A few days ago we met Rebecca who helps run our guest house and helps with their ministry, Heavenly Hope Ministries. Today she stopped in to see how everyone was doing and I just happened to mention to her how I needed to find a carrier for Mercy because we like to take walks every night after dinner. She ran upstairs and came back down with a stroller that she said we could use! What a God-send because our walks are usually cut short because of my back hurting from carrying Mercy. Tonight we got to take a much longer walk - and we did not get lost! Woo hoo! It's the little things 😉 They have been so accommodating for us here and we are so grateful to have found this guest house - it's our home away from home.
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| It's tough work being three. ;-) |
I heard today that we haven't received Mercy's passport yet because of local elections this week but we may receive it Friday. I am praying we don't have to pick it up in person that day but maybe our attorney's assistant could get it for us. That would save us a 2 1/2 hour drive then maybe we could get it one day next week. We are also still waiting on our written ruling and praying we receive that this week, too!
Heading to bed early tonight as I can hardly keep my eyes open due to 2 little munchkins that like to wake up early! 💤💤💤
Day 30: Thursday, February 25, 2016 - We mostly stayed in today because we'll be pretty busy the next few days...
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| Pasko, the chameleon |
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| The guest house cook, Ivan, preparing pizza! |
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| Abby and the littles made cookies! |
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| Ugandan sunsets are my favorite <3 |
Making this a short update because the girls found a Star Wars dvd at our guest house and we are watching that tonight - first movie we've seen in Uganda. And first time I've seen the original movie since I was like 7 years old!
Thank goodness acting has gotten better since then. 😜 Hoping I can stay awake and hang with the girls - a big, loud thunderstorm hit last night and we lost power so I didn't get much 💤💤💤
Thank you for continued prayers for Mercy's passport and our written ruling! ❤️
Day 31: Friday, February 26, 2016 - Lots of praises to share tonight! ...
1. This morning, Kenzie had a blast teaching ballet to a group of girls who are missionary kids. While her heart is with teaching Ugandan girls ballet, she realized that missionary kids really need to be poured into, also. Life of ministry can be really hard when you're always serving others so I think this was a fun little activity for them to do.) Thank you, Natasha Perryman, for giving her that opportunity!)
After we arrived at our guest house, this loud music was playing not far from us all day...
We heard they just had local elections and the people in Jinja were celebrating the winners.
And we had fun hanging out with Pasko, the chameleon...
After dinner, Christine (who does the laundry at our guest house) took us on a walk to a field where she purchased part of the land to grow maize on. She was so proud of her hard work, as she should be. It was the end of the harvest season but she gave us a few stalks to take back with us. What a thoughtful gesture! Some local kids also stopped by to see what us, muzungus (white Westerners), were up to. When we arrived back at the guest house, our guard, "Uncle" Joseph, grilled our corn for us. They like it very well done here ;-) ...
Here's a few more pics taken on our walk home...
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| Jinja African War Cemetary |
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| A street vendor selling Rolex - sooo good! |
3. Our lawyer called this morning and said Mercy's passport is ready to be picked up!!! We are so glad but I was really dreading having to make the 2 1/2 hour drive to Kampala just to go pick it up. So our lawyer looked into picking it up for us and they are going to allow that! (Usually they make you show up in person so I'm so glad they are letting her do this for us!) They sent me a Power of Attorney form to download, print off, sign, scan, and email it back to them. Tricky part is doing that in a third world country! Turns out at lunch, we ran into our friend, Heather, who does computer work for a living so she helped us through all of that and saved me a trip to Kampala (And my sanity!). Thank you BIG time, Heather! So now our attorney will pick up the passport for us Monday then we can get it from her at our convenience, the next time we need to go to Kampala, which may be in 1-2 weeks when we begin the visa process at the U.S. Embassy. So lots of praises today!
Now for prayer requests...
1. We leave for Lira (to visit our church's orphanage, Calo Me Lare, which means "Village of Redemption") in the morning at 5:30 (who agreed upon that crazy time, I don't know!😜). It is a verrrrrry long drive - around 8 hours, I believe. Please pray for our protection on the way there and back (we will be staying 3 nights), no car trouble, that the littles travel well, and that we can be a blessing to others while there.
2. We cannot begin the visa process until we have the written ruling from our judge. Please pray that he gives us that by Monday at the latest. Thanks, everyone, and have a great weekend!
