Wow - I can't believe it's less than a week to the 4th. I still feel like I am in the same season as when I got here since the weather doesn't change much...and the light thing - only 12 hours per day of daylight. Always makes me feel like I am in winter time. Such a conflict inside me...winter or summer???
Well, today, I am much later writing to you as we had a visitation for families of our orphans this morning, so didn’t get to Mbale till quite a bit later. We have planned these for the last Monday every other month. The kids were so excited to see their guardians! The first picture you have is of our 4 kids who are from one family with their mother and grandfather. The kids' names are, from the left, Margret, Peter, John and Dovico - the ones in uniforms. Their mom is on the far left, 2 sisters are between John and Dovico and their grandfather on the right. This is the mom who had 7 children and her husband died in November. She is illiterate and only feeds her family what she can grow, then sells the little that is left to get $ for soap for washing. So, she was unable to continue feeding her family and asked us to take 4 of them. Today was the first time I have met the grandfather - he is their father's father.
The 2nd picture is of food that the kids’ guardians brought for us – there is maize, guava, oranges (they’re green here), G-nuts (like peanuts only smaller), cassava (a root starch vege, like potato). At the back of the picture is charcoal for our charcoal stove and in front of that is potatoes, both of which were already in the store room. The guardians were and are SO thankful for what we are doing with their children. I greeted them from all of you and told them there are people in the States who are loving their children. They all started clapping. I told them you see pictures of their kids each week.
The sad part of the morning was for Hellen, whose guardians did not come. We found out that her grandmother died yesterday and the burial is today so no one could come see her. She was the only child who did not have a visitor - we tried to make it up to her, but it just isn't the same! Please pray that the Lord will guard her heart from this heartache. Hopefully someone from the family will come and see her before the next visitation day.
The children are doing well - everyone is fairly healthy. We have a couple with ringworm and a few headaches here and there (theirs, not ours!), but other than that everyone is well. Our nurse, ironically, is sick and has been for a week or so. She has malaria (so common here...and deadly in some cases). Please pray that God will heal her. Her name is Mary.
Yesterday at church we had 49 adults and 45 kids - we're so evenly split between adults and kids! - and had a great time worshiping and hearing the Word. We led the congregation also in prayers for Uganda. For those of you who don't know, 2011 is an election year here and there are very heated exchanges and threats to various people for political views. Please pray with us for peace in Uganda.
Last night I had the sweetest thing - I often will sit on one of the benches and have the children come over and sit down. I rub their backs and talk with them. Well, last night, Charles came and sat next to me and started rubbing my back and said, "I love you, Pastor Laurie." It was so sweet to see he had internalized the affection and was doing it back to me. Brought me to tears - so sweet!
Okay, better go now, but please know that we pray for you. Thank you for your prayer, financial and email support. You all are the greatest. So nice to know there are others doing this work with me.
Laurie
BTW - many have asked, so let me tell you, I have not seen another snake. HALLELUJAH! May it be so for the rest of my days...
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