Have you ever wanted to ask Judas what he was thinking? We surmise different motives but I would just like to talk with him and see what on earth he was thinking.

I often look at babies and wonder what they are thinking.

Well, Judas is dead and babies can’t tell you what they are thinking so I should just give it up.

However, certain situations really make me wonder. Derrick, the 13 year old street boy I wrote about, stole money and ran away from the loving home he was invited into. For a bit of money he left safety, love, provision, education, opportunity, family and maybe a future. Now he is back on the streets and in a more dangerous city. Now why would he do that??? Is it just immature thinking? Is there something about the illusion of freedom of the streets I don’t understand? Is there a spiritual struggle going on here? Are drugs involved? I simply can’t imagine what would take a seemingly fine young man who had just been given a chance in life back to a way of life that was so very hard. Did he think money would buy him better than what he was leaving? Did Judas want the money? Or was he trying to prove some unimaginable something? Look what he left behind? The Lover of our souls. The one who offers eternity with God the Father.  Goodness, mercy, forgiveness, power and restoration were traded for a bit of money. Is that what Derrick walked away from too? It is said that the love of money is the root of all evil. I can sure see that in this instance. What a shame! Makes me want to throw up! I would really like to know what he was thinking. Then I’d like to shake him until his teeth rattled! I pray someday he returns to his Father as the prodigal son, repentant and ready to live the life His Heavenly Father yearns for him to live. Then we will rejoice. Now I am worried sick.

Every day we travel over the Nile River. I love that! It is beautiful for sure. The Nile has such Biblical and historical importance that I hardly can believe I am actually viewing it in real life. I have been to a part of the Nile where the alligators and hippos were numerous but tonight I saw people swimming in it.

We decided to eat at the Black Lantern Restaurant as a treat. Not only is the food good but the main draw is the view. We sit out on a patio high on the side of a hill overlooking the Nile.

The sky was glorious through the greenery. Bright red flowers bloomed on a nearby tree. Lovely white flocks of birds flew through the air. The river was wide with currents and small fishing boats creating patterns on the surface of the water. For just a bit peace permeated our beings. Ahhhh! Africa!

I am in the process of gathering stories. Some of the stories I am getting through interviewing and some I am living. Both are powerful. As I am interviewing the women of the bead group to get their stories I am seeing a pattern that disturbes me. Many grandmothers are raising their children’s children. The parents are nowhere to be found and don’t help support their children. Many women have left their children to remarry. They have had to make a choice between their children and their new spouse. Seems like most men reject the children of the former husband. Many of the women feel like they need a husband to take care of them so they leave their children to their mothers. At the same time a new wife can reject her husband’s children from his former marriage. The step mother stories I hear make the wicked step mother of the fairy tales very real. The step parents are more scary than being abandoned.
Once abandoned or driven off, the street children have it pretty rough as well. They band together in groups similar to our gangs. The older boys take the money of the younger ones and beat them if they don’t give the their money or if they are playing instead of working the street. It is not safe to sleep at night as that’s when the violence happens.   Concrete is not very friendly to a good night’s rest nor are the chilly nights without blankets. Rain makes it even more of a challenge. There are organizations help feed street children. And some even offer some medical help. But it is a big problem. Many of the street kids prefer the streets to more restrictive environments but the danger can be deadly. It is tough to know which to fear most; the homes you ran away from or fending for yourself. Looks like the children can’t win! Mothers won’t keep them, step mothers don’t want them, fathers are abusive, the streets are dangerous and orphanages are few since the aids epidemic has left so many parentless kids and there are even still witchdoctors that steal children and sacrifice them
Interestingly enough I just about caused a riot at a parents meeting at the HELP School when I told them we had forbidden the teachers to cane the students. More than 3/4s of them were adament that we could never teach without caning their kids. Supposedly there is a saying that a black man cannot learn without stripes on his back. I thought I would be sick . I hope to show a better way and prove kids can be taught and taught well without being hit!

I know there is another side to this story as there are certainly parents in Africa that love and care for their kids but today I have been submerged in the dark side. The Michael that I wrote about and his 13 year old friend, Derrick, spent the last 36 hours with us. They had been beaten the night before. The adorable 8 year old Michael had a huge lump on his head and was limping. Ugh! Derrick had been hit when he tried to stand up for his friend. We could no longer walk away! We kept them with us; fed them, bathed them, bought some clothes and got them shoes and haircuts, made them laugh, cuddled them, listened to their hearts. We fell in love! I’ll write more later when I am not so tired but let me assure you that they both are in better places tonight! We can’t rescue the whole world but each one God brings us is precious.

