First kicks and first steps

Two weeks ago Justin and I were sitting in our hotel room waiting for the time our counseling interview with Pioneers would begin. Having landed in Orlando only a few hours before we were excited but nervous about what the night and whole week ahead of us would bring! As we waited I laid on my back and told the baby I was ready to feel him move for the first time now, a habit I had developed over the last few weeks :) Justin laid his hand on my stomach, almost jokingly since I was still only 19 weeks. Then, out of no where, *BAM*! Justin and I jumped, stared at each other in disbelief, and said “you felt that right?!” Our little Luca gave us the amazing joy of being able to feel him kick for the first time together, completely unexpectedly! We both laughed, I cried, and we thanked God for this fun and new chapter in our pregnancy. Little did we know that God was only giving us a taste of the exciting and unexpected experiences that we would have over the next week with Pioneers!

Documenting our reaction after feeling baby move for the first time!

For those of you that don’t know, Justin and I feel called to serve longterm overseas to help plant churches and teach people about the love and grace of Jesus where He is unknown. Pioneers (http://www.pioneers.org) is an organization that mobilizes teams to glorify God among unreached peoples by initiating church-plating movements in partnership with local churches. During our week spent in Orlando with Pioneers we learned more about the organization and they leaned more about us. We had two interviews, one with a counselor and another with a committee from Pioneers. We attended many sessions about the vision and values of Pioneers, life on the field, and what Pioneers teams were currently doing all over the world. We were able to speak with multiple missionaries who were home from the field for a short time and leaders of all the different regions where Pioneers currently has teams. 

Our first full morning of the week began with worship and a time of prayer. As I worshipped with the 45 other individuals going through the same process as ourselves I was floored by how big our God is! Over the next few years God will scatter this room of people all over the world to many different peoples and cultures. He has given each of us, while broken and sinful, the opportunity to join in the work He is already doing! I had never felt so humbled or so excited about what was to come through the power of God! 

We went into the week as “undesignated” meaning we did not know what country or people we wanted to work with overseas. Pioneers does not assign us a country rather they work with us to find where God is calling us and with what team we would be a good fit. During the week God really stirred our hearts (mainly mine) in an unexpected way. While Justin has always been interested in serving in Europe, I felt very neutral about this possibility. I assumed that during the week our hearts would get sparked by somewhere that was in more obvious need as I called it- think rural tribes or impoverished third world countries. However, God had different plans. As we spoke to missionaries that were currently working in Europe, my heart was breaking for the spiritual darkness that was present throughout so many European countries. I had no idea how little access people had to true gospel preaching churches! While many of the countries are historically “Christian”, there is little current presence of evangelical churches. 

So, after much prayer and hours of talking about the needs in Europe, Justin and I feel strongly that we would like to serve God in Europe. We are so excited that God used the week with Pioneers to open our hearts and minds to the need in Europe and the opportunities where we can serve!

Feeling our little baby kick for the first time was an amazing experience, but only the first glimpse into what would come. More kicks will come and soon our little boy will be born and the exciting, scary, overwhelming, amazing, life changing journey of being parents will begin! After our week in Orlando we were officially appointed into Pioneers and can begin the rest of our process! Our exciting, scary, overwhelming, amazing, and life changing process of becoming overseas missionaries has begun! We are so thankful about all that God has in store for us over these next few years. We are trusting his timing and praying that we let Him be in control of every step!

So, where in Europe? When? What about our little baby on the way? What does being a missionary in Europe look like? What does it look like taking our kiddo overseas? Have more questions about why Europe?

All great questions!! Due to possible future security issues, sensitive information, and wanting to share more personally without it being plastered on the internet, we will be sending out an electronic news letter to keep people updated on our process and from the field one day!

*If you’d like to receive the newsletter please send us your email! Leave a comment, message me on Facebook, or email me at JuliePearson818@gmail.com*

Our official name tags as Pioneers appointees! 

