Our Boys

 

It’s been 3 weeks at Acacia Tree and it’s taken far less time than that to fall hopelessly in love with our boys. They are simply gorgeous with their smooth coffee-coloured skin and deep chocolate eyes, and each one with his own little distinct personality. Em and I truly long to adopt them—2 in particular—and can only pray over them as we rock them and cuddle them and bathe them and feed them and play with them and love them. We still have only 4 little ones at the moment, and wonder every day if today might be the day we meet another sweet baby coming to us in need, like John Mark did on our first day…

Speaking of which, John Mark, our littlest man at approx. 6 weeks, is growing so perfectly healthy and strong with Acacia Tree’s TLC! Now when I burp him on my shoulder he’s lifting his little head with his strong neck. His smile is to die for. And his newborn baby cuddles even more so! I kiss his perfectly smooth mocha-coloured skin, caress his downy soft black curls, and pray for the man he grows up to be, knowing that I would give him a home and be his mommy in a heartbeat if I could…

Jonathan, our oldest little man, has just reached a high enough weight to start his ARVs, but at 4 years old, he’s still only about the size of a 2 year old. His Autism sometimes means he’s not in a mood for any physical contact, but then other moments he just cannot be cuddled enough. It warms my heart EVERY TIME he’s in the mood for cuddles and just wraps his arms around my neck and lays his head on my shoulder!

 

Isaac (Zac) is the strongest and farthest developed of our boys and at nearly 15 months, he’s so close to walking! He is uncommonly handsome with his great big expressive eyes and ready dimpled smile. He has very long limbs, like a proper African man. And, my favourite discovery, Zac LOVES kisses :) And attention… We have just discovered that the family from Ohio working on adopting him have named him Henry, so we’re trying to get him used to his new name by calling him Henry-Zac!

Moses, whom has been affectionately nicknamed MoMo because it just suits him, has charmed his little way right into my and Emily’s hearts without effort. He is more darling than I can attempt to describe! Because he was extremely malnourished, his muscles are still very weak at nearly 19 months so he has the mobility of a much younger baby and cuddles like one too. He also has a massive round belly which he loves to pat. His favourite mode of communication is to wave across the room to one person, then the next, then the next—he’s an equal-opportunity waver. He also likes to imitate anything anyone else is doing, so he now attempts to snap his fingers, and blow kisses with the “mwah!” sound (nearly as cute as the little wave!), and shake his pointer finger at someone when they’re being naughty—though he hilariously always points it at himself :). His favourite thing is leaning back his head (which is a bit too heavy for his little neck) and having his throat tickled :) Just today he popped out a new trick when he began taking my hand and kissing it at the knuckles, just like a little royal prince to a princess! The cuteness of this child’s winsome personality cannot possibly be summed up in a paragraph. I just adore him!!

We are trying not to think yet about what it means when we leave here in 10 days time... 

Some "Radical" Quotes

I have just finished a great and convicting book. I love how He does that-- puts certain books in our hands at just the right times... It is called "Radical" by David Platt and I have to share some of the hard-hitting quotes from it with you! The message is so close to my heart...

“In the time we gather for worship on a Sunday morning, almost a thousand children elsewhere die because they have no food. If it were our kids starving, they would all be gone by the time we said our closing prayer. We certainly wouldn’t ignore our kids while we sang songs and entertained ourselves, but we are content with ignoring other parents’ kids. Many of them are our spiritual brothers and sisters in developing nations. They are suffering from malnutrition, deformed bodies and brains, and preventable diseases. At most, we are throwing our scraps to them while we indulge in our pleasures here…” – David Platt, “Radical” pg 115

“When God tells us to give extravagantly, we can trust Him to do the same in our lives. And this is really the core issue of it all. Do we trust Him? Do we trust Jesus when  He tells us to give radically for the sake of the poor? Do we trust Him to provide for us when we begin using the resources He has given us to provide for others? Do we trust Him  to know what is best for our lives, our families, and our financial futures?” – David Platt, “Radical” pg 123-124

“When we have the courage to look in the faces of brothers and sisters whose bodies are malnourished and whose brains are deformed because they have no food, Christ will change our desires, and we will long to sacrifice our resources for the glory of His name among them.” – David Platt, “Radical” pg 127

“Why not begin operating under the idea that God has given us excess, not so we could have more, but so we could give more?” – David Platt, “Radical” pg 127

And, most poignant and true to my heart--

“We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes…” – David Platt, “Radical” pg 139

Love on, love on, love on!
Leah

Our Newest Baby Boy!

