Saturday, June 16, 2012

Abundance

What a great day! We spent the entire day at Agnes' orphanage, and "blessed" doesn't begin to describe it!

When we arrived, we sent half of the children back on the bus with Ron to the clinic we set up at the hotel. When they came back 3 1/2 hours later, we were amazed because Ron had diagnosis, prescriptions and instructions for all 20 children! Plus, he had to keep them all waiting as they saw the drs 2 at a time!!!! Thankfully, most of the children only had sniffles, etc. No one had malaria or even anything that required antibiotics! Praise God!

Our focus for this trip is to ask Agnes what she and the children really need instead of going in with our own agenda. Today we focused on loving on and playing with the children while I spent time with Agnes getting an updated roster, touring the property, and discussing what most needs to be done. We saw a WORKING well with CLEAN water flowing... I'm crying as I type this! I know that's why the children are healthier! What a blessing! The main concern of the doctors who saw the kids was that they need to be drinking more water. We talked to Agnes about this and assured her that because of this tank, there will always be plenty of water. They can't begin to comprehend what it means to know that you will have enough of something.

In addition, while looking at the garden that we will be cleaning up and planting (which is HUGE!!), I saw a lime tree filled with limes! I remarked about the abundance of limes on the tree, and she said, "what do you do with those?". I explained to her what a great source of vitamin C they would be for her children and took one to Robert and asked him to slice it. We showed them how to squeeze the juice and add water (and maybe sugar), but they were so excited that within minutes, all the children were outside picking the limes and begging Robert to cut them open! (their "sour faces"were precious!!).

Amanda got the sewing machines working (1/3 at least!) and the girls were practicing threading and stitching today. There are four girls at the orphanage who are old enough to learn to sew, and they are so excited to have Amanda there to teach them! We are getting new needles and thread by Monday, and the girls will be sewing! The idea that they will be able to sew their own clothes and eventually uniforms is amazing to them, and exciting for us!

Robert got to start his ministry today, and we have a whole lacrosse team at Agnes'! Some of the boys (and Grace!) picked up on it very quickly, and I'm not sure the sticks were put down all day! It was a great tool for reaching out and drawing in!

Agnes received her laptop today, and she was completely surprised and incredibly excited! The children clapped and everyone praised God! What a blessing it will be to all of us to have record keeping that we can share!!! :-). Today I went through all of the children's names and birthdates again with Agnes, and just over half of them have no known birthday. Because they were dropped off at Agnes' by pastors or distant relatives, for many of them she only knows how old they are (she even has to guess at some of those.). We did find out, in going through those records, that today was one of the girls' 15th birthday! What a privilege it was to be able to wish her a happy birthday!

On our way home, Agnes took us to see the 2 acres on which she has a maize field. It was impressive, and twice a year, there is an abundance of maize for them to eat, use for flour, and hopefully use to feed the chickens which will reside in the chicken coop we are praying about installing!

Please pray for our plans for the garden to provide the children with a source of vitamins and food other than beans and maize flour. It will take an extraordinary amount of work this week. Have I mentioned that the garden is large??!! We also need prayers for wisdom as we consider building a coop for so many chickens (and/or likely contracting some of that out to local workers). Pray that we will be a witness to all we work with. Please also pray today especially for the orphans of Uganda. Tomorrow is Father's Day in America, and we are celebrating every father and every child blessed to have a father in their life! Please join us in caring for and praying with the fatherless.

Here's to abundance... Of water, of limes, of maize, of smiles, of hugs, and of work for us to do for the Kingdom!










3 comments:

  1. I'm praying HARD! Such little things we take for granted are such BIG things for them. Grace has grown so much since last year! I hope you will get to give Joshua a hug from his American grandmother!

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  2. Hey Jen,
    I have saved the picture of Agnes with my laptop! I am so moved that it will be put to good use.
    Could you post a picture of "my" Ruth?

    Dena

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  3. I am so in AWE of the wonderful things God is doing and how he has lead You and Robert to do so much...and that you are so brave to follow this calling. You are truly sharing God's love with so many...it is amazing to see and hear about! I can't believe that a serving of rice we use as a side dish can feed a family for a week....this mission is truly a blessing and all that you and Robert are doing is so wonderful!! I love reading about it on your blogspot! LOTS of Prayers coming your way each day!!

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