sing over your children: Lima, Peru.

My friend Leslie taught me the Lords beauty and grace. She is gracious, patient, and loving. Her enthusiasm for learning English and her CREATIVITY amazed me.

Pablo is one of the most JOYFUL little boys I've ever met. He always had a smile on his tiny little face and the Lord was already working in his tiny heart at such a young age.

These girls radiate His quiet strength.

I have repeatedly been so drawn to little girls- but Andre changed that. I LOVE THESE LITTLE BOYS.

beautiful little boy in the marketplace.

 

 

I flirt with the world
It steals my love for You
My fear grips my faith
And I am left unmoved

Your gaze stops my heart
Your voice fills the dark
Your love is the spark that lights this life
So we rise

Out of the depths you cry
Come and be satisfied
Father, You sing
Father, You sing over Your children

You quiet the storm
Inside my shipwrecked soul
Your spirit will lead
It calls the wayward home

At the sound of Your name
Our sin is washed away
In Christ we're crucified
In You we die, in You we rise

Out of the depths you cry
Come and be satisfied
Father, You sing
Father, You sing over Your children

Let us see through Your eyes
We are Your great delight
Father You sing
Father, You sing over Your children

And we're singing along
Your daughters and sons
We're singing Your song
We are Your children

Out of the depths you cry
Come and be satisfied
Father, You sing
Father, You sing over Your children

Let us see through Your eyes
We are Your great delight
Father, You sing
Father, You sing over Your children

thankfulness.

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” -Psalm 107:1

“They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.” -Psalm 145:7 

I am thankful for Canaan Children’s home. For the songs of JOY to the King that the children sing so naturally from the bottom of their hearts, for the strength that flows out of brokenness, for the healing that redeems their pasts, for the Lord that rules in their hearts. I am thankful for the eyes that see Light and Hope in darkness, and aren’t blind and inwardly focused like mine. I am thankful for Pastor Isaac and his obedience to the Lords calling on his life.

I am thankful for the letters that they wrote to us. I am overwhelmed by the response and amazed, once again by these kids. I will post some of the letters on this website- they will make your day.

Today I laughed at myself. I started this project thinking that I could in some way return the joy that these children poured into my life in the little time I spent with them in January. True joy comes from the Holy Spirit that flows and shines through His beautiful creation. He is the sweetest most everlasting joy that can be spread. He lives and shines through those kids and THAT is a joy that can never be diminished. There is nothing good within me or my intentions besides Him. To HIM be all the glory. He is the bringer of joy.

“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all. -1 Chronicles 29:11

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE FROM CANAAN.

MESSAGE FROM CANAAN:

Once again i bring you Love and greetings from Canaan children Home. (I) am glade to share with about our current Activities at the center. This week we have continued with construction of both the chapel and the primary school. The picture attached is the level we have reached at the stage of the foundation of the chapel. It is a blessing to the whole Christian community that through you support the chapel has reached this level.

We still have a long journey to move as patterns the construction of this chapel but we are trusting God for more financial provision.
The primary school is at it’s last stage of completion. Picture 3 shows the outside part of the building is done and some work is now done inside.

the children at canaan.

the children at canaan.

james 1:27.

“RELIGION THAT GOD OUR FATHER ACCEPTS AS PURE AND FAULTLESS IS THIS: TO LOOK AFTER ORPHANS AND WIDOWS IN THEIR DISTRESS AND TO KEEP ONESELF FROM BEING POLLUTED BY THE WORLD.”

—JAMES 1:27

WE’RE OFF TO GREAT PLACES, WE’RE OFF AND AWAY…!

According to my UPS shipment calculator, Canaan should be receiving our package any day now! THANK YOU TO THE 52 amazing and inspiring girls who sent 405 letters to 135 kids. YOU ARE AMAZING.

ALSO, exciting news from student council:

Harpeth Hall Student Council wants to host the WORLDS LARGEST GAME OF NINJA. The entire school will participate in the ninja game and a Guinness World Record Representative will attend the event.

… the catch?

The event will be called Ninja for Jinja and your admission to the event is a LETTER TO CANAAN!

Get excited for NINJA FOR JINJA!

