Today started with the team packing up and getting ready to go. Kyemba came by in a regular size van and packed the trunk to the max. Suitcases were hanging out the rear, but fear not, he tied the trunk down and assured us that nothing would fall out. He is a master at this skill so I am not concerned that they all to the airport in one piece. The remainder of the luggage ended up tied to the roof. In typical Ugandan style the team crammed into the van and off they went, but not before a few tearful goodbyes. Leah and Yvonne came by later and were very sad to see that they had already left. They were hoping for a few hugs before you all left. Instead the two of them went down to the women's ministry room and started pairing fabric for new bags. It was great fun watching Leah trying new "weird" patterns and hearing Yvonne say that Theresa (the older sister in China) wouldn't like it. Then they would look at it again and both nod in approvement! Big sister may rule, but then again big sister is not present to make the decisions! I saw a little bit of glee. Hannah and Sam made some pairing decisions too and are anxious to hear if their choices are the number one seller in China!!!!
Afterwards the three of us hopped on two boda bodas with brooms, squeegees, buckets and soap and headed to Musana's new hospital. We are truly becoming Ugandan. Our intention was to continue cleaning the building but it appeared someone had beat us to the punch. There wasn't much point in cleaning any more as the windows were open, the red dirt was flying in and construction was still taking place. The top floor where the red clay was has all been removed but there is now a thick layer of dirt in all the rooms we cleaned. We decided except for the dust (which is inevitable) the whole building looked really pretty good. We will see what the status is before we go back and then will clean again if necessary. So we called the lead boda boda driver back (Richard), they returned for us and we returned to Musana where we ate a quick snack. Then we assisted Jamie in tutoring the kids in spelling and reading before school was dismissed. What a joy it was to see when they got something right. They were so excited!
I then went and sat with the school cook and helped her and another woman sort through beans pulling the good from the bad. I actually found this quite refreshing after a day of running from one activity to another. It is quite therapeutic and I had a chance to talk with her and get to know her a little better. We then found out that Musana's Netball team was having a friendly match against another school so we went to the back forty and with all the Musana students cheered them on. It was awesome to see the students supporting their team and jumping up and down and yelling every time they scored. Rashida came by and her school uniform had a huge tear down the seam so I asked her to go change and bring it to me. I then proceeded to stitch it back together for her. Sadly, Musana lost todays match, but they were playing the best team in the area. This team really hustled and jumped and scraped for every ball. They weren't afraid to throw their bodies to the ground for a ball. Still Musana never gave up and their fans never stopped cheering. It was fun to watch. There is nothing better than faithful fans!
We are all moved into our new digs. Hannah and Sam are now sharing the room that Judy and I shared and I now have a room all to myself. We are in a two-bedroom suite (I use that word very loosely). We have two suitcases filled with snacks (we body searched the leaving team members to ensure they weren't trying to sneak any out) and are very happy. We did mourn our fellow team members for a while today and then got caught up in the activities of Musana. We are so thankful we are still here and have more time to spend with the teachers and staff. They are an amazing crew. We will spend the next ten days working with nursery kids, tutoring, doing some artwork at Sol Café, painting another mural and loving on the kids and staff.
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