The Next Step?

I've only been home a short time but it feels like the trip was so long ago. Did it really happen? I wish I could have a "do over". I felt like I was present in the moment but why is it so difficult to remember? I wish I knew what to do next. Maybe God wants me to sit and wait and think...

Reflecting Back...

Questions everyone has been asking me...

Were you surprised at what you saw?


I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew it would be pretty bad after reading Melody's blogs. I guess I was surprised by the lack of modern conveniences in the city of Kampala. Although they had cars and motorcycles for transportation, not all of the buildings had electricity and most of the little shops alongside the roads were like shacks. I was surprised that there wasn't running water throughout the city. Some of the roads were not paved or only partially paved. I guess I just expected the city to be more modernized. I knew that the villages would be rural and people would be living off of the land but I was surprised by how little they had. Their kitchen would consist of a fire, a pan and maybe a cup and plate. They slept on mats on a dirt floor. It was obvious that they didn't bathe or change clothes. They didn't have water to drink let alone to bathe in. One thing that surprised me was their teeth...most of the people I saw had beautiful teeth..yes, they needed to brush but I don't recall seeing alot of decaying teeth.

Was I scared?


There were times when I was a little uncomfortable. I never felt like I was in danger but there were times when there were soldiers standing around with AK47s strapped to their back....and that made me uncomfortable. Even our guard at our house had a big gun and it was unnerving...not sure why it was necessary but everyone had them so I guess it is the norm. You are not allowed to take pictures of the military so if you do, they will take action. An American girl that we met named Audra told us that she was detained by the military because they thought she was taking pictures of them and she fortunately had contacts in the government so ultimately they let her go...otherwise they would have put her in jail. yikes.

Do I feel like a different person?


Not really. Honestly, I was expecting to make this major transformation while I was gone but I realize now that this experience has reaffirmed what I already know about myself. I didn't feel like I had to stretch to reach out to these people because it came naturally. I realized that I am strong and I am faithful. I wasn't really shocked by what I saw, rather I felt compassion for them and prayed for a better life for them but I wasn't wounded by it. Although I know the desperate need, I left there feeling hopeful rather than feeling haunted. I saw that these people were so faithful without having anything and I admired them for it. I am excited for those families that were sponsored and I can't wait to see how it affects them and their community.

Will I go back?


Probably. I would like to go back someday. I would like my husband to go. I kept thinking how great the experience was and how Kenny would have loved it. I could see him being a workhorse-tearing down and building houses. I could see him carrying those water jugs up that hill in half the time as me. He has such a big heart, I could see him giving the shirt off his back to these families. I don't know that we could ever go together because someone has to be with the kids but I would love for him to have this experience. Actually, I would encourage anyone to take this leap of faith...it was a blessing.


To sum it all up...

I don't think that we need to change these people, they are perfect just the way they are. They don't need the luxury items that we take for granted everyday because the way they live is what they know and understand. I do pray that they would not be hungry and sick. I do pray that they could have better access to clean water...water would help so much...sanitation, disease, health. I pray that they could all have access to education...the more they know, the easier to change their future...job skills, Aids education.

Thru GFR, these are the types of things that we'll be able to address. If you're interested in sponsoring a family that has nothing...let me know or contact Ben & Melody Pahlow at GFR's website (the link is on this page). The money goes directly to the families...in fact, I left money, my blanket and clothes for my family before I left Uganda. I was able to give it directly to my family's case worker, Fred, that was traveling to that area the next day. It's a good feeling to know that I can help provide food for a family of 11 children even when I'm sitting here in Aurora:)

Thanks again for your support, the emails, the words of encouragement...I hope you were able to enjoy this experience along with me. Love you All!

Team Africa

I'm Home!

After traveling for 2 days, I'm finally home. We ended up getting a hotel in London because we had a 14 hr. lay-over. Can I tell you that taking a shower in clean, warm water was a wonderful experience...of course, I had to put dirty clothes back on but nevertheless it was great. Kenny, Shannon and the kids were waiting for me at the airport. After the hugs and kisses, I was able to introduce them to the rest of my team...I talked about them so much, it was nice for them to get to meet them finally. After saying good-bye to the team, we headed home. Little did I know that my husband orchestrated a surprise welcome home party for me! Many of my friends, family, and neighbors were there and I was totally shocked but very happy to see everyone...I just warned everyone that I was stinky and smelly and to not get too close:) So I was able to share pics and stories and eat lots of yummy food.

