I've been waiting for the day to finally meet my Jackson, the sweet boy I've been writing letters to and receiving letters from the entire time, the boy who I've been financially caring for as well as praying and loving on the other side of the world. It was only natural that I dreamed up the scenario, where and when we would meet, how I would feel, etc. Could I have ever been wrong about everything, so beautifully wrong.
WE MET
As I stepped off the bus a swarm of smiling children rushed up to me. I loved loving every child, but I also scanned every face, asking myself if Jackson was among them. The thought of me not recognizing him suddenly crossed my mind. My most recent photo of him was taken over 10 months ago. I quickly brushed that idea out of my head, that would be awful. Not going to happen.After a few moments of playing with the children I saw a boy rush towards me with great determination. As he reached where I was standing, he fell into me, wrapping his arms around me in a huge bear hug, then leaned back giving me the biggest smile. Looking into his face I wondered if this boy was my Jackson. Although, he didn't really look like him, oh well, I welcomed his sweet loving anyways. This little boy remained beside me for the rest of the day, clinging to me as if he would lose me if he let go.
The next day (Sunday), within seconds of getting off the bus, the same boy who stayed with me for hours the day before came up to take my hand. I loved his presence. While some of the kids easily became overpowering, almost forceful to get my attention (which I will describe more in a future post), my new little friend in his retro teal shirt had a gentle spirit, timid almost. All the while I knew he was with me. During breakfast our team began to discuss how the day would pan out. One thing I kept thinking about was when we would have the opportunity to meet with our sponsor child one on one. To get to know them more, give them some gifts we brought, and just enjoy time alone with them. I definitely started to become a little nervous not knowing who or where my Jackson was.
Luckily, God had some amazing plans, I was not prepared for what was about to happen. This is another example of how what we have planned and how we envision things to happen is too small when compared to the great things God has in store for us. This is the story of how I met my Jackson.
After breakfast I was with a dozen or so of the children when one of the elders approached asking how long we've known each other. I wasn't sure why he asked, I mean I arrived the day before. Who knows. He then asked, 'how long have you known Jackson here?' pointing to my new little friend I made in the retro teal shirt.
A rush of emotion came over me as I grabbed this little boy's shoulders, turning him around to get a good look at his face, asking him his full name. It was then that I realized for the first time that this little boy was my Jackson!!! The same Jackson who I've been looking forward to meeting for two years, and keeping an eye out for for the past 24 hours, fearful I may never meet. I came to the realization that while I didn't recognize my own child, he knew who I was the entire time; which became almost too much to bare. Overwhelmed with happiness, a bittersweet sadness, then came the pure joy. Joy that I had finally found him, that he had been with me the entire time, that we had already started to form an exceptional bond before I even knew he was mine, joy for what was to come for us. I just wanted to enjoy the time we did have left together.
WE LOVED
From the beginning, even when Jackson was the only one knowing what's what we easily and quickly formed an attachment to each other. Once I knew who he was Jackson and I became inseparable. Yes, I love all of the kids and miss them dearly, but Jackson and I have a different kind of love for each other, a relationship that has been forming for two years. Our connection grew fast and strong with little to no effort. We had an unspoken agreement that we wanted to stay together as much as possible. I loved those moments when I would step outside after teaching in one of the classrooms for example and not even have to wait one minute before our eyes met across the road, field or whatever may have been separating us. His contagious smile appeared once our eyes locked and would run to me every time as if we were old friends that hadn't seen each other for years. Jackson is timid and shy with his words but over the couple of days I was able to spend with him I saw that at the same time he has such a large personality. I miss his hugs, him holding my hand
As the days passed the anticipation for the home visitations grew, we were both getting excited. On Saturday when I was sitting outside with Jackson, he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "you're visiting my family tomorrow. My home." I responded with a smile and that I was beyond excited to meet them and see his home, causing Jackson to rest his head on my arm and just smile. This is the kind of connection we have, one that just is there, without trying. The visits were originally scheduled for Sunday but due to the overly packed schedule we had to postpone them until Monday. While unexpected, it ended up working out for the best. It allowed time for us to purchase some much needed supplies we could deliver to our families; Soup, sugar, rice, flour, and beans. Not much, but still something.
Monday came and our team along with each of our kids were more than ready to hit the roads to visit our families. I was expecting and prepared to walk a mile or two, uphill and down, in a pretty heavy downpour. It began as a light sprinkle but soon we realized it was going to be a wall of rain for the rest of the day. The dry red dust soon became a muddy mess, puddles formed fast and pathways turned into streams. I was ready to head out with Jackson but for some reason we were asked to wait over by the church. It wasn't until this point that I learned Jackson didn't live in Kachungwa. He use to but as of a year ago his family moved to a neighboring community almost 7 miles away! No wonder he wasn't wearing the school uniform, I had been asking myself this for a couple days now. It all made sense.
It was then that what I just heard registered with me...my sweet little boy ran/walked over 11 kilometers one way each day to see me.
I can't tell you how much this touches me. I can't believe that an eleven old would, by their own choice walk over 6.8 miles one way through rough terrain and villages one way most of the time alone, to see me. I feel humbled that someone would want to do that for me. He is one incredible young man.
It was decided the best thing for us would be to ride with my dear friend Stephen who works at ARM in the organization's vehicle. I was completely fine with that! Hey, it was pouring down rain, and seven miles is quite a long distance to walk in the mud. This ride gave Jackson and I plenty of one on one time. I loved this drive. Most of the time we sat side by side with his hand in mine while we were able to chat for a bit. During this ride I had a chance to see the school he goes to as well as the usual path he takes to school everyday.