Introducing Acacia Tree's newest little one, John Mark!
I told you about his dramatic arrival on our first day.
By our second day, I'm pretty much in love :)

My heart has so gone out to his young mother. Only 15 years old, Blessed said she cried when she gave him up after waiting desperately for help these 4 weeks, but to me it speaks of love and wisdom in her heart which is greater than her age because she knows she can never give him the kind of life she wants him to have... The only other option she had at this point was to leave him at the infamous "baby dumping grounds" which the boda driver spoke of ominously... Can you even imagine?

I've been whispering prayers over him as I rock and feed him. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these...

First Day at Acacia Tree!

Em and I really hardly knew what to expect of the ministry I had contacted back in November for us to work with this month of February in Uganda. I contacted them through their website and they were only so willing for us to come along and lend a hand so the discussions were short and the plans were quickly made, sight unseen! So today’s introduction to a lovely Texan missionary lady named Robin (who is so personable and easy to talk with!), her 2 adopted Ugandan daughters, Reya Joy and Sara Bella, her lovely Ugandan staff of “mothers”, Blessed and Desire, her handsome British boyfriend (goodness, I love those—handsome British boyfriends ;)), David, and the current babies (ooh!) in the rehabilitation ministry, was a long-awaited and exciting one :)

Basically, Robin and her team simply run the ministry out of her home and at the moment they have only 3 little boys, whom Em and I have spent the day cuddling and caring for and loving on. Jonathan is nearly 4 but he’s about the size of a small 2 year old. He’s HIV positive, has down syndrome, and autism. He reminds me so much of little Dragos from my time in Romania. They even do the same actions and make the same sounds! Then there’s Isaac (Zac) who is, I think 14 months. He’s GORGEOUS. He, like most all the babies who come to this rehabilitation ministry, was malnourished so he’s still catching up, not walking or talking yet, but he is one handsome little man and he’s in the process of being adopted by an American couple! So he’s only there til that goes through in the next few months. Then there’s Moses, who is 18 months old and SUCH a sweetheart! He was severely malnourished and is only now beginning to fatten up with a tremendously fatty diet, including olive oil in his milk bottles and butter and fattening supplements in all his food! He looks about 7 months old in size, and though he can sit up on his own, and seems to have pretty good upper-body strength to drag himself around, his legs are still very tiny and weak. But he is the most contented baby I have ever met, and has totally won our hearts with his dimpled chin, big smile, his charming little wave, and the way he plays the “where’s your nose?” game with his tiny little pointer finger! I’m afraid if I don’t watch her carefully, Emily might try to lovingly smuggle him away in her handbag :)

These babies have come to Acacia through all kinds of ways. Moses, for instance, was spotted lying under a tree when a friend of Robin’s who works with an AIDS/HIV organization was on a field visit to one of the islands on Lake Victoria. She thought he was a puppy until she drew up closer to find a very frail human baby there. Isaac’s father asked for Robin to help him find a family for his son when his mother died when he was only tiny. He used to have to carry Isaac around to do his work tied to his back like the mamas do with their babies here.

I said to Em earlier today how much I would love it if Acacia had a small baby girl, maybe 4 weeks or less, to love on this month—as someday I would love to adopt a brand new Ugandan baby. This afternoon, when Robin went out to run David somewhere, she noticed a young woman with a small bundle sitting under the shade of the trees outside her gate. She asked her if everything was okay and if she needed anything. She said she was fine, but Robin wasn’t so sure. Later, when she was still sitting outside the gate, Robin sent Blessed, one of the Ugandan “mothers” out to check on her. The young woman came into the house with Blessed and told her that she was 15 years old, had this baby a month ago, the father wasn’t around, and she didn’t know what to do. She had thought of having an abortion, but then couldn’t go through with it. She had thought of leaving the baby somewhere, but then couldn’t go through with it. And she needed help. Blessed (pronounced: Bless-ed) brought the tiny baby boy in to us. After Robin checked him out, she laid him in my arms. He smelt awful. He was wrapped up so tightly in layers and layers of sheets and blankets but as we unbundled him we discovered that he didn’t look too malnourished, just smelt sorely in need of a change and a bath. Robin called the local council member and she hurried over right away to be caught up on the situation. She warned the young mother firmly to tell the whole truth about the situation or she would be taken to the police, to out-rule her trying to take advantage of Acacia Tree. She also told her that if we take the baby, she will be required to visit family planning and get some free birth control or else she suspected she would be pregnant again tomorrow. The young mother didn’t speak a work of English. She never smiled. She looked so drained of life.  I found all the LC (Local council member) said so very bold (but that’s the way it’s done) and felt a bit embarrassed for the young girl, as if my presence was intrusive on this very sensitive situation. But I rocked that sweet baby, and tried to feed him from his first bottle, and tried not to breathe in the smell, and ran my fingers across his softest of skin I’ve ever touched and over his softest of black curls on his head and prayed over the whole 9lbs of him…. And wondered at our God. Robin has had only these 3 boys since Dec (before that she had 12 babies!). Em and I only arrived today, and of all days, this young woman sat at the gate today with her precious little bundle…

Before the end of the day, the baby boy, whom will be called John, was signed over to our ministry for 6 months, his case to be reassessed then. Probably, the mother will want him to be adopted, and it will not be hard to find him a family… Oh, he is perfectly precious, from the top of his kitten-soft head to the tip of his baby smooth toes. And I might have fallen in love with him already :)

If the first day on the job has already held such excitement, what will tomorrow bring!

Oh, how can we live to be anything but His hands and feet in this world? What other point of life can there be?!

“Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him in prayer. Plead for your children as they faint with hunger in the streets.”
-- Lamentations 2:19

Emily's Here!

Last night my adorable cousin Emily arrived in Uganda for a month of working at a baby home called Acacia tree with me! My awesome new Ugandan friend Dan found a friend of his who was willing to drive he and I down to the airport (it took about 4 hours with the ridiculous traffic around Kampala!) to pick her up—Oh, how gracious and kind Ugandans are! I can’t even describe to you how exciting it was to step into Entebbe Airport and spot my pretty and long-awaited cousin loitering across the arrivals lounge! Em is one of my best friends in the world. Her heart is about as pure and genuine as they come, and it feels like such an unexpected gift of God to share this month here together! I am SO THANKFUL for the mere presence of such a friend! The last time we saw one another was a long-ago last June…

And, she came bearing gifts from home! Mmmmm, how I love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups :) They will seriously not last long!

We made reservations at a backpacker’s hostel in Entebbe for the month as it was the cheapest accommodation we could find. We’ve both experienced the “joys” of hostels in Europe and thought surely staying in a hostel in Africa would afford even more “delights” than those stays had (do note the sarcasm!)… So we were completely surprised to be shown to our room, opening out to its own patio, and find it the absolute best hostel accommodation we’ve ever seen! We have a big four-poster bed, our own little sitting area, lots of closet space, and our very own bathroom with a (cold) shower! We LOVE coming home to our special space each day, and waking up each morning to sit on the porch and drink our coffees in the tropical morning light, overlooking the campsite area replete with banana and mango trees. Unreal.

We start our first day at Acacia Tree Uganda tomorrow—a baby rehabilitation home here in Entebbe. We hardly know what to expect but can’t help but be excited! Amber, the other volunteer at Acacia Tree at the moment, is also staying at our hostel and we’ve had such a lovely visit with her over a pineapple we picked up fresh from the dusty village market today :)

We cannot sing enough praises to our great God whom we just hold on to and gaze at in awe as He leads us through this crazy new adventure in serving Him!

Oh Africa...

All month staying in a village called Wanyange, I’ve been hearing a mysterious playing of the Titanic song wafting up to our place on the breeze. It was canned, as if a midi file, or a music box, just the simple notes, no voice, no instruments. Frankly, it’s annoying. And the high notes would come to us off-key. I would always look at Gabi like, “Where in the world is that coming from!” She said it was probably someone’s ringtone. But it was so loud and sang out to us so often! I said it sounded like an ice cream truck, but we laughed at the thought of such a thing in the middle of nowhere in Uganda…

The other day walking down the motorway to find a boda, I heard it again and thought, “Ooh! Maybe I’ll finally solve the mystery of the awfully played Titanic song!” And presently a young guy on a bike came riding toward us with an ordinary cooler tied to his handlebars and a sign on it saying, “ICE CREAM” :)

Oh Africa :)

There’s a chapel on Racham’s compound, just in the other wing of the house. A faithful congregation meet there nearly everyday, at various times of day. I have woken at 4am some nights to hear them still singing and clapping and praying. At the beginning, the pastor used to knock on our door every night to pray over us. And often there are little groups of people praying together in the garden of an afternoon. I love that this compound is a place of prayer.

My last night there as I finished a call from Charles and locked up the lounge, I was struck by how loudly they were holding their service, and at a quarter past midnight. As I walked up the porch to our bedroom, my hair wanted to stand on end. They weren’t just praying, but shouting, wailing, moaning, and even screaming! And the sounds weren’t coming from the chapel, but from the darkness of the garden! Gabi got out of bed when I came in to have a look out and investigate, and we stood on the porch straining our eyes to see what was happening. There seemed to be a group of people marching or dancing around a fire in the garden. We knew they were praying, but the sounds they made were bone-chilling!! And, on my last night with Racham, that’s what I fell asleep to; the moaning, wailing, and screaming of a strange midnight prayer meeting in the dark garden!

Oh Africa, indeed!