Day 32: Saturday, February 27, 2016 - We woke up bright and early this morning to drive north to Lira. I'm happy to say we survived and it only took 7 1/2 hours! We are staying at the Margaritha Palace Hotel, about 20-30 minutes from Calo Me Lare...
(Side note: If your family, small community group, business, or school club is interested in sponsoring a child, please go to projecthopeworldwide.org . They have children that need to be sponsored in several different countries. It's great way to make a difference in the life of a child so please check them out!)
We will spend the next two days here then head back to Jinja on Tuesday. Then hopefully we'll have our written ruling by the first part of next week so we can begin the visa process. I'm very sure I will be asleep within a few minutes as I hardly slept last night in fear of missing my alarm. I am not an early morning person! 😜💤😜💤😜💤
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| Ahhhh - I can tell it's going to be a long night! 😜 |
Day 33: Sunday, February 28, 2016 - Today we spent the day at Calo Me Lare, the orphanage our church helps sponsor, along with Project Hope Worldwide.
When we arrived, we received their super amazing greeting they typically give visitors...
It's a very humbling experience because we are so unworthy but we, of course, appreciate all their efforts! Church was held at 9 and was several hours long. They had us sit on the front row and thankfully the littles were pretty good. 😉
The pastor caught me off guard at one point in his message because some of the boys were asking me how Asher and Mercy could be my kids. And at the same time the pastor was talking bout repentance and directed a question to me asking if we did the same thing in the U.S. I had no idea what he said so embarrassingly, I had to ask him to repeat the question. 😂
The service was so great and, of course, the worship time was our favorite.
Love love love watching those kids pour out their hearts to God. We can learn so much from them.
After church, we left to eat lunch at Sankofa Cafe - an Internet cafe that muzungus (whites/westerners) like to hang out at. They have really great food but you have to be prepared to wait at least an hour for them to deliver it to you. 😉
After lunch, we went back to Calo Me Lare and spent the rest of the day there. The boys were especially interested in Asher, still wondering how he could be my son. 😉 He's one of the youngest boys so he got lots of attention.
The girls and I could not get over how big the kids had grown since we saw them last, 3 years ago. They are all happy, healthy, and thriving!
Kenzie had so much fun teaching the girls ballet and we finally talked Abby into playing her guitar for the kids and they loved it. ❤️
Tomorrow, we'll go back to Calo Me Lare and spend the day there, although we don't want to interrupt their school work - so we'll probably just see them on breaks.
We are still praying we receive our written ruling tomorrow. Thank you for joining us in prayer and for following our journey!
Day 34: Monday, February 29, 2016 - This morning, we went back to Calo Me Lare. The kids were in school and we didn't want to disturb them so we hung out in the "tower" on the compound. The girls tried to get some school work done but it was a bit challenging - hot weather + wasps flying overhead + kids sneaking up to see what we were doing, etc. = not much accomplished. 😉
So we hung out with them on their breaks and the director, Susan, gave us a tour of the compound when they were in school. New buildings and many more children have been added since we visited exactly 3 years ago.
The community medical clinic...
The classrooms...
I know they have their challenges with managing 80 kids now, but they are doing such a great job. If you'd like to learn more about Project Hope Worldwide, please visit their website at projecthopeworldwide.org
On my first trip to UG in 2010, we visited another compound called Otino Waa Children's Village. It began by an American couple in 2003 when the Lord's Resistance Army was in full swing kidnapping children and forcing them to be soldier's or young wives of men in the LRA. They originally rescued around 200 children and it's so great to see they are continuing the work of caring for orphans. They also have a cafe which helps bring in some income for the home and they sell local food products, as well as crafts some of the students have made. So we ate lunch there today and had yummy banana smoothies, pizza, and chapati.
After lunch, we hung out some more with the kids...
This is the home of one of the girls we co-sponsor, Anna. We were so sad to learn that she and her sister, Nelly, were away for the weekend but it was great to see how well the other girls were doing...
Pictures of the sponsors families are displayed on a wall within each home. Sponsored kids really do become part of your family even though they live half a world away...
Then we got to help pass out a new pair of shoes to all of them. They were so excited to receive them as most had really worn out flip flops.
We got back to our hotel around 7 tonight so today was a full day and we are a bit pooped.
