Oh, day 4, the first day in Jinja, the day of our visit at Pillars of Hope, the day four crazy ladies hopped of the bus to greet 100 enthusiastic Pillar's kids, the day I met Rose...
I'm not really sure how to begin this post, because I really just want to put a little aside about my sweet little friend Rose, first. I suppose chronological order is probably much easier to understand, though, so without further ado...
Day 4 Pt. 1
For days 1-3, we had been staying in Kampala, which is about 2 hours away from the Pillars location in Jinja, so on the morning of day 4 we hopped on our bus and made ourway to Jinja. Since we still had our luggage in tow, most of the group had to go to our hotel to unload, but we didn't want to keep the kids waiting, so a lucky four of us got to stay at Pillars of Hope while the others unloaded at King Fisher. Though I am sometimes sarcastic, I definitely didn't mean the previous statement to come across that way. We were really the lucky four to get off the bus with those kids.
Seriously, have you ever gotten this kind of greeting from kids in America???
The Lucky 4
As we got off of the bus, tons of kids came screaming and running and reaching out for my hands. I loved every minute of it! In fact, that's one of the things I miss the most about Africa: the kids holding on to my arms, hands, and legs. The director of Pillars, Godfrey, was able to pry us away from the kids for a few short moments to tell us about their ministry. I was so inspired by this man of God who has such vision! Godfrey really wants to build a rehab center that will help the kids permanently reform their old street habits.
As soon as Godfrey was finished talking to us, we went outside to play games with the kids. A few American games like Simon Says quickly gave way to Ugandan games, which were so fun to learn. The kids thought it was hilarious when we tried to sing/chant some of the songs in their language.
While we were playing games in a large group, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a shy and quiet little girl standing amongst a group of kids about twice her size.
I went over to her and couldn't help but pick her up! She didn't even really smile for much of the time I held her, though I did manage to get a few smiles and giggles out of her after awhile. She wrapped her arm around my neck and rested her head on my shoulder and never seemed to want to be put down.
Dear me, I was ready to pack her up and bring her home with me!
Ugh...this picture just makes my heart ache. Precious Rose, I could have held you in my arms for our entire two week stay in Africa without once wanting to put you down. I wish your sweet little head was still resting on my shoulder, that I could embrace your small body in one more warm hug, that I could replace your tattered dress with a whole wardrobe of clean, un-ripped clothes, that your beautiful smile would sheepishly appear once more. I pray that you feel the unfailing love of Jesus, today, and every day for the rest of your life. Know that you were created so specially by Him, and He loves you know matter what!
Notice in the picture above, Rose's torn dress. Well, thanks to the hard work of those involved in a few pre-trip sewing parties, we were able to give each girl a new dress, each boy a new shirt and hat, and all of the kids got a new pair of flip-flops! I am so glad that Rose, and all the kids for that matter, are able to have something to remember from our team. Also, I am so thankful that God was able to use our team to meet a basic need for these kids!
Day 4 Pt. 2
I'll just be honest, I was really emotionally drained after leaving Pillars of Hope. I broke down crying on the bus, because Rose had stolen a piece of my heart away. We all know that it always hurts when pieces of your heart are left in places where you're not.
My sadness aside, God, who always delivers when we're doing His work, refreshed my spirit enough so that I was functional at our next ministry, Amani Baby Cottage.
We got a tour of the complex, then were able to choose which age we wanted to go play with. I hung around in a "grove-like" area with a bunch of toddlers. They were so funny. One little boy named Jonah insisted on painting my fingernails with a yellow crayon! The whole time we were out in the grove, all you heard was "Auntie! Auntie!" because that's what the kids in Uganda/Kenya call adults.
I also spent a lot of time with this little sweetie, Jemima.
After spending a couple of hours at Amani, we headed to our hotel in Jinja, King Fisher. After killing some huge-mongus spiders and a mammoth cockroach (well, ok, I didn't kill them, but I watched!!), I was able to rest soundly after a really emotional day.
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