First and foremost, I promise pictures are coming very soon!
Okay so I had hoped that when I wrote my first blog post after we opened, I would be sitting with my kids, watching them play. I am pleased to report that as I write this, that is exactly what I am doing. I am sitting on our sunny porch, at our peaceful house, watching all my kids play Leggos together. I am listening to them chatter with each other, and make silly comments to me. They are playing and laughing and joking, and I am in awe that God got us here.
On Monday morning, we gathered our four boys (Joseph, Alex, Sabote and Waswa) at the clinic in Kivulu. They came running through the gate, not totally knowing what was happening, but very excited because we had told them we had a “very, very special program” that day. Me, Sam and Eddy (my house uncles) gathered them outside, and told them we loved them. We told them we know they have suffered a lot, and that we wanted them off the streets and so did Jesus. We told them that we had a home we wanted them to come to, and asked if they wanted to come. All of them were really excited, and wanted to come, except for Sabote. He was really afraid, and I honestly didn’t think he would come. I could feel my heart breaking as he sat with me, holding my hand, but telling me he couldn’t trust that our home would be good. He has been hurt in homes before, and he was afraid it would be a bad home but that he would be forced to stay there if we were abusing him. After talking to him about it for a long time, he agreed to come to the house “just to see it” and then if he disliked it, we promised him he could return to Kisenyi. It was a tense morning for me, because I truly didn’t think he would stay but I really wanted him to. Thanks to the prayers of many people, he is still here now, currently sitting in the living room watching a movie.
So the boys went and got new clothes (really sweet sneakers and jeans), and then lunch. After they were stuffed full, we took bodas to the house. They came racing in, looking at their new rooms, and checking our their clothes and beds. They also had a blast looking over the bookshelf, and checking out their new toys (by the way, the Leggos/ blocks are a HUGE hit- they love them). They also got to Skype with my mom, who is coming to visit in two weeks, which was super exciting because they were all wanting to meet their new Jajja (grandma). They had fun playing and exploring, and by the evening they were exhausted (Sabote and Waswa promptly fell asleep when they settled down). They had enough energy to eat dinner again, and everyone wanted to bathe again, but then it was bedtime. By the end of the day, I was exhausted beyond words, but so thankful. I couldn’t believe that everyone had stayed, even Sabote.
The rest of this week is flying by. Tomorrow, Amy is taking them swimming in the afternoon, which is very exciting for the boys. I have so much to report on, but there is no “organized” way to share all the thoughts racing around in my mind. So instead I am just going to share a short list of things I want everyone to know about :)
UPDATES
* We had a welcome home party for the boys yesterday. We invited ALL of the staff who has ever worked with them, and it ended up being over 20 people! They played games, had great food and cake, danced and listened to fun music that Uncle Abdul brought. Everyone got to see the house, and it meant a lot to the boys that they were not forgotten. People encouraged them, and prayed for them. I think it made all the boys realize that this was the beginning, not the end. Everyone is still invested in them, and they have so much love and support. It was a really encouraging time :)
* While watching movies this week, I have been able to see a lot of dancing. Every time a song comes on, Waswa jumps up and starts dancing to the music in the movie. He is not a wonderful dancer, but he loves it! Today, watching him dance to Garfield was pretty hilarious.
* When we first got home, Alex was playing cards with me. He started talking about what he wanted to be when he grows up. He first told me “I shouldn’t tell you... you wont like it”. After some prompting, he finally admitted that he has always wanted to be the commander of a rebel army (as in a rebel war lord). After a few hours though, he had discovered the amazing joy of building with the Leggos. In the evening of the first night, after showing me the new helicopter he built, he said “I think now I want to be an engineer, not a rebel. Building is really fun!”. Just wanted to share that God is using toys to change hearts, even within the first few hours. God is amazing.
* Joseph, our youngest little guy who is around 10, is the sweetest thing ever. He is just a little kid, in every way. Yes, he has loads of trauma and did a lot of drugs on the streets, but he is a sweet little boy. He has been enjoying the toys and football in the yard. He loves trying on his new clothes again and again, and looks adorable in the little “Hang Loose, Maui” shirt I got him. He loves dancing too, and is a really good dancer. He loves playing with the little animal toys that the boys got. The boys call him the Prince of Slums, because apparently Joseph is from the royal family here. His last name is the same as the King of Buganda. Personally, for some reason, I find this really sad. I mean, he is actually part of the royal family here! I don’t know how distant that is, though I am sure its pretty distant, but still. Part of my heart just breaks knowing that his own family sits on the throne of Uganda, while Joseph was (as the boys say) Prince of Kisenyi. But all I keep thinking as I watch him playing is “its their loss”. How could you throw this child out? He is SO precious. How could you not want him? He is a prince, he shares the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. He belongs home with me, and its their loss.
