Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Bushenyi (Where the Honey is)

Sorry for the delay in posting. Things here haven’t been super exciting and I had the flu a few days ago, so that further postponed what I wanted to post about.

Last week we took one of our boys Emma to visit his family. He really loves his step mom, but her new husband wouldn’t let him stay when they got married. His village is in a district called Bushenyi, and they are famous for their honey. Its about 14 hours round trip, and we did it in one day! We wanted the day to be really special for him, so me and Abby and uncle Abdul packed lots of snacks and made special playlists on my ipod for him. We drove and drove in my 20 year old car (what a trooper!). We made it there and back totally safe and without car troubles, which is a miracle.

** Side Note** I was blown away by the difference between going west and north in Uganda. I’ve driven the same distance north, and the effect is totally different! In the west, where we went, things are developed. There are homes and little towns the whole way. There is infrastructure and gas stations and its not the middle of nowhere! In the north, its totally the opposite. The country is still totally devastated by the war. There are refugee camps, and stick mud huts, and hours without seeing a building. Its tragic and also amazing how one tiny country (Uganda is about the size of Oregon) can be so divided. ***

Back to my story.. So although the day was super long, it was totally worth it to see the smile on Emma’s face when he saw his family :)

Emma is a really special boy. People who come on teams always remember him, because once you know him and his smile, he’s impossible to forget. He is really good at knowing when people are hurting, and cheering them up. He wants to be a comedian, and honestly has a gift. He is REALLY funny, and knows how to make any audience laugh. He takes super good care of me too. One of my first memories of Emma is from when I first came with the FBC team. I had been walking in the slum all day, and when I got to the boys home my feet were really dirty. Emma lead me out to the back, and washed them for me. It was the most humble of acts from a boy who the world had turned their back on. He was really mistreated, and his family dysfunction is through the roof. He suffered a lot on the streets, but is still so open to love.

Emma is an example of how God’s love can heal and redeem. Even though they hurt him, Emma still loves his family and desires to know them. That is how God feels about us too.. we love a God of reconciliation. Altogether, it was a long but good day in the land of honey.

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