Saying Goodbye

I just wanted to share a few significant instances that stood out to me as we said goodbye to certain individuals in Busia.

Some of you may remember in one of my previous blogs that I mentioned all of the people involved with New Hope Ministries and their orphanage. They were some of my favorite people, and I was blessed to have the privilege of meeting during my time in Uganda. Saying goodbye to them was very difficult. Our last night in Uganda, two of them came over to visit us- Geofrey and Eva. Geofrey is my favorite person in Busia. We met him at the New Hope internet café and spent a good deal of time with him there and at the orphanage. He is 19 years old, like me, and in Senior 4 in school at Howard Christian High School in Busia. He works with New Hope both in the internet café and the orphanage. He is one of those people who is ALWAYS smiling from ear to ear and filled with so much joy that you know it could only come from the Holy Spirit inside of him. Just the opportunity to say hi to him as we passed on the road made my day. So, saying goodbye to him was very hard.  (I might have shed a tear of two, but he has a Facebook and Skype account, so we are able to keep in touch!).

Eva was one of the older girls at the orphanage. I believe she was seventeen or eighteen. The girls on our team spent a very good deal of time with her during their bible studies and while reading the Chronicles of Narnia. I had maybe four or five casual conversations with her; bearing that in mind, she wrote this note to me and handed it to me as she left:

“Dear Uncle Keln (Africans have a hard time with my name),

I thank you very much for the parental heart you have for us. I am very happy for your coming and at the same time I am very, very, very, very sad for your leaving. I thank God because the day you came we sang, danced, and rejoiced together but the day you’re leaving us in tears. Whenever I fall in tears, I remember my late Daddy and Mummy so this day you’re leaving me in tears and remembering my late parents. It’s like someone has brought a gun to shoot me.

Really Uncle Keln I love you very much as my uncle and I love to look at your nice smile and handsome face. Please when you reach in America give very big hugs to your parents, friends, sisters, brothers and family members. Tell them we love them very much and I would like to see them face to face. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine on you. And be gracious to you! And may He life up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:25-26

With much Love, Evelyne Naigaga”

After reading this note, I wept, and I am sure you can understand why. I had no idea that even just the few conversations we had made such an impact, and my heart was broken for her and the difficulties that she has already had to endure. But, I know God is faithful and He has been providing for her in mighty ways through New Hope, and the note was an encouragement to me that though I may not always see it, I am having a huge impact on people everywhere I go. And, it is such a blessing to me as well.

After they left, we had a time of worship and prayer for Busia before we left that was very powerful. One of the coolest experiences I have had is singing “God of this City” along with 13 other people with all of our hearts as a promise over the city of Busia, Uganda. (If you are not familiar with the song, please look up the lyrics- they are powerful). Then, we sang “Let it Rain” by Michael W. Smith. In the middle of the song, a voice-over reads from Psalm 97. At the time it was read during the song, I was reading the same Psalm. Verses one through six say:

“The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.”

Verse four (“His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.”) has had a special meaning to me for a long time.   Lightning has been very significant in my life to remind me of God’s power and provision. The combination of the storm that was happening outside, hearing the song and reading the Psalm all at the same time was a very potent reminder to me of God’s provision- both for the people we were leaving in Busia and for our team as we moved to Kenya. Needless to say, it was a powerful evening for me.

That same evening, we also said goodbye to Pastor Moses, our host in Busia. It was certainly not fun to say goodbye to him, but we were able to pray for him and his ministry before we left. He is such a wonderful man, and I wish nothing but God’s best for him, his family, and his work. I also wanted to talk about Mama Tom, but this blog is already very long and I have a lot to say about her, so I’ll write a whole blog about her.

Oh, and for those of you who were not aware, Jenessa is back! She got back two weeks ago and rejoined the team for the move to Kenya.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!