What Does It All Mean???

On the flight home, I plan on reflecting back on the trip. What does it all mean? Did we complete our mission? What is the next step?I have a million questions...questions that only God will have to answer over time.  As I said, I will write more once I'm back home and when I have had some time to digest everything that has happened in the last 12 days. I do know that I've met some awesome people...those on my team and the people of Uganda...and I'm going to miss them all very much...

Please continue to read our blogs, GFR and other's on the team if you wish.  See you in the states in about 36 hrs:)

Enjoying God's Creation

As an added bonus to our trip, we went on Safari on our last day in Uganda. We took a land tour where we saw elephants, giraffes, antelopes, buffaloes, and a LIONess. It was sooo cool! Then we took a boat down the Nile to the Murchison Falls. We saw lots of hippos, alligators, and antelope and finally saw an elephant drinking water from the river. Honestly, hippos and baboons were everywhere in this park. The hippos walk up in the parking lots like they own the place. I guess they can be agressive and can run 40-50 miles per hr. so you have to be on your toes when they're around. It was an awesome experience.

A Day at School

We had the opportunity to visit a local private primary school. Most of the schools in Uganda require the children to wear school uniforms. All of the classes were held in a large building. Although there were separate rooms, there is no ceiling so you can easily hear what is going on in each classroom. I was very impressed by their cirriculum...it's tough. Since many kids can't afford the school fees, those who can take their education very seriously. We were able to give them school supplies while we were there. 

Heaven in Uganda

We started out the day surprising 2 of the women that sang for us last night by letting them know that they had been sponsored. The lead singer, Monica, was a young, beautiful widow. She has 3 children. We arrived at her house and she wasn’t there! She had went to the market…but word had reached her at the market so she showed up about 10 minutes later. Once again JJ’s family back home sponsored her. We showered her with gifts and she was overwhelmed to say the least. Then we headed to ‘Evangelist’, a crippled woman that lived in the village. She also was overwhelmed and everyone gave her gifts. She makes baskets for a living so several people bought her baskets.

Off to see the orphans…today’s project was to build a house for a little orphan boy named Brod. We had to drive thru some treacherous roads…I don’t think they were roads really…more like paths It felt like we were driving thru the jungle as the weeds and trees touched each side of the bus. We were late so the whole community was there waiting for us. They started out with a drum cadence presentation and then the community leaders had a couple of speeches to thank us for coming. They introduced the widows, the orphans, the disabled…the place was packed! Once all the formalities were over, the fun began. The guys started digging trenches for the foundation of the house. I tried to dig but the locals teased me the whole time because I wasn’t doing it right so I retreated and left the digging to them…and then I played with all of the kids. The Doc had many people waiting to see him so he spent all afternoon treating people.

The kids love to see their faces on the video screen while you’re taping them. You could spend all day just doing that because they are not used to seeing their own face and it cracks them up. With digital cameras, you can take their picture and show them right away…they love that too. I had soooo much fun with the kids. I showed them pictures of Kasey, Jessie, and our small group…I showed a few of them a picture of Kenny and I kissing at our wedding and they were embarrassed so I put that one away. When it was finally time to go, I was standing with a group of older school kids and I asked them to sing me a song…and boy did they! They began singing a “Welcome To Uganda”song to me and the group of kids got bigger, and bigger, and bigger…it was crazy. I was standing in the middle of 50+ kids singing with me in the middle. It was amazing, I’ll never forget that song. Ben motioned to me that we needed to head to the bus so I motioned to the kids to start walking down the road with me…all of us clapping and singing…by the time we made it to bus, there had to be maybe 100+ kids singing in front of the bus…I thanked them and cried…it was a true blessing and something I probably will never experience ever again…It was like Heaven …I don’t think I have ever felt such feelings of joy, compassion, and gratitude all at once. I truly felt God’s presence.

