Street Ministry

Today was an outreach day!

This morning we went to a government run special needs facility for those with mental retardation, it was both a school and a home. Although they encourage new families to have their children go to school just as their "normal" siblings do, most often the families drop them off and then go into hiding so as to skirt the responsibility of having a child with mental incapacities. There is such a negative stigma in this culture, but as I think about it, we're (Americans) often not much better. After an introduction and tour we got to work, sweeping and mopping their rain and refuse trenches, this was some dirty work. Sweeping and mopping in America is vastly different from Uganda, plus we were cleaning these outdoor spaces, which also seemed very foreign. The brooms they use are dried straw bundled together and they are about 2 feet long, requiring a lot of bending. They don't have dustpans at this facility so we use a shovel as the dustpan and make our best attempt to sweep the garbage and debris onto the shovel. The mopping portion involves filling a jerry can (a common way of storing and transporting water), scattering powder soap across the area and pouring the water out while using a short-bristled 'American' broom to scrub the area and push the soap and water towards the drain/discharge.

Because previously people have come and taken photos of the government home and then posted them on the internet asking for money and then never given it to the home, photographs can no longer be taken at the special needs home. The government is also suspicious of their home being criticized when compared to private institutions, they are doing the best they can with the budget they receive, but it is far from pretty.

At 1 pm we headed for our next outreach destination, a ministry for street kids, specifically 10-17 year old boys that live on the streets of Kampala. The organization is called A Perfect Injustice. After a quick game and some praise music with the 40 or so boys and a few little ones scattered about I began to read the story I had written the night before. The rest of my team acted out the story that was about everyone serving a purpose, and I used a quote from Jeremiah about God knowing his plan for us to tie it in Biblically. After allowing the kids to do some coloring, a few volunteers began treating minor wounds, while others began putting the meal together, posho and beans. Mice were actively trying to get at the food as well, what horrid conditions. Despite the dirt and grime and mice, this was, so far, the most fulfilling ministry work we've done. The poverty and lack of opportunities for these children was so ripe, their tattered clothes and lack of discipline was heart-wrenching, it hurt to leave them as they ate.

I arrived home dirty, like really dirty. I could beat my pants and watch the dirt and dust fly off. And I smelled, I smelled from my sweat, and I smelled from being around all the kids that probably hadn't bathed in weeks.

God, thank you so much for absolutely everything you've given me, from a roof over my head to more than 1 meal a day, thank you for keeping me from begging, thank you for giving me running water. Thank you that I can be in Kampala to serve a purpose, your purpose for my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.