Holy Cow!

We have all heard the saying “Take the bull by the horns.”  Let me tell you in reality, that is terrifying thought.  Herds of cattle walk along the road, slow down traffic, graze in people front yards, this is a common sight here in Jinja. To be honest a sight that I am accustomed to seeing, but never quite used to.   This is where my story begins….

About two weeks ago our car broke down, very common here in Jinja as well.  I was on the phone with the mechanic describing the problem.  I was in front of our house, off the road, off the beaten trail and standing under a mango tree.  I heard cattle coming from behind me, not a big deal; remember this is a common occurrence here in Jinja. I had my back to the herd and was in the middle of explaining my vehicle problem to the mechanic.  All of the sudden I feel myself being pushed from behind, not a little push, not even a little shove.  A full on rapid forward movement, in fact my feet were skidding along the ground. As you can imagine I was shocked, having no idea what was going on and resisting with all my might to hold in the scream of a little girl that was welling up deep inside me. I looked down to see what in the world was going on.  To my shock, there were two giant horns coming out on each side of my waist.  The horns had to be at least 10 feet long.  Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but when you are being  pushed along and there are two enormous horns on either side of you they seem 10 feet long.

I’m not sure exactly what came out of my mouth screams, jumbled words, inaudible noises, but whatever it was it was much to the delight of the boda drivers across the street who were all laughing hysterically.  At this point all I could feel was my feet trying to gain traction on the ground and my bottom planted squarely on the head of the bull.  When I realized I was being pushed by this enormous beast, I literally jumped off of its head and slapped him between the eyes.  Now this seemed completely rational at the time, but as I ran behind the mango tree and contemplated my escape route, this giant beast of burden began stamping his foot and shaking his head at me.  Maybe the slap on the head was not my best plan, this seemed to anger him more than whatever it was I did to offend him originally.

 I had two thoughts, go up the mango tree or up and over the wall that is covered in razor wire.  This wire is super sharp, the 6 inch scar on my leg can attest to that.  I thought my best plan was to climb the mango tree. At this point the bull decided he had proven his point  and meandered back along the road. He left me frazzled, missing one shoe and in shock under the mango tree.  At this point, still not fully aware of what just happened I heard the mechanic on the other end of the phone “Mr. Jason, Mr. Jason are you ok?” I am not sure what I told him, but again this sent the boda drivers into uncontrollable laughter.

Retelling my frightening tale at home to my wife, expecting sympathy or a medal for heroism in the face of danger, do you know what I got?  Laughter. Lots and lots of laughter. Her only comment was wishing she had been able to capture the moment  on video. Surely we would have one big money on America’s Funniest Home Videos.

They say if you mess with the bull you get the horns……………well I am here to tell you sometimes even when you don’t mess with the bull you get the horns anyway. For the record I found my shoe and the five foot skid marks from my death defying encounter.

The next day we were driving into to town and I was able to find the same herd and get a picture of the terrifying beast.  I am pretty sure he was eyeing me down.  Sometimes I break into a cold sweat thinking of this giant black and white beast with huge black tipped horns.

Take the bull by the horns they say…………….I say that’s a bunch of bull.

Does Helping Help?

I want to piggy back off a blog written by our friend here in Uganda, Smooth Via.  The Via Family is working in Uganda doing amazing things for the Kingdom of God. You should really take the time to read his story "When Helping Helps", it will be uplifting to your day.

 http://www.thevias.com/2014/03/03/when-helping-helps

I totally agree with Smooth on this point, sometimes helping does help!  On the flip side sometimes “helping” does hurt.  It is all about empowerment of the people and what they do with the help you provide. Smooth’s example is a beautiful example of someone rising up and helping themselves and it inspired me to share this story. 

I want to introduce you to one of the Jajas in the village we are currently serving in.  She always greets us should be free through the local clinic. However, the love of money and the struggle for money has made the people at the clinic start charging her for medication that should be free.  For a one month supply of medication for the two girls they are asking 3,000 Shillings, roughly the equivalent of $2.50.  That is a large sum of money for someone struggling in the village.  The other problem she faces is transport to the clinic to pick up the medication.  The cost for a round trip is another 3,000 Shillings. In order to keep her granddaughters properly medicated, she has to somehow come up with 6,000 shillings.  She needs 5 bucks a month.  The simple answer would be to give her $5 dollars a month to get the medication she needs.  However, the solution for long term sustainability is not that simple.  Our ministry could easily give her $5 a month; I know a donor would be happy to know their support went directly to this sweet Jaja. with a smile and always sends us away with some sort of gift out of her garden when we visit.  She is currently struggling to take care of her two granddaughters who suffer from epilepsy. She is doing her very best to provide the medication they need to maintain a life without seizures.  The problem is getting the medication. The government is supposed to provide healthcare for the people of Uganda. The medication

The question is what happens to her granddaughters when we are not around anymore?  What if hard times strike and she needs that $5 for food in the village? The long term solution is to find a way for Jaja to help herself.   

