Dear all.
How are things?
I am once again sitting in the internet cafe - the kids are all sleeping.
I am in good health - I have a few massive bites on my feet which I seemed to have reacted too and they are quite swollen and very itchy! The food here is good - not exceptional - I think the difference between western food and 'Ugandan' food is not to please the palette but merely as a means to survive - I'm not complaining though - ill just come back more appreciative of the variety of food that we have in the UK/western world.
There is a bought of Ghardia (sp?) going around.
I arrived to recieve the news from one of the volunteers that baby Sandra had passed away. You may well remember me talking about her - she was so tiny for her age and never seemed to grow. The Ugandan workers here say that she had had enough and just decided that now was a good time to go. I know that she suffered a lot in her short life and that she was very poorly, perhaps indeed it is for the best as she has gone to be with our heavenly Father in a place that knows no suffering.
I dont know but the kids seem different from last year either that or last year I was walking round in rose-tinted spectacles! They all look so thin. Some of them resemble the Ethiopian or Somalian kids you often see on the news. They have big swollen bellies and stick thin legs and arms and heads which look far to big for their little bodies. Many of them seem so sad and lifeless. For example, I dont know how many of you have seen the photo of Dwayne and me, but at the moment he barely smiles and just sits there staring into space. His big brown eyes look so sad and hopeless. It upsets me so much to see the children like this, yet I know that life for them here at the orphanage is far better than what many would other wise have on the streets.
I have spent a lot of time sitting and playng with Dwayne, Philip and George.
Im very pleased to say that Dwayne is being adopted by a lovely American family who I met a couple of days ago. It pains me to never see him again but he is going to a loving and caring family where he will grow into a healthy young man and be given great opportunities to fulfill his potential. There are about four American families here at the moment waiting to hear the judges verdict on thier case and grant them full guardianship so that they can take them home. The final hearing will be in Friday, so please keep these families and children in your prayers and grant the Judge wisdom to realise that these adoptions are in the childs best interests.
I had my first cold shower the other day! Even when its hot outside I cant stand cold showers but I guess I'm going to have to get used to it! I also shared my shower with a gecko on the wall and I could hear bats flapping about in the space between the ceiling and the roof. Yesterday, I went to the toilet at night and I took my torch because there was no power - but I saw this thing jump out from the corner - and lo and behold it was a ginormous frog! I must also get into the habit of checking the toilet before I sit down lest there be any unwelcome creatures in there!
Life in Africa seems very slow moving! If someone tells you to meet them at 11am they will in fact arrive at 2pm of you're lucky!