A couple pretty great stories

In the midst of some sadness about leaving and how quickly my countdown for goodbyes is coming, this week we have had a few pretty great stories.

Wednesday, our social work team went to Kampala to present two domestic adoption cases to be assessed and hopefully approved. The cases involved two of our mamas who were interested in adopting two of our little boys, James and Josh. Both of these women are single moms of multiple children, but still had the desire to adopt a child with a disability. These women are rockstars!

Long story short, one of our cases passed, and the other one, due to some questions about living situations and income, did not. It was hard news for that case, but they are issues that we are able to work through with this mom, hopefully create a better budget with her and help her come up with a way to get a bigger place, and then be able to present it again. We have no doubts of the love that this mom has for Josh, and we want as much as she does to see him in a loving home and family.

But for Rosemary and James, we are ecstatic, as this adoption go approved! This is another home and forever family for an Ekisa kiddo, and we are so thrilled to see Ugandans step up to adopt these kids! This is a blessing and praise, and a good, last hoorah for my time here working with our social work team. We need to get a few more papers signed before James gets to go home with Rosemary, but hopefully it won’t take too long!

As for my other story, it’s about Ashraf – one of our community care kids. Back at the end of February, I believe, Ashraf and his mom came to live at Ekisa in our emergency housing due to a couple different issues. Ashraf was very malnourished, and his mom did not have a way to earn a steady income, so therefore was not able to adequately care for him. We wanted to bring them in to help him get healthy, as well as hopefully help his mom see him for the truly incredible child that he is.

They were at Ekisa for about a month, and they moved out several weeks ago, back to their home about 45 minutes from Jinja. I had asked Genesis, one of our Community Care workers, if I could go with her to visit him this past week so I could see him before I left. (I really fell in love with him when he was at Ekisa, and it was a bittersweet day when they left to go home. When I gave him a kiss and said goodbye, I told him I would come visit him and asked if that was alright, and his reply was “enkya” which means tomorrow. I told him I couldn’t the next day, but promised I would.) So on Thursday, Genesis and I went to see him. He was in the house alone, his brother was not far from the house, and he was so happy to see us. Almost too excited to manage to eat the biscuits and soda that we brought! They told us that their mom wasn’t around, that she was working but they didn’t know where. After some time, we left and I was a bit discouraged about him not being able to go to school, not knowing if the mom was really working to provide for them or just out of the house, and just wanting to do more for this precious little boy.

Yesterday several of us went gone to Kampala, and when driving back home Emily and I saw this jewelry store that we had wanted to stop at months ago, but they were closed. After passing the sign again, we decided to turn around and go check it out. When we pulled up, Mama Ashraf came running out to the car yelling “Auntie B, Auntie B, Ashraf told me you came.” She doesn’t speak great English, but she asked if we went to visit again and then came to find her? As shocked as she was, I said no, we were just wanting to look at the jewelry, but can you talk about a God-thing?! The day before I had been praying that his mom would have a job where she was able to provide for her kids, and that her time at Ekisa was impactful, and that she would be serious about her responsibilities as a mom. I wanted to cry seeing her there, and I wanted to buy just about everything in the store to support this ministry that gave her a job (check it out, they make beautiful jewelry and employ women that need help, just like Mama Ashraf – www.musanajewlery.org)

This may seem small, but it was the kind of encouragement that I needed as I prepare to leave. It’s not easy thinking about saying good-bye to so much of what I have fallen in love with here, but stories like this remind me how much God is in control, and how little I am in His story anyway. Right now, He’s calling me home to Virginia, and I trust that, knowing he has something pretty incredible planned.

A Life To Be Remembered

Jack Hardesty.

But a lot of us knew him as Gramps.

And I don’t know anybody who would describe Gramps as anything less than incredible. Look at his life – Gramps was never just a dairy farmer, but everything from Berryville’s Citizen of the Year, to an active role in the church, as a chairman of the Administration Board, to president of many agricultural organizations, to serving on Clarke County’s Board of Supervisors, and many, many more titles and awards.

However, to many people, I don’t think that these are reasons why they would describe Gramps as incredible. Gramps loved well and truly cared for people, and this is what people remember. He never made you feel like just one in a crowd, but always had a way of making you feel special, loved, cherished.

I will – like so many others – miss Gramps’ hugs. He always told Anna that she gave the best hugs, but I’m glad he liked mine too. Whether it was seeing him at church, a basketball game, at the fair, or just around, he always had a smile on his face and always wanted a hug – or a handshake. I always got a hug, but more than once I witnessed Gramps correct a handshake or tell someone, “Now that’s a good handshake.”

