Thursday, April 14, 2011

HOW WAS AFRICA??!!

This title could not be more appropriate :)
A question I have heard for the past 2 wks... and a question that doesn't come with an easy answer. "it was great", and "dude, so cool" -- just are not suffice for a trip where my heart was touched, my hands held those that were in need, and my smile never left my face.
I apologize for taking so long to write about my journey-- there was so much to process when I got home and I really wanted to not rush myself. I hope that this story is only the beginning, I would love to go back to Africa someday-- and as you look at my pictures I hope you see more than just a cute child. that child has hope. a dream. a future.

God is real. He is alive. He is EVERYWHERE. He LOVES us so much.
I didn't have to go to Africa to grasp any of those concepts. I got to go to Africa to see and to feel what He is doing outside my little world in Columbus, OH.

Far, far away in a third world country lives a girl named Rebecca. She once asked God if He could send her anywhere that it would be to Uganda. (side note- God does answer prayers) At 27, she is a missionary in Uganda, the Director of My Father's House, and founder of a school (Royal Hope Academy) for orphaned or vulnerable children... did I mention she lives and cares for 16 children ?! Can you imagine... I mean I saw this in person and still can't believe I'm typing it. Rebecca truly has such a deep passion for the Lord, and to see children and adults who are lost, abused, neglected, orphaned, find their way. restored. loved. healed. saved. and let me tell you-- these kids just aren't walking towards Jesus, they are running :) Rebecca was a blast to be around and to learn/grow from... such an encouragement... she handed her life over to the Lord and has never looked back.

I am going to try and summarize without leaving any good details out what were my highs, lows, and everything in-between ;) I have to be honest there were nights I was soo exhausted I just couldn't write in my journal. My roommate in Africa,(Alex-Anna)would always say, ash you need to at least write main points to remember for later!! yeah, wellll here goes :)

Upon leaving for this trip, we were each allowed to take 2 bags for donations free of charge. I stuffed mine to the brim :) THANK YOU THANK YOU to ALL who helped make this possible. Well, Nate had a third bag and Katie had 10? 12? a lot! Well every bag past our 2 free ones would cost $200- when we went to check these bags in at the airport we learned that the bag fees had been waived!! unreal. So, Katie got to donate $2000 to Rebecca and the school :)
Flying 5+ hrs. is not easy. But, my favorite flight was flying from Detroit to Amsterdam-- best flight attendants ever. One of them was from Columbus, lived in the Brewery District- small world!! So, an occasional OH-IO would travel down the aisle ;) In Detroit is where Nate and I got to meet up with Katie and the other 3 girls... such a fun group!!! I could not have asked for better ppl to share life with in a different country ;) Yes, Nate was the only guy... but he killed bugs for us, poured our water from heavy jugs, entertained us with dancing and music, and was the first to try all the food-- to make sure it was safe ;)

"You make all things work together for my good- help me to believe this. Allow me to be your hands and feet Father. I want to spread your love, leave my mark in Uganda. touch lives. change lives. With the power of your Son. Help me to listen for your voice Father. Give us every opportunity we can handle". -- this was a journal entry/prayer I wrote before we got to Amsterdam. Halfway through this flight everything began to sink in. Then we landed-- and I thought to myself in a couple hrs. (8) ha I will land in Africa, the place I get to call home for the next week!!

Welcome to AFrIcA!!!!!
Visas- check
Find 12+ black duffle bags- check
Here we were. safe and sound.
We were greeted at the airport by Michael, who helps Rebecca with the children and is also a Director of My Father's House, Rebecca, and Isaac who is one of the children- I believe he is 15 or 16.
All of them greeted us with hugs, we exchanged names, err tried and pushed about 6 carts stacked with bags to their van haha it was instantly warm outside but it was late at night so all we could see were the stars :) huge. the stars are HUGE in Africa... I think the sky is lower ;)
Well not only are the stars huge but so are the cockroaches!! ugh. Alex-Anna and I had one waiting for us in our room as soon as we arrived. awesome. Nate got it of course :)
Let me just paint you a picture- and if I fail please just refer to my pictures. Alex-Anna and I walk into our room and realize that our bed is right in the middle of the room. So, naturally we decide to push it all the way against the wall- right, so we have more room for our stuff... wrong. Katie walks in and says, ya'll re-arranging the furniture already? She informs us that the bed is in the middle so that lizards don't jump onto our bed when they crawl up the walls... oh. perfect. Not only do we have to have a mosquito net draped over our bed every night but a lizard or cockroach could decide to drop in. (don't let me fool you- we were tough African women by the end of this trip) next up, our bathroom or what we had of a bathroom. Let me just tell you how BLESSED we are(in America) every time we take a shower!! Do you ever get water in your mouth while taking a shower? Do you have hot water? BLESSED. Something so small- something so fortunate to have/do. We did not have a toilet... just a porcelain hole that did flush but you had to squat over. As far as water to drink...we had a gigantic jug from the store we could fill our water bottles up with, brush our teeth with, wash our face with...Alex-Anna ;) Welcome to AFrIcA!!!

