What a busy week. Its been awhile since my last entry but I haven't had any access to internet let alone enough time to sit down and type up what's going on. So be prepared for a long entry...maybe grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee and a snack before going on. I left Kampala two Tuesdays ago in the morning. Alice had never really told me a start time for the morning but I figured since I was supposed to be in town at 8, we would probably be leaving their house around 7. I was to ride into work with Livingstone where I would then meet Lindah, one of TERREWODE's staff who was assigned to escort me on the 8 hour bus ride to Soroti just to turn around and ride back the next day. Well, we ended up leaving their house in Kira at about 7:40...and getting to town about 8:30. I quickly found Lindah who had been waiting for quite awhile and we each hopped on a boda (motorcycle taxi). Me with all my luggage for the next 2 weeks and Lindah with her tiny overnight bag. And this is why I brought a hiking backpack as my luggage. You know, Ugandans carry all sorts of things on the back of bodas. Anything from a bed frame to a welded gate to a mattress and several suitcases. However, I am not so skilled and I was nervous enough just balancing myself on there. Let me tell you. Boda rides are thrilling. You are not only fearing for your life as you weave in and out of traffic but you're also having a heck of a good time doing it.

So we get to the bus park and I don't really know what I was expecting but as soon as you hop off the boda (actually, before we were quite there we had guys jogging alongside of us asking us where we were heading), you are flooded with men wanting to take you to the right bus (probably the bus line they work for). And we enter this crowded "parking lot" of a good 25 coach buses all lined up and people bustling all about and we're following this guy and avoiding getting hit by buses starting to move and we finally get to our bus, pay the man who helped us find it, pay the drivers for our seats, and hop on. We made fantastic time. So, we were a bit early and just got to sit in the bus (to make our long drive even longer). I was pretty excited though for the experience. And very grateful that Lindah had to come. She didn't mind too much either. Not that the ride is particularly fun but I think she was really looking forward to 2 days out of the office. She let me have the window seat and I just enjoyed watching 7 hours of the country pass me by. I'm honestly not sure I've ever sat so still. There wasn't really any room to move so I pretty much sat in the same exact position the entire time.

We stopped frequently for people to get off and new passengers to get on. Our first time we stopped in a little town a flood of people came running at us with grilled bananas and cassava, chicken and beef on sticks, sodas and waters...all sorts of things. The were all pushing against the side of the bus and trying to sell their goods and it was absolutely insane. I wanted to take a picture so bad because I found it hilarious but figured they probably would not appreciate a picture being taken by a mzungu who had no intention of buying anything from them...especially the meat they had been carrying around on that skewer for who knows how many hours. Anyways, this occurred several more times throughout our trip and it continued to be just as funny to me. Well, at least for the next 4 hours or so. Then it just became kind of annoying. At one point we pull over on the side of the road and people start pouring out and heading behind bushes. Lindah looks at me and asks, so do you want to use the bathroom? Women were heading to the left of the bushes and men were heading to the right. Kids were just kind of going on the side of the road. We both decided we could hold it the next 6 hours. Personally I was afraid I would get out to go and they would leave me behind by mistake. That would be disappointing. Emerging from the bushes only to find a deserted roadside.

Well, by God's grace we made it all the way to Soroti. And in great time. 7 hours instead of 8. Which is one reason why it's by God's grace we made it ok. Maybe it's the conditions of the roads, maybe it's just being on a huge bus, but it sure felt like we were booking it. The roads were good for the first part of the trip. And then slowly got worse and worse. But, weather conditions were good, the roads were dry, and we never got stuck. I kept the window open the whole time even though the air was moving so fast it was literally flapping my cheeks and eyelids but it was either that or suffer on a stuffy crowded bus. We get to Soroti and call Moses, the CLIDE team leader. CLIDE is the organization that the Timothy Retreat was with. After some misunderstanding as to where we were and where we were telling him we were so he could pick us up, he found us. And was extremely welcoming. Bought us some water and took me to get settled in at the Starlight Guest House where our team would be staying. We decided it would be good if he just let me relax for the evening and he would pick me up the next morning.

The evening was good. I was starving because I really hadn't eaten all day and the lunch I ordered when I arrived at 5:30 ended up coming at 8:45 at night when I finally decided they had forgotten and was getting into bed to sleep and forget about being hungry. The next morning at the dining room I met a man named Julius from International Aid Services. He sits on the Policy Team in Sweden for the organization and was staying at the Starlight with the regional Program Manager and the Country Director. They were working on water, sanitation, and food security...pretty cool. They were leaving that morning otherwise I would've requested to sit and talk with them some more! International news was playing on TV and they had an interesting special on mental health and depression. They were talking about stigma and traditional care and task shifting. Really interesting and really relevant to a project I had done last term on mental health in Uganda and South Africa.

