I once was blind, but now I see

This was our last week of ministry here in Jinja, Uganda and it was busy. We visited 7 houses, spent Friday during the day with Mary at Woman at Risk ministry, and cooked a dinner and had a party for a family of 15 orphans Friday night! In general though, the week was really difficult for me. Part of it was the pure exhaustion of being gone from 8 in the morning until 6 at night each day. Another part was the story of these families we were meeting, the intensity of their love despite poverty, and their joy beyond circumstances. On Monday we visited one family in the morning and in the afternoon we went to visit another family that had 10 children, but one girl stood out amongst them all and captured my attention. As we walked into the house it began to pour outside and the rain pounded on the tin roof making it impossible to hear each other. The mother motioned for us to sit on a broken bench, offering us her best as she settled down on the hard floor. As I sat down I looked to my right and saw a young girl, 9 years old, who had the biggest smile on her face. I tried to shout and ask her for her name but she just continued to smile at me. I thought maybe she didn't understand English, but usually when that is the case they just respond, "I am fine." (They think we are asking, how are you?.) So I tried one more time, just a little louder and the response was still just a big smile and then her eyes looking around. One of the men who cares for the family came to me and said "She is dumb." I was a little taken back at first. I thought, "how can you say this beautiful girl is dumb? Even if she is a little slow to learn,she can't possibly deserve to be called dumb." I think he saw that on my face and began to explain that the girl is deaf and mute. I signaled for her to come over and she sat on my lap. Song pulled out is guitar and despite the rain, he played music and we worshiped the loving God of these children. He played amazing grace and when he sang the line, "I once was blind but now I see" I could not help but let the tears go from my eyes. Here I was singing and a little annoyed at the rain and this little girl on my lap who could not hear never stopped smiling. Even though she could not hear the music, she looked at the rest of her family and clapped along with them. Then she began to take my hands and trace my fingers and the palm of my hand with hers. She pointed at my few freckles and giggled. Her laugh had so much joy in it and I wondered if she knew that. I wondered if she knew how her laughter spread through my soul and made me feel like Jesus was sitting next to me. We pulled out watercolors for all the children in the family and as they drew, the young girl would point at different pictures and teach me the words in sign language- car, flower, soccer, and fish were just a few. The whole time we were there she never left my side and her smile never left her face. As we said goodbye, I couldn't get her out of my mind. Everywhere we went, I saw her face. I couldn't understand why God had not healed her. She is already living in shack, sleeping on a hard floor, and struggling for food and school fees. Why can't she enjoy the sound of the guitar? The rain pounding on the roof? The sound of her beautiful laughter? Then God reminded me of His faithfulness and His love for His children. Maybe she can't hear the laughter, but her smile shines brighter than any other. I've heard that if you do not have one of your senses, the rest of your senses are even more sensitive. So maybe God has given her more joy from the taste of a banana and the vivid blue in the sky. And even though she may not be able to hear others say "Jesus loves you" or even "I love you," I have a feeling that this girl knows God's touch in a special way without the noise of this world feeding her lies about her beauty and identity as a child of God. She has a special place in my heart now.

On Monday we are leaving Jinja and beginning our journey back to South Africa. We will have a few days there to relax and debrief on our ministry then it will be back to the United States on June 1st! It's strange to think that in one week I will no longer be driving on the left side of the road or wondering if I remembered to bring tp with me into town for the bathroom! So please pray for our team as we travel back to south africa and then once again, a long 24 hour trip back to the states.