Uganda 2015: Day 3

This morning I woke up to the smell of fresh, made from scratch cinnamon rolls! The sunrise was amazing… As usual! I was super excited to get the day started because we were going to the orphanage and actually going to spend time with the kids!

When we got to the orphanage the group split up into two teams. One went to the elementary age classes and one to the younger classes to see the kids and say a little something to them. I went to the younger kids because they said we would probably see the babies too. In one of the class rooms Judy and Mike found the little girl they sponsor! The three of them were so happy! Seeing their joy made me excited to see my girls and my grandparents boy! My heart was so ready to see them. Then we learned the bad news that we did not have enough time to go to the baby house. I was disappointed, but knew there would be other chances. Plus, Denise said she would make sure I could see them.

The next event we had to hurry to was the “field day.” The elementary school kids were split into two groups. That way we would not have 1000+ kids to split into four teams and keep under control. The kids went to one of the four groups and then rotated after 10ish minutes. Each station had a game. I was going to be in the music one, but we decided to do it at the end all together. That ended up not happening. I went to the “over/under” group. That is where you have the kids line up and the person in front gets a ball, hands it to the person behind them from above their head. The next person would then put the ball between their legs to hand it off the the person behind them… Who went over their head etc. We did two lines so they could compete. The other groups were Simon says/ red light green light/ duck, duck, goose for one. A race where once kid ran to a pile of clothes, put them on, ran to their team and took the clothes off. Then they would do it again, but leave the clothes where they started. This team also had a “who can be louder” game. The last game was also a race with jump ropes and frisbees. This team eventually ran out of stuff to keep the kids entertained, so they did the songs instead. The kids had so much fun! The second age group of kids we had would cheer each other on so well! Some groups, when it was a competition, would have one kid cheat and throw the ball back a couple kids. Which then made one or two more do the same before we got the ball and started it back where it belonged. It was fun to see the differences in the kids. The younger were not as active or competitive as the older groups. Then, pretty much just like home, the boys were the ones to go crazy and get sidetracked easy.

When game time was over, we walked back up the hill (our hands and arms being held by at least 2-5 kids), put away our supplies, and went to lunch. Mama Esther packed us peanut butter sandwiches, bananas, soda, and we also had a case of water. I never thought a peanut butter sandwich could taste so good! We had extra time after lunch, so about half of us went to the baby house.

Oh, that baby house. My favorite part! Walking up to the building one baby sees you, yells “muzungu,” and you have a stampede running from inside the house. We were swarmed by sweet little faces! There is not anything sweeter! As I was standing there holding a little girl, I searched through the crowd for three familiar faces. I was sad because I did not know if any of them were my sponsor kids or grandparents sponsor kid. I had a guess of one girl that might have been my girl Kirabo, but was wrong. It was the girl I held last year. A baby house worker was walking by, so I stopped her and asked if she could help me find three babies. I did not know if giving just the first name would help, but it did! Tina had just walked out of the house so I picked her up right away and told her I was her sponsor. She may have understood, but I am not totally sure if she did at first. Then the lady found Kirabo, who was with one of my team members. I asked her if I could have my baby and she was happy to hand Kirabo over. My heart was so happy! All I needed was Frederick. Then my joy would be complete! He is my grandparents sponsor child. I wanted to send them a picture of him so bad! The lady was gone for about 5-10 minutes before she found him. Sadly, I did not have room on my lap for a third child. I had him sit next to me and I held his hand or rubbed his shoulder so he would be loved on too! I told him my grandparents loved him so much! There is nothing I can think of that would top this moment of the trip for me! I am so happy that my heart could explode!!!! Bryanna and I started singing a couple songs to/with the babies. Is was so fun! Then the sad part came when we had to leave. Kirabo did not want me to set her down and Frederick would not leave my side. Tina knew it was time for us to leave, but she gave me a big hug before she left. I also told them I love them. It was hard not to cry when I walked away. I did thank the lady again for finding them for me. She told me we might be back and she would help me find them again if I needed it since there are so many of them.

We had a meeting with the students who graduated last year. Then we had worship service with senior 1-6 grades. During worship the power for the band went out in the middle of the song. That did not stop us. We just kept praising Jesus! Instead of trying to shout/ sing more songs, JoAnne had the people sharing their testimonies go up. At the third and final speaker the sound came back on. He did an alter call and so many of the students raised their hand to accept Christ and many of them came up to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit too! I left early from the service because they needed to fill one of the vans so a sick team member could go home. The ride home was amazing. One of the couples, Judy and Mike, shared their testimonies in the car. It fit perfectly with what two of us are going through in life right now! We all shared what was going on and prayed for each other, our friends, and our families. It is amazing how God knew that we needed to be in the same car and our conversation needed to go the direction that it did!!!

When we got back to the house, the power was out. It had actually been out since just after we left in the morning. Today was amazing! I don’t know if there will be a day that can top it.