On the plus side we had a few minutes to grab a bite to eat. Jean was hungry. And better yet we have good seats. We are in the three in the middle and the one inbetween is empty so we can spread out. We fly straight to London so are on this flight for 8 hours.
Mar 6, 2012 3:45 AM
So the time says middle of the night but London time is mid morning 10:45. Hopefully we can get back to sleep. On both flights we have been able to stretch out over three seats and get somewhat comfortable. Most unusual! It was nice to have only a short layover, even though the London airport is a fun one to both shop and to watch people. I am enjoying hearing the Ugandan accent from some of the travellers on this flight. Only about 8 hours and we will be there with Badru waiting for us. He is such a dear.

 
After greeting the school and all the little ones that appear to hold our hands and touch us, we prayer walked the school grounds. Almost 4 years ago we prayer walked the building that is now our classrooms. It was surrounded with weeds, desolate, empty and a crumbling structure reminiscent of former days when it was a part of the hope in the village. Back in the early 90′s the Danish came in and started a business with the village women. At one time it was a showcase endeavor. The failing of it left the people discouraged and hopeless. Many turned to the local distillery to drown their dashed dreams. The area where the commerce had engaged the women became a place where drug dealers and witchcraft flourished. This area is now our school grounds and the hub of the village empowerment program HELP is assisting in. Prayer walking seems more than appropriate! Looking at the changes encourage us. We not only see a 6 room class building full of formerly unschooled kids but we see; a school garden, the school cow, her new calf and their new two stall shelter, new latrines where none existed, a playground with swings, a kitchen with cooks busy cooking lunch for 300 students, and the well stocked library open for kids from all the schools around. God is good to let us see His love for the people here.

After our walk we meet with leaders of the two co-ops making the jewelry we proudly market. All are surprised and happy to see us. One leader, Irene, touches me as she not only greets me with a hug but says a heartfelt prayer blessing us and thanking God for His favor through us. I am learning much about gratefulness from these people. I think that may have been my most special moment of the day.
The women were excited to see the marketing materials we use with their pictures in them and to see how lovely their beads look when displayed professionally. They were all business as we explained the important buyer and large order that may very well be their ticket out of the extreme poverty they currently suffer in. Tomorrow we travel with them back to the country’s capital city of Kampala to find just the right supplies to help their success. It should be a fun day shopping with them. Women are women the world over and this is exciting for us all!
One more important part of this tired day was our meeting with the mayor of Jinja town. A pastor named Frederick has been helping facilitate the acquisition of the land where the school and project hub is located for HELP. Because of HELP’s commitment and improvements the mayor is doing all he can to turn that land over to us. He assures us it will be complete before we leave. We are full of hope but reserved in our expectations as everything seems to move exceedingly slow here.
The moon is full as I write on our balcony here at the Nile Guest House The day was pretty warm but the night is lovely. I indulged in a two hour nap. I hope we can get a good night’s sleep!

Now that I am older I can see some of each being right. If that “bum” could be working and was choosing to beg instead then maybe she would be doing him a disservice to give him something he could provide for himself. There is a time when helping hurts. I am sure I have been guilty of that. However I am trying to learn to listen to God’s prompting rather than rely on my own.

Henry was one of those times. When Bruce first came to the village of Masese he surprised me by bonding with a couple of boys. He actually was drawn to several but when he decided to actually help he had to narrow it down to a couple for that time. We were already doing everything we could for the school but these boys fell outside the parameters of the primary school. One of these boys was Henry. Henry is a quiet boy. I would never have noticed him. I think God picked out this orphan boy for Bruce as I couldn’t imagine how to pick certain ones from the multitude of need. We started sending money for his schooling. He had had to lay out of school due to lack of money and was excited to get a chance to go back.

I almost lost track of him. He wasn’t particularly visible. He didn’t come around and try to get our favor after that first visit. He was getting his schooling but we weren’t getting any relationship. I didn’t understand that as all the others were clamoring for our attention as we would revisit. It made me wonder and question if we were doing the right thing. I began to ask around. I found his brother, Dixson, who was helping with the building of the school rooms. We found out that Henry had had to go live with a Muslim uncle. He was in school but was struggling as this uncle did not have a value for schooling and was not encouraging education. His grades were not good. This uncle also was against Henry’s Christianity. Now I am worried about him! It looked like he was on the edge of a cliff and could easily fall. We might lose him in more ways than one.

I forgot about my want of a relationship and frustration over his grades and started praying for him more earnestly. We got him a tutor to help bring his grades up. It was some time before I got any other reports. We enrolled him in a Christian camp over the last school break along with some other sponsored kids in the village. We received a nice letter from him thanking us for the opportunity to attend that camp and asking if we would send him again next year.