Thank you to everyone who has and is continuing to pray with us over these next exciting stages of our lives. We are so grateful for your love and support! We are excited for all of you to be a part of this journey with us! 

Uganda and Moving

No, sadly we are not moving to Uganda....got your attention though? :)

We are planning a trip to Uganda this summer AND moving to a different house in Fort Worth though.

Lots of exciting things coming up in the Pearson household! Justin will be graduating in May with a Master focused in International Mission from Southwestern Seminary. Since we live in seminary housing, this means it was time to start looking elsewhere before they kicked us out! So we were very lucky to find a new place right in the area we want to be in. Currently our small group from church, called a city group, meets in Fairmount. We realized that sooner rather than later we would need to step up and help lead out a new city group. God has seriously directed this plan! Ourselves along with another family from city group have both decided to move into a neighborhood slightly east of Fairmount where two other families already live. We are all so excited to have the opportunity to pour into this neighborhood and its people! Moving will be in about one month, let us know if you want to help ;) We will definitely be sharing progress about meeting neighbors and pouring into their lives! 

Uganda is just around the corner! For those of you who don't know, Justin and I will be leading a trip from out church to Uganda this summer. (Justin is also leading a trip to South Africa just 2 weeks before the trip to Uganda) It is not to Good Shepherd's Fold where I spent time before, but we will be in the surrounding area. We will be going with a good friend of Justin's, Saturo, who he met during his first trip to Uganda years ago. Although Justin and I feel very comfortable going to Uganda, LEADING others will be a new adventure! We know God will ultimately lead and equip us, God will bring us the people to go, God will be our strength during our huge moments of weakness. 

"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9 

And trust me, there have been many moments of weakness. We are continually reminded that we alone cannot make everything happen, we cannot lead lovingly all the time, we can not be strong enough to power through the busy times. Luckily, Jesus keeps brining us back to him! 

While in Uganda we will be doing many things: Women's ministry, preaching, ministering to children's homes, giving testimonies, building relationships in the local church, and much more! The dates of the trip are July 11-24th. We would love for you to partner with us and our church The Paradox in praying for us and the whole team! Please pray for our planning process and that our hearts would be prepared to serve. 

Saturo and Justin from 2010

We also ask that you pray about patterning with us financially. As many of you know, getting to Africa is not a cheap endeavor. The total cost for the trip is $3500. Our team is planning different fundraiser to help, including selling shirts, mugs, and having a brewery and music night. Be looking out for more information! 

If you would like to send money to support our trips, please send a check to:

The Paradox Church

PO Box 12597

Fort Worth, TX 76110

**Make the check out to The Paradox and just attach a note that says Justin/Julie Pearson and Uganda**

Any amount of money will help, seriously! 

One last thing: Justin will be going to Haiti for 11 days starting next week! He is going to work with children and sports ministry. Be looking for his "guest" blog about the trip when we returns! 

Where did 2013 go?!

This time last year I called Uganda home… I was almost use to the red dirt, the multitudes of children, the open air market, the bodas that took me wherever I needed to go, and so much more.
That was January 2013.

January 2014- I'm sitting in my house, where my HUSBAND and I both live. I worked yesterday at Cook Children's ER and tomorrow I will go to work at JPS where I am a labor and delivery nurse. Our church, the Paradox is in full support of international missions, and even more exciting is that Justin and I will hopefully lead a group to Uganda and South Africa this summer. Wow what a year can bring.

Our wedding day :)

I know I have been absent on this blog since my return from Uganda. I got lost in culture shock, wedding planning, being a wife, and getting a new job. I got lost in finding God again in Texas, where sometimes it seems He wasn't so easy to find here as in Uganda. I got lost in thoughts about all the children I miss so dearly at Good Shepherd's Fold. I got lost is tears as I think about my Sunday school class in Uganda singing "Bless My Soul", every time the band plays it here on sunday mornings. I got lost in trying to serve and have compassion here equal to the compassion that somehow filled my heart in Uganda. I got lost in battling my desires to live out the american dream verses living how I know God has called his children to live.
It's easy to get lost sometimes…

God has never left my side however. God is settling my heart to live here while still keeping my heart full of thoughts about the other ends of the earth. God is growing Justin and I together, strengthening our understanding of what it means to be married, living sacrificially for each other every day. God is pointing out our sins so we are able to see where He provides so much grace and mercy.

