Robert and Adam are inseparable……Adam is 7 ……and Robert is 13! Robert has only been living at Hope Children’s Home here in Uganda since June of this year. He has four younger siblings that he was taking care of alone in a "house" about the size of a normal bathroom. His parents abandoned them, but occasionally the dad would return and beat Robert for managing to find his younger brothers and sisters’ food so they could keep on living. He has a VERY mature heart and still protects his little brothers and sisters as they all live in Hope Children’s Home. He is wise beyond his years. At first I was worried when he and Adam hung out so much, feeling bad for Robert in a way as he hung out all day with a 7 year old, but as I watched them play the other day I realized I had missed something amazing. Robert was playing, truly playing, probably for the first time in his life, like a little kid, he was making up for lost time. Someone was cooking his rice and beans and taking care of his baby sisters and brothers, he was free to roam in the forest with a big stick and act wild like a mighty hunter and conquer imaginary foes. SO…. he and Adam "hang out". 

There have been so many surprises here in Uganda, I thought that I would take my greatest delight in knowing that the children at Hope were "fed, clothed and schooled", but my greatest joy has been in the "off times", when we stand in the big concrete main room and dance to the worship music and drums together, and the kids have their heads thrown back, eyes closed, in total worship of their Father, or when Robert comes back from playing in the woods with Adam, with a big stick in his hand and an even bigger smile on his face. It makes sense, as a parent our greatest joy is not when our children push back from the dinner table full, but instead when they discover a bit of who they are and why they were created. 

Thanks for being a part of these kids lives, for providing a place for them to rest their hearts, and open up to God and discover His awesome plan for each of them. There are many more Roberts here in Uganda. We see them on the streets every day, and we long to throw some more rice and beans in the pot and buy another bed and mattress to shove into the already full rooms at Hope. We are incredibly excited about the 25 acres of land that is still waiting for a fence, and still waiting for building to start…..we long to begin work on the children’s cottages, to place these kids in smaller "family groups". We can’t wait for the next "Roberts" to come and romp over the land…Join us in bringing them "home"!  

Susan Stubbs

You can send your tax deductible donations to the address below or give online at www.showmercy.org.
Show Mercy International
PO Box 607
Albany, Oregon  97321
www.showmercy.org