October 18, 2011 And so we wait on Iganga time...

This morning Liz and I woke up and decided we could not spend one more minute at the table talking to the kids without first getting out of the house! So we quickly ate a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, cinnamon toast, and the ripest, juiciest pineapple ever and hit the trails down to the kids house. Fortunately Liz's GPS was working as I still have no idea where I am or where I'm headed. That should come as no surprise to any of you. So within a few minutes of walking we were greeted by running children heading right at us and lots and lots of smiles. That was exactly what I needed to be rejuvenated. We headed straight back to the girls area and I was amazed by how neat each of the rooms was. All the beds were made and the clothes were hung neatly on the walls or stored in their footlockers. There was nothing on the floor. I wish I could say the same about the boys rooms but some things remain the same no matter where one is. It was definitely easy to tell which rooms were which! Some of the girls were washing their clothes by hand and in the courtyard their clothes were hanging out to dry.

Jesca was there (she is now the girl's matron) and she still has that incredible smile of hers. She was in the kitchen (a large separate room with three large charcoal fire pits) cooking lunch for the kids - all 139 of them. Today, as every day, they were eating posho (which is corn flour and water) and beans. Now the metal posho pot was big enough to sit in and it took three kids to carry it to begin serving. Two little boys had spent time before lunch rinsing the dishes in a large bucket of water. Stephen (the new houseboy) served the kids a huge, heaping portion of posho and then covered it in beans and bean sauce. It didn't seem to matter if the kids were big or small, they all got a heaping amount of food. Some have spoons but for the most part the kids eat the food with their hands. Tonight when they prepare for dinner they will eat exactly the same thing. This routine will continue every day of the week, week after week, month after month, except for Sundays when they get meat and fruit as well. Needless to say, Sundays are pretty special days! And yet, no one complains. They are just so thankful to have food in their stomachs and not have to worry about where their next meal is coming from!

While there I had my camera and that is a great tool for attracting the kids! They are so excited to see their image and they just love laughing at the way they each look. My problem is trying to keep up with who they all are. Susan Sunday (Laurie and Todd Cheves little girl) has become my sidekick. She has been a great help in telling me who everyone is. Of course, I have to put up with her laughing at me but it is a small price to pay. She is such a sweetheart! Emma (the Shelton's young man) loves the camera too. So every time he is around I lose control. He takes the camera right off my neck and starts taking pictures. While at the kid's house I was met by several of the kids who desperately wanted to talk to their sponsors. I tried to explain that back in the States you all were still sleeping as it was very early, but if they would come to Phil's at 5 pm we would try. Well, let me tell you, at 5 pm on the dot all three of them were on our doorstep. Jen, Moses was so excited to talk to you. He was beaming from ear to ear and all I could hear was him telling you again and again how much he loves you. Believe he really does. He is so proud to be your son. As soon as we hung up he was asking about talking to you again! Then Paul Losiya could hardly stand still while I dialed Linda's number. LInda, he too was one big smile. He's been talking about you non-stop since we arrived. So to both of you, thanks for taking the time to talk to your guys. You made their day. Nicole, Eliya was disappointed that you were not there. I hope you got my message. We will try again to talk to you tomorrow. Jaimie, Brian and Courtney we have not forgotten you. Your children were not here today and I have to get more minutes before I try again!!

On our walk back to Phil's we encountered our first runaway goat. This poor boy was trying to herd three goats and one had gone MIA. So there were Liz and I on a good samaritan mission. We actually caught the goat and gave it back to the poor guy. Now that was something I have never done in all my years on this earth!

Then we came back to the house to start talking to the kids. This is a process that truly stresses the differences between "our" time and "Uganda" time. And I have to say, in the nicest way possible, that Phil has certainly adapted to Uganda time. Everything here runs in slow motion and I have come to realize that I am an American when it comes to schedules. The waiting for things to begin can make one go crazy. Minutes turn to hours and we are still waiting. The children are so patient. I could certainly learn something from them. So tomorrow is another day. Phil is trying desperately to get me to be "Ugandan" and I am trying with all my might to get him to return to his American roots. So far we are at a standstill. However, at the rate we are talking to the kids I may not make it back to the states in time for Christmas!!

We continue to find out amazing things about our kids. I hope that just being in a place where they are cared for will change the pattern so many have grown up with. The story today I want to share with you came from one of our young girls. She is eight (or so we think). She doesn't really know her age or when she was born. Her mother and father are still married and living here in Iganga. Her father actually is educated (has a secondary 3 or 4 level education) and started out working in a shop. Her mother is an alcoholic and is violent when she is drunk. Her father started drinking and not showing up to work and thus lost his job. He now is selling brooms in the market place. Her older brother is forced to beg and dig through the trash on the streets for food to feed the family. She was coming to school but living at home until her mother kicked her out. Her mother then came to the school and then the children's house with a knife demanding that she come home. The sole purpose was so she too could beg on the streets. When she refused she burned her school uniform figuring if there was no uniform she wouldn't be allowed to go to school. Fortunately, because she is so young she can go to school without being in uniform. Liz and I have promised her we would get her a uniform before we leave the country. Meanwhile back at the ranch. her mother and father have produced three other children, the youngest who is still being breast fed. These stories continue to haunt me. And yet, our children treat each other like family. But then, in reality in some cases they are the only family they know. So again, thank God for all you have. Thank him for all the little things that we take for granted each day. The lights in your house. The fact that you can feed your children so they do not have to go hungry. The fact that your children will grow up knowing how to read and yes, can reach for the stars!

I enjoy each day I am here and I love our kids but as I sit to write each night I just find myself getting sad at the conditions these children live in. And I am not just talking about our kids. I know that they don't know any different. But I guess I have difficulty separating the have from the have nots. These kids are so joyous with so little. I want them to know that they are loved and cared for. But can we adequately do that in a months time? At the end of the month Liz and I will come home and they will still be here. Though we will try to maintain contact in reality there will be little. And so I wonder do they think we have forgotten them? So many of them don't have parents, or don't have parents that are around, that they are basically a group of children raising each other, which is certainly better than each one struggling on the street alone. But I worry about them and hope we are making a difference - if even in the life of only one child!

I hope you all are enjoying the cool front that has come your way. Our weather is still very hot. Love you all. Shalom. Sue