We stayed in a guest house not far from Rebecca's home. Every morning we would either walk or Michael would come get us to have Chai at their house. Chai is soo good the way Rebecca fixed it... I know that all Chai is is black tea and Chai spice but this spice comes from Africa :) After breakfast we would usually go to school to see the kids. One of my videos on facebook shows the kids all lined up outside for us when we arrived and they were singing :) Melted my heart!!! Ahhh It was during time spent at school that my heart was moved the most. They had chapel before lunch every day and to see the children worshipping and praying left me wanting what they had. It didn't matter who was around, they were crying out to their Father, on their knees and faces. Humbling. It just reminded me at the end of the day it's between God and I... not God, the person beside me at church and I... just Him and I, face to face someday. Amazing that God can use even small children to teach adults and show adults what they are missing out on.
When chapel was over the kids had lunch and free time and let me tell you each one of us always had about 6 or more kids glued to our side :) Passing out silly bands was a joke-- I was scared fights were going to break out haha so we learned to just load up our arms in the morning or throughout the day and slip them on kids when they were by themselves ;) And these kids LOVE to have their pictures taken!!! It's funny, as soon as you take the picture they want to see what it looks like. You will see in a lot of my pictures Nate or Alex-Anna handing their camera's over or letting the kids see the picture... it was very cute.
There was a day at the school we got to go from classroom to classroom and present each child with a book bag :) Katie had gotten book bags made/donated from her hometown in Tenn. and we would tell the children that in America there were ppl who loved them. who were praying for them. who wanted to bless them with gifts. but more importantly that these gifts came from Jesus. At one point we had children raise their hands if they did not own a book bag and every hand went up... :/ I have never been more excited to be a part of something so special.
There was also a day at school when we got to teach a lesson. Another one of my videos on facebook shows a bunch of kids with bird masks... we made that craft and taught a story/lesson from the bible. It was awesome!! I think throughout the whole trip I was blown away the most that language barriers didn't stop us from anything. Sure we had to have interpreters sometimes but even when we didn't, we had some amazing conversations :)

DONATION DAY!!!!
For all of you who donated items- I wish you could have felt the joy and overwhelming flow of how thankful Rebecca and others were to receive everything. I remember coming home from school with the kids that day and opening their garage to 24 bags full of toothpaste, toothbrushes, medicine, vitamins, clothes, beanie babies, shampoo, soap, toys, coloring books, etc. Rebecca looked at all these bags surrounding her and just started to cry. She just couldn't believe we brought so much stuff. It's not us though... it's b/c of ppl like you. Maybe physically you weren't in Africa but you made an impact that these children won't soon forget. To those ppl who gave beanie babies we took them with us when we visited the children's ward at the hospital. Walking into the hospital I didn't know what to expect but it was nothing like the hospitals we are used to! Children, babies, and parents were everywhere. If you have a child in the hospital you basically bring ur whole life with you-- bedding, food, clothes, a mat to sleep on. Nothing was organized, cribs full of children suffering from sickle cell, ammonia, and malaria filled the rooms- yes, just 2 big rooms. That day we were not only passing out beanie babies but we were going to pray for ppl and children, to share the love of Jesus. We had Rebecca, Michael, Excel(a close friend and minister), and 2 of the girls who lived with Rebecca- who could translate very well- all with us. We broke up into small groups and went around to children and parents, asking them what was wrong with their child, laying hands on their sick child and sharing Christ with them. There were a couple parents who accepted Christ :) And A LOT of smiling children who had beanie babies... you would have thought we handed them $100. A little bit of hope was restored that day, a little more fight was put into sick bodies, and a whole bunch of Jesus' love was shared :) I hope I never forget how thankful I am to have great health care at the drop of a hat. It was so frustrating for me to step over ppl and see children hooked up to IVs-- just on a drip trying to fight for their life and the pain they were in. I had to just believe in the prayers we were speaking, to know that God is with all of them, they are not forgotten.

