My team and I have been in Kimpala, Uganda for the past week and a half. Though the ministry here isn’t exactly my favorite (we’ve mainly done door to door and preaching so far), there’s just something about the people and the history here that has captivated me the same way that Cambodia did. This past decade the northern part of the country was known for the enforcement of thousands of child soldiers. In fact, the headline in the newspapaper here today reported that over 50,000 Ugandan children have been sold from Karamoja since 2001. Sitting here pondering this at a local coffee shop (and trying hard not to throw up) I can’t help but think of all the children I’ve seen this month. What about them? What does their future hold? In our downtime this month I’ve been reading One Day The Soldiers Came, a book about several refugee children from the war-ravaged areas of Eastern Africa, The Balkans of Europe, and the border of Thailand/ Burma. The stories of these kids and teenagers are completely heartbreaking. It’s estimated that there are currently 20 million children worldwide that are displaced due to violence and war. A majority of them have been orphaned or separated from their families, have no idea if or when they will ever be allowed to go back home, and live in fear of being trafficked into the sex trade or the military. This Is NOT OK!!! Seriously, these kids have already been to hell and back with all the war and destruction they have seen… and then they have to face living the rest of their lives in fear because there’s no one to take care of them or protect them?! Something has to be done! When I was in school, I knew that kids saw and went through some of the most horrific things… my kids back home were a testament of this. But coming onto the Race has given me a entire new prospective that’s taken my passion to help children to a whole other level. There are so many kids suffering around the world that are desperate for love… A love that protects and a love they can trust. I know it sounds crazy for me to think I can somehow provide this love for so many children in so many places, but this is absolutely what I’ve been created for. In fact, the other night during service, the pastor recieved this vision of me with a banner saying ‘Organization’ around my chest… he said that God was calling me to be the head of this massive organization involving children. If that isn’t confirmation for all that God’s been showing me these past 9 1/2 months on the race, then I don’t know what is! In fact, it’s just like my friend and WR staff Ashley Musick recently told me at our last debrief as we passed a church sign that said ‘Jesus is the Answer’: If Christ is the answer… and Christ lives in you… THEN YOU ARE THE ANSWER.
