Fun times with Family

We have been very busy for the last few days showing our kids the sights in Uganda. As many of you know, we are a very warped family so we have had a great time traveling together and mocking each other endlessly.
On Saturday we went out to Suubi  (a Watoto Children’s Village) to show our children around there. We toured the woodworking shop and the metal fabrication shop and then off we went to see the mother that we sponsor. We have met her before, but we wanted to introduce her to our children. We also had the opportunity to reconnect with one of her boys who had been on tour in Canada, sang at our church and stayed with friends of ours.
After that, we headed off to the babies’ home to visit with some of the children. Shortly after we arrived in Kampala in February, a new family of children came to the babies’ home. Lorenda had the opportunity to bond with these three children who needed so much love. They have since been moved to Suubi  so there was a great reunion on Saturday as the girls recognized Lorenda and came running to her yelling “Mommy, Mommy”.
After our visit to the babies’ home, we proceeded to the goat barn to check out the operation there. Watoto is also in the process of getting a huge chicken operation up and going at their Buloba farm. We drove over there to show our children the progress that is being made. Buildings are up, feed is being stored and they should be ready to purchase 12,000 chickens in September. Once the operation is up and running, they will have enough eggs to feed all the villages. The plan for the future is to build more barns and sell the eggs at the market. When we first heard about Watoto a number of years ago, we were very impressed by their sustainability plan. After viewing two of Watoto’s sustainability projects, our kids said the exact same thing.
When Greg’s brother and his wife were here, we felt badly that we had not taken them on a trip to the equator. So on Sunday afternoon, the five of us piled into our Rav 4 and off we went to the equator. When something is 83 kms away, that is just a nice little drive in Canada. However, that “nice little drive” took us over two hours as we braved traffic, road construction and the ridiculousness of Ugandan drivers. Upon arrival at the equator, we took about 10 pictures and turned around and drove back. Yah- we’re not feeling so guilty anymore- it really was not worth the trip!
Yesterday we went to Gulu. Some stretches of the highway are OK and others are quite brutal. As we were driving on one of the good stretches we came upon an accident that had just happened. As we drove up, we saw a man carrying a child who was covered in blood. An SUV had blown a tire and rolled. Charissa and I dove into nurse mode and did what we could to help- mostly just assess, provide assurance and get them water. Fortunately, there did not appear to be any serious injuries- some cuts to the head and face, which bleed a lot, but didn’t appear as serious as we first thought. They then headed to the clinic in the next village. Please pray for our new friends- the dad had a more serious cut on his head, but the bleeding was controlled. The boys have some cuts and bruises and are very shaken up, but OK.
As we continued up the highway, we then went to the Rhino Sanctuary. We had never been there before so we were very blessed to see four rhinos. We were a little nervous when we realized that we would be leaving our vehicle and trekking rhinos on foot. We got a little antsy every time one of the rhinos would move or stand- it makes one a little uneasy to be standing in the wide open only 25 feet from these huge beasts!
Our time in Gulu was great! Courtney got to meet the boy that she and her family sponsor. We toured the Living Hope Centre. The guesthouse staff spoiled us and then we headed to Paraa Lodge to take our children on safari. We saw many animals before we even reached the lodge and many more (including lions) while on our game drive. We are looking forward to see what God will bless us with tomorrow!
Have a great day. We love you