He also had his way of making his point known. Never in a condemning, judgmental way, but he would just come across that he had been through a lot more of life, and had gotten the right way figured out. So you were best to listen to what Gramps had to say, because the next time he saw you, you could guarantee he would ask about it. This was a little bit hard for me in coming back to Uganda, because he did not think too highly of the no-insurance, no-helmet motorcycles (botas) that we use for public transportation here. “Those can’t be safe,” he told me when I showed him a picture of two little boys, the bota driver, and myself all on one. I promised him I would try my best to stay safe.

But people respected him. Probably more than any body I have ever met. Nobody wanted to disappoint Gramps, and it wasn’t out of fear of condemnation or judgment, but I think because his feelings towards others were so sincere and good that nobody wanted to let him down. He just had that affect on people.

It’s hard to be so far away and knowing that my good-bye to Gramps and last hug was ten months ago. I had been able to send him a few messages while being here and in the last one he replied to me and said that “[He] loved hearing the birds in the background and they sounded sweet like [me].” I’m glad I got to hear his voice one last time, just two weeks ago.

But I don’t think that it was a coincidence that Gramps went to be with Jesus the week of Easter. The week that we are remembering the life of our Savior going to Calvary, dying on the cross for our sins, and resurrecting to go to Heaven to be with His Heavenly Father.

This is another life to be remembered.

Jesus Christ.

I think that Gramps would want this message to be turned around this way. That as much as he would for us love to sit and reminisce on the wonderful times we’ve each had with him, he would love even more to point us each back to the cross. I feel like Gramps was always quick to comment on God’s faithfulness in hard times, peace in times of question, and strength when it seemed we couldn’t hold on anymore. These are the truths I’m holding on to now.

Saying goodbye is hard, but he gets to celebrate with our Savior. And I’m sure he is joyous. Gramps knew that times in life could be hard and difficult, but I don’t think he faith wavered – at least as long as I knew him. He lived with a view of eternity, knowing that someday he would be seated beside Jesus because of the death he died for each of us. This understanding led him to be able to love like Jesus loved, unconditionally. I will greatly miss Gramps, as so many people will, but I smile thinking about the impact he made on my life.

I know Jesus’ love better because of Gramps, and for that I am thankful.

A Week Worth Celebrating

Tuesday was Ekisa’s three-year birthday! Crazy how fast this past year has flown, and I think even crazier for Emily and Emily to think of where the past three have gone. Lots of mixed emotions in remembering all the joys, struggles, good times, and bad. We had plans of planning a big birthday party, but like many things, bigger things come up, and plans like big parties get pushed aside. We still enjoyed our day – went out for a nice lunch, then came back and had a party with the kids. We usually celebrate birthdays by months, but having missed a couple, we celebrated all the kids’ birthdays from December, January, and February! Cake, music, dancing, presents – birthday parties, though small, are something that we do right!

Then today, we had a party for Zeke and Viola. Viola is our physiotherapist, and she has officially adopted Zeke, and today he officially went home. Such a long time coming, but such a beautiful story that I feel blessed to have witnessed and been able to be a part of. This makes our second domestic adoption case! Definitely something worth celebrating!

Check out Ekisa's facebook page for some links to some amazing videos of these events!!

It's been awhile

Yes, I know, and a lot has been going on.

January went quickly. Way too quickly, as we were preparing to say good-bye to Walter who was getting resettled with his dad (and family). We had sleepovers, movie nights, Saturdays at the pool, trips to town with the aunties, and lots and lots of cuddles and hugs. We also were busy game-planning for 2014 – goals, ideas, things that worked, things that didn’t, Ekisa as a whole, social work specific, just all across the board. Lots and lots of meetings. Em and I had several meetings in Kampala with adoption agencies and other organizations that we are striving to work with. [Still waiting and praying through information received in those.] But like I said, time went all too quickly.

February 1^st, Walter went home with his dad, step-mom, and brothers and sisters. Talk about answers to prayers! Hearts very happy, but lots of tears in saying good-bye. Emily will be sharing more about his story in the Ekisa blog, hopefully soon, but such a story of redemption.