Well when Moses arrived to pick me up for the day, he got out of the car and I thought he was going to shake my hand to say good morning but instead gave me this humungous bear hug. I was totally not expecting it but man did a hug ever feel good. It just felt so comforting. I didn't really know I needed that until then. He looked at me and asked how my night was and if I was able to relax and stuff. And then said, you look so refreshed! And then he started laughing and apologized as he said I looked much better than I had yesterday when he first met me. No surprise there. Towards the end of the bus ride I had taken a tissue and wiped part of my face to see the damage. Let's just say the tissue was dark brown with only a light wiping of my cheek...I decided to not continue wiping my face and instead just leave it as it was...otherwise I would probably just make it worse. It was good (?) to have someone be so honest...tell me how I really look.

Anyways, he picked me up and after some brief stops we headed to the flying school to wait for the rest of my team to arrive. The flight was delayed so we were able to sit and talk for awhile. It's incredible how easy he is to talk to. I felt so comfortable and so at home being with him. It was a blessing after having so much trouble over the past month establishing any sort of connection with people. He told me about the civil war in Soroti that occurred around 1990.  I knew about it because the effects of it played a big part in fistula in the region but no one had ever told me the stories of it. And here I was hearing it from a man who had lived through it. I know I don't fully understood even a small portion of what happened but from what I do know, it was an awful time. The scars are still in the minds of the people here though peace has returned to the area and healing is taking place. The details are difficult to swallow. You wonder how things like this could be happening in such the recent past. I don't know why it is surprising to me but I was pretty shocked listening to him. At the same time, so thankful that he was telling me.

Well, a little while later, a small plane landed and out emerged Steve, Laurie, Arlene, Bethany, and Sam. And boy was it good to see them. I couldn't stop telling them how excited I was about their coming and it was great to catch up with them and hear about their travels and answer their questions about my time so far in Uganda.

He took us to the guest house and allowed us to have a few hours to relax and for the team to freshen up. Sam and I decided to go on a walk and then met Okoche Simon Peter Jesse (no, I didn't forget the commas...that's one person. The naming system here...it's just too much to even try and understand). We talked with him for a long time. Really sweet guy. One of the older Timothy students that would be attending the retreat later in the week. After several hours we headed to the CLIDE office and met a lot of the staff. It was a great time. By that night, I already loved them and felt blessed to be with such an awesome godly group of men and women. The team headed back to the guest house for a bit and I headed out on a walk with Dr. Moses. It was pretty dark by the end and flashes of lightning was our only light. It was enjoyable. He was telling me about his family and how his second child (who is 5 but is the size of a 2 year old. Absolutely adorable.) was born in the US so even though both of her parents are Ugandan, she isn't and has to be filed on dependency paperwork until she turns 18 when she then has to either apply for a visa to live here or she can choose to live in the states). It was weird to me that his daughter wouldn't be a Ugandan. Anyways not sure that was important. I just found it interesting.

That night we had dinner with the staff at their office. There wasn't any electricity (it had gone out earlier in the day and just never came back) so we spent the evening with them sitting in the dark with little lanterns around to see by. It was a good and enjoyable time of fellowship. I couldn't stop thinking how blessed I was to be with them. And how much it reminded me of being in Kenya. Surrounded by people whose faith is clearly integrated into each and every aspect of their lives.

Thursday was pretty laid back. We met at the CLIDE office in the morning for their staff devotions and then had hours upon hours of orientation. Great information but between the team being totally jet lagged and sitting in a hot stuffy office listening and taking notes for hours, it got a little long. Later in the day we were paraded around to different district leaders' offices and even the police department. Moses said the police chief appreciates when he knows about visitors to Soroti. It was a little intimidating to enter into the police office. They carry such big guns. It just doesn't seem like a place you want to willingly put yourself in. But, we think it also gives CLIDE a good reputation with authorities if Moses takes us to see all these people. Besides, everyone seemed genuinely happy that we visited them. The district leader even told us we were an ok bunch as we weren't the ones who had colonized them. Also assured us our safety while in Soroti as 6 Americans is a big group and he knows if even 1 American is hurt on foreign soil that our government would be landing in Soroti the next day...somehow I think he over estimates on that one...

