| Finally after all the preparation and hard work, our team made it to our destination: Uganda. Despite travel fatigue and jet lag, we are so thankful that God not only protected us, but also all our baggage. God is good. Our hosts’ Patrick and Sarah kindly greeted us with warm hearts at the airport and brought us to what we would call a top-notch guest house. After a long night of unpacking and then re-packing all the shoes, VBS supplies, and medical supplies we needed for Mercy Orphanage, we all crawled into our mosquito net sheltered beds and got as much rest as possible for our first day of VBS. The next morning when we were driving toward Mercy, we prayed to God to prepare us for whatever we were about to see. We realized very quickly when we arrived at the orphanage, that God didn’t want us to be “prepared”, but He wanted our hearts to be broken by seeing the rawness of His suffering children. Our hearts broke immediately, for the tiny children with torn clothes and sad eyes, and in other ways we were not expecting. We were able to wash their feet, place new shoes on their feet, and serve them a meal of rice, beans, and mango juice. The nurse on our team, Lisa, was able to give medical attention to many of the children, by removing jiggers from their feet, treating scraped legs and knees, as well as some other superficial injuries. It was so humbling and yet so fulfilling to give our all today in carrying out God’s Word in helping the needy and orphaned. Because aren’t we all really needy and orphaned until our Lord provided for us? We are all one in Christ and remembering that really levels the playing field. Worship and our creation story poster seemed to liven the kids up. They ended up later dancing for us and leading us in worship. They thanked us for coming and told us that God had answered our prayers through us being there. They then asked us all to share our testimonies. It was beautiful watching the body of Christ work through two different cultures. After a great day of serving, we were blessed to have a wonderful feast cooked for us at the guest house. The ladies that had prepared our meal had also cleaned our rooms for us, to our surprise. When we follow in God’s will, He promises to bless back. And across the world in Uganda He has, beyond our wildest dreams. Day One in Uganda written by Malinda Hayes |
Cesy, translating for Kaitlyn Our friend Cesy was too old to be in our child sponsorship program when we met her, but she definitely benefited from the program because two of her siblings were sponsored consistently. And we benefited from knowing Cesy! For years she would translate for our special programs. I remember speaking to a group of moms years ago and Cesy translated for me. She stayed for hours after the talk to help me minister to women. One of those women had concerns about her son who clearly showed signs of ADHD. Cesy helped me find natural ways to address his inattention and lack of focus and a year later that same Mom shared how Cesy's suggestions had helped! Cesy, we know how hard you have worked and we are incredibly proud of you! Thank you for being a beautiful example to young women everywhere!