Great Possibilities!

Happy Thanksgiving! God, I am thankful - most of all for You. Thank you for Your presence, Your guidance, love and teaching. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

Learning Points -

1. Uganda has over 66 tribes. The tribes don't have a sense of pride for their land, thus the division in the country.


2. Uganda is approximately 80% Christian. However there is a big movement from Muslims to try and take over the country. The surrounding countries are strongly Muslim and would like to have the whole continent of Africa Muslim. They have built the second largest Mosque to make Kampala appealing and they have "sanctified" the area so Muslims are able to visit and not be so cautious due to their customs and beliefs.


3. Africa was based on witchcraft and it is still strong today. Watoto has a child that was "sacrificed" and sold to witchcraft for money.

Today's Happenings...

I guess I haven't adjusted to the time difference (10 hours difference), I awoke at 3:00 and stayed awake. So today has been long, but I'm not really tired.

Breakfast was served. Cereal like at home (Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes and even Frosted Flakes), toast and eggs. The eggs look different and I wasn't sure if it was how they were prepared or what because they were so white. But then I discovered the eggs here have more of a white yolk than the yellow we are used to at home. The cereal was served with warmed milk, which even made the cereal soggy faster. We had OJ - which was very, very sweet, and little bananas too (very sweet as well).

After breakfast we got ourselves together had a meeting and then went to the baby facility. Everyone was eager and excited to see all the babies. The facility is very clean, well organized and has a great volunteer staff. The facility is in the center of town which makes it convenient to the hospital and the community. None of Watoto's children are adoptable, they just don't do it. It is their goal to raise the future of Uganda - one child at a time. The facility has plenty of room, and each room has a certain age. The facility holds ages from newborn up to 2/3 years old. The cribs (which are made by the Watoto kids who are in the vocational school) are wooden and build according to the size of the babies. They even have a down syndrome baby who has a double size crib because he needs the movement. The facility has a play area inside and outside, a sun room area for the 6-9 month old range babies, a kitchen, laundry facility located outside (equipped with three washers & three dryers!), and even have a "hospital" room for babies who are ill. Today it had two babies in it due to recovery from chicken pox.
After the tour we spent some time playing with the babies. I found the 3-6 month old babies who were waiting to be fed and I was put to work. What a joy! One baby started crying and then all the rest followed. My job was to quiet them. There was a baby named Samuel who was quite small and was content if held, but as I held him and patted him everything came out. I cleaned him but didn't care that I was "marked" nor dirty. Some of the babies just want attention. One baby particularly just wanted to "coo" (talk) to someone, so I listened. I had the privilege to feed a baby named Destiny. She responded so well to touch and fell asleep when I sang to her. At the same time another baby named Mia was almost crawling in my lap. I did bond with Destiny and found it hard to let her go. All these babies cope with their situation, but it did sadden my heart to know they were still hungry for attention and for love. Watoto has provided so much, and cares deeply about their emotional side and does provide for this need as well as their others. There are four babies to every one caregiver.

I have noticed that many of the babies have a "bulge" where their belly button is. I'm received two different responses so I'm not sure exactly what it is...either a hernia or just how the umbilical cord is cut.
I also saw how we have spoiled our children by cushioning their falls and protecting them so much that I wonder if we have limited our kids. For I have seen little babies crawling up the play structure and going down a slide and at an age I would have never let my girls do such a thing! I even saw the caregivers tell the babies potty time...and these 1 yr old babies would walk in from their lunch, receive help taking their diapers off and sit down on their potty chairs. We (Americans) wouldn't think of such a thing because we wouldn't want to damage the child's psyche and we would wait until they are ready for such a task. These kids just do, and have to learn at a young age probably to help save money.

We loaded on the bus, and went to the "mall" where we had lunch and checked email. Then we came back "home" - only after a quick stop for Italian ice-cream! Yum!

After we had were home some of the group (remember there is 44 of us and 5 hosts) sat outside and talked, just simply getting to know each other. We also learned of each other's home countries as well as our different individual back grounds...we talked and talked, and then talked even more. I see that we are all the same - we all have a heart for our Lord and a heart to serve Him. We also share an appreciation of what Watoto is doing.

Dinner was served - rice, potatoes with some sort of sauce, vegetable and fish! (Yuck!) Each meal is served with Coke or Fanta - in glass bottles.

I have noticed that I haven't seen a mosquito until now - and felt a bite of another through my jeans. But as for bugs, it really hasn't been an issue...until I pulled our my journal tonight and found them inside. Now I'm a bit paranoid!

How I Have Experienced God Today....

Peter (a host) shared with me how Watoto is training their kids how to accept being an orphan, how not to use it to try and get pity. These children won't succeed in life if they don't accept their situation and keep dwelling in it. They want them to learn that their situation isn't who they are. And then as I listened it came to me...how I have accepted my situations as who I am, how I have allowed them to claim me and not let me live my full potential. Isn't that what we are taught? It is time that I break free, and allow God to fully use the person He created in me.

I also felt privileged and full of joy as I was able to serve God by serving "the least of these". I was able to sing Jesus Loves You to the babies I held, to sing blessings upon them and God's promises. I held God's creation in my arms and knew each was purposely created, and through Him they each have hope for not only a future but great possibilities.