Never doubting, always believing

I received the information below from a friend in an email.  It brought back so many memories of how my faith, and the faith of others in Africa, is tested.  It's not only tested but it is also proven.  Africa gives you a sense of smallness.  If you haven't been there you can't quite grasp how Africa makes you feel.  You can never imagine the picture it paints on your heart.  The one thing it does do though, is make your faith REAL.  God is certainly alive in Africa and African people have no one other than God to rely on for their every need.  Read this and feel free to send it to everyone you know as an email so you too can share the real faith seen in Africa, but that can also be seen right here in our own daily lives.

THIS WILL TRULY LIFT YOU UP SPIRITUALLY.  ENJOY & BELIEVE.                                       Isaiah 65:24
This is a story written by a doctor who worked in Africa .  

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator). 
We also had no special feeding facilities.
Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. 
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates)..
'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in   Central Africa  it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. 
'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts Your job is to keep the baby warm.'
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. 
During prayer time, one ten -year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed, 'Send us a hot water bottle today It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.'
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?' 
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say 'Amen?' I just did not believe that God could do this. 
Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in   Africa   for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home. 
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! 
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the verandah was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored.. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.

Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. 
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!'
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!
Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?'
'Of course,' I replied! 
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator.
And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it 'that afternoon.' 
'Before they call, I will answer.' (Isaiah 65:24) 
When you receive this, say the prayer. That's all I ask. No strings attached. Just send it on to whomever you want - but do send it on.

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but a lot of rewards. Let's continue praying for one another.  
This awesome prayer takes less than a minute. 
Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this. I ask You to minister to their spirit. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence to work through them where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I ask You to give them understanding, guidance, and strength. Where there is fear, reveal our love and release to them Your courage.. Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage them.  I ask You to do these things in Jesus' name. Amen 
P. S. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both. Passing this on to one not considered a friend is something Christ would do. So there you have it.  The exact email that I read earlier this evening.  I hope, like me, it has questioned your own faith.  Faith is the substance of my being, and the evidence of the things I cannot see.  I don't need to see it to believe it.  I just have to have the same small seed of faith like this little girl had.  It's the same faith I see in my daughter every day.  She knows that what she asks for God will provide, oh and He does.  We are thankful for every blessing He brings into our lives each day. 

Photo memories

When we arrived at my Grandparents house for tea today, my Nan had an old photo album waiting, to show Lutaaya what I looked like when I was little.  Lutaaya loved this!  She spent ages, debating over the people she could see in the photos were the actual people she now sees every day.  She could understand that I was a baby once and a little girl and accepted that I looked differently, but seeing my parents in their younger years made her laugh.  She couldn't believe Grandad had hair over his lip, (a moustache) and Jjajja had different hair to what she has now.  Lutaaya loved cherishing the memories of my childhood.

Here she is, studying the old photographs with her Grandparents, and pointing out how different they look today.

 And this is what she found so interesting!

Mammy as a baby

Mammy on St David's Day at school.  Little does she know that 1st March, her school will look very similar to this with everyone in their Welsh traditional costume!  And for those of you trying to work out which one I am, I'm second in from the left, top line.

I forget how precious little things, like an old photograph are.  How they can bring memories flooding back.  I am fortunate to have a lot of photos of Lutaaya from her being around 3-4years old, from my trips to Uganda and links with other people who have visited the home she is from in the past to the present day.  Unfortunately, we will never have the baby photo to put up proudly on the wall, or the toddler photos.  We won't have any memories of first steps or first words.

It is sad to think of this, but it isn't all sadness, as what we have now are opportunities to create new memories.  We have been trying to do the things that maybe Lutaaya missed out on, or the things she never had anyone to share the joy with.  So rather than dwell on the negatives, we look forward to the photo album Lutaaya is creating, of all her own special memories since she came home.

Tower of Babel

Lutaaya spent her first morning at Sunday school today.  The theme was the Tower of Babel.  It was lovely hearing the children talk of different languages.  When Lutaaya was asked if she could think of another language, we all laughed as she said 'Welsh'.  All of us expecting her to say Lugandan!  Looks like her culture is taking a turn already.
The kids had great fun trying to build their own towers using dried spaghetti and marshmallows.

First Experiences

It's very easy to underestimate how many experiences we would take for granted, that Lutaaya still hasn't experienced for herself.  In the orphanage where she lived, she would have washed using a bowl and soap.  The water is likely to have been cold or luke warm.  Since she's lived with me she has used the shower and been totally in awe of it.  Firstly she loves the fact the water is warm and secondly she loves how it magically seems to come from the sky!  This weekend Lutaaya had the chance to try something new and take a bath.  We haven't done this before simply because of time restrictions. It was lovely to know that we had the full morning to take time for her to play and wash in the bath. 

For Christmas she had some 'younger toys' for the bath.  Some play ducks and alphabet set.  So in they go, quickly followed by an eager little girl.

  I think this smile says it all really!

