Heartbreak is a Day Away...

Last night we tried our best to wait up for Phil to come home with Jack. But we failed! We called them a little after one and they were still an hour an a half away so we unbolted Fort Knox, left our security to Moses (the blind watchman) and went to bed. I didn't even hear them come in so I guess it was a good thing no bad guys came in! This morning I awoke to Jack snoozing on his bed. He'd already been up and was napping; not at all surprising since he'd been traveling for such a long time! We did a few more interviews and then headed out once Susan got here. We went into the village to buy paint because the only color that Phil has is blue and Liz does not want to paint all the words in the same color. So we picked out red and green and bought a little more white to fill in the places that didn't quite get covered yesterday. On our way home from that adventure, which included Jack, Susan called and found out that Pious was home today as well, so we stopped by Scovia's, picked up Keith, and went back out to their house so Jack could meet him. Jack sat in the back back seat holding Keith and he had the magic touch. Within minutes Keith was sleeping soundly in his lap. Next to him, little Adrian, who was not feeling up to par, was leaning against him as well, soundly sleeping too! We stayed out there long enough to have a Coke and for the village kids to find us and seek out pictures. The whole time we were there at least ten children were standing at their front door (which has a hanging curtain during the day) just watching us. Periodically Pious would acknowledge them and poke at them and make them laugh! On our way home, Susan told us that she saw monkeys along the "highway". Liz and I looked at her like she was nuts. So, in typical Susan fashion, she backed up the car and parked on the side of the road and told us to get out. So we did. We walked just a little bit and sure enough up in the trees were several monkeys just enjoying the view. Now I can honestly say that is a sight I have never seen before! We stood and watched them for awhile. Meanwhile just to our right was a man herding his cattle. And behind us was the highway. Put it all together and you have Uganda!

The next stop was back to Scovia's to drop Keith and Adrian off (I was beginning to feel like we were playing Monopoly and we kept passing Go; but we never collected our $200 shillings!). We then took off back to town to buy fabric because I promised a little girl that I would get her a new school uniform. Her mother, in anger one day, burned hers and she has not had one since! At the same time we are making one for Adrian who will be starting school in February when the new school term begins. Unbeknownst to me, the uniforms are made. So at least now the fabric is bought and the process can begin. Then it was back to Scovia's again. This time to get money to buy supplies for the kids and then back to town again. This time we went to the market place and Susan went to a little shop that was so jam packed that most of the items are stored outside. Then finally we made our way to the kid's house where we distributed the stuff to the kids. As soon as they saw Susan pull up and open her trunk they started forming a line. One by one she handed out first the skin lotion. As soon as they received this, they moved to the next line and patiently waited all until all the kids had received their lotion. The next item was shoe polish, followed by toothpaste, soap and toilet paper! Each item required them to form a new line!

Sometime during the day the "Shoe Man" had come and he gave 13 more kids their shower shoes. The hard part is that school times do not correspond for all the kids. It seems that every grade level goes at different times and now that it is exam time, some of the exams are taken in schools a long distance from here. So there is no telling when the kids will be there and who will be there when we show up. I never imagined giving the children shoes would be such a difficult task. We will try again tomorrow to wrap this up and if it just doesn't work out I will leave the money here for the job to be completed. We still have two kids we have not bought regular shoes for but we did find those kids late tonight and asked them to please be there tomorrow. So I'm hoping that will happen. And then I will leave Susan with money to buy a pair of each for Faith since she has not been with us for any of the trips.

I did a first today; something that unless done a trip to Africa is not complete. I squatted to go potty. Now this doesn't sound like a huge accomplishment to many of you but before you just move on go ahead and try it. First, envision yourself in a skirt, in a room that once the door is closed is completely dark and with a little hole in the ground that you can't see. Now getting down is not the hard part. Getting everything out of the way is. And getting back up without touching anything, floor or walls, is the real challenge. Once you have done this successfully you too can pat yourself on the back! And, thank the good Lord for indoor plumbing!!

We have three children who need to have umbilical hernia operations sometime in the near future and one young man who needs to have his leg operated on. A tree fell on him in 2003 and he never had surgery to repair the damage. The hernia operations will cost approximately $250.00 a piece (which is next to nothing compared to what it would cost us in the states). The kids though never complain about their ailments.

So our trip has one more day left. Tomorrow Liz and I ARE going to the kid's house early and painting the verses. I can't believe our time here is almost over. It hit me today that I won't be able to see these precious faces every day. I won't be able to walk out the door and hear the sound of children playing and drive or walk down the street and always see people. I won't hear the sound Mzungu and see children waving and smiling and I won't get my daily hug supply from our kids. I won't get the teasing smirk from Emma or John Bosco reaching for my camera. I won't get the kids running up to hug me and the feel of them wrapping their arms around my waist. I won't get the tickling that they have just learned to do without seriously poking me in the ribs and I won't get to tickle them back. And there are some kids I have grown to truly love and I will miss them with all my heart and soul. I can't believe that they will be a half a world away. In a nutshell I will miss them terribly and it will be very hard to leave them behind. I feel like a part of me will always be in Iganga!

I love you all and miss you all.