A DAY OF DOUBLE BLESSINGS...

The final thing I said to Steve last night after hanging up with him early was that I was headed to bed. I was very tired and worn out. But little did I know that it was to be the latest night yet. Little Lizzy does not like to be alone in a room and I really don’t like to leave her to her own devices. So after I finished blogging I gave her my computer and you would have she was writing a novel. First came the outline, then the giggles and then the first draft, and then more giggles and then the final draft. Did I mention this was followed by even more giggles? She was very proud of that blog!! Then she had to answer an email from John. Followed by several other emails and then Facebook. Meanwhile if there had been soup I would have been sleeping in it! Finally we went to bed. While all this typing was going on Phil and I headed down the street to buy some drinks in the dark. What I failed to remember was the puddles. Next thing I hear is Phil repeating, “Sue, Sue, Sue”. Ok, that was good but maybe he could have mentioned why he was calling my name. Before the warning came out I stepped into this huge puddle and was covered with mud up to my calf. I was black all over. The people in the street thought this was a great source of humor. Having been the brunt of jokes all day, I figured this was just another one to add to the mix. The good news is that when I finally got into bed, I was asleep in no time at all. I missed the thunder and lightening. I missed the lights going out and the fan going off. I missed Liz tossing and turning all night long. I slept like a baby!

And then today started. Susan’s last words last night were that she would be here by ten. So we got up and were ready to leave by then only to wait…and wait…and wait. My shower this morning had consistent pressure but it was NOT hot. I am so excited to get into a shower and know the water will be hot for the whole time! It is the little things that I use to take for granted that I am no so thankful for! Anyway, Susan finally called around one to say she was getting ready! Getting ready! Now does that sound like anything like ten? At around 2 she showed up and had Adrian and Obama with her. Obama was here last year periodically but was a very little baby. He is now almost three and no longer cries when he sees Mzungus. In fact he has a beautiful little smile. Adrian is the little boy who has stolen my heart. Our journey was to go out and meet Adrian’s grandmother and see where he lives. I thought this was going to be a short journey into town. But I was, oh, so wrong. Susan led us down the road toward Jinja and then veered off to the left and drove deeper and deeper through little villages. We stopped along the way and bought bugoyas (sweet bananas) off a street vendor. I did venture to try this and took a bite but decided after yesterdays adventure I better be careful. The total drive probably took a little over an hour as she swerved left and right avoiding potholes and oncoming traffic. Halfway there I decided that seatbelts were really a good idea and I quietly and inconspicuously slipped mine on. We drove through some rice fields so the land was flooded and then over some roads that were not fit for cars. I kept being amazed that we could get through! When Susan finally stopped the car we were in the middle of nowhere and I was wishing I ‘d brought breadcrumbs to find my way home. We went into this house and met Adrian’s grandmother (who couldn’t have been more than 40). It is customary here that if you visit someone in their home they feed you. Fortunately (and this is my first blessing) Susan told her I was sick (Hallelujah for yesterday) and that I couldn’t eat anything. Yeah for me!! Otherwise it would have been a huge insult not to eat! When the food came out I was doing a silent dance inside. The rice they served each person could have fed four of us back home. And then came the meat. All I could think of was I couldn’t tell what it was by sight and I couldn’t tell what it was by smell. What I could tell was that it looked worse than it smelled and there was no way I would have been able to stomach it. Liz however, didn’t fare so well. She served herself some rice and then silently backed away before the meat could be served. I was so proud of her tactics. But that was only the first stop!

Every time we go somewhere we attract the village children especially once I pull out the camera. This village was no different. When we drove up I didn’t see many kids but within a few minutes they were everywhere. And they all wanted a picture. Their faces are all so cute. What amazes me every time I see it is children taking care of children. It is so common for five and six year olds to be toting young babies around. And I’m not talking about for a few minutes. I’m talking about them being responsible for the entire day. They are cute as the dickens but I can’t imagine giving that kind of responsibility to our children at home.

Then we went to visit Susan’s aunt (her father’s sister) and she lives even further out in the boondocks. Her house was rather nice once we found it though the chickens kept walking through while we were there. She had corn drying from the rafters so she can plant the kernels. Here again they served us food as their guests and here again I pulled the sick card. Hallelujah again! This time they served matooke (which is like eating Elmers glue mixed with mush) in some weird sauce. Liz was again served a portion and hers came with a little bug! This did not make her day! Liz and I were granted chairs to sit on while the family was seated on mats on the floor. That is always so strange to me. At least this time the family stayed in the room while they served the guests. But they did not eat with us…, which they never do when they serve guest. In fact, usually they don’t even stay in the room while the guests are eating. Meanwhile little Obama and Adrian ate it all at both places. They kept shoveling it into their mouths like there was no tomorrow! I can’t believe how much that little boy can eat!

The second blessing of the day was getting to spend time with Adrian. He is such a blessing to me. He just smiles all the time and he is such a special little guy. He has wormed his way into my heart and I just love spending time with him. I gave him an A&M shirt yesterday and today he was still proudly wearing it. I just enjoyed spending the time with him. He talks to me like I understand everything he is saying and the language barrier doesn’t matter to him. On the way home tonight he fell asleep in my lap.

Meanwhile while we were gone Phil continued to do some of the interviews for me which is a huge help. We just finished dinner of chicken (which reminds me that on the way home we had a live chicken with it’s legs tied riding in the back of the car), rice and potatoes. I’m going to leave you with something I read today that I really liked:

Only he that has traveled the road
Knows where the holes are deep.

Today is the first day of our second two weeks. I will be the first to say that a month is a long time to be away from friends and family. I miss you all very much. I hope that Liz and I are doing God’s work. I pray every night that He will show us the way. Some days I feel we have done nothing productive and feel a day has gone by wasted. I hope in those days that we have touched just one child. Now more than ever we need your prayers. We are both working from exhaustion, our emotions are raw and we want to love on our kids with abundance in the time we have left. I love you all.