Well, this is going to be a long post. I'm sorry. But it's been two weeks and so much has happened. However, I will just talk generally about the week from now on rather than go day by day. Because I think that would bore you. Especially since it bores me just thinking about having to type it out.

It was a good week. Tiring in a lot of ways. I was walking down the hall the other day and just started cracking up. Sam was looking at me like I was nuts and soon Bethany caught up and asked what she missed. Sam said he had no idea that I had just started laughing. Basically...you know you're a little tired and starting to lose your mind when you begin to laugh at absolutely nothing. I could not stop cracking up and nothing had happened. In fact, the only thing that had even been going through my mind was how ridiculous it was for the workers at the guest house to leave every unoccupied guest room door open all day because by the time a guest does get there at night, the room is full of mosquitoes. The first night I think I killed 13 or so. I'm pretty good at catching and squishing them with one hand...I know, something to put on my resume. Point is, that thought...apparently I found it funny. Funny enough to laugh out loud and continue cracking up...and it's not even mildly funny. Anyways, I said I would spare the day by day details so I should probably spare you nonsense paragraphs like this.

So the kids were supposed to arrive for the retreat on Friday around lunch time. Well noon came and went. And so did one, two, three, four, five, six...and then around 7 pm, kids started to arrive. As it was getting dark out. These kids had spent 7 and 10 hours traveling to get there. They all came on trucks. Think cattle trucks. All standing up and packaged in the open back like sardines. Others were riding in Dr. Val's truck...stuffed inside and out. They all started pouring out of the vehicles and running to the bore hole. No wonder. Those poor kids. And not only that, but Elder Zachary (the man who translated the entire Bible from original texts to Ngkaramojong...took him 23 years.) rode standing in the cattle truck along with one of the teachers who had her 1 year old with her. I can't imagine traveling that long in those conditions. It was one of those things that you would be like, wow this is so cool! What an adventure!...for the first 20 minutes. But 10 hours…!

Anyways, their late arrival kind of messed up the schedule and put us behind from the very beginning. Which made some aspects of the retreat really stressful. And just plain unpleasant to try and accomplish...such as distributing name tags to all 175 students, asking them questions to ensure that their information is correct, and taking their pictures. This process ended up taking 3 days to get through. It's tough with the language barrier. And with the way the kids change their names from year to year. Everything moves that much slower. It was good to finally get that straightened out...we were excited thinking that now we will be able to really get everyone's names...unfortunately, few actually wore their nametags and even fewer wore them so that their names faced out. I don't know why but they seemed to like to wear them backwards. Oh well.

The retreat was overall a success. Typically CLIDE holds 2 separate retreats for the Timothy students and splits them primary and secondary school. This year, for a variety of reasons, they decided to hold 1 retreat with all of the students. So it was super busy and go-go-go all the time. It seemed normal to me coming from Chelten missions trips but I think the team here felt it was too hectic and not enough time to themselves nor enough time getting to know the students. The combination retreat though had a positive effect as the primary kids could look up to the secondary students and the secondary students could act as positive role models and take some responsibility for the well-being of the primary kids.

So a typical day was for us to be over at Light Secondary School by 8 am for devotions with the kids. By this time, they had already been up for several hours, exercised with the group, and cleaned up. After devotions we would head to take tea with the teachers and staff while the kids would take their tea outside. We tried to mix with them a little but it was difficult given the lay out of the venue and the way in which we were treated as honored guests.

After tea, we would head to either the primary or secondary teaching session depending on the day. The theme of the retreat was peace and the topics covered peace with God, peace with others, and peace within ourselves. The CLIDE staff and some pastors that had come led the sessions and they were great. Just good at speaking and relating to the kids. Much better than we were with both the language and cultural barriers. Each day we also had small group discussions which we were each assigned to lead. This was the dreaded part of my day. My primary group didn't really speak English (and surprisingly I couldn't speak ngkarimojong)  and although we had a translator, it more ended up that the translator just kind of carried the group along. My secondary group was impossible to get to speak. I had a few students who would participate and carry the conversation...which was good because I could only say so many things before I was so flustered at the lack of response that I ended up with nothing else to say. There were some very awkward moments of silence as we all stared at each other. I think part of the problem was that there was such a wide range of understanding in the group. Secondary groups encompass S1-S6 plus those in university. So you have a span of a good 6-8 years of education levels. The kids in the lower levels of the group didn't really understand English and we didn't have translators for secondary groups so I just felt like a failure. Totally inadequate to lead. Facilitating discussions isn't my strong point even in America. It was that much more difficult in Uganda. Needless to say I was glad the last day when they cancelled small groups.