I had nothing to do with that.

register your pen pal here!

register your pen pal here!

overwhelmed with joy.

i am extremely thankful for harpeth hall school. on the service learning leadership council bulletin board, there is a “joy for jinja corner” with little cards hung up with pen-pals and their stories. the girls 1. select a card, 2. register their penpals here:

HTTP://JOYFORJINJA.WUFOO.COM/FORMS/JOY-FOR-JINJA-PENPALS/

and then 3. deliver their letters once a month in the mailbox, also on the board.

i made the joy for jinja corner on wed., and sent an email out about it wed. night.

ON THURSDAY, a day after the email was sent, EVERY SINGLE CARD WAS CHOSEN. the board is EMPTY!! the entire school was enthusiastic and supportive, and the joy was truly contagious. i know this sounds cheesy, but i could not be more excited or more thankful for everyone who is so eager to be a part of this.

one of the sweetest girls in our grade told me, “i’m gonna treat this baby like he was my child.” she even has his birthday in her calendar.

her simple words brought tears to my eyes. the opportunity to LOVE these children spreads joy both ways. the k-love bible verse of the day couldn’t be more fitting:

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.
  —Luke 6:38, NLT

the gift of joy was returned in full this week- it is running over, and poured into our laps. and YES, we are making room for MORE! :)

while yes, the board is empty, there are two children per card and some girls choosing to write one of the two. that being said, there are PLENTY of children left to love on, so let me know if you would still like a pen pal.

i am currently checking off the kids who have been registered, and will post all the remaining children on the joy for jinja board next week.

thank you for spreading joy!

THE BEGINNING OF JOY FOR JINJA.

pen pals & postage stamps  

1. select your pen pal from the joy for jinja board.
2. on your pen pal card, you receive information on your pen pal including his or her picture, birthday, and story. 
3. write your pen pal at least once a month. 
4. submit your letter in the joy for jinja mailbox or mail your letter to 3509 Echo Hill Rd. Nashville, TN 37215.
5. letters will be mailed in a care package to the children once a month.

*this process is economically friendly and will spare you the cost of international postage. if you would like to send your own care package to your pen pal, send to

Child’s Name/ Canaan Children’s Transit Center/ P.O. Box 1915/ Jinja, Uganda, East Africa

funding the letters and our sponsor child: 

to help support the overall monthly fee’s for a child’s schooling, medical care, clothing, and nutrition, joy for jinja is also making a monthly donation to canaan. 

here’s how you can help:

1. buy a t-shirt.
2. buy beads or a bracelet. 
3. make a donation. 

a blessing.

lots of little hands. lots of runny noses. lots of heart wrenching stories. nobody knew yours.

I act on emotions, on dreams, and inspiration. so many people see the pain in africa and it moves them to tears or maybe a trip to the bank. how I wish that all could simply hold one of these children. they lay their hearts in your arms for you to kiss them a million times and tell them how BEAUTIFUL they are.

there are so many stories that inspire people to make a difference in the lives of these kids. here is the story of the child that has inspired me. 

canaan children’s home belongs to our daddy. it’s a home for the sexually and physically abused, abandoned, and traumatized children. these are His children. their hearts are sewn to His palm. enter this place, reclaim it as your own and PROTECT it from the destroyer.. he has NO power here.

father I pray for a hedge of protection over your sweet angels. fill them to the BRIM with your love and peace. bring them provision.

pastor isaac, the founder of canaan, has an incredible testimony. WWW.CANAANCHILDRENSHOME.ORG . the Lord spared his life so he could defend and serve the fatherless and the abandoned. he rescues boys from the LRA and girls from the streets. Gods provision for canaan fills me with peace- this place is holy ground, ordained and in the Hands of the Lord. during my short time there, I was blessed by His incredible presence in every face I saw. the canaan church was filled with dancing and praise. I taught a Sunday school lesson on esther- the brave hearted servant of the Lord. she was raised out of poverty to be the queen of her people to rescue them for such a time as this. I know that all my african brothers and sisters are rescued out of their oppression and placed in this childrens home for such a time as this- they have an incredible PURPOSE created uniquely for their sweet selves. seeing the peace and joy in the eyes of girls my age that have been raped and abused. seeing little children become children again after being molested, neglected, and experiencing more trauma than most experience in a lifetime.  they belong to you. they are your treasures.

