On the way...

One day recently, driving through the thick red mud in the village headed to Busiika to see all of my middle schoolers and their caretakers, I was overwhelmed by the beautiful place I am calling home these days. The sights and smells and sounds are becoming at once more familiar as they are more intriguing. Mine is an interesting life to say the least, and the people who I live amongst are a treasure yet to be unearthed.

On this day, after a persistent rain, the road became quickly became a river, and really, a swamp boat would have been more helpful in many ways as we navigated the terrain. The almost technicolor green jungle plants popped with bright beauty against the red clay soil and the contrast was breathtaking. We had to "drive” more carefully on this trip, which gave me more time to see the villagers we passed along the way.

Women dressed in all manner of clothing, children dressed in.. nothing, men on bicycles and children everywhere. The toddlers and up, attend to themselves. I cannot tell you how many children under the age of three we pass, all by their lonesome, walking around the village. I always wonder how they don’t get carried away by wild animals, or killed by snakes, to name two. Then there were children at the well, with their yellow jerry cans, helping each other prime the pump that is always taller than they are. People on benches, too many for their capacity, all squeezed on as if their close proximity was all that mattered. I watched as women sat on the dirt, peeling various things, cooking over small fires and washing clothes. Men engaged in heated debates and laughing while holding hands, walking down the paths to who knows where. Clothes covering stumps to dry, beans on woven mats, piles of wood and all manner of things lying around. Goats, cows, chickens, ducks, and yes, even some quail, run to and fro looking for an unsuspecting worm or insect to feed their hungry bellies. All in all, it is a land fraught with activity, most of which is foreign to this foreigner, but ever so wonderful.

As a visual learner, I take in each detail of this drive with great delight and curiosity. I have too many questions then I have time to ask, and my heart aches to connect with each and every person by the wayside. The things I witness on our drive inspire equal amounts of awe and sadness. There is a way that being confronted with all the images of suffering and sorrow all the while knowing the wild perseverance that exists in so many, encourages me to forge ahead in this mission of love. I am willing to be here, doing what I do because I believe in my Maker and know He has great plans for this country.

I have met many wonderful people, but the bottom line is that this country is struggling to survive on a deep level. Nevertheless, every single day I am reminded of the extreme goodness of God. His way is peace, no matter what crisis we face. So, I wake up eager each and every day, to share the truth of our glorious family. I get to encourage children to be curious to know who thought of them and called them forth from their mother’s womb. (Psalm 139) I get to inspire teachers to grow and learn in their field. I get to sow love and hope and healing everywhere I go. This is our great commission! He longs for the whole earth to know and love Him the way He knows and loves us. How beautiful.

Ephesians 3 continues to stir deeply in my heart. When my son was even still in my belly, I prayed this prayer over him every day. I think it is significant that in a land lacking mothers and fathers and where children are raising themselves, that this is my cry. My mother’s heart longs for each and every person in my care to encounter this. “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height of the Love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly more than we could ever ask or think, … to Him be the glory.”

So as I wander around this fantastic place, I hope to have many more wonderful stories to share. Thank you so much for being with me here, in heart and spirit.

Big, Brave, Africa Hugs!

Baby sleeping under a stall, while mama tries to sell her cooked beans.