Do Not Forget

"Be careful that you do not forget the LORD, 

who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." 

 Deuteronomy 6:12

Life is good right now- so good :) I have children, whom I adore and cherish. I surrounded by people who love me and lift me up. I love and am loved. 

I was talking with a friend the other day, who was telling me about some hard things in his past. I was telling him how far God has brought him, and how much God has lifted him up. And instead of agreeing with me, he told me "I never want to forget who I am, or where I came from. I never want to think 'I earned this, or did this'. God did this, and I have to remember my past, so I can remember Him." 

These are wise words. Right now, my life is amazing. I posted earlier this month that I had been waiting on God's sunrise, and it has come. It is beautiful, and glorious and bright! But that doesn't mean I should forget the dark times. This year was dark. This year was painful. This year was hard. It has been long, and there were times I wondered if God would ever fulfill His promises to me. And now that He has, His command is simple; do not forget Me. 

Do not forget where, or who you were.

Do not forget who healed you when you were broken.

Do not forget who gave you everything, when you had nothing. 

Do not forget who comforted you, all the countless times you wept. 

Do not forget who your rock was, when the earth seemed to crumble beneath you. 

Do not forget that I, your King, did not leave you. 

Do not forget that I, your Father, kept my promises.

Do not forget what I have done. 

I will not forget Jesus. I will stumble again, and I will wander from you- I am human and I know I will. But I will not forget what my Maker has done for me. You are the only one who deserves glory for all these good things. I pray that through my joy, Your name would be exalted!

 

Meet My Kids: Yahaya

I hope your heart breaks for Yahaya too

So as I write this, I am crying. I have been putting it off, hoping the situation would change and I could write a happy story for you, but that just isn’t the case right now. For the safety of A.P.I., and my own personal safety, I cannot explain what is going on with Yahaya. I need to respect the government here, and their choices on handling street kids. If you would like to know ways you can be praying for Yahaya specifically, you can  email me about it. What I can say is that Yahaya has been taken away from me right now. I believe that God is going to bring him back to me, and know that it is God’s plan for Yahaya to be in Joseph’s House. But still, it feels devastating and unfair.

Yahaya is possibly the most hopeless child I have ever known. Sometimes it scares me to see the vacant look in his eyes. He is 12, and has been on the streets at least 4 years. Where he came from, and what happened to him before the streets is a mystery. He is unwilling or unable to remember the details of his past. His life on the streets has been no better. He is small, and is beyond victimized, bullied, and beat down. Yahaya also has extreme trust issues- I mean extreme. He cannot trust that any adult can really love him, because in the past adults have hurt him so deeply. He has been in at least 7 homes, and has been unable to stay in any of them.

When I decided to open Joseph’s House, I began searching for Yahaya. It took a long time to find him, and he literally ran away from me the first few times we found him. He didn’t understand what I wanted, or why I was searching for him. He was terrified. And so I was facing the challenge of bonding with this little boy, and I had made a little progress. He no longer ran away, and even looked forward to meeting me. I brought him what he needed, and did everything I said I would (with Yahaya, you have to do exactly what you say you’re going to, else he feels like you lied). I think he even loves me, with the part of his heart that is capable of that. Even still, I know that Yahaya will run away when we bring him home- I will bring him back as many times as it takes, but he will run. He has never lasted in a home more than 24 hours, and at first I think Joseph’s House will feel the same. But I will go the distance to bring him home, whatever that takes.

Unfortunately, Yahaya went from a bad situation, to a possibly worse one. He was living in Kisenyi, where he was cold, beaten, assaulted, starving and sick. Now he is all of those things in a new situation, where I cannot even be with him. And I miss him so much! When I am out with all my other kids, its like there is a hole in my heart where he should be. His absence is painfully obvious to me, and it makes me sick with grief.

How beyond precious is he? Thanks for this pic Abby!

