Team member and adopted mother of our room, Jenny Clark, told us the morning of day 6 that we were going to visit her "Jesus Super Hero" Katie Davis. Though I have never dubbed Katie my Jesus Super Hero, she truly is one. The only reason I was even on this trip to Africa was her blog, which helped me connect with Visiting Orphans. Katie is a young woman of God, who has selflessly stepped out in faith, taking seriously Jesus' words to care for the less fortunate. She started and runs Amazima ministry. Check out their website, here.
On Saturdays, Katie runs a feeding program for a whole host of hungry mouths, and we were fortunate enough to visit Amazima on a Saturday to see all of this take place.
[Just a small aside...a lot of the pics I'm using are from my team member Jenny...she captured the beauty of Africa much better than my little camera could...thanks for being awesome Jenny!]
We began our time at Amazima with worship, led by Raul. Hewas sooo good with the kids. First, we had songs, then Raul taught a lesson on the Good Samaritan.
Probably one of the most heart warming things I have ever seen happened later in the afternoon because of Raul's lesson. After all of the kids had gotten their food, some other kids who weren't a part of the program came to the fence, begging for food. These kids from Amazima went over to the fence, and started sharing the food they had just received! So, so sweet!
I spent a lot of day 6 trying to listen for God's voice. Though God had been working on my heart since we got to Uganda, when Katie told us her story, that's when He really hit me hard. Katie sat down with us and told us her story, basically how she found herself a mother of 13 living in Uganda, running a non-profit organization at such a young age. There is no way anyone could listen to her story and not feel God tugging on their heart. God's work through Katie is astounding. I felt and still do feel so inspired by Katie, but more importantly by God's story that Katie has chosen to take a role in.
That day, questions were mulling about in my head like: "Well, why can't I go?"; "Should I just up and leave after high school to serve overseas like Katie did?"; "God, do you want me here?" I actually had a hard time engaging whole-heartedly with the kids, because I just couldn't focus. I felt God prodding on my heart, and I was so confused. Don't get me wrong, I had a great day with the kids at Amazima, but for a while during the afternoon I was just walking around trying to conceal the tears that kept slowly creeping down my face. God was moving my heart in such a profound way, and I was so overwhelmed thinking about the possibility of living a life like Katie's. What would that look like for me? How would it feel to give up my family, my boyfriend, the comfort of security and safety? Did I feel this way for the right reasons, or was I just trying to copy Katie's life? Even after being home for over a month, I still haven't quite answered these questions. I do know that God has given me a heart for missions, and specifically for orphans. I do know that in the future whether that be in one year, five years, ten years, I will do something to reach out to orphans. I might live in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America. I might support orphans state-side. I might adopt, but for right now, I'll wait on the Lord. I'll pray for discernment, and I'll share His love with the people He's put in my life at this moment.
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