Meet Iddi. No, he’s not one of the children, although there is no shortage of wonderful adorable children in that picture that could easily be my most recent adoption target. Iddi is the guy down front with the goofy grin on his face. Iddi is the man who is responsible for the smiles on the faces of all those children. Those brand new school notebooks and shiny yellow pencils? Iddi. It’s not a stretch, not a joke, and not at all a surprise once you’ve met the guy to say that this one man redeemed Africa for me. I have seen God’s light of love and compassion shining more clearly through Iddi than I have ever imagined could happen in my life.
Let me tell you about Iddi.
Iddi was born to a mixed home. Not racially mixed – there are no white people, and precious few non-blacks, here in Uganda. Iddi’s parents were divided along religious lines. His mother came from a Muslim home, and his father from a Christian home. His mother’s parents hated his father, and when his mother died (and with his father leaving for work
so early and coming home so late he didn’t even know his face until he was 8) he had no place to go. He wound up on the streets, like thousands and thousands of other African boys, and the story almost ended there. He was a wreck even by street kid standards, and nothing went his way. He was in a bad way, in a bad place, and in a bad state of mind. Then a miracle happened. Compassion International decided to sponsor Iddi. Is that a miracle, you’re asking? Doesn’t Compassion sponsor hundreds of thousands of children all over the world? Sure they do. I’ve known and worked with Compassion kids and staffers almost everywhere I’ve gone. I’m just beginning to believe that every time God intervenes in a life headed for Hell, just because He can’t stand to lose one more of His precious creations, it’s a miracle. Iddi got picked to be sponsored by a kind elderly man in the U.S., who he’d never seen in his life. He still hasn’t met the man – after he left the Compassion program he lost contact with him all together – but his life changed completely. He found Jesus. He went to school. He discovered in himself – placed there by God alone – a compassion all his own.
so early and coming home so late he didn’t even know his face until he was 8) he had no place to go. He wound up on the streets, like thousands and thousands of other African boys, and the story almost ended there. He was a wreck even by street kid standards, and nothing went his way. He was in a bad way, in a bad place, and in a bad state of mind. Then a miracle happened. Compassion International decided to sponsor Iddi. Is that a miracle, you’re asking? Doesn’t Compassion sponsor hundreds of thousands of children all over the world? Sure they do. I’ve known and worked with Compassion kids and staffers almost everywhere I’ve gone. I’m just beginning to believe that every time God intervenes in a life headed for Hell, just because He can’t stand to lose one more of His precious creations, it’s a miracle. Iddi got picked to be sponsored by a kind elderly man in the U.S., who he’d never seen in his life. He still hasn’t met the man – after he left the Compassion program he lost contact with him all together – but his life changed completely. He found Jesus. He went to school. He discovered in himself – placed there by God alone – a compassion all his own.“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Matthew 14:14
Compassion International can’t sponsor kids indefinitely, so the cutoff comes at 22 – by then the kids are supposed to be largely self-sustained. In a country where most children don’t enter school until 8 or 9, that’s just not a realistic goal – so Iddi, despite his hard work, was 
left with a severance of roughly $400 and no university education. He wasn’t willing to let it settle like that, and he invested nearly all that money in rice, and used the rest to start his first semester at university. He sold the rice at such a profit that he wound up with over a thousand USD – more than enough for a complete education! As soon as he graduated, he turned back to his passion. He’d been rescued by the merciful hand of God from a life of poverty, but Compassion International wasn’t organizationally capable of supporting street children through the necessary steps all the way to self-sufficiency. He rented a room (for $5 monthly) and employed himself selling gasoline. His deepest desire is to return to others the grace he’s received, and so he began to sponsor children. Today Iddi still rents a room for $5 a month, barely larger than the bathroom I have at home in the States. He has made contacts with people from Vietnam, Australia, and all over Europe and America – I have no idea how. He sponsors the education of 75 children in three districts in eastern Uganda.
left with a severance of roughly $400 and no university education. He wasn’t willing to let it settle like that, and he invested nearly all that money in rice, and used the rest to start his first semester at university. He sold the rice at such a profit that he wound up with over a thousand USD – more than enough for a complete education! As soon as he graduated, he turned back to his passion. He’d been rescued by the merciful hand of God from a life of poverty, but Compassion International wasn’t organizationally capable of supporting street children through the necessary steps all the way to self-sufficiency. He rented a room (for $5 monthly) and employed himself selling gasoline. His deepest desire is to return to others the grace he’s received, and so he began to sponsor children. Today Iddi still rents a room for $5 a month, barely larger than the bathroom I have at home in the States. He has made contacts with people from Vietnam, Australia, and all over Europe and America – I have no idea how. He sponsors the education of 75 children in three districts in eastern Uganda.He started off with a dream and a passion and a few hundred bucks. He went to a northern district, where the people are so poor that they have to go to the government center every year when the rainy season comes to borrow tents because their homes are either flooded or completely washed away. He found a guy with a motorcycle who knew all the back roads, and traveled to every family in the district. He went into every home and met the family, the
kids, and the situation. He says he’s never sponsored a child God didn’t tell him to sponsor. When he found one of them, he took a picture, noted down their information, and moved on. He started with some uniforms, or sometimes just notebooks, but he began to sponsor the kids. Just like his Compassion sponsor, he connected these children with people all over the world who had never seen them but wanted to help. Today there are 75 children with uniforms, notebooks and pencils, and most importantly HOPE for the future, because of Iddi’s passion to return God’s blessings to kids that were like he was. Today Iddi is renting a room that barely fits his bed and a table full of photo albums, living on next to nothing, because every shilling he gets his hands on goes to support those children. He told me the other day, “I want to make sure I can be financially stable supporting these children before I add more.” I’m not sure I quite believe him, because just this month he registered his NGO with the Ugandan government, and completed his passport application to visit one of his biggest sponsors in the States for a fundraiser sometime next year. Just this month he distributed a care package from someone in Florida full of notebooks and pencils, and as he was handing them our he heard God tell him to do something else for the kids.