*Please continue to pray for Enoch. We could not find him, and I am starting to loose hope to be honest. I don’t know where to go next, or what do to. He is lost, and only God can find him. At this point, my prayer is that God would be with Enoch, and bring him home (in whatever way that happens to look like, because I don’t want Enoch to be suffering and alone).
*I just wanted to share what it feels like to be called mom for the first time. Um, amazing, and overwhelming, but so joyful. On the first evening, the boys were already calling me momma Cait. By today, they are referring to me as their “mama wange” which is a more direct term of mom (you have to understand the Luganda, but its the difference between calling me a mom, to calling me their mom). Even Alex is calling me mom. He tried it out in play several dozen times on the first day, shouting “mom!” in play, just to see if I would answer to him. When I did, he finally settled into just calling me mom (though not in front of anyone else, because at the party he called me auntie Cait again :)
Lastly, if you are wondering, I am slightly overwhelmed right now. It finally hit me, AFTER we brought them home, that this was a forever change. These are my kids now, and this is what I chose to do with my life. I had a few moments/ days of feeling like I couldn’t do it. Like I wasn’t wise or strong enough (and I am not, but through God I can do this). I am settling into myself, the longer we have the boys home. I am learning to trust my parenting, though the idea of being responsible for 4 children is terrifying still. And I am exhausted! Like bringing home a baby, my whole schedule is shifted and they need 100% of my attention, almost 24/7. Me and Sam definitely need some rest (yes that is a prayer request)! But on a whole, I am doing well. Yes, its a lot, but it wont always be as hard as this first week. And I love them so much that even when I think I am at my breaking point, I would never choose anything other than these boys and this life. They are my little boys, and I adore them with all I am.
Thank you for praying with us, so that God could get us to this point. So many miracles, and praises and joys. God is SO faithful, and the work of His hands is glorious. This is just the beginning too, the start of something new. The first steps of a new journey for these boys, a time of leaving old things behind and starting again.
Okay so I had hoped that when I wrote my first blog post after we opened, I would be sitting with my kids, watching them play. I am pleased to report that as I write this, that is exactly what I am doing. I am sitting on our sunny porch, at our peaceful house, watching all my kids play Leggos together. I am listening to them chatter with each other, and make silly comments to me. They are playing and laughing and joking, and I am in awe that God got us here.
On Monday morning, we gathered our four boys (Joseph, Alex, Sabote and Waswa) at the clinic in Kivulu. They came running through the gate, not totally knowing what was happening, but very excited because we had told them we had a “very, very special program” that day. Me, Sam and Eddy (my house uncles) gathered them outside, and told them we loved them. We told them we know they have suffered a lot, and that we wanted them off the streets and so did Jesus. We told them that we had a home we wanted them to come to, and asked if they wanted to come. All of them were really excited, and wanted to come, except for Sabote. He was really afraid, and I honestly didn’t think he would come. I could feel my heart breaking as he sat with me, holding my hand, but telling me he couldn’t trust that our home would be good. He has been hurt in homes before, and he was afraid it would be a bad home but that he would be forced to stay there if we were abusing him. After talking to him about it for a long time, he agreed to come to the house “just to see it” and then if he disliked it, we promised him he could return to Kisenyi. It was a tense morning for me, because I truly didn’t think he would stay but I really wanted him to. Thanks to the prayers of many people, he is still here now, currently sitting in the living room watching a movie.
So the boys went and got new clothes (really sweet sneakers and jeans), and then lunch. After they were stuffed full, we took bodas to the house. They came racing in, looking at their new rooms, and checking our their clothes and beds. They also had a blast looking over the bookshelf, and checking out their new toys (by the way, the Leggos/ blocks are a HUGE hit- they love them). They also got to Skype with my mom, who is coming to visit in two weeks, which was super exciting because they were all wanting to meet their new Jajja (grandma). They had fun playing and exploring, and by the evening they were exhausted (Sabote and Waswa promptly fell asleep when they settled down). They had enough energy to eat dinner again, and everyone wanted to bathe again, but then it was bedtime. By the end of the day, I was exhausted beyond words, but so thankful. I couldn’t believe that everyone had stayed, even Sabote.
