uganda.

Some friends requested that I write out some of what I experienced while in Uganda this past May. So, sweet friends that still care to hear about it... this is for you. At this point I have pretty much talked any and everyone's ears off about my trip... I have even been asked to not talk about it anymore. ha. So this is also acting as a way for me to get my thoughts out of my head a bit.

Where do I start?
Do I start with the moment I walked out of the Entebbe airport and started crying because it smelled like Africa? Or the moment I met the 12 amazing kids in my house at the orphanage, Bethany Village? It wasn't me that put me on this trip. It wasn't my idea. God stirred up the desire in me. He made everything fall into place. He provided. And as soon as I experienced Uganda I knew very clearly why He wanted me there.
When we arrived at Bethany, we split the team up to 3 of us per house. Jordan, Abby and I were assigned the Granny House. Each house at the orphanage has a house mother. It just so happened that Granny House had a house mother and father. However, just 3 days before we arrived the house father had passed away. The mother, Edith, was away most of the week for his burial. So they took us aside and told us that the Granny House kids were having a hard time. They were very sad and scared to sleep in the house.
I can remember walking into the house for the first time and meeting all of our kids. There was this quiet sadness there. My heart immediately began to break. I just couldn't stop thinking about how hard this must be for them. They are orphans. They have already experienced so much loss, so much pain. But as I began to spend time with them I got to see their joy, too. Unbelievable joy.

Rose, Carol, Dorah, Eve, Anita, Mary, Paul, Shadrack, Michael, Derick and Moses. I didn't know it was possible to love anyone this much. I wrote about them one day while I was there "I loved observing the kids yesterday and just realizing how creative God is. Each one is unique. So different from anyone else. In the world. God's creativity with His children in and of itself is enough to display how big He is. And He is so much more." I think one of the gifts God gave me while in Uganda was a small picture of his love for me. The love He put in me for the kids is indescribable. He gave me a little glimpse of how He feels about me.
With this love that I experienced came a lot of different thoughts and prayers. When I was away from the kids even for just an hour or so I missed them so much it hurt. So I knew leaving was going to be really hard. So I started thinking... maybe I just need to stay. I started praying about it a lot. God brought me to a place where I could say without hesitation "where you want me.... i'm there. where you send me... i'll go."

Leaving Bethany Village was one of the hardest things I have ever done. But I felt ok leaving because I don't think I'm finished there. I felt ok saying goodbye because I believe I will see those kids again. Since June 5 all I have been thinking about is getting back there. I will go back.