Painted Verses, Final Shoes and a Final Farewell

Before I start this blog I should let you know that we are once again without power! It is a such an appropriate way to end the trip! Some things just are meant to keep us humble and this is only one of a few that are in that category for the last day of our stay in Iganga. I woke up this morning to Liz pleading for five more minutes. It reminded me of Christmas mornings in the old days when I would bury my head and ask the kids for just that! I got in the shower and had cold water and drips but finally ended with a hot shower! We ate a breakfast of toast and headed out to the kid's house...early! We were on a mission to get the wall painted. So off we headed for one of our final trips through Mzungu lane! I love that walk. All the little children run toward us yelling, "Mzungu" and we wave at them and smile. Once we got to the house the project started. Liz did all the work; all I did was go over what she had written for a second coat and fill in the holes where the white paint didn't cover. She did a wonderful job. She painted the words in blue, red (although the red paint was like using water with a touch of color) and green. It just livens up the courtyard and looks so encouraging. I am so excited that she finally got to do this as it is one of the things that she really wanted to do. She painted love, mighty, hope, purpose, courage, serve, follow, faith, grace and comfort. Underneath each word she wrote the verse that applied to the word. I can't tell you how good it looks. And she didn't even end up completely covered in paint, though she did have her fair share. All the kids were crowding around as she was doing this project watching her with eagle eyes. And they all took an interest in what she was writing. That was really nice to see!! So now every time they get served their meals they will have verses to look at to remember the word of God.

When we finished Liz and I headed home to change and rest for just a minute. We were both wiped. It was hot and while Liz was painting I was trying to take pictures of anything I might have missed. So off we trekked one more time. Back through the village with all the cute little kiddos. When we got home we stayed for about thirty seconds before Liz was dying to get back to the kids. This time we grabbed Jack and back we went. We wanted to spend as much time with the kids as possible and yet it was really hard knowing that this would be the last time we would see them. I tried to keep my camera so that I would have something to distract me but that did not work so well. As soon as I walked through the gate someone took it off my shoulder. So there I was and it was just me and the kids. I kept trying to postpone that we were really leaving so I kept everything light and easy. We stayed for a couple of hours and by then my emotions were raw and I had to get away for awhile. Fortunately Susan showed up and we took the two boys who were missing shoes into town to buy them. Susan's timing could not have been better. A few more minutes and I would have lost it completely. So back to the market we went. While there Liz and I decided that we would buy Ida and Esther (the two women who work at Phil's) something for being so sweet to us while we were here. They have just been wonderful and have taken such good care of us. So we talked to Susan and decided to buy them each some fabric to have a dress made. At the same time we decided to do the same for Susan. Susan picked out her fabric and Liz and I picked out the fabric for the other two. We then gave them each the money needed to pay someone to have the dresses made (that equated to about $5.00).

When that was done we headed back to the kid's house to drop the boys off and to bid our final farewells. That was harder than I expected though I was so exhausted I was all out of emotions. Several of the girls broke into tears and that was really hard to see. Some of them gave me notes to read, which I have left to read at another time. I can't do it yet. And one girl gave me the cross she was wearing (Angela Kitasala) to keep as a memory. There are several of the older girls who have really touched my heart. They are such a wonderful group of girls and I have really bonded with them this year. They are such a part of my heart. The younger girls I have enjoyed playing with but the older girls I have established a relationship with and I will really miss them.

As we got home several of the kids came with us wanting to call their sponsors. Moses was so excited to have the chance to talk to both you, Jen, and you, Blake. He just smiled the whole time he was on the phone. He is such a girl on the phone. He tucks it under his ear and begins to wander the front yard. I have to coral him in after a while and remind him that he is talking to the states and maybe it is time to say goodbye. He truly loves you both and wishes you would both come to visit. John Bosco feels the same way about you, Brian and Courtney. He, too, was grinning from ear to ear the whole time he was on the phone. He is a great kid and I've really had a chance to get to know him this trip. He has a great sense of humor but is such a big help with everything. And finally, Samuel Aguma really wanted to talk to Bonnie. He was so excited when I connected and he got to say hi. He has been the biggest help to both Liz and I in the painting department. He has the biggest grin ever and is such a ham. Other kids wanted to "phone home" as well but I did not have their sponsors phone numbers. Probably just as well as they all get so excited and many of them don't speak very good English. After all the calls I had to go down to the local store (two doors down from Phil's and replenish my phone with minutes) but it was so worth it to see their faces.

Tonight Rehema, Angela and Sylivia came over and we gave them skirts that we aren't planning to take home, Liz gave away a pair of sandals and we gave them letters that we had written. We also asked them to deliver letters to other children that we had written to. Again, when it was time to leave it was really hard. These three have definitely made an impact on my life. I love them all. Before they left I prayed over them and then it was time for them to go. Someone definitely knew what they were saying when they coined the phrase, "Parting is such sweet sorrow!"

I am now headed to my room in the dark (a prospect I am not looking forward to) to begin the process of packing. I should have thought more about this as I was in Jinja buying all those goodies to bring home. I can't imagine it all fitting in my suitcase, but then I am not one to be beat by a challenge. This is my final blog from Iganga as tomorrow morning at 6 am (or so they tell us) we are headed out for the twelve hour journey to our safari. We will be crossing the equator and seeing many parts of the country I have never seen before. I am very excited about the day though not so excited about the bumpy, muddy roads we shall travel. I love you all and miss you all very much.