This report on the SPC Uganda Mission Project was written by Norah Osende, the very generous and helpful Administrative Secretary at Canaan Children’s Home.

Finally, the long awaited day was here  - the 28^th of June 2010 – the day that was on the lips of every single child in Canaan throughout the week and, for some reason, the hands of the time seemed too slow or, should I say, slower than usual. Everyone was very anxious about meeting the team from the Stony Point Church. To some of us – who had been in Canaan for only a month – we did not know what to expect. I had only been hearing of names and communicating to some of the Stony Point team members on-line, given the kind of work that I do at Canaan, but had never met any of them. So I kept on asking my self, “I wonder how John Keltonic is like in person?” This was basically because he was one of the few people I had communicated to.  But this time I get to meet him in person.

We don’t look so much at clocks in Uganda – the Stony Point team can testify to that – but this time round there was one question that was turned almost into a song that every one kept on asking: “What time is it?” I said to my self, “Since when have the children cared so much about time?” And then it hit me. Yes! That’s right! The children could not wait for the team to reach. I could feel the joy and excitement in the air and it felt like a little child’s first Christmas, yet at the same time it was like a beloved one coming back home again after a long time.

Then the van came in at a round 12:30 a.m. At about that time I was absent minded, but the children brought my attention back to what was happening. Only God knows how the children heard the sound of the vehicle and jumped out of their beds and within no time the team was surrounded by so many children. I remember peeking through my window. And from my view, I could hardly see the members of the team due to the many children that had surrounded them. Contemplating on whether I should come out or not, I reluctantly came out and stood from a distance looking at the way the children seemed so happy to receive the visitors and how the team members and Pastor Isaac kept on giving hugs to each other and calling one another by name. Surprised at the children’s reactions towards the Stony Point team – because normally children tend to shy away from visitors – this time it was quite the opposite and yet to me (no offense)  the Stony Point team were just new faces to me at that point. Standing at an angle where I could watch everything happening around me and where I would not be noticed easily,  I heard some of the children ask one another “Has Uncle B come? Where is John Keltonic?”  This was the piece to the puzzle that I had not yet filled in. The one question that lingered in my head for a moment was then answered; I realized these are not just visitors! They are part of the Canaan family and they have come back home. So leaving everyone else there, I retired to my place.  Not that I did not want to greet them, but because I couldn’t get to them due to the number of children around them.

Morning came. All the children went to school.  I was in the office by 7:00 a.m. As I am seated in the office, from the view of my office at around 8:00 a.m. the team came out and stood in the Canaan compound and some of the team members moved through the dormitories very easily like it was their back yard. To me it was like they knew every single corner of Canaan in and out. Still undecided on what to do – because I did not know how these Muzungus (white people) are like – Pastor Sam, the son to Pastor Isaac, came in with John Keltonic and John knelt down to greet me in Luganda (the local language). This alone told me so much about the Stony Point team.  The first thing was that they came all the way to Uganda to serve us and not to be served and, believe me, the two weeks that they were in Uganda all they did was to serve us and the children of Canaan.

With the good impression made by John Keltonic, I gained the confidence to go out and join the rest of the staff members who had already gone to welcome the Stony Point team. I thought I had gone to welcome the team to Canaan, but to my surprise, people like Mr. Bryant (Uncle B) welcomed  me to Canaan instead and, believe me, I have never received  so many hugs at the same time The team showed all of us so much love. It was so overwhelming for us.  To me these were the most down to earth people I had ever met.  The smiles on their faces while saying hullo said a million words.  But most of all, the love that reflected in their eyes could not go unnoticed. Some of the team members – like Uncle B, Jack Wheeler, Steve Wozny – unintentionally used idioms that brought some color and fun to the language, something that is not so common in Uganda and I kept on asking them to explain it to me in plain English.  But all the same, it was really fun.

Humbled by their kindness, politeness, and their eagerness to get to know every one of us in person and their being down to earth, the wall that I had started building around me came crumbling down within a minute and I could not help but be myself around the team that I had only met a few hours were already - like my old school friends and this was one of those get-togethers.

For the first day most of what the team did was to mainly unpack and then, later on, leave for the schools where Canaan children attend school, whereas mom Cindy and Tina remained behind to teach the children of Canaan primary school. I could not help but notice the passion these two ladies had – you could see it in their eyes the love that they have for these children and the children enjoyed having them around too. It was hard to imagine people leaving all luxury in America to come to Uganda and teach children in a small Ugandan class room with so much love and zeal and that is when I knew that it is not by might nor by power, but by the grace of God. For that time I saw the true meaning of God’s grace work through this ladies.

