ALL of the kids at Home Again will ALWAYS hold a special place in my heart. I know I’ve said it a million times but it is the honest truth … since I first went to Uganda last summer … not a day goes by that I don’t think about those kids and wonder how they are and what they are doing.

I became especially close to about 15 of the children who are either not in school yet or only go to school for half a day. Each morning after breakfast I would walk over to Home Again and hang out with the kids until lunch time then go back again in the afternoon until dinner time. Sometimes I would bring books or crayons and coloring pages, other times we would spend time outside playing on the jungle gym, sometimes we would sit inside and sing songs, chase each other up and down the hallway, we always found a way to have fun.

I spent quite a bit of time just trying to get to know each individual child. I learned a lot of their stories, where they came from, and found out how they came to Bringing Hope to the Family.

I’m going to try to continue posting blogs now that I’m home so yall can meet some of the kids I got to spend my summer with.

Though we often think of these children as orphans … I know in my heart they are looked after and loved by their Father in Heaven who will always want them and will never fail them. There are no orphans of God. It is by God’s grace that these children were brought to Home Again to be taken care of. And I have seen God’s unfailing love for each and every one of these kids. Their needs are always met even when it seems impossible. They also have incredibly strong and loving women looking after them here on Earth … Mama Eva, Mama Jackie, and Mama Foster.  

If you haven’t heard the song Orphans of God … go to youtube … and listen.

This is Kabahumuza Donnas. She is one of the sweetest little cuddle bugs in the house but so strong willed and determined when she wants something. I could spend all day long holding her. She always does this thing where she sucks one thumb and holds one ear. And when she does it while she is smiling or laughing I die inside because she is absolutely adorable!

Donnas’s father is unknown and her mother is mentally ill. Donnas was removed from the care of her mother after she was rescued by a bystander as her mother tried to drown her in a nearby river.

She always gets the giggles when you give her a kiss and she is always mischievous with a guilty grin on her face.  One day in church she made me play a silly game with her and I got sucked in. She was sitting on my lap and would continually drop her flips flops off her feet each and every time I put them back on with that little grin on her face. I finally got tired of leaning over every 3 minutes to pick up her shoes and gave her my money for my offering to keep her entertained. It was time to put the offering in the basket so I carried her up there and told her to drop it in the basket. She refused ... so I helped her put it in the basket, she looked me in the eye and began howling! We had to play the flip flop game again ...

I spent about 15 minutes picking crayon out of her teeth after this. If she wasnt eating the crayons she was eating the paper.

Reading books and playing with shoes.  

Donnas with Mama Eva

I miss her sweet little face giggling while I gave her kisses each morning. Oh, what I would give to give her a big hug right now or swing on the swing set with her in my lap!