of all the sweet little babies at amani, and the heart wrenching stories at canaan, you my sweet girl are still the one on my mind constantly. the one that brings me to tears throughout my day. the one that has blessed me and shown me the face of Christ in unimaginable ways. the simple “storyless” one who has changed my life…

 

on the first day I came to canaan, I’ll never forget the sight of sweet little betty. she was so little yet her face was so understanding, still and quiet. her bottom lip curved downwards and the tiny little bible in her hands is what caught my eye. while all the other kids were hopping around the “sweeties” we had brought, she stood off in the distance flipping through that little bible. this image captured and stirred up my heart until I finally got to spend the whole second week with her. every time we came to canaan, I searched for the little bible baby I saw. they told me her name was betty, which means God’s promise. betty is incredibly quiet and sometimes I would hear her whisper little songs to herself. every time I picked her up she would smile real big and then that still face would come right back. I literally started living for that little smile and laugh. I would kiss her on her neck and swing her around until I heard it.. she RADIATES his love.  of all the little babies we’d worked with at amani and the outgoing little ones at canaan, she captured my heart  without ever saying a word. honestly, I couldn’t tell you what it was about her except the Love of the Lord that captured my heart.. but she has it! every time I saw her, I would bend down and open my arms and her little feet would run as fast as they could in that dust and she would jump into my arms. she would fall asleep in my arms and so when I took her back to her wire bunk bed, I got to meet momma jane, the “momma” of her dorm. earlier, I had noticed scars all up and down her tiny legs and I asked momma jane about them and she said it was her past but she didn’t know.  sweet betty’s past is a mystery to me. I asked  pastor isaac and the secretary and they didn’t even know betty’s name. this made my heart sink- this little girl who in twenty five total hours had captured my heart in unimaginable ways  was unknown by the hands that were feeding her.

momma jane told me that betty has a big imagination and that she’s always playing by herself. she told me that she talked about me in the native language, which surprised me cause I’d never heard betty speak! the Lord poured His love for little betty into my heart. I am captivated by His beauty in her. every quiet little thing she does. on my last day with betty, I gave her a little sewn zebra and she just started rubbing it all over her face. it was her first toy. I told her I loved her and she whispered, “I love you too!”

i believe everyone has a “betty.” someone who you encounter in your life that will forever have an impact on your life. i don’t know why God chose you betty to be mine, but you are. and one day i will see you again and change your life the way you’ve changed mine. 

as I drove away, I looked out the window and saw her standing their with that zebra waving and it broke me in half.  The Lord is calling me through His sweet Betty. I want to start something life changing for her.

Betty has captured my heart!

follow the journey.

THE KING’S HEART IS IN THE HANDS OF THE LORD, HE DIRECTS IT WHEREVER HE PLEASES. -PROVERBS 21:1

follow and support amazima ministries and katie davis. 

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

sweet betty

psalm 37:6

he will make your righteousness SHINE like the dawn, the justice of your cause like a noon-day sun. 

let the little children come.

let the little children COME!

wherever you go, go with all your heart.

support.

ugandan beads, bags, water bottles, satchels, bracelets for sale. 

betty, God's promise.

everyone meets someone in their life that forever changes them. be it an extraordinary achiever or the mailman, they have an impact on you that motivates and inspires you to be the person you were created to be. they inspire you to make a difference. this person, whether they be big or small, will change your life.

for me, a little girl named betty is that person.

she doesn’t have a story that sticks out among the rest. her story is unknown to me. to the world she is one person, but to me, she is the world.

i met betty on a winterim trip during the month of january to jinja, uganda. i interned at Amani Baby Cottage and Canaan Children’s Home. 

Canaan Children’s home captured my heart. this is a home for the abandoned and the tramautized. these are the least of my brothers and sisters. this is betty’s earthly home. 

during my brief stay there, i fell in love with her, along with many other children from two to twenty-two. they changed my life, and now i want to change theirs. 

joy for jinja is a vision and calling i am feeling from the Lord. i want to support these children and bless them the way they have blessed me.

to do this, i want to start a non-profit organization that raises money to supply these children with not only an education and food, but with little blessings throughout their year. orphanages and children’s homes can be dark places. i want to bring them JOY! 

donations:

• scholarship program (canaan)- raises funds to support their school fees. they don’t have any proper school supplies and they build their own schools starting at age 10. they take pride and joy in learning and see education as their way out of oppression. 
• feeding program (amazima)- provides healthy foods to nourish their bodies. these children eat beans and rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. these funds would raise money to purchase fruits, vegetables, and meats to supplement their diet and pay for their meals. 

