The past few days have been absolutely delightful, and I
cannot even describe how great God has been. I have had multiple divine
appointments, and praise the Lord for raising my spirits through his mighty
work. I am sitting upon my bed and cannot stop grinning. Today was one of those
days in which I have been overjoyed for no other reason than the fact that God
is good, all the time! I am going to do a little flashback to this weekend and
then get to today.
This past weekend I went early Friday morning with Mama
Grace to take her son to the hospital to have his tonsils taken out. When we
were all set up for surgery we were given the bed in which baby Joshua would
stay the night in after his surgery. While waiting for the surgery, Mama Grace
and I sat on the bed with Joshua and I began to notice the boy in the bed next
to us. I guess I should add that hospital “rooms” here are a large room with
multiple rolling beds lined through the room. But as I gazed upon his face, it
was pressing upon my heart that I had to talk to him about God today. I was
automatically drawn to him as I saw him sitting in school uniform; his school
sweater and pants draped over his bed, with his backpack sitting at the foot of
the bed, and no parent or family member there to take care of him.
I wish I could
remember how I began talking with him but I don’t. I only know that God pushed
me right into talking with him about God when I asked if the bracelet on his
arm was one in which he made. He proceeded to tell me it was his rosary. I knew
then that this was the plunge. I asked if he prayed to God or Mary. He told me
he personally prays to God because he knows God can only answer his prayers. We
then went into a conversation of how powerful God is through prayer, the power
of healing, and how God is the only person that can truly do anything for us. I
asked him if he had God in his heart, which I tend to forget is not the common
term for here so he said yes. As the day went on I found out his name was
Ssemekaaya, he is 14 years old, he has 4 brothers, he was taken at school to be
circumcised and in the process they cut his urinary vessel and immediately
brought him to the hospital to be cared for. I cannot even explain the peace
that Ssemekaaya portrayed. He seriously beamed, as if I were looking upon an
angel with the most innocent smile and genuine spirit. Throughout the day,
Ssemekaaya and I read books together, colored, went for a walk, I bought him
chapatti and soda as I knew that was all he would eat, helped him change his
sheets, wrote him a letter, looked through all my pictures, and simply sat in
his bed conversing with one another. I prayed throughout the day for Ssemekaaya
because I knew God placed him in my path for a reason, and I only hoped for
something greater. And well, it happened. At about 10:30 that night I received
a call from Mama Grace. She put Ssemekaaya on the phone and he told me that he
had ACCEPTED CHRIST INTO HIS HEART. I started screaming as collectively as I
could, telling him over and over “Ssemekaaya, I am so happy for you!! Praise
the Lord.” I ended the conversation telling him I would be back for sure in the
morning, and I had to see my new brother in Christ. Sure enough Ssemekaaya
called the next morning to double check I was in fact coming, and yes that certainly
warmed my heart! When I arrived to the hospital Ssemekaaya walked up and I
pulled him into my arms. The smile on his face had doubled from the previous
day. Our time together was limited but it could not have been better. We spent
the 30 minutes we had reading the bible together and deciding upon Philippians
1:3-4 to be “our” verse to remember one another by. I now have the verse
highlighted in my Bible with “Ssemekaaya” written beside it and in his brand
new Bible “Taylor” beside the verse. He was overjoyed when he understood the
Bible was his, his to keep, his to have, his to read, and his to share. I wrote
Ssemekaaya one last letter and prayed with him as he was discharged and picked
up from the hospital to be taken home. My heart is content in knowing that I
WILL see Ssemekaaya again one day, and I can’t wait to see him inside of those
pearly gates. However it was not easy for me to watch him walk away. If only
Ssemekaaya knew the impact he had on my life in just one day. I will never stop
praying for my brother and hope more than anything that he becomes a devout
warrior of God and sells himself completely each day for the Lord above. Wow,
tears are flowing down my face…God is incredible!
Fast forwarding to today; this morning started off with me
running out the door thinking Bernard (our boda driver) was leaving without
taking me to school. As I peered through the window, I saw him drive away and darted through the garage saying “Bernard
wait, wait” to only find out that he was leaving and coming back because I was
not yet ready. Had to start the morning out making a bit of a fool of myself,
it’s just better that way. When I arrived to school, the children had already
begun practice for competition which takes place this Friday. Competition is a
huge deal and has resulted in minimal to no teaching at all the past couple of
weeks, as they have hired instructors to teach the songs and dances to the
children.
This however has meant that I am able to share quality
moments with the children, as of course the majority of our delightfully
energetic class has been removed from the competition because of their
unwillingness to focus and learn. It is nice to just have time to spend time
with the kiddos individually. This morning consisted of me writing in my
journal, of course writing about the day before because I am such a
procrastinator and always think I will remember all things from the previous
day. I was then pulled by the hand to help the sopranos with their piece. It is
a powerful feeling teaching kids music, you should try it sometime! I then went
with Emma to get some chapatti and we talked about different encounters he has
had with people trying to harm him, and it apparently has only happened twice
because “people fear him.” And I certainly believe it! He is the most genuine
kid, with a solid head on his shoulders, who loves the Lord with all his heart.
He has friends in every shop and knows guards and random people everywhere you
stop on Kiwatule Road. His philosophy is that even if someone does not want to
be his friend, he is going to make them his friend, and hey it works towards
his advantage.
I spent the afternoon chasing children around the school;
doing push-ups, squats, and attempting the splits with some children; playing
hide and seek in the dark, which I must add is not fair because even if the
lights are off I shine like a beacon in the night, and they obviously are
nowhere to be found; we had a serious photo session, with the children wanting
individual photos taken of them, some wanted the silly face pose, others
sitting on the bench, others the sassy smile, and others the picture holding
the various objects - books seemed to be the most popular; and then of course
the day ended in the girlies combing through my hair and “plaiting” it in
various ways. It is pretty much a given to come home each day with oily and
greasy hair. I cannot help but have a smile upon myself with all the individual
moments I have each day with these kids and although sometimes “Teacher Taylor,
Teacher Taylor, Teacher Taylor” is ringing through my ears I have to pause and
think, “Taylor, consider it a blessing from God that these children are
literally beckoning to you, and how sweet the voice of these children really
are,” so why not be joyous about every time these children call my name,
whatever it may be that they desire from me.
Goodness gracious, I have so much more to say! It feels so
good to express the wonders of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He truly reveals himself
through mysterious and unexpected ways, and I love, love, love it!
“But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken
away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is there
is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the
glory of the Lord. And the Lord-who is the Spirit-makes us more and more like
him as we are changed into his glorious image.” -2 Corinthians 3:16-18
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