There are so many ways to love on children in orphanages ... We can look at the whole picture and see where God is calling us to fill in the puzzle pieces ...

I went to Uganda open and willing to see what God has for my family in our next season ... Always ready to answer the call no matter how hard it is ... Open to going in the direction that God wants and not the direction I want (believe me I HAVE A DIRECTION I WANT) ...

Two things I haven't posted about till now (waiting on God's timing as he refines me) is about Brian (from Redeemer House) and Ekisa Ministry ... I have felt God tugging at my heart for older boys for over a year now along w/ Jeremiah and Elijah praying for a brother and when I saw Brian's sweet face on the wall at Redeemer House my heart just smiled ... I met many boys at Redeemer house, but God was obviously directing me to Brian ... When I returned home I contacted the director (precious, precious, precious Kathy) and asked about Brian ... She told me that he was un-adoptable and his mother was doing her best to get back on her feet.  She talked about how Brian was thriving at Redeemer house and was happy w/ his friends and his school ... It took less than a second for God to impress upon my heart to help Brian's mother ... To show her we care and to give Brian some peace knowing that someone wanted to help his mother ... Kathy sent me the kindest message saying how 4 other families had inquired about Brian and once they found out he was un-adoptable they just never emailed back ... Loving on a child who is in an orphanage has many different sides ... Will Brian ever be reunited with his mother ??? I don't know, but I do know that he will have some hope in knowing that she is being cared for and loved on by others ... It will give him security to focus on becoming a strong young man and in return perhaps he will have a desire to help others ... I think of Brian often during my week and hope that on my next trip to Uganda that I can meet him and his mother ... WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO HELP ... There is no more perfect way to see Jesus and to know HIM better than to love on HIS hurting people ... Why do we close our eyes and hearts and go about our EVERYDAY normal routine ... Why aren't we trying to seek out DAILY a way to do KINGDOM WORK and be an extension of HIM ... Why don't we CRAVE the blessings that come from loving those that JESUS LOVES SO DEEPLY ...

I want it to be a part of my everyday - praying for those that are hurting, lost, and lonely ... Finding ways to serve others ... Challenging my family and my friends to see OUTSIDE the box ... Teaching my children how to DESIRE JESUS above all else !!!

I would also like to introduce you to EKISA ... There is just no easy way to describe what all Emily & Emily (the directors of Ekisa) are doing ... Emily W. is a dear friend and used to work at Amani (where Joseph / Daisy were before coming home) ... She loved on my kids before I ever knew them ... She has a heart for special needs children and dreamed of opening an orphanage / home for those angels and her dream became reality LAST YEAR ... She didn't just talk about it, but decided to follow God to a very deep place of LOVE ... When I say I had to put my visit there out of my mind for a while that is just the truth ... The children we met there had such a large range of SN from CP, to severely burned, to extreme hydrocephalus, downs syndrome, autism, and more ... I was overwhelmed w/ the all the NEEDS they were meeting each day w/ the most amazing loving hearts I had ever seen ... There house was set up to care for them in the way each needed ... The volunteers so peacefully fed them, bathed them, talked to them, and just were so excited to share their stories ... They are doing some of the hardest work I have ever seen done to CARE and LOVE on these children ... I can only guess that Emily / Emily and the volunteers know something about meeting Jesus each day that I can not comprehend ... To see those sweet children when you wake each day must be both heartbreaking and joyous !!!  Whether they were discarded, abandoned, or brought to Ekisa by parents who CAN'T care for their child it is a reality that is simply something we DON'T like to think about here in America ... I tried desperately to put it out of my mind because I felt so helpless and overwhelmed ... So today I am telling you because my eyes were opened AGAIN and I see yet ANOTHER side to Jesus ... I want you to also see what I saw at Ekisa ... I love sharing ministries with you and I know 147 will do something in the year to come for Ekisa ... We will find a way to lightened their burden financially, we will pray for them, and we will encourage others to go and volunteer there ... It is a place of Jesus ... I can only imagine if HE were walking around today that Ekisa would be a place he would visit often ... Thanks Emily and Emily for loving the way you do !!!