Day 4 June 28th

Day

June 28^th, 2011 Tuesday

Today we went to a Remand Home for children between the ages of 12 and 18. This is a jail for kids. There were about 150 kids there ranging in age and only 10 or so were girls. The boys and the girls are hard to tell apart when you are far away because they all have the same short hair cut. This was located about 25 minutes from where we are staying. It would be a lot less of a drive if traffic was not so bad. There are few paved roads to drive on and the ones that are have so many people on them.

We got to the home at 10am and stayed until 1pm. They were waiting for us in an outside covered cement structure sitting on benches. We went to the front of all of them and each one of us introduced ourselves. They were very interested in knowing about us, where we were from, our age, our name, if we have any kids, if we are married and if we go to school. They gave out some loud claps for the girls that were under 20 (I think they thought they had a better chance with the younger ones...ha!).

After introductions they brought out drums and sang for us. We then sat with them and taught them 2 different bible songs and did a bracelet craft with them that they could then wear. They were excited to get anything. Just like ducks that swarm at you when you are handing out bread...if you hand one of them anything, they all ask for something. I even saw kids putting the left over plastic bags from their craft in their pockets. We took pictures with them and they showed off their bracelets proudly. They were then pretty warm to all of us and loved seeing the pictures after we took them on our digital cameras. They started doing silly faces and wanting to take their own pictures and look at themselves.

We didn't have a lot of open space to play around in but we ended up have 3 different areas where we played Twister, soccer and just free play with the balls, jump ropes and balloons that we brought. It was so interesting to see them playing soccer and holding on to their balloon because they didn't want to let it go. It was so fun to play soccer with them. I set up 3 vs. 3 and when a team scored, the losing team went off and the winning team stayed on. There was a lot more rotation that way. It was fun to see them getting into it and they enjoyed me playing with them. When I wasn't in a game I was juggling with some of the other boys. This was a great opportunity to talk with them and learn a few words in their language of Luganda (even though the national lanuguage is English only the older ones speak it well and the younger learn in school. “Waybelay” means thank you and “Ya” means ball. I don't know the spelling but that is the way it was pronounced to me.

There were only a few standoffish kids that did not participate. Most of them wanted to participate and talk and some spoke English and some didn't. There was a great kid named “R” (for the sake of his privacy). He did not talk much until he started playing soccer. It was really neat to see him open up. He asked me how many languages that I knew. I told him only one. He laughed. In Uganda there are many different languages and he said he knew 4 and was working on his French. R is 17 and had been at this facility for 2 months. His mother died when he was 8 and his father when he was 12. He said he was watching sports on the tv out somewhere and the police arrested him and took him here. He had such a contagious smile and soft heart but downcast eyes. R told me about the demon possessed men that roam around Kampala. I told him we actually saw a guy walking down the street yesterday naked. He said that we saw someone that was “mad” and that demon possessed people only walk around at night. This provided such a great chance to talk about God and how he is always with us and always hears our prayers. He said he believed in God and Jesus and I asked him if I could pray for him. It was so awesome and I was so thankful for the opportunity. I was glad that I held it together and didn't break down crying. He thanked me. I tried to encouraged him to maintain his joy, his smile and his hope. I also challenged him to be a helpmate to the younger kids in the facility and be a leader.

Please pray for “R”. God knows who he is! I pray that he will finish school and go on to college (University) as they call it. He said he wants to go to Canada because he heard there are a lot of sports there. These kids are sweet, friendly and open to the gospel. There was never any fear being there. They seem like everyday normal kids to us without our provisions. They tell jokes, they make fun of each other and they like to learn about us.

“K” was a funny kid. He wanted to know if I drove a porsche, mercedes or a BMW. I told him none of the above and he seemed surprised. He also asked me where I play soccer for money and what team I am on. Ha! They all stared at my nike running shoes, my watch and my necklace. They even asked for my sunscreen just so they could have something to keep from us. One boy touched my spikey unshaven legs and they all laughed.

They were very respectful and wanted to know if we could come back tomorrow. It was the first time Visiting Orphans had been at this facility and I know it will not be the last. A worker at the facitily asked us if we were social workers and why did we come here? We came because God loves us and we want to share that with others. Wow, he said....the Lord will bless you for this, doing this out of your own generosity. Comments like that just make you think, there is SO MUCH more we COULD be doing. Just showing up is a blessing. God blesses us materially and we can bless others materially. The boys were so excited to be able to keep the balls and other games that we brought. BUT, those things will wear out and I pray that we will not forget to PRAY for these kids and show up wherever that need can be met. Sometimes that requires just listening to their stories.

We rest and eat dinner tonight and off to a prison tomorrow where there will be more restrictions on the kids and us. We will then head on to our first orphanage.