A Beautiful Dress for Eva

Adrienne, Uncle Francis' wife, replied to my question about whether or not I should think about coming to Uganda.

In her response, she thought that before I make a decision, she could give me all the information she has about the situation and that i should try to skype with the kids.

We set up a skype date tomorrow!

She gave me a very detailed play-by-play of this last week which blessed me more than she will know.

I just thought I would highlight some things she shared for those of you that are walking through this with me so that you can know what happened. There is some pretty interesting and beautiful stuff here:

"On Monday night around 8 pm the Alma House kids were all playing and then two of the girls, Naka (Eva) & Irene began teasing Sherif that so&so loves him and that he loves so&so until the point where he picked up a rock and threw it at Naka, hitting her head. It must have been a sharp rock with a lot of force because it opened the scalp pushing all of the skin up, and caused a LOT of bleeding. Mama Jane was around and after trying to figure out what was going on went up to the clinic, calling Justine to come. They also brought Sherif so he could understand the severity of the situation, although he really did, or would have, regardless of this step (in hindsite).

Justine couldn't handle the wound so called Milly. They tried to get her blood pressure and vitals stable then Milly started stitching but it was very difficult because of the amount of blood. She seemed stable so they had her stay at home in Mama Jane's room overnight. She was on a drip and slept throughout the night. In the morning her blood pressure was falling and they realized she had to go to the hospital right away.

Once at Mulago (big hospital) the fight for proper treatment continued. Uncle Willy said there are people everywhere and the doctors and nurses are just desensitized. One man died on the floor while he was waiting to be seen. Naka got admitted but didn't really get much else that day and even getting the medicines was hard.

That night Milly and I had devotions with Alma House and we talked to them about trying to be compassionate towards each other during this emotional time – that some will be feeling sad or scared or happy all at different times, so they should be sensitive to each other and also remember to treat each other as they would like to be treated. Then we also talked about forgiveness, encouraging them to think about how they would feel if they had been the one to throw the rock and remembering the things they have also done either intentionally or by accident that they have regretted. We talked of how God it is that God doesn't remember them anymore – that He chooses to not hold them against us. Then we had a good prayer time praying for Naka, asking God to forgive us of anything we remembered we'd done, etc.

Tuesday morning first thing we called the hospital and Naka was much improved. She was able to walk assisted and could talk. She talked to Francis on the phone and he told her that Sherif was so sorry and asked her if she forgave him and she said that she did. Then Francis prayed with her and for her on the phone. All day long her condition fluctuated being fine then bad. The doctors said that she didn't need the surgery after all and we all thought it was an answer to prayer that she was healed but it turns out it was probably negligence of some kind (not caring or being lazy or something). It was also a fight all day to get her the proper care. They transfered her to the neurological ward but there didn't seem to be any surgeons and the nurses said they didn't have the right needles for the medication and Mama Jane couldn't leave Naka to go get any other meds. We sent Mama Ssanyu to be with them and also take some stuff for them and this was a huge encouragement to Mama Jane. As the evening went on things got worse and worse.

As Naka was dying she saw children coming to get her....it seems the Lord had sent other little ones to escort her into His presence. She told the children that she was coming but her mother is keeping her back then she started telling Mama Jane to let her go. She wanted to go and she kept telling them to let her go, that they've (the children) come for her. She also said she was going to put on a beautiful dress. So she left this earth with the anticipation of being clothed in beauty and of being with other children in the presence of the Lord. It was God who took her home to be with Him.

Eventually Francis & Willy came to the house and all/most of the Bethany kids were gathered in the front yard as Francis then addressed them to let them know what had happened (they knew but to get the facts straight so there would be no rumours or mis information). Then he talked about it being an accident and that we as Bethany forgive Sherif. He talked to the children for some time. The children all said in union that “we forgive”and we also sang a song together at which point I went and got Sherif from his bedroom to join us on the front porch. He just knelt beside Francis and was held by him as he cried.

This afternoon we went to Alma and the kids were all busy with various things and we were told that they were doing much better. They'd all slept in the house last night. The girls have even taken some of Naka's clothes that fit them so they're more comfortable now. Mama Jane said that Sherif is even more close to her heart now."