Days {71-73}

Thursday - August 16

I was finally able to take my little Enoch on an outing. He's been known to cry and scream the entire time, and I thought maybe this time it'd be different. However, as soon as he realized that we had left the Amani gates he began to cry and cry! He was really good on the boda though, which kind of surprised me. But when we got off the boda and arrived at our destination - he started right up again. Then he proceeded to su su on me.. once our sweetie got there, and I started sharing with him he began to laugh and giggle. So, in the end - I think it went quite well.

(@ The Keep - Lauren and Fred)

(@ The Keep - Enoch and myself)

(@ The Keep - Enoch and myself)

Our last Bible study was a good one. Charlie made lasagna, and we talked about processing our trip once we're finally home. It was kind of neat to realize that God brings us understanding at different stages of our life. For example, I already have some kind of understanding of why God brought me to Uganda - Amani more specifically.

Friday - August 17

I think today was a normal day at Amani. It's really beginning to sink in that this are a few of my last days in Uganda and with these amazing children. Today marked the last day of my final full week here. It's so crazy to think about. During our afternoon break I did a photoshoot with Sandra, she's so absolutely beautiful, and has a heart for God I can only pray for. I'm so thankful God brought her into my life - she's someone I plan on keeping for a while:

(@ Jinja - Sandra)

(@ Jinja - Sandra)

(@ Jinja - Sandra)

(@ Jinja - Sandra)

This afternoon we visited Ekisa with Charlie. It's the special needs home that I visited at the beginning of July. I had a lot more interaction with the children this time - they are beyond sweet. I can't even handle it.

(@ Ekisa)

(@ Ekisa)

(@ Ekisa)

(@ Ekisa)

(@ Ekisa)

(@ Ekisa)

Sandra, Lauren, Becky, and I brought over breakfast for dinner. It was pretty darn good. We ended up watching a movie, played some games, and just had a lot of laughs. I love the most recent people God's placed in my life!

Saturday - August 18th

I'm pretty sure we woke up around 9am? But, we made some breakfast and headed to Hotel Paradise to use the pool. This is the first time I've been near a pool since being here. I didn't swim - obviously, I'm not a fan. But I definitely didn't mind soaking up the sun while being there. It was so relaxing to sit around with the girls and just enjoy the down time together.

(@ Hotel Paradise - Lauren, Myself, and Becky)

(@ Hotel Paradise - Helene)

(@ Hotel Paradise)

(@ Helene's - Helene and Becky)

(@ Helene's - Helene and Lauren)

After the pool we walked back to Helene's house to have grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch! We then watched another movie, during which Helene did Becky and Lauren's hair. AND! We have our internet back, after three weeks.. also, with only having 3 days left here. Funny how that works out. Anyway, it was an incredible last two days, and I can't imagine a better day to spend our last weekend in Uganda. Tomorrow is a busy day - church, more photoshoots for 4, and dinner. Tomorrow is also the last day I'll see this shift of Mama's. That's so weird to me, I feel like I've only been working with them for the last few weeks - definitely not for the last 2 and a half months. I will for sure miss them, and continue to pray for them in their walks with God, and thank them for the wonderful work their doing with His precious children. They are such a blessing to those around them. Now, I think I'm going to coat myself with aloe vera and watch a movie. Goodnight!

Days {68-70}

Monday - August 13th

Well, today is the first day of my final full week in Uganda. Megan left early this morning, which means there's only 3 of us left. It's really crazy to think that there was about 11 of us two weeks ago! But seeing as Becky and I are the only ones left downstairs, our new schedule is finally in effect. I taught preschool today - and man, those kids are crazy some days. I don't understand what determines their good and bad days. I spent a little time with the babies today for the first time in a while during break:

(@ Amani - Judah)

(@ Amani - Hope)

(@ Amani - Hope)

(@ Amani - Hope)

(@ Amani - Our beautiful babies)

Anyway, Becky and I chose not to go on an outing today because she misses Dress-Up Day every week. She finally was able to be there for it:

(@ Amani - Joseph)

(@ Amani - Wycliff)

(@ Amani - Enoch)

(@ Amani - Matthew)

(@ Amani - Edwin)


(@ Amani - Joseph)

Tuesday - August 14th

This morning Sandra, Lauren, Becky, and I went to work at the new Amani work site. Us three haven't been there since June - there's been so much work done, it looks awesome! Here's a few photos of what's going on there:

(@ Amani Work Site - Becky, Lauren, Sandra, and I)

(@ Amani Work Site - Playroom for the kids)

(@ Amani Work Site - Where they will ride their bikes)

(@ Amani Work Site - Overflow room)

(@ Amani Work Site - Girls room)

(@ Amani Work Site - Boys room)

(@ Amani Work Site - The new Amani Baby Cottage)

(@ Amani Work Site - "You are most welcome.")

