Ruth and the nurse, we made some appointments for her, her mother and baby sister for the next day, which is today.

   First thing in the morning, Mariam, the mother and the baby sister met with us at the clinic. It's funny, before I left my home in Los Angeles, my boyfriend David gave me a set of girls clothes size 5T. I usually bring baby clothes, but I brought the one outfit that was 5T and I said, 

"This is going to go to someone special, God will tell me who."

   Then this situation happens with Mariam, and she does not have any clothes at all. So I gave the outfit to her. I am just amazed how God works and how He orchestrates things. 

   We learned that Mariam's father had died in February of this year and it was possible that he died of AIDS, but no one knows for sure. Mariam also had 2 older siblings that of the same sickness. I quickly put Mariam in her new clothes and her baby sister in her new clothes and we immediately got in the van and drove to the hospital. The first order of business was to take the whole family to the hospital to check their blood status. After an hour or so at the hospital, we learned that they are HIV-!! This is great news! The nurse and I were very excited.

   Now that we knew about the health of their blood, we drove to the eye doctor. I really wanted Mariam's eyes to be checked out. After several hours there, we learned that she is slightly near sided, but the doctor won't know for sure if that is a problem caused by the infection and then once it's healed it will go away, or if it's a separate problem. 

   So the doctor then examined the eye and gave us medication that could help. He said that she has severe allergies that if its not treated, could make her go blind. I could not believe what I was hearing. I just thought that this little girl had pink eye or something and it would go away, but this was more serious than I thought. The doctor told us that this kind of allergy is caused by lack of good hygiene. That broke my heart. I hated the fact that she had to be in so much pain. Mariam's mother, Florence, is a really good woman with a kind heart, but she is just very underprivileged and her living conditions are very poor. This is a picture of Mariam's mother Florence and her baby sister Sabina. 

   I am so glad that we went to the doctor as soon as we did. What if I did not listen to God's voice and did not look down? Today, with this situation, I was reminded of the importance of being quiet and listening to God's voice. It is in the stillness that His voice can sound like a booming drum inside your soul. No matter where you are, God can speak to you. 

   According to the doctor, if Mariam had not gotten the medical treatment she needed, she could have gone blind. Mariam will now get better everyday and we will continue to keep a close watch on her eyes. 

   We all got back in the van and began the drive back to Smile Africa. We stopped at Mariam's mother's house to drop her and the baby off. Florence invited me to see where she lived, so I got out of the van and followed her to her home. Florence pointed and said, 

"It's just right here."

   We kept walking a little  further and then we finally reached her home. There was no door, only a curtain to protect her and her children from the outside world. Her home was one of many in this "building". She told me to come inside the home, so I did and I looked around. It was about the size of a bathroom in an American home. I looked up and noticed holes in her roof. I asked her what happens when it rains in the middle of the night. She told me that her and her children sit in the corner of the room until the rain stops, then they pull out a small mat and sleep on that. My heart broke into a million pieces when I heard that. 

                                

   Now that I have seen the conditions in which Mariam live, I understand why her eye is the way it is. I am going to help this single mom and her 2 children in the best way that I possibly can. Now that I have seen, I am responsible.

   It is time for me to get some rest. Tomorrow I am going to see Bogere! I am so excited! I can hardly wait! 

Good Night :) 

Peace Out

   I had an earlier start to my day today. I began my morning walk with a quick pace. I was eager to get to Smile Africa and see all the beautiful babies. When I reached the baby home, Enoch came running over to me with the biggest smile. He is such a sweet boy. I picked him up right away and continued walking inside. The older children were away at school so it was just the younger ones that were running around playing. I opened the door for them to come outside and play and immediately they all came running outside. First out of the door was baby Jeremiah. 

   The sky was cloudy as if it was going to rain, but the temperature was warm, so it was a much nicer day than yesterday. There was even thunder throughout the day! You will have to excuse my enthusiasm for thunder; I live in Los Angeles where there is no such thing. Then, finally, it started to rain and all the children began screaming and laughing! It was a fun sight to see.

   After playing outside we went to pick up the older children from school. I have only seen the school once before, so it was great coming to see them. They looked absolutely adorable in their uniforms as they walked toward the van.  We finally had all 5 babies, Moses, Eric, Ruth, Grace and Peter in the van so we headed back to Smile Africa. The second we arrived the children went to go play with their friends and have a snack. I played with them for a while, and then I went to go visit with the other children of Smile Africa. There are children who live in a very poor slum next to Smile Africa and they come during the day to go to school and have lunch, then they go back home at night.

   I began to talk and play with these children. They are so funny and so full of life. They wanted me to take pictures of them over and over again and then show them what they look like. Once I showed them, they would all burst into laughter. It was the cutest thing! Once I held up the camera to take their photo they would hold up a peace sign and say, "Peace Out!" in their cute Ugandan accents. 

   It was a wonderful day loving on all the children. Pastor Ruth and I also set up a few appointments for the babies that will take place next week, one of which being a dental appointment. Most of our babies now have teeth, so we just want to make sure that they are healthy. Since the dentist is every kid’s favorite person, I am sure it will be lots of fun! HA! Wish us luck…we have 23 children that will be examined by the dentist next week!

Good Night :)