The next week Erika and I headed out of Jinja for a week vacation. A time to relax, unwind, recharge, and be refilled with the hope, strength, and peace that only comes from our Savior. We headed to Kampala for one night, and then took a bus to Lake Bunyonyi in southwestern Uganda for three days. It was beautiful, but not the lay in the sun, swim in the lake vacation I had thought. It was cold! Though everyone in America will laugh at this in comparison to your cold winter, we were freezing! Long-sleeves, jeans, sweatshirts, a wool blanket to wrap in wherever we sat, and socks with our flip-flops. I think we wore the same thing for three days because we only packed one “cold weather outfit”. My taste of winter this year! But it was really wonderful. We got to read a ton, play games, watch a couple movies, eat some great food, and allow ourselves to be completely under-whelmed with life when so much of life is Jinja is overwhelming.

When we left we headed to Rwanda. We were there for less than 48 hours, but still a nice little visit. We took public transportation to the border, had to walk across, then find public to get to Kigali. Oh what fun we had trying to communicate with people who do not speak English or Luganda, but French and Kinyarwanda – both of which Erika and I know not a lick. But we got on a matatu that we were pretty sure was headed to Kigali right before a huge thunderstorm hit. Sitting in the front of the van, driving on the opposite side of the road (or the same as the US, just opposite to Uganda), in the middle of a storm, swerving between Rwanda’s 1000 hills, there wasn’t a lot more we could do than laugh a bit. Just add it to the list of my travel stories!

In Kigali, we went to the Genocide Memorial, which was incredible to see, but so eye-opening to something that I knew so little about. To think this happened in 1994, and how everyone in Rwanda my age, or older, has the genocide as part of their story. It impacted them in some way. We were very humbled and thankful to get to experience this culture (even for a little bit) and get to celebrate with them in the reconciliation that has happened over the past [almost] twenty years. Afterwards, we got lunch with some Rwandans (friends of a friend), and then spent the rest of the day hanging out in the city.

The next morning we woke early to hop on a bus headed back to Kampala. Spending all day on the bus we drove to our lodge and got KFC – yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken in Uganda – for dinner. Not that I would really ever go there in the States, but the little things from home can be really exciting! Before going to bed, we watched some of the Olympics and got to cheer on some mogul skiers!

The next day we were going to head back to Jinja midday, but after getting back in touch with people from Ekisa, heard that it had been one heck of a week, and we had gotten close to 10 referrals for either admittance or our Community Care program. One of those little girls, we were going to meet in Kampala to take to the doctor’s, as she was very malnourished and possibly more severely sick. So after spending a bit more time in Kampala, going to the doctor, taking tests, and waiting on results, we got home around midnight – all to wake up and dive right back into the busyness of everything that was going on. Somehow, the week leveled out and with the help of our awesome social work and community care teams, most of our loose ends got tied up and we admitted several new families into our Community Care program.

Then this week I got to go with Diana, one of our rock star social workers, to do home visits for Jason and Walter. Oh, it was wonderful! I was kind of sick, with a pretty bad cold that I am still recovering from, but apart from that it was great! Getting to see both of them at home with their families. Going to school, walking home with Jason, seeing their houses, their animals, surprising Walter, eating lunch and drinking tea, getting to experience a small amount of the village life of these kids – I could go on, but I was continuously reminded and felt like I was seeing what the Lord sees and was smiling. Knowing that He placed them in these families to be loved for and cared for, to grow and to learn. I was happy because I knew He was happy and that families make Him smile. We have a pretty great God and I’m thankful to have been able to see and experience something that I believe He holds a little closer to His heart, a child going home and belonging in a forever family, just as He longs for us to come and be a part of His family that lasts for eternity.

A Very Happy Birthday

Well this New Year has started off busy. Stacy, our admin person, dealing with all money, salary, receipts, etc., was away for six-weeks over Christmas, so I have been keeping up with all of her stuff, as well as trying to stay on top of mine. To say that accounting skills are not my strength is an understatement. But somehow I managed and she came back on Sunday morning, much to my relief:)

Last week though, getting to celebrate my birthday here, was pretty special. Mind you, it was the first year out of the past six that I have not been skiing with Dad either on my birthday or a couple days give or take around my birthday – so inklings of missing home were definitely there. Thursday, on my birthday, I had to go be at Ekisa the whole day because Emily and Emily had to go to Kampala and Erika was at a training conference, so I got stuck holding down the fort. Which in all honesty is not much to complain about.

