Life, or something like it...

I debated a lot about whether I should post this or not. If you only want to hear about the sunshine, happy moments of a short-term mission trip, you may want to scroll down to the bottom of this post, look at the pictures, and then wait for the next post. But if you want to know what it's really like sometimes, when it's not always smiles and sunshine, keep reading...

It's not fair.

It's not fair that a one year old child will grow up never knowing his parents. It's not fair that he is tossed about from family member to family member as the one he was with either dies or walks out on him. It's not fair that his he was sitting in a basin of freezing cold water while his tiny, malnourished body was fighting pneumonia--and it's really not fair that if God hadn't coordinated our going to check on him, that he wouldn't have received treatment, and may not have made it through everything.

It's not fair that Edith is at least 15 pounds smaller than her healthy weight last year. It's not fair that she is now HIV positive and is struggling to take care of 7 children on her own, since her husband passed away from AIDS. It's not fair that when she took one of her children to the doctor, he looked at her and said, "How dare you bring that boy in here looking like that! You're just showing everyone how poor you are," and now she is humiliated and ashamed to take him back.
It's not fair that a group of male teachers can watch a teenage girl get caned and then walk out of that room smiling, extending their hand to greet me as if nothing happened. It's not fair that they are so desensitized to abuse and caning that they have no reaction to it, probably because they were beaten when they were kids (which isn't fair either).

It's not fair that even though it was a last resort, she had to be caned at all. It just isn't fair.

It's not fair that all I could do while I sat outside of that room, while I heard her cry and I heard the cane hit her body, was tremble and pray for it all to stop, but that I found myself paralyzed to move. It's not fair that those men found sleep easily that night, while I laid awake, unable to stop replaying that horrible scene in my head. It's not fair that the whole scene was too soon forgotten by those teachers, while I'm sitting here, 3 days later, shaking while I'm typing this.

It's just not fair.

It's not fair that things like this happen all over the world (America is by no means exempt). But there are two ways that I can go at this point of realization---I can either stay paralyzed, shaking and trembling, or I can hug as many children as possible. I can either let a language barrier stand in my way or I can understand that some things are universal and that love is one of those things, whether in word or action. I can listen to Satan, when he whispers to me that I am useless and powerless to do anything, or I can listen to God's voice, telling me to love, no matter what I feel. I can try to forget things I've seen or heard that are unsettling or discouraging, or I can use them to remind me of why it's so important to love as much as you can, as often as you can, wherever you are.

So now, for the sunshine and smiles!

Our time at the ranch in Nakasangola was so much fun! We walked around for about 4 hours Sunday afternoon, hugging and visting so many people! We had tea with the boys at the CLA academy and spent some time at the secondary school. It was quite the reunion. Monica and Godfrey are doing so well! Monica is taller than me now (Godfrey has been for awhile). Godfrey is one year away from University and Monica is two years away. They both expressed an interest in social work. Monica and I had a really great talk. She's an incredible girl. I really think God's given her a passion for helping people, and I'm excited to see where He leads her. Godfrey has some pretty big dreams too!

We made dinner for about 14 boys Sunday night and ended the night with some intense leg wrestling matches. Not that I'm boasting (ok, maybe a little), but I beat all the boys that were brave enough to face me! It was hilarious!! They loved it! The boys that came are Alisha and Shelly's boys that they, and Alisha's family, sponsor. It was so much fun. Some of them I hadn't seen since 2005, so it was neat to see how they'd all grown! We stayed through lunch on Monday and went around and saw everyone one last time before we left. It was sad to go after such a short visit, but it was so good to see everyone.

We've got some busy and exciting stuff happening in these last two weeks!

This weekend, we're taking 16 soccer players from CHM out to Shiloh to have a match against the kids at the deaf school near Lukwange. It should be fun, but crazy. I love the ballers! They're a fun group of boys! And they're really good at soccer! They've won every match in thr tournament they're in, most of the teams being older and bigger than they are!

Then the next weekend is the Miss Uganda Pageant, which Shelly was asked to help decorate for (which means Alisha and are helping too) and we'll be attending the pageant too! It should be pretty interesting...but also crazy and busy since it falls on a Saturday (which is the crazy chaotic day at the center)! We're working on stuff for that throughout the week! Crazy!!

That's all for now! Much love from Uganda! Stay tuned...

**Oh, and I held a baby goat!!! Don't ask questions, just understand that it was a really exciting moment :)