Friday 2/17/17

We were able to go to the bank today and we were happy to get that official business out of the way. From there we went to the project house to say goodbye to the girls. I don't think they quite understood that today was our last day together. Rachel tried to explain that we were only here for a very short trip this time, and that we would be back soon. It is very hard to explain to them the distance between us. Their whole world has only been the short distance they have traveled to get from the slum or from Karamoja to the house. Nor do they understand airplane travel and the time and expense associated with that. So their faces vary between sadness and confusion as we leave them.
They began a game of ball in a small piece of yard right before we left. The sweet innocence and joy that we witnessed left our hearts full of gratitude. That is the way it should be for all children everywhere - but it's not. Oh, I forgot, they were having this much fun with a sad little deflated ball that they kept trying to blow into as they played. (Just in case you are wondering, we made arragements for a nice new ball to be purchased 😀.)
When the girls profile pictures are taken for the first time, there are no smiles. And when they arrive, there are very few. It is as though they have forgotten how to smile or if they ever did. So to not only see smiles but to hear laughter is a greater joy to me than you can imagine. And so once again, I Praise God for His faithfulness.

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.