147 million orphans.

147 MILLION ORPHANS.

you are the helper of the fatherless. abba, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their hearts; You will listen to their every need, and do justice to the fatherless and the suffering, that the man of the earth may suffer no more.

-psalms 10:14,17-18-

religion that our father accepts as pure and blameless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the ways of the world.
-james 1:27-

i tell you the truth, whatever you do unto the least of my brothers and sisters, you also do unto me.

-matthew 25:40-

peace.

amani baby cottage,  a place of peace.

we walked into the gates of the baby cottage and a little boy with autism named mweh-ruh runs to greet us screaming and dancing for joy. come alive ABBA, your joy overflows in every corner of your creation. you are pure and perfect love. you are the helper of the fatherless. LORD you hear the desires of the humble. prepare my heart for what you have in store. open my distracted ears and may your just will be done. to the oppressed you hold them in your hands. may the earth oppress no more!

amani means peace in swahili. this is the word to describe the overwhelming feeling of these grounds. these children are loved so well. my heart was stirred up for these orphans and I feel his call. these are the least of my brothers and sisters. they have been abandoned, yet their past is behind them and they are ready to love and be loved. when they run into your arms, all you can do is kiss every inch of their little faces because they are HIS and they know it! father, I feel you tugging at my heart. reveal your will to me. i will find you when I seek you with my whole heart. here’s my heart: it lies within their smiles and their faces. it can’t help but give itself over to their needs. it cries through the distance… i love these kids because you first loved me! they look at me as if I’m as beautiful as I can be and they love me as if I could never go wrong. he’s calling the depths of my spirit as he transforms my life through these little hearts and hands.

the porch babies are the little ones. they are precious and truly adorable. when you see them, they are lovable. but I noticed one baby that was different from the rest (laying on my lap in the picture). she had thrown up all over herself and was constantly drooling and banging her head and arms back and forth. the mommas said she had autism but clearly something else was wrong with her. she couldn’t sit up straight and she was crying and cross-eyed. flies were swarming around her and no one went near her. this broke my heart. I asked one of the mommas if I could hold her and she said I would get dirty. for some reason, I heard His voice when I looked at Roquea. He gave me the grace to see her in His eyes: beautiful and his. I got a spit-up cloth and wiped her off and held her in the sunlight. she immediately was transformed, for behold the LORD makes all things NEW. she is HEMMED in his hands. she laughed and opened her mouth wide and flailed her little arms! I saw myself in Roquea. I am that little baby, helpless and imperfect. the sin in my heart is like that vomit. I am vulnerable and desperate for Him to make me clean and hold me in the Light of His glory. without Him holding me, I simply sit in the corner of that porch wallowing in separation from Him. He moved me to pick up this darling girl to show me what He does for me every day. For we did not receive the spirit of bondage again to FEAR, but we received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ABBA, Father!! I am disabled and incapable to achieve anything without Him. he moves and breathes and is my strength and my song. he loves us perfectly. each and every one of us, throw up down our face and all. amani. a place of peace.

the peace that passes all understanding. beatrice was abandoned in a sugar cane field the day she was born. benja is a light who showed me the true heart of a servant. helene listens to your call. jonah loves to be kissed on his little tummy. jemima radiates your sweet aroma. roquea is your chosen little girl. let me be your hands and feet and love on them. 

joy.

jinja, uganda.

where do I start? imagine love, strength, and life in its rawest form. the simplest way of living that will effect you so complexly for the rest of your life. no distractions or materialism… the necessities. the joy of the LORD is our strength. hem them in Father, hold their hearts! there is a deep understanding of roots and where they are planted. a deep knowledge and peace in the hands that provide for them. they KNOW their creator because His PRESENCE is inevitable. they cannot deny for a second that there is  a God because he is in the LIGHTS and the air. he seeps through the cracks in their homes and their hearts. in the midst of their oppression they burst into SONGS for their king and even in the darkest moment they praise Him. their church is composed of dancing, for how can they be still when He has filled them with so much joy? they aren’t quiet about their faith. it is exalted in their brown eyes and their steadfast hearts. a oneness with the earth and the people around them. freedom within bondage. richness within poverty.

