This blog was supposed to happen on Friday, but due to power outage/internet being down… here it is :)
December 27th 2011, a friendship was sparked that would change the world, or maybe just two lives. Amber Whittaker and I, Melanie Raines, fell in love at first sight. Over a twenty-four hour plane ride to our destination of Kampala, Uganda, and one day falling in love with boys on the streets, we knew this would be an everlasting friendship. So today, we decided we were going to write the blog together, to give you guys an understanding of what a normal day in Uganda is like for us. Our creative idea is to make a list for y’all of all the things we never thought we would do, hear, or see. Enjoy and you’re welcome :)
Things we never thought we would do;
Mel- Allow children to call me watermelon, and not get offended.
Am- Kissing what seems like a million dirty faces of precious boys each day.
Mel- Ride down the dirt roads of Uganda listening to Ludacris, Brittney Spears, and Bruno Mars while the entire team sings along.
Am- Struggle to carry my full jerry can as a two year old trots by with one on his head.
Both- Pray for a boy who was dying of Aids and see him healed and smiling the next day.
Things we never thought we would hear:
Mel- A little boy, Marvin, tell me he wished I was his mother.
Am- Sweet prayers of street boys thanking the Lord for their blessings.
Both- Hearing homeless, orphan boys explain what it means to have a relationship with the Lord more clearly than some adults in America do.
Things we never thought we would see:
Mel- A one year old carrying a jerry can.
Am- Watching Melanie wash her skinny jeans and cardigan in a bucket
Mel- Watching Amber stir a pot of posha (extremely thick Ugandan mashed potatoes) for fifty street boys with a spoon the size of a gondola paddle.
Am- A tough little street boy walking around in high heels.
Mel- Watching Amber sweep the ground of the slum with a big tree branch.
Both- Walls being broken down and hard exteriors of street boys being removed by the Lord each day.
Both- Fifty rescued street boys worshiping the Lord with all their hearts, such a privilege.
We have only been here for a week, and already our lives have been changed by the power, the love, and grace of the Lord. We feel so incredibly blessed and unworthy to have the opportunity to serve the living God, here and at home. We have learned so much about the Father and His heart through amazing boys who would give us the clothes off their backs. Thank you all for your love and prayers, each day we’re seeing the streets of Uganda slowly transform and be restored. The victory is the Lord’s, the battle is already won, WE WIN.
