Stolen

Do you remember the 2 little boys I told you about, Manuel and Immanuel? Yeah, they're street kids and they stole something of mine. 

June 18th-Today we were supposed to hike a mountain, but the van broke down, so we walked to Victory and had prayer hour. The two boys showed up and held my hands throughout all of worship. It was the first time they entered the church with me. Manuel must've been exhausted because he fell asleep on my lap. It was such a gift to be able to watch his chest rise and fall as he rested and to know that in that moment he felt safe. When he woke up up, I washed his face and said, "Amari"(I love you) and he smiled at me for the very first time in the two weeks I've known him! 

June 20th-Today we went to an elderly woman's home and I asked her if I could weed her garden and she said, "you know how to weed in America?!" hahaha! Her name is Popia and she grows casava, peanuts, beans, and corn. 3 small children named Oliver, Garby(Gabriel), and Jonathan came to help me weed. At first they started picking peanuts for themselves but I explained that the nuts didn't belong to them. While I continued weeding, Jonathan(5 years) pulled up a weed. I was SOOOO excited and said, "yay! I'm so proud of you! Thank you!" and kissed his forehead. That little boy giggled so much. Haha, then after every weed he pulled, he would stick his forehead in my face and expect a kiss! It felt so good to help someone who couldn't help themself. Popia was a teacher for 37 years, and it's the least I could do to weed her garden after all the love she gave this community over the years. 

June 21st–oh boy, this day sure was amazing! God is seriously the best Father. One of my teammates Julia sponsors a child in a nearby village called Soroti(2 hours away). 2 men from World Vision picked the 2 of us up and drove us there to meet her child and her family! We got to see Mercy's school and her report cards(she has the top scores of the whole school!!!) After the few hour visit the men and our translator treated us to supper, then they drove us all the way back to our place. We didn't have to pay for ANYTHING!!! I know God is so good all the time, but today especially He blessed us and showed us a wonderful day. Soroti is beautiful and so broken. When the LRA entered their village, they fled. Just recently they were able to return to the place they once loved to find homes burned to the ground and only foundations of building remaining. Soroti is so dry and hot; please pray for rain. PLEASE please pray for them to know the Lord and thank Him for a chance to start over.

June 22nd-The sunrise was killer this morning and I got to sit on the roof and watch it. Ben and I went with a translator today to do hut-to-hut ministry. At the first home a woman was already saved, so we talked to 2 teenage girls who were with her. While we were praying over the girls, an older man walked up and was listening. Then He said, "Did you tell them about Jesus? Can you tell me about Him too?" Not even 5 minutes later he accepted the Lord as his Savior. When Ben prayed over Walter, "God is now your father, and you belong to Him forever," Walter lost it. I've never seen a grown man so sweetly broken in tears. We made sure to tell him that the Lord never promises that life will not be hard, but He did promise to be with you all the time, and He created the church to share in your burdens and to build you up. 
Then we went to lunch hour prayer and guess who showed up?–Hosanna, Manuel, and Immanuel!! I don't know what it is about these 3 children that makes me love them so much, but I sure know that the Lord has HUGE plans for all of them, and I just pray that I can be a part of that 🙂 
You know the only thing they've stolen from me???–My heart. 

Today is a day of rest, and I'm just relaxing in the sunshine. Oh hey! And I'll be giving the message on the 4th of July during lunch hour prayer! I'm seriously humbled at the thought of sharing God's Word with these people. 
Please let me know how you're all doing–I'm so excited to hear from you!! Love, Aly