Buckets Of Hope

Mulembe! 

We delivered our buckets of hope yesterday!!! Each bucket contained soap, vaseline, gnut paste (like our peanut butter), beans, rice, posho, a bible, and a mosquito net. Our team, along with the Lulwanda staff and children, filled 200 buckets and delivered them throughout the surrounding communitites. 

Each group had a mzungo (me), a Lulwanda staff member, a church member, and about 5 Lulwanda children. I had the most wonderful group. Wycliff, who’s pictured below, said the most heartfelt and special prayers at each home. He has the sweetest heart and gave his testimony at the crusade after we delivered the buckets. Hearing it made me cry more than anything has during this entire experience.

We delivered 12 buckets to different families on the mountainside. They were all so grateful, dropping to their knees and welcoming us to their homes, which were mud huts. It was incredible to see how many people lived on those dirt floors together. They all offered me a seat either in their only chair or on a mat they made of reeds. They treated me like royalty, which was very strange for me. They see my white skin and automatically know that I am absolutely spoiled in comparison to them, but instead of casting me off and sending signals of hate, they offered me what little they had.

The Lulwanda staff member in my group was Sam, who is in his second year of university and is doing an internship at Lulwanda for a few months. It was so insightful talking to him all day because we had so much to talk about, and it was very easy to communicate with him. He was fascinated to hear about ways of life in America, and I was fascinated to hear his thoughts and opinions about it. It was probably the best conversation I’ve had with a Ugandan since being here. 

The last home we went to was my favorite. There was the grandmother’s house and the mother's house with TONS of kids around. None of the kids in the village had clothes that fit or were clean or even made for their gender. Seeing those children made me glad that although the Lulwanda children may have lost one or both of their parents, they have clothes to wear, food to eat, and a bed to sleep in. At this last house, the grandmother kept thanking me over and over (keep in mind she was only speaking Swahili and Sam was interpreting to me so who knows what she really said!? ;) She sat on her homemade mat with me and just talked to me like I could understand her. I asked if I could take a photo of everyone, and they said it was okay. So I got some really great pictures at her house. There are more pictures that are even more precious than these, but I'm keeping them for myself for now. I first took a picture of her daughter in front of her house with her bucket. Then, the grandma begged me to take a picture of her and her house. When I showed her the picture, she said, “Oh! I finally get to see myself.” 

How crazy that some people take pictures of themselves every single day with their iPhones, while others have never seen a picture of themselves. The distribution of wealth in our world blows my mind.

Yesterday was such a wonderful day. I will never forget the families to whom we delivered those buckets and the joy on their faces when we arrived. Hopefully our buckets did bring them hope.

Counting My Blessings,

Amy