These are their stories.....

Meet Damalie. 

An amazing woman after God's heart.

I was so encouraged by her faith and understanding of God's will in her life. 

You can see the love she has for these babies.

This is Damalie with one of the twins, Sara.

And this is her with the other twin, Semily.

I wanted to bring her home with me. Not sure if my parents would be too thrilled about that one ;)

Love her joy.

I was so blessed to have met her. She truly touched my life and was such an encouragement.

Damalie has loved babies ever since she was a little girl. She told us that she used to love playing with the babies in her community. She would even sneak out of her house to go help with the babies, and then she would come home and get spanked for going to play with them. She bacame a nanny for a little girl. She loved this little girl like her own. While working for the family, the little girl got sick and died. Damalie explained that she didn't understand why God would take a little girl so dear to her. She said God told her, "You are not God. You do not know the number of days one lives." Through her faith in the Lord, she was able to get through this. She met this lady who became her mentor. She became very close to her. This lady died and Damalie once again questioned God. She said God told her once again, "You are not God. You do not know the number of days one lives." As she got older, she felt God calling her to open her home to abandoned and sick babies. Her and her husband have five children of their own. While we were there, she had 13 babies in the home. She has a few women to help her during the day, but she told me at night it is just her. I can't imagine how she does it! Thankfully, recently someone was hired to help her some at night. A lot of the babies are sick. Some are HIV positive, some are carriers, some have TB, and some were just abandoned. Damalie's strength is incredible. She really touched my heart. She was telling me that she was hoping to adopt all the babies out eventually and I jokingly asked her if she could adopt me. I would love to work beside her. One thing she said really stuck with me. A lot of these babies are really sick and will live short lives. Her response to this is, "Either I nurse them back to health on Earth or nurse them to health in glory." How awesome is this answer? She trust that God is in complete control. She explained that it is very expensive to care for this many babies, but that God always provides day by day. What an incredible God we serve! I hope to go back to Sangaalo Baby Home and work with Damalie at some point. I would love to be a witness to all that God is doing in her life. One of our team members received an email from her the other day that really encouraged me. This is it:

Dear Friends,

I hope all is well with you. Sorry I havent been in touch. Alot has

been going on. Jenni has TB. At the same time their dad came to visit

and wanted them back. Probation said yes, so we have been on that too.

Besides my brother is in the hospital, had a biopsy and waiting for

results.Please pray with me that it isnt cancer.

We have a baby boy 2 days old. His mother is 17 years and doesnt want

anything to do with him. She tried to kill him in the house after

birth and the neighbours rescued him. She didnt say who the father is.

You can imagine the World we are in.

Thank God who used a friend of Sangaalo to help me be able to hire

someone to help me at night. It would be too much for me. It just

happened at the right time. God is amazing.

Am also expecting 2 more a 3 month and 14 month. I guess thats how it

is and always will be, they come and go accordirg to the will of God

and to the best interest of the child according to Probation. I can

only be with them for the time Gof purposes. Please continue praying

for us. I try to keep the number down, but what would Jesus do?

We had a VO team on Monday and we thank God who blessed us through

them. God met some more of the physical needs through them. We now

have a washing machine, just happy and grateful. Glory to Him

Thank you for your prayers. Together we are ministering Love

Blessings

Damalie

 Keep Damalie and her ministry in your prayers. If you want to know more about her or are interested in donating to her or adopting, email me at carolineflippin@gmail.com.