So where are we now and whats next you ask:
Now
-Justin and I got married in August 2013 (we were dating before I left for Uganda and he proposed to me when he came to visit)
-I currently work full-time at JPS and occasionally in Cook's ER. Both jobs will hopefully prepare me to physically serve those in need overseas better.
-Justin will hopefully graduate from seminary this May (woo hoo!!)
-Justin is about to be named a deacon of international missions at our church (The Paradox: http://theparadoxchurch.com)

Next
-We strongly feel called to longterm missions overseas. We are currently praying about and looking into a few missions organizations to partner with/go through. Once we start the application it will be about  1 1/2 to 2 years before we are on the field.
-Children… we are very passionate about adoption, because God first adopted us as His children. However, we have not been married long enough to be qualified to adopt. So maybe adoption first after 1 year of marriage or maybe try having a kiddo first… still not sure where God is leading us.

Thank you so much for reading and for all your love and support! Much more will be coming about what its like to lead short-term trips, school, work, and everything else that comes our way!

The End Has Come

Well, I'm back in Texas… I've been avoiding this realization for about 10 days, but I finally decided to give in and admit it! I cannot describe how much I miss GSF… All the kids, the aunties, the other missionaries, the beautiful campus, boda rides, being outside most of the day, the rainstorms, all the farm animals all around, the kids, the kids, and mostly the kids! 

Some of our older boys just being boys!

Many people are asking, "So, how was it?" I don't even know how to encompass the last six months in one answer- amazing, wonderful, life-changing! If I had to do it all over again I would in a heart beat. I would take the lonely days, missing Justin, missing friends and family, missing daily comforts, the stressful nursing days, watching sickness and sadness, and everything else! The greatness of the 6 month experience heavily outweighs the hard parts. Honestly, the hard parts probably taught me the most about God and reshaped the way I think about daily life!

God opened my eyes to many things while in Uganda. Things about His holiness, His strength, and many things about his desire for His people. The Ugandan's dependency on Christ is outstanding! I quickly saw that my dependency grew when comforts, security, and my culture were stripped away. I realized that often I first think "oh I can do this!", rather than turn to Christ. Turning to Christ always provided more comfort, peace, and hope than any fix I would have had anyways! I pray deeply that my trust in Christ above all else would not fade as my comforts and resources return!

God also opened my eyes up to the power of living intentionally in conversations, friendships, activities, and all of life. It was easy there to structure my day around what would help me show the love of Jesus most, or how can I bring up a conversation about truths someone needs to hear. God had to take me out of my daily routine in America to show me how much more he had planned for my life! With the goal of glorifying Christ in every daily action, its amazing the joy He fills you with and the opportunities to share Christ that fall into place. 

My realization of the hope that Christ provides was also renewed during my time in Uganda. I saw unbelievable sickness, evil, hurting, and overall despair everywhere I turned while there. However, the people who had found Christ had such joy and hope despite everything else! Christ in their lives didn't take the daily struggles away, didn't take the hardship away, but their minds weren't set on the trouble of this world. Their minds were set on their glory in Christ! My joy and hope in the newness that Christ  brings was renewed! 

I am excited to encourage others in their desires to have a worldly impact for Christ. My hope is that people in the church would have a heart and desire to reach the nations for Jesus, particularly those who have no access to the gospel now. I desire that pastors and church leadership would be prepared to send and care for those going. International missions is much greater than just the people working on the field. It requires a team of fellow Christ followers to help send and help encourage along the way! I am excited for the hearts that Christ is stirring at this very time! 