Latr on in the day we went down to my Mum's shop. Lutaaya has loved going there, but today she lay on the floor in front of the mirror.  It made me take a moment to contemplate the fact, she never had time to look at herself in the mirror.  This little girl, 9 years old, didn't have a clue what she actually looked like.  How sad is that?  She has been fascinated with mirrors since living with me and this is probably why.  She loves spending time doing her hair in the mirror and looking at every detail on her face. 

We also had our Christmas photos printed today to put in an album and give some out as gifts.  Lutaaya loved looking at them.  For the first time in her life, even though she has had photos previously, she could now recognise that this was in fact her.  She spent ages reliving each moment over Christmas, talking about it and smiling at herself.  When we went to choose some to give to people she made the statement, 'I don't know which iones to choose as they are all so beautiful.'  She isn't being vain, she is just realising that she is valued as an individual for the first time ever.  I loved it and smiled as she realised her inner and outer beauty.

Worker of the week

Lutaaya came home from school today with a bag full!  I thought the bag had become heavier rather than lighter, and it had, with there being a very good reason for this.  In assembly today, Lutaaya was awarded the 'Worker of the Week' Trophy for Year 5.  How proud a Mammy am I?  My little girl has shown so much committment to her work and learning.  She has sat every night this week to do her school reading books.  She has listened as we've repeated words she struggles on and she has obviously shown willing in school as well.

And so the trophy sits proudly in our bay window for the weekend.  (It has to be returned for next week's winner on Monday.)  I want the world, and Lutaaya to see how proud she's made me, and how encouraged she should feel with her improvements that she has made so far.  Yes, it's going to be a long journey.  Yes, she will take longer than others to retain information.  Yes, we will have to go backwards before we can go forwards.  And YES she is trying and enjoying every moment of learning. 

She can see the enjoyment others get out of reading, so she too wants to learn.  She had her first swimming lesson with school this week, so we've now enrolled her in the local pool for weekly lessons.  She loves the water so this will help her thrive in another area of her life.  I will continue to do everything in my power to help her in her development.  We will continue to play catch up, but you know, I don't care how far behind others she is, as long as I see her moving slowly up her ladder of achievements, then I will always be proud of her attempts.  She never fails to TRY. 

The highlight of the day was tinted with a bad patch, as we had a nurse appointment booked for today for her immunisations.  Lutaaya was very scared going to the surgery.  She stated that she feared the needles.  I thought she may only need one but we had to have three.  Obviously by injection number 3 she knew what was coming and fought against it.  Not something nice to watch, but something essential for her health. 

Due to the trophy award and being brave at the doctor's, I let Lutaaya have a night in front of the TV on the settee, waiting on her hand and foot.  She loved this and laughed at requesting different things to watch, eat and drink, then see me scurry off to complete her orders.  She worried that her teacher may be cross that she hadn't done any school reading, but I explained teacher would understand why she had a night off and I'd write it in her home reading book.  This made her happy.   

I can cook

Since coming to the UK, Lutaaya has really enjoyed a TV programme called, 'I can cook'.  It's aimed at younger pre-school children, but she loves it.  I guess cooking in itself is a whole new part of her life, with her eating such a limited diet for the last 9 years, but seeing children cook, really opens her mind. 
So as a treat, we bought a cake mix set and let Lutaaya become one of those children in the kitchen so that she too could say, 'I can cook'. 

First Day at School

We did a few trail runs at school last week, with Lutaaya going in  for a couple of hours and meeting her new class mates.  They took me by surprise when they showed their excitement to have her in their class.  Every child shouted for joy as they saw her walking in.  They have been prepared for her arrival for the last few weeks.  They instantly made her feel at ease.  Welcome cards were given to her and they all argued over who she would sit next too.  It was adorable and very moving to watch.

So uniform is bought and today is the first full day Lutaaya will do at school.  She looked so smart in her uniform and takes so much pride in her appearance.  She took forever to choose what clips she wanted in her hair for school.

I must admit I was always one of those people who always wondered why mother's cried on day 1 of school.  Now I can totally understand and appreciate this feeling.  Even though you've met the teacher, and you can see the children are lovely in the class, you know she's safe but the underlying thing is:  you're not there.  You're not there to look out for her, you're not there to protect her, you're not there to help her.  You, as a mother, are leaving your child.  In some shape or form, you are choosing to cause another abandonement in her life.  But obviously this time there is a happy ending, as in a few hours time, I will go back to the school and collect my little darling.  I will be there every day on time and stand in the same place, to instill in her that I will always be there for her at the end of the day. 

She came out bouncing!  She absolutely loved school.  She adored being fussed over, she thrived on making friends, she learned that learning and school can be fun.  I am so overjoyed.  No longer is school a memory of strict teachers and embarrasing beatings in front of the whole school, but now school is a good part of her life.  School is going to open a whole new bank of opportunities for Lutaaya and we can't wait to explore them all.