Let me start by saying that I wish all of you a very, Merry Christmas! I can hardly believe that Christmas is here in only a few days. Today is a rainy, cool day, but lately it has been very hot with a sky full of sun! Apparently, December and January are to be very hot months even though we are north of the equator here. Good news is that my soon-coming visit to the US will include me having a better tan than I ever would have had during any December before.
December has been a very busy month here in Kampala. I have been working to complete all of the home visits for the children who are being sponsored for school. These home visits have continued to be quite an eye opener of just how impoverished so many people in our world exist. Most of the "homes" are simply one room (usually around 6x10 or 8x10) where whole families live. Most have no electricity and none have running water - and what water the families and children can gather is polluted and disease ridden.
I think somewhere in my head and heart I hope to find a family that isn't struggling for food or children that don't go to bed hungry and sick - but the people in community in which I work just don't have that luxury. I continue to be amazed at the resilience of these families and children. They struggle to access the simplest things - things that in my life experience have been taken for granted. I remain grateful to be able to serve these wonderful people in whatever way possible.
One of my home visits included a drive out to a village southwest of Mpigi, Uganda. We parked at an uncle's plot and walked some distance to the family's home. The family included 9 children - 7 or 8 of which were orphaned by both parent's death and were living with a maternal grandmother and one aunt. They were fortunate to have maize, matooke and mangoes, but lacked money for food staples and fuel and didn't have a water supply that was close. Sadly, since most families in the area have the land to grow those foods no one can sell any of their produce in order to get money for the other needed items. There is a simplicity in a "farm life", but the lack is so very evident. The family was so happy that two of the children were sponsored (for boarding school, since the nearest school was probably 10 miles away) that the grandmother had the children cut some maize to roast for us and served us some of the tea we'd brought them as a gift. The grandmother apologized for not having any real food to serve us as a thank you... but the generosity of her giving some of what they had was such a beautiful gift for us to receive. And, honestly, freshly cut and roasted maize is delicious!!
In one home we visited, the mother cried when we gave her a gift of rice and sugar. She cried because she hadn't had food to feed the children even the night before (they'd shared a few beans cooked in lots of water) and that night they would have a feast of rice. Man! I am still often so convicted about how selfish I am and what I still "expect" as part of my life.
All this to say... Giving IS better than receiving - the gift of joy I get to experience every day is that we can and do make a difference in one person's life....it's truly amazing. I am so grateful that I get to play a part in it all.
I am also certainly reminded in these days of the greatest gift of all - a Father who gave His Son for us to have life and have it to the full. The teeny gifts I get to take to these families pales in comparison to the wonderful gift of life granted to us through Jesus. The example of Jesus is one to follow...He served at the will of the Father - to love, heal, provide, comfort, show the way and save - despite being poor, not physically attractive, laughed at and ridiculed, doubted, looked down upon, betrayed by one of His friends, ultimately tortured and beaten cruely and crucified. To have a King who would do this for us....amazing!
Happy birthday, Jesus.... and Merry Christmas to all!!