Justin and I's goal is to do longterm overseas missions together. We are not certain on where yet, but just praying daily that God point us in the right direction. My heart longs to be back at GSF, it longs to be back in another culture. I ask that you pray for my transition back. I get married in 88 days- yikes!! I've jumped back into a life of wedding planning here. Sometimes I avoid thinking about GSF because it hurts too much… I pray though that the memories will remind me of the wonders of God I learned while I was there, and spur me to live more intentionally here. 

God is not a different God in Uganda. His church is not suppose to be a different church in America then in Uganda. Details of daily life might look differently in different cultures, but the Bible does not. God calls each of His children to love Him first and to love others, no matter where you are in the world. My experience in Uganda did strength and widen my view of God, and I pray that it continues here as well! 

Thank you all so much for coming along on this journey with me. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of encouragement and help I've had at every step! My walk with God doesn't stop here, and neither will this blog. There won't be as many cute pictures of kiddos though :( 

If you'd like to know how you can help GSF please email me at JulieMatthews8@yahoo.com 

Or please check out the sponsorship blog. GSF couldn't run without people just like you!  Each child at GSF needs roughly 3 sponsors to make GSF run. Being a sponsor means a relationship with this child. You get to send letters, gifts, encouragements to the child and they send you personalized letters back! I've seen the program, I know how much the children are impacted by their sponsors. Often the children ask to pray for their sponsors as well! Even if you're a little curious please check out the blog or email me for more information! I can tell you about each cute little kid at GSF!

http://gsfsponsorship.blogspot.com 

I'll leave you with a few more adorable pictures of my goodbyes!

      

Baby Joshua and his fat cheeks!!

              

Isma has the best smile and laugh!

My little man Richard- he will always have my heart!    

Brian- He has a huge heart for God!

Paul and Jeremiah, sweet quiet boys!

The beautiful Sophia, Joan, and Viola

Grief and Joy

I wanted to share some moments of rejoicing with you along with some moments of grief. 

This past week was a very tough and very eye opening week. A few months ago our administrator noticed a girl that went to school at GSF who seemed very malnourished. Alice was 12 years old, but very thin and had large swollen like cheeks that indicate malnutrition. Immediately when I saw her I agree, and urged our social worker to help the family get medical and nutritional help. Everyone at GSF agreed and sought help for her and her family.... Fast forward a few months to this past Tuesday. It was 5 pm, and near the end of the working day. I get told that our administrator is going to take a school girl into Rippon Clinic (our clinic of choice in Jinja). Alice and her mom show up at the offices and I immediately recognize this poor thin girl from before. However, today she can barely walk, her hands and feet are swollen (more indications of malnutrition) and she has a severe cough. She looks frightened and in pain. I ask what has been happening?! She got help from GSF to be admitted to the local hospital a couple of weeks ago and no one from GSF has heard anything since. They has assumed she has been helped and returned to school. Today, however, leaders were informed that she had never come back to school and word was that she was doing very poorly. We asked the mother what happened at the local hospital but she has no papers and did not know what had been done for her child. Sadly that is very common... healthcare workers don't explain very well and culturally families do not ask questions about the care being given. 

So with no medical information we take her to Rippon and luckily get xrays and blood work done... which required some begging because it was the end of the day. Our main doctor we associate with was there and took quick action to evaluate her. It was soon thought that Alice has severe TB and malnutrition- two problems that only make each other worse. She was admitted and I was assured that she would be in good hands. The doctors view was that with treatment she "would be just fine". Since Alice's mom was there and she was not under the direct care of GSF I tried not to butt in too much... I was not her nurse, she did not need me to play mom/nurse...her mom was there and she was in the care of the best facility we have found in Jinja. Basically, I tried not to step over boundaries that I could only because I am mzungu (white/foreigner)... I tried to trust the system. 