I'm so excited for my next trip to Uganda, so that I'm able to see the new Amani all finished, and furnished with smiling and giggling children. I love knowing that I helped Amani work on this project, there will always be a little piece of me in the new site. I'm so thankful for all that Amani has taught me during my time in Uganda.

Wednesday - August 15th

I don't remember a lot of what happened today, but there was a lot of loving on the children by the remaining 3 aunties, Lauren has been bringing babies downstairs for us to play with during afternoon playtime:

(@ Amani - Philip)

(@ Amani - Jackie)

(@ Amani - Lauren and Sande)

(@ Amani - Moses)

(@ Amani - Jackie and myself)

(@ Amani - Josephine and Becky)

So far this week, we've seen 3 children reunited with their families and one has been placed in a loving Ugandan home. The Lord has great plans for these children, and I'm so happy to have been a small part of their lives. I know for a fact that I'll never forget them. Seeing one of my boys go home was so incredibly hard, however, it was such a happy moment knowing that he was going home to a family who will love him and raise him to be the strong man of God he's meant to be. I've never loved so willingly, or as passionately as I love these children. And whenever I think about it, it blows my mind knowing that they've taught me way more than I could ever teach them. Sure, I teach them a Bible story every week, help them with their numbers and shapes. But they've taught me more about God, and His love. They've also taught me more about being a parent, how to be a better friend, how to appreciate everything that's handed to me. These definitely aren't textbook lessons - and I'm so appreciative to have such wonderful little teachers, and a loving God that helped to open my eyes and heart to what He needed me to learn.

Day {67}

Sunday - August 12th

This morning we woke up, hung out in our beds, and eventually got ready for church. We went to Acacia this morning with Megan, due to it being her last day. Service was pretty nice. There was a family in front of us, so naturally the children distracted me - I can never pay attention when there's a child around me.. I have no idea what I'm going to do when I'm finally the mum. Anyway, after service we just came back to Amani, we each made some lunch. I watched a little bit of Pocahontas on TV, then Becky and I worked on some stuff for the preschool room. We sorted through markers, colored pencils, and picked out all of the broken crayons. It was a great time. After that we made new stick holders for the children that take part in preschool. Apparently Becky and I both enjoy redoing things to make them look better - I'm glad it's not just me, otherwise I'd have way too much work to do around here. Becky, Megan, and I went for rolex last night as Megan's last meal. I also bought the last season of The Office I was missing, ALSO, The Hunger Games - yes! After we finished eating, I ended up organizing my photos on my laptop - again, that's what I do in my free time.. even at home. But, then I just watched some Office and went to sleep. It was a good day, however, I didn't bring my camera anywhere - which results in zero photos. But hey! A blog on time! I never would have thought that's possible these days. Also, I'm down to the single digits of my countdown..

Days {56-66}

Wednesday - August 1st

Annnnd it's August - no way. My internet has still been out. So in addition to not being able to Skype anyone, I haven't really had the time or money to keep paying to go into town for internet to blog either. So, I've been off the map for a while. Also.. my camera has been dead - which means no photos as of late.

Thursday - August 2nd

Again, nada. I'm sorry.

 Friday - August 3rd

The Olympics have a big thing recently, especially gymnastics. I've never really been a fan of the summer olympics. I prefer the winter ones, but, gymnastics was somewhat neat. On our outing today we went to The Keep, and they had the double diving. Every time they dove in, Jacob yelled "SPLASH!" These boys were crazy today, I don't know what it is but they were rowdy.

