Today we went on a tour of some of the Watoto Children's Homes with other folks from Watoto churches in Kampala. The bus aspect was an experience in and of itself. First of all, you know how there are two seats on each side of the bus? Yeah, well these were more like 1.5 seats per side, but you were expected to sit two per seat, it was narrow! And then as the bus was filling up people started flipping down seats to fill the aisle too...wow!
We first visited a baby's home in the center of Kampala, it was unlike any other baby home we have served in. The place was immaculate, painted beautifully with animals and bright colors and modern, westernized toys and baby stuff. Not only was it obvious that Watoto was started by the west (shout out to my Canadian relatives), but they still have a large influence on the ministry. As we went to the villages to see the children's home, the organization and care taken at the baby's home was evident in the other homes we visited. What struck me the most was the beauty of the land they had chosen for development, they chose some absolutely gorgeous, lush pieces of land. Also, at the largest site they have 1500 children and it is a very well-run, sustainable village; they raise 100 goats to provide milk for the babies, they run a vocational school and they build the beds, chairs, desks, tables, etc that they need for the villages, and then some to make the ministry profit. There is a hierarchy to the housing and mamas that take care of the babies so that the homes are very well managed.
Overall I was very impressed with the organization and facilities, although the tour guide wasn't that informative, and the rain and mud put a bit of a damper on maneuverability. Reflecting, I was also disappointed not to have much interaction with the children; some of these kids are going to be performing at my church in Philly in 3 weeks and I was really hoping to send along a message, or at least meet a few of them, but we saw very few kids. On a brighter note, we did get to meet Esther and Moses, the first babies to live in the babies home, who are now about 4 and 5.
Tonight, we had another successful game night back with our kids! This time the big kids played Old Maid, the middle ones played chutes and ladders and the little ones played a matching numbers game. I think its frustrating for all of us aunties to teach these games, but I keep encouraging us because even if they don't learn the concept of the game, or don't listen very well, they still are learning to take turns, not cheat, follow the rules, etc.
Finally, tonight I led devotions on the power of our mouths. I read from 2 Timothy 2: 14-26 and James 3:1-12, they are somewhat different messages, but it is very clear that we have two choices: use our mouths to do good or evil. We all discussed the specific ways in which we struggle, whether we are quarrelsome and argumentative, or gossipy, or offering godless chatter, not instructing gently (that's the one I struggle with a lot), or if we simply are putting others down. I asked us to share our weaknesses so we can pray for eachother, but also help eachother to be more accountable for the ways in which we use our mouths. It was a very fruitful discussion, and a good end to my day.
One thing I forgot to share: it has been quite cold here! Ok, relatively speaking. I have been wearing a sweatshirt every morning, brought a long sleeve on our tour today and I wake up freezing every night, crazy, eh?
Do you see the looks on the kids faces with the cake in front of them? Precious!
ReplyDeleteLove the picture of you feeding the little baby!
Glad to hear there are some really modern and great facilities there :)
Love you,
Michelle