God presented that solution on our last visit to the village. As we concluded our visit and time of prayer, we noticed smoke coming from an area beside Jaja’s house and a big pile of wood. She told us she was making charcoal to sell as a way to support her-self.  Bingo!  There was our solution.  God moved quickly in our prayer life today.  We could buy charcoal from Jaja, a big sack costs 30,000 shillings. A solution that benefits both of us, she supports herself and we have charcoal for cooking at home.  This is a way for us to help Jaja support herself, obtain medication for her granddaughters and empower herself.  She will not be dependent upon us for a monthly handout, but we are still finding a way to support her and to help take care of her granddaughters.

Helping is about helping in a beneficial way.  Helping in a way that benefits the people, while also empowering those same people in a way to help themselves.  It is about sharing and educating people who are generous enough to want to give and have the desire to make a difference in this world. When you partner those two things helping can be a very powerful thing. We should not be paralyzed by fear and not help; we should also not give blindly in our desire to help. There has to be a balance.   Helping someone in their time of need is a powerful thing and helping someone help themselves is even more powerful!

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:40

A little red dirt

As we left the village, I looked at my kids and every one of them was covered in red dirt.  Their clothes, their shoes, their bodies and faces, all covered in red dirt…..

Driving into the Wakisi village, we planned to stop and check on the kids and make sure their Jaja had returned from Kenya (Blog post: Break my heart for what breaks Yours) After visiting for awhile we got ready to get back in the van and drive further into the village to the school, where we do the children’s outreach.  Just before we left, the ladies told Kari about a baby that had just been born across the road.  Never missing a chance to see a baby and check on a new mother, Kari and Hadlee went over to the new momma’s house. The lady greeted them in the front yard while doing all her laundry by hand.  She had just had the baby the day before with no assistance.  No hospital bed, no nurse, no doctor and definitely no epidural.  Just like so many other women in the village, she had her baby right there on the dirt floor of her hut.  Life goes on; the next day there was laundry to do and meals to cook.  As I saw this woman washing her clothes by hand I realized what strength and what resolve the people of the village have.  They have to, there is no choice.

These last few months God has been working on my heart, He has shown me that I do not have to have some program or well laid out plans to show His love.  I saw firsthand His love that day as my 5 year old daughter washed clothes in a basin and hung them out to dry.  I saw His love as my children ran through the village, through the banana plants having fun and just being kids. I saw His love as the village kids taught our kids to play a game with sticks and a tire.  I saw His love as Pierce played in the red dirt with his friends. I saw His love in a mother working hard to keep her family going only one day after having a baby.

James 1:22  “But prove yourself doers of the Word, and not merely hearers……

Know it, show it, live it!

As the title says, the kids were covered in “A little (ok a lot of) red dirt.  I could not have been happier and my heart could not have been fuller. 

New Logo!!

Healing Faith has gone thru so many exciting changes in the last year!

-We are officially a 501c3 in the US and we have our NGO in Uganda

-The Malaria program has come to fruition!

-We added a US Staff member

And so many many more and meaningful blessings!

With all of these new changes, it was time to work hard at finding our logo.  After many months of ideas, and trial and error, we have finally found it.We love it and hope you do too!!!

To celebrate our new logo, we are having a T-Shirt GIVEAWAY!!!

Enter below for a chance to win one of our brand new Healing Faith T-Shirts pictured below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Break my heart for what breaks Your

Tuesday as we were packing up to leave the village, Kari saw a young   girl kneeling in the dirt with her young brother.  She was trying to get jiggers out of his feet because they were paining him so much he could not walk.  She was so small herself and she was doing her best to carry her little brother so his feet wouldn't

hurt.  As Kari approached she saw they were dirty and in tattered clothing. Dirty and worn clothing is common in the village, but these were different.  As she talked with them she noticed they were unusually dirt and had sores all over their little bodies.  The youngest had a sunken look to his eyes and he did not look “well.” 

As Kari talked to them she asked if we could take them tp their home, she wanted to meet their mother.  The children told her they live with their Jaja (grandmother)  We loaded them up in the van and drove them down the dirt road to their home.  When we arrived, there was no one there. Kari began talking to neighbors and found out more to the story. The children in fact lived with their Jaja, but she had gone to Kenya for a burial.  She was not scheduled to return until the next day.  The kids had no food in the house and no water. The oldest was 7 and the youngest was 2-3.  They did have an older sibling that we could not find, he was out gathering fire wood, but he too was just a child himself.

It broke our hearts.  Here were these young kids left to fend for themselves. This world is a tough place, especially village life. I can’t imagine leaving for a few days and turning to Everett to say “take care of Hadlee, Pierce and Joseph while I am gone.” Anyone that knows Everett knows what a scary thought that would be!  Tressie, the 7 year old girl, was doing her very best to care for her younger siblings, but she is a child.  Unfortunately, it is a harsh reality here in Uganda.

