lee

Exactly three years ago I started this blog. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined where it would have taken me, especially considering it was supposed to simply be a way to let my friends and family read about my first trip to Uganda.

One of the nicest things that has happened thanks to the blog has been the connections I have made. People I would not have otherwise met have found me and have thus found out about Change the Truth. Cyberspace has definitely contributed to the expansion and growth of CTT in this way.

One of my favorite things to do on the blog is introduce the children from the orphanage, as well as the people who are now lending them a hand…. especially the young people who are doing so.

One of my earliest young supporters was Lee. Read a past post about him here. Now Lee is a junior at the Pembroke Hill School and is the president of the art club there. (He is a very talented artist.) I recently received an email from him asking if the art club could do an “art supply drive” for the kids at the orphanage. His idea is to encourage art students to donate new and gently used supplies like sketchpads, brushes, paints, pencils and pastels. Pretty great, no? I just love it when young people come up with ways to help other young people. In this case it is a way of connecting art-loving kids from Kansas City with art-loving kids from Kajjansi!


Lee has grown up around altruism. His kind parents have set the right example for him. His mom works at Operation Breakthrough; from a very young age Lee always tagged along and did whatever he could to help out. Now that he is old enough to establish his own set of beliefs and commitments, he is taking a stand to help less fortunate children who happen to share his passion for art. Bravo, Lee!

In my dreams, I see Lee sitting across the table from Nicky at the orphanage in Uganda. They are trading ideas about shadowing and shading, color and design. Lee is very tall, his hair is usually an unusual color, his clothes are cool, his skin is pale, he has a dog, he has his parents. Nicky is slight with closely cropped hair, dark skin, torn clothing and a very sad past. Nevertheless, the boys’ legs bump against each other under the table. They laugh and joke around. They look up from their work occasionally and nod encouragement to each other. When they fasten their eyes on each other, they are each filled up with a sense of wholeness and goodness and fellowship. And everything suddenly just feels kind of right.