Banange!

In the past two days, so much has happened, and yet if you had looked at our schedule, you would see we have not really done a whole lot so far. After a long day of traveling, yesterday we were given a day of rest to recover, hang out with the kids, and rehearse our plans for the VBS next week. We served lunch at the school, which was just scooping porridge into a cup, and were able to play with them throughout their lunch break as well as the remainder of their day. It is absolutely amazing to see how quickly we have formed bonds with these children. They are so precious and really just want our affection. Let me tell you, we have been more than happy to give that to them.

 
 

 

We were also able to play some basketball with them. Tim and Cris were trying to teach the kids the rules of the game while Monica and I were laughed at for our lack of skills. Overall it was a great day. Then last night all the kids at the orphanage gathered together in the small living room to sing some familiar worship songs and watch a movie together. It moved everyone on the team to see all their young faces worshipping God and it was definitely something we will not forget. By the end of the movie though, we were all worn out after a long day of chasing kids and we hopped in bed as soon as possible.


Today was a different day entirely. We worked on the basketball court and poured a lot of sweat and long hours into cleaning the red dirt off the cement, painting the lines and backboard, and fastening the nets. Hopefully we will have a picture perfect basketball court to show you tomorrow when we remove the painters' tape and reveal all our hard work. Again though, it was not the work that made this day special (although I am sure all of us were blessed to see how excited the kids were about it), but it was those smiling faces that wanted to help us and be with us every step of the way. Those small little bodies carried water jugs that matched their weight, they helped scrub the court, and then even helped scrub our hands after the painting was done. We really have a lot to learn about servanthood, love, and humility from these children.

The highlight of the day was lunch time though. We were able to just relax and play with the children and we bonded with them so much! At any one time, you could see every member of the team covered in children. Cris and Tim had a swarm of children tickling them and a line of kids who wanted to be swung through the air by their hands. Lunch was concluded with us doing an impromptu song for the kids followed by Cris raising the youngest kid, Shaggy, like they do in The Lion King. That brought about a lot of laughs from the team and a lot of confusion from the children, but needless to say, we are having a great time both with the kids and each other. I know the Lord is going to continue to let these relationships grow and He is going to just bless everyone's lives with his love and presence on this trip.

To see more pictures of us from the past week go to:
Uganda 2012 Album 1