Out here in Uganda, I spend a lot of my time with some beautiful children.
Five special ones are the missionary kids from my team in Soroti. The Shaarda kids are the blonde ones. Lydia is five and a HUGE bundle of energy. She is such a joy, telling me all about her life and asking me questions about mine. Grace is three and is one of the sweetest kids around. She is a graceful little dancer and a clever storyteller. Luca is their baby brother and an absolute doll. He never stops smiling. The Sliedrecht kids are equally as fantastic. Avalien turns four this week. She is a great big sister and loves to remind us all about Jesus’ love and power. Moses is two and gives the best hellos. Almost every morning, he walks to our door with a “Hello Guys!” and a hug for all. They are such wonderful children and I’m so thankful for the blessings they’ve had on my summer.
Twice a week, I have preschool with Avalien and Grace. We’ve been going through a unit on Trees and Animals That Live In Them (thanks Miss Kristi!!). The girls are having a blast! I teach at my house, which is surrounded by all sorts of fun trees that Tim, our team leader, loves to plant. He’s got some little palm trees, a coffee tree in the making, and a huge vegetable garden. Some days we get lucky and have some animals in the trees that we can study too. It helps that there are two pet monkeys in the yard! This week, we learned that God made trees as homes for lots of different animals. We looked specifically at squirrels and birds. The girls’ favourite part of school is making the craft at the end. They are so adorable and are so excited about school!
I’m also continuing to spend time at Amecet with the babies. They are so beautiful and all have such tragic stories. This week, a new baby named Ruth came in. She is two months old and came into Amecet because her mother wasn’t producing milk and had no money. It turns out that the mother, out of desperation, had buried little Ruth as an infant. She was found half-alive by some kids playing hide-and-seek in the woods. The mother was put into jail for attempted murder, but brought Ruth with her since she was still breast-feeding. I can’t even imagine what is going through Ruth’s mother’s head! The baby is now in loving arms at Amecet, but only God knows what will happen to Ruth’s future. There are so many stories like this one... it’s overwhelming!!!
Praises This Week:
- Developing friendships with the Ugandan staff at Amecet
- A healthy week... finally!!!
- A great team here in Soroti
Prayer Requests This Week:
- Continued compassion for the many people I meet and discernment as I hear so many needs
- Wisdom as I interact with teachers and students at Harmony, a partner school with Amecet
Hi Steph - I finally enjoyed a block of time to sit and read through all your blogs at once. What an adventure you're having, and I wish I could spend a day at the orphanage playing with the babies with you! We pray for God's strength for you, physically and emotionally, as you love on those kids! Keep up the great work... Love, the Vanderzee's
ReplyDeleteYou look so happy. Blessings to you as you continue to do this wonderful work. The Theatre Department is going to look pretty boring after all this.
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