Tuesday, June 27

Today we went to Roggie, and I got to hug and kiss Fate!

Roggie village sits above a beautiful salt lake. The village is 3 miles down a dirt road- impossible to find unless pointed in the right direction. We are among the very few Americans who have entered the village.

I have seen videos of the children before, and now the children look 100 percent healthier. There faces were clean, and they looked feed. They seemed almost in shock that we were there, but welcoming.

The woman were working, working, and working. The woman in the village wake up at dawn, walk an hour to get water, walk back, grind corn with a rock, take care of the children, and go to bed after everyone is asleep. If there is food left over from the family, the mother will eat then.

Of course, as I had mentioned before, I got to hug and kiss Fate, the child I have sponsored to go to Hope school for over a year.

I went to her house where she lives with her grandmother and five other siblings- two boys and three girls. Her father is in prison, and her mother left for the city.

Her family lives in a grass and mud hut across from the school. Inside consists of a mud floor and minimal possessions including a few plates.

I told Fate's grandmother that I paid for Fate to go to school. Her face lit up, and she immediately took my hand. After we had visited a few other homes, I came back and gave birr to the grandmother. She hugged me tightly and praised God.

Fate and her sister followed us to the bus. I hugged her and kissed her and held her like a mother would. Then the grandmother came down and hugged me again- so tight my body tingled.

I have only experienced pure Godly joy a few times in my life, and this is one of those times. I know that God is working through me and showing me what it means to say "Yes" to him. I know God loves Fate and her family. I know that we have been brought together for a special purpose.

I am amazed by God's love. It is expansive and reaches all the corners of the human soul. His love can reach my heart in California and His love reaches down to touch a little girl without a mother or a father who wears a baby shirt and a skirt covered in filth living in the Rift valley down an unmarked dirt road. What an awesome God we have- full of grace, mercy and love beyond all limits and understanding.

Heidi Sherry
4th Grade Teacher