I called on Wednesday for an update and was informed more tests were being done but she was doing ok. I thanked the doctor for his care and said I would check the next day. Sadly, I never got the chance. I was informed through a text from the doctor only a few hours late that Alice had died. Poor sweet Alice had not made it to another night. Due to a violent (yet treatable) illness, lack of food (when is the last time you have actually had a lack of food?), and lack of adequate healthcare (I have more to say on this, but have chosen not to do it online!), this 12 year old girl did not get the chance to grow up. 

Please pray for her mom and siblings. I know they are grieving greatly during this time. Please pray for our trust in God when we feel out of control with the medical care here...it is a daily battle we fight. Please pray for wisdom, compassion, and dedication for all the health care workers in Uganda who are providing medical care to children just like Alice. 

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

Revelations 21:4

Now for two stories of JOY!

A couple of posts back I talked about a little boy named Innocent who stayed briefly at our babies home. His mom return after being gone for over a month and promised to take care of her children again. We helped return Innocent and his brother Charlie to their home. GSF helped provided spiritual and marriage counseling for the husband and wife. 

Well, good news!! They are doing wonderfully! The family is part of our weekly feeding program and attend the local village church so we are often able to see the boys. Both are doing so well! They are growing nice and fat :) Here is a before and now picture of Innocent. The one of the left is on his first day at GSF, and left is just last week! He is a happy boy in a loving family again! 

Mark, age 26, is a tailor at GSF. Ten years ago Mark was in a car accident and lost both his legs above just right above his keens. Mark has used a wheelchair for those 10 years. He use to get himself to work everyday down a long dirt road with hills... it took him about 30-40 min each morning. Prosthetics are not common in counties like Uganda due to their high cost. However, one generous person donated money to help mark get two prosthetic legs! For two months Mark stayed at CoRSU, a rehab hospital about 2 hours from Jinja. It was a very long process but now he has legs!!! He is still using two crutches to help him walk, but they have confidence what with time he will go to one and then none! When Mark returned to his home in the village most people did not believe it was him... he was standing!!! It was so amazing to watch this process. Mark is a very strong man of God and will definitely use this opportunity to help spread God's love! 

First steps on his going home day!

The "workshop" crew, Mark, and I

These men really didn't want Mark to leave. He has made friends! 

Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fulness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 16:11

With Man It Is Impossible

I write this blog as I am sitting in SAS Clinic in Kampala. I spent last night here with sweet little Richard who is having problems due to his sickle cell. There were not rooms available, so we stayed in a clinic room all night... I got very little sleep.

This is just an addition to the very stressful week. I'd like to share some of the stresses of life over the past few days here in Uganda. I'm sharing because I want to explain what I have been learning and how God is using it to grow me!


Maria

Two little sweet children were brought the GSF last week. Their mother had recently died and the father is unable to take care of them at this time. Maria is 1 year 4 months old. She is VERY malnourished and has a horrible cough. When we took her to the clinic they said she probably has tuberculosis. Although very common here, TB is not something you want to mess with! We knew right away that she was potentially very contagious and needed to be moved from the baby's home. So, we got a daughter :) Dayna, the other nurse, and I began to care for this poor little girls 24 hours a day. She slept in our rooms, we spent 5-6 hours a day just trying to get her to eat, we cleaned up many reusable soiled diapers! The hardest part was that no other children could be around Maria, so that meant one of us had to be in the house at all times with Maria. We need have much needed help from a couple other missionaries, but it was definitely our full time job!
Were we exposed to TB? Maybe....hopefully not...please pray for us! She has officially been diagnosed and started on treatment. We have high hopes that she will be a happy healthy baby once we fatten her up and her treatment starts to work! Because it was impossible for either Dayna and I to be home at all time during the month she will be contagious, Maria was moved back into the baby home but in her own little isolation room. We plan on taking her on many walks...while wearing our masks :)

     

                 

