During our first week in Uganda, my team was asked to volunteer at a local orphanage. Initially of course we were all open and willing to help wherever we were needed. We did not know what we were getting ourselves into we just saw a need and knew we could be an extra help to all of the mommies in the orphanage.
Wednesday morning I woke up eager to go to the orphanage and love on so many babies and children. After seeing the orphanage and where we would be volunteering we needed to talk as a team about if this was where God was leading us to help. The question was quickly brought up if we would be doing more harm than good by going into an orphanage and loving on children who have already been abandoned at some point in their lives and then leave three weeks later.
I did not have the answer. I had not thought about if loving the children and leaving would cause more harm. I did not know what was the best option for our team or each person. With not knowing what to say or do I decided we each should go spend the next 30 minutes in prayer asking the Lord where He was leading each of us in ministry for that afternoon and the weeks to come.
So with my eyes filled with tears and my heart breaking for all of the sweet children who I so badly wanted to love, but I did not want to make anything more worse for them. I prayed Lord show me an answer. Show me what you have for me. Should I never go back to the orphanage. What do I need to do Lord?
Later that day through serving at the orphanage and after a lot of time spent in prayer and confusion. I began to think “What would Jesus do?”
All through out the New Testament story after story it talks about Jesus passing through different towns everyday and He loved each and every single person He came in contact with. I do not think He would have looked at the orphan and said “You have already been abandoned and I am only here for one day, so I am not going to love you either.” I like to think He would have picked the little orphan up, gave him the biggest hug, loved me so well, and made a huge impact on his life. I believe we can do the same.
We serve the all knowing God who knows my heart and knows my intentions. We do live in a wounded and broken world where abandonment, hurt, and death exist but I believe love covers multitudes of sin. And at the end of the day, when we stand before Jesus, the Bible says we each have to answer for ourselves. And I believe I can stand before Jesus and He will know where my heart was and how much I loved each and every one of the orphans and I can only hope He will look me in the eyes and say “Well done my good and faithful servant!”
Chasing after Jesus,
Emily Ann
