Johnnie

At first, he was quiet and didn’t talk. He strutted around the street, trying to prove he could take care of himself and didn’t need anyone’s help.

The teenaged mothers on this street corner pleaded for someone to take him. He showed up on their street a week ago. No one knows where he came from or who he belongs to. The mothers tried taking care of him, but they barely scrounge up enough food for themselves and their own children. They knew that someone needed to take care of this very independent four-year-old before something serious happened to him.

Four-year-old Johnnie spent the day with me, while my friend looked for an orphanage that would take him. After Johnnie established that the white on my skin did not rub off, he became a chatter box. We played cars and wrestled around my house.

When we got in the car to go to the orphanage, Johnnie serenaded me (at the top of his lungs) all the way to my friend’s house. Once she sat in the car, Johnnie immediately went mute again. But, every time I looked in the rear view mirror to check on him in the backseat, he made goofy eyes at me – ah – four-year-old humor at its best!

This orphanage we took Johnnie to was great. They agreed with us that Johnnie had not been on the street for very long. He looked well fed and cared for – other than some scrapes and bruises. He also had a very large vocabulary that most children on the street do not have.

Leaving Johnnie at that orphanage was hard on both of us. It’s amazing how attached you can become to someone after one day.

From what Johnnie told me, he has a mother, but doesn’t have a father. He doesn’t know where his mother is. Our guess is that they were separated at the bus station near where he was found. Either that, or his mother died and relatives abandoned him on the streets because they could not take care of him (a common practice here).

We filled out a ton of paperwork, so we could not be accused of stealing a child and filed it with the police. This will also serve as a way for Johnnie’s mother to find him.

Please pray that Johnnie’s family will seek him out and collect him at this orphanage. If Johnnie was abandoned, pray that his transition to this orphanage is a smooth one.

Uganda

Here's my first stab at doing a video while on a coverage. This is a story about the Passion Fruit Project. In this project, Ugandan Christians are trying to help their fellow Ugandans who are HIV positive care for their own health through growing fruit, while at the same time, introducing these Ugandans to Jesus Christ.

Saidet's Story

Saidet is sick. To look at her, you’d never know.

She is one of millions in Uganda who are infected with HIV. She knows that one day, she’ll die from an AIDS related illness. She worries about her children and if she’ll live long enough to see them grown or if they will end up orphans.

The clinic where Saidet was tested for HIV offers free antiretroviral medicine. This medicine is changing the look of HIV across the continent of Africa. Uganda is one of the few countries offering it free. Saidet admits that in the past, everyone knew who had HIV because they had “the look” (losing weight, could see their bones, etc.), NOW, no one knows. The new drugs help keep you healthy and living longer.

Despite these new drugs, Saidet still felt sad. She still worried about her kids. She wandered what happened when you die. She went to mosque a faithfully every Friday, searching for answers.

One Friday morning, a counselor from her clinic came to visit. He talked about keeping a healthy diet, checked up on her medicines and talked about God. Saidet was more interested in the “God-talk” than the health stuff and invited them to come back.

The counselor returned. This time, there were several other women gathered from this Muslim village. They also wanted to know about living a healthy life with HIV and about God. A small Bible study began in the shade of Saidet’s tree.

Soon, Saidet asked Jesus to be her Savior. Her whole outlook on life changed. She no longer wondered about death because she knew she would have a new life in Christ. She still worried about her children, but began the task of introducing them to her new friend.

The Bible study continued to grow in number. This caused the surrounding Muslim community to take notice. They sent some women to the study to “spy” on the proceedings. The “spies” took the Bibles they received at the study to the mosque and read them aloud to the entire community.

Saidet was forced to defend herself before the village elders. She explained her new faith flawlessly. She spoke of how Jesus had already made a difference in their community with people learning how to forgive as Jesus forgave.

The village elders warned Saidet that the counselors from the clinic could not come back. But, Saidet held firm and said these counselors would always be welcome on her land. While the elders continued to threaten the counselors, they softened some and asked Saidet to return to defend herself again by telling more stories.

"I will proclaim Jesus until the day I die,” Saidet said.

Pray for Saidet that she will have the physical strength to fight this spiritual battle. Pray that the ears of her Muslim community will open and their hearts will be touched by the Holy Spirit.

Mbarara, Uganda

Uganda is a beautiful country, especially the southwest corner. There are rolling mountains with a zillion and one colors of green. Banana groves are everywhere.

Here are a few daily scenes around this part of the country: