Every time I sit down to write this blog, that’s the question on the forefront of my mind. Where do I begin when I have so many thoughts, so many stories, so many faces in my head?
*I could tell you about the 12 year old that I prayed with. She was very pregnant…raped by a stranger hiding in a bush while she walked to the market to get some food for her family one evening. She played with a toy dinosaur on her lap while we talked about pre-natal care with her and the other girls at the pregnancy crisis center.
She was beautiful….but oh, so young…so innocent still. And I bit back the tears as she told my friend and I that she had peace…and hope.
*I could tell you about the missionary women that we served. How many of them looked exhausted when they arrived at our events. How many wet eyes I saw as they sang together to their King. How many of them squealed with delight over something like Ranch Dressing Mix in their goody bag.
How they shared their hearts with us…showing their love for the people of Uganda and their desperate desire to have their neighbors know God’s love. How when they left, they were excited, renewed, and refreshed in their purpose and their focus in their ministry. How they were covered in prayer and felt it following them home.
How thankful they were for a rather random group of Americans who were willing to invest some time in encouraging them in their ministry and even giving them a new ministry tool for the future.
*I could tell you about the kids…so many kids…at the churches, in the villages, at the orphanages, in the slum. How they love to sing and dance for the crazy Americans. How they praise their Father with beautiful voices and lifted hands.
I could tell you their sad stories…the ones that you can’t help but hold onto…the ones that some of them don’t even realize that they have…and of the beautiful hope that they have now that someone has given them a chance.
I could tell you about the kids at the special needs orphanage…about the girl that held my hand during snack time on the mat outside while I wondered what her disability was. How she then pointed towards some leg braces and a walker and motioned for me to put the braces on so that she could walk. How she lit up as she showed our group how she could take a few steps towards them and had one of the most beautiful smiles I’ve ever seen.
*I could tell you about the new friendships that I formed…and about the old ones that were renewed and strengthened as they were changed. I could tell you how I wrestled with God and saw His plans unfolding in front of me. I could tell you how I was blessed by other women who were willing to go on this trip.
I could tell you how I bonded with complete strangers and was amazed as I learned their hearts, their stories, and their passions. I could tell you how I saw women that I’ve known for years unfold a part of themselves that I didn’t know they had and how impressed I was by these people that I call my friends.
So that’s what I’ll start with I guess….the overwhelming little thoughts in my head. And I’ll save the rest for another day…
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