“I am Bishop Elijah,” said the man with a large stature and big smile. “My mother told me that relationship is more important than meat. That’s why I like to know you better.”
For the next hour, Bishop asked me and took notes in great detail about who I am, what I do, and what I love. It was unusual but inspiring as well to see someone really want to know so much about me.
Bishop Elijah then shared his stories: how he and his wife started building mud houses for orphans in the bush, how the ministry expanded to building and equipping 700+ churches, and how now there are a Kampala International Christian Center, a radio station, and several schools for disadvantaged children.
“I want to deploy you and your family for the next few days,” declared Bishop Elijah after hearing my story. “What would you like to do?”
After discussing with the family, we decided to spend one day serving at Hands of Love, starting with sharing our testimonies on a radio station and then serve the 0 to 3-year-old orphans at Babies’ Home.
We Are on Radio!
“We have a special guest this morning,” the radio host began introducing us for the radio hour. “They are a family of five from Taiwan that have been traveling the world.”
It was our first time stepping inside a radio recording studio There were microphones surrounding a large wooden table and a large monitor and sound control board in front of the host. We each sat in front of the mic, feeling a bit nervous and asking God what He would like us to share to the two million listeners of the “Success FM 104.9 Radio Station”.
Originally, Joani and Nathan weren’t keen on sharing their testimonies. But as I started to share about our family journey in light of Malachi 4:6 and how we saw so much fatherlessness in Uganda, God began to move in each of our hearts to share and encourage all the families of Uganda. In the end, we all shared what was in our hearts. Nathan shared for the first time how he came to forgive his family. Joani wanted to speak especially to the parents on how important it is to spend time with their children.
It was special to have call-ins by listeners, asking us questions and giving us feedback on what parts of our testimonies touch them. Our friends Haidy and Christina in Kampala also heard it and told us that it has been a blessing. We ended our one hour by singing the Uganda song that we came to love: When we pray, God hears our prayer (Wei Tu Sa Ba, Mu Ka Ma A Wu Li La).
Being a Mother for One Day
After our adventure in the radio studio, we headed to the Babie’s Home to be a mother for a day.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the 19 cutest toddlers who peeked out from the side of the house and ran back when we waved back at them. The director introduced us to each orphan one by one while telling us each of their stories.
Then the toddlers welcomed us with several songs after which we spend an hour playing “Duck Duck Goose” and taught them our favorite childhood songs, “Father Abraham” and “This Little Light of Mine”.
After a snack of banana, we served them lunch consisting of beans and mailed flour.
Before their afternoon nap, it was time for their one out of three baths! It has been so long since I have given a bath to my children, I must admit I was unsure of what to do. However, the toddlers knew exactly what to do and basically taught us how to bathe them. They didn’t cry when I pour cool water on their heads to wash out the soap in their hair and really enjoyed me putting herbal jelly on their smooth skins.
We ended our day by praying for all of them as they laid on the floor for their nap.
I have the most respect for the caretakers who have to do this every day and for the impact that Hands of Love is making in the life of every child. It has been an honor for our family to be a part of this amazing ministry.
