Uganda: The Children

We met hundreds of children on this trip, and I feel like I could write a book about them. I'll try not to do that here! A big part of what AMG Uganda does is their work with the Child Development Centers, and one of the ways people can get involved is through child sponsorship. I know there are lots of organizations who do child sponsorship, but I've been really impressed by what I've seen with AMG. What makes the difference is the personal element--not only do the children send periodic letters to sponsors, but sponsors who go to the country almost always get to meet and visit with their sponsored children. That in-person connection is such an awesome experience for both the children and the sponsors. Quite a few members of our group sponsor children, and every one of them got to see the kids at least once during our trip. Although Mark and I don't sponsor a child, my parents sponsor three, and I've been reading their letters and hearing Dad's stories about them since they started sponsoring a few years ago. So I was really looking forward to meeting Barbara, Julius, and Brian. I think I've shared this pic already, but it's a good one, so here it is again (L-R: Julius, me, Brian, Dad, Barbara):

We got to see each of the kids on more than one day, but we saw Barbara the most. Some of the other ladies on the team and I got to spend a couple of hours sitting and chatting with her and some friends, which was really neat. She's also the most overtly affectionate with us--each time she saw Dad she ran up to him and jumped into his arms. (I never caught that in a photo, though I tried!) One thing that really impressed me was that each of the three children asked about "Auntie Beth" (my mom) and wanted us to make sure we greeted her for them. They also all thanked Dad for the personalized Bibles he brought them last year. In fact, the first time we saw Brian, he was eager to tell Dad his favorite Bible verse (from memory!). We also saw how Barbara is developing into a leader at Upendo--she (with a friend) led the singing at Chuck's surprise birthday gathering, for example. Here's a few more pics of the kids:

Besides meeting these three, it was also really special to see other team members meeting their children (some for the first time). Quite a few people on our team got to visit their children's homes and meet their families, which was also a really neat experience.

We also met kids who weren't part of the AMG program, like when we got a flat tire on the way to the lake...we met the kids who lived nearby, and when we got the tire fixed in the next town, one of the ladies on our team sang and danced with the kids around there during the whole repair. The Upendo dedication also drew a lot of guests from the neighborhood, so we saw lots of kids that day who weren't part of the program. But that day, they got to celebrate with us the work God has done at the site!

Finally, here's a video from the Upendo Dedication. If you pay attention to the lyrics, you'll get an idea of how the children view sponsorship!