Sun Shines through the Storm

Let me just say…I LOVE UGANDA! I would only hesitate slightly if God said, “Nicole, this is where I want you for the rest of your life.” The dirt, trash, poverty, smells, heat, bugs, and anything else I have experienced here do not even tint my love for this country.  I admit Uganda is not for everyone. Not everyone can handle this. I never would have thought that I, of all people, would love Africa like I do. There have been some CRAAAAAZY things going on here, but my focus is not on the craziness. My focus is on how God has worked through the craziness and showed me blessings beyond measure.

The past few weeks Nicole and I have gone to Jinja for church. Two weeks ago we brought all the kids with us: Mercy, Eva, Joseph, Ben, Susan, and John. Talk about a car load! We always take the taxi to Jinja…you know, the taxis where chickens attack your feet :) lol. Anyway, before I go any further, I want to make sure you know that the following story I am going to tell is VERY untypical and in the past two months I have been here I have never experienced this and don’t expect to experience it again. We loaded the taxi with all the kids. There was one seat left available. The taxi will not leave until all the seats are filled. We told them we will pay for THE extra seat if they just leave so we can get to church. Well, they didn’t leave right away. So we weren’t going to give them the 2,000 shillings that it cost for that seat. So we rode aaaaaaaaaaall the way to Jinja enjoying the ride. Upon arriving in Jinja, the taxi conductor (the one who collects the money) told us we owed him for all the seats left over in the van. This was about 3x what we should have paid! We refused to pay that amount of money. Clearly, we did not say we would pay for all the remaining seats in the van once arriving in Jinja. Because we are Mzungus they want to charge us more money. The argument got heated as he would not let us out of the van. We were in the very back so we couldn’t just get out. So with a mixture of fear and frustration, we tried to get him to understand that he needed to let us out and he was charging way too much money. A policeman walked by and we called to him. Unfortunately, he took the side of the conductor and not the mzungus. They told us they were taking us to the police. They planned on detaining us and the children until we payed the amount we owed. In continuing fear and anger and safety of the children, we told them to just let us out and paid the atrocious amount of money the conductor was charging. Thankfully, I remember what that conductor looks like and I will never get in a taxi with him again. We were flustered, anxious, shaking, and angry but we were safe and more than ready to head to church. We called bodas and told them where to go. Naturally, they took us to the wrong place. THIS IS THE GOOD PART! The wrong place ended up being a gift from God :) We were supposed to be going to Acacia Community Church. Where they took us was to the house of the Pastor of that church! As we pulled up to the gate thinking “This is not the church,” Pastor Terry and his wife were pulling their van out of the driveway. They stopped and we told them we were headed to Acacia. They told us to hop in the van, they were just headed there. Normally they have three loads of people, but that day they only had two. God gave them their third load…Us! J Blessings never continue to cease! The remainder of that day we took the kids to lunch and a boat ride down the Nile River. SO cool! (See the link on my last blog post or click here: http://mamannicole.blogspot.com/2013/07/mzungu-in-iganga.html?spref=fb )

On Wednesday of last week, the Probation officer showed up at our house. Susan and Ben had happily been at the Baby Home for two weeks at this point. I was under the impression that the mother just had to sign a piece of paper saying they could stay there. What I was unaware of was that she needed to sign with the Probation officer also to make it legal. Probation informed me that we had two days to get Ben and Susan back to their mother or Mercy the housekeeper would be charged with Human Trafficking. How it was Mercy’s problem was beyond me. I was the one who was in charge of the children at that point; I assured Mercy we would not let her get in trouble and we would locate the mother. Probation set us up with an organization called ABIDE that resettles children with their families. They will work with the mother to be able to provide for her family. Although the living conditions are terribly poor, the children are SO happy to be with their mother again. ABIDE is a huge blessing and I can visit Ben and Susan whenever I want to make the transition easier as they called me Mzungu Mahi (White Mommy). To see their smiling faces makes it so much easier to not have them with me 24/7. I love and miss them so much, but let me ask you, WHEN IS GOD GOOD? All the time J What an honor to be a part of Ben and Susan’s life even for a short time. What an honor to be able to bring them back to their mother who missed them so much after dropping them off at our house because she could not afford them. What an honor to be able to visit them whenever I want. What an honor to be able to give their dirty little bodies hugs and kisses. What an honor to serve a God who looks after His children, no matter how dirty or how poor. Thank you Lord for the blessings in my life named Susan and Ben.

 

 

There is so much more I’m leaving out I’m sure. There are so many little things to tell. So many things that speak to my heart. PLEASE read Nicole’s blog to know more about our journey: http://mamannicole.blogspot.com/2013/07/where-is-solider-in-me_23.html.

I never want anyone to think I am complaining. Surely you can see my heart by now. I love it here. I love the people. I love the children. I love the blessings that God continues to show me and I’m thankful for mercies new every morning.

 

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Keep those prayers coming!!!

 

Blessings from Africa,

Nicole :)