Kyle has been here almost a week and on average he will tell us he is leaving early about 4 times a day. In reality, his sarcasm is overshadowed by his enthusiasm to "rough it and sleep under a tree." He is loving his time here as we are loving the time spent together in all of our endeavors.
This past week we have done many things which keep us on our toes and our heads heavily on our pillows at night. Every night as we retire to our room we each take a turn in our shower/bath to fill the drain with the dirt and grime that falls off our bodies like mud off of a 4X4. On Monday we worked at Word of Life. Sam and I were all too familiar with slashing and had a laugh watching Kyle perfect his own technique. While Sam was off filming something (as usual) Kyle and I helped Gad clean out a half built house. When removing a large (VERY LARGE) tent heaped in the centre of one of the rooms Gad pointed, shrieked and dropped his corner of the tent. Kyle and I grabbed each other in horror as Gad yelled "SNAKE!" We calmed when we looked and saw a short 12 inch cute looking blue snake just slowly writhing on the gravel. "It looks harmless to me," I said. Gad laughed in bewilderment and then shrieked, "it will kill you in an hour!" It was then that I realized I was ill prepared for the days work. I was wearing flip flops, shorts, no gloves, and was tramping through tall grass. All in all, the day ended without another hitch...other than sun burn.
On Tuesday we went to Agape Children's home where the team had been previously. It was unorganized and we found ourselves with little to do but we had a good time teaching the kids how to play British Bulldog. Oh yeah, Kyle crushed a little girl, but tough as she was, she jumped right back up and joined the mayhem. We will be going back next week to deliver 10 desks that the team has generously donated to their school.
Wednesday may very well turn out to be the highlight of the entire trip for me personally. This was the long awaited day when I got to meet the child I have been sponsoring for 2 and a half years. It was a long journey but we eventually made it through the countryside on bumpy roads to reach the village where Joseph lives with his grandparents. It was while we were trekking through the bush that out of nowhere a small child wearing a tattered school uniform, familiar to me from photos, came bounding towards me. Before I even knew what was happening, Joseph had found me in the group of 8 people and had wrapped his arms around my waist. After a few minutes he let go and then proceeded to repeat this process with both Sam and Kyle. He was now the most popular boy in all of Luwero. The rest of the afternoon was spent meeting his family, getting a tour of his home and meeting the pigs, goats and chickens I have helped them buy. After giving Joseph a brand new soccer ball, jersey and cleats, he was anxious to go to the field and play. Boy did we play! Few times have I felt joy the way I felt while playing soccer and blowing up balloons with a child I could not even talk to in my own language. The words were few but novels could be written by what was written on his face as he hooted and howled every time I drop kicked the ball 50 feet in the air. It was hard to say goodbye as he slumped his shoulders and watched our car speed away in a cloud of red dust.
Yesterday we went to Dwelling Places, another place we had been previously. We enjoyed our time sorting and folding bins of clothing which had been donated. Most of the children were in school so we sat with 5 toddlers as they ate their lunch. The afternoon was spent making crafts which they sell in their craft shop to help support the children they take in off of the streets. We bought the place out...
We were picked up by our good friend Marvin who was eager to take us to his home for a traditional Ugandan meal. It was a blast talking with his family around a delectable meal of mashed bananas (matoke), rice, and the best peas we've ever tasted.
Today we are taking a much needed rest before heading out to Jinja for the weekend. It is Marvin's 23rd birthday today so we have decided to take him away for the weekend. Just the boys hanging out, taking the town by storm.
So that is a brief rundown of the past week. You will just have to wait till we get back to get all the tidbits that fill the stories out into memories that will last a lifetime.
Miss you all, see you soon.
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