After the camp I found out he had moved in with a different relative and his grades had soared. He was 26 out of 144 students! He was thriving! He had come up with his part in his well being, we are so happy to assist him and God is making Himself real to Henry.

It is not a rescue in the definition of doing more than 50% but it was a true rescue from the edge of that cliff. God stepped in between him and the rocks below. We rejoice in seeing a young man apply himself and get to know his God. We have much hope for Henry and I know if you could ask him he has hope for himself now.

H.E.L.P. International, meaning Jean Kaye and I in this instance, attended a Supplier’s Summit. We were invited by Full Circle Exchange, an innovative nonprofit social enterprise, who aims to “exponentially increase the reach of women artisans, farmers and social entrepreneurs who are dedicated to the development of more just economies and social systems as it pertains to the empowerment of women.”

Are you impressed yet? Let me continue…

We were invited to bring the Ugandan jewelry we so proudly market for our Masese village women to present to… are you ready?…Walmart.com! Walmart.com is seeking to empower women in the US and abroad! Through increased sourcing from women, to training, to enhancing women’s economic empowerment and increasing philanthropic giving towards
women’s economic empowerment Walmart.com is bringing to the public “Shopping For Good”.

And we are on the ground floor! Now you know what I mean by “opportunity”! It has come knocking and we are leaping at it!

We found ourselves having conversations with incredible women from Peru, Holland, Malaysia, Kenya, Rwanda, China, Canada, Palestine(living in Florida)and Canada. The talent was supremely superb, incredibly inspiring, and a bit intimidating.

Let me tell you the best part. These women all are working with the underprivileged in some way. For instance the woman from Kenya has a home for special needs children. It is their mothers that make the goods she sells. Some work with the blind, the victims of rape, and others represent those working to help victims of sex trafficking. All have a cause beyond themselves. Isn’t that just like a woman!

It is hard to comprehend the entire scope of the vision of the Full Circle gang. The Walmart.com women are forward thinking, powerful, compassionate and encouraging. And we get to play in this sandbox! Is God good or what!

We came away with more orders than originally spoken of and hope for replicating this model with some other big players. Just think how many marginalized women worldwide will reap the benefits of such programs!

Women shape the world. Let’s empower them and see the good that happens. What a legacy!

The web offerings may not be available for a few months. Keep posted. Meanwhile, here’s the video that we presented at the summit. It helps explain why we do what we do.

Even worse it was our only hope of feeding our families or sending them to school or getting medical care for them when they needed it. No hope is really a difficult thing. You wonder if there is something wrong with you. Did God forget you, or are you just so unworthy that you don’t deserve to even have hope?

Each time we visited Masese we were given gifts of lovely jewelry. Wonderfully varied and colorful. I wore it with pride! Then we decided to try bringing some back to see if others liked it as well as we did. We were delighted to see that we hadn’t brought enough! People loved them! Just like we did. We took the proceeds from those sales and decided to purchase more on our last trip. We told the ladies to be prepared as we would be buying.

Given hope for the first time, these industrious artisans went to work! They invited us to see their goods one afternoon. Placing a colorful piece of fabric on the ground, they sat down on the ground themselves and proudly spread out their creations. It was a beautiful sight! But we were in trouble! We only had enough money to purchase a few items from each lady.They had worked so hard and created so many beautiful pieces it was heartbreaking to leave so much work in their hands. Instead of this being a happy time it became sad. We had dashed their hopes and rejected their hard work, almost a slap in the face. What we had meant for good had not turned out so well.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that poverty means unintelligent people. When women need to survive they put their brains in gear. The next day the leader of the group came to us and told us we were like Moses to them and we couldn’t bring them this far and leave them. They wanted us to take all their jewelry. We declined as we didn’t have nearly enough money to purchase all their work. We didn’t understand. Irene said, “What are we supposed to do with this? We have no market! Take it all and send us money when you sell it” Wow, that was trust and risk and most of all desperation.

We hauled suitcases full back to the USA and went to work for them. With determination to not disappoint them we are taking advantage of every opportunity to present their work. All money goes back to them, their children, and their community. They are raising the standard of their area. They are on the forefront of providing education for their children, bringing opportunity to others, and raising themselves out of the poverty that has so mercilessly entrapped them. With just a couple of tools, a love for beauty, recycled paper and the community of each other an industry has been born for these families. Self pride instead of unworthiness, thankfulness instead of despair, hope!

No we must keep our end of the bargain and bring their jewelry to the market. We can not leave them in the wilderness. Being like Moses we must rely on God’s leading and provision to get them to the promised land. The land of milk and honey where we all enjoy the fruits of our labor. Where children don’t die from lack of medicine or poor nutrition. Where education and opportunity is the norm rather than the exception. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done!