After small groups came lunch. Which was always delicious. Abundant food. Too much. Never go hungry when I'm here. Then there was another session, this time usually encompassing both primary and secondary students. These were some great talks. One was on HIV and AIDS and the guy who presented it was awesome. He's a member of the CLIDE staff with a wicked sense of humor. Very entertaining. And very explicit of a talk. And you think, I'm not sure primary kids need to hear this. But then you think about how young kids are when they are starting to have sex and you think, well, maybe it's good for them. It was good. Informative and held attention very well. At points, I was despising my white skin that so easily gives away when you're feeling embarrassed. Lucky Ugandans. They don't blush. At the end, Judith, another CLIDE staff member stood up and shared her testimony. And what an amazing testimony she has. I had goosebumps on my arms and tears in my eyes. She started out by giving a brief overview of her family. And then told us she was 61. And unlike most people who hide their age, she is proud of hers. A few years ago, she had a party to celebrate 20 years of being HIV positive. She has lost her husband, a child, and a grandchild to AIDS. But she is strong and doing well. She knows she is positive...she is not on any medication...and she has never been sick because of it. She is healthy and strong and is an incredible inspiration. What a blessing to hear her share her testimony. It was so powerful.

Another one of the joint sessions was on love and relationships. Anne (CLIDE staff member) gave the talk and then we were to split up into our discussion groups and go over some questions. As if the other small group talks weren't awkward enough, these ones got to be about sex and relationships. At one point, I saw Bethany and Laurie walk on by and I was so jealous that they had somehow gotten out of it. Apparently Laurie noticed when she walked by that I was trying to lead the group on my own and went and found a CLIDE staff person to come and assist me. Thank goodness. I was so thankful when Orono showed up. I didn't know he had been forced to come but it was good to have a married man (and a pastor) be able to speak to this subject. I could say some things of value but I think his input was vital.

The final joint session was on career guidance. None of the mzungus attended in order to not take up seats for others but I stood outside for a bit listening. Then one of the CLIDE members came out for something and on his way back in beckoned me to come in. And I knew I was walking in at the perfect awkward moment as the speaker had just finished talking about mzungus. And the color of our skin. And how none of us chose to be born in America and how none of us chose to be white people. Just as none of them chose to be born in Africa and into poverty. Talk about feeling like you just walked into a room full of people who had been talking about you...oh wait. I practically did. But it was good to sit and listen. Unfortunately I don't think he ever actually got around to talking about career guidance which sort of defeated the purpose of having the talk but oh well.

After these sessions, we typically had sports. Sports Outreach is a ministry group that tries to teach Biblical principles through games. I enjoyed participating. No surprise there. Again I was the athlete of the group and really the only one who actually wanted to be out on the field from our team I think. Though Sam seemed to enjoy it too.

Then came tea. And dinner. And hanging out with the kids having 20 of them surrounding you saying "take my photo" or trying to teach you Ngkaramojong on top of Ateso. Since being in Uganda, I have been taught a little bit of 3 different languages. Talk about confusing. Especially at this retreat as you had students from different regions with 2 main languages. Laurie's one small group had kids of 4 different languages...how you handle that and expect everyone to understand what's being said is beyond me.

The last full day of the retreat it poured almost all day long. So we spent many hours all crammed into the same room sitting hip to hip on the small wooden school desks. It turned into a 4 hour long praise, worship, testimony, and prayer session. It was great as the kids were all handing in slips of paper with their name on it so that they could be put on the agenda of getting up and sharing...it was like a talent show. Kids getting up to sing. Kids getting up and doing comedy acts. Kids getting up and dancing. It was entertaining. And at the same time I thought they were nuts. To willingly subject yourself to getting up in front of a room crammed full of people and singing solos...i wish I had their confidence. Then a boy got up and began to share his testimony. And it launched us into a couple hours of intense sharing and prayer. This boy's story was tragic. And the awkward part was kids were talking during it and laughing as he is sharing things that should make you sick. It's a different culture. I remember asking in Kenya why kids laughed during people sharing things that aren't funny and I can't remember the explanation but it was the same type of situation. He shared so much and as he was choking through sharing about his suicide attempt (or almost attempt as he was prevented from following through by God's grace) the kids were giggling. Anne, clearly shaken, got up and began to talk to the kids about how this wasn't a laughing matter. And then proceeded to tell of other Timothy Students the program had lost through suicide. I can't describe the atmosphere or what happened from there. It was so intense, so powerful, so full of emotion as a good 15 or so kids came forward to be prayed for after Anne said that anyone who had attempted suicide needed to come forward and be prayed for. As I watched the kids come forward, it struck close to my heart and before I knew it I had tears just streaming down my face. What a powerful time. Others shared throughout the next few hours and each time, Anne would get up and call all students in similar situations and facing similar circumstances to come forward to be prayed for. The rain prevented us from going out for sports, but what a blessing that rain turned out to be.

