No Need to Say Goodbye…

Today we had to say goodbye to the team for good. We met them at the Timothy Centre yesterday, and drove to Kampala. There we stayed at another Adonai hotel over night with them. Today we got to go shopping, which was great.

Craft Market:

The Mall (Manicures at Sparkles Salon!):

 

I’m really going to miss them!

Please pray that their journey goes well.

We’re at the Entebbe Guesthouse over night, and will be traveling back to South Africa tomorrow.. please pray that our journey is completely safe and hassle-free as well.

Goodbye Uganda L

Bye-Bye (February 25th)

Today we’re leaving Kibaale and driving down to the Timothy Centre, where we'll meet back up with the team. 

Its sad to leave, because I love it here so much, but I know that we’ll be back, and hopefully really soon.

My three sponsor children; Jackie, Reagan, and Clair 

Gifts and Saying Goodbye: (L-R) Jackie, Eddie (our parents' new sponsor boy), Clair, and Catherine (Reagan wasn't there)

Bye sweethearts, love you so much! J

Goodbye for now (February 22nd)

Today (Monday 22^nd) the team had to leave and say goodbye L We will see them again, as we’re meeting them in Kampala, spending one night in the same guesthouse as them, and then (maybe) joining them when they go to the craft market, before they drop us off at our guesthouse on their way to the airport. So it wasn’t a final goodbye. But it was still pretty sad.

Its weird, I’ve known these people for like 1 ¾ weeks, and yet I’m really going to miss them! I didn’t realize how much I missed people from home- I really, really enjoyed getting to know this team. They were so great here in Kibaale, and just really fun people to hang out with.

Tonight we had our girls’ night with Avin, which was very cute. We made up a little goodie bag for her, and she brought over some cupcakes. We watched Ariel’s Beginning (which was actually pretty cute! I love the Little Mermaid, so I was glad they didn’t ruin anything with this one) and painted our nails, and Avin seemed to have a great time.

Happy Birthday Justine and Avin! (February 20th)

Today, as well as being our staff kid “VBS” day, is Justine and Avin’s birthday! Avin was pretty excited to share the same birthday as a new friend on the team!  Unfortunately both Avin, Shannon, and Jeff were all feeling pretty under the weather yesterday and today, so not much celebrating went on L Tomorrow we’re going to have a BBQ dinner for Avin instead, and on Monday after the team leaves, Megan and I are giving her a girls’ movie night, so she’s excited about that!

In the morning we did a VBS with a bunch of the staff kids, which included crafts, games, sports, and a Bible story. They seemed to really love it. And I got to spend some time with one of my favourite kids in Kibaale, Shadrach! He has two little brothers also here (one’s a new Nursery students.. by the way, there are so many new students available for sponsorship, go check it out!! http://paoutreach.net - and the other one is in the daycare) and I just adore this kid!!

While they were playing games, I went over and picked up a little boy, who I found was the step-brother of one of my friends here, Promise. She told me that his name was Waswa, and that he was feeling sick. I guess he was very lethargic, because for the rest of the VBS he just cuddled in my arms. He was such a little sweetie! He came alive a little bit with lollipops were handed out, and seemed to really like colouring the Bible story picture, but apart from that he was pretty listless. I felt so bad for him, I just wanted to take him home L

I got many gifts today.. my dear little friends Dorcas and Gloria (twins, who I’ve known since they were just 4- they’re now in P4 already!), as well as Promise and her little sister Hope, made me a bunch of crafts. So sweet J

Mud, Mud, and More Mud! (February 19th)

Today was Mud Hut Building Day! I did it last year with my team, so I knew that it wasn’t exactly easy, but I went along to help out anyway. I mean, who can pass up getting covered in mud? Psh..

And again, I found more babies to hold! J

Busy Day- Happy Birthday Liz! (February 17th)

Wow we got a lot done today (Wednesday 17^th)! In the morning the team did Senior Chapel, as well as both Upper and Lower Primary chapels. Megan and I stayed behind during Senior Chapel, in order to tidy up a little, and to bake a birthday cake for Liz Chifan, who turned 17 today!

During the Lower Primary Chapel we went with Avin and Finn to watch, and again, they did such a great job! The kids seemed to enjoy them, and especially loved learning the new songs they taught them. All in all a big success J

Reagan and Shadrach (best P2 boys ever!)

In the afternoon, while the team got ready for and ran the Upper Primary Chapel, Jamie took Megan, Avin and I to visit Nampeera Teddy’s house, the sponsor girl of a good friend of ours. Teddy is in Kindergarten, and her mom just had a new baby girl two weeks ago! We were very excited to see her J We had visited her house last time as well, so her mom remembered us and was very sweet. She didn’t speak much English (we were there with Rose, one of the KCF workers, who translated for us) but she was so friendly and welcoming that it didn’t really matter. We gave her some gifts for all four of her daughters (Teddy has two younger sisters- including the still nameless new baby- and an older sister), and got a good cuddle in with her adorable new baby daughter.

