In Uganda, people (particularly people with very low incomes) do not celebrate birthdays (or Christmas or other holidays, for that matter). Every day is a struggle to keep children fed and to pay school fees- there is no extra money for celebrating birthdays. Many children in Uganda don't even know when their birthday is. Many mothers don't know the birth dates of their children. It is just a reality here where, for many, life is a struggle every single day.
Brian was raised in a home where his mother worked very hard to provide for her children. He did not grow up knowing that children were supposed to have birthday parties. Cake, candles, balloons, goody bags- all foreign to him and his siblings.
However, since Joanna has been in Uganda, she has found out the birth dates of the children in her organization and she has done something special to celebrate them on their day. A few days ago Greg asked Joanna if we could take Brian out for supper for his birthday. She gladly accepted on his behalf, but when she tried to call him to tell him, she was unable to get ahold of him for more than a day. Finally, yesterday she walked to Brian's house to find him to tell him about supper. It turns out Brian's phone had gotten broken and was no longer usable.
It is amazing how God works! You see, just the day before yesterday, Greg had called Joanna and asked if it would be ok if we give Brian a smart phone. We have so many generous donors at home that give us phones that we can bring here to bless people. Joanna was excited that Brian would have a good phone and Greg was excited that the two of them will now be able to communicate everyday via Whats App.
So tonight Joanna picked up Brian and met us at Cafe Javas for supper. We all ordered our food and once it arrived, we started eating and chatting away. Brian had a very large plateful (he is a big, strong young man), but when the rest of us were done eating, he had only eaten a very small amount. He asked if it would be ok if he had the rest packaged up to take home and we all told him yes. He then said that he wanted to take it home for his mother and his brother. We just looked at him, with tears running down our cheeks- what an amazing young man who always looks out for the more vulnerable around him.
After supper, we ordered cake and the Cafe Java staff sang Happy Birthday to Brian. Of course he saved most of the cake to take home as well.
Then came the moment when Greg gave him the phone. I am having trouble even describing this moment to you. Initially, there was a look of utter disbelief on his face and he kept asking repeatedly, "Is this really for me?" Then he got up and hugged Greg, sat down for about a minute staring at the phone and got up to hug Greg again. He was absolutely speechless. As we sat and chatted for quite a while longer, Brian would put the phone away in the bag, but only for about a minute before he would take it out again and stare at it. The only words he kept saying were "I can't believe it."
Things that are "throw aways" to us in North America can be such a huge blessing to people here.
With each new part of the evening: the meal, singing Happy Birthday, the cake, the gift, Brian kept saying, "This is a first for me." He kept thanking us over and over and over.
Little did he know, we had already been blessed to overflowing at the privilege of spending his "1st birthday ever" with him.
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| That is one happy young man there...and his very proud Pop! |
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