Blog Post by: Jenni Bolton
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples. Psalm 96:3
It was an honor to get to live Psalm 96:3 out during my time in Uganda, Africa. We set out
on July 4th. As I thought about the Freedom that was brought to America so long ago, and
the trip that lay before me, I couldn’t help but think about the freedom that God brought to
the World through Christ. This freedom is what compelled me to GO and “declare his Glory”
to the people of Uganda.
It didn’t take long before I fell in love with the precious people of Uganda. Our team
had the honor of staying at the orphanage in Mbira that Global Orphan Project and Long
Hollow supports. One of my favorite parts of the trip was loving and building relationships
with the girls in the orphanage. They spoke great English, and loved just hanging out with us.
We met every night by candlelight for devotions. We laughed, danced, sang to the Lord, and
shared our stories of how God has saved us. Every night different girls would pass me a
letter before I walked out. These letters were precious and heartfelt. They appreciated us
coming to show them love. We came to love them, and in return they loved on us too. All of
these girls are orphans, but all of the these girls have been rescued by God.
We also had the honor of visiting the baby orphanage in Uganda. The precious babies there
stole my heart. When we rolled up, they came crawling, walking, and some running to our
van. One girl was crying, so I picked her up. She started to cry even harder at first, but
then she settled down, and wouldn’t leave my arms. Her name was Priscilla. Needless to say,
I fell in love. She was shy at first, but then I found the tickle spot, her feet. After that, she was
all smiles and giggles, I can still hear her contagious, sweet laugh. All of these babies are
orphans, but all of these babies have been rescued by God.
We also had the honor of doing VBS at another orphanage down the road in a town called
Kyotera. There are lots of boys and girls here. Amongst all of them, the same two beautiful
girls kept hanging out with me, and holding onto me. They stole my heart. After many hugs,
laughs, and I love you’s, we had to say goodbye. This is where it broke me, one of the girls
that was clinching onto me, whispered in my ear, “Let me Pray for you”, and she bowed her
head and did just that. Wow, she was an orphan praying for me, but she was an orphan that
had been rescued by God.
I can’t help but be reminded when I have the honor to interact with orphans, that I am much
like them. I was once an orphan, far from God and living for myself, and He rescued me out
of darkness into His incredible Light. His rescue in our lives declares us orphaned no longer!
“ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he
could adopt us as his very own children.” Galatians 4:5
We challenged the people of Uganda, those that have been rescued by God, to
be a light to their community, to share Jesus with all those around them. I want to
also take this challenge as I live life in my town of Tennessee. I love the words to
Brandon Heath’s song, “Give me Your Eyes”:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
Lord- Give us YOUR eyes for those around us, may you rescue all
those who are orphaned and bring them your freedom.