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Posted December 09
Since I wrote last, of course, so much has happened. So much happens every moment here… the days are so full and I am being used and being blessed in so many ways. I walked out midmorning and saw that Chad was talking to Santo, the day watchman. I went out to look at the cows and talk with the boys. We spoke for a few minutes about the stories that mean so much to these children – the dog that had rabies and had to be put down – the dog, Maggie, that was mean and had to be taken away – the cows that died because they ate plastic and had to be burned – they remember and discuss what we might think to be common events – it seems they do this because these events stand out to them as uncommon and important. After several minutes of talking, Chad explained that he had come to the watchman’s post (as far as he can go without a specific invitation from the Mzungu in the guest house) to wait for me to come out. How long had he been waiting? How kind it was that he enjoyed the conversation so long before letting me know his purpose. He had been holding something in his fist the entire time and after explaining that he had come to see me he opened his hand and held it up to me with a beautiful smile showing all his teeth, his eyes sparking… “A gift for your wife”, he said. He had brought me a bead necklace that he had made himself for my dear Alyssa. This child who has nothing brought me a gift and I was standing there empty handed and so humbled. I thanked him the very best I could… it didn’t matter so much what I had to say, he was so thrilled to deliver his gift. “Let’s go to the church!” So off we went and along the way, one by one, little boys all age 3 to 6 came out of their houses and ran down yelling, “Mr. Steadman, Mr. Steadman, where are you going?” They all followed, Chad holding one of my hands and Henry (of all these children) holding my other hand. I was so proud… only my own boys could make me any prouder! We went to the church and I sat them down and told them the Silas and Paul story at the Philippi jail and then they begged me to tell them of King David… I told them of the story when David came in while King Saul was sleeping and cut off a piece of his shirt. They were all wide eyed and sitting on the edge of their seats… it was AWESOME! No matter where we walked the kids would ask me to sing one of my songs. I would pick a song that I thought they would know and they would teach me new verses that I had never heard. They taught me Jesus Loves Me in Ugandan… it is something like Esu Adomai. What a great memory.
I came back before 1:00 and debated whether I should go to find the driver and the older boys that were going to King Fisher. I wrestled with the decision and thought that I might miss the truck by the time I decided to go. The boys were all late (I later found out they were all very nervous about going to the pool – their 1 time a year outing for their birthday). I sat on the front porch of the kitchen waiting for Joseph to gather the boys. A girl named Miriam came up to me and said, “What is a matter Mr. Steadman, you look so bored.” By this she meant that it was unusual to see me sitting alone. We talked for a while and she asked if I had ever been to restaurants or nice hotels in Jinja or Kampala. I said that I had been to a nice place in Entebbe and she covered her face and laughed an embarrassed laugh… I asked what it was and the woman in the kitchen looked out and said that Miriam had never been to Entebbe. Miriam smiled and explained she (at age 17) had never left Jinja… the next year she was leaving GSF and she wanted to know about places to visit. It was Miriam that explained that the boys were nervous about going to the pool because none of the GSF kids can swim… they only go once a year and most of them are afraid of the water. I wondered what in the world this trip was going to be like. The older boys are all very quiet, polite, they introduce themselves, but say very little. They dress like African American boys they have seen on TV… it was a trip to see them all sporting their new Hanes underwear courtesy of Covenant Fellowship… with their jeans and baggy shorts hanging down at their hips! We got to the pool and some did not go to the water at all but about 8 of the boys did get in the shallow end. I swam around and soon they were all asking me question. I did my best to teach them to float, to sink to the bottom, to push off the wall, to see how long they could hold their breathes, with me by their side a few boys ventured out to the 1.5 meter mark with only their heads out of the water… their friends thinking they were incredibly brave. Cocrane finally, shyly asked if there was a way for him to hold on to me while I swam. They loved seeing me “show off” going from one end of the pool to the other under water without taking a breath, swimming as fast as I could from one end to the other, and on and on. So I showed Cocrane the submarine game that Liam plays with me. This 13 year old boy (a big kid) sounded just like Liam saying "again, again". He wanted me to let him hold on while I swam from one end to the other – there were limits. Joseph cut his foot on a rock and the Lord blessed me with having brought my first aid kit along. It was a deep gash and it required quite a bit of work to stop the bleeding and wrap it up. How odd that I didn’t flinch… I just took care of this boys wound like I was some sort of trained doctor, assuring him the entire time that he would be fine??? I’m a little queasy thinking of it now. Cocrane wore my sun glasses back to GSF looking ‘so cool’. Kerie had asked that I spend some time with these boys and it was so worth it.
My last story of the evening is of Charles Silas Owart. This 63 year old night watchman came to my door at 8:00 in the evening. I was a little startled at first. He explained that he did not speak much English but he patiently made it through the introductions and my questions before letting me know that he came to ask if he could play my guitar. It took a little while for him to explain this… he had seen me playing it down in the Land the day before and wanted so much to know if he could play it. I said sure but thought that it would be a wonder if he could really play at all. What a surprise for him to sit in the chair I brought out and just go to town picking up a storm! I tried to get some of it on video but it was too dark. After about 15 minutes he thanked me with tears in his eyes telling me how much this meant to him… “I love this music, but I can not afford to buy such an expensive thing”. I explained that the guitar now belonged to GSF, that I had brought it as a gift and that as far as I knew he was the only one who knew how to play it. He shook his head saying, “No, no, this is not possible.” I kept assuring him he could play it anytime he wanted and he faded into the darkness saying, “Thank God, praise be to God, thank you for this gift.” I stepped next door to make dinner and could not think of eating by myself with Charles sitting out there in the dark outside my house as my nighttime watchman. So I made him a plate of Thanksgiving food… turkey and potatoes. I brought it out to him and he humbly accepted my gift. When I stepped back out a little later to go back over to the kitchen I saw this 63 year old man sprinting down the hill. I worried that maybe he had seen something in the field below. As I stepped back out of the door he was there with his plate, which he had just washed – it was still wet from the cow’s trough where he had run to wash it before handing it back to me. He said, thank you, thank you, this was very, very good. I’ll sleep well tonight knowing that Charles is out there in the dark watching my door, well fed and blessed by the guitar.
Blessings to you ~ Steadman
Steadman Harrison
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