Doesn't everyone sit and wonder at some point in their life if what they want to do is what they are "supposed" to be doing? Have you ever caught a glimpse of it? Have you ever reached a point where you can look back and all of a sudden say, "ahhhh....I can see now how the path my life has been taking has lead me to THIS moment and at least for now, my future direction seems a little clearer"? I'd like to share with you how that has been happening for me.One Sunday a couple of years ago, Doug and Dawn Stride returned from Kampala, Uganda to visit our church in Mississauga. As they shared with us stories of their life in Africa, they also talked about an exciting new project that was being developed by Watoto Child Care Ministries. For more than a decade at that point, Kampala Pentecostal Church and Watoto Child Care Ministries had been working to care for children in Uganda who had been orphaned or abandoned. People from all over the world had come to build up villages and well over 1000 children from the age of three were now living in loving homes with a mother, sisters and brothers. They were receiving an education and health care and it was and continues to be Watoto's vision that these children will grow up to become Uganda's future leaders. Now, Doug and Dawn shared, Watoto was working to open a babies' home within the city of Kampala. The facility would care for infants up to three years of age, at which point they would transition into one of the Watoto villages where they would also have the opportunity to grow up in a home with a family who loved them. That morning as Dawn sang a song she had written called "African Lullaby" I was touched so deeply that through my tears, I nudged the friend next to me and said, "I'm going there someday. Really, I am." Knowing what a heart I have for children, she smiled at me, passed me a kleenex and gave me a hug. I'm not sure she even remembers, but I sure do.
Now fast forward two years later.....The Bulrushes Babies' Home (in the picture above) has been open since January 2007 and is already bursting at the seams. Currently 88 little ones are receiving the love and care they need and might not otherwise be getting. There have been opportunities to get involved from here in Canada that I have really enjoyed being a part of, but always in the back of my mind has been the memory of Doug and Dawn's visit two years ago and the growing desire to actually travel to Uganda myself.
In early January of this year, I learned that Bill and Nancy Clark who I got to know through Watoto last year were planning a trip to Uganda for this summer. I thought I might have the chance to send some items to The Bulrushes with them. Then it was suggested that maybe I could come along and make the delivery myself.
Since that moment a lot has happened. I have been in touch with Watoto Child Care ministries and my volunteer application has been processed and accepted. I have started getting my vaccinations and my tickets are booked. Together with Bill, Nancy, and three other young people from the Stouffville area, I leave on June 30th for Kampala, Uganda, East Africa. For the month of July, and will be volunteering at The Bulrushes changing diapers, feeding hungry children, rocking little ones to sleep, blowing bubbles, singing songs, kicking around a ball and snuggling up together to read books. I really have no idea what God actually has in store for me there, but I'm ready to find out.
I hope that over the next few months, you'll drop by here from time to time. I'll be posting as often as I can both before I go and while I'm gone. It's as close as I'm going to come to bringing you all with me! Thank you all for your prayers, care, love and support. I hope it makes you smile to know how much it's appreciated and that it's going to be passed onto some well deserving little ones!!
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