ADHE, MY DAUGHTER

In 1999, Dave and I went to Uganda for the wedding of Sam, our Ugandan son. When he and his fiancee picked us up at Entebbe airport, Adhe walked into our hearts. She was a lovely and sweet girl, 23 years old.

During the 3 weeks we were in their area, we had a lot of time with them, except for their honeymoon days. Dave and I were involved in the wedding preparations, we planted gifts in their house where Sam had been living for some time. We brought some items from our home and bought some over there. It was very exciting for us. So happy to see Sam so blessed, so content.

When the four of us were in Kampala, walking through one of the market places for electric bits and pieces, while Sam and Dave were hitting the shops, Adhe and I stayed outside, and she always had her arms around me and her head on my shoulder.

Over time, she talked about her life, and it was a heart toucher.

She had been abandoned by her mother very shortly after birth and left with her dad's family. That grandma, her dad's Mom, loved her and took her into her place and cared for her. One day some robbing thugs came into the village and, at some point, Grandma, inside her home, was shot. When folks came to check on Grandma the next day, she was found dead... Adhe, about 2-years old, was wrapped on Grandma's back, not injured, but now deprived of that love.

After that she was shifted from family to family. When about 8, Compassion International took her on as a child. This gave Adhe schooling and helpful support. As a result, she has been a social worker in the Bush near where she lives, giving her life and time beyond belief in serving Compassion, grateful for all they did for her.

After that shopping stretch in Kampala, we were riding back to the orphanage where they lived [where Dave and I had worked when missionaries]. Dave and Sam were in the front seat. Adhe and I were in the back, and she laid down with her head in my lap and just clung to me during that long drive. Dave and I were leaving the next day.

She didn't say anything about her feelings at that moment, but wrote a letter after we came home. I still have it. In it she described what she had been sensing and going through when Dave and I entered her life. She thanked Dave for being such a good Dad and showing Sam how to treat his wife... opening doors, holding hands, helping in practical ways... not always a "Ugandan" way of life. Sam had lived with us over there, which was how we met him when he was the House and Yard Boy on the property we rented near Kampala in '94. Then, when, in '96, miraculously the Lord provided a visa for him, and he lived with us here for 2-1/2 years, while we put him at a community college. During those years, both there and here, he saw how a man should treat his wife. ANYHOW... she was one grateful young lady and very appreciative.

What she said also in the letter, buried her in my heart in a way I had never expected, ever, ever...

The reason she had clung to me at the market and in the car was because she now knew she had a Mom.

Believe me, she does.

Right now she's suffering with migraine, and my heart wants to be in Uganda so I can just hold her, be with her. I know others are caring for her, and I'm not particularly skilled with their way of cleaning and cooking, so I couldn't step up and do a lot of practical help for her ... but that doesn't mean my heart isn't there. That I don't "see" my arms around her.

She is 36 today. And I wanted to share about her. She's special... and the amazing part? She thinks I am. She respects and loves me no matter how I'm acting or what I'm doing or saying... or not.

And why?

Because I'm the Mom God has given her.

What a blessing to me.