Chloe

Chloe is an amazing 12 year old girl here at GSF. She has a very joyful spunky personality. She also has asthma! She started having a bad asthma attack this week. We have everything we could need to treat her asthma though so we have been able to manage her here. However, this attack hit on an already busy day when I was the only nurse at GSF! Multiple breathing treatments done, an IV placed, multiple IV medications... medicine giving, reassessments done, brainstorming the next best thing to do when there was no improvement... it was a little hectic! It is definitely I different feel that my days in the ER where you have to have a doctors order for everything! Good thing I was paying attention anyways and (mostly) felt confident about what to do next.  She is doing better but still receiving medicine! Luckily we had some time to goof around in-between treatments :D

                           

Tiny Rose

Tiny Rose is our most special of our special needs children. She is not able to speak or move her body purposefully due to cerebral malaria at a young age. She has to be fed by her Auntie and coughs much during feedings. Wednesday night we were at a team dinner when 2 girls ran to the house and out of breath said Nurse Julie come, Tiny Rose is choking! So we all take off sprinting towards her house in the dark! That was my first sprint through GSF thank goodness! Hopefully my last! She was coughing very badly when I arrived but was able to breath. We put her the best position to help her stop chocking on her small bite of food she just took. After a while she was ok and we all calmed down! That experience definitely shook up some nerves! 

Other quick glimpses into the week:

-A youth team of 23 teenagers from FL arrived this week so minister to GSF and the surrounding villages

-Katie, a missionary that lives with me, has had malaria this week and has been very sick 

- Another younger missionary has had some sort of bacterial infection this week

- Ruth, the Ugandan nurse, was home for 5 days for her Easter break so we were down one nurse  

-The toddler house has been a continuous problems of malaria, mumps, and then Richard who became very ill starting on Tuesday. That has ended with us sitting here admitted in Kampala

- On wednesday I took our 4 children to monthly seizure clinic which takes about 4-5 hours.

Ok, so you might get the picture by now... I was stressed and often overwhelmed this week! God has been stretching me and teaching my greatly throughout this time.  Ultimately I have been reminded that we are not in control. Although we try and control every situation, never wanting to make one mistake, or miss one good idea, we can never be perfect! We can never make everything go exactly the way we want it to. This week it was medical problems that were weighing me down. Sometimes its making decisions about the wedding and my future...sometimes I try and control how certain conversation will go with family, friends, or co-workers. We will never have complete control, but God ALWAYS has control! If we just turn to him with every step, every decision, every anxiety, then He will help us carry that burden and direct us where to go next. God reminded me of a few verses this week that really stuck out during this stressful time:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4, ESV)

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27, ESV)


We might feel like we can't survive one more hour, day, week, month...and we can't. Not alone at least. But with God, all things are possible.  

Each One Has A Story

Many of you wonder how all these children end up here at GSF. Each of their stories are very different! Some are true orphans with no mother or father living- they died from AIDS, boda (motorbike) accidents, mothers died in childbirth, etc (all true scenarios from our children here). Some only lived with one parent and that parent was unable to care for the child due to finances, living conditions, age/immaturity, job, or mental illness. Many had been living with rajas (grandmothers) or aunties who were trying to care for the children because parents had died or just couldn't care for them on their own. Sadly, some children are here because their parents simply refuse to take responsibility and care for the child even though they have the means… the child is simply unwanted. 

Here are two stories about our newest additions to GSF

Charlie and Innocent's Story

Our social worker knew of a family that lived in a nearby village who was in need of some help. There were 6 children ages 1-13 being cared for by a dad and jaja (grandma). The mother had run off about 1 month before hand due to family troubles. The father was recently in the hospital for a long period of time and had a large medical bill to pay. The family was out of money so the father went out everyday to look for odd jobs while the jaja worked out in the fields for food. It is very very common for elderly women to still be digging in the fields daily for food/work. The two youngest children had become very malnourished and sick due to this situation. The family wanted help! 

