Africa. Uganda. Lira. this place has already stolen my heart. as some of the only white people in town, we can hardly walk anywhere without stares, people pointing and shouts of "mzungu" which means "foreigner" or "white person" in their langauage. we take the opportunity to smile and wave at these people and utalize the few words in their language that we know to send a friendly greeting to them. when walking on the roads that are more outside of town we gather a group of children trailing behind us. the brave ones will come up and hold our hands as we walk along. the children are all so precious. despite the language barrier, the love is felt through a wave or holding a hand and a smile.
the other day, while we were at the church serving some of the children, i met a beautiful 13 year old girl named Prisca. Prisca invited me to come sit next to her on the short wall separating the play ground from the road. she and her friends sang me songs, some they had learned at church and some in their native language. then they asked me to sing them songs and told me they were "very nice." after this i asked Prisca to teach me some words and phrases in her language. she filled three pages of my journal with words for me to learn and practice saying. Prisca then asked about life in america and my family. she practiced saying the names of everyone in my family. then i asked her, "what about you Prisca?" she looked away from me and said, "none. they are all gone. dead. i am alone."
and that is when my heart broke.
i knew we were coming into an area that had suffered much destruction from kony and the lra, but now actually putting a name, a face, a voice, a personality to a victim…my heart was in so much pain for Prisca. and i was reminded again that i am so blessed. the rest of that day, every child i saw, i wondered, "who do you have at home? who takes care of you? how much of your family is still living?" and my heart went out to them.
Prisca, this strong little girl is a beautiful and loved part of God's family and has impacted my heart forever.