When I walked into Ekisa, a big group of the kids and mamas gathered around me and started singing Happy Birthday. I really wish I had it on video, because it definitely tops as my favorite Happy Birthday ever! The rest of the day I really spent as little time in the office as I could, with the exception of getting a few things done, and spent as much time getting cuddles from kids as possible. I think Rachel told me “Happy Birthday” every time I walked into a room the entire day with the amount of enthusiasm as the first time she saw me. Zeke told me “Birthday wo” (meaning “your birthday”) every time he saw me, and plenty of kids asked me where the cake was/when we were having it. Made me feel a little bit guilty that we weren’t even having cake until the next day, and sadly there wouldn’t be enough to share. That evening, Emily, Emily, Erika, Ditte, and I went out for a nice dinner and it was great to spend time with them, and feel loved and celebrated. Really thankful for each of their friendships.

Friday, I took the day to myself. A friend had sent me money for a “free day” to use however, and I found it on my birthday as I was getting out birthday cards that had been written to me before I left. So I used that money and treated myself to a Ugandan ‘spa day’ which included a mani, pedi, facial, and full body massage for the equivalent of $30! Only in Africa, I suppose! That night we had cake and played games with a couple more friends from around town, and it was really enjoyable. Saturday, Sam came over for the afternoon and while I cleaned my room, we listened to music and he drew me pictures, he helped me make food for dinner, we watched Peter Pan, and he finished my birthday cake from the night before. Fun birthday celebrations all around!

Twenty-three was a pretty great year, and I’m excited for twenty-four!

2014

Well, like so many people, on this first day of 2014, I am sitting here reflecting on the past year. And I am blown away.

I started the year back in Charlottesville finishing up my last semester of college, student teaching in a wonderful classroom with eight precious, little boys.

I lived by myself, housesitting for five months, with a dog and three cats – for most of the time anyway.

I got involved in a Community Group through Portico Church, and was a part of awesome fellowship. I got baptized, and became a member of the church. The first time I’ve done this by myself.

 Through many prayers and back and forths, I decided to go back to Uganda, and despite Dad’s reservations, bought a one-way ticket.

I got to celebrate with one of my best friends, and be part of such a beautiful wedding and incredible day!

I graduated with my Masters’ degree in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Virginia.

I left for Uganda on June 1^st, and apart from some minor (major?) snags at the airport, made it there safely. Such an incredible peace being back in a country and a place that seemed to grab a hold of such a big piece of my heart. And the smiles of these kids, so incredibly wonderful!

I began my role as Adoption Coordinator, something so new to me, but so humbling being able to allow the Lord to work through me despite inadequacies I felt. We had good meetings, bad meetings, encouraging, discouraging, but through all of it, Jesus continued to comfort the questions I had, reminding me that while I’m fighting for His children, He already knows the plans He has for each of them.

Holly came to visit me, and I got to show her my life in Uganda. Such a wonderful visit with a wonderful friend.

I saw Jason go home with his family. With his brother and sisters and aunt. He now has a forever family. A child, who has lived in an orphanage his whole life, now has a home.

I met some great people coming and going through Jinja, but great friendships that challenged me, but pointed me to the cross. I am thankful for those.

I have gotten involved in great community here, with others who are here longer-term, and able to invest in each other’s lives. Such a blessing to walk alongside others who are here serving and following the Lord’s call for their life.

I got to work with our two amazing social workers with our second domestic adoption case, see an amazing woman pursue and desire a child, and become a mom.

My parents came to visit! I never thought that my Dad would be here, but they both were, and I couldn’t be more blessed to have been able to share all of this with them. I got to experience new parts of Uganda with them, like raft the Nile and visit Sipi Falls. And we got to celebrate Thanksgiving together.

I got to be a part of Amy’s story, whose Mom had been lied to and manipulated, but who continued to fight for her daughter. Amy was resettled with her mom right before Christmas.

I celebrated Christmas in Uganda. Bittersweet not being home, but I love that it is now part of my story, having gotten to celebrate the birth of our wonderful Savior with these kids that I love so dearly.

I brought in the New Year with friends, eating our belated Christmas dinner, watching Ugandan fireworks, playing games, and complete with champagne.

I know I forgot things, but looking back on the last year, these things stand out. I have spent seven months of the last year in Uganda, something I don’t think I ever would have planned or thought. But I am so incredibly thankful.

It’s hard for me to even think about what 2014 will bring – but I’m so excited. Thank you for taking the time to follow me in this journey that the Lord is taking me on. I know He has big plans for this next year, bigger than I can imagine and better than I could plan.

So here’s to the start of 2014!

Love from Uganda from Sam and me!