Muzungu & My Fathers House

I surely do not know where to start to explain today. Today is probably one of the most amazing and impact-full days of my life. I am sad I probably wont be able to post this message for about 4 to 5 days because we do not have internet access where we are staying for the remainder of our time in Uganda.

As I said in last blog post, in the morning we went back to the Return Worship Center, in Kampala, to continue spending time with the children there. We were able to make our time a bit more focused by splitting up into groups. We played games, sang song, put on skits, and yes I even danced with the children. They are all far more capable than me, but like I said before your inhibitions wain in this atmosphere. The children and us had so much fun. Today I learned that I am a muzungu. And we are greeted everywhere in this manner. This term basically means white person. In case I forget I can even buy a t-shirt that reminds me and everyone else around me that I am a muzungu. Pastor Samuel and his team do an amazing job with these children.

After lunch we left for another orphanage called My Fathers House. This home is run by a young lady from Texas named Rebecca. This home has twelve children living there. She has been living in Kampala since 2007. She has a very similar vision for these children as Pastor Samuel. She does not consider her home an orphanage but a house filled with love. She also does not want to see a large orphanage but rather a group of these smaller homes where the children are individually loved. When we arrived the children were still in school. We walked there through the local village and were ultimately greeted at the school in a manner that I know was far beyond our expectations (watch the video). We were treated as honored guests of the highest degree. We entered through an aisle of children singing in celebration of our arrival.

When we sat down we were treated to a very special program of song and dance. Their voices are amazing and the unmistakable presence of the Spirit was evident in their authenticity during worship and praise. Just as the program completed a torrential down pour hit us. In their culture it is considered good luck for it to rain when you have guests. This gave us an opportunity as a team just to love on the kids. Words are simply not adequate to explain what we experienced there. I had a chance to talk briefly with Rebecca. Her ministry is not fully funded. She trusts that she is doing what the Lord is calling her to do and somehow they manage with what they have. The school is very basic but they are getting far more than just a quality education. They are truly loved! They sent each of us on our way with letters they had written and bracelets they had made for us. Life for them is not easy. The young ladies, at the school, live with the constant fear of rape and the contraction AIDS. Rebecca is an amazing young lady and she is being used in a way that leaves me speechless. It was such sad departure because none of us wanted to leave these kids who touched us all so deeply.

Once we left we drove a couple hours, through standard third world traffic, to Jinja. Jinja is located at the very northern most end of Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria is the head waters of the Nile river. We are currently staying at an orphanage called Canaan's Children Home. This is quite a larger and secure place. We are blessed to be able to stay here with them. The team is amazing in all regards.

My mind is just a mess of thoughts and emotions right now I hope this makes some sense.