Well the kids left on Wednesday after many goodbye speeches. Wednesday afternoon we debriefed with our team and Ken, a young 12 year old boy who is not a Timothy student but who befriended the team several years ago. We were told about this Ken kid who would just magically appear everywhere the team was. Well how true that is. He finds out when we're going to be in town and then he finds out where were staying and then he follows us. It's a little weird...but also endearing. Give it a few more years and it probably won't be so cute anymore. Anyways, Thursday the team headed to one of the student's village to see his family and I stayed back and Moses took me to the Soroti TERREWODE office. I had talked to Alice several days before (when she called Moses and told him she was expecting me back. He asked when. She said soon. He said how soon. She said "like today"...that was Tuesday. Uhhhh…) and found out she was no longer coming to Soroti to meet up with me. Instead, she was thinking I could just meet up with Stella (another staff member) and meet some patients at the hospital. And then travel back by bus on Friday...luckily she agreed to my suggested option of just waiting to travel back with the team on Saturday.

Anyways, I go to the TERREWODE office and Stella and I walked across the street to the hospital. It was pretty interesting as she showed me around the campus and talked about the different wards. I was able to meet 3 current patients, 1 patient who was back for a check-up, and the head nurse of the fistula ward. It was pretty awkward as I felt like I was totally intruding but at the same time they seemed to like having a visitor. I just wish the language barrier wasn't there. One of the women spoke English very well so she kind of helped me along. But I still felt uncomfortable. Unfortunately just as I was starting to feel less uncomfortable and out of place and just as we started to laugh a little, Stella asked if we could leave. So we went back to the office and sat waiting for Moses to return to pick me. I was a little bummed that my time with TERREWODE in Soroti was pretty non-existent since Alice wasn't coming and our plans were all cancelled then but I figured, at least I had Masaka to look forward to. And then Alice called. And told me Masaka was cancelled because our US visitors were in Tanzania when they heard about ebola in Uganda and decided not to come. For those who haven't heard, yes there was an ebola outbreak in Uganda but it is on the other side of the country and the authorities did a good job at isolating it quickly. So I'm not in danger. There hasn't been any spread and besides the initial deaths, I think they have it under control. Anyways, I was so sad as I thought I would now be spending my last 3 1/2 weeks in the Kampala office. But, much to my surprise, Alice told me that I will travel back with my team to Kampala on Saturday and later in the week, she and I will travel back to Soroti together. This will give me the opportunity to do some field work with programs here...which would be GREAT to see and be a part of. I know I can't fully trust the plan and that it will actually happen but it better...because I have already told CLIDE that I will be back and am planning on spending a little more time with them. At least a visit.

Moses picked me up a bit later from TERREWODE and we headed to the CLIDE office. I got there a couple hours ahead of the rest of the team so I sat outside and talked with James (another staff member) for hours. We had started a conversation a few days before...he was giving me marital advice...and never finished. So we had a great in-depth conversation and it was just really nice to sit and talk and hear his view on things. He's a pastor here and has been married 23 years. Has 6 kids. Has some great wisdom to share and is someone who is full of joy. ALWAYS laughing. This big hearty laugh. And when he laughs, everyone laughs. Because you can't not. Thursday night we had a closing party put on by Arlene...what a wonderful and funny lady. I have really enjoyed getting to know her and her sense of humor. In fact, the whole team dynamic has just been really great. We also had a goat roast. It was actually really good. To be honest, I'm not a fan of goat in any sort of way but the way they cooked it actually made it taste pretty good. Every time I'm eating a meal that I'm not really too big of a fan of (usually involves meat), I think about how good it would be if Phil were here. Because I think he would really love all the food and truly enjoy eating the variety of protein sources...and then I could dish my meat onto his plate when no one is looking (there are other positives to him being here too of course).

