Day 3: Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Today I was SO excited because it was actually our first day of going out to serve God by loving on all of His children! I was SO excited for this and was happy that our journey and experience was finally beginning! :) Today we went to one of the children’s prisons in Uganda. Our team had been told that we were going to go and minister to all of these children, yet I feel many of us were still a little confused on what the children’s prison was. I personally was a little confused by this and didn’t quite understand it. I didn’t know what to expect going into a prison that had so many young children—what happened that these children were placed there? What were all of their stories? Where were their moms, dads, and other loved ones? Why would anyone make a child go to a prison in the first place? These thoughts with SO many other questions just consumed my mind and were heavy on my heart. I didn’t understand it but was looking forward to going in to visit these kids!
Before leaving our guest room to head to the prison, our team leaders had mentioned how some of us may feel uncomfortable and unsure of what to do, what so say or how to act. They encouraged us to step out of our comfort zones and to really spend time with these children…To be there in the moment with them and to show them that we truly do care. I remember sitting there being just SO excited and anxious to GET THERE!! I just wanted to be there already! I had been praying and praying and begging God to send me to Africa for this purpose---for HIS PURPOSE! To serve…love…care…adore…and bring hope to all of these precious orphans and children. I was finally there and couldn’t stand to wait any longer—even though it was only like 15 minutes until we headed out onto the road! But I just felt like it was killing me having to wait any longer until we got there! :)
Shelby and me before heading out!
Shelby and me with our roomies! :) With our bus driver in the back! :)
Our team arrived to this prison and we walked in were many of the children were having a class with their teacher. I’m not exactly sure what they were doing—or what they were saying—but it was some form of a class. After they finished up with their class they welcomed us into the front of the room/building. We all lined up and sat against the wall. Shelby and I happened to sit RIGHT next to some of the kids. I remember specifically walking towards the bench that was being shared with a few of the kids. I just wanted to get as close to them as I could and to make every single moment count with them! So, Shelby and I sat down and were introduced ourselves to a few of the children. And really, I can’t even explain it! They were ALL so EXCITED!! Like it was Christmas morning to them…or Like we were these famous people! I could just really tell that they were TRULY HAPPY and THANKFUL that we were there! They laughed at how we talked and seemed so interested in everything we had to say. One girl kept looking and smiling at me, so I waved and smiled. Then she got up and walked over to me and gave me a hug and then went to sit back down. I thought that was SO precious and that hug meant just as much to me as it did to her! :)
Once our whole team was settled in, we each started with introductions. Shelby and I were the first ones to go. We stood up and said, “Hello! My name is Shanna….and My name is Shelby. I’m 23 years old….and I am 20 years old. And, we are sisters!” They all LAUGHED and smiled once the interpreter told them we were sisters. We sat down and then they all started speaking loudly at once. We of course couldn’t understand what they were saying but then the interpreter told us that they wanted to know MORE about us! So, we got back up and gave them some more information about us. We told them that we were from Minnesota—which is in the United States. We told them that we both liked sports, especially basketball…we told them that we were both going to school (college) to be teachers and that lastly, we are SO excited to be here with them! And we thanked them for having us. They LOVED this and got such a kick out of it! Also, after we said something they liked—they would just break out into a special clap! They had so many different beats and claps that they did. It was so cute and they made us feel so welcomed! :)
After our team finished up with introductions, we were able to make Salvation Bracelets with them. To many children in America—especially the older kids, they may have thought making a little bracelet was silly. BUT…not these children. This was HUGE to them!!! First off, it was something they could make themselves!! AND, they were able to keep it!!!!!!! I can’t even explain to you how special this made them feel. They literally have almost NOTHING, so being told that they were going to be able to keep their bracelet just made their day!! Many of the children in this prison have been through hard times and have made mistakes—like we all do. And many of them had committed crimes…some worse than others, but regardless, they all did something that caused them to have to be here. So we thought this Salvation Bracelet would be very meaningful to them. The bracelet was made up of 5 different beads. The black bead went on first and represents SIN and how we ALL sin and make mistakes daily. The second bead was red—for the BLOOD Jesus shed for EACH and EVERYONE of us while He was on the cross. The third bead is white to remind us that we are each made NEW and WHOLE and are CLEAN because of Jesus. The fourth bead is yellow to show us that once Jesus lives inside our hearts we are to SHINE HIS LIGHT onto others and it represents the LIGHT that God gives us. The last bead is green to remind and encourage us to ALWAYS GROW WITH GOD! Our relationship with God is a forever commitment that needs to be worked at on a daily basis and it reminds us that we should always want to GROW CLOSER to HIM!
Here’s our group with their bracelets! :)
After that we had free time to play with the kids…it was SO much fun!
Here are a few pictures of how our time was spent…
Here are a few pictures of how our time was spent…
After leaving the kids we got in our bus and drive back to our Guest House and all of a sudden it started POURING out. After 10-15 minutes the streets were seriously flooding…it was CRAZY! I can’t even explain it! The water has no where to go…nowhere to drain to and so it seems like its everywhere! I tried to snap a few pictures to try and explain what I mean, but it’s sort of hard to tell!
Today was such a meaningful day for me. I learned so much from spending just a short amount of time with these children. In my next post I will TRY and share a little more about the children’s prisons. It’s hard to understand and comprehend, but I’ll try my best to share with you! Have a great Sunday everyone! Cherish this Sabbath day by relaxing and spending time in God’s word!
Here is a quote I would like to share with you. My good friend, Miranda, sent me a card with this quote on it and I think it’s very fitting for today’s blog post and also for my whole trip! God stretched me and pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I’ve never had a more enjoyable and meaningful experience!!!!
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” –Neal Donald Walsch
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