Bus to Kamwenge

We left Kampala by 8am for Kamwenge. Mel was sick with a cold so we left her at home with the kids so that she could recooperate. It’s about a 6 hour drive. On the way, we drove thru the Kibali National Park. We got to see some wild baboons along the way. We got some awesome pics/footage as they approached the bus. Over the next 24 hrs., we saw baboons a couple more times. Ida, the new director of GFR, is from the Kamwenge area so she filled in for Melody. We arrived around 3ish and began meeting families right away. Kamwenge is much more rural and jungle-ish at times. Most of the families we visited were far into the hills and the roads were not more than hiking paths. Many times we were concerned that the bus would tip over or get stuck in the middle of the woods.

The first man we visited had Elephantitis, many people in this region are infected with this ailment. Since GFR talked about (and pics of) this elderly man on their blog, Dr. Mark brought meds. Apparently, this condition is basically worms of the limph nodes. It’s pretty nasty to look at and these people are often exiled in their communities. But this condition can be treated with antibiotics. However, in this man’s case, he had it since he was a young child so it may improve it slightly but it probably would not go away. JJ adopted this family on behalf of his family back home. We also stopped at the market where several other people with Elephantitis were waiting for the Dr. He gave them meds and we prayed for their healing…God can heal anything right?

While there, a young girl approached me and gave me a letter. Her name was Sabitina and she spoke proper English. Her letter asked “The Whites” if they would pay for her school fees because she was an orphan being taken care of by her extended family. I spoke to the community leader and he confirmed that she was an orphan. I took a picture of her and told her that I would take her letter and see what I could do. When I got on the bus, I was very conflicted. I gave the letter to the community leader so that she could be put on the list. Meanwhile, Dr. Mark was so impressed by the girl and her letter that He and Kevin decided they wanted to sponsor her if she meets the criteria. It’s so awesome.

Our day ended at the hotel Afreka in Kamwenge. We were a little unsure of what it would be like since most of the town was pretty run down but actually it was ok…maybe a 1/4 star on a scale of 4. Siliva and I shared a room. It had a full sized bed, a mosquito net, a small desk, and a bathroom with an actual toilet….however, the toilet and sink had brown water…yummy. There was a yellow Jeri Can in the bathroom with cleaner water to wash with. I washed my hair with it but used wipes for the rest of my body. Lisa said she saw little worms in her clean water…gross.

Before dinner, a group of widowed women sang to us to show their gratitude for coming so far. It was very moving. Even though we couldn’t understand the words, you could see the pain in their eyes as they cried when they sang. It was beautiful. Afterwards, we had dinner-potatoes, meat, cabbage, pineapple, and chabati bread. I wasn’t brave enough to eat the meat but ate everything else. It was a great day.

The Low-Down on Uganda

(Kitchen in a Home in Munoko )


The Smell


Uganda has its own smell. When we first got off of the plane, the air smell fresh and cool. The airport was located outside of Entebbe so it was in a rural area with not much around. As we approached the city of Kampala the air became thick with pollution and a potpourri of undescribable smells. The cars/taxis in Uganda still run on leaded gas so you can see the black smoke coming out of the tail pipes. Ugandans literally have fires burning everywhere. Since most of them do not have electricity or gas(even in the city), they must use the fires for cooking and everything else. What they use to burn in the fires, I do not know…it smells similar to burnt garbage. It can be pretty overwhelming walking thru an area with lots of fires burning at once.

The Water

When we were working on Cissy’s house, there were homes in close proximity to one another. Since most Ugandans do not have running water they must fetch water in yellow jugs to use…yes, even in the city. In most cases, the water that they are fetching is full of bacteria. Because there isn’t running water, there are serious sanitation issues. Not only is there a lot of garbage but there is human waste that is not being disposed of properly. It is not surprising that there is so much disease. Even in our nice home in Kampala, the water is unsafe to drink. We shower with it but do not brush our teeth with it. We have large jugs of water to drink from. When preparing food, it feels strange washing your hands and washing off food under the faucet with water that is unsafe to drink.?? Purell hand sanitizer has become my best friend.