kids, and the situation. He says he’s never sponsored a child God didn’t tell him to sponsor. When he found one of them, he took a picture, noted down their information, and moved on. He started with some uniforms, or sometimes just notebooks, but he began to sponsor the kids. Just like his Compassion sponsor, he connected these children with people all over the world who had never seen them but wanted to help. Today there are 75 children with uniforms, notebooks and pencils, and most importantly HOPE for the future, because of Iddi’s passion to return God’s blessings to kids that were like he was. Today Iddi is renting a room that barely fits his bed and a table full of photo albums, living on next to nothing, because every shilling he gets his hands on goes to support those children. He told me the other day, “I want to make sure I can be financially stable supporting these children before I add more.” I’m not sure I quite believe him, because just this month he registered his NGO with the Ugandan government, and completed his passport application to visit one of his biggest sponsors in the States for a fundraiser sometime next year. Just this month he distributed a care package from someone in Florida full of notebooks and pencils, and as he was handing them our he heard God tell him to do something else for the kids.“Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me for three days and have nothing to eat.'” Matthew 15:32
Go look back at that picture up top. Notice how the kids are all wearing ragged clothes and no shoes? So did Iddi. He has a friend in Indonesia (seriously, I have no idea where all these contacts come from for this guy) who sent him a gift of 500,000 Uganda shillings (roughly: $160). She’s never seen the kids, never been to Africa, and even told him when she sent the money that she had no way to know what he was doing with it. Iddi bought footwear and school uniforms for all the children in that picture. I know he did, because I’ve seen those kids in their still-shiny crocs and their not-yet-worn-out uniforms. I know it was Iddi, because as soon as we showed up to visit the school every single child – regardless of if he sponsored them or not – poured out of the school building to surround him. I know this is where his passion lies, because I saw him play with these kids like he was no older than they were for hours. I saw the light in their faces mirrored in his, and I knew that I was seeing God at work.
“And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.'” Exodus 33:19
Now Iddi wants to do that for another batch of kids he’s sponsoring. He doesn’t have the money. He showed us some handcrafted bookmarks he’s trying to ship to a friend in 
Australia to sell to raise money, but he lacks the spare $75 to ship them. At this point I was ready for the sales pitch. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop: “I need money. Give me money. Can you help me raise money?” It never came. What he really said was, “I don’t have the money now, but I’ll use local resources to do what I can. And I’ll pray, and God will provide.” I’ve heard of people with God’s blessings. I’ve heard the stories of how God comes through in a pinch. I’ve never met a living breathing giant of faith before. I’m humbled by his complete commitment to God’s work, and His compassion for these kids to follow through with them for as long as it takes to get them an education. He wants to start an orphanage, and a school, and probably expand throughout Uganda and Eastern Africa and, for all I know, the world. And he’ll do it. After all, he’s only 28 years old.
Australia to sell to raise money, but he lacks the spare $75 to ship them. At this point I was ready for the sales pitch. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop: “I need money. Give me money. Can you help me raise money?” It never came. What he really said was, “I don’t have the money now, but I’ll use local resources to do what I can. And I’ll pray, and God will provide.” I’ve heard of people with God’s blessings. I’ve heard the stories of how God comes through in a pinch. I’ve never met a living breathing giant of faith before. I’m humbled by his complete commitment to God’s work, and His compassion for these kids to follow through with them for as long as it takes to get them an education. He wants to start an orphanage, and a school, and probably expand throughout Uganda and Eastern Africa and, for all I know, the world. And he’ll do it. After all, he’s only 28 years old.Iddi’s not selling snake oil. I’ve seen the Western Union money transfer, from someone in Indonesia he’s never met. I’ve seen the children with the shoes and school uniforms bought with that money. I’ve seen the man God has chosen to care for these little children, and the joy in their lives because of his faithfulness. Does it sound too good to be true? Is this a story beyond belief? Or is it, really and truly, the Kingdom of Heaven in action on this earth?
I’ve heard the stories all my life. Now I’m living one. God is real, and He is active, and He has not once given up on His world. Miracles happen every day, and Iddi is living in the middle of one.
“He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.'” Matthew 18:2-5
I was ready to quit on Africa. I wasn’t quite ready to go home, but I was very ready to go somewhere else. Then I met Iddi. Then I was reminded that God isn’t going to quit on Africa just because some muzungu missionary got fed up with the continent. Then I was reminded that God’s servants can be found even when I’m not looking for them – even when all I’m looking for is a way out. Then I was reminded what the World Race – what the Christian life – is all about. It’s not about being comfortable, or enjoying life, or having luxuries. Those things are nice, but they’re not necessary. It’s not about making friends and influencing people, however much that boosts the ego. It’s about serving, and loving, everyone. ESPECIALLY the people you don’t like. ESPECIALLY the people who treat you poorly. ESPECIALLY when you’re having the worst day of your life. We are told to “follow the example of Christ” who, as He was being murdered, forgave his murderers. We are called to have compassion for every living soul – because in God’s eyes it doesn’t matter what they have to say about white people.
Maybe I’m not done with this continent after all.
