This past Saturday my team had the sweet opportunity to visit Katie Davis’ ministry. If you don’t know who she is, I recommend checking out her blog; you will be inspired (kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com). It was incredible to see how one young girl could make such a HUGE impact by allowing God to work through her. But for me, the most memorable part of our visit in Jinja was not at her ministry.
Our pastor dropped us off in Jinja an hour before our program with Katie began, so we headed to a little café for breakfast (which just happened to be affiliated with a church and all the profits went to their ministries. Sweet! Good food, good prices, and a good cause!). Shortly after we got our food, I spot a young boy wearing dirty rags sitting on the curb. I felt a little fissure in my heart. Then he looked back and made eye contact with me. CRACK. My heart broke and I knew I couldn’t enjoy my breakfast just leaving him there.
I brought him a menu and asked what he wanted, then placed his order and brought him out a bottle of water. I watched as he sat under a tree shaking up the bottle and looking through the bottle, placing the wrapper over his eyes and just having a good time entertaining himself. His food came and we invited him to join us at the table. He was pretty timid and hesitant to sit down, but eventually we convinced him. He looked down at the silverware, made a face, then went at the omelet with his hands. His name is Michael and he is 8 years old. It took a little while for him to warm up to us, but soon everyone was laughing. Michael always had a mouthful of food, so he politely covered his mouth with his arm as he giggled.
Michael and I
Michael told us over and over that he loves Jesus. The break in my heart extended further. “This boy is so precious! I want to take him home!” I thought. We asked him some questions to find out what he likes to do. He likes to sing and drum. So we had a mini worship session at the table outside this little café. Everyone sang along and Michael drummed on his water bottle and the table.
Then our questions got a little more serious. “Where is your mom?” “Mommy died.” “Your dad?” Daddy died.” “Who takes care of you?” “No.” “Are you by yourself?” “Yes.” “Where do you live?” Michael pointed at the sidewalk. With each answered question my heart broke more and more. I was fighting to keep my eyes from watering.
Then Katie showed up with her 14 passenger van filled with children. We had to go. Quickly. I didn’t even have time to process, but I gave Michael a big squeeze and then just left him there. I thought about him the whole time we were in the van. What could I do? I felt helpless.
Later Katie told us that she knows Michael. She told us his real story. He is part of a tribe from Northern Uganda which has been displaced because of the war. His tribe has a reservation near Jinja where they were given a small plot of land to live on by the government. But his people are farmers and they have nowhere to farm. They are unable to find jobs and are really struggling. So Michael has a home. And he has a mom, but she is an alcoholic. Michael works the streets because that’s the best/only way his family can make money.
At first I felt duped. I felt scammed. I was hurt and even a little angry for a moment. Then I realized that the true story is just as awful as the story Michael made up. Katie told us it is a cycle because their families need money and they can’t get jobs, so the kids go to the streets and they are pretty successful, which reinforces it and teaches the kids that they don’t need to try to get jobs.
After our visit with Katie, we returned to the same café to have a late lunch. Michael was still there. We said hi to him, then a few minutes later we saw that he had joined another table for lunch. Watching him broke my heart as I was reminded that this is his life. Again, I felt helpless. Michael broke my heart and found himself a special place in it where he’ll stay. I just wish I could do something for him, something that will get him out of this lifestyle. That’s one of the hardest things about this trip. We see so much that breaks our hearts, but often we don’t know how to help. What comforts me is that Katie is there to stay and she knows Michael, and also that I can pray for him and that is a powerful thing. Please join me in praying fo Michael and the other children in Uganda who are trapped in poverty.
