The United Nations

Last night was a classic example of one of the reasons I love living overseas.

We had yet another one of our fabulous Friday dinner parties. Around our table were seated: 1 Canadian, 1 Brit, 1 Belgi... um, what do you call someone from Belgium?!, 1 Kenyan, 1 American, 1 Ghanaian, and 3 South Africans (and at the risk of being un-politically correct, I will mention the fact that the South African contingent was a beautiful mosaic of rainbow colours, ranging from pasty white to creamy chocolatey.).

And we all just really enjoyed each other's company! A true mix of nationalities, coming from three different continents, somehow thrown together in this crazy place, and able to have a great time together. And once again, it was a blessing to be able to open our home to people who aren't used to getting too many home-cooked meals in this town. We might not be the best cooks this side of the Nile, but we try to make up for it in hospitality and good conversation :)

Then this afternoon we were able to bless some more folks around here. One of our friends (who happens to be a Ugandan woman married to a Dutch man - another example of the wonderful mix of cultures to be found in these parts!) runs an NGO that works with street children, and especially with girls and young women who are living on the streets in this city. There are more than you might think. They also help some children who don't have anyone responsible enough to care for them - for instance, a little girl (around 8 years old) named Sbla whos father is living, but isn't responsible enough to make sure she is fed or goes to school.

We cleared out our closests of some of the clothes and shoes that we weren't using anymore (it's truly amazing what I've collected over here!), and then went to the shops and picked up a bunch of soap, juice, toothpaste and toothbrushes and all that sort of thing. And we dropped it all off at the NGO, where the girls hang out during the day.

We met some of the girls - they're all very friendly and were just having a great time relaxing on a Saturday afternoon with each other and with the staff at their center. Such friendly faces, but when you hear some of their stories and some of the things that have happened to them as they live on the streets... really heartbreaking. So passing along some clothes and spending some money on a few necessities seems like so little. But at least it's something.

If you think to pray, you can pray for Cathy (the woman who's heading up the program) and the children and young women who she works with, to try to teach them the lifeskills they need to make sure they get their education and make good choices for their lives, as well as have the basic necessities like a safe place to sleep, water to bathe with, and some nourishing food to eat... all in the name of Christ who created them, gave them life and wants them to have the opportunity to glorify Him in those lives.