Tuesday, March 18th
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| This is the brand new kitchen that was rebuilt because the last one collapsed. All meals are cooked in outdoor kitchens like this one, and they serve all of the students and teachers breakfast and lunch if they cannot supply their own. |
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| I am not sure I would be smiling so much if I spent my whole class time kneeling in the dirt and rocks, but these angels feel so blessed to even be here. |
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| Two girls, of the four orphaned girls that Arthur raises, made this sign for Paul and I. |
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| Here is one of the classrooms that was not converted to house the girls - there are beds and sleeping mats that they all share. |
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| Welcome to the orphaned Boys Dorm |
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| Very focused on their drumming |
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| Waiting for theawards that I brought for them - wooden cross necklaces for the top students in each class, and bigger crosses for the performers. |
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| They were so excited about new pencils that they refuse to put them down while they worked...again, no desks |
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| Classrooms are overflowing, but supplying homes to the orphans in need out ranks spacious classrooms |
At 4 AM,
we awoke to a thunder and rain storm.
Everything shook with fury, I could hear the gutters overflowing out my
window. I spoke with the embassy this
morning, and my dumb DS-260 is finally correct.
Now all they will do is wait for the IOM, make some decisions based on
that, and set up an appointment for me to come and turn in all of my forms. I read through the court hearing, the ruling,
and all of the affidavits that were taken last night while Benny slept. I have been told that I will be grilled on
most of the pertinent details of the hearing, his history, and more during my
exit interview. I feel confident in
these details, but probably only because I was somewhat in the know during the
early stages of his life. So, it is a waiting game again, and I have finally
become accustom to waiting, although that makes me no less stir crazy.
A month
ago, I got off a plane in Uganda, although it feels like so much longer. I have been to villages, fed children,
investigated water issues, met music producers, been on safari, floated on the
Nile, walked the equator, and watched coffee and mangos grow - literally.
When
floating down the Nile, I was amazed by the papyrus, tall, lean and whistling
in the breeze. An image came to me…here
I was, floating down the largest river in the world, plucking a child from the
source of the Nile. I had a little
Precious Moments figure that I almost shoved in the donate box before I left,
it was a maid servant for the queen, plucking Moses from the Nile, in
Egypt. Isn’t it amazing what saving 1
life can do for the world? But here I am
adopting 1 child…that is the saddest part for me sometimes. I picked up one tiny piece of sand, on a
beach with a billion specs – trampled underfoot and ignored. Do you know how many orphans I have seen? I have been to only 3 tiny orphanages, and I
have seen HUNDREDS of them.
Some of
these children are dying from AIDs and malaria and parasites. Parents and family have died and passed
away. Some children were abandoned
because they were conceived in cases of incest or rape or witchcraft. Others were abandoned because of ill parents,
lack of money, or their parents’ praying that their children have a shot at
something better. And in Africa,
sometimes, people just disappear into thin air.
Some children
are adoptable, and some are not, but they are all in need of love.
Sometimes
that love comes from donations being given to the orphanages. The orphanages here are full, and the
caretakers are dependent on muzungos from all over the world for financial
support. They do the work of feeding,
clothing, educating, and preparing these children for life on their own, with
no family, or support or real hope at a job or future. Sometimes love is shown through sponsorship
programs, sending money over every month so that a child in a particular
community is educated, supplies are bought for them, repairs to homes and
gardens are made. Sometimes, families go
over and pluck children from the Nile, or rather from a sea of children with
large, tired, wary eyes. And then there
is true love, the love that is everlasting – training up children about the
love that Christ has for them, and the sacrifices that He made for their
salvation.
This
training up happens in small Catholic schools all over the countryside. I have seen a lot of school children during
my time here now, and during my previous time here, and I will say that the
happiest ones, are the ones who feel loved, the ones who feel cared for, the
ones who radiate Christ’s love through their smiles. They are trusting, happy, and giggling with
enthusiasm in the front row of the crowds.
They are the ones who ask a thousand questions of you, their excited
hands raised high, shaking and waving for your attention. The real love of Christ is taught and
promoted in tiny schools that are supported by people like you.
God
demanded that we care for the orphan and the widow. Adoption is not for everyone, certainly I
have seen plenty of people who cannot handle the one or two that they
have. But there are certainly numerous
other ways to support an orphan, to give them love that lasts for eternity. I just want to encourage all of you to pray
about how you are doing this, and if you do not already doing this, then find a
small way to do so.
