Tony told us, "After my parents died, I didn't have any gardeners."
We smile at this ten-year-old's mixing up of English words. Surely he meant to say, "guardians," but in front of a handful of western visitors, as he tells how he came to TOUCH, "gardener" escapes his lips more readily.
He's searching for the words. How can he tell us what it was like when his parents died? Will we grasp all that is entailed when a child travels to Kampala from the village and lives on the streets? What was it like to be "picked" from the trenches?
Then we realized how right he is.
Uprooted, unprotected, exposed. With no one to nurture him, no one to feed him, no one to show him which way to grow. Without a "gardener," Tony lived in the filth that ran off from the streets near the soccer stadium - a mixture of plastic bags, sewage, and trash. He took his dinner from trash bins. For safety, he tried to go unnoticed - but then he was "picked."
In Uganda, people say "picked" when they mean "picked up" more than "chosen," as we would use the term. But again, Tony is right. He was "picked," like a flower from the refuse, and given a new life.
He was transplanted from the treacherous streets and day-to-day survival, to a community of children with hope for the future - a beautiful bouquet of potential.
A guardian is “a defender, a protector, or a keeper; in particular, someone who looks after and is legally responsible for another person who cannot manage his own affairs.”
Yes, Tony needs a guardian, but he also needs a gardener. A gardener, “tends or cultivates, promoting or improving growth by labor and attention.” A gardener nurtures, supports and encourages development.
Man was created in a garden, created to live in a garden, and nurtured by the Master Gardener Himself. Then, man fell in the garden, and was separated from his Protection, his Defender, the One who sustained growth.
Jesus taught His disciples in the garden. He prayed in a garden, and He was betrayed in a garden. Jesus was buried in a garden - and He rose in the garden.
For Christ on the cross, separation from the Gardener was heart-rending and excruciating. "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" He knows how an orphan feels.
Tony, and children like him, are finding hope at TOUCH (The Outreach to Unfortunate Children’s Hurts). With contributions made through Friends of TOUCH, "Mama Sara" pays their school fees and provides at least one meal a day.
Teachers take nurturing roles in the children's lives, seeking them out when they are absent from class, taking children to a local clinic when they fall ill, and tending to their overall development.
This is a community garden, where we all play a part.
Please pray and ask the Lord what He would have you do to nurture these young lives. Whether it is through giving, prayers, or encouragement - know that you are making a difference.
Tony, who once lived in the shadows by the soccer stadium, now plays on the TOUCH soccer team. He hopes to play professionally when he is grown, and if not, says he will be a bank manager.
Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all.
- Jeremiah 31:12b
Showing posts with label orphans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orphans. Show all posts
Friday, August 7, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Response to "Orphan" Horror Movie
Warner Brothers new horror movie Orphan proclaims that it must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own. But what does Warner Brothers know about love? What do they know about orphans?
Any of us who spend time with real orphans can tell you that the rewards of loving an orphan are great. This is where the lessons of faith and love are learned.
There's Stella, who held on to my arm for two full weeks last fall. Her smile and her laughter were infectious. Betty taught us to dance and to sing. Mariam patiently showed us how to make chapatti. John, now grown, works tirelessly to help others. I love the children we're serving in Uganda.
So often we think about orphans in terms of what they need from us, but I would not be who I am without the influence of one orphan in particular - my grandmother.
She was orphaned by the time she was five. Both of her parents died of Tuberculosis in the early 1900's. She lived with extended family, and dropped out of school with a 4th grade education. When she married and had children, she completed her own education by reading and teaching herself from her children's school books.
She labored on the farm, at church, and at home, and when her husband died in a mining accident, she moved the family to Virginia. She worked at department stores and managed ice cream shops and taught her eleven boys to be hardworking, responsible, thoughtful men.
These men fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. They've pastored churches, managed businesses, and raised strong families. Now their children are doing the same. Her room was next to mine, and I heard her prayers for her children and her children's children and for the generations to come.
Grandma's story gives me hope for the children of Uganda. I see their future, and it is bright - full of family and friends and love. These children will grow, with God's help and ours, to move the mountains of poverty and injustice.
If you've got an orphan story, share it with us - let the voice of love be heard over the rattle of cliche story lines and cheap thrill film making.
Any of us who spend time with real orphans can tell you that the rewards of loving an orphan are great. This is where the lessons of faith and love are learned.
There's Stella, who held on to my arm for two full weeks last fall. Her smile and her laughter were infectious. Betty taught us to dance and to sing. Mariam patiently showed us how to make chapatti. John, now grown, works tirelessly to help others. I love the children we're serving in Uganda.
So often we think about orphans in terms of what they need from us, but I would not be who I am without the influence of one orphan in particular - my grandmother.
She was orphaned by the time she was five. Both of her parents died of Tuberculosis in the early 1900's. She lived with extended family, and dropped out of school with a 4th grade education. When she married and had children, she completed her own education by reading and teaching herself from her children's school books.
She labored on the farm, at church, and at home, and when her husband died in a mining accident, she moved the family to Virginia. She worked at department stores and managed ice cream shops and taught her eleven boys to be hardworking, responsible, thoughtful men.
These men fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. They've pastored churches, managed businesses, and raised strong families. Now their children are doing the same. Her room was next to mine, and I heard her prayers for her children and her children's children and for the generations to come.
Grandma's story gives me hope for the children of Uganda. I see their future, and it is bright - full of family and friends and love. These children will grow, with God's help and ours, to move the mountains of poverty and injustice.
If you've got an orphan story, share it with us - let the voice of love be heard over the rattle of cliche story lines and cheap thrill film making.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Current Prayer Concerns: Updated April 3
Care Givers: The children at TOUCH have asked us to pray for those who care for them. Parents, Grandparents, Brothers, and Sisters - all are overwhelmed with trying to meet the needs of a family, a down turned economy, inflation of over 15%, and very little income. They need strength to work and hope for the future. They need encouragement to love through the exhaustion. Pray that God will provide for their families, and that they will be sheltered from the turmoil around them. Think of all that you desire for your own family - all that is truly important - that’s what to pray.
Child Safety: In such crowded conditions, children are easy prey for those who would harm them. This is why the school stays open for them from early morning until just before dark, when their guardians are more likely to be home. Still, many have no one to look after them outside of school. As in any city, children can be victims of abuse and rape, and they can be drawn into crime or gangs.
Child Safety: In such crowded conditions, children are easy prey for those who would harm them. This is why the school stays open for them from early morning until just before dark, when their guardians are more likely to be home. Still, many have no one to look after them outside of school. As in any city, children can be victims of abuse and rape, and they can be drawn into crime or gangs.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Friends of TOUCH
Over half of Uganda's population today is under the age of fifteen. This is because for many years, Uganda suffered unrestrained terror, murder, wars, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Today, as the nation recovers, it must do so with a generation of orphaned children. These children have the same unlimited potential as your children or mine. What they lack is opportunity.
Friends of TOUCH is a Christian ministry that assists The Outreach to Unfortunate Children’s Hurts in the care and education of needy children in Africa. We bring together individuals, organizations, and resources to provide educational programs and facilities, medical care, and a loving environment for children.
Friends of TOUCH is a Christian ministry that assists The Outreach to Unfortunate Children’s Hurts in the care and education of needy children in Africa. We bring together individuals, organizations, and resources to provide educational programs and facilities, medical care, and a loving environment for children.
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