The Food

Honestly, we have had pretty descent food in Kampala. I have brought lots of snacks. I’m not big on cereal so I just eat a granola bar every morning. The milk comes in bags. We have had a lot of boiled eggs. They also serve African tea which consists of tea, milk and ginger…some people really love it, I prefer my coffee so I’m glad I packed some for the trip. We’ve had pasta and potatoes…nothing too crazy. Sivlia and I actually made Mexican food last night (Flo would be proud). We made Picadillo meat (sp?) with tortas and rice, guacamole and salsa. Everyone devoured it. For lunch, we are usually are not home so everyone makes a pb&j sandwiches…I actually packed those on-the-go tuna meals with a power bar and I’m good. I eat enough pb&j at home! On the road, there are lots of mini-markets with food stands selling fresh vegetables and such…maybe a cut-up pig, or grilled meat on a stick....not sure what the meat is but I’ve heard it is good. I had sugar cane the other day…its not bad.



( Facilities) (Goat)

Going Potty

Without going into too much detail, going potty can be tricky and yucky at the same time. We have regular bathroom facilities at the house. However, everywhere else has just a hole in the floor or ground. So it’s imperative that you bring toilet paper or something to wipe with when you leave the house. There have been situations when we were out in the rural areas that it was easier squatting over the near-by bush than in the actual potty hole due to the number of flies and the goat next to you that is heckling you the whole time…its funky stuff folks.

The Electricity/Technology

You’ve got to love technology. We all brought our laptops, video recorders, cameras, ipods, and so on. Well…when the electricity goes out for 48 hours for no apparent reason, we all go into a pre-tech time warp…all of the batteries die out and can’t be recharged. We just heard that all of Uganda was unable to use the internet also. So we are struggling to find something to do with ourselves when it gets dark. We all have candles and flashlights but it gets to be a real bummer not being able to communicate with anyone back home…yes, we’re spoiled. Hopefully, the power will be on when we get home.

(Road?)

Transportation

One word...Crazy. There are no rules for driving. The bodas (motorcyle taxis) weave in and out of traffic. Most don't wear helmets or have headlights at night. The taxi vans drive at warp speed. There are many round-abouts where you drive around in a circle and hope you can turn off on your street. The streets are kind of paved in the city but there are many ruts. Once you leave the city, the roads begin to get worse and may only be partially paved and become dirt in the rural areas...sometimes you wonder if it is a road at all. There are no street lights and their heaviest traffic is in the evening. You just have to hold on and pray!

(Cute Boy)

The Most Important, The People

Ugandans are grateful, kind people. They are very touchy feely. They love to hug and hold hands with you. They will try to bow to you on their knees when showing their gratitude. The kids love Mzungos (non-Ugandans). They are usually smiling from ear to ear with their eyes wide open, full of joy…that is if they are not sick. They love sweets like all kids do. Many of the people in the group brought soccer balls and tennis balls to give to the kids. I brought some frizbees. They love to look at their picture in our cameras or video recorders. The kids love to play with us and its amazing how they will follow us from house to house. Sometimes they will even run after the bus for a mile down the road. It is so fun to be with the kids…they are all so adorable and huggable even when they are dirty from head to toe:)

(Running after the Bus)

One Child for Each of Us

11 Kids!



Huggin Florence

Toys for the Kids

So as I said, my small group said that I would end up sponsoring 12 families by the time I got home…well I didn’t go that far even though it was tempting! I did however sponsor a family with 11 children…so that means there will be one child for each person in our group!

On Sat. morning, we set out for the Mukono District which is about an hour north of Kampala…it took much longer because of traffic and the roads became very tiny and full of ruts and holes that it was not ideal for a bus full of mzungos. We started the day with the verse from Isaiah 58:6-8 in our hearts. It talks about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and providing shelter for the homeless. When we walked up to the first family on our trip, Silvia immediately knew that this was her family. There were 7 children and a widowed mother. The living conditions of these people are unbelievable. I suppose if that is all you know, then they have no other expectations. You have to ask yourself, are they happy?

