"Grace was made for lives like this"

I received a disturbing e-mail yesterday regarding the status of the children at Mercy Orphanage in Uganda. Mercy is the orphanage we visited while in Uganda that was truly the worst of places, yet, I got the feeling many of the older children felt blessed to be residing there. Compared to the hell they were living before arriving at Mercy, I suppose this orphanage is a "safe haven" to them.

The e-mail I received yesterday was from the in country facilitator of our mission trips. He made a visit to Mercy yesterday and found the children to be in "bad shape...no food, no medical".

Words can not describe the emotion that overtook me when I received this e-mail. The state of Mercy and the children grieves my heart to depth I never knew existed within me.

I couldn't help but think that if the eyes of a few Americans could see the children at Mercy, their situation would change. All it would take is the compassion of one to begin to make a difference...then it hit me...why couldn't I be that "one"! That's a sobering thought!

God took me to Mercy. He opened up my eyes and heart and it wasn't purposed for me to return home and do nothing...to simply wallow in deep sorrow for them and their situation.

I HAVE seen...and now I've been charged to mobilize. He has "opened up my eyes to the things unseen" and "broken my heart for what breaks His". Lord, bind Satan from Mercy. Don't allow the enemy to harm one hair on the heads of the innocent.

There are "no orphans of God". While these children may have been tossed aside and forgotten by their family, YOU have NOT forgotten them. Use me...use your "church" to bring redemption to Mercy's children. The name of this orphanage couldn't be more appropriate.


For anyone who may want to assist in getting food to these children, Caroline's Promise ( www.carolinespromise.net )will be wiring money for rice to be purchased and taken to Mercy.


"And seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd."
(Matthew 9:36)

"Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human." (Fields of the Fatherless, by Tom Davis)

How's your compassion tank? Do you possess "compassion fear"? What is your fear robbing you of? Are you fulfilling the life you know He is calling you to live?

Blessings!

Children in the Bushes

Children in the Bushes
By Sarah Ledford

If the bushes of Uganda could talk, what would be heard?
The fatherless seek nightly shelter as they hide from their enemies.
Rejection is the name of the game, except this is no game.

While they should be playing evening hide-and-seek, then running home to stay,
…instead they run to the bushes.

While I console my kids through bad dreams,
…bad dreams are their reality.

There are children in the bushes,
hear their cry…
There are children in the bushes,
asking why…

There are children in the bushes,
dare I care…
There are children in the bushes,
dare I share…

If the bushes in Uganda could talk what would be heard?
Broken, weary hearts of the fatherless crying for someone who’s been stirred
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

While I give my kids their bedtime snacks,
…the fatherless are forced to fear attacks.

Their bellies ache from lack of food
…their souls ached to be back with a brood

There are children in the bushes,
hear their cry…
There are children in the bushes,
asking why…

There are children in the bushes,
dare I care…
There are children in the bushes,
dare I share…

Lord, you are the father to the fatherless who will never leave;
One who delights in setting the lonely in families…
Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

There are children in the bushes,
hear their cry…
There are children in the bushes,
asking why…

There are children in the bushes,
help us care…
There are children in the bushes,
help us share.

An Invitation to Suffer...

Many of you know I returned from a trip to Uganda Africa 5 days ago. This was a trip full of the essence of God’s beauty; the hugs and smiles of the innocent; the sound of villages full of orphans and widows singing praise to their one and only hope, Christ Jesus. However, this trip was equally filled with the results of the tragedy of human sin; the broken, innocent, weary, poor, hungry, suffering, fatherless and dying. If you weren’t able to follow our blog during our trip and are interested, go to www.lovetheorphans.com . Returning home has been a mixed bag of emotions.

“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” Philippians 3:10

I wasn’t aware there were spiritual truths hidden in the way I was/ am feeling. Feelings of grief, shame, hopelessness, guilt, and anger due to the injustice laid upon the backs of the innocent and vulnerable.

The enormous amount of poverty and starvation as well as the personal stories of these precious orphans was just about more than my heart could take. I knew God had called me to Uganda, but once I was there, I wasn’t sure why. What could I do? I’m just a stay-at-home mom with a heart for the orphaned and a passion to “save the world”. I hadn’t gone to Uganda thinking the state of my personal life was the same state of the people of Uganda. I knew things were grotesquely different…I just didn’t know HOW grotesquely different.

Questions and feelings began flooding my head and heart by the end of day two. Where was God in this place? What was He doing to “right” such tremendous “wrongs”? Why is He choosing the innocent and vulnerable to get the attention of the world? I know God has not caused these deplorable conditions on the lives of Ugandan orphans. It is merely the result of mans’ sin.

Returning to “normalcy” following this trip is impossible. What is “normal” now? Having held a lifeless 1 year old boy named “Joshua”, who was obviously suffering from not only hunger but some type of neurological issue…what is “returning to normal” mean?





Having served plates of rice and beans to over 600 orphans and widows on the brink of starvation as they go days without anything in their bellies…how can I return to “normal”?



















I touched their cheeks, hugged them tight, kissed their foreheads, held their hands, and stared into their deep dark eyes begging them to never forget Jesus loves them…

Jesus really is their only hope. They have nothing else to cling to. At the early ages of 4, 9, 11, 14 ,16 and 17, years of age, these orphans are living the essence of “true faith”…and I recognize just how clueless we are in “living by faith”.

I’m beginning to see and understand Philippians 3:10. I’m beginning to grasp the fact that my heartbreak for their situations and circumstances is merely a microscopic sampling of the heartbreak Christ endures. I’m beginning to realize that feeling pain and sorrow for this broken world can deepen my relationship/ my communion with Christ as he and I both share in the pains of injustice for these children.

Christ has called me to Uganda. That calling is an invitation to not only learn of these children’s reality, but an invitation to be moved; to be moved emotionally and spiritually to action… to join Christ in his work as he moves in and through the lives of orphans. He has now invited me to “share in his sufferings”.

Lord, forgive me for inflating my part of this partnership. You don’t need me in order to redeem Uganda. You can do that all by yourself. You’ve simply invited me to ‘share in your suffering’ to grow our communion.



Lord, forgive us for being insensitive to human need all around this vast world. May I NEVER return to “normal”.

Blessings on Uganda...