Serving His Children Ministries

We jumped off the bus and were immediately accosted by boda boda drivers, frantically trying to the collect the five white girls and their bags. Even though the normal form of public transportation was sitting on the back of a moped, or boda, I preferred a taxi for this first trip. I was visiting Uganda for the first time with four friends from Nairobi. We had just rode the bus all night long and arrived in Jinja around 9am. I needed to find someone who could get me to Renee, the director of Serving His Children ministry. That was my plan for my first Kenyan spring break...visit Ugandan babies and of course, raft the Nile River. We finally managed to peel ourselves away from the boda drivers while I called Renee on the phone. She would come pick us up, brilliant. We parked our bags and ourselves on the other side of the petrol station where we were dropped off. I had only read a few pages in my book when she arrived, we loaded up, and off we went to Masese, the right outside Jinja where Renee lived. The views of Lake Victoria along the route were beautiful!

We found the house full of Ugandan mothers, babies, and older siblings. The two other American volunteers were quite welcoming as we made ourselves at home with chai and cinnamon buns. Over the next three days we each grew to love the sisters in this house. Renee had moved into the house three years earlier to start a feeding program for the children in the local community. It evolved into a malnutrition rehabilitation center for an average of 14 children at a time. The children we held, played with, and fed range from a few months old to a few years old, yet almost all look about the same age. Extreme poverty has shown it's horrors in the lives of these precious little ones. They come to the house just skin and bones, most not able to sit up, walk, crawl, speak, or really even eat. With God's help, they are nurished back to health while their mothers are taught how to properly care for their children. It was humbling to sit on the porch holding a baby listless in my arms, knowing the child was actually two years old, and could not yet walk or talk. What kind of future is in store for this child of God? It is heart-wrenching to think how many children are out there just like these, yet don't even have the chance to get well. How many of them will die of malnutrition? Hugging them a little tighter, I prayed God would give them a "hope and a future." It was exactly the kind of spring break I wanted. Spending time with some awesome missionaries and loving on the babies they care for so diligently. I don't understand the poverty and malnutrition, but I do understand God's call on His people to serve them and take care of them. What a great way to show God's love! If you understand God's command to care like these missionaries do, please visit their website to see how you can help. And always, say a pray. http://www.servinghischildren.org/