Obviously, they feel a little awkward when we first arrived. We try not to be too obtrusive and they become more comfortable and begin to smile and respond. These families are aware that we are coming and are somewhat prepared for our visit. GFR works with local NGO’s (non for profits) to determine which families are the poorest of the poor in the district. The local NGO rep. , and many others come along with us to meet the families so that they feel more comfortable and can interpret for us. Anyway, Silvia adopted the first family and we moved onto the next home. On the bus, I said “I think God wants me to adopt a family with a bunch of kids.” Lo and Behold…the next family we visited had kids coming from everywhere! I began to count, 1, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11!!!!Wow, 11 kids. God knew.

I became very emotional and told Ben immediately that this was my family to sponsor. At first, I was unsure who the mother was because she looked so young. When we sat down, we determined that there were actually 2 mothers! Poligamy is common in Uganda. The 2 mother’s names are Florence and Ida. Florence was very sweet. Ida was shy and appeared to be uncomfortable by our presence. The father left them…they have no idea if he is alive or dead. They introduced me to their family…I don’t remember all of their names but I remember that Fred is the oldest boy and there is an Allen. Ben and Melody said that since there were 2 mothers and a total of 11 kids that they would need 2 sponsors. Even though they don’t really know what sponsorship means yet, I looked into their bright eyes and thought there is no way I can just sponsor 1 family and not the other. So I figured that our small group can sponsor 1 family and The Abbotts will sponsor the other!

I showed them the picture of my small group and the interpreter tried to explain to them that the people on the photograph are saving their money to send to them so that they can eat, buy clothes, and go to school. Florence (mother of 7) then gave me a tour of their houses. The mom slept on a bed and the kids slept on the ground on mats. She also showed us the grave of her son, Abel, he died at 5. She cried as we pulled the weeds off of the grave mound to show our respect. I spoke with Ida and she opened up a little more. As I said, they don’t really understand what sponsorship means at this point so I’m sure its all confusing. We gave all of them clothing, toys, and a goody bag full of tolietries and candy. I plan to leave them some money and a goody bag with my blanket, clothing, and toiletries before I leave Africa and the NGO rep will take it to them. We met several more families that day…all as destitute as the others…no food, rags for clothes, and many sick… and all of them were sponsored from someone in our group. They have no idea how their life is about to change. God is Good.

Abel's grave

So Much Africa In One Day!

What an overwhelming day! This morning we left our house and went to a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. Mind you, everyone is poor but it is GFR's mission to the help the poorest of the poor. We went to demolish and begin building a new house for a blind woman named Cissy and her 3 children. Melody had written about meeting Cissy in her blog, she is a woman that was beaten severly by her husband and ultimately lost her eyesight...he was obviously trying to kill her because he killed 4 others in the process, one being her mother. She has a very tragic story and it made all of the newspapers but no one stepped forward to help her until now. Mel had described her as one of the most beautiful Ugandan women she has ever seen. So when we arrived at her house, she was there. She walked out of that house and her beauty and gratitude was overwhelming. Her daughter Brenda was constantly hugging and touching us. It only took a few hours to remove everything from the house and tear it down. We began leveling the floor and sifting thru lots of buried garbage. The original house was made of clay, the new one will be made of clay brick and concrete. We had to walk down thru the village about a kilometer to the water hole...and then carry 40 lb. jugs of water back up the hill..it was brutal and took many breaks to make it to the top. They needed the water to mix the concrete. A little girl took one of our jugs and carried it up the hill without breaking a sweat. Some of the local made fun of us, mzungus (a non-Ugandan), because we were struggling to get up that hill. By 2:30 pm, we were able to unload a truckload of bricks and the brick-layers finished about half of the new house by 4pm. There is much more to be done but what a great start. Everyone was so happy. JJ sponsored Cissy's family and now the children will be able to go to school.

1-Hello to Cissy! 2-daughter Brenda 3-'She-woman'(80lbs of H20)

We ended the day by visiting the older woman that is dying from syphillis and her daughter(17yrs), Grace, who has HIV/AIDs and TB as described in Mel's blog. She now has a new bed and mattress after laying in the same bed on the floor for 4 years. Kathy and Elton are now sponsoring this family. They were able to give them money to obtain medical care with all of their illnesses. We met Grace's daughter, Brenda, who is only 1-1/2 yrs. old. Mel had tests ran on her and it has been confirmed that she also has HIV/AIDs. Her mother doesn't know yet. It's devastating.