So I had the amazing opportunity to do a home visit with our social worker. This meant an hour walk through the village to their house. This is a walk made weekly or more by this family to attend church or to visit GSF. I sat in their small mud house and assessed each kid- lifted up their torn and dirt lined clothes to look for rashes, assessed their shoeless feet for jiggers (small insects that burrow into the skin), and checked each one for malaria. The older 4 children were happy, smiling, and healthy despite some coughs and URIs. The younger two presented with malaria, dehydration, and malnutrition (seen mainly by their edema and very light colored hair). Within 3 days the decisions was final and Charlie and Innocent became our newest children! Their father and jaja were very thankful for the care that would be provided their children. 

Usually thats where it would end. We would fix their malnutrition, provide a great loving environment, and as the children got older it would be assessed weather or not they could return to their father if he desired to provide the proper care. However this story took an unexpected turn! Two days after the children's arrival to GSF, their mother returned home after being gone for over a month. She was NOT happy to find that two of her children were gone!! After about 2 weeks of many conversations with the leaders at GSF, marriage counseling being set up, proven repentance for her absence and renewed dedication to her family, the two children were able to be returned to their family in the village! This is a happy ending. We pray that families desire to be together, desire to take responsibility! Yes she left on her own, but forgiveness and help to move forward are a must here! We keep a close watch on that family and their progress. It is a beautiful thing to know that God is working in their marriage, in the children, in their entire lives! God's grace and mercy can make all things new! 

Innocent and I in the babies home 

Ivan's Story

This little boy has won a special place in my heart… hours upon hours of sitting with him in waiting to be seen by a doctor make good bonding time :)

In late January a mother and her son appear at the GSF offices. She is from a nearby village and has heard of GSF from family. She shows us her little boy Ivan and in so many words says, "Here please take him." Ivan is a little over 2 and has a large spinal deformity. It can't be missed. There is a large hump in the middle of his back that makes him bend at about a 45 degree angle. His mother says he was not born like this, but rather the deformity started around 9 months of age and has only worsened. The worst part- she never took Ivan to see one doctor or one nurse. Only witch doctors. The roughly 20 scars on his back, the mark of a witch doctor, show this to be true. This story broke our hearts. Yes medical care can be expensive, however there are free hospitals in Jinja so there is no excuse! 

At first we really did not want to take Ivan in, but rather help the mom seek medical care. We arranged and paid for Ivan to visit CoRSU, the best orthopedic hospital in Uganda. Once there the doctors diagnosed Ivan with spinal tuberculosis, a condition where the spine is infected with TB and pus begins to eat away at the vertebra. This causes spinal masses and deteriorating use of the lower extremities. Luckily Ivan still have fully functioning legs, but it would continue to grow worse without treatment. The doctors prescribed the routine 8 month TB treatment of 2-4 medicines daily. 

Ivan resting on a toy because he is not able to sit on straight on his own. 

You can slightly see the spinal hump in this picture 

Sadly, even with these answers and help Ivan's mom did not show interest in taking care of Ivan herself. We knew we must take Ivan in for at least 8 months to make sure he got his daily TB medicine (every day is crucial!). However, the discussion was why would GSF send Ivan back to somewhere he is not wanted… So for now, Ivan is ours for good! And what a blessing he has been to have around! 

Ivan's spinal deformity will most likely never improve, but will not get worse once treatment is started. 

With better nutrition, physical therapy, a walker, and lots of love we are hoping to see wonderful improvement in Ivan! We are also praying that one day there might be spinal surgery in his future to fix the deformity…. but right now its only a prayer! 

Ivan and his infectious smile :D

Playtime while we wait to go home after a day of doctors 

Blowing kisses! 

These are just two stories about children here at GSF. There are hundreds more. I feel so blessed that I am able to play a small part in some of these stories! Please pray for these 3 children and their families! None of this work could be done without the sovereign grace and love of God!