Journeys in Jinja

Hey friends!

I arrived in Jinja Friday evening. The flight was good- long, but no major problems. It was so great to finally get here and meet the children. There are so many of them and SO many names to learn! I’m doing my best, but I’ve never been great with names, so it’s taking me a while. We have 44 children altogether- more girls than boys. There are five babies and the oldest girl is 16, I believe. They are all wonderful and full of energy, especially the younger girls.

I’m still getting into the routine of things, but a day here starts around 7am, when we give the children their meds. Then the big kids go to school until around 5 or 6 pm. The little ones play during the day, and we do a short school session around 10am, helping them to learn their letters and numbers. The babies sleep from about 12-3pm. At 7pm, we give the children their medicine again and lead them in a time of worship, followed by a bible study.

On Saturday nights, William leads the older children in something they call Straight Talk. During this time the children have the freedom to ask any questions they may have about anything and everything- HIV/AIDS, the Bible, Martin Luther King Jr.- it's all fair game. On Sundays, we get pancakes for breakfast and then go to church at Calvary chapel, the church I stayed at the last time I was here. Then the kids have movie time and play all day.

The children refer to the volunteers as “mommies,” so I am Mommy Jordan. Some of them were confused by my name at first and said things like, “Mommy, that is a boy’s name!” My driver who picked me up from the airport experienced similar confusion. The whole way home he kept laughing and saying, “Jordan! I thought you were a man!” I told them all that my parents were confused when they named me :)

It is so great to be back here, seeing so many familiar faces- and meeting so many new ones. My goal is to have all the names down by the end of the week… we’ll see how that goes. Please pray that God would build my relationships with the children and other volunteers while I’m here and that He would fill me with so much love for them.

Here are some pictures of the little ones!