Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

"Your presence is all I'm longing for here in the secret place
Your nearness is all I'm waiting for here in the quiet place
Here in the secret place
My soul waits for you alone
Just like the watchmen wait for dawn
Here I've finally found the place
Where we'll meet, Lord, face to face
I've finally found where I belong
I've finally found where I belong, in your presence
I've finally found where I belong, Lord
To be with you, to be with you
I am my Beloved's and He is mine
So come into your garden and take delight in me
Take delight in me
Here in Your presence, God, I find my rest
Here in Your presence, God"

Its early in the morning and the cool aftermath of last nights rain feels refreshing on my skin. It's muddy and the red dirt and unpaved roads make a mess of my shoes and legs as I begin the 15 minute hike to get to a car that can take us to our destination. This week it's to the clinic. Transportation takes just under two hours everyday but it's an enjoyable, serene drive. I can't help but notice the children who are up early and working incredibly hard- shoeless, plowing the fields and helping the family survive. The amount of times this week I saw young children, 5 to 6 years old carrying an infant tied securely onto their back as they worked in the fields alongside others, is endless.
This can be heartbreaking to see.

"These kids should be in school," I couldn't help but think.

When they see us pass by they stop and scream and smile with their somehow unbelievably perfect white teeth (a mouth mystery I have yet to solve) and yell,
"BYEEE MUZUNGU!! BYE MUZUNGU!!"(white person)
Sometimes they run up and ask for money but usually they just want to be hugged. And in all their raggeded clothes and unbathed bodies you just can't help but love them. They are glorious.
And I can't help but feel overwhelmed by their circumstance. They are literally doing hard manual labor. Labor that we hire strong men to do in America. These children are young- 4, 5, 6 , 8 maybe? And they are robbed of the opportunity to have a "normal" childhood. Well, normal in my eyes. This is their normal. This is Uganda.  An incredibly lush and gorgeous country filled with amazingly beautiful human beings. But a country that is filled with poverty. There's injustice in this. I think that goes without saying.

 I did some research. Being here and living amongst these people I have seen firsthand the unfortuante reality of the statistics I found;

Statistics of Uganda, Africa

• Only 57% of children in Uganda will complete primary school.
• Only 12% of primary school graduates will enroll in secondary school.
• Only 3% of secondary school graduates will go on to higher education.
• Over 50% of Uganda's population is under the age of 15 making it the youngest country in the world.
• 10,000 Ugandan children currently HIV+ and/or living with AIDS.
• A girl's likelihood of contracting HIV/AIDS is cut by 50% by simply completing primary school.
• Over 1,000,000 children in Uganda, between the ages of 6-12, are not in school.
• Only 35% of adult Ugandans are illiterate. 9 million people are living on less than $1 per day.

(http://jukesfoundationforkids.org/about-us/statistics)

I can't help but love these kids so much. Cute wouldn't begin to describe them. They are the definition of joy. Even in the midst of not having anything, sometimes not even a shirt to wear, seriously, they are radiant. God, I know His gentle heart is FOR them. I know that there is countless scriptures about taking care of the orphans and I know that somehow there is a solution. I know that I don't know the solution for this problem. I know I probably can't fix it, but I know I can love them in the midst of it. And that's what I got to do this week. Please pray for the children in Uganda. In Proverbs it tells us to, 

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy"

Their situation, it's not hopeless so lets never cease to speak up for them. Pray for these children.

Besides playing with children, I had a good week. The clinic was small and a much slower pace than these crazy government hospitals I have been working at. We labored with some women, delivered some babies, did immunizations and I may or may not have been involved with performing adolescent male circumcision as a preventative HIV measure. But we can save that story for another time.

Its been another good week in Uganda.

helping a laboring mama open up those hips!

swing wide, mama

A man on the side of the road wearing a cervix shirt, unknowingly of course. Love!

Before I go, I must pause and say that TODAY the most AMAZINGLY INCREDIBLY CAPABLE HUMBLE GENEROUS AND LOVING person that I know is turning 50.
She often likes to tell me that we were cut from the same cloth.
I can only hope so.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, mom!