We were torn as to what to do.  The best thing we could think was to take them down the road and get them something to eat.  We wanted to get some protein in their little bodies, but all we could find was bread and water.  As I sat and watched them eating bread and drinking water, my heart broke all over again.  Kari was able to get them enough bread for the evening as well, hardly a meal for 3 hungry kids. When I skip a meal or have lunch late and my stomach is growling, I think I am so hungry.  I have never known hunger like these kids before. It is hard for us to know true hunger, we always know at some point our next meal is coming.  It might not be exactly at the time we expect or exactly what we want to eat, but we always know food is coming.  I cannot imagine being 7 years old and wondering when and if I am going to eat again.

Hunger and suffering is happening each and every day here and all around the world. You don’t have to be in the village or even in Uganda to see true hunger and suffering all around you. As you are reading this the underlying thought is probably “How could you just leave these kids there?  Why didn’t you take them into town to get a better meal?  Why didn’t you take these kids home until their Jaja returned?” 

While all these thoughts came into our minds and our hearts, they are not practical.  We could easily be accused of stealing children. There could also be 50 other kids in the same scenario within the village. That is just life here. These are the harsh realities some kids face on a daily basis.

“Break my heart for what breaks Yours” 

My Heart is Full

It is February, Valentine's Day has past and my heart is full.  Not because I got flowers or chocolate on the 14th, but because life is good!

I am starting to see so much progress with the children's outreach in the village. Our village team is amazing and is really reaching the children.  On Valentine's Day we went for a regularly scheduled village

day and the kids made my whole day.  They were singing loudly, dancing and they are starting to remember some of the new songs we are teaching them.   They have really had a lot of fun lately teaching me how to say different phrases in Luganda, the local language for this particular village.   Last week we talked about Jesus being the way, the truth and the life.  Ekubo, Amazima, Obulamu (The way the truth and the life).  The kids are really hungry for the word.  For two weeks I have been talking with them about a relationship with Jesus Christ and that no one gets to the Father unless through the Son. This week I was totally unprepared to talk to them, to be honest I really meant to take the Jesus Story Book Bible, and I forgot it.  After singing, dancing and praise and worship, William asked me what I had prepared to for them.  I started talking and the words kept flowing and came directly from God.  I told them when I first starting coming to their village I had no idea how to get there, somebody had to show me the way.  The same way we were lost and didn't know the way, God sent his one and only Son to show us the way.

I also tried to explain to them Valentine's Day. Can you imagine a group of village kids trying to grasp the concept of showering each other with candy, flowers and gifts because we love each other?  I used it as a way to tell the kids that Jesus doesn't have a calendar to look at the days and say "Today is special and I love you"  I used it as an example to show them Jesus loves them every single day!  His love never ends and it never gives up on us. Bulijo, bulijo, bulijo, bulisawa (Every day, every day, every day, every time). They really love when I say these things in Luganda, even when I say them correctly they laugh and giggle.  They think it is hilarious when a big tall American speaks in Luganda.

I got to see Ali, who was back in the village after a successful surgery.  We got to follow up on a couple of kids who had malaria the previous week and showed no signs.  We got to fight against three new cases of malaria #MalariaBites.  We got to dress the wounds of a man suffering through chronic wounds.  Most of all we got to spread the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

 

My heart was full when I left Wakisi, it was a good end to the week.  It made me anxious and ready to get back to the village this week.  I am excited to see what God has in store for this week.

Gravity

Interesting fact….gravity has the same affect in Uganda as it does in the rest of the world.

Case & point, meet Kiyingi Ali. Ali is like most 10 year old boys, running around playing futbol and climbing trees. On the day we met Ali he had been craving some jackfruit, the only problem on this day was gravity won. Ali fell from the jackfruit tree and inured his wrist. When I examined it, his hand and fingers were swollen and it was painful to the touch. 

I put it in a splint; I used a SAM splint for all my EMS people out there! I decided we would leave it splinted and I would re-evaluate in two days when we returned to the village.

When we came back his wrist still had swelling, although it had gone done a bit, and it was still painful to the touch. We decided it was time to take him into town and get it X-rayed. The only problem was his mom was working in the fields and could not leave her work to go with us into town. This is where the Chairman of the Village stepped in. The Chairmen is the elected official in each village that is in charge of all things within the village. Unfortunately many of the Chairman and other elected officials are corrupt and only looking out for themselves and their wallets. Luckily there are a few exceptions. This Chairman is a very good man and truly cares about his village. Since Ali’s mother could not leave work, the Chairman loaded up in the vehicle with us to take Ali into town for an X-ray.

When we arrived at the clinic it took about 20 minutes and cost $8 to get an X-ray and an evaluation. $8!! That makes me question the high cost of medical care in the US (but that is a whole other blog). The good news is there was no break! I was very surprised, but relieved. What 10-year-old wants to be in a cast for 4-6 weeks?

After his X-ray we were able to get some lunch for Ali and the Chairman and arranged for transport back to the village. Seeing the compassion of the chairman is just one of the many reasons that we are thankful and blessed to work in this village. Hopefully we can share more stories with happy endings like this one.