an extraordinary life.

i started each day with african tea and banana pancakes. life in this beautiful country means so much. it is more than a heart tugging picture with a starving child. it is more than an emotional story that brings you to tears that you soon forget. it is not glamorous or cliché. it is not something to show off or bring attention to yourself… to fully taste His glory, I had to take myself out of the equation. this was so hard for the self-centered, entitled teenager that I am. yet when you hold them in your arms, you forget it all. everything in our lives has been handed to us whether we’re hard workers or not. to get food, we go to the grocery store. we have a paved road that gets us there. every 16 year old I know has a car. to get clothes we just go buy them. and those are the “necessary things.” what about when the season changes and we buy a whole new wardrobe of clothes we wear once?

thankfulness. no matter what they have, they are so thankful. love pours out of their hearts and they are invested in knowing you. time is so precious. you don’t have to be constantly entertained. each moment is your television, each face you meet is your facebook. at first when i saw the oppression and the needs i felt so overwhelmed. the Lord is so present and the people so full of JOY yet they are so in need. in my finite thinking it was a paradox. they are so needy yet so satisfied… this is the power of our GOD! HE IS SO AMAZING. 

in america, we have our meaning of “the good life.” uganda changed this meaning for me. these people need my clothes and food, not my ipod and my air conditioning. they don’t want a prada, they want a school. they don’t want an expensive bed, they need a pillow. that tiny little hair rubber band out of my hair becomes a bracelet, and brightens their entire day. i am here to LOVE not change. their culture is beautiful, pain and all. it’s the little ways that you LOVE them that make the change. i was not sent there to change their culture but simply to pour out His love and His glory. 

 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

James 1:27

another cultural differenced that tugged my heart strings was the value these kids and teenagers had on school. here, the cool factor tends to be a negative attitude. the whole “I’m above my school and school is a waste of time” attitude. the negative attitude towards teachers and studying and that we feel we’re missing out on life. I’m so guilty of this. but those kids were so proud of their school and so hungry for education. knowledge is power. education is their way out of oppression. they not only sacrifice everything to pay for school, the 10-18 year olds build their own school. the thought of pouring concrete as a 12 year old girl exausts me.. it is hard work. yet when I asked precious Bridget, 12 years old about working at the school her eyes lit up as she explained how amazing her school is. she didn’t have to build it, she GOT to build it. and the school she was building was primary school and she was in secondary. she wasn’t even going to get to go to that school but the pride and joy in her eyes- the understanding of gratitude changed my heart. we also went to a small village and I met a girl my age named lydia. the village people were beautiful. they had mud huts and welcomed the “mzungus” or “white people” into their homes. they laid their finest Sunday dress on the dirt floor for us to sit. they gave us fruits and showered us with gifts when they barely could afford to feed all their children. they were all family, and that was enough. they loved us so well. one woman looked at me and said, “you are white and I am black but we are one because we are His.” color didn’t matter, looks didn’t matter. we are all on this planet together, spinning in space, children of the King. we meet the great great grandmother whose face spoke of pain and years of work. every wrinkle like a ring on an oak tree, revealing her age and her wisdom— the african people are beautiful. their bones and their build so defined and never idle. Lydia was sixteen. we laughed about boys and our bodies and our favorite foods. her favorite animal is a cow because it gives her milk, meat, and fur. heh. my favorite animal is a… nevermind it’s unimportant. she looked at me when we had finished small talk and said that she needed help. her village was poor and they couldn’t afford to send the girls to school. she wanted to go so badly. she asked me to take her to america so she could go to school with me. I thought about myself back at home. always complaining and not working to my fullest potential. I take school for granted. when I pulled into school this morning my stomach hurt. I am so blessed, yet I’ve been dragging my feet to school every morning dreading every Monday.

Bridget has shown me school in a new light. Lydia has made me thankful.