God loves this child. I love this child. You cannot help but love this little boy! He is precious beyond words. Yahaya’s life is a perfect example of injustice; his life, pain and suffering are the reason we are opening Joseph’s House, and what A.P.I stands for (literally). No child deserves a fraction of what he has been through. No child deserves to sleep on the concrete, under a trash bag. No child deserves to be abused, and live in constant fear of their life. No child deserves to starve. No child deserves to be abandoned. No child deserves to be beaten. No child deserves to be lost and forgotten. No child deserves a life void of love.

I hate that my children are on the streets right now. I hate that even when I bring them home, there will be countless others still living that terrible life. But I know that God is moving here, one day at a time. That His plan is perfect, and that He is the ultimate Father and fighter for Yahaya and all these other boys. Please join me in these prayers...

That Yahaya would not loose hope.

That all my little fighters would keep fighting. 

That God would bring Yahaya back to me (please God)!

That our mighty God would fight for justice here in Uganda. 

That Joseph’s House would be opened as soon as I get back to Uganda. 

That God would open the doors for Joseph’s House while I am in the US. 

That the Spirit would send love, joy and protection over all these boys. 

That Jesus would be the ultimate comforter to these children. 

That we, as Christians would never stop this fight. 

That through Christ, my kids will heal. 

That I can show them God’s love.

Meet My Kids: Waswa

Waswa, with his face painted on Beach Day

So I had said in Sabote’s post that you would get to hear about my 6th boy. Let me tell you about Waswa.

From the beginning, I wanted 5 boys. But I was in constant turmoil because there was always a boy on the periphery. First, I had wanted to take one of the boys currently in our Bombo homes, Enoch. Then some things settled down with Enoch, and I realized that he needed to stay in the Forever Homes. I felt peaceful, because I though God had brought the number down to 5, and that was that.

But the day after I decided about Enoch, I met another boy. He wandered into programs while the team was here. He was filthy, and strait form Kisenyi. Abby was the one who pointed him out to me. She told me his name was Waswa, and that he was really hard to get to know. He has a hard time trusting people, and in the years Abby had known him, he had only said a few words to her. That first day I tried to talk to Waswa, but he wouldn’t really have anything to do with me. I told God I was open to the possibility, but that God had to put me on Waswa’s heart too (I wasn’t going to take a child who wouldn’t even talk to me). The first two times I saw him, he never said more than “hello”, and I was starting to think that God had given me His answer.

Except, you know that weird thing when you meet someone, and then you see them everywhere? Well, after I met this boy (whom I had never seen before), I kept running into him everywhere! I met him in Kisenyi, and while walking around town. Strangely enough, he sleeps on the same street where Yahaya sleeps at night (which is this random little side street). So each night, as I went to see Yahaya and Sabote, I also ran into Waswa. We even took him to the hospital, because he had been sick with malaria for two weeks. But running into him everywhere isn’t the crazy part, the crazy part is what God was doing in Waswa’s heart. Over these little meetings, Waswa decided he loved me. This can only be explained as God, because certainty I didn’t do anything that Abby (or the rest of our staff) hadn’t tried. But still, Waswa trusted me.

So, God had answered me in a way. This child, who has trouble connecting with anyone, inexplicably trusted me. But I still wasn’t sure. I wanted that %110 feeling of peace and clarity that I had with my other boys. It happened that we were taking the boys to the beach the next day, and I invited Waswa. I told God “if you want him in Joseph’s House, place him on my heart tomorrow so I will be sure”. I prayed that over and over again that Friday night, knowing that by the end of Saturday I would be sure. But God is always bigger than we are, and He knows that making Waswa my child was a big decision. On Saturday morning, I woke up early. I wasn’t sure why I had woken up so early, or so

At the beach :)

suddenly. It was kinda a crazy, Jesus moment to be honest. I lay in bed, and waited to for something (I didn’t know what I was waiting for). And then, so softly but so clearly, I felt the Holy Spirit put Waswa on my heart. I know that sounds a little crazy, but its true! I know God woke me up so that I could feel Him do this in the still of the morning. So that I would be sure, and know that He had done it. One second I was waiting in the quiet, and the next my heart was full of a sure and unimaginable love for Waswa.