In the afternoons from 2: 00 p.m., the two ladies, Tina and mom Cindy, always gave all the ladies at Canaan Children’s Home an hour to talk about some of the challenges that the auntie’s (caregivers) had with the children.  And during these afternoon sessions the ladies at Canaan had so much fun we could hardly wait to meet in the afternoons with mom Cindy and Tina. We would first play games that would relax us a bit and get to know each other better and during this time our ribs almost cracked due to the so much fun we had.  But at the end of it all, the two ladies listened patiently to what everyone had to say.  With so much respect, all the questions the auntie’s asked were answered and then we all listened attentively to expert knowledge from the two ladies on how to handle children in different situations from mom Cindy and Tina and this knowledge for me was some thing that some people pay lots of money to get here. We were getting it with smiles and laughters and candy on top of it all. The afternoon sessions were very helpful. It helped many of us see things in a different perspective and we understood why some children behaved the way they did and more importantly how to try and help these children.

For the first three days some of the team members went to conferences in the villages for the rest of the day  and return at about 5:00 p.m. in the evening. The first thing they would do was to spend time with the children who would also be back from school.  And just seeing the way the Stony Point team interacted with the children was so heart warming. Uncle B thrilled the children with songs that were accompanied with the sound of the guitar.  And  one evening Uncle B ran around with the children in the compound singing songs and I thought if there was a roof then it would have blown off. The smiles he put on the faces of the children was priceless. As for people like Mr. Wheeler – whom I spent most of the time with during the day showing me how to enter data about the children at Canaan on a new program brought by the Stony Point team – would carry children on his laps almost every evening and he met some new best friends called Allan, Robert (3 year-olds), and many more children who would rush to my office whenever they would see him. One afternoon Jack brought out Tina’s laptop and told a group of about ten boys in between the age of 3 to 8 to dance and there was dust in the air. The children danced and I noticed how so free they were with Jack and the rest of the team. I mean the children were so much themselves. I could see the children loosen up and just be happy. Too bad I had to cut it short because I had to continue with my lessons on the program that Jack was teaching me.

After three days of the team going to teach in local schools and in villages that even some Ugandans have never reached and Dr. Leaton busy in the different clinics plus the clinic at Canaan Children’s Home, there came the weekend: the day that the children who have clocked 18 get to graduate. The best part was the whole team got to be around. The children presented to the team different items like songs, skits, creative dances.  I could tell that the team loved every bit of it. And at a point after the big boys were done with presenting, Steve Wozny got up (plus a few of the team members) asking the boys to re-do the same dance which was not possible due to the time constraint. To put the whole occasion to a climax, John Keltonic gave a speech that ushered in Pastor Frank to give the certificates to the graduates. But before that, every member of the Stony Point Team was asked to say hullo with a quick word to the children and only sweet words did I hear that day. Words like “You are all beautiful” from Uncle B brought a smile to each and every child in the place that day, after which, presents were given to each and every child plus all the staff  at Canaan. I personally got a gift that made me shed some tears when I opened it. Not because of the tangible things in the gift, but the Bible verse that they put inside my gift touched me so much. I remember it was a verse from Psalm 37:4 that says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” To me that Bible verse was the best gift ever and the memory of that day will always linger in my heart. I felt the love of Jesus in my life and I said to myself, “This is too much of a privilege and I don’t deserve this kind of love.”  But what can I say?  Jesus is love and the team from Stony Point made it so real that day.

Then came Sunday. The team was divided into two groups and five team members were in Buziika and others in Jinja. Among the team members that went to Jinja, where I minister and fellowship from, was Uncle B and mom Cindy, Stephen and Steve Wonzy ,Tina, Sara, and Jack while Pastor Frank, Dr Leaton and Jonny, John Keltonic plus mom Anita were in Buziika. The team was to lead the Bible study classes of which Uncle B was to take the youth through Bible study while Sara was to teach the adult classes. I was not in Sara’s class, but from what I heard that day she really moved people’s hearts during the bible study time. The class that I was in was led by Uncle B and he opened up a topic of discussion about faith and different views the world has about Christians. This was a very interesting topic given the fact that we were joined by a group of missionaries of about twenty people from around the world who were mostly youth and different views were expressed after which we gathered for the main church service and during our praise and worship I felt the Holy Spirit come down and it was evident to me that the presence of the Lord was in the place. When they introduced the preacher of the day as Steve Wonzy, there was a rouse of applause.

With hearts awaiting on the spiritual food that was to be given that day, Mr.Wozny (the preacher of the day who preached from the gospel of John with emphasis on chapter 4 about the Samaritan woman who was at the well) began to preach. Being the American that he is, he unintentionally says “right off the bat” (to mean right from the start), but he quickly explains with a smile and continues with the sermon that really touched people’s hearts that day. At the end of the day, the point he made (after summarizing the entire gospel of John) was that all the questions that were asked to Jesus – it was only Jesus who could answer all these questions and so the answer to any problem or questions in our life is only Jesus. This really moved and touched the lives of people and I was personally blessed and touched by the message.

