Janet reminded me as we went back Kakira, that spending the most of our time at Chayah, masks the reasons there is ministry and the need to push forward, in loving, praying for and giving in the painful conditions of the suffering in this village.
Janet picked me up about 9 with Melisa and Jesca. I gave Melisa the camera today as she, like the rest, loves to take photos. If there is a hint of confusion in the hues of the photos we will chalk that up to her creativity.
We stopped first checking back on the old woman with the 5 boys. She had been gone for weeks, but was now back. Only one of the 5 boys was home, the others were in school she said. We doubted that. The one that remained had a swollen cheek, he said from falling on a stick. It seemed like an abscess of some kind. I gave him 3 antibiotic pills I had with me not knowing what else we could do in the moment.
We sat down to try to talk to the grandmother about leaving the boys and all that has happened since we first began coming to check and help them. More people have moved very near by after the house for the boys was built last year. Anticipating Janet's van pulling in every month or so gives them some hope for help. It also means that every time the old woman gets something intended for the boys, she gives it away to others. Even the two room house we built, has been moved into by a woman and her children. The boys are sent to dig in gardens instead of school, and their belongings are filthy, including the bedding and mattresses. We talked to her about moving the boys to a place nearer the school and nearer someone who would oversee them: a more controlled environment. At first she refused to allow them to go away from her. I wish it was because she loves them so, but she said "who will dig for me and bring me something to eat?" We went round and round trying to show her that children are to be taken care of, not caretakers...she seemed opposed to the idea. Children need to go to school so that they have a chance for a better future, she was opposed to that if it meant they would not be working. "You are trading their chance for a future so that they can stay and take care of you. Is that what you want?" "Yes". We have tried over and over again to bring food, clothing, bedding, medicine and she gives it away, doesn't use it to care for the boys. When the boys are gone, she thinks the help will dry up. The whole thing seems impossible and we left frustrated with the mentality and how widespread it is. Janet will give her some time and see if she changes her mind. If not, our help there is useless if our target is the boys.
We left there and headed for the home of Julius. Julius, 13 years old, is a Compassion child and I got word about the end of June, that he'd been abducted. Here is the story his mother told us.
Julius's father woke him up in the morning to get ready for school. When we came out of an outhouse around the corner, two men grabbed him and told him that if he yelled, they would kill him. They tied something over his mouth and eyes, and one lifted him over his shoulder. He was told that if anyone asked about him, he was to pretend to be sick and they would act as though they were taking him for medical care. Both of Julius's parents believed the other one had seen him get ready and leave for school. They walked up to the edge of a forest area and tied his feet and hands together against a tree. They put a needle in his arm and drew out some blood and as they did Julius heard them say that they would sacrifice him and then change their clothes so that no one would see the blood on them. They put the knife to his throat just as a man from up the hill called out "what are you doing?" believing that they had stolen a goat and were getting ready to kill it. The men ran and the rescuer used his own knife to cut Julius's tethers. The man told him to run home and followed to make sure he got there. His mother said when he arrived at home, he couldn't speak, just cry and that for a week he stayed home from school, scared to death of everything. We thanked God for sending an angel to stop the horrific plan about to unfold. We prayed for Julius and his family to know that it was God who saved him and that their faith would be strengthened, then for the heart and mind of Julius to be healed from the trauma and memories that he carries.
Child sacrifice is common. Jesus died for us once, no other sacrifice has power, yet Satan always counterfeits what God has done and in this place, the vulnerability of children makes them easy targets. Two to three children a week disappear in Kakira. God help us.
I needed to find Julius in the flesh and see for myself that he was ok (my mother and grandmother call it "eye-balling" somebody to see for yourself) We headed off to his school and he was pulled out of class. The intensity of the hug I gave him may have triggered some flash backs, but I couldn't help myself and his smile was really the most beautiful thing I have seen in a while. Rescued and saved and alive and well and we gave him a box of cookies to take back for his class, which may be been the highlight of the visit for him. Regardless, I thank God that his word promises that each child has a guardian angel.
Matthew 18:10
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."
I love the picture of an angel looking back and forth between a threat to a child and the face of God, like a horse in the starting gate, just anxiously waiting for a nod of God that says "GO".
When I could tear myself away from that darling boy and his miracle, we left the school and headed deeper into the bush.
The place Olivia and Jesca are from and the family of Mary one of our first cooks, sits far away from anything. There is much I could say about it, like their mother, Rose has had 3 more children and I suspect is pregnant again and the little ones, every single one is beautiful and
valuable.
There is no man around, just a visitor once in a while I guess. She smiles like Olivia and her eyes are like Jesca. The round mud hut was empty when we arrived as she worked in a private sugar cane field, cutting down the cane with a big panga knife.
Soon after we arrived the kids came out from every which way and word spread quickly that I had cookies to share.
8 year old boys with pangas explained that they also work in the sugar fields, making 1,000 shillings a day...33 cents. The one who captured my heart though, was a 15 year old named Jennifer. She almost totally blind, but gave birth last year to a baby.
Her eyesight allows her to see the well worn path between the well and a few homes, so 5 times a day she walks to the well, fills a Jerri can with water, puts it on top of her head and follows the path to her customers who pay her 200 shillings per trip. 
Her pregnancy resulted from a surprise on the path one day a year ago. Today her baby is sick, maybe malaria. She paid as much as she had at the clinic. She is 15, a mother, and doing what she can to contribute to the household.
Both of them live with her mother, siblings and Mary's children. We believed that Mary was taking her wages back to her family to support her children because that is what she told us...it sounds like that never happened. Mary was let go in 2014 and hasn't been back at home to care for her children.
Janet and I both fear for Jennifer, that without her sight she will be targeted again and again. Her blindness is a result of illness when she was younger and limits her ability to adequately clean her baby. Jennifer is thin, doesn't get enough to eat to supply enough milk to her daughter who already shows signs of malnutrition. If there is one, there is 100 nearby. She is able to wash clothes well without her vision which makes me tempted to bring suitcases of clothing from the US just so we could pay her to wash them again and again. How...what...can be done?
We shared the gospel with the group that gathered around our attention to her.
I spoke directly to her and pray her decision and prayer for salvation is genuine and takes a firm hold of her heart. We were sneaking shillings in the hands of the moms and pray it helps them get through for a while more. Do you know that last week, early in the trip, I met a guy from the US who was here to set up an eyeglass clinic, training people to do eye exams and left 3,000 pairs of lenses and frames. I'll be on mission to get her there if its possible before I leave.
Our last stop was at the grandmother of Kwagala to see how she is doing. Kwagala's mother has never been around, leaving her tiny daughter years ago. A mentally ill aunt showed up several weeks ago, whose behavior has been wild. We tried to encourage and pray for them again, tucking a few shillings into her palm as we left her.
So much suffering, I pray I never become numb to it. I wish I was one super strong Christian that could hand every burden over to Christ and go to sleep in peace, but I fail there and yet it seems right to carry the heaviness of it. I suppose too, my lengthy entry here is so that you know how much it hurts and how much there is yet to do. The solutions are far greater than we are and in that I can trust the Lord, but when he opens the eyes of a tender heart...the impact is , powerful and in this case full with direction and steps to walk; often overwhelming.
Thankfully, so is God's grace and his desire to lead and guide. We need Him so. Pray for these...
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