I'm sure we'll catch up on our sleep tomorrow as we make the 7 1/2 hour drive back to Jinja. Prayers for safety are appreciated!
Day 35, Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - We are back in Jinja - thank you for your prayers of protection! They are definitely appreciated because our driver's van had some problems while we were in Lira - one tire had a nail in it and was almost flat, the battery died at our hotel, and Moses noticed the front windshield was loose so he had to get that repaired, too. There's all kinds of things that could have gone wrong if any of those would have happened while driving so we are so thankful for God's protection. It was a full 8 hour drive back to Jinja this time because Moses took back roads to avoid sitting in Kampala traffic.
On the way, we came upon a really nice, new gas station and were able to buy suckers, gum, cold water, and apples! And they had actual toilets in their bathrooms instead of squatty holes! Hallelujah! It's the little things, people. 😉 Moses also asked if we had any music we wanted to listen to so of course I offered up mine on my phone.
I really do love the reggae and dance music here but it was nice to listen to familiar tunes. Grateful for the little reminders of home today. ❤️ Our van had seat belts but of course car seats are practically unheard of here. And on long drives it's so hard to keep Mercy restrained so she usually ends up sitting in my lap or on the floor board (#oldschool). She's going to have a rude awakening when we get home and she has to be strapped into a car seat! 😂
This long trip and trips to Kampala have given me a lot of time to hold her, though, which has been good for our bonding. We took some naps together on the ride today and she always likes me to wrap my arms around her belly. If I let go she quickly puts my arms back around her.
We are still working on our bonding but each day is getting a little better. I just tucked her in and as I walked away, she said, "Momma! Kisses!" So I bent down and she kissed my cheek and told me she loved me. That totally melted my heart! She has a lot less discipline issues if I can give her my full attention, but then Asher notices that and starts to act out, too, so I'm finding it's definitely a balancing game. The girls are always real good about giving Asher extra attention when I have to be with Mercy so, of course, I'm very grateful for that. I've also noticed within the last few days she is finally learning to say, "Momma help!" instead of crying for 10 minutes because she needed something. That's such a big step for her!
And now an update from yesterday's prayer request... Our attorney tried again today to get our passport and the officer would not give it to her. So I am going to try to get it on Thursday. Please pray they will give it to me and will be kind, as well. I have Power of Attorney since Steve is not with me but often times they will make a big deal about that and will tell the wife her husband will have to fly to Uganda and report in person if they want the passport. And there are many times the adoptive parents get yelled at and files are somehow "misplaced" when they find out its for muzungus adopting Ugandan children.
We also have not heard anything about our written ruling. A family that was at our guesthouse a few weeks ago said our judge took 2 months to give his written ruling for their case. Court was a month ago so we are praying we get that this week! After we receive our written ruling, I will email the U.S. Embassy and request a date to turn in all of our paperwork. I heard from the Embassy today and they said they are scheduling dates 2 weeks out or later. I'm afraid at this rate it will take a big miracle to #bringmercyhomebyEaster but we'll keep believing for that homecoming date!
Love love love watching those kids pour out their hearts to God. We can learn so much from them.
After church, we left to eat lunch at Sankofa Cafe - an Internet cafe that muzungus (whites/westerners) like to hang out at. They have really great food but you have to be prepared to wait at least an hour for them to deliver it to you. 😉
After lunch, we went back to Calo Me Lare and spent the rest of the day there. The boys were especially interested in Asher, still wondering how he could be my son. 😉 He's one of the youngest boys so he got lots of attention.
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| Mama Joy making beautiful handbags with beads |
The girls and I could not get over how big the kids had grown since we saw them last, 3 years ago. They are all happy, healthy, and thriving!
Kenzie had so much fun teaching the girls ballet and we finally talked Abby into playing her guitar for the kids and they loved it. ❤️
Tomorrow, we'll go back to Calo Me Lare and spend the day there, although we don't want to interrupt their school work - so we'll probably just see them on breaks.
We are still praying we receive our written ruling tomorrow. Thank you for joining us in prayer and for following our journey!
Day 34: Monday, February 29, 2016 - This morning, we went back to Calo Me Lare. The kids were in school and we didn't want to disturb them so we hung out in the "tower" on the compound. The girls tried to get some school work done but it was a bit challenging - hot weather + wasps flying overhead + kids sneaking up to see what we were doing, etc. = not much accomplished. 😉
So we hung out with them on their breaks and the director, Susan, gave us a tour of the compound when they were in school. New buildings and many more children have been added since we visited exactly 3 years ago.