On Monday morning, the team went to visit the Jinja Children’s Hospital and from the look in their eyes I couldn’t help but notice that they were really sad upon seeing what was happening to the children in hospital. Then in the afternoon, the team left for two more schools with computers and other things to be donated to the schools.

Tuesday through Thursday were days when the team had to go to Iganga  to teach local schools and Bible clubs, plus do many more activities. And each day, when they came back, they would have time for the children despite the hectic schedule that they had. Whenever they would come back, children would go and coil around them. Some of the team members would carry the children and take photographs. Mom Cindy and Uncle B even looked at their foster child’s grades and performance in school. This much they cared.

Thursday was a very hard day for everyone in Canaan for the following day was the day everyone never imagined would come and there it was finally. With the clock moving faster than usual, the children spent time with the team upon their arrival. I could see flashes from the cameras that were being used to take the photographs. Most of the team members were in the compound talking and giving hugs to the children after which every one gathered in the chapel to sing and dance together. Uncle B, with his guitar accompanied with the local drums, made a beautiful blend of sound that every child danced to. The children sung each of the team’s names and each person danced for the children. This excited the children so much. People like mom Anita, Uncle B, mom Cindy, Pastor Frank, Sara, and Tina stepped on the dance floor holding hand in hand with the children and the smiles and laughter that they brought to the faces of the children was priceless. It was one of those moments you wished would last forever. At the end of the day, the children plus the staff presented songs for the team and the Stony Point team too presented to us two beautiful songs that they normally sing at Stony Point Church. After which, hands were joined and we all sang “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” As sadness was reflected in the eyes of the children and, with others, tears rolling down their faces, prayers were said by the children and concluded by the one of the staff.

Finally came Friday, the day that the Stony Point team was leaving. The children already in school, the team got up in time like they normally did for everything else and had breakfast. Then they headed to the farm to have a look at all the projects of Canaan. By mid-day, they were back organizing for the journey while mom Cindy was busy placing sweets under each and every child’s pillow which to me was so sweet and motherly. At 1:00 p.m., lunch was had by the team after which three staff members were called to show appreciation for the work they did – that being me (the administrative secretary), George (the administrator), plus Julius (the driver). As we walked in, a rouse of applause was given to us. Then the team handed over presents to us and  I opened  my  present. It was a book -“THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE.” Every team member signed in it and as I read all that was written I said to my self, “This is much more than I deserve” and it brought me to a point of tears. Pulling my self together I left the place and went to my room where I expressed my emotions alone and the team went to organize for their journey back. But still, at this point, it had not yet sunk in that the team was leaving that day. For some reason I did not want to believe it. I was in denial and I kept on asking myself, “Are they really leaving?” After doing all they had to do, they had a vehicle packed in front of their house. And so was every staff member there, biding farewell to the members of the Stony Point team. Hugs were endless. Pastor Frank and Steve Wonzy cracked jokes with me and another member of the staff called Deborah. And yet, still even having seen the vehicle being loaded with bags, I refused to believe that the team was leaving. In a way, to me it was probably another conference that they had to go to and then come back home again.

By 2:30 p.m., the team hops into the bus. Pastor Isaac and mom Rebecca are in the vehicle too. Staff members are still standing outside near the bus, waving at the team and names being called out while waving. Flying kisses are exchanged and then finally the vehicle finds its way out of Canaan.

I head back to my office and then it hits me. Reality sinks in. The Stony Point team has left. Then it all comes back to me – all the jokes that the team made. I remembered how Dr. Leaton cracked a joke about how Uncle B liked to change his hair styles every day. And how Tina jumped on a boda-boda motorcycle to Jinja. That’s when tears rolled down my face. For us on this side, some people look at crying as childish. So I had to excuse myself and head to my room so that no one would think of Pastor Isaac’s administrative secretary was being childish. This was the second time that I was shedding tears that day.

There are people you meet once in your life and you know you have made a life time connection, no matter where they are in the world. I felt I already knew each and every one on that team longer than the time they spent with us. Which leaves me wondering, “Was this only a two week love affair with the team?” I tell myself, “No.” This is a love affair that will last forever because it is the love of Jesus being expressed through vessels from the Stony Point Church. And once again I fail to comprehend the love of the Jesus.

Special thanks go out to all members of the Stony Point Church, most especially to the team that came to Uganda in June 2010: John Keltonic and mom Anita, Uncle B and mom Cindy, Sara Kennedy, Tina Motley, Jack Wheeler, Dr. Leaton and Jonny, lastly, but not least, Steve Wozny and son, Stephen. We love you all and we thank God for all of you. God bless you.

Norah Osende

Administrative Secretary, Canaan Children’s Home