The Conflicted Heart

Ever since I've been home from Uganda, I simply cannot stop thinking about what I've seen and experienced. The last time I was this conflicted with thoughts was during a heartbreak, so this can only mean one thing: my heart is broken. This sounds so cheesy and cliche, but it's amazing how much love I can have for these little children I knew for one day, two days, and if I was lucky, three. And to have this big of a love and be deprived to keep giving it is heart wrenching. I knew that I would have such a great time, but never did I think I would come home and constantly be thinking about where I want to call home. Thinking about the hard way of life I would have if I completely changed my surroundings. I just never imagined that I truly would want to move there. I would jokingly say it out loud but these feelings I have are not a joke. Being in this position is so hard. It's hard because I really have no idea what is in the future for me. It scares me because God calls us to live uncomfortably. He doesn't say it will be easy, but He promises never to leave. And although I hold on to this hope and believe it, I can't help but to think what I might have to give up if I choose this lifestyle. The dream of falling in love or having my own children one day. Being a mom is something I have been excited about my whole life. But what if i completely changed my life around? What would happen to these dreams? I know it sounds selfish but it's my struggle right now. My selfishness. What I have seen is not something that I can walk away from. Leaving the different ministries was hard, but honestly, when I would leave I would always tell myself this is not goodbye, but see you later. It was a consistent thought that just kept popping up in my head.  I can bring hope by Gods grace. I can bring love to those who don't have that earthly. I have always really deep down longed to know what it felt like to have to completely rely on the Lord for life. To not know that the next day everything I needed would be right in front of me. I know this seems weird but I so earnestly want to be as close to my Savior as I can, and my life so easily pulls me from Him. I feel and I know it. I get so caught up in my materialism here and when I do this, I am missing the overflow of joy from trusting in the Lord. But, while in Uganda, I saw this in the people. I saw them having nothing but being satisfied because of their strong faith in God. They hear Him and they are so joyful to know Him and so thankful for His provision. I found myself envious. I want that relationship with God! I want to have nothing and everyday be a miracle from God! We miss this so much in America! I'm not saying by any means that living in America is not good. It's great. I just long for more. I don't want to live comfortably because then I'm too comfortable to do the hard things. I don't want to live easily being able to get things I need. I want to have to pray and pray and pray and believe in God to provide. I believe in the sovereignty of God which is why I know my friends in Uganda are okay. Yes, they don't have near as much as I do here, but they find contentment in it with Gods help. Yes, there is pain, but God wipes their tears away and replaces it with happiness. They truly get it because they are completely transformed. Something that I have missed because I am distracted. I am not saying that I am moving to Uganda. I am not saying that I don't want to live here. I'm just simply conflicted in what God has planned for me. I also recognize that in America, there are a lot of needs as well. Which I want God to completely use me no matter where on the map I am. But I also believe God calls certain people to minister in other areas of the world. When I was in 8th grade, my parents went to Africa. They came home and told me stories of it, and in my head I was drawn to it. Since then, every time I would hear about work being done there, I would be interested and pulled in. I would sit and do research and learn as much about doing ministry over there as i could. My heart would get so excited and I knew one day I would go on a mission trip there. But maybe God wants more from me. I know He is good and I believe He is who He says He is. But, the unknown is scary. Because, I just might live in Uganda one day. And that scares me. Or I just might live in America and take short trips to this place I love. And that scares me. But, I am choosing to live as my dear friends there live. I am choosing to walk by faith. I don't know where my path will take me, but I will conquer my fear of taking leaps of faith because the leap I took to Uganda just might forever change my life in a way I never would have thought possible. And just maybe my blessings will turn from material blessings to the deep heart felt blessings received from simply saying, "Yes. I will go. I will love. I will trust. And, I will believe."

I can't. He can.

All day long, I have been saying I can't wait to be in my home and then I pull in my driveway and my heart sinks. I'll admit, different times while I was gone, I missed my culture. I missed my hot shower, good food, and comfort living situation, but now that I have it, my heart is aching. I did not think I would be effected this bad. My dad got me chick fil a by request but when it was put in front of me, I ate two bites and was full. While my sister prayed over our food, without even realizing it, I lost it. I started bawling uncontrollably. I love my home, but I can't help but to feel a part of me missing. All I want to do is walk outside and wrap my kids in my arms, but I can't. And this kills me. I miss the people. I miss the joy. I miss the love. I miss Uganda. I miss the way my hand was always held and the way a hug was received every minute. I miss how much a little smile from my face made a child's day. I miss the excitement from people as muZungos drive by. I miss the way I was dirty and didn't even care. I miss singing songs with my new family. I miss seeing the real faith all around me. I miss the physical dependency of God. I miss my life in Uganda and I miss the void that it filled in my heart. I'm in need of prayers as I wrestle with God as to why I'm sitting on my comfortable bed so far from the place I fell in love with. Pray for my strength as I patiently wait on God to lead me wherever He wants me. Pray for the culture shock and that I would never forgot I serve a God who is all powerful and has every person I fell in love with wrapped up in His arms. Pray that I would never forget all that He has taught me about His love and pray that I would never cease thanking Him for allowing me to do His will and serve Him in a country that has forever changed me and that I have truly fallen in love with. I need strength. I need peace. I need comfort. I can't. He can.