Some of the most beautiful pictures of Jesus that I have seen show him walking with the people he loves, eating with them, talking with them and kneeling in dirt with them. Reaching out to people right where they are at...just as they are. I can visualize him looking right in their eyes and sometimes holding their faces in his hands promising a peace that the world cannot give.
I had the privilege of witnessing a love like this in each of the team members in the last two days. Let me tell you about them...
Beth had the scary experience (one that happens all too often here) of having a hangnail be exposed to bacteria that has turned into an infection. Her finger has swelled up and and turned purple, requiring a trip to a Ugandan Clinic, navigating the world of street pharmacies and antibiotics and having Vicki perform outpatient surgery on the dining room table with her surgical kit, an IV needle and a lot of prayer. I thought Kyle and Todd were going to hyperventilate with excitement...it may show up on Youtube! Please pray for her healing. But, those same hurting hands were the ones that held Mary, Jeanette, Ritah, and Helen's faces as she met her Ugandan daughters for the first time and walked home from school with them to deliver mattresses to the boarding school so they had a place to sleep. Their mother died a couple of weeks ago and the Lord is allowing Beth to come along side them and love them through this difficult time.
Todd and Kyle have been playing soccer with kids like maniacs! It has been awesome to witness. They have played in the heat in barefeet and requiring great amounts of food, water and sleep at the end of the day. Kyle has been inspired by the possibility of designing a chicken coop at the school to provide meat for the students' meals. He even attempted to create a watering system with empty water bottles and IV tubing. He has lifted suitcases, sorted materials, greeted and hugged children and families and met a family in the bush that we helped out with medical assistance and as a result of our help they gave him a tour of their agriculture and gifted the team with avocadoes, jackfruit, papayas, passion fruit and bananas. Todd has laughed his way (and I mean laughed...head back...uncontrollable) into a friendship with our driver, Peter (pronounced Petah). Peter is our protector, transporter and resident comedian. Yesterday, in the bunch of bananas that we received, appeared a friendly little gecko. The gecko climbed out of the bananas, up the car seat and onto Peter's shoulder. Needless to say, after Peter swallowed his tongue and practically drove off the road, we thought we were going to have to perform CPR on Todd who was also riding in the front, witnessed the gecko incident and laughed till he fell out of his seat. Todd spent many moments, today, reliving that event. He has spoken of how impressed he is that the men and women he has met here have shown him, with great impact, that regardless of circumstance...God means good for his people and that we should not miss the opportunities that He sends us. P.S. Laughter does great things for friendship and Todd has a great laugh.
Vicki is a healer and a mama...no matter what culture she is in. She helped orchestrate a clinic visit for a woman named Nakato whom we spoke about in an earlier blog. Nakato was looking very tired when we saw her at church and we wondered if she was anemic. The blood tests revealed that she is very anemic and Vicki helped provide iron, vitamins and good food to help make up the loss. Pain medication provided relief for the pain of severe headaches as the result of her condition. Vicki also met a widow from the Widow's Bakery that has been suffering severe back pain. An x-ray revealed arthritis and Vicki was able to provide pain relievers and Margaret will also get medication to treat her condition.
Monita, known as MO, has undertaken, with great conviction, the task of planning for small business development for women in the bush. She is planning goat soap making, paper making, sewing and craft classes and many, many more. She shows God's kindness and compassion without reservation and she shows genuine love for the children of Bukeeka.
Fountain of Hope has grown, in five years, from 7 students to 700! They have grown by 150 in just one year. We were swarmed at our visit today and were welcomed so warmly. Chapati bread filled with eggs (called Rolleggs) were served to us today and they were warm and delicious! We set up soccer equipment and medicine supplies at the school and we look forward to building health kits tomorrow.
Tynishia is steady and dependable. She loved the children of The Caring Center with a gift of toothbrushes, paste and floss. She's friendly and soft spoken, has an easy laugh and she works so hard. She is an incredible team player and the children respond well to her.
We have been joined by Cassie and Meghan from Fairview, Oklahoma. They are such a fun addition to the team. They fit right in. They will be in Uganda for a month and they'll provide a VBS in Bukeeka along with the rest of the Oklahoma team that will come toward the end of July. We have been given the opportunity to provide a two day HIV testing clinic out at Bukeeka. It will be free to the school and the community. St. Francis is an institution that provides the lab techs and the counselors to provide this service and Next Generation Ministries has offered to support our efforts as well. Many blessings are being brought about because of God's love for His people and we are blessed to be a part of it.
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