Uganda Update Day 300026

Today we started the day by going to Phil's kids house to visit with the children one last time. When we arrived only the secondary kids were there as the primary children were still in school. We had a great time playing with them. Sam was in a group with Regina, Moses, Gabriel, Ruth and several other kids who started out hitting volleyball and ended up playing keep away. The kids were all so excited to have someone playing with them! The joy on their faces was great to see. Samuel, Peter Longoli and I sat around and talked for a while Hannah and a few of the kids threw an American football around. I will say they are better at soccer than football but they were all having so much fun and it was fun watching Hannah (future football star) teach them how to throw the ball. I got to see Scovia today and she looked good though she told me that Susan was sick with Malaria. Phil was in Kampala getting the truck fixed so we didn't get a chance to see him. But we thoroughly enjoyed the time with the kids. Moses wanted to be sure Jen that we told you he was praying for you and he loved you. Judy, Samuel wanted me to tell you that he loves you more than anyone in the whole world. Those two kids are amazing. I really will miss them all when we leave.

 

I then dropped the girls back at Musana so they could continue with "their" projects (Hannah with the dining room walls and Sam with the sign for Sol Café) and I got back into the car to head to Bulubandi. 

Arriving back at Musana I found Sam in the room sewing letters onto the sign for Sol Café. The final product is great and Patrick at the restaurant loves it. I immediately put on my paint clothes and joined Hannah at the wall. She is still creating remarkable things and relegating me to writing quotes. Today I wrote two – all the while talking to Isaac and several of the other kids. He is such a bright little boy. He kept asking me question after question about everything. He finally said, "I need to know your name". I told him my name was Suebee (Sue is too hard to pronounce) and he said I should have picked another name because that was hard to say. I responded by saying I didn't have a choice, my mother picked the name when I was born. I asked him how he got his name. He grinned really big, and told me his mama picked his too! After about two hours of painting and talking I called it a day and took my first real shower in two days. I can honestly say being clean never felt so good. Then Kyemba came back and off to Sol Café we went for Trivia night. I am proud to say I have a perfect record at that game. I am not so proud to say that my record is perfect in losing!! Andrea shared her story with us of how she came to be at Musana and all the struggles she went through in the first several years to get the school off the ground and running. It is an amazing story and reinforces that God was a part of this plan from the very beginning. It is unbelievable that as a young 20 year old she didn't give up but instead fought every battle and challenge that came her way. Today as she looks back she realizes that there are many things she would do differently in hindsight and is glad she had the guts to realize where they were making mistakes and had the courage to change directions. Acknowledging mistakes and the willingness to make changes is what has made Musana so successful over the years. That and the faith they have and the love they all share for the children and for each other.

 

So tomorrow is our last day here. Hard to believe this journey is almost over. It has been wonderful! I will miss the people, the countryside, Kyemba, all of Musana and chappati. I will not miss cold showers. I love you all.

 

Sue/Mom 

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