Today is a special day. All the kids are excited and chattering. It’s Friday and its Park day. The kids get in there play clothes and go to a big field and play games for a couple of hours. It’s very exciting because they aren’t allowed outside the orphanage. They have a small courtyard (dirt area in the middle of the building) where they play, where they eat, and where they hang their clothes to dry.
It was a hot, sunny day (sooo unusual for Africa) and we had all the kids get in a line to walk. They are soo cute. They walked in the line following Aunty and Uncle’s direction. The older boys immediately took the lead and guided us there. Some of the little ones would get distracted over the smallest things like the hill beside the road.
We kept walking and then we entered an area with trees. As I looked ahead I noticed many African men standing around, some with sticks. An uneasily feeling came over me as I looked ahead and saw about three of the boys way ahead of us. I called them to me and directed them to move around the group of people. They stared at us. I started praying.
I didn’t think it necessary to mention in my previous blog that Uganda is getting ready for an election year for the president. Come February/March the people will vote to keep their current president (who has been in office for many, many years) or a new person (if my information is correct the opposing party is Muslim). The main debate is over “infrastructure” with one side wanting a lot more. Our contacts told us that recently people in the government have gone missing or found beaten. The climate is getting a little heated. The U.S. has encouraged citizens to not be in Uganda in the upcoming months in case things get too heated. (Note: In particular, Americans and Christians who the opposing party had targeted.)
So as we went around the large crowd I just surrendered the protection of the children to God. I or anyone on my team would not be able to do anything if things got out of hand. We entered the field to see that the police were there. They were talking to people and they all looked very serious. I wasn’t sure what to do.
Auntie Betty and Teacher David spoke with them and found out the field was being used today. Training for the police (they are recruiting to be prepared for the upcoming election) and so we left. No park day today. The kids didn’t seem to mind the fact that we left as soon as we got there. Maybe they felt the unease as well. But God is good and even though we were stared out of the field we left completely fine.
Interesting day, for sure…