How
painful would it be for you to send $20 a month over to my friend Arthur’s “New
Red Star of St. Francis Kawoko” school?
Last year was hard for them – 4 parents passed away, and 1 student from
communicable diseases. They have 163
students, and 80 of them did not pay school fees last term. Of the 80 that did not pay, 36 of those are
orphans. There are so many orphans in
the village, and no orphanage, so the orphans live on the streets, except for a
lucky 8 children, that Arthur takes care of personally. He took two of his smaller classrooms and
turned them into living blocks, one for boys, the other for girls. So not only does he provide free education for
80 children, and breakfast and lunch to the students who have none, but he also
feeds, cloths, and nurtures 8 orphans from his village.
And why
does Arthur does this? Because he is
full of love. Because he was orphaned as
a teenager, and Fr. Michael took care of him, and made sure that he was
supported. Because Arthur knows how it
feels to have no hope, and how it feels when someone shows that he cares. He loves so greatly, that he took the land
that he inherited, when his parents passed away, and he built a school on
it. He uses his crop lands to grow
fruits and vegetables in order to feed those students. The orphans he cares for, have bigger
sleeping quarters than he and his beautiful wife.
He
teaches these children about the love of Christ. He lives that love for Christ, and he
radiates it to his pupils. You can show
love to the orphans by supporting Arthur, and you can do so in great faith. Why?
Because I have been to 9 different schools in Uganda, and spoken with at
least 5 different headmasters, and besides the ones that were Sisters, Arthur
is the most creative, supportive, and loving headmaster I have met to date.
Montgomery
Catholic Preparatory students have been collecting money for Fr. Michael, and
for the schools that Father supports.
One of these schools is Red Star, and what he can do with $3000 is
amazing. Arthur took the donation, and
made much needed repairs to the school, had desks built because children were
kneeling on the ground and using benches as desks. He repaired leaking
ceilings, he installed doors, filled the bullet holes in the sides of the
buildings, and bought mosquito covers for the windows. Nap, Jeff and I truly were taken by this
man’s love and humility, and I was able to see how he spent the money that we
gave him last year.
If you
wanted to support the education of orphans, and make education obtainable for
them, you could do so at Red Star. To
cover 1 orphan, for a year of schooling, you would need $85. To cover all 36 orphans, you would need
$3060. Maybe your interest is in safety
and protection and feeding and clothing of orphans. You could support one of
Arthur’s orphans for $500 a year – and that covers bed mats, clothing, food,
medical expenses and schooling for the year.
Your
interest could be in education expansion – making education more obtainable to
orphans in his village. If this is where
your interest lies, help Arthur expand and build and repair, in order to take
in and serve more orphans. In his
budget, the repairs and expansion costs are hefty - $15,000 for 3 more very
large brick classrooms, complete with chalk boards, desks, steel doors, and
real windows.
Water. Everyone needs water, and maybe you believe
that every child should get a cup of water every day at school. I believe that this should happen, but what
do you do during the very dry summer months, when there is no rain for a very
long time? How can you give 136 children
a cup of water every day? Well, if you
were Arthur, you would say that you needed a new water tank, in order to
collect and store water more efficiently.
The cost for a new tank is $2500.
What can
we do to fulfill His command in Deuteronomy?
Father Michael would say, “The little we can do, we must do.” Arthur would say that all things, big and
small, are accomplished for love of Him.
I would say that if you are looking for a great way to be a missionary
in a foreign land, without ever leaving your house, then support a missionary
who is proven and worthy and grateful.
Notes from my prayer journal: I left the US a month ago, to answer God’s call in my
life, and give an orphan a family. Our
Lord, in His Infinite wisdom, knows our hearts, our abilities and our
weaknesses. I saw a little picture on
Facebook this week that said, “No man has ever gone poor, from giving.” God knows what we can handle, and He knows
our true efforts in this matter.
Hopefully people will pray about Arthur’s school, and email me asking questions
about how to help him. Maybe people want to see pictures of his school, or get
updates, and they can do so on his New Red Star Facebook page, or message him
directly on Facebook. Look under my
friends list, “Arthur Mubiru” and ask him how you can serve the orphans in his
village.
“O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who
trusts in you.”
-
Psalm 84:12
Soundtrack song of the day – Hey Ho, Lumineers
Consecration to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Marian Entrustment, Day 27
The Novena to the Divine Mercy, Day 9 & The Novena to
St. Joseph, Day 9
Visit www.prayermorenovenas.com, to sign
up and get the daily prayers to different novenas sent to your inbox every
morning!!
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