Back in America...

Well, I totally failed in keeping up with my blog over the summer.  But now the trip is over, and I just wanted to write a little bit about what I learned from the trip, and the things that I will take away from it.

This summer was such a blessing to me. Saying that I was sad to leave is a huge understatement! Saying goodbye to the kids that stole my heart over the two months that I was there was beyond hard. But it was time to go, and I know that I will see them again!

Some of the orphanage boys :)

Thank you so much for supporting me financially, with prayers, and with letters.  I was so encouraged by your monetary donations, the letters that I looked forward to reading every day, the gifts, and the words of encouragement through Facebook, my blog and email! God definitely used you to make some awesome things happen!  He worked in so many ways, and glory was given to him as well!

This summer, I was a teacher, student, friend, sister, nurse, servant, honored guest, and most of all, ambassador of God.  While I was there, the kids got new mattresses, a few new bunk beds, new clothes, new shoes, new toothbrushes and toothpaste, letters from their American friends and sponsors, and much more! They met and loved many volunteers who came in to help them out, and they were so appreciative of them. I watched them praise God like no other child or adult I have ever seen here in America. They know Jesus. And it's awesome. There are so many stories to share, pictures to show, and memories that I will never be able to let go of.  I could write all day and never be able to finish telling you about my experience, but for now, I will just write about the lessons that I learned:

Ugandans are super respectful.  I have never met people who are so respectful and so grateful in my life.  Compared to American kids, these kids have nothing, and so when they receive something, or know that you are there to love or help them, they are so appreciative for it.  They know to respect adults.  They know to respect their parents.  Also, there were many occasions where a random person would just thank me for coming to help “their people”.  I felt a little awkward because I know that I am not doing much except following God’s will and loving as much as I can, but the fact that they appreciate it so much is what really stood out to me!

Beautiful Cathy

It’s not all about “stuff”.  The kids at the orphanage had almost nothing compared to the kids here in America.  The kids at the Safe House have even less.  They have very few toys, they sleep crowded in rooms in metal bunk beds and foam mattresses (sometimes up to four small kids to a bed), concrete walls and floors, eat beans and rice/posho almost every day, have no washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, or electric stoves, and yet these are the happiest kids I have ever met.  They have so much joy that is unexplainable except that it can only come from God.  We don’t need “stuff” to make us happy.  The latest iPod or the newest car will not make us happy.  They actually crowd our lives and can distract us from the most important things in life.

With that being said, never take anything for granted.  For a while, I struggled with feeling of guilt because I have all of this “stuff” at home, while they have almost nothing.  But I came to the conclusion that while these things are not necessary for happiness, it isn’t wrong to have them as long as you don’t become dependent on them.  It’s ok to appreciate a washing machine, electricity and running water.  But if for some reason, we lose access to those things, we shouldn’t freak out because we no longer have them.  We have to remember that there are people who live without them at all.

Some of the Safe House boys :)

There is so much suffering in this world.  I cannot even begin to describe to you the suffering that I saw in Uganda.  Yes, there is suffering here in America.  Kids are raped and abused, spouses are unfaithful and leave, people die, and trust is broken.  But there, that’s everyone’s story.  At least everyone that I was working with.  There are 50 kids at the orphanage.  Every single one of them has been abandoned, abused, and/or has lost at least one of their parents.  There are 23 kids at the Safe House right now.  Every single one of them has lived on the streets and has been cut by knives, beaten, hungry, and/or raped.  They all have such dark pasts.  And they didn’t deserve to be treated the way that they were treated. My heart breaks at the thought of an 8-year-old boy named Collins living on the streets by himself and being cut by a knife on his arm.  My heart breaks when I think of sweet young girls like Mercy, Gloria, Sarah and Brenda living on the streets and getting raped at night, and then talking about it like it’s just an everyday thing.  My heart breaks when I hear that Denis thinks that witchdoctors killed his dad, and he’s afraid that if he goes back to his home village, they will attack him, too.  My heart breaks at the thought of a 6-year-old girl named Rebecca being tied up in a tree by her step mom and beaten like a piñata until she couldn’t even walk, and then expected to go fetch water.  My heart breaks when I am looking at the many, many scars on 14-year old Fred’s body, and all he says is “the lady that raised me was not a nice lady” when I ask him where they come from.  When I see small children sitting on the sidewalks in Kampala because their parents force them to beg when they don’t have any money for food, my heart breaks.  When I see crippled people, or old ladies sitting the in the sidewalks doing the same thing on their own will, because they have no other choice, my heart breaks.  When I look at the huge scars on the side of 3-year-old Cathy’s and 8-year-old Sumaiya’s faces and bodies, because a fire broke out when their mom had left them home alone in the slums to go work as a prostitute, my heart breaks.  This only scratches the surface of the amount of pain and suffering that I saw there.  And I didn’t even see all of it.

Derrick's friends and family worshipping God -- AMAZING!

God is present in every aspect of life.  God revealed himself to me so much while I was in Uganda.  I’m sure he does that all the time for me, but maybe I just didn’t open my eyes to see it until I was there.  Even in the little things in life, he shows himself.  I’ve learned just how important it is to make God the number one priority in life.  The Ugandan people relied on God so heavily that it completely put me in awe.  The Ugandans have realized that we all need a Savior, and we have to rely on God, because he is the only one who can come through for you and can give you hope and joy in such bleakness.  I pray that I can learn to rely on God as much as Ugandans do.

The last lesson (that doesn’t seems so important when compared to the rest, but is still important) is that cultures are very different.  I learned that the way we do things in America is not the case everywhere.  There are differences in mannerisms, language, food, dress, and simple tasks.  It was so interesting to learn about and experience the culture of Uganda.  I love different cultures, and I hope that I can continue to learn about Ugandan culture, as well as the culture of other people groups in the world.

This trip was not a once in a lifetime trip.  There will be more.  I want to do everything that I can to help the people that I fell so in love with.  I thank you so much for your support, but I also want to ask you to join me in helping them.  This organization is doing their best to provide the basic needs of these kids, and they need support!  If you are willing to help, I would really appreciate it, and so would the kids!  I will keep you updated on the needs as they arise!

Thank you so much for all of your support so far!