0 comments Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Today is our last full day here in Uganda. It's also the first rainy day we've had here; really dreary and extremely unusual for the climate here. It matches some of our moods when thinking about leaving this beautiful country.

We had a good day, however, visiting New Creation School one last time and doing some shopping for friends and family (and ok, some for ourselves). We also had time to stop at KPC to hear the Watoto choir practice for their world tour (www.watoto.com for more info). These children are incredibly talented.

We just wanted to thank all of you for praying for us during this whole trip. We still have a lot to process but we do know for certain that your prayers have definitely made an impact. We leave for a morning flight tomorrow and will be back in Newark around 11 or so on Thursday. Hopefully we'll see most of you on Friday for cell/youth group.

I'll let the others share with you their personal experiences. See you all soon!

0 comments Sunday, July 1, 2007

Hi everyone! Internet here has been very sporadic... in addition to slow internet we have frequent nightly power outages. Sorry for lack of updates.

We've been doing quite a bit this week -- did a total of 3 medical/de-worming clinics (one on SeSe Islands which took a 45-min boat ride and 5 min additional ride on a "boda boda), and two in orphanages. We've also had opportunities to visit more orphanages and schools and did some sightseeing as well.

At our last debrief meeting, our team spoke on one common theme: our corporate sense of feeling immensely blessed by God through the children we met at the orphanages. They praise God with hands uplifted; pray out loud without being prodded or coaxed; and sing and dance. And boy, do they SING and DANCE! I am convinced that music is a gift that God especially blessed Africans with. It also encouraged me personally to spend less time surfing the net/playing video games... I really think these things stunt the growth of our natural God-given talents. But I digress.

In short, we've been having a wonderful time falling in love with this country. It's pretty safe to say that most, if not all of us, are seriously thinking about returning to Uganda next year, if our schedules permit. We have all been blessed so far during our stay here: Joanna and Anita with the opportunities to use their professional skills in direct service to those who need it most; Diana and I with the opportunities to get to know the children, to learn African dance with them and to enjoy enthusiastic worship; and Eric with a renewed passion for working with youths and children.

For the next three days, we'll be spending time at the equator, the Nile River, and the last day with the kids at New Creation Centre. Stay tuned!