The rest of this week is flying by. Tomorrow, Amy is taking them swimming in the afternoon, which is very exciting for the boys. I have so much to report on, but there is no “organized” way to share all the thoughts racing around in my mind. So instead I am just going to share a short list of things I want everyone to know about :)
UPDATES
* We had a welcome home party for the boys yesterday. We invited ALL of the staff who has ever worked with them, and it ended up being over 20 people! They played games, had great food and cake, danced and listened to fun music that Uncle Abdul brought. Everyone got to see the house, and it meant a lot to the boys that they were not forgotten. People encouraged them, and prayed for them. I think it made all the boys realize that this was the beginning, not the end. Everyone is still invested in them, and they have so much love and support. It was a really encouraging time :)
* While watching movies this week, I have been able to see a lot of dancing. Every time a song comes on, Waswa jumps up and starts dancing to the music in the movie. He is not a wonderful dancer, but he loves it! Today, watching him dance to Garfield was pretty hilarious.
* When we first got home, Alex was playing cards with me. He started talking about what he wanted to be when he grows up. He first told me “I shouldn’t tell you... you wont like it”. After some prompting, he finally admitted that he has always wanted to be the commander of a rebel army (as in a rebel war lord). After a few hours though, he had discovered the amazing joy of building with the Leggos. In the evening of the first night, after showing me the new helicopter he built, he said “I think now I want to be an engineer, not a rebel. Building is really fun!”. Just wanted to share that God is using toys to change hearts, even within the first few hours. God is amazing.
* Joseph, our youngest little guy who is around 10, is the sweetest thing ever. He is just a little kid, in every way. Yes, he has loads of trauma and did a lot of drugs on the streets, but he is a sweet little boy. He has been enjoying the toys and football in the yard. He loves trying on his new clothes again and again, and looks adorable in the little “Hang Loose, Maui” shirt I got him. He loves dancing too, and is a really good dancer. He loves playing with the little animal toys that the boys got. The boys call him the Prince of Slums, because apparently Joseph is from the royal family here. His last name is the same as the King of Buganda. Personally, for some reason, I find this really sad. I mean, he is actually part of the royal family here! I don’t know how distant that is, though I am sure its pretty distant, but still. Part of my heart just breaks knowing that his own family sits on the throne of Uganda, while Joseph was (as the boys say) Prince of Kisenyi. But all I keep thinking as I watch him playing is “its their loss”. How could you throw this child out? He is SO precious. How could you not want him? He is a prince, he shares the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. He belongs home with me, and its their loss.
*Please continue to pray for Enoch. We could not find him, and I am starting to loose hope to be honest. I don’t know where to go next, or what do to. He is lost, and only God can find him. At this point, my prayer is that God would be with Enoch, and bring him home (in whatever way that happens to look like, because I don’t want Enoch to be suffering and alone).
*I just wanted to share what it feels like to be called mom for the first time. Um, amazing, and overwhelming, but so joyful. On the first evening, the boys were already calling me momma Cait. By today, they are referring to me as their “mama wange” which is a more direct term of mom (you have to understand the Luganda, but its the difference between calling me a mom, to calling me their mom). Even Alex is calling me mom. He tried it out in play several dozen times on the first day, shouting “mom!” in play, just to see if I would answer to him. When I did, he finally settled into just calling me mom (though not in front of anyone else, because at the party he called me auntie Cait again :)
Lastly, if you are wondering, I am slightly overwhelmed right now. It finally hit me, AFTER we brought them home, that this was a forever change. These are my kids now, and this is what I chose to do with my life. I had a few moments/ days of feeling like I couldn’t do it. Like I wasn’t wise or strong enough (and I am not, but through God I can do this). I am settling into myself, the longer we have the boys home. I am learning to trust my parenting, though the idea of being responsible for 4 children is terrifying still. And I am exhausted! Like bringing home a baby, my whole schedule is shifted and they need 100% of my attention, almost 24/7. Me and Sam definitely need some rest (yes that is a prayer request)! But on a whole, I am doing well. Yes, its a lot, but it wont always be as hard as this first week. And I love them so much that even when I think I am at my breaking point, I would never choose anything other than these boys and this life. They are my little boys, and I adore them with all I am.
Thank you for praying with us, so that God could get us to this point. So many miracles, and praises and joys. God is SO faithful, and the work of His hands is glorious. This is just the beginning too, the start of something new. The first steps of a new journey for these boys, a time of leaving old things behind and starting again.
No comments:
Post a Comment