2012 trip is booked!

With only one trip on the horizon for 2012, I'm happy to have it booked. This will be my longest interval, and it's good to know we'll be back on the lovely red Ugandan soil on May 6. It looks to be a different trip, but I'm resisting the urge to plan too much - the Lord always, always directs my steps once we're there, and other than logistical necessities, I do much better to leave day to day stuff to Him.

I do know we'll spend several days in Jinja before leaving, and since my trip there was unfortunately aborted last trip due to Zeke's hospitalization, I'm extra excited to spend time there. We're planning to spend a night out at the orphanage in Bukaleba, and I'm just so excited to spend good quality time with the kids out there. And the guest house is so lovely... AH! Very excited!

So please pray for our trip, for me to not over-organize, and for all our steps to be ordered. And for no one to get sick! We so appreciate your support and prayers, always.

Christmas in Uganda

We have entered the crazy season here in the States. Black Friday is now Black Thanksgiving, and shopping is the athletic event of choice. Honestly, since I hate crowds, it keeps me away from stores except Tuesdays at 10am, but retailers provide jobs, as do the manufactures of all the stuff people are buying, so whatever floats your boat...

But in Uganda, they aren't consumed by consumerism. It's kind of hard to be when Umeme (the power company) is having rolling black outs every day and even the nicest homes and businesses are without power a lot of the time. When you don't have money for beans for dinner, or rent for the month, much less a Christmas gift for your child. When your parents have died of HIV/Aids or cancer or TB. When you are running an orphanage on ever-dwindling donations, lucky to provide posho (corn meal mash) and beans once or twice a day.

No one can do everything. But everyone can do something. Will you? Will you make a donation this month to sponsor a child's school fees, or pay an elderly widow's rent, or pay for fuel for the hospice teams? Will you make a box for Operation Christmas Child at your local church or through the web? Will you donate shoes or children's clothes?

I know 2011 in the USA has been hard for a lot of people. And I'm just going to post some photos to give you a teeny tiny bit of perspective. Not to guilt you into anything...  Just to inform and educate. You are blessed beyond the wildest dreams of most of the world. If for absolutely nothing else than that you can have clean safe water to drink from any sink, hose,  or water fountain in the land...  Just something to think about.

What are you thankful for?

This long weekend here in the States, besides being shopping madness, is Thanksgiving. Technically that was Thursday, but sometimes it takes awhile for things to get back to normal and for some retrospection to begin. I was pondering what we in our first world lives should be thankful for that they don't have or can't imagine in Uganda... So here's a quick, partial list.

* Plentiful, stable, electricity for all.
* Clean running water that can be drunk from any faucet anywhere.
* Toilets with sewers or septic.

* Air conditioning and heat.
* Well maintained, open roads where people drive in their own lane, obey stop signs and traffic lights, and stay more than an inch or two from your vehicle.
* Exhaust systems on vehicles, especially those in front of you!

* Police officers who don't stop you for a bribe because they need tea, but who do their sworn duty to protect and defend.

* The best medical care in the world.

My son's hospital room at IHK - they were nice and he got well, but it wasn't at all modern.

* Having more than one pair of shoes, especially when doing sports.

*Trash collection.

* Proper handling of meat for sale.

* Babies not left to die.

Are you feeling like your life is too hard these days? A lot of people are, I know. And compared with what you've been used to, it might be. But take a few minutes, just these few, to get a little perspective. We are so blessed here... Beyond the imagining of the people in these photographs. That is enough to feel thankful for.