A cry from the streets is a song sung by the children. I’ve heard them singing it many times and they’ve rehearsed it so often I too can sing it by heart. Yesterday the song took on a new meaning for me. The words somehow made more sense and as I watched tears run down one young girl’s cheeks as she really did cry on behalf of every street child singing with her I tried to understand something of the pain she felt. The twenty-five children huddled on the floor of Garden City, one of Uganda’s biggest and busiest shopping malls, pleaded to their audience to help them and more importantly to notice their friends and family members who remain in the sewers and gutters of Kampala.
They were at the mall to promote the show they will be performing in this weekend (14-16th Sep 07). Peace Child (see blog for information) Their performance yesterday was different, special, sickening all at the same time and for many reasons. Firstly they were performing with someone special- Rita Nkemba.
Rita is the director of DP and for those of you who have had the privilege of meeting her on one of her visits to the UK you will already know she is a lady with a big God given vision, a huge heart and an even bigger voice. It is quite rare for the children to be able to perform with her because she is so busy- imagine what it is like looking after your own children then multiply that by 382 (the amount of children she has in her care) and then you will understand how crazy, mental her life is. Yesterday Rita took time out and came to garden city to see some of her children perform and she sang along with them. The programme was full of crowd pleasers; It’s Raining, He knows my name, Ekitibwa and Ebala, a song sung in Karamajong in which the children do some typically “African” moves. Basically they are gorgeous; they are full of energy; they are African and their smiles are captivating, what more do Muzungu (white) tourists want! But what we hadn’t prepared the audience for was the reality of these little ones lives. Brightly dressed in their choir uniforms with their teeth cleaned and faces washed they look “so cute” yet the words which poured from the mouths told a very different story.
The introduction Rita gave upset some of the children but I could see it pained the audience more. Uncomfortable coughs rose like a descant above Rita’s husky African voice as token gestures were thrown into the baskets infront our kids. Rita reminded us all where these little ones have come from: the streets. The mimicking of begging they were doing was not choreographed; they were not taught how to look distressed, lonely and unloved. The children know exactly how it feels because each of them has experienced the abuse and desperation that comes from living on the streets of Kampala. It was from these streets that God- through Rita Nkemba- saved them.
Being away from home and away from the comforting words of my family and friends I am learning more and more to rely on the words of my Father, sorry Bob not you this time although I do appreciate your support and wisdom more than anything! In Scotland I found myself constantly asking God. “What can I do? The problems are so huge. What can I do? What is the purpose of my life?” I always thought that the answer was going to come in some miraculous way. Maybe with lightening or something exciting like a loud voice in my ear waking me from my sleep. I was always so envious of other Christians that would say, “Oh God spoke to me”, or God told me. I was like “Well hello God, where’s my telephone call?” I even joked with friends that if God could give me a neon sign with what I should do I would be very grateful. It is only latterly that I have realised that I have actually been ignoring all of these things. I’ve been ignoring God’s voice because I was so adamant I wanted it to appear in the places I though it should. Infact I even walked about with the bloomin neon sign in my bag- yip you guessed it, my bible. You see God’s voice and his spirit lives in the word. But here’s the catch you gotta open it to allow it to minister to you. It’s a two-way relationship. If you take time to talk to God he will meet you and talk to you. Maybe not in lightening or dreams (although sometimes he will, who am I to minimise his awesome capabilities) but in his word. He’s already written so many messages in his word. So often we’ll groan “God I just don’t know what you want from me. I don’t know what direction my life should be taking” or with regards to the little children we see so often on the news or on Oxfam adverts we’ll switch channels muttering about the scale of the problem and how it is someone else’s responsibility. Then on Sunday when we go to church we’ll ask God what can we do. So incase you’re still looking for your neon sign, like I was, here it is:
(It was given to me by Rita Nkemba and let me tell you God’s voice doesn’t come any louder and clearer.)
Isaiah 58: Share your food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked clothe him and do not turn away from your own flesh and blood. 11 The lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called repairer or broken walls, restorer of streets with dwellings.
And so dwelling places was born and hundreds of children were given a home and hope for the future. So you’re still asking what is your part. How does this apply to your life? Erica are you telling me to come to Africa? Well no it’s not me that’s telling you anything. It’s God that’s asking you just to open up the gates of communication. I have seen with my eyes what God can do when you allow him to talk to you. So you can decide what to do with this word. You can switch off the computer, just like the times you have turned the channel when the Oxfam adverts are putting you off your tea or you can read on. You might even go a step further and open your bible and allow God to finish this chat with you. The other option is you have is to leave it on the shelf for fear of what he might say, or what responsibility he might give you. I pray that you don’t leave the book on the shelf because it scares me that if you do these children may be forgotten.
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