Meet Barbara and Immaculate!

Last week when I realized we were definitely going to the village I felt 2 things: dread and excitement. I have to be completely honest that I don't like working on the wells. The labor is so intensive and just so redundant that I have a hard time remembering that the work we do helps the people in the area immensely. I also don't like working all day, sweating, getting super muddy and then just going back to camp to continue on with out exhausting village programs...all with no shower. But I also felt excited because of the sweet children that live in the village. I seriously thanked God for them because without them there I'd be a Debby-Downer for sure. They are such a source of joy!

If you've been keeping up with my post you might remember a girl named Barbara. She was in my blog about some of my favorite people in the village. I love her and her sister Immaculate, who actually goes by Immacu (Immachoo) because she doesn't really like her name. She says it's hard! I told her my name was hard, too! Ugandans just can't pronounce it well, but I take what I can get, which is Hilawy. Close enough.

Anyways, when I was thinking about these girls I got so excited to go back to the village because I hadn't seen them in 2 weeks! I began to wonder why I had this love for them that I didn't have for the other children and asking God to reveal to me what His plans were for my love: to help, to just love, to play with them, to know them, etc. Whatever it was, I wanted to be ready! I knew those feelings were real, but also different, and I wanted God's direction in this.

On Wednesday I had Flex pull Immaculate aside to get to name because she always just said Immacu and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what she was saying. Culturally the women and children don't look into your eyes and speak looking to the ground, so that didn't help me because she'd always look down and whisper. Well, while she was aside with Flex Barbara came up and Flex asked why she was there. Barbara told him that she was Immacu's sister. He started explaining to me that he knew Barbara because she's been on the waiting list to be sponsored since January! Immediately I knew God wanted me to sponsor her. Empwer A Child does a sponsorship program and they have asked me about sponsoring a child before and I just didn't feel like it was time yet. I don't know why. I've browsed their website and the pictures around the office, but just never had the heart to do it. I hope that doesn't sound harsh. My biggest fear was that I don't have a job right now and I just kept telling them that so they would stop asking me about it.

Immediately, though, I knew God had prepared my heart to have a closer relationship with Barbara and her family. There's something incredibly special about them. The girls smile at me and just love me without words. I can only imagine that it's how a mother feels when she looks into the eyes of her children... I get filled with that much joy! It's like music to my ears to hear them scream my name from down the road and it meant the world when their mom even knew who I was.

Today we went to visit with Barbara's family expecting to talk to her mom about my desire to sponsor her, but thinking Barbara would be in school. She was sent out of school today for not paying her school fees. It costs 30,000 Ugandan shillings to go to school for 3 months... they'd only paid 5,000 shillings. The fees that she needed to pay was equivalent to about 12 US Dollars. She didn't even have a school uniform and that was maybe 6 US Dollars. How does your heart not break when you see children walking down the street to fetch water, helping out with chores, or caring their smaller siblings during the day because they can't afford school. If they can't pay fees there is no alternative... they just don't go.

As we sat in their small house I asked her mom if there was anything else they needed and through translation Benon said that me paying her daughters school fees was enough. (That's what sponsorship does, pays school fees and gets them needed supplies for school.) In my head I was thinking: Are you kidding? You don't have much of anything and you're ok with me just helping with the school fees? Benon asked if she had a school bag, she said no. We asked if she had shoes, she said no. It just amazed me how grateful they were for that little bit of help. Before we left I took a picture their them. The baby is missing because she was asleep and the dad was at work in the fields. As we walked away she pointed to the ground to show me a gift of corn they had for me... a whole bag of corn!! It'll be the best corn I put in my mouth, that's for sure!

I have so much more to talk about the village, but Barbara and Immaculate were definitely my favorite part!

Me and the family: Mom is holding Kate(6) , I'm holding Marvin (3), Barbara (11), Immachu (7). This boy just lives with them, he's not in their family. 

She's wearing the dress Amy and I gave her. 

Giving her hugs because I love her so much!

Me and Immaculate, she's 7. 

Me and Marvin, he's 3.