Update 2 from Week of Fasting and Prayer

The original reason I fasted several weeks ago was for the boys living on the streets and our programs. My friends and I were worried the boys would scatter all over the city and not come to programs. With a feeling of frustration and desperation we decided to fast and give it to God. And God did amazing things with the kids and our program.

Our programs have not suffered at all, not even a little bit. The boys were kicked out of the room they slept in on a Friday and that Monday our program had just as many kids as usual. Despite the fact that many of our kids had spent the night sleeping in places all over the city, God brought them back to Kivulu on Monday. Before this all happened, there were several boys that we knew and saw regularly but were not close with. They were a bit distant and hard. Those were the boys I was concerned about the most. They were the boys that we didn’t have strong relationships with and I was sure they would move on to other areas in the city and we wouldn’t see them again. But they showed up that Monday and have almost everyday since. It is so clear to me that we are not in control of this program or situation. God is in control and apparently His work with these kids is not done and I feel so blessed that we still have time with them.

Not only that but since that time we’ve had many new boys come to the programs. Before the police got involved and told the kids they couldn’t sleep in the community, my friends and I had planned on going out into the city to find more boys and bring them to Kivulu. But when the police chased the kids we put that plan on hold. But God showed up and it is clear that he doesn’t need us to do His work. With or without us He is capable of reaching these children. The week we fasted new kids came to the program and our program numbers grew. Then last week a friend of ours went to another slum in Kampala and told more kids about our program. I counted 10 new kids last Wednesday!!! With new kids come new relationships and more opportunities to share Christ with them.

Lastly and probably most surprisingly and wonderfully is the work God has done with two of the boys. As I mentioned above we are blessed that several of the boys that are tough and distant continue to come to program and we have more time to build relationships with them. Two of them specifically were especially difficult and resistant to us, Wasswa and Brian. Wasswa is always around but rarely involved in our programs. When he is, we’re usually asking him to stop talking, stop fighting or something else. But then two weeks ago my friend David that leads our Bible study (The Breakfast Club) told me he wanted to invite Wasswa. I was absolutely shocked but very supportive. In the past we’ve invited kids that are involved in program, respectful and kids we think we can build a deeper relationship with. Wasswa does not fit that but he has gone for two weeks in a row to the Bible study and David said that he is extremely respectful, pays attention and actively participates. You have no idea how much this makes me smile. You have to know Wasswa to know how amazing this is – let’s just say that my friend and I have joked around that if you let Wasswa in your home he’d probably burn in down within minutes and we’ve joked that if we ever lived on the streets that we’d be scared of him. So to hear that he has joined bible study and is allowing David to pour into him is absolutely amazing.

Then Brian is a boy that has always seemed angry. He’s been around for months but never really comes to program. I would always greet him and rarely get a response. We’ve had moments when he has been downright mean and rude to us. But we always told him to come to program. Then one day about two weeks ago I get a text from my friend that Brian greeted her and then hung around program for the entire day. I was shocked! That same day I ran into Brian as I was going to program and he smiled, greeted me and as he was leaving program turned around and came back when I asked him to. To this day Brian hangs around; he is so polite and respectful. Honestly, I feel like I am witnessing the power of God’s love change people in big ways. These are both kids that were usually high, extremely dirty and often times rude. I feel so blessed that God has chosen me to love these kids and that He’s allowed me to see first hand the power of His love. Humans don’t do this kind of stuff, God does.

A few months ago my friend and I were joking around that if we got Brian to come to program regularly and if he turned out to be one of the respectful, kind kids that we would feel like our job was done. We joked that if Wasswa ever showed enough interest in the Bible or what we had to say to join the bible study that we could move on because we would have completed our mission. And here we are a few months later and what seemed like the impossible is now happening.

I never expected such awesome outcomes from our week of fasting but God has shown me once again that He loves us beyond anything we could ever imagine and He is our ultimate Provider.