The Orphan Heart

Hi Everyone. This is Kim writing to you!

We just came back to the house after listening to a wonderful talk from Uncle Jonnes, one of the founders of New Hope Uganda. He spent some time telling us his story, and relating that to the vision here. Uncle Jonnes was an orphan himself, and he gave us great insight into the hearts and struggles of orphaned children. Like all of us, they yearn for love and a sense of belonging, but don’t believe that they can have it. They don’t believe anyone could really love them, and even when people tell them they do, or try to show them love, they believe there is an ulterior motive. He also talked about their fear of rejection, and how they will often reject you first so that they don’t have to go through it themselves…because they believe that they will definitely go through it. Someone else was telling us that it was not until some of the children came back for the 20th anniversary celebration that they truly believed the people here loved them, and that the things they were sharing about God were true. I was reminded of the spiritual battle they are fighting against Satan for the hearts and minds of these children—to thwart the lies of the enemy that they aren’t worthy of love. I know that we all face those doubts at times, but to see a child have to endure such suffering really makes you stop and think. The mission of New Hope Uganda is to unite these orphaned children with their Heavenly Father; the One who will never reject or leave them.  

The windows are open in our house (to allow the breeze to blow through), and I can hear laughter and singing all around us. The children particularly love the song “In Christ Alone”. As I listen to these sounds, I am reminded of what a gracious God we serve. A God who is in the business of reconciling His children to Himself.  A God who becomes the Father to the fatherless. A God who truly does love us and accepts us regardless of who we are or what we’ve done….just because we are His! God is doing amazing things here, and I feel very blessed to be here to bear witness to His work!

Earlier this morning, the Stanley’s and I spent some wonderful time in prayer and worship. We are reading through the book, World Prayer, for our morning devotion. We’ve been reading for several days now, however in the introduction, we were challenged by the following quote: “If prayer is meager it is because we consider it supplemental, not fundamental.” My hope is that as we continue to join together in prayer, we would begin to see prayer as essential as food and water—the very thing we need to survive.

Today is a day for reflection. We’ve done very little today, which seems frustrating at times because we are so used to keeping busy. But I for one am very grateful for a day to just rest in the knowledge of the great God we serve, and to enjoy the quiet and peace of His creation. I hope that you too will get a chance to break away for the hustle and bustle, and enjoy some quiet time with the Lord!!