Friday was our goat distribution day. The team had received a financial donation to be used by CLIDE and it was decided that goats would be bought for their revolving goat loan program. They partner with local churches so that community members see the gift not as coming from Americans or rich white people but from CLIDE and the local church. The church selected 50 orphans and widows to receive goats. So we had a whole presentation and ceremony and then the distribution of the goats and pictures of each child with their guardian and their goat. CLIDE staff were there treating and medicating the goats before they left. So the way it works is the goats belong to the church but are given to the individuals. The first kid that the goat produces is given back to the church. And then the original goat becomes owned by the individual. And the kid that was donated to the church is then given out to another orphan. Hence the revolving aspect. CLIDE talked about one woman who had been given a goat and from that was able to eventually get a cow as well as material to construct bricks to build a house for herself...a small gift that can truly make a difference. We also were able to visit Lake Kyoga. That was fun and we were definitely a spectacle as people from the entire village ended up out on the rocks just staring at us as we looked at the lake.

Saturday we left Soroti early and started making our way back to Kampala. On the way, we stopped at the source of the Nile and did the touristy thing of riding on a little boat on the Nile and into Lake Victoria. It was enjoyable. But we all agreed we are not a fan of how the area is totally packed with tourist venues. It's kind of sad because it loses some of its beauty. We also stopped in Jinja to have lunch at a CLIDE staff member's home (Judith) and meet her family. They were so sweet and we wish we could have had more time with them. We then sat in traffic awhile and the team started getting nervous about getting to the airport...they had plans to stop in Ntinda and have dinner with a friend and then leave me with someone from TERREWODE, but that wasn't going to happen if they wanted to catch their flight. And it was so unorganized trying to get me connected with someone because if I was dropped in Ntinda, there wouldn't necessarily be anyone to meet me right away. Which I was ok with but I knew Steve and Laurie would never allow it. So we're driving along and all of a sudden I know where we are. And so I have the driver go the opposite way he was planning on. And let me tell you...I was SO nervous as he's driving along, clearly uncertain and clearly worried about time, and I'm kind of directing but also praying that I really do know where I am at. I cannot tell you how relieved I was when I managed to navigate us to Kira and then to the street on which Alice and her family live. I hope the team made it to the airport in time…I should have told Steve to call me when they did. I felt bad having them go a little out of their way and drop me but at the same time, if they had dropped me in Ntinda and had to then wait around for someone to arrive, it may have been even longer. They left me with 4 hours to go until their flight and if all went well they should've arrived at the airport in an hour.

It was a quick goodbye which was probably a good thing. It was hard to all of a sudden be thrust back into a totally different atmosphere. Last night I was missing the team and the warm welcoming environment of the CLIDE staff. They were such a blessing. However, soon, I was playing cards with Alvine, Emma, and Ida and it helped get my mind off of the drastic change.

This morning (Sunday), I woke up and decided to go running. About 10 minutes in, I pass a girl who asked if she could run with me. I was surprised but said sure! So she ran with me a couple minutes before she was too tired to keep running. So we walked on together another 20 minutes or so. She was heading to work...I finally told her I should probably turn around and head back before the family gets up and wonders where I've gone. At that point I also thought we may have been heading to church soon. Anyways, it was fun to meet her and chat as we ran/walked. She lives right near where I'm living. She's 15 (but seems a lot older) and works as a housekeeper at a hospital in Kampala. She had SO many questions about me and America. After a little while longer, I told her I really should be getting home and turned around and ran back to the house. Great start to the day.

Alice just gave me a rundown of the new schedule so here it is (for now...ha): Monday and Tuesday this week we will be in the office here in Kampala. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we will head to the central region where scale-up of programs is going to take place and do some initial assessments. Saturday or Sunday we will travel to Soroti. And starting Monday (I think), we will start holding workshops with TERREWODE volunteers and partners. I think we will have 3 total...not sure how long we will be in Soroti or what will happen from there but I do know there is LOTS to do and some key documents to finish up in the next 2 weeks.

And for those who read the previous post and had been praying--the last of the kids finally made it home Saturday morning. Thank you for the prayers! It was definitely a challenging time for the children but we trust that God had a plan in it.

Other than that...I have 23 days until I leave...I think those 23 days will fly by if we're as busy as we think we will be. Please pray for safety as I will be doing quite a bit of traveling this coming week and weekend and for my own heart and contentment in being here...what a blessing to be with CLIDE and the team but the Christ-centered fellowship that I experienced the past 2 weeks leaves me longing for that same support for the next 3. And I probably won't be getting it. 

Hope all is well! And I hope you didn't fall asleep while reading the blog. I know it was a bit ridiculous in terms of length. But I did warn you.