Brenda-age 1-1/2(tested positive for HIV/AIDs)


I have red clay in every nook and cranny of my body and I'm exhausted. I can't wait to sleep. There are more pics of all of us on the GFR site-I got to hand out some of those telescopes and I was mobbed:) Just think, I get to wake up and do this all over again-wow.

I'm Here!!!

I'm finally here in Uganda! Wow, it was a quite a journey just getting here! It was nice to get off the plane and see Ben, Melody, kids, Bosco and Cyprian waiting for us. We landed in Entebbe, the air smells fresh and it is quite humid. We all managed to get all of our lugguge...I brought too much in my carry-on and fought with that the whole trip-live and learn. Anyway, we loaded up a small bus and suv with all of our stuff and headed about 45 min. to our house in Kampala. The house is nice. I'm rooming with my bud Silvia..she is the mommy of the group, always making sure we all are fed and comfortable. The house has a tall stucco fence all the way around it (I'll take pics tomorrow) with a guard at the gate. There are a few people working here taking care of the house, I forget their names but they are very sweet. I immediately took a shower and ate breakfast (french toast and pineapple)-it was delish (pic of me eating on GFR blog). Then I took a 4 hour much needed nap since I had barely slept in 36 hrs. , ate dinner and then had a "Welcome to Uganda" meeting. We met Ida (pictured above). She is the new Director of GFR here in Uganda. She used to be a high school teacher but is now retired and works with various non-for-profit organzations. She obviously has a passion for education and has raised money to pay for tuition for over 200 kids. Anyway, she is awesome and she gave the ins and outs of the culture and what to expect in the coming days. We are leaving first thing in the am to demolish a home in the city of Kampala for a blind woman (on GFR blog) and her family so that a new home can be built. We are all anxious to get started on this mission. Anyway, everything is great and I'm so excited to be here-I miss my family so everyone hug them for me. I have a feeling this next week is going to fly by!

My new pad...the mosquitos come in swarms in the evening so nets are a necessity at night. Fortunately, they don't really bother me but it's still annoying to have them swarming around your head!

Just Chillin...

Here I lay in the grass in front of Westminster Abbey in London. The trip is going well so far but I'm very, very tired. As explained, we have a 14 hr. lay-over in London so all 10 of us left the airport to see some sights. We took the train to the Abbey and then walked to Buckingham Palace. Since I had been to London before, I just laid on the lawn while everyone took the tour inside. I want to add that I'm traveling with some really great people.6 of us are from Chicago (Me, Silvia, Kathy, Dan, Dr. Mark-Ben's Heart Dr., and his son Kevin), 3 from California(Elton -pastor that used to live in Chicago, Billy and Lisa), and 1 from Colorado (JJ-Ben's cousin). I'm sure I'll talk about them more as time progresses but it's amazing how you get to know people so quickly when you are around them in these circumstances. Also I'd like to mention that British Airways ROCKS! We had excellent food on the flight and each person had their own little tv with about 40 movies, tv shows, and music to choose from...I felt very spoiled considering what we are about to encounter in the following days. I just wish I could sleep sitting up...its been rough.

Africa or Bust!

3 hours until I head to the airport! My bags are packed and bulging at the seams. I have 2-51 lb. bags and a carry-on suitcase. One suitcase is filled with school supplies. The other is filled with misc. food, a small ax, a welcome bag of goodies for our new sponsored family, towel, various tolietries like toothbrushes, peanut butter and jelly...oh and a few pieces of clothing for me:) After a couple of hours, I managed to get my suitcase that was 7 lbs. over- weight to just under 51 lbs. Hopefully, the scales at the airport are not far off from ours! My carry-on has all of my electronics (laptop, camera, video camera) books, snacks, tolietries, and a change of clothes. Did I mention that my husband is the "Pack-Master"? He managed to get everything in my suitcase after I became so frustrated when I could only get half of it to fit.

