WARNING: This has the potential to be a really long post. Sorry if I lose you! I have a lot to tell, but and working the next 4 nights =)
The above picture is what we saw as we were flying to Amsterdam. Of course, the picture doesn't do the moment justice as the beauty was breathtaking. We knew we were going to spend the next 10 days with 12 other women, loving on babies and taking in a nation recovering from war, tragedy and Aids. That sight was how I felt inside. A new start, a fresh day with the potential to change anything. A little side note...You know God is in it and gathered each of us by name to be on this trip when 13 women are together 24/7 and there was not even a hint of pettiness or catty attitudes once on the trip. In fact, we all couldn't wait to see each other again the next day at church. I felt sad when I woke up alone and not in my bed inbetween Janet and Whitney...when Janet is threatening to cook the rooster who has no idea what time it is and Whitney and I are cracking up.
So we arrive and our fantastic guide Phillip and the driver stuff all of our 27 bags and 13+ carry on's into 24 seat bus. From there we were off! We got a night of rest and went to church the next day where we had a little orientation and had the honor of watching one of the children's choirs practice for a tour in a few months. We sat in the front row, smiles glued to our faces and choking back tears. When you hear an orphan sing "I am not forgotten, God knows my name"and "praise him, o my soul praise him" in a sweet child voice while busting out beautiful African moves all at the same time...your heart does more than melt. Finally we got to the place our heart had been desiring for the past 8 months.
THE BULRUSHES: a babies home right in the middle of the city full of 50 babies. The environment here was a controlled chaos, as they have a schedule and stick to it, everyone is always busy doing something. Since I work in an ER...this was my favorite place...I love the busy surroundings! Once nap time was over, it was game on. We got to feed them, change them, and did our best to hug and kiss as many as we could. We played for a few hours on blankets on the floor where we quickly became the toys. I remember looking up at one point and all of us had 3+ babies in our laps, on our backs or using our bodies to stand up and get our attention. One day we took "the toddlers" out for a walk and to the mall to play at a playground. This required us carrying them through Kampala traffic...which is basically playing frogger everytime you need to cross a street. They LOVED it! The next day we took the itty-bitties out for a walk at Serena Gardens. I had little Emmanuel, who was asleep before, during and after. But being 3 weeks old, there was no need for him to care and I could not have been more content to have a baby resting against my chest in a Baby Bjorn. My hardest moment came when we had to leave. As we put our babies down, they started WAILING! How do you walk away from that? So I picked them up again, hugged them tight and kissed their little heads and put them back down. I had to walk away before I started crying as hard as they did.
Sunday we went to WATOTO CHURCH: which the Holy Spirit was all over and I decided in that moment, it would be great to be African. Our group experienced a little piece of what heaven will be like. We worshiped, in awe of God (a huge theme of our trip that He made known from the beginning). It wasn't our typical American style service...although similar in ways...it cemented that God is the same in every part of His creation.
After church we went to BBIRA: a Watoto Village containing over 900 children. Our team broke up into small groups and ate lunch with a family who had made us traditional African food. Which I thought was quite tasty, but outside of seafood, there's very little I don't like. Each home is made up of a house mother and her 8 children, there are 8-9 homes in a circle with one being set above to look over the circle. I think there were 15 circles there. All the children refer to other kids as their brother or sister. Biology means very little in the villages as they truly take to heart that "It takes a village to raise a child" It's responsibilty of everyone. I fell in love with our family and they gave us a tour of the entire village, which includes schools, a store and church that is open to people outside the village as well. I know the kids were probably on their best behavior, but NOT ONCE did I see children fighting. I saw more older children picking up and taking care of their younger siblings, walking with arms around each others shoulders and hand in hand. Watoto children are some of the most polite children I've ever come across...and I come across different children everyday.
Next up SUUBI: a breathtaking community in the mountains. Watoto has a production line here that makes everything that goes into the babies homes and villages. They offer older children and men of the community outside of Watoto the opportunity to learn a job skill and employ them. We visited the school, many beautiful young women in their sewing class, and tons of other kids learning different subjects. I forget how many circles are here and the amount of children...but it was A LOT as well. The babies home at Suubi is beautiful. The complete opposite of the bulrushes. It's removed from the city, crisp air, incomparable views. There are about 30 babies here, 11 with special needs. Moses 5 yrs old, who has hydrocephalus, is the funniest kid there, bossing everyone around, answering for everyone and if I had a question about what to do, he would tell me. As of a year ago he wasn't even walking or talking. God does miracles.
Then we went 5 hrs north to GULU: an area that up until the past couple of years was considered to be very dangerous. Ripped apart by war, children hiding in the bush. We visited Living Hope, a place where vulnerable women have been restored their dignity and hope. Their stories are to tragic to share, but they would rather you know about how Jesus changed their life anyway. They have been through some of the worst atrocities women can face and yet, they have smiles a mile wide. They have gone through rehabilitation counseling and 4,000 women have come to know Christ! They are given jobs to make scarves, purses, dolls and jewelry. They make peanut butter and have discovered ways to make sanitary pads out of papyrus. Most girls drop out of school when they start menstruating. Now they can complete school and become well educated citizens ready to change the face of a nation. Where Living Hope is housed used to be an Internally Displaced Peoples camp where children would run to at night for protection and the fear of being abducted and forced into being a child soldier. Baby Gulu had about 20 babies. All just as precious as the first 80 we'd met. This is the newest home. You could tell the difference of the nannies here and in the bulrushes. The babies know who is responsible for them and are more attached. There are just so many in the city that it's all hands on deck. One of my favorite moments of the trip came when we walked the streets back to the guest house. We were walking where so much pain had taken place. War was here, but now freedom is here! Within minutes we had a pack of kids following us, walking with us and running out to greet us. It was a special trip and we all felt so blessed to have been able to see it and experience it. We also got to cross the Nile (AMAZING!) and it was the roughest water! Philip told me it would be considered a Level 6 rapid. We fed monkeys and laughed as a few of the girls had to go to the bathroom in the bush and Philip kept watch of the baboons that were only a football field away.
I left with mixed emotions. I thought I would leave wanting to move back for 6mos, but now I think I'll just do a month or two when God tells me the time is right. Uganda takes care of Uganda. Even Watoto takes the extra clothes for babies and give it to other local orphanages who don't get as many donations. 50% of the population is under age 15 and 70% is under age 30. There is huge potential for this country! The church in one weekend had 1500 families step up to sponser children in need in the villages. The men go to villages every week to be fathers to the fatherless. The women give up their lives to raise a responsible generation. Watoto is a well thought out organization. I did not see one aspect of life that was not effected by the Church. They know the ecomony will cause support to drop...enter production line, a self sustaning business. They know the value of education, so they find a way to change life for teenage girls. I did not walk away feeling sorry for the people of Uganda. I walked away praising God that He is SO ACTIVE and ALIVE in that nation! Thanking Him for the vision he has given Watoto and the faith of the church to believe that He is able to do it! We came back to Atlanta knowing, because we have seen it is possible, that we need to dream big. That God is able and wanting to do major things in our city. We want to be his hands and feet here. Burden and hurting for our own city that has it's own fair share of needs and hurts and least of these. We don't know what the future looks like for us, and it could still be years off, but God's Hope is coming to Atlanta. His name will be glorified.
This was our last view as we walked to our terminal to come back to ATL. God's promise. A fitting way to end a trip but start a lifetime.