Avin was very happy to come along, as she made a new friend in Teddy! Despite the fact that neither of them speak much of each others’ language, they played together for ages while we talked with her mom inside. And, of course, Avin loves holding babies too J

This evening we all went to Hadjit’s for dinner (the restaurant in town), and while we were waiting for food, I made some new friends. Such little cuties J

Oh and during the day, I managed to catch all four Dyke children at the same time! It took a while, but we finally got this lovely picture: 

Ohh Canada.. (February 16th)

On Tuesday we helped the team out with a bunch of crafts in different classrooms. In the morning Megan and I made some crosses with a Kindergarten class (Ivan, Claire, Catherine, Moses, Sylivia, Joanita, Gloria, and Latishia were all very happy to see us again- they were kind of “our” class the last couple of times I had visited J) and then the Special Unit class (where we were taught some more signs!), and then in the afternoon I went with Graham Barks into a P5 class to make ants. They all enjoyed it a lot, and I had fun as well.

Kindergarten C, love these kids :)

Moses! (for Moses and Miki)

This is HERBERT! (for Moses)

Special Unit Class

After lunch however, it was just a blast. Megan, Jenna Bosch, and I went into Jenna’s sponsor girls’ classroom- P6- to make Canada wind socks… the class was absolutely crazy! Not in a bad way, they were just so much fun! The teacher wasn’t even there, and we ended up staying in there for nearly two hours (while the craft took maybe 45 minutes, an hour tops). We hung out with them, took pictures, sang songs, and just talked. They are all so sweet, and the boys are hilarious. I could have stayed in there for hours J

Unfortunately we couldn’t, and instead had to go and paint the chapel- since we had been so long in the classroom, most of the painting was taken care of by the time we got there, but instead we “washed” the windows (more like smearing the already caked on dirt) and did some gardening. Well, I should clarify- Justine Bailey, Megan, and I gardened, and the rest of the team watched us. Apparently it was quite entertaining, as they were also joined by several school children on the way home. The chapel is looking much better though, inside and out, I must say! 

Monopoly Mania and Mangos! (February 15th)

Last night Megan and I slept over at the Dyke’s house with the kids, and then for most of today (Monday 15^th) we hung out with the kids until their parents got home. We watched Mary Poppins (love that movie!), listened to music, ate lunch, read stories, and played Disney Monopoly Junior! It was pretty fun, I love those kids :)

In the afternoon, Megan and I were invited over to Jackie’s house. I was a little nervous, seeing as how last time we went over I was presented with so many amazing gifts, but this time wasn’t quite so.. fancy. They made us an amazing meal (it was actually so good!) and we chatted for a while. Jackie’s dad showed me a bunch of baby pictures of Jackie and her little sister Jesca, which were so cute, and then we headed out. Before we left they gave us two huge baskets of fruit; bananas and mangos! They were quite amused when I got very excited about those mangos (which are some of my favourite fruit!) and even went outside to show me which tree they were picked from J

Church and Kibaale Hill (Feb 14th)

This morning we went to church with the team, who performed their drimes and everything else very well! Unfortunately, the service lasted over three hours, in the boiling heat! Wow, that was an excellent experience! :S

Afterwards we went to a restaurant with Pastor Kefas, and the team had their first taste of traditional Ugandan food, such as matoke, pocho, and more.

This afternoon we also went up Kibaale Hill with Jamie, and the three oldest of the Dyke kids. I’ve been up there several times, but its so beautiful! The view never gets old. J

Back in Kibaale at Last!

We’re back! And its so great J

Traveling was a little hectic by ourselves, but everything went pretty smoothly (except for passport control, when the guy made a mistake and we had to go back to his office so he could fix it.. and then spend 10 minutes there, listening to him chat with his friends before he suddenly remembered we were there, and fixed whatever he messed up) and four hours of driving in the City Bug, three hours of waiting in the airport (yep, Jim and Pam’s wedding was excellent, now one of my top favourite episodes of the show! J), three ¼ hours of flying, and another hour or so of driving later, we made it to Adonai Guest House, where we were met by Jeff and Shannon Dyke!

And now…. Now we are back in lovely Kibaale. Its Sunday night (while I’m writing this) and we just finished dinner, and are about to go to bed. Well actually, its only 8:25pm, but I’m exhausted, and am trying to force myself to stay awake until 9… which is ridiculous, I’m not even jetlagged! Unless that gravol I took on the plane to knock myself out was a lot stronger than I thought...

