A Team Member's Perspective

"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God". (Psalm 42:1)

When thinking of what HEAL ministries is doing in Jinja, Uganda, this verse is highlighted to me above all. From childcare to rug making, James Place flows with hearts searching for God. The staff is teaching the women and children the love of God, not through their words, but through showing them their love for them. Not only will you see the staff embracing the children as their own, but you will also see the children taking care of other children. You see, the staff sees how much God loves us, so they let that love flow over onto the children. The crazy thing is that the children see the love of the staff and let that love flow onto their brothers and sisters in Christ. HEAL Ministries, Tina Weir and Trey Weir are truly working in the lives of everyone in James Place.

Personally, I could tell so many stories of how these children have impacted my life for the better, but one story opened my eyes, being one of the most impactful things that has happened in my life. Reaching the Masese village, I was not really sure what I was about to find. The moment the bus rolled through the gates, it was quite obvious to me that this was not what I was accustomed to. The houses were made from clay, with grass and straw roofing, but what stood out to me above all were the faces of the children...nothing but smiles. The moment the team and I stepped out of the bus, a sea of hands were reaching toward us. They all just wanted to touch and to feel us. Children went into their homes and brought out all the benches and chairs they had just for us to sit on. They believed it would be an honor for us to sit on the benches while they had to sit on the cold ground. When we started to praise and worship, all of the children were lifting their hands up to Christ and singing his name, with the upmost respect. Then, we started to play games and the children were all pushing and fighting just to hold my hand. I thought, what is so special about me that they would fight to hold my hand? When the playtime was over, I stood up and started walking to the bus, and all the kids began to try to clean all the dust off of our shorts. I was speechless. These kids truly had the servant hearts of Jesus. As we said our goodbyes and got onto the bus, the children began to chase it during our departure. It reminded me of how the children ran to be in the presence of Jesus. It was a surreal experience.

Spencer Hagan, 16 years old