Set Two More Plates For Supper

Set the table for two more Mama Eunice! We have two more boys joining us today. We were awarded temporary custody of John Travis and full custody of Matty. Matty has been on the streets since a sponsor he once had could no longer pay for school fees. He is 14 years old and is so excited to be here. He has a father and step mother, but what is quite frequent here, is when a parent remarries, the step parent will become abusive and the child leaves and the parents let them go. (Here is where we scratch our head and say what?) Our social worker had to meet this boy's father in a bar for an interview and to get the papers signed. Matty will join our kids in the same school they currently attend and it just so happens it is the same school that he attended before his funding had ended, so he will fit right in. As far as John goes, CPS must contact Jireh Children's Center and check out his story before they can award us full custody.

It is so wonderful to see how these kids welcome the new ones, like there is a deep understanding of what the kids feel and where they have come from. They make room for them and show them around and just welcome them! I have never experienced anything like that when I went to school. It seemed you had to prove yourself or make friends. But here, it is like Jesus is here and extends his hand and says; "Come in and join the family!" They clap with excitement when they hear of another child joining us! I guess it is a true example of empathy.

Speaking of more people joining us, We pick up Rita on Wednesday, she will be here with us for about ten months. Helping us with a variety of things. We can use her help in administration and with projects with evangelism and working with our children in various ways. Then we pick up Rob and Sam on Saturday and they will be with us for about a month helping out wherever they can. They fight wild fires in the USA during fire season so they have time at this time of year to help us. It is perfect timing to come up with fire prevention and emergency procedures with our children and to teach them the stop, drop and roll technique. We plan to ask the school if they could use some fire training also because this gives our ministry an opportunity for some community service. This makes a total house count of 21 people!

This afternoon, we were blessed by a visit from three of the pastors from Masaka Pentecostal Church; Pastors Sam, Frank, and Tom. We had some great conversation as we sat on the front porch sipping soft drinks in this beautiful weather. They encouraged us to keep on doing what we are doing. To me, one of the highlights of the afternoon was when they laughed at the notion that the bad behavior of a pastor or anyone could be excused because of African or Ugandan culture. It is individuals behaving poorly and yes they do have their share of these people here but we can not just brush stroke it and say it is their culture. It is truly a breath of fresh air to hear of people that practice what they preach and preach from the Bible!