The sun was starting to set as I walked out of the gate of
my current residents. I was simply checking to see what the neighborhood kids
were up too. Sometimes I go out there and there are about 20 of them just
running around playing or simply standing around and talking. However, this
time, there was only one child standing there. I went to greet him and asked
him how he was doing. “Oltya?” I say, which is, how are you? In Luganda.
“Jendi,” (fine) he responds. I do not recognize this child. He then tells me his
name is Charles and does not have school fees, but that he would like them. He
is 12. He tells me his father died recently in a motorcycle wreck and now his
family cannot afford for him to go to school. He just moved in with his aunt
and uncle. I tell him I cannot promise him anything but I can see if we can get
him on the list of kids who need sponsors. The boy’s uncle then walked up to us
and tells me that the boy is a good kid. I tell him I will try to help. He then
points to another boy walking up the drive. He tells me that this child’s twin
sister died last night and they just told the boy today.
Heart
broken I walk over to the other boy who seems to be showing no emotion at all.
Emily, another missionary, is with the boy. For the next hour more kids would
come and gather around as Emily and Obbo (our guard) would try and get the
story out of the boy. I would distract the other boys by reading to them from
the Bible on my Ipad as it was dark now. It was encouraging to have seven kids
from 5 to 17 gathered with their heads around as I read about Moses in
Deuteronomy. When we went inside the gate I was able to get the rest of the
story of the boy who lost his sister.
The boy
is nine years old and one of many children. His name is Joel and, he says he is
one of 20 but only he and his two sisters stayed at his home with his mother; one
of the sisters being the one who died just the night before. His father stays
with another woman in the village. The woman wanted his father to stay with her
and so he did. He is a farmer. I am guessing that the other 17 children are
from other women that his father has had relation with. They are Muslim so they
may also be his different wives. He and his sister had been very sick for a
long time. He had gotten better she did not. The family had tried everything to
help his sister. They went to a witch doctor in the village who their family
works a lot with. It sounds as if the witch doctor has some sort of strong hold
on Joel’s family as his family keeps going back even though people keep getting
sick. Obbo was helping Emily with translation and made it sound as if there was
some powerful spiritual attacking going on with the witch doctor and the
family. Finally, the Joel’s mother sold everything so that she could afford to
take his sister to the hospital. The girl improved but then got sick again and
died. The family now has on money and the boy stopped going to school when the
mother had to give all their money to the doctor. He now needs a sponsor as
well to attend school. This is a minor detail to the fact that he did not get
to go to his sister’s funeral. He is not allowed to see his sister’s body or
even the casket or the vehicle carrying the casket. They believe that as a twin
if he sees any of this he will become sick and die as well. He has been told
that he cannot cry or show that he is sad. He was outside the gate that night with
family friends who he used to stay with while he was in school. The rest of his
family was at the funeral that took place that day. He would go back with his
family the following day.
I have
been finding it hard to put into perspective some of the things that I am being
exposed too while here in Uganda. The best way to do so I figured was by simply
sharing the stories of the people I am meeting while here. It seems my emotions
have become numb to stories like these two boys. My heart still breaks for them
but my response is not so much an emotional shock as it was in the beginning. I
seem to be over that. I simply desire for Jesus to heal these situations. I
understand that He is the only one that can help either of these kids and will
be the only one that can rescue them. Hopefully we can get them on a list to be
sponsored but only time will tell. The good news is that God uses situations
like these and people like these to magnify His Glory. For that is simply why
we were created, to bring glory to God. I hope to spend more time with these
kids in the coming weeks and love them in anyway that I can. God loves me and
my response to that is to love others.
This is why I am here. This is why
I feel God has brought me to Uganda. No amount of money, no amount of service,
no teaching, no education or knowledge will give hope like Jesus does.
Certainly all of those other things can help or even lead to the understanding
of Jesus, but while I am here, if I could give that hope to just one person,
child or adult, that it may bring glory to God then my time here was worth it.
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