Safe Journey Randy

Lilian, pictured to the right of us girls, is about to give birth. We were at her house delivering a birthing kit that Kate’s family helped provide for a bunch of our prego Suubi women. It was so much fun. This particular woman was so grateful. She is perhaps the most faith-filled person I’ve ever met and so it was so fun to be able to a part of blessing her. Her intense and sincere gratefulness were greater gifts for us girls than what we actually came to give her (I love how it ends up working out that way).

So we’ve been having dance practice every Monday, it’s been amazing and so much fun. I feel like this is a time for the women to forget about all their indifferences, all the jealousies, all their worries and just be free. This is a time where I see the most smiles, hear the fullest laughter and see the most bonding between the women. They LOVE to dance and the ones who don’t know how are now learning which is so much fun to watch. The picture shows one of our Suubi women (Agnes) getting’ fresh with Randy at his ‘Goodbye’ dance, it was so priceless.

We had a nice dinner with some good friends (Ben & Kym) before Randy left. This place was called “The Haven” and it was exactly that. After driving for 15 minutes through the poorest of the poor village, you arrive at this well manicured getaway out looking one of the most gorgeous views of the Nile. It was truly breathtaking at sunset.

So Randy left the country of Africa yesterday. The Suubi women and the tailors of Epoh were so sad to see him leave, as were the volunteers and of course, myself. I took him to the airport and was so emotional. I only have 5 more weeks here without him, but he was a real support for me here. I miss even just his presence in the house and the security of having him around. I keep trying to remember that I need to live today fully and presently. I don’t want to be counting down the days ‘till I leave and can be with Randy again. I want to take full advantage of each day here and be fully available for God to do whatever He wants with me for the day. The volunteers here are awesome and make it easier to just that, I’m thankful for them.

what I've been up to

So I dressed up as a cowgirl for Halloween here because there's not many options to get creative here with dressing up. Becca was a Hippie and though they changed out of the traditional Ugandan dress, Kate, Emily and Rachel (my namesake), were all decked out in African dresses called Gomeces (have no clue how to spell that word).

We went to hand out candy, soccer balls and jump ropes in Walukuba and the children danced and sang for us. We couldn't resist partaking the fun. The little boy in the white button up shirt was our little MJ, he did all the moves and so smooth. He's a stud! The picture with the little girl on my lap is Hamina, she was so dear to me when I came here over a year and 1/2 ago. She is more outgoing this year and is learning how to dance and shake her cabina (butt). I love these village kids, they're so much fun!