9/2/2016 Graduation Day

Today we were honored to witness our very first group of girls graduate from our school. Not all of the girls were ready, due to age or maturity level so we held on to 7 of them, but 18 are now ready to begin their next journey. They looked so beautiful today sitting in their sweet dresses that they had each designed and sewn on their own. A black graduate gown (which they also made themselves) was proudly worn as they received their certificates. Numerous government officials attended along with pastors who traveled as far as 8 hours away to celebrate with them. These are the men who will shepherd over them when they go. A pastor from each district in which the girl will be settling has been assigned.
One of the most memorable events of the day (I get emotional thinking about it) was when, in the middle of the ceremony, we started hearing whistles and clapping and singing coming down the road and then suddenly the gates to the property opened and in came the Karamojong leaders from Katwe and Kisenyi, followed by a line of karamojong girls dancing and singing in a line behind them. They had come to greet and congratulate their sisters and friends. These girls- who are still living in the streets - begging for food and sleeping in the dirt - had found a way to come and be happy for the ones who had been picked from the streets two and a half years ago. It was a beautiful show of love.

These girls have changed me. I see and think and feel differently than I once did. They have blessed me in ways they will never understand in this lifetime. I will see their faces and hear their sweet voices for years to come.  I will long to spend time with them and and listen as they laugh and talk and I will miss them so much.   But like they sang to Matt and I today, "If I never see you again, know someday I will see you in Heaven."

"He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall find refuge."
Psalm 91:4