Hero Pastor Samuel + Return Ministries

My first hero I want to introduce you to is Pastor Samuel from Return Ministries in Kampala, Uganda.  He introduced us to his big crazy family and helped us understand what it really means to be an orphan.  His passion is training up people to love and care for orphans, but he is a living testimony of what it means to simply love.  We learned that Pastor Samuel could only work part time for his ministry due to high living costs in Kampala for his family.   He could not afford to minister full time… that breaks my heart!

My first few nights in Uganda, it took me a long time to go to sleep.  I wrote a few things by flashlight in my personal journal to share with you.

Uganda:

We met Pastor Samuel at 10:30 am for breakfast at Sophie Hotel.  We ate eggs, fruit and toast.  He spoke with us about why we are here and what exactly is an orphan.  It was outstanding.   I am learning more about what it means to be an orphan spiritually, physically and emotionally. The children are so lost and lonely, but need to feel a part of a family. The children Samuel works with are 15 true orphans that he has living on the compound.. they live there, eat, go to school, and are a part of a family. The other 200 VERY needy children come when they can and eat and interact with Pastor Samuel’s adopted “family.”

The team went to the bank together and exchanged the money we had for donations and shopping. We had about a 30 min. drive to Kampala and Return Ministries. The children had been waiting for a long time for us to arrive (had to wait to eat) They were ecstatic. The looks on over 200 faces of children ranging from ages 1-15 was something I won’t forget. They were cheering and dancing and sooo excited to see our team.  *Remember, we do not have any of our donations bags, but we had glitter and fingernail polish and bubbles to play. The children did a short program for us of songs and dancing. It was really precious. They sang several songs and then we got to eat with the children and staff.

There is a very old man (photo by Carrie) and his wife Josephina living at the compound.  I think it really hit home for me that Pastor Samuel needs to be here too- full time! There was rice, potatoes, beef stew, peanut mixture (purple?) and bread like a flat tortilla to eat. The kids went first and then we served all 200+ children their food. I noticed we ran out of dishes quickly, so I asked if I could help wash dishes. Oh, what an experience:) They put me in a room with a pile of dirty dishes and I scrubbed in a metal pot with a few of my team mates… with a tiny stringy scrubber and got to work!! It was so much fun working side by side with the staff of girls helping feed the children.

The children played for the next few hours with the team. Every child had glitter on their faces and finger nails and toes painted in bright colors. I went around taking photos of the children, but they had to hold my hand before I clicked for them. It was my way of bonding and taking photos with the children. I got to hold 2 girls about Zoie’s age and they both fell asleep in my arms. I was in heaven. I also got to have my hair braided by a group of about 5 girls and 1 staff member. Oh boy did it hurt. My head is still tender:)) I think my team had more fun seeing my wild crazy hair, but it was worth it.

We left the ministry about 5:30pm and went directly to the airport. The big surprise… all 26 bags showed up!!!! I know from experience that this is a flat out miracle!! We were ecstatic due to all our donations making it and many people had no clothes for 24 hours. We came back to Sophie Hotel for a delicious meal of fried chicken and a array of delicious Ugandan food. We had a brief “debriefing” and talked about how we want to spread our donations out for the remainder of the trip. Randi led the group in breaking up the children we visit today in 4 age groups, so we can really bond. The team met late tonight to come up with some wonderful Bible skits and songs to work with the children.

We love Pastor Samuel. His spirit is so quiet, strong and passionate about what his mission is for his people. He welcomed us back to the orphanage and this time we came with a plan. Randi’s ideas were a wild success. We broke the kids up in 5 age groups and everyone went were they felt led to serve.  It was such a blessing for me to watch “my crazy team” loving and playing and ministering to the children. In fact, I was blown away!!!!!! Every single child today was loved. Every child received a hug or nurturing touch from my team. Every child was able to witness the love of Jesus in the kindness and love and playfulness and affection that the team poured out. I was the witness to a miracle of what it truly means to simply love.

The children received 200 color books and crayons… we worked with them as they held a crayon, maybe for the first time.  A sweet little girl bent over in her chair clutching her color book and threw her guts up. Awwww I felt so bad for her. Watching the older children/siblings jump in and take over parenting skills with their younger siblings was a reality eye opener. They are so loving and nurturing.

I bonded with baby Dora. She was 2.5 and tiny with the most stunning smile I have ever seen. She had a deep spirit that shined in her sweet eyes. She has seen things in her short life that I most likely will never witness. Her older sister came around several times to check on her in my arms, but Dora would push her away. She wanted full time me:)) I didn’t let her go for hours. When I had to say goodbye, she clung to me and cried. This tiny toddler knew that I loved her and didn’t want me to let her go.  Our time together was precious and Dora and I didn’t want to let go. I took a precious photo of the 2 sisters saying goodbye to me at the gate. I was told the girls were being raised by grandmother.

I’m really happy to announce that with love, support and team donations through Visiting Orphans, we have come together and helped Samuel leave his job at IT and work full time in Kampala with Return Ministries.  God placed us at this amazing ministry at the perfect time to make a real difference in hundreds of children’s lives.

(I just received this email from Pastor Samuel- please pray)

praise the Lord!

Join me and my brother, Michael Smalley to Uganda June 2-11th 2011 with Visiting Orphans.  The trip is filling up fast… sign up HERE.

My Favorite Team Pics:

(photo by Carrie)

Video made by Joe

To learn more about Return Ministries and how you can visit Pastor Samuel in Kampala, Uganda- click on button.