Story Chi (whats up?’) - Oct 27, 2010

I don’t even know if I can begin about today….although there were times when I was doing nothing, it feels like it was a very long day...and it was.

The day was supposed to start with me meeting Henry and us going to look at the house. I headed into town a bit early to check my emails, low and behold there was David and he was with the other boy I was talking about yesterday, Robert. I guess no one was at the house, so they had wandered into town. I quickly did my emailing and then we headed back to the house. When we got there Alex was there with some of his friends. He told me that Hassan had left very early to go to town (even though he was told not to). We got David to lend Robert some clothes so that he could at least wash his clothes (which were filthy from being on the streets) and he was invited to spend the day. Henry showed up not long after, and we went off to see the house.

The house is probably a good 10-15 minutes outside of Jinja, in a place called Bukaya (Boo Ki ya). Now, the house definitely is not finished. There are no ceilings, and no floors. While they have running water on the property, there is no plumbing in the house. There IS electricity though!!! And it has 2 good sized bedrooms PLUS a pretty big Master Bedroom. There is a kitchen, a dining room, a living room and a garage. Out back they have 2 boys quarters (each with 2 completed rooms and 1 incomplete room). They also have 2 out house type deals in the back as well as a shower. In my opinion the house is great, it is the property that is smaller then I/we would like. There is some grass in the front lawn, but definitely nothing near the amount of space the boys have now. There MIGHT be room for a garden, but it will be long and narrow. The catch is that we will NEVER get property like this for so cheap! The lady was very gracious and helpful, and let me take lots of pictures. (I will post some soon.)

After leaving the house we went to look around for places that the boys could pray football (obviously VERY important :)) As well as looking for quality primary schools for the boys to attend. We found one good primary school, a football field and some potential churches.

All in all everything is great except for the land around the house being smaller then we would like. Regardless, that afternoon we went to talk to the ladies lawyer who was in town and he explained how you go about buying land in Uganda and how we should proceed next if we are interested. Now, the decision time has come. Please continue to pray for everyone involved in making this decision. They we have discernment and seek out what God wants us to do and where he wants us to be.

One more thing, we also found out today that the owner of the place the boys are living in now is expected to come back some time soon, and therefore will be taking back the space the boys are living in. Is this God’s way of showing us it is time to move? I guess time will tell.

On a not so positive note, after leaving the lawyers we saw Hassan in town. We turned around to go running, but he ran away from us. Later on he showed up at the boys house, but when Henry asked him questions about where he had been, and what he was doing he didn’t want to answer, and when he did it wasn’t all truth. (We had been informed that he was again begging in the streets). He left again and went back to town.

Later that night Henry and I went back into town to send more information to people about the house, and when we came out Hassan was sitting curled up next to Henry’s bike. He said that he was sorry, and that he didn’t want to be on the streets, and that we wanted to go back to the house (or so Henry translated to me, the whole conversation was in Luganda). In the end he went back to the house, although we had also invited Robert to spend the night, so I guess someone will be sleeping on the couch again.

I need to say that while I am 100% confident that I am where God wants me to be, serving as He has called me to serve…I feel like I am a bit in over my head. There is not a single part of me that knows how to go about buying a house in Uganda (let alone anywhere else in the world), and while I have huge compassion for the boys struggling to be free of living on the streets, knowing how to handle it and doing what is right for each specific child is definitely a struggle. I believe that I am proof that God is involved, because if I was doing ANY single part of this on my own, I would fail. God continues to provide the right people with the right expertise to either guide me through or handle certain situations. He has connected me with a contractor that I know is completely trustworthy, another business man (mzungu) in town who was able to tell me more about the lawyer we are working with, and that he is the best in what he does and very honest. He also has blessed Henry with a way of speaking to the boys that earns their respect and trust. All I can say is Thank You Jesus for providing for all of our needs.