Confessions and Refreshments

I'm going to admit that at this stage in the game, I've been really missing home, my husband, my sister, my family and friends. I've been missing the people that truly know me. So, I've been praying that God would renew my strength and renew my heart for being here. As God is so faithful, He has done that very thing (ask and you shall receive!!!).
Saturday, Courtney and I had plans to go to a couple of the Suubi women's homes and help them to their daily work, but both of them ended up not being at home for whatever reason. So, our plans were scratched and we had nothing on the schedule for the day. We decided to take a long walk to Masese (I finally saw a sign that spelled the name of that village). We took a couple kites and some bubbles (thanks to Dave) and looked for a place that was an open area and began to fly the kites and blow the bubbles. Children began coming to see what the Mozungu's were up to and pretty soon there were about 30 children we were playing with. As long as we had bubbles and the stamina to stay, those children would be entertained forever. No going inside to watch cartoons, no playing their gameboys, no snack time...nope, their entire day could've been with us and the kites and bubbles if we would've stayed that long. I saw them and was retaught in that moment why Jesus wants us to be like children who play and come freely. I was renewed in my spirit in that moment. When we left, about 4 or 5 boys followed us for about 20-30 minutes and just walked behind us singing songs and in that moment I was humbled. I had become a little annoyed with the children because they constantly point and yell "mozungu" and I got to the point where I was not even acknowledging them as I passed. God showed me there that these children are joyful and get excitement in seeing new things, in seeing different people, that children are simply excited and easily so....this is something I need to learn from them.
I'm afraid this blog is turning to be somewhat of a confession for me. I'm humiliated to admit that I have been ignoring God's prompting for me to prayer-walk through Walukuba and Daneeda ever since I got here. Yesterday God clearly called me out and told me to stop ignoring Him and go. So, off I went to the villages to simply walk through it and pray for the people and the women of suubi as I went. I cannot tell you the huge things God did in my heart just on the walk over there. Even in my delayed obedience, God was faithful and blessed my heart. My eyes saw people as I passed in a whole new perspective. My heart overflowed with new compassion and awe in the beauty of everyone I passed. When I reached Walukuba, Christine, a Suubi woman, called after me and said, "Rachel, come you are welcome, come, come." So I came into her home and she asked, "What are you doing alone walking here?" I told her and she begged me to pray for her, so we prayed together and as I left, Florence, another Suubi woman, called me over and wanted me to pray with her as well. I prayed that God would take their worries away, that He would give them ideas for the future, that He would renew their strength and reward their hard work with financial blessings, that anxiety would be no longer a part of their lives and that complete trust in God would overtake them. This was basically my prayer as I walked through the two villages that morning and what I will continue to pray for them. In Daneeda I met up with Carol and was able to pray with her as well, she is such a sweet spirit and her very presence teaches me patience and understanding. I will say that after that walk, God had fully renewed and refreshed me and my purpose here. No wonder He had been nudging me to go, I'm so foolish to have ignored it for so long, but am thankful that God was still faithful in teaching me things despite my stubbornness.
Later that day was the Suubi meeting. This story breaks my heart actually. One of the women named Joyce, lost her little girl last week, it was a sudden death and they do not know why she died. However, it was wonderful to see the community came around her to comfort her and provide meals. A lot of people pulled together to give a couple thousand shillings each and reached a total of 160,000 shillings which is around $100, which is a whole heck of a lot for a person to have here. Well, we learned at the Suubi meeting that someone had stolen all that money from her. Joyce was in tears at Suubi yesterday and all of our hearts were breaking for her. Who could steel from a mother who just lost her child? So, the Suubi women have all come together once again and are each donating a certain amount to at least raise a little money for her. I'm once again amazed at these women and their immediate reaction to give in a circumstance like this. These women cannot afford to give, but they give anyhow, it's so humbling to see them give to Joyce even though they are having trouble paying for their own meals and children's school fees. These women are to be admired and I pray God blesses them in return for their giving hearts. I'm learning from them more and more each day that I'm here.