Anyway, while we’re here by ourselves (before the team arrives), we’ll be helping with getting everything ready for their arrival; cleaning rooms, making beds, organizing their food etc. And hopefully getting some time to see our kids again!

Oh, just a note about internet- we’re using the Kibaale internet, so I can’t post pictures or anything which would take up a lot of it, but I’ll hopefully be able to update this at least a few times while we’re here. Pictures when we get back, I promise! J

*****

Ok this is a week later (Sunday 14^th- Happy Valentine’s Day!) and since I still haven’t posted yet I thought I might as well just add onto this one. We’re about to head to church with the team, who will be performing testimonies, songs, and a drime, so we’ll see how that goes!

In the days before the team arrived, Megan and I got lots of time with the kids.. the new Nursery kids are absolutely adorable!! So tiny! One of them, who we realized we had met only once, on a walk in the town, remembered us, and has been a close friend ever since J

Anita back in November

Anita now!

The PA team arrived from Canada on Thursday, and jumped right in the next day with a sports day for the Primary School. Its funny, in the 5 days before they arrived, I didn’t get the slightest bit burnt, but within one day of them coming, I was burnt to a crisp! :S But the sports day was good, they did a  great job- Megan and I took on the parachute station, and then a relay race with the older students, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Anyway, tonight Megan and I will be looking after the three oldest Dyke kids, as Jeff and Shannon have gone to Kampala for the night. 

7 hours and Counting!!

UGANDA HERE WE COME!!!

Leaving so Soon!

Just wanted to post quickly that we will be leaving early tomorrow morning (Saturday the 6th) for Uganda! 

We leave our house at 5am to catch a 6am city bug, which will then take us on the 4(ish) hour drive to the Jo'burg Airport, where we will wait for our 2:30 flight. To help with the waiting, we received the first few episodes of The Office Season 6 from a friend here (yes we know that they're still airing......) and are painfully saving them for the airport! Can't wait to see Jim and Pam get married :D

So anyway, after all the driving and waiting and flying, we will finally arrive in Uganda again! We don't know how much internet we'll have, so I will try to post, but I can't make any promises. If it doesn't work out, I'll make sure to post a recap once we get back :)

PS Ayana is, at this moment, in White River with a friend, getting her hair braided! Can't wait to see what it looks like, its been unbraided for far too long. 

And that’s the last time I ever wear this again!

Today my mom and I went on our first home visit with the young mom’s group. I was really excited to go and see what it would be like, but once we arrived at K2 (one of the centres in Masoyi here- we picked up Linky, the leader of the young mom’s program and Angel, another leader from there) my excitement was slightly dampened. I was wearing a skirt for the first time in months, and my Mzungu shirt, from Uganda. Mzungu means “white person”, or “foreigner” in Luganda, which is what the children yell at you as you drive by, so excited to see you; its kind of a must to get a Mzungu shirt for anyone who visits Uganda!

So anyway, I was wearing it (not for the first time since arriving in South Africa by the way!) and we were sitting in an office, waiting for Linky to be ready to go, when a woman walked in to introduce herself. She stopped, asked me what my shirt meant in Luganda, and then doubled over laughing. It turns out that here in South Africa, “Mzungu” is the name of a horrible chicken disease. What a lovely thing to find out mere seconds before you go out into the community.  Forget ever wearing that again while in South Africa!

Apart from that awful realization however, it was a very.. interesting experience! We were supposed to visit six or seven houses, but ended up only seeing two, as the first visit took over an hour, and included taking the young girl to the clinic. She is mentally handicapped, and was raped, which is how she became pregnant. As awful as that is, it is apparently quite a common occurrence here L Her little girl, Gift, is now two and absolutely adorable. They were worried that the mother might be pregnant again though (she doesn’t know), which is why the trip to the clinic came about.

While we were waiting for her test results, my mom and I were left in the van with Gift, who after about five minutes became hysterical with fear, and just sat there screaming for her mom in a different language no matter what we did. Good times. Poor little thing though, she was so scared L (Her mom is not pregnant by the way, false alarm!)

The second house was another sad story; 19 year old Virginia is the mother of a six year old little girl called Bridget. Virginia's parents have died, and so she is now alone with her siblings, and her little daughter. She was raped as well, which is how she became pregnant in the first place, but horrifyingly enough, we found out that little Bridget has also been raped; once when she was only four, and once more recently. You would never think so to see her- she was smiley and precious- but I just felt sick when I heard that. Its so wrong.

As we were leaving I was given a mango, and since I was hungry, I decided to follow Angel’s example, and just eat it, skin and all. It was surprisingly good! I spat out some of the skin, but after a while that took too long, and I ended up just eating quite a bit of the skin as well. TIA!