                                                      

(@ Amani - Jacob)

(@ The Keep - Jacob)

Saturday - August 4th

Well, I'm sick again. For the third time, how fun. Everyone went to Katie Davis' ministry today, unfortunately, I choose to stay back - purely because I didn't want to be really uncomfortable for a few hours. So, I'm quite bummed about that. I pretty much stayed in bed all day. A lot of The Office.. naturally. We did go out to eat at Skewers for Josie's last meal though, which ended up being really nice. I love Skewers - but I couldn't believe that Josie had already been here for a month! After Josie, all of our volunteers are leaving one by one. I can't believe it.

Sunday - August 5th

Becky, Lauren, Emily, and myself went to Mama Josephine's church this morning. It's a Baptist church in Jinja, that is circular. It's actually really cute. Honestly, I had a hard time following the Pastor - so I spent some alone time with my Bible, highlighting some verses. After service, they served us tea and cookies - it was so sweet. Every one was so welcoming, I really enjoyed it. The other three volunteers had brought kids to church, and they were all looking very "smart."

Monday - August 6thWe started our new outing schedule today, seeing as only 3 of us can go on outings now. So Becky and I went to Surjio's. I got to take Joseph today! I'm thankful I was able to bring him at least once since I've been here, especially before I go home! He definitely enjoyed his ice cream though, and he even let Auntie Laura have a couple of bites.

(@ Surjio's - Joseph)

(@ Surjio's - Joseph)

(@ Surjio's - Joseph)

Tuesday - August 7th

My favorite part of the day was my 1:1 with Jacob, Becky, and Jonah. Becky and I had made a picnic area outside, and then when we went to grab the boys, it began to rain. Which was super sad - because we were so excited! Anyway, we moved everything upstairs. But, we watched Finding Nemo, and colored. Jacob and Jonah got really into the movie, Jonah was yelling at the shark and pointing his fingers at my laptop. Here's a look at the drawing Jacob and I worked on during the movie:

(@ Amani )

(@ Amani)

Then I went outside to play with the boys, and they thought it was a good idea to do my hair - so by the end of the day I had homemade dreads:

(@ Amani - Courtesy of William and Jacob)

(@ Amani - Finished result)

Wednesday - August 8th

I guess I didn't take any photos today, but it was just another day at Amani. Two weeks until I come home..

Thursday - August 9th

My boys are BALD - this made me forget about the small amount of time I have left. I walked downstairs to Joseph getting his head buzzed. It was a little heartbreaking, I'm not going to lie. But, here's a little sneak peak at all the of bald boys we have running around now. They looked so strange to me at first, but the baldness is slowing starting to grow on me.

(@ Amani - Joseph)

(@ Amani - Innocent)

(@ Amani - Malachi)

(@ Amani - Edwin)

Bible study was really laid back tonight - it was more of a casual discussion. But, I found a lot of closure in this meeting, because I've been thinking a lot about if I'll be remembered or if I'll be missed while I'm gone. It was really nice hearing what other people have experienced during their time here at Amani.

Friday - August 10th

Not much happened today. I shortly hung out with the boys during the afternoon because they needed help in the Baby Room upstairs, so here's a few of the photos I managed to capture before I headed inside:

(@ Amani - Fred)

(@ Amani - Innocent)

(@ Amani - Michael)

We did nothing tonight, we made some pasta and watched movies/shows on our laptops. A few of us were trying to think of things we'd like to do before we leave, and I'm honestly fine with not cramming a million things in at the last minute. I'm so comfortable and content hanging around Amani, because it's really grown on me as "home." I was telling my mum the other day that sometimes I find myself feeling more at home here in Uganda, than I feel in Wisconsin. I don't know what it is about waking up to babies crying and children singing, riding a boda into town for lunch or to grocery shop, walking along red dirt filled roads, coming in Amani's gates only to be greeted by dozens of little smiling faces - it all just feels so natural. I never once experienced extreme homesickness, granted, I miss people from home, and things from home - but not so much home in itself.. if you understand what I mean. It's so weird to think that in 10 days, my entire life is going to uprooted once again, and now I'm going to have to transition back to what I grew up with - and what's even weirder is that I think that's going to be more difficult for me than it was adjusting to a third world country. I feel so overwhelmed when I try to think of how to wrap up my trip in words - I don't know if it's possible. And I'm not even certain the thousands of photographs that I've taken will even give this trip justice. This trip has honestly changed my life - I've never felt this close to God before, I've learned so many things that I'll be able to apply to the rest of my life. I've realized that I idolize more than I should, and this trip has helped me see what friendships are real - and it's helped me value and appreciate the people that do care about me more. After all of this, I knew it before, but I've seen first hand just how blessed I am. Being in Africa, and interacting with the children and staff has only strengthened that blessing - because regardless of what I look like, they'll always welcome me with open arms and love me for everything that I've invested into this trip.

