Ben Meeting Salba 3/17/15

Dear Midland Free Church Family:

I have been asked today to write out team blog post on the day we met our sponsored children.  The day began at the World Vision ADP office in Gulu where we had the privilege to worship with the World Vision staff and share our support, encouragement and gratitude for all they do for World Vision and the sponsored children.  We then went to the open market and purchased supplies for our sponsored children and their families. 

We then returned to our hotel where our children were waiting for us.  I was the first to be greeted by my sponsored child Salba, his father and mother and his older sister.  The family greeted me with so much love and kindness and offered some gifts, two chickens and two pigeons.  The pigeons were to be a reminder to me of the peace and love that the family shares with me.  I was also given family pictures of Salba, all his brothers and sisters and even grandparents.  I didn’t fully realize the impact of this gift until later in the day.  These may have been the only pictures they had of these family members and they gave them to me, expressing to me that they viewed me as part of their family.  Salba’s father and mother repeatedly expressed to me their heartfelt gratitude for all I have done for them and told me that even though I was half a world away, I was apart of their family and they wanted me to come home, which left me speechless.  Although Salba was shy, the World Vision staff assured me how happy he was that I came to visit him and loved playing football (soccer) with him in his sister.

As a child sponsor, you don’t fully understand the impact you have on your child’s life through letters.  Being there in person you not only see, you feel everything that your sponsorship does in your child’s life, the family’s and the community’s.  And when they finally warm up to you after a few hours spending time with you, it becomes one of the most priceless moments that you take with you the rest of your life.   I would highly recommend to anyone with a sponsored child to consider being a member of a future trip because the experience is overwhelming and truly puts the relationship on a very personal level.

Thank you all for your prayers and support during our time in Uganda.   This has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to be a part of this team and experience what God is doing through World Vision in Uganda.

Peace and blessings to all,

Ben Doornbos