It’s been another busy month in the Iris Uganda household. We took another trip to the Refugee Camps to visit some relatives of the children. Again, these children haven’t seen a relative in three to ten years! It is always an emotional reunion, this time no different. When we arrived at the camp, we were somewhat lost and were waiting for someone to come show us the way. During that time our little eleven year started crying. He was coming to see his mother. His emotions just ran over. You see, this little boy was left at our front gate as a newborn in a basin, wrapped in a blanket. Crying was heard and when it was investigated, lo and behold, there was this little wrinkly boy. His name means gift. It is a name we gave him.
We finally found his mother in South Sudan when he was about six years old and she began to visit but didn’t take him home. So here we are now sitting in a camp trying to find her. A man finally came and led us about 200 meters away to her neat and tidy compound. When she saw him she got on her knees and asked for his forgiveness for not finding him sooner. She then told us a story of how she went to the UN, to the Red Cross, to the Operations Manager of the camps, and could get no information concerning our whereabouts. Then in July our pastor went to the camps for a church conference. This lady heard him talk about Yei and soon learned who he was and the rest just happened. She said that the night before she met the pastor she had had a dream about meeting a man that would take her to her son. Do you know that the Lord speaks to us through dreams? This was a dream come true.
Our Spring Break is over and all the kids are back to school. We barely made our school fees payment by the skin of our nose. I usually ask God, “Why do You always wait till the last minute to touch people’s hearts to come through for us?” I feel like He knows this is the way to test my faith and make it unshakeable because many times I start to shake. In the end I always just let it go and tell God, “I did what I could do and I just can’t do anymore.” It is then that breakthrough comes, every time. I praise God for breakthrough and for people who help us break through. There is no way on this earth that we could ever, ever do anything without those who help us through the really difficult times. I will never take you for granted. So I make mention of you in my prayers and in my testimonies.
Early this week I was in the market and I saw a big crowd gathered around a man who was talking. I asked my friend who is Sudanese what they were doing. She told me that this is a famous witchdoctor who comes every week to the market to sell his power and I was amazed that all of these people actually were interested in getting it. Here in Uganda, unlike South Sudan, witchcraft is legal, having a witchdoctor practice in the neighborhood out of your house is perfectly legal. A man who lives two houses away from us is a very well-known witchdoctor with many customers, most who drive cars. This tells us that he caters to those with money because it is difficult to own a car here as no one can afford it. So, I tell our children to steer clear of his house and I have been praying for him. And I know for a fact that our Friday night worship invades the atmosphere of his house because we are so close. I found out today that he is out of business because another witchdoctor stole his power. Hallelujah that he is out of business! Now I need to go invite him to church!
One of my employees, and also my friend, who is Sudanese, was crying about two weeks ago because there is always someone in her family who is really sick with typhoid or malaria or the flu or any other of these type ailments. And she and some of her children have been having bad dreams. So, my entire staff, we took some anointing oil and we prayed all over her house, walked the perimeter of her yard, and anointed every bed, and kicked those spirits of sickness out and those night fright spirits out. There has been no sickness since then nor any bad dreams. Again, we praise God for His faithfulness to hear us when we call on His name. He always comes, He never lets us down.
May God bless you this week with more than you can imagine and more than you can contain as you ask Him for favor. We ask Him for favor on your behalf. We ask that the goodness of the Lord will follow you all the days of your lives!