Who is this noble woman-child who stands next to me?
Previous posts:
Sunday, August 2: The Boy on the Road
Monday, August 3: Remembering Barlonyo
Above is a picture of my Brenda and the home where she lives. She is the first girl my family sponsored through Children of the Nations. My wife has written to her. My children have prayed for her. And now I have met her face-to-face.
Brenda's father was a fisherman who was killed by a crocodile and Brenda's mother lives in another district and is sick. So Brenda now lives with her father's brother's cousin's wife with many other children this woman generously shelters in her two-room home.
We went to five different homes on this day to meet with children that were sponsored by people on our team. Each home showcased the tremendous hospitality and warmth of the Ugandan people, and each person we met and spent time with was a gift.
And for me, Brenda was the greatest gift of all.
Tuesday, August 3, 2015 | Meeting Daughters and Sons of the King
I don't deserve this.
My memory is still awash with the impact of arriving in Lira town two days ago and receiving a king's welcome.
The children's voices were harmonious and beautiful. Their faces were radiant. And the reception was worthy of the One whose name I'm associated with, but who I am unlike in so many ways.
From the beginning, the hospitality of the Ugandan people has humbled and astounded me. It continues to be extraordinary.
I love how the first thing they say when they meet you is, "You are most welcome. You are most welcome here."
What a beautiful way of describing the gracious hospitality of the Father, Son, and Spirit who opens wide perfect love and invites us in by saying – in the loving gift of salvation, redemption, justification, union, new creation and adoption in Jesus Christ – you are most welcome here.
These beautiful followers of Jesus, young and old, are truly daughters and sons of our Servant King. They are the ones who have faced horrors like the massacre in Barlonyo, with some of the older children with Children of the Nations having experienced and endured horrific atrocities physically, mentally, and emotionally that I can't even imagine. Who can come back from watching your parents burned, your siblings crushed, and your childhood raped? And yet the love of God shared and shown in the Gospel of Jesus is what they say brings them joy, contentment, and hope.
With the life they have already been given, they begin each day thanking God for the gift of breath and health on this day. They have a heavenly royalty all to their own. And I am thankful we get to walk the roads where their feet have brought the Gospel of peace.
When we went with Stephen – a child sponsored by Dan on our team – into his home back in an alley off the main road, his mother received us with joy. In her main room, barely the size of a walk-in bathroom, she sought out anything for us to sit on as we listened to her story and Stephen translated for her.
She and her children have great need, and yet, she is taking care of two children not her own whose mothers also have great need. She receives and trusts that God will provide for all of them.
She treats us as her honored guests. But we are the ones honored to be in her presence. She welcomes God. She welcomes us. Her life is an open hand.
She and her children have great need, and yet, she is taking care of two children not her own whose mothers also have great need. She receives and trusts that God will provide for all of them.
She treats us as her honored guests. But we are the ones honored to be in her presence. She welcomes God. She welcomes us. Her life is an open hand.
Brenda was there with us, too.
Before this day came, I wondered which one was our Brenda. I looked for her at school and tried to recognize her.
Before this day came, I wondered which one was our Brenda. I looked for her at school and tried to recognize her.
I have looked for her each day. But this day I not only met her, I was invited to her home.
As I sat with her on the ride to her house, my thought was, "Who is this noble women-child who sits next to me?"
She looked at me and weighed my words with concentration. And when she answered, she would do so in a strong whisper, assured and vulnerable in equal measure.
"What does life look like through her eyes?" I continue to wonder. "How does she see the world as she rides her bicycle to school, navigating the labyrinthine streets of Lira with a hidden wisdom built through experiences that are hers and hers alone?"
And then I arrive at the place where she lives and hear her story of losing her father, living away from her mother, taking care of children with her new mama in her home in another district, and I am amazed once again at her strength.
Who is this sharp spear of a girl whose eyes focus so intently on me and whose words pierce me? Sometimes she looks away, but then comes back to me focused, hurting, yet not without hope. She thanks me for coming, carving more love into my heart with a few words, her strong whispers quickly exhaled.
As I sat with her on the ride to her house, my thought was, "Who is this noble women-child who sits next to me?"
She looked at me and weighed my words with concentration. And when she answered, she would do so in a strong whisper, assured and vulnerable in equal measure.
"What does life look like through her eyes?" I continue to wonder. "How does she see the world as she rides her bicycle to school, navigating the labyrinthine streets of Lira with a hidden wisdom built through experiences that are hers and hers alone?"
And then I arrive at the place where she lives and hear her story of losing her father, living away from her mother, taking care of children with her new mama in her home in another district, and I am amazed once again at her strength.
Who is this sharp spear of a girl whose eyes focus so intently on me and whose words pierce me? Sometimes she looks away, but then comes back to me focused, hurting, yet not without hope. She thanks me for coming, carving more love into my heart with a few words, her strong whispers quickly exhaled.
Her new mama was a humble woman who prayed for me – "Pastor Mike" – blessing me for coming, for sponsoring Brenda, and then asking God that He would provide me with more so that I can sponsor more children. She did not mention this for her own benefit, but for the children who need it throughout Uganda.
As I was getting ready to leave, Brenda revealed the biggest smile I had seen her share so far. She looked at me and said that she will see me again soon before I leave Uganda.
And I wonder in the meantime, "How will she continue to pierce me and heal me until then?"
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