I can't tell you how much this touches me. I can't believe that an eleven old would, by their own choice walk over 6.8 miles one way through rough terrain and villages one way most of the time alone, to see me. I feel humbled that someone would want to do that for me. He is one incredible young man.
It was decided the best thing for us would be to ride with my dear friend Stephen who works at ARM in the organization's vehicle. I was completely fine with that! Hey, it was pouring down rain, and seven miles is quite a long distance to walk in the mud. This ride gave Jackson and I plenty of one on one time. I loved this drive. Most of the time we sat side by side with his hand in mine while we were able to chat for a bit. During this ride I had a chance to see the school he goes to as well as the usual path he takes to school everyday.
JACKSON'S STORY
The front room, which takes up two thirds of the whole home and was the main living space, was filled with simple yet surprisingly comfortable furniture. Alongside one of the walls stood the couch and a matching chair that was dressed up with a lace cloth draped casually over the back. On the opposite side of the room a couple small wooden stools were stacked in the corner to save space next to a long coffee table that held another white lace cloth and handmade woven basket full of bananas. Their walls were plastered with educational posters and newspaper articles, noticing they were all in the English language. It made me wonder if she was learning or if this was something done by one of the kids. As Stephen, Jackson, his aunt and I sat in this room I noticed the door to the back room open just a smidgen. A small child remained partially hidden behind the door as he peeked in to see who was there visiting. I warmly smiled at him but he decided he wasn't sure about me. Opening the door enough to squeeze through he made his way ever so slowly to the couch, eyes never leaving me as if trying to figure out what he was looking at. His unsure face quickly changed to fear as he began crying he ran in the back room slamming the door. Jackson's aunt and Stephen began to laugh at what had just happened. While I wanted to laugh I couldn't help but think I just scared this boy, who probably just though he saw a ghost or something. Like so many children in these rural communities, this little boy was wearing a tattered t-shirt and nothing else. I didn't know until later that he has pants, he just doesn't wear them except on special occasions because he only has one pair. Jackson's aunt tried to put some pants on the boy but he would have nothing of it, in the photo below you can see his attempts to remove them once again. They told me I was the first white person (muzungu) he had ever laid eyes on. At some point Jackson left, the next time I saw him he was pushing his little scared brother towards me because he thought it was hilarious. Isn't that just like an older brother. This of course made the little guy start screaming vehemently wanting to get as far away from me as possible. I couldn't believe Jackson did this with the help of one of the other girls living there.
We both were at a loss for words as we stared into each other's eyes with a knowing look of gratitude. Jackson appeared out from the back room, making his way over to have a seat in between us. She was the first to break the silence, grabbing my hand, looking into my eyes she quietly thanked me in Luganda, praising God that I was sponsoring her Jackson. The whole time I thanked her, for caring for Jackson and raising him the way she has. It was then that she began to tell me about their family...
As their family's story was being told to me, Jackson who was cuddling up next to me tightened his grip and held my arm tight as though he hasn't planning on releasing it. Jackson like so many children lost his mother while she was in labor, thus leaving Jackson and his older brother Isaac to be cared for by his aunt. This woman, how she inspires me. A woman of great faith and love. After Isaac and Jackson's mother past, their father who had little decided to leave them. One thing I learned is that it is not a man's role to take care of children, if the mother dies usually the father will opt to let another family member care for them instead. I couldn't imagine how that would feel, to have your mother die and your father leave you because he doesn't want to raise you. I'm so happy this woman came in to save them from becoming just another statistic. She decided to the best thing for them, to be their parent. She is a single parent in her fifties or sixties and not a parent to just these two boys. She has rescued six children from becoming orphans entering the system. What she has done in their lives shows the love that God calls us to have. To love the least of these, children who would have otherwise been left with nothing. This woman is a parent to six, ages ranging from 16 and 1.5 years old. I find her remarkable.
The connection that was seemingly instantaneous between Jackson's aunt and I was one brought about because of the one person we have in common and the fact that we love him dearly. We both knew without saying anything that this commonality was there, although, we both made the choice to vocally acknowledge it. After telling their family's story, she took a moment to ask how old I was. Up until this point she believed that I was there on behalf of my parents, she assumed because of how young I look I was too young to sponsor Jackson on my own. Once she figured I was a 24 year old sponsoring Jackson on my own, it was a whole different story. Her love and appreciation grew far beyond what I expected. Tears flowed freely as she again embraced me.
If I could describe every detail about this visit I would, but simply put the room was filled with smiles, laughter, tears of thanksgiving and joy, and happiness. When those long silent moments would come our smiles to each other spoke volumes beyond any words could express. Those small gestures of embracing and grabbing the other's hand meant so much. Near the end of my stay Stephen was called outside leaving me with this family that I love dearly in silence. Jackson was a huge help when it came to the translating but all in all during this time our lack of understanding what each other was saying didn't hold us back from understanding completely what we felt and wanted to get across to the other. Jackson's other aunt arrived around this time and explained in the Lunganda language that 'even though we do not know what the other is saying, you are one happy woman. We know how much love you have for our Jackson and we want to tell you how much we love you for that.' This accurately described is all, how it went, and how I feel. What an emotional day with the good, the sad and the amazing. There was no point in holding back how I felt. I wanted to express to them how much I appreciate them and love them.
Below are the two oldest kids in Jackson's home. His older brother Isaac is on the left. Love that kid!
- John Piper
Until next time!
-Melanie
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