Day One
After many trains and planes, we made it to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to connect to Uganda. I was napping and woke up to Hannah telling me that she saw a Man Up team I started searching for familiar faces, and found Mitch from Missouri! What a crazy small world!
We arrived in Uganda and were greeted by some new faces and driven to Jinja. As we drove up to the children's home, I could see the kids walking back from school in their familiar orange uniforms. I walked around waiting to see one of my girls' beautiful faces.
Caroline saw me first! She was walking with tow other girls when she spotted me. She dropped her backpack and came running up to me with a giant smile that showed off her beautiful smile. It has almost been one year since Ive seen the girls and she seems to have grown a whole foot! At 12 years old, she is to my shoulder!
Next, we waited for Sharon. I could see the secondary school uniforms start coming thru the gate, and knew it would be soon. Sharon repeated eh same welcome as Caroline! She dropped her bag and came running to me! At around 15, she has stopped growing, but is still my sweet girl. Both girls had thought I was join to be here tomorrow, so I surprised them! We held each other tightly for the rest of the night. The other children would mock them for holding so tightly. I am their mom, and love them like my own. Neither of us minded!
Day Two
I woke up early to see the girls off to school. I packed them a snack and kissed them goodbye. I was heading back up to my room and tripped on a stair. It was like slow motion. I tried to catch my fall, but wasn't fast enough. My mouth hit the cement stair and I heard a crack and felt a foreign object moving around in my mouth. I tasted blood. I instantly knewI had either broken or lost a tooth. When I pull amy hand from my mouth, I felt the broken tooth. I went for help and almost passed out before reaching the clinic. They cleaned me up and after I rested a bit, I was overwhelmed with concerned visitors. What a way to get started! I learned to eat slowly and to one side. Maybe I can loose a couple of pounds!
I woke from a nap to someone knocking on the door. It was a staff member brining Hellen to visit. What a surprise! She lost her little brother just two weeks ago and still managed to show me her smile. We talked and she held me tight. And an hour later, I hearted that her mother was newer. She came to meet me. She was a woman that wore her worries. I could see the tole a hard like had on her. Hellen translated for us. She told me how happy she was that I loved her daughter. I told her how sad I was to hear of her loosing a child. She invited me to her home, and of course I accepted!
Day Three
Where do i start? My morning started with sending Sharon and Caroline off to school. I packed them snacks again and slipped it into their bags. Hannah and I then caught a bod a to Sangalo Baby Home to love on some babies and bring her some infant formula. We were shown a brand new baby that weighed about 3 pounds. Damalie asked me to name him. I named him Brandon. Being so small, he needed a big, strong name to grown into! I prayed over him for protection, health and for provision. I look forward to watching this little man grow!
We then got back on the boda and headed to Hellen's home. Is as so special to see her home and experience a little of her life. As we drove thru the rural village, I could see a red brick clay home. I saw a bright smiling excited girl running towards us. We got for the bod a and were greeted with the only tow stools in the home. As is customary, her mother kneeled down before me, to show me respect while she sat on the red dirt while holding my hand tightly. I knew that declining these seats would be offensive and that she wanted to please me, so we accepted our seats. We talked thru a translator and she again thanked me for loving her daughter. I told her it was an honor!
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