Altar

By Mike Heaton

Today I looked into the eyes of Christ.

I received a nice camera for Christmas this past year.  Fortunately, some other team members taught me a few pointers and I became the go-to camera guy this week.  I had to be ready to snap a photo whenever a good opportunity presented itself.  It is a unique perspective seeing the work of FoDU through a camera lens.  It captures incredible moments in time as well as a range of activities and emotion.  As of last night, I thought my favorite photo was of the team captain from Laroo Primary School drinking from the championship trophy in the pouring rain after our tournament.  It wasn't my best photo but it definetly reflected the pure joy of the moment.   It was my favorite photo until today.

I have had the honor or traveling with Mike Warneke on many trips over the past 14 years.  At the end of every trip, Mike talks about building an altar.  He references bible passages where people build altars to remember big moments in history and moments where God was present in the lives of the community.  Mike encourages us to build our own "altars" so that we can remember this journey.

Today, one photo became my altar for this trip.  We visited Laroo Primary School this morning.  Laroo is probably our partner school with the most needs.  In addition to the dilapidated buildings, Laroo hosts an annex for hearing impaired children.  Many of them are orphans.

To be clear, these are orphaned children with a serious disability in one of the poorest nations in world in a region recovering from a horrific war.  In other words, today I was blessed to be in the presence of the very least among us.  Today I got to look Christ directly in the eyes.

Now, before I give the impression that this was some magical moment of awe and excitement, let me explain the situation better.  When a girl is a hearing impaired orphan in one of the poorest and war stricken nations in the world, she becomes a target for predators.  One major problem at Laroo is men sneaking onto campus at night and raping the girls.  Without the ability to hear, how can she know someone is coming?  Without electricity for lights at night, how can she call for help in the dark if all she knows is sign language?  Without family, who can she turn to for help after she is assaulted?  Who will demand justice on her behalf?   Without money, how can she get to a hospital for an examination, pay for an investigation and hire a lawyer to defend her?  She can't.  She can't.  She can't.  She is the perfect prey for a sexual predator.  They know it and they sexually assault these precious children because they know there will be absolutely no consequences.

Today I looked into the eyes of Christ.

This is Acayus.  As her hand shows, she is in P-2 (2nd Grade).  This photo is my altar for this trip to Uganda.  I will frame it and hang it over my desk so I can look at it everyday to remind me why I work for Fields of Dreams Uganda.   I will work tirelessly to raise funds to build a fence around her school. We will get electricity to her dorm.  Our Ugandan staff will advocate for her.   They will help her set goals in life and create a plan so she can achieve them.  They will do everything they can to turn her very real nightmares into positive and life affirming dreams about her future.

Today I looked into the eyes of Christ.  Fortunately for me, I had my camera ready.