Today was like any other day. William had the most stick in preschool, which meant he got to go to town with an auntie today. And that auntie was me. He gets so excited to go into town. I can never get over how grown up he is for being a 6 year old. He's such a wonderful boy, who's won my heart. And to be honest, I'm going to miss him quite a lot whenever it is I end up leaving Amani. I love how when I take him to town, he always insists on holding my hand and staying close to me. Even when I bring him back home, he's still right by my side. It's hard to see sometimes, but I think the children really do appreciate the little things we do for them like buying them a soda. Like any child though, they still have their moments of selfishness, but, so do we. Tonight was Tory's last night at Amani, so we were going to go out for her meal, however she hurt her knee earlier this summer, so it's more difficult for her to get around. We all decided on Surjio's because it's just down the road, and wouldn't be too bad of a walk for her. But.. then the night Mama's wanted to make her a meal, so really.. it just ended up being Becky, Josie, and myself going to Surjio's. It was so delicious. Tory had given us money to order a pizza also, so we just brought her one home. Other than that, I think I just went right to bed.
Saturday - July 21st
I did absolutely nothing today. I stayed home all day. I woke up around 11, which was splendid. Then I spent the first half of my day reading Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis. At halfway through the book, I took a break to make some lunch, and skype with my mum. Then I proceeded to clean up my finger and toe nails - because they aren't very pretty due to running around with boys everyday in the red dirt. It felt so wonderful to have clean nails, I'm still quite enjoying it! Otherwise, I just laid in bed and read some more. We had fajita night at Amani - it was so good. I wasn't really in the mood, but it ended up tasting good, so I just gave in and enjoyed it anyway. Then I went back to lay in bed, read, and I think I started watching a movie.
Sunday - July 22nd
One month exactly until I'm home. I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around that concept. One month, only one month left to learn the lessons God has for me, and only one more month of putting these precious boys to sleep every night. What am I going to do when I don't have 13 sets of teeth to brush at night, or 13 little bodies to hug and kiss before bed multiple times? What am I going to do when I don't have 26 beautiful boys to greet me every time I walk outside for playtime? I'm already relying on God for keeping a stronghold on my heart, because as I've said before, I can feel it falling apart at just the thought of not seeing my boys everyday. Anyway, this morning we went to church in Kampala with Sandra. There was a huge group of us, so it was a bus full. But, I was so excited for church - Sandra only has good things to say about it. And she mentioned the worship was awesome - which, I agree with. The only downfall was that it was so cramped it was hard to actually get into it. However, the guy standing next to me was getting his praise on, he was dancing and singing loudly. It definitely brought a smile to my face. I don't think I would mind going there again. It was fun, and they have the congregation break into groups of 2-3 people, and I ended up praying with this man named Joseph. He was Ugandan, so I had a little difficulty understanding what his prayer request was - so I just prayed for him as a person, and son of God.
After church, we went to a restaurant called Soho. I had a caesar salad, which was actually really good! But, when it came time to pay for it, I was searching and searching through my purse - no wallet. Sandra was kind enough to let me borrow some money, but I couldn't get my mind off of my missing wallet, because not only did it have 100,000 UGX in it, but also my debit card. I kept going back to when I thought I saw it last, and I think it was this morning before we even left for church. I had so much stuffed crammed into my purse, so it wouldn't even be possible for anyone to find it and then pull it out without me noticing. So, we were all under the impression that I left it at home. All I wanted to do was just pray for it, I needed that card.. if I only had around a week left, I would just call and close my account and use whatever money I had left. But, I'm here for a month - which means, the cash I had wouldn't last long enough. I came home, and it wasn't anywhere to be found. I searched everywhere, I retraced my footsteps of my morning routine, and where I thought I had gone earlier in the morning. No where. I called my bank to see if they were able to suspend it temporarily, in case I found it in the house - well, that's not an option apparently. And closing my account wouldn't do me any good, because a new debit card would be nearly impossible. Needless to say, it was a rough night. So, I showered, cleaned some clothes, and decided to lay in bed to watch a movie - hoping it would help get my mind off of it.
Monday - July 23rd
Still no debit card. I kept waking up throughout the night, hoping the God would somehow show or tell me where my wallet was. It's weird how that's where my mind went every time I woke up. I didn't really wake up in the greatest mood, for some reason, this has really put a damper on my attitude at the moment. I didn't want to go to prayer, I didn't want to go to preschool, I just wanted to tear the house apart. But, I chatted with Jeremy about my wallet, and he suggested a few things, like checking Surjio's - just in case. I did go to prayer, and during prayer, Sandra called the church just to see if anyone found it and turned it in, which they didn't ): So, I'm thinking it HAS to be around here somewhere.. but, during the breakfast I remembered that I brought my school card with me. My school card has my financial refund money on it! The only thing is, is that it's a MasterCard, which are harder to use here. But I figured, if that card worked, I could just use that one and close my other account. After preschool, I ended up walking to Surjio's during my break to see if I had left it there - I didn't. I came back to play with the kids. It was really nice playing with them, they somehow managed to get my mind off it for a while. I'd much rather focus my attention on these amazing children than rack my brain trying to remember where I last saw my wallet.. After lunch and putting the kids down for nap, Becky and I went to try out a few banks. And thankfully, our second stop was a success! I was able to get money out, praise God! Becky recommended that I hold off on closing my other account though, just in case I do end up finding my other card. But, I need to contact my Stout card office at some point to inform them that I'm in Africa, otherwise they may be really thrown off as to why there was randomly a charge in Uganda on my account. Playtime was good. Those little smiles can make any problem melt away. I wish I could bring them all home with me, that way whenever I have a bad day - I'd have beautiful little children that I could always count on for a smile.
(@ Amani - Our babies)
(@ Amani - Baby feet)
(@ Amani - Baby feet)
Today's been kind of an off day, as I'm sure you could imagine. Aside from being with the kids, my mind has only been on my card. I just need to keep reminding myself that life is so much more than money, or the clothes on my back. But, for the time being, I'm going to make some dinner and continue watching a movie. I'm sorry for sounding like such a downer today, please pray that my wallet is either in the house still - or just that no one is able to use it! Thank you so much!