Waswa is broken, and it breaks my heart. Waswa has been hurt in ways I cannot even fathom. He is about 12, and has been on the streets for over 3 years. He is the ultimate victim, never fighting back, and he is easily bullied. Honestly, I don’t know how he has survived on the streets this long. Bad things happen, and his escape is to become invisible. He is the kind of child that can sit in a room with you, and you would never notice him. But God never lost sight of him, and now I see him too. Bless his heart, Waswa is sweet! He is the sweetest of my boys by far. He loves to be hugged, and needs me to hold his hand when we are walking. He finally has someone he loves and trusts, who loves him back. Because of this, his behavior has regressed to that of a very small child. He has never had someone to take care of him, and he has been longing for it. A few days ago, we took the boys to the zoo. In the taxi, Waswa held my hand the whole way, and he was sitting in the row behind me... At the zoo, he didn’t wander from my side.

Me and Waswa at the zoo

Waswa is quiet, and funny, and kind. He sees the other boys, and is a good friend. He is so precious!! I am so glad that I got to feel God place him on my heart. I am so thankful that God allowed me to see what He sees: to really see Waswa! See who he is, and what he needs, and all that God created him to be.

Meet My Kids: Kasozi

Kasozi a few months ago

 So I have posted about Kasozi before (read here and here) and I have known him a very long time. With the other boys from Joseph’s House, I am fully expecting God to transform their lives when they come home. But with Kasozi, I am watching God radically transform him while he is still on the streets. Recently, I asked one of our A.P.I.  uncles, Lawrence, to get Kasozi’s story. This is what it said...
“I was only 7 when my parents divorced. My mom couldn’t take me, so I went with my dad. He was in the military, and so he left me with my grandma. She couldn’t feed me though, so I went back with my father. He had already remarried at that time, and my stepmom hated me.

She abused me a lot. At this time I was 9. I am thankful now that God made me live with them, because the things I went through made me a stronger person. I am stronger today for facing those challenges. But after a year of living with my father and stepmother, it was too hard. I had to leave, because they were mistreating me so much. So I ran away to the streets.

Once I got on the streets, I looked for scrap and stayed in Kisenyi. I made friends for the first time in

Kasozi and me on our beach trip

my life. They couldn’t take care of me, or give me food or anything, but they loved me. It was the first time I had real friends. But I had been left by everyone in my life. I had never been loved by anyone [any adult]. I was yearning for love, because I had nobody. But then God brought me Auntie Kate, and Auntie Amy. And they love me. And because of them, I know someone can care about me, and I know God brought them to me. Now I know I am loved. I am so thankful for them, and for the works God is doing in my life!”

*Amy is another full time auntie here. She is a nurse from Canada. She has quickly become a very close friend of mine. Like me she absolutely adores Kasozi, and has a special heart for him. I would also like to note here that one of my previous Kasozi posts was called "Distant Calling"...I think God was laughing at that title, because it was only a few months ago. At the time I thought Joseph's House was years away! God's timing is perfect. Okay back to Kasozi...

Kasozi fills me with joy and love. He is so loyal, and such a good role model for the other boys. He used to fight a lot, and do lots of drugs. Now he never does drugs, and can control his temper very well. I haven’t seen him fight for a long time. He is going to be the oldest in my house, and is the perfect “older brother”. He doesn’t even know about Joseph’s House yet, but he already takes care of the younger boys. He corrects them, makes sure they are listening, and helps them resolve things when they are fighting. He has a special bond with Bashil, which is perfect because Bashil needs a stable role model in the house.

Kasozi chose to come on this night outreach, to protect me!

Kasozi belongs with me. He will stay in the house the shortest length of time. After about a year, I will put him in vocation and help him start saving for his future career. But he deserves this chance. He has been on the streets since he was 10, and he is now at least 15 (probably 16). This amazing child just needed to be loved! I know God is going to do amazing things with Kasozi’s life, and has already started unfolding his plans for Kasozi.


I am so excited to see where God takes him, and so unbelievably blessed to be part of this story :)