Another day and a lot more “see you laters”. Yesterday the nannies from the babies home had their Christmas party…on the beach at Entebbe! I still struggle with Christmas lights on palm trees and Christmas parties on the beach, but that is my issue! Back to the story- since the nannies were all going to the Christmas party, they all met at babies home to board the buses. That gave me an opportunity to hug each one and say “see you later”. What a blessing that they all could be there.
Then I could hang out with my “little man”- my 2 year old boyfriend. This is an extremely active child that “terrorizes” the babies’ home everyday, but as soon as he sees me, he comes running and we cuddle- sometimes for three hours without him moving. I kept joking that I was taking him home with me on Monday- one of the staff members actually thought that I had adopted him and was really taking him home with me- that is the bond that this child and I have. Needless to say, as I was driving away from babies home and he was standing on the steps crying/screaming at the top of his lungs, it was certainly not a “dry eye” moment!
After a stop at a few different grocery stores, I was off to the guesthouses to say my “see you laters” there. These young men and women have become like kids to me- I am either “Mommy” or “Auntie Lorenda” to almost all of them. They are wonderful people and I am so glad that God gave me the opportunity to get to know them better, but that makes leaving even harder.
After I got done these two visits, I texted Greg and told him that next time we come I am going to be mean to everyone so they will hate me then leaving won’t be such a heart wrenching experience. Of course I was kidding, I am so blessed to have every one of these relationships- feeling pain as I leave just means that these are valuable relationships and I thank God for every one of them.
At the end of the workday, we had the maintenance team Christmas party. The plan was to visit, watch a movie and eat the snacks I had gathered on my numerous grocery stops. There were some issues with the movies due to “bad” power (too high/too low- whatever!). Good thing the company was so good- that was the important thing.
This amazing group of young men has become our family here. Our children refer to them as their Ugandan brothers. Since our children were here, two women have also been added to the team- Amy is the administrator and Jackie is Greg’s replacement. We thank the Lord for Jackie- knowing that the team is in such capable hands makes it a little easier to leave.
Today we will be off to Jinja to enjoy our time at an amazing resort that is literally “in” the Nile- you have to take a boat to the island it is on. I got many things done yesterday and now know where all of our belongings will be going and how they will get there so my mind can relax and enjoy this beautiful “mini vacation”.
On Monday we will make our rounds around Central and then the entire maintenance team will accompany us to the airport. That will be our biggest and wettest “see you later” session, but we won’t think about that just yet. Instead we are going to enjoy the next day that we have in God’s amazing creation.
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