CHRISTMAS IN UGANDA

Santa Brothers

Some of the 2,000 local Children

I am blown away by what the Brothers lovingly provide for the poorest of the poor children!

Yesterday was the last of 3 MAJOR Christmas celebrations hosted by the Brothers. Yesterday was for the children of the surrounding slums. The other 2, before Christmas, were for each of the homes of the abandoned and disabled children the Brothers house and care for.

Christmas Hugs

There is soo much to write about...I have NEVER experienced such a Christmas...Truthfully...it has renewed my spirit in mankind, in giving and in LOVE. I highly recommend ANYONE needing a change from commercial Christmas and ANYONE wanting to experience this Holy celebration on a spiritual
level to consider volunteering here at the MOP starting 2 weeks before Christmas and the following 2 weeks after.

It will be a spiritual renewal as well as the most heartwarming and uplifting experience of your LIFE! I guarantee! You will go home a NEW person.. inside and out. I guarantee there will not be one dry eye after having been here for   this. Christmas is celebrated in FULL...it lasts for DAYS and DAYS..

They will pull at your heart strings! 

Advent starts a 4 week period of spiritual waiting. There is fasting here from meat, snacks, sugar. No worries, they more than make up for it at Christmas!!! There is a crusade for 3 days before Christmas Eve with powerful preachers and healers followed by a HUGE celebratory Mass each evening...these evenings last from 6 PM through 10 PM.

Face painting!

and gifts!

Christmas Eve Midnight Mass starts at 8 PM with songs and dancing from the choirs and the children of each of the homes. the church is decked out in all its GLORY with lights, trees, and a nativity! The MASS is AMAZING! You will feel the singing and music coursing through you! They even had fireworks INSIDE the church during the Gloria! The Mass lasts until nearly 2 AM...

Amazing Dancing!

Following this, I was continuing to bake Christmas Cookies for the 100 or more Brothers (they had never heard of them before...they were a HIT by the way)...the Brothers were having fun contests and games and celebrating for nearly as long as I was baking! They went to bed at 4 AM and I was soon to follow at 5 AM. They were all up for morning prayers and doing chores with NO complaining and no grumping...all were laughing and smiling!

Children who steal your heart

The food is usually still running around the Monastery until Christmas Eve...YES...everything is fresh...that was the only harsh reality I had to acknowledge. We are soo separated from our food, we forget where it originates.

The Aftermath

Christmas Day I spent visiting a friend and then "MY BOYS" at Busega. I brought a bag of suckers (not a good choice for the disabled ones) BUT...we managed. I think the most amazing thing was the time I spent holding a sucker in the mouths of some of the disabled children. Most have never had one...one child, Rasheed with beautiful eyes, is a CP quad. I was rolling the sucker in his mouth and his eyes were HUGE! He kept trying as best he could to use his hands to keep me from removing the sucker to allow him to catch his breath! I was humbled by this....we have so many pleasures in this life...this poor child has never had the pleasure of a simple sucker until now...and I was the one gifted to see and experience his JOY.

Snacks during the competition

YESTERDAY: feeding the 2,000 children of the slums.

The children waiting 

I am so humbled and blown away by how the Brothers, a group of men, can organize and host OVER 2,000 children for a dance contest, bouncing castles, snacks, face painting, Christmas Dinner and presents...do so while continuing to work, attend all prayer times and Mass, be up all night cooking and wrapping gifts, keep everyone safe and then clean up the place in 2 hours flat (after the place looked like a bomb went off)...ALL DONE with JOY and with SMILES and with LOVE!

Christmas Supper Line

The children are amazing...they all came dressed in their best...even if that meant there were missing zippers on their dresses, or mismatched shoes or pants too short. They were all clean, respectful, kind to each other....You will never ever see anything like this anywhere...they were soo appreciative of the Brothers...soo happy!

There were only a hand full of lost children (quickly united with loved ones) and only 2 whimpers...NO CRYING...NO PUSHING...NO YELLING...NO TEMPER TANTRUMS! This is OVER 2,000 children mind you...all waited in line quietly and patiently for food and presents...no one was hurt....HOW do they do this????

Forever Smiling

Not only that....the same evening you would think the Brothers would all drop dead out of exhaustion...NO...they were laughing and joking around, playing cards and dominoes and listening to LOUD Christmas music. Back to work this AM after morning prayers and Mass.

I have never seen any group of people work so hard, do so with smiles and joy....even our Superior, Father Henry, was working alongside the Brothers in preparing...he was washing floors and still looked up to smile and wave to me "Merry Christmas Carol!" as I went by....They prayed for the funds to make all of this happen for the children...they did not worry or fret about anything...they just prepared with COMPLETE confidence and PEACE...as if they were hosting a few people for supper....

Father Henry our Superior

AND...as I am told usually happens....all the remaining funds, supplies and needed items were raised, donated and dropped off in the 11th hour. Father says with a smile..."God provides...we are used to that...we are in Good Hands!" NOW that is PEACE!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU AND PEACE BE IN YOUR HOMES AND HEART!