The community medical clinic...
I know they have their challenges with managing 80 kids now, but they are doing such a great job. If you'd like to learn more about Project Hope Worldwide, please visit their website at projecthopeworldwide.org
On my first trip to UG in 2010, we visited another compound called Otino Waa Children's Village. It began by an American couple in 2003 when the Lord's Resistance Army was in full swing kidnapping children and forcing them to be soldier's or young wives of men in the LRA. They originally rescued around 200 children and it's so great to see they are continuing the work of caring for orphans. They also have a cafe which helps bring in some income for the home and they sell local food products, as well as crafts some of the students have made. So we ate lunch there today and had yummy banana smoothies, pizza, and chapati.
After lunch, we hung out some more with the kids...
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| Mercy and Asher "helped" clean the rice for the kid's next meal |
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| This is our friend, Dennis. We love him so much. He has a special place in our hearts and came to see us when he visited the U.S. a few years ago. |
Signs hung in the homes...
Then we got to help pass out a new pair of shoes to all of them. They were so excited to receive them as most had really worn out flip flops.
I'm sure we'll catch up on our sleep tomorrow as we make the 7 1/2 hour drive back to Jinja. Prayers for safety are appreciated!
Day 35, Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - We are back in Jinja - thank you for your prayers of protection! They are definitely appreciated because our driver's van had some problems while we were in Lira - one tire had a nail in it and was almost flat, the battery died at our hotel, and Moses noticed the front windshield was loose so he had to get that repaired, too. There's all kinds of things that could have gone wrong if any of those would have happened while driving so we are so thankful for God's protection. It was a full 8 hour drive back to Jinja this time because Moses took back roads to avoid sitting in Kampala traffic.
On the way, we came upon a really nice, new gas station and were able to buy suckers, gum, cold water, and apples! And they had actual toilets in their bathrooms instead of squatty holes! Hallelujah! It's the little things, people. 😉 Moses also asked if we had any music we wanted to listen to so of course I offered up mine on my phone.
I really do love the reggae and dance music here but it was nice to listen to familiar tunes. Grateful for the little reminders of home today. ❤️ Our van had seat belts but of course car seats are practically unheard of here. And on long drives it's so hard to keep Mercy restrained so she usually ends up sitting in my lap or on the floor board (#oldschool). She's going to have a rude awakening when we get home and she has to be strapped into a car seat! 😂
This long trip and trips to Kampala have given me a lot of time to hold her, though, which has been good for our bonding. We took some naps together on the ride today and she always likes me to wrap my arms around her belly. If I let go she quickly puts my arms back around her.
We are still working on our bonding but each day is getting a little better. I just tucked her in and as I walked away, she said, "Momma! Kisses!" So I bent down and she kissed my cheek and told me she loved me. That totally melted my heart! She has a lot less discipline issues if I can give her my full attention, but then Asher notices that and starts to act out, too, so I'm finding it's definitely a balancing game. The girls are always real good about giving Asher extra attention when I have to be with Mercy so, of course, I'm very grateful for that. I've also noticed within the last few days she is finally learning to say, "Momma help!" instead of crying for 10 minutes because she needed something. That's such a big step for her!
And now an update from yesterday's prayer request... Our attorney tried again today to get our passport and the officer would not give it to her. So I am going to try to get it on Thursday. Please pray they will give it to me and will be kind, as well. I have Power of Attorney since Steve is not with me but often times they will make a big deal about that and will tell the wife her husband will have to fly to Uganda and report in person if they want the passport. And there are many times the adoptive parents get yelled at and files are somehow "misplaced" when they find out its for muzungus adopting Ugandan children.
We also have not heard anything about our written ruling. A family that was at our guesthouse a few weeks ago said our judge took 2 months to give his written ruling for their case. Court was a month ago so we are praying we get that this week! After we receive our written ruling, I will email the U.S. Embassy and request a date to turn in all of our paperwork. I heard from the Embassy today and they said they are scheduling dates 2 weeks out or later. I'm afraid at this rate it will take a big miracle to #bringmercyhomebyEaster but we'll keep believing for that homecoming date!
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