Ekisa

On Saturday, I went with 3 other ladies to a special needs orphanage in Jinja called Ekisa. (Ekisa means grace in Lugandan) I had heard of Ekisa and was excited to see what they were all about. (and lets face it, I'm sometimes sceptical about things and I wanted to see if this place was as great as everyone said). And I can say it was!! These women love God and love these kids!! They have 17 children, all beautiful, and all LOVED! Ekisa was started about a year ago by two women, both named Emily, who met while volunteering at another babies home in the area. They noticed the need for a place for special needs children and they felt God calling them to start a home sometime in the future (like maybe 10 years in the future). However, God had other plans and they started it last year. :)

Anna with one of the children

Anna with one of the ladies that now works at Ekisa. She has some disabilities and she showed up at Ekisa with a child and pregnant with the precious little boy Anna is holding.  Now she has a job and a way to support her two children.

The house they rented

The boys room



Oh.My.Goodness! Isn't he the cutest?!
pic from Ekisa website



Met Zuena. What a precious little girl! She needs a home ASAP. She has Endomyocardial Fibrosis. It is a heart condition and she needs treatment in the U.S. She is around 5 and so small because of her condition. And she is just so incredibly sweet.

Arafat...sweet little boy with a beautiful smile!

cutting Jack fruit. It's a local favorite and I cant really describe it. It was different but not bad. :)

one of the Emily's that started Ekisa.

I said in my last post that, while in Uganda, I had 3 songs running through my head. The first being Beautiful Things (see last post) and the next one was "How He Loves" by David Crowder Band.

                       "He is jealous for me, He loves like a hurrican, I am a tree bending beneath the weight of his
                        wind and mercy. When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
                        and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me,oh how He
                        loves us, oh oh how He loves us, how He loves us oh, He is jealous for me, He loves us...oh
                        how He loves us...And we are His portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the
                       grace in His eyes, if His grace is an ocean we are all sinking...yeah He loves us...oh how He
                       loves us!!!!"

Oh how much God LOVES these children with a neverending, unimaginable love! (as He loves all of us). And oh how He makes beautiful things out of us! I know some may struggle with the quesiton of how can I say God loves them when these children have no parents,(they have been abandonded probably because of their disability), but look what He has done. He brought these two Emilies together in Uganda (one from the U.S. and one from England) and gave them the desire to open this home. These children are loved and live in a home with people who love them and show them God's love and teach them about God's love. Oh how He loves them! He has provided for the Emily's as they fundraise to support these children. (Their medical needs are high, they have a lot of expenses) And He has provided what they need! And He always will!

 If this is something you would like to get involved with helping please do! You may not believe me, but a commitment as little as $5 or $10 a month makes a huge difference in Uganda. Let God use you to be a part of this beautiful story. Visit  http://ekisa.org/

Kwagala Project

On our second day in Kampala we spent it with the girls from Kwagala Project. (Kwagala means love in Lugandan) Kwagala Project is a home and rehabilitation refuge for women who are victims of the sex trafficking trade. The youngest girl there is just 10 years old. One word for going to Kwagala Project and spending time with these women is WOW! I was humbled, moved to tears, laughter, and thankfulness that I was able to be a part of this day. These women LOVE the Lord!! And their LOVE and excitement for the Lord honestly moved me to tears.

First we were given the opportunity to met the girls and hang out with them. When we arrived in the bus, the girls swarmed the bus, running in before we could even get up, and gave us all hugs. What a wonderful welcome! :)

Some of the beautiful girls of Kwagala

Each girl then received a bag that contained a necklace, soap, lip balm, and a Bible of their own. I have NEVER in my life seen women SOOO EXTREMELY EXCITED about their Bibles. As soon as Jade said each bag contained a Bible...there was screaming, cheering, and dancing. Christine held her Bible to the sky and shouted praise to God and thanked Him over and over. The girls couldn't wait to open their Bibles. It moved me to tears.

look at the joy on her face as she opens her very own Bible for the first time

Then we had worship and some ladies from our team gave their testimonies and some Kwagala girls shared their testimonies also. WOW! (again) What beautiful stories of redemption, grace, and amazing LOVE!

The girls giving their testimonies.

This is part of Christine's testimony. What a women totally in LOVE with the Lord!! Please take the time to listen to her.


Christine lives to declare the goodness of God! from Jade Metz on Vimeo.



The girls prepared food for us and we all had lunch together.

The girls cooking and preparing our lunch

rice and beans are the Ugandan staple and it was good!

Then, after lunch, we divided up into three Bible study groups. The girls were able to use their new Bibles and they looked up every verse we gave them. They took notes, they shared more of their testimonies, and it was basically just an amazing time with them.
 

 
The whole day (and every day while in Uganda) there was one song that kept running through my head. (well, there were three songs, but this was one of them) It was "Beautiful Things" by Gungor. Here are some of the words: 
 

                 " All this pain, I wonder if I will ever find my way, I wonder if my life could really change at

                  all, all this earth, could all that is lost ever be found, could a garden come out of this ground at

                  all...You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of the dust, You make beautiful

                  things, you make beautiful things out of us....  

                  all around, hope is springing up for this old ground, out of chaos life is being found in You,

                  You make beautiful things......

                  You make me new, You are making me new...

                  You make beautiful things out of the dust, You make beautiful things out of us...."

 

These beautiful women are made new in Christ. He has made them new and He has made beautiful things out of them!! I have been so blessed by them!!

 
These are my sisters in Christ and I will see them again someday, if not on earth, then in heaven as we all sing praises together to the One who has made beautiful things out of us.

 

                  

Uganda

I was so incredibly blessed to be able to go on a mission trip with my friend Jade and 10 other women. What a great group of women! One of the ladies met her two soon-to-be daughters on this trip. How exciting is that?! She (well, and her husband) were matched with 2 girls while she was in Uganda and she was able to meet them and start all the paperwork with the attorney. 
We had Bible study ever night and listening to these women, their stories, what God is doing in them, well I loved it...it was such a privilege to be a part of this group!

This was a couple of hours before they all left me and headed to the airport.

Melinda, my roommate. Man, you should have heard some of her stories! So funny!

Madison's birthday

Happy Birthday to my spunky, feisty, happy little girl! Madison is getting so big! What a little blessing she is!

She is so cute when she gets presents. She says every time "I love it" Such a sweety.

Happy Birthday Madison, we love you!!!

Birthday Boys turn 4

I am so far behind!

I can't believe my boys are 4!! And I can't believe how big they are getting!! We even had two potty trained boys on their 4th birthday. :) Well, as most people know Zander was refusing to potty train and we struggled so I let that go and put him back in diapers. The morning of his birthday I went in to wish him a happy birthday and told him he was 4 yrs old and that he was a big boy today. Then I asked him if he knew what that meant and he said no. I told him it meant that he had to wear big boy underwear from now on and so he did. He said ok, went and picked out a pair to wear and hasn't had any accidents since. Should have tried that at 3 :)

                                             Happy Birthday Connor and Zander!!