96,092 cases and changing the world

I saw this sign on Facebook.  It made me laugh out loud.  and Juergen nearly cried laughing when I showed it to him.  If you do not get it, the Coronavirus they believe came from a person eating a bat.  Or an animal that had been infected by a bat. That person contracted the virus, and they spread it to another person...and here we all are.  Locked up in our houses, economy ready to crash. If you want to change the world in a good way, we are trying to support 35 teenage mothers and their 46 kids in this time of lock down. They can not earn money (by law unable to sell their hand crafts) so we are trying to help them pay food and rent. And they stay busy making beads, bags and soap to be sold in the future gift shop. Check here for more details. HOW TO SUPPORT TEENAGE MOTHERS SURVIVE THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN IN KAMPALA.  

Nicole took my desk, and Juergen is taking the entire office to do his work. I set up a table for myself in my bedroom. Thomas comes home on Thursday. We will have a full house. I feel like it is my job to keep Jessica busy so everyone else gets their homework/work done. Poor Jessica is so bored. I have to drive her around for hours every day. But I also need time to write. I am working on a book with Nicole. Here is what I wrote yesterday(it needs editing)... How I began to carry hope… It began for me when I was a student. I read a copy of A Distant Grief: The Real Story Behind the Martyrdom of Christians in Uganda In the 1970s, the church in Uganda was severely persecuted under the government of Idi Amin. And there were many martyrs. Whole families were killed. And there were many orphans. A pastor named Kefa, tells the story of picking up a child in the village. The neighbor is caring for this child in her home. It is a very poor hut with dirt floors. There is nothing special about this home, except there is a porcine cup in the room. This fine cup stands out in this otherwise impoverished room. And the women invite him to eat and drink tea. He wanted to say no to the food. It was certainly all she had. But it would have been rude for him to say no, so he eats. And when it was time to go, he asked her to give the child a blanket or a toy. Something to make the transition easier. But there was nothing. No toys, and only a rag the child had been sleeping on. Nothing to start a new life with. So, he took the child and dropped it at the children's home. As he returned to his home in Kampala, he was angry. How could this woman feed him all this food, and serve him tea in this fine cup, but the child had nothing. No toy or blanket. But then his wife replied, isn't it amazing how the poor will give you their very best. And these words have stayed with me for over 3 decades. Isn't it amazing how the poor will give you their best? And my heart has been changed. How can we give like the poor? How can I give the best? Uganda lay dormant in my heart all these years. It was a seed just waiting for the right conditions to grow. And in January 2017 I met Sylvia Nantango. She was a schoolteacher in Kampala Uganda. And she wanted to start a Teen MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group in the slums. As we chatted on what’s app and Facebook messenger, I realized she was in over her head. Her heart was beautiful, but she would never succeed without help. And I never questioned it, I just jumped in. I guess I knew that I was called to do something in Uganda. I knew it since I read a Distant Grief. I knew almost 5 years before Sylvia was even born. I just knew. It was like the water finally fell on that seed that was resting all these years, and nothing was going to stop it from growing. This was no weed seed. It would be a tree. Its roots would go down deep, and the growth would be extremely fast. I was meant to do this. I think we are all meant to help pull people up. We are all meant to carry hope (Suubi). I pray that these stories will act like water on your hearts. That God might encourage you to help lift people up. The need has never been greater.