Africa Trip, Part 10: Six Mondays

When I got off the bus to visit the children of the Karamajong Village, I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by what I had only seen on commercials until this day. You know the commercials where kids are standing in line with a dirty bowl waiting their turn to receive their portion and someone on the screen is saying...for just 30 cents a day.


Except I was no longer sitting on my couch with clicker in hand and ready to move on to another channel because really it can't be as bad as they make it out to be in those commercials...surely not.

Six Mondays ago, I was walking in the midst of real poverty...

I was holding some pure religion in my arms.

So here I was in Africa to do what I do...hold babies. And here I was with one on each hip. They were the dirtiest children that I had ever held. They were half naked and they smelled. They fell asleep within minutes. The one in the green shirt first. Then the one in the red shirt. I found a step to sit on and I just sat there. Holding them. I was quick to think they fell asleep fast because they both had snotty noses and didn't feel good. But I really think they fell asleep because they had some arms to hold them.

Pure religion is hard. Everyone makes it out (including my former before Africa self) to just going and loving on some orphans but it turned out to be so much more than that. Normally when I hold babies, I have a mommy to hand them back to. I walked to the food line and handed them to kids who in my world aren't even old enough to hold babies. And then I left.

This wasn't a commercial. It was real life and this time I can't change the channel.

Katie Davis of Amazima Ministries started feeding the Karamajongs last spring. You can read about how God led her to these people here.