Global Care's new program

Tom washing the children's hands before lunch

Global Care in Soroti is starting a new program working with children from the area who have physical or mental handicaps.  Handicapped or disabled people in Soroti and probably all of Uganda are invisible for the most part.  Life is hard enough here already and if you are physically handicapped it can be overwhelmingly hard.  Simple things are not so simple when absolutely nothing is handicapped accessible.  Also there are few  if any programs designed to assist people with disabilities.  Global Care has recently launched a program to seek out and help these children that are invisible many.  So every Tuesday and Saturday a vehicle drives around Soroti town and even makes some trips to the nearby villages to pick up children and bring them to Global Care for a day of games, food, playing with others, interacting with other children and adults, being served, treated well, and cared for.  Yesterday we got to spend just a little while at the gazebo with all of the children.  The staff has their hands full with all the children, but the girls were more than happy to come and help and even the cook's children came and played and helped the kids.  Silas was loving all the children and the noises of the toys.  I hope we can be a part of this wonderful ministry.  I also pray God will instil in the heart of Silas a love and desire to serve and love others as he sees it being done weekly here at Global Care.

Some may be wondering why in the world did I put this picture on here???...Well, it is my first ever dog bite.  This morning on my run it finally happened.  I am actually grateful that it is not worse and that the lady who owned the mutt was standing nearby.  As you can see the skin was never broken, but I am one shirt fewer now.  

I was only 2 miles out so once the flea bag was back in its yard I kept going.  Next time I go out by myself I will carry pepper spray or a big stick!

Running here is always an adventure.  Its very amusing to the locals to see these white girls (usually two or three of us go) running just for the pure sake of it.  Some are supportive and even join in somtimes.  Most just smile or wave.  Others invite us to come to their home or help them in the garden.  And there are the occasional few that have something rude or annoying to say.  I always act like I can't hear those comments.  

The route we run is sort of a main road and we pass lots of school children on there way to school.  Most walk and need to leave around 6:30 (which is when the sun comes up and it is light enough to see) and other pack two or three on a bike and peddle to school.  I have no idea how far some of these kids travel to school, it could be miles if they attend senior classes.  

When the dry season is here I run towards the swamp and every time I go that way I meet the same little boy. He is most likely 7 and he always runs the last mile with me.  Its pretty darn cute.  Sad for me that I am running slow enough for a 7 year old with no shoes to keep up, but still fun.  

I am very thankful that I am able to run here.  It is something I love and know that the Lord does keep me safe as I go (and yes, I think the Lord's protection was with me when I got bit, it could have been far worse and I could be going through a rabies treatment).  Even with Silas I am still able to go.  I am thankful for Colin and him allowing me that time.  He enjoys it too because he gets to read his Bible, pray, drink his coffee, and get Silas up.  Then he gets some one on one time with him.  I like that they have that time together.  

This may not be the most enlightening post ever posted, but I just had to share that picture!  

Silas

For some time now we have been praying about adoption. When we got married we discussed having children and both of us felt we would like to adopt as well as have biological children. We also knew our first children would be adopted. For at least a year now we have been really praying and asking God to help shed some light on this process. Should we adopt? When should we adopt? Where do we look? Is this what you want for us God? Etc. Here recently, we have felt that we were now supposed to actively look into adoption. It was no longer just something we were praying about, discussing, and thinking about, but now we began looking into sites here, talking to friends about how they did it, and asking our friends to be in prayer with us because we were moving forward. 

We did not know that when we actually began taking steps to begin the adoption process it would be so incredibly fast. We went to Amecet on Saturday to meet the kids and staff and to spend time with the children that were in need of a home. When we asked what children were in need of a home the staff pointed us to one little boy they were calling “Levi” as they did not know his real name. The staff at Amecet guesses his age to be around 9 months. He had been there since June and needed a family to take him in, care for him, and love him. We spoke with the staff and inquired about how the process works and what the next steps would be should we decide to pursue the adoption of “Levi”. We went home and prayed together and sought God’s answer. We also asked a few friends to be praying along with us as we made this decision. We both had a peace and felt that we were indeed supposed to pursue the adoption of “Levi”. We spoke with the staff on Monday and began the process. The courts or social workers issued “Levi” a birth certificate on Tuesday and we were able to choose the name that went on his birth certificate. We named him Silas Gray Rosser. We have had a list of boys and girls baby names for the entire time we’ve been married. Silas has always been at the top of the list. Gray is a family name on Colin’s side and we liked the idea of giving our children as first or middle names, the last names of their ancestors. 

On Wednesday we brought Silas home. We are currently his foster parents and will foster to adopt for a period of three years. Under Ugandan adoption law, one must foster for three years before pursuing adoption. This is to prevent child trafficking. We are more than happy to foster Silas for three years knowing that he will be adopted into our family at the end of this period. He is already family. 

We told family on Saturday about meeting “Levi” and asked them to pray. We then notified them again on Wednesday to let them know we had a little boy. I think folks were a bit shocked to hear we already had a child. Not even sure if our parents had time to envision being new grandparents again or to get readily mentally and emotionally. We were also a bit surprised (GOOD surprised!!!) how quickly we were able to bring Silas home. I’m positive it does not always happen this quickly. We have felt so at peace and at ease through this process. Even the very fast pace of meeting one day and bringing a child home only four days later has felt natural. This is the way it was supposed to happen for us and Silas. Silas is too young to have been praying for a family, but we have been praying about adopting him and for him for years. We feel like God longs to hear us pray and longs to act upon our prayers. He invented communication for a reason. He is the inventor of prayer. We feel that through prayer, all our worries and cares and problems can be eliminated. God tells us that he hears us when we call Him and when we seek Him with ALL our hearts He will be found by us. He is actually very near and wants to be found. He is not hiding and does not remain far-off and un-reachable. God is indeed very close and desires intimate relationship. God put the desire for children and the desire to adopt into our hearts. He knew we wanted to adopt and He knew long before we did who we were to adopt and when. When we took the time to seek Him, seek His answer, seek His timing, seek His will over our own, only then did He bring a beautiful little boy and a couple eager to adopt - together. It was that easy. 

Not only did God bless us with a child, but He also blessed us in other ways this week that helped to get our home ready for Silas. Our friends and team members here in Ugandan found out on Monday that we would be getting Silas. By Tuesday we were completely out-fitted with baby stuff for our home. Our friends blessed us in a huge way by helping us with the process, going to Amecet with us and introducing us to the staff there, giving us baby things like car seats, clothes, baby wipes, diapers, bottles, blankets, and advice. We had not one thing for a baby in the house on Monday morning and our home was ready to welcome a child by Wednesday morning. It was such a blessing to have a group of folks come around us in such a supportive way and celebrate with us. Our team members all came to the house with welcoming presents, signs welcoming Silas, and little gifts for our new son. Having folks celebrate with you when you are so far away from home and family was and is so nice. Truly a blessing. We are very thankful for everyone and their support and guidance. We cannot wait for our families to meet their newest family member.

The Rosser Family