Saturday - August 11th

I woke up after 10 this morning, and started my morning with a little Dunder Mifflin. I told Becky that I couldn't believe that I've watched 6 seasons of a TV show since being in Africa - I don't even watch the much TV in the States.. it just doesn't really add up in my head. However, it's nice to have after a long day of work. The longer I'm here, I realized that I'm getting more and more tired everyday. Those kids definitely wear me down - at first, I was thinking "I don't know if I'll ever be cut out for being a parent," then I had to remind myself that no parent would ever have 25 boys. Thank the Lord. Anyway, Lauren made banana bread, which ended up being pretty amazing. I forgot how much I loved it, especially when it's still hot. But, after a while we all got ready to head out for Canan, which is another orphanage about 25 minutes away. We met up with Pastor Isaac when we got there, who happens to be one of the most humble people I've ever met. He said that he's never seen himself as a "boss", he just sees himself as a servant of God. Which amazes me because he started Canan, and they've come so far because of him. He said a lot of really sweet things to the three of us, which definitely made my eyes water. It's so wonderful knowing that Ugandans appreciate our work here. He said that he knows what America is like, and knowing that we left all of that to come to a third world country makes him feel so "small." And that we should all be called Mama's because we're so respectable. He also made mention that he always prays for us volunteers in Africa to find partners that will never hold us back from answering to God's call, but to push us forward and encourage us to do what our hearts tell us. Yes, Pastor Isaac is one of the sweetest men I've ever met. But after some time chatting, we were finally able to go outside to play with the kids. Becky and Lauren had been to Canan before, so they had familiar faces to greet - whereas I didn't. Thankfully, the children here never leave you empty handed. There's always at least one that finds their hand resting perfectly in yours. I had one boy following me around for a while, I had a hard time figuring out his name, but he showed me around their rooms - which is where they sleep, do homework, and eat. We just had a lot of fun laughing and goofing around with all of the children. Canan currently houses 120 children, ranging from the ages of 3-18, and after they reach 18, they still try to support their education. It's a great ministry, and I only pray that I'll be able to visit them again, either before I leave this month or.. sometime in my future. My heart is continuously filled with God's love over and over again, and He's given me such love for His children, and a desire to take care of His orphans. There hasn't been a single moment since being here that has made me question that this is what God has planned for my life all along. Which is why my heart breaks so much, when I think about the fact I have to come home. Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond excited to see all of you again, it's just that my heart has been exposed to people who need me more. I really am so blessed - that's the thought that always seems to cross my mind when I think about things like this. But here's some photos of our time at Canan:

(@ Canan - Maria, Myself, and Jess (I think))

(@ Canan - Jess)

(@ Canan - Example of the bedrooms)

(@ Canan)

(@ Canan - Jump-roping)

(@ Canan - Becky with children)

(@ Canan - Lauren and Sarah)

(@ Canan)

It's currently 9:48 in the evening, Lauren, Becky, and myself are at Surjio's. While waiting for these photos to upload I was able to skype with my dog, Yoshi. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love my dog - I'm unbelievably excited to see him in a week and a half! I also have a couple of photo shoots to look forward to when I'm home, which is also very exciting. Anyway, I'm going to head out now - I'm feeling kind of sleepy. I love the feeling of wanting to just curl up in your bed after a long day. Thank you all for making it all the way down to this point of my blog post - I apologize it's so long. I'm not sure if we'll be getting the internet back before we leave, so I probably still won't be able to post every day like I used to. But, thank you for keeping me in your prayers - it means so much to me. Please also continue to pray for the children of Amani, and the Mama's who spend their days taking care of these beautiful children. Most specifically, please pray for patience and energy. As you can imagine, it's a very tiring position. Have a great day / night!