I leave O'Hare at 5:40 pm and land in London @ 7:20am...then we have a 14 hr. lay-over...yes, 14 hours... and then get on a plane to Uganda, Africa @ 9:15pm and land in Entebbe @ 7:45am (see map). It's going to be a long one folks. I think getting there will be half the battle. We'll be staying in the city of Kampala. I think we'll have a day to get adjusted and get over the jet-lag and then we will begin some construction projects..the first one is in Busia and we'll be staying the night there. I'll try to keep you updated as we go. We downloaded Skype on our computers so hopefully, I'll be able to call home and talk to the kids thru the computer...I will miss them a ton. Anyway, I'm off. I Love You and thanks for all of the encouraging words:)

I Love You Man!

Had an awesome weekend! Went to Steve Miller Band concert @ Ravinia with my sister and friends from college. Spent Sunday at church with our small group and friends. Then gave a Luau baby shower for Sarah & Ryan. It was nice to see everyone before leaving for Africa. I received many encouraging words and I feel very blessed to have so many good friends.

This is a pic of my small group (we're missing Andrew, Steve & Amy). As the international ambassador of our group:), I will have the honor of meeting our new sponsored family while in Uganda. Honestly, I think they are afraid that I will end up sponsoring 12 families by the time I return to the states!

In my 2 year old daughter Jessie's words, "I love them."

Leap of Faith

My friend gave me "The Pineapple Story Series" cds to prepare for my trip to Africa. Otto Koning, a missionary, talks about the spiritual life lessons he learned while serving in New Guinea. He's an old dude and he's comfortable to listen to... as if your grandfather was telling stories of the old days... and he is quite funny. He talks about learning to yield your rights to what you have because as we know, God truly owns the rights to everything .
He also discusses the verse (Matthew 10:39) "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." I actually had to teach this verse to the our kids at church a couple of weekends ago and since then, it has reminded me of why I'm taking this trip. Most of us tend to hold on tightly to earthly things (ie.money, security, power, popularity), and we often find ourselves feeling empty inside. We try to keep all of our bases covered at all times but ultimately run the risk of losing it all. But if we're willing to take a leap of Faith, we can find what it means to truly Live.

So... What do I Pack?

Ok...I'm staring at an empty suitcase. How do you pack for a third world country? Ben, from GFR, sent us the list: Purell, Plane ticket, sleeping bag, pillow, towel tolietries, snacks, peanut butter, jelly, water bottle, cereal, camera, journal & the Bible. Of course there are luxury items to consider...like your laptop, a change of clothes for everyday, a razor. Do I really need to bring a razor? Will the Ugandans really care if I have hairy legs or armpits...doubtful, but it's one of those luxury items that normally we would feel to be a necessity for any other trip. The point is, I'm trying not think like a spoiled American when I'm packing...I will be surrounded by people that have nothing and I don't want to look like a tourist. As one of my old friends said to me this weekend, "how does a 5'2'' blonde blend in?" I guess I can't.

Old Friends

It's great to get together with old friends. They know everything about you and love you anyway:) The "Girlines" spent the last 4 days together just hangin out with all of our kids...all 11 of them running in a pack (like wild dogs..just kidding). It's nice to regress back to high school even if it's only for a couple of days.

Pandas at the Zoo

For Father's Day, we visited the Smithsonian National Zoo in DC. The girls got to see the panda bears and had to see the flamingoes ( Kasey now wants a flamingo for our yard). By the time we left the zoo, they were "panda-fied".

Wedding in VA

Mel & Jason
Abbott/Keppel Family

Reception
Church

Went to Mel & Jason's wedding in VA. We arrived on Friday afternoon (6/15), went to the rehearsal dinner, out the door at 8am the next morning to get to the church, wedding was at 10:30am in a cute teeny weeny stone church in Bluemont, VA outside Leesburg, went to the reception at a mansion with a beautiful view of the countryside until 3pm, then back home to the Abbott's to set-up for the post-reception BBQ at their house. All and all it was a good time, wished we had more time to hang-out with the Keppels but maybe next time.