Visiting the Slums
This day was a huge eye opener for me in a lot of ways. One of the first days we had all met Excel and some other worship leaders from the church Rebecca and Michael attend. We had bibles, clothes, and a message to share. Excel basically told us to pair up with a translator and go talk to ppl you see out of their homes. Oh. Ok. I have to be honest I felt as though I had NO idea what I was doing... of course I wanted ppl to know Jesus but not only had most of these ppl never even heard of Jesus, they don't speak my language. Alex-Anna and I got paired up with Michael and bless his heart he walks up to these teenage girls and starts talking to them- speaking Luanda-- I am listening and hanging on to every word like I knew what it meant. After a few moments of conversation he turns to me and says, "She wants to be saved, I will translate for you"-- alright,I thought, here goes nothing. I was soo nervous!! You always think you are prepared to lead someone to salvation and then you find yourself in Africa, looking at a young girl who's looking back at you, and I'm just hoping what I am saying makes sense. After we prayed I looked at her and said I want to hug you and she just smiled so I said to Michael tell her I'm going to hug her! haha I remember walking away teary eyed, and just thanking God for opportunities and words to speak. It took my breath away-- how much of an impact you can have on a person's life- a complete stranger. Ppl in the slums live day to day, babies and children don't have clothes, food, hardly a place to lay their head, and it doesn't smell the best. You want to do soo much for them- for everyone.
I have to tell you about 2 very special women (sisters) I met while visiting the slums. These 2 ladies make beautiful jewelry!!! Mary, is who we visited- she invited us right into her home...8 children and her and her husband live in this little, little place-- bless her heart, she was SO EXCITED that we were there!!! Rebecca and her are very good friends... and the jewelry that Mary and her sister make is made out of lacquer and magazine paper :) The whole group was just pouring through her necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. As we were leaving, she came outside and walked a little with us, crying and thanking us for stopping by- she said God is so good!! Amen!! God is so good!! God bless you. Now I can send my little boy to school- I have enough $$. melted. my. heart. I wanted to buy every last necklace!!
"I feel so much love for these children God but I pray that I would be intentional w/my time. I don't want to worry about getting sick, not liking the food, or hugging and loving on the kids. 6 days. That is going to go so fast. Father I pray that I truly would be intentional w/your love and the gifts you have given me. Thank you for all the ppl lifting my team and I in prayer. So thankful that we are all well :) I pray that I would not forget all I have seen and how I was affected by it. I don't know what that looks like when I get back home, but I pray you would reveal that to me. Even how to begin to share w/others what I have experienced and gone through so far. Father, Martin is really on my heart. I want to sponsor him so much but I worry about my finances. Would I be able to do it? He would just have to come first and I pray for peace Lord." -- this was another journal entry/prayer about the 4th day we were there I think.

Martin
Like I said before there are 16 children who live with Rebecca. From the young age of 4 or 5 to the oldest being around 19. Martin reminded me a lot of my brother- about the same age, build, and characteristics. Martin was always helping around the house- cleaning, serving food, playing with the kids, etc. My heart went out to him. I started to ask Rebecca what his story was... she told me that his mom lives next door at the church (house is attached), she is a pastor. When Rebecca met Martin he was using a stick and toothpaste to brush his teeth. :/ ugh. just hurt my heart so much. I had had some conversations with Martin and found out he loves the Lord, he has dreams after school, and is just so blessed by what he has in life. Such an inspiration.
Rebecca mentioned in conversation that Martin was not sponsored by anyone- that b/c he helps her and Michael out so much that she had been providing his school fees but that it was tough. His semester was ending soon and normally he would move on to the next phase- all the kids in the house really wanted him to be able to go but knew it may not be a possibility. So I began to pray and ask God for direction. I didn't want to make a decision based upon my emotions- heck I would sponsor each child if that were the case ;) For the next couple days I prayed about Martin and came to the conclusion, with God's help, that I would become his sponsor. I felt so led to do it that if it meant not buying something for myself that month then Martin would come first :) I believed in him! I cared for him like my own brother and I wanted to do all I could to make sure he was provided for.
Fast forward to the Sat. we were leaving to come back to the states. I told Rebecca that I was sure I wanted to sponsor Martin. She said well let's go meet his mom :) Rebecca told Martin that I wanted to see the church and meet his mom (he had no idea I wanted to sponsor him). I was sooo nervous and excited!!! Martin's mom greets us with a hug and tells me her name- she doesn't speak English a lot- very little. I sat down beside her on the couch with Martin and Rebecca across from us so she could tell Martin what to interpret. I was already half crying at this point ha Rebecca just started by telling his mom that she had a group of friends staying with her and that I was one of them. That while being here for a couple days, interacting with the kids and Martin, Martin really reminded Ashley of her own brother at home. His mom looked at me and smiled. Rebecca went on to say that I loved Martin like my own brother, that I believed in him and wanted to continue to be in his life. Keep in mind Martin is translating all this to his mom, having no idea why. "Ashley would like to sponsor Martin, to see him continue his education, and make sure he has everything he needs to succeed," and Martin just looked at Rebecca and I and said Wow that is so good! Ahh my heart just melted and I just started crying- and so did Rebecca. Poor Martin had these two white women crying in his living room ;) His mom leaned over and hugged me and whispered God bless you. I looked at Rebecca and said, can you tell his mom what a good job she has done raising her son- that she has every reason to be proud. And Rebecca said no, I can't... she was as emotional as I was... so I asked Martin to tell his mom, and she patted my hand and told Martin that she wanted to pray for us. I could not understand a word of that prayer but it was beautiful. Martin's mom began telling Martin to tell me that she loved me like a daughter and that she would be praying for me.
A moment I will not soon forget.

Wow. I wrote a book!!!

I hope God's love is apparent in these few stories I have shared :) I will def. share more as the days come and as I am reminded of sweet memories. Everyone who prayed, donated either a tangible item or money, and believed in me, Thank you. I sincerely would not have been able to even go on this trip without your love and generous hearts. You have not only changed my life, but many ppl in a country far, far away have felt your love. I was honored to be the hands and feet of many :)

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