Ok, first of all, I apologize for never telling you the results of the "10K in 20 Days" campaign. What a lousy blogger I am! They did not quite make the goal, but they got pretty close. Courtney decided to award one family the full $5000 grand prize and then split the remainder among the other 25 families. So, we were not selected for the $5000, but we did get $147. This is such a blessing that someone we do not know at all would include us in this amazing effort. I'm still in awe of Courtney for her drive and passion for orphans. Check out her blog for more on her amazing family with 10 kids. She tells about the good, the bad, and the ugly and glorifies God through it all.
In other randomness, we got another very sweet gift for Mercy! One of the girls at our church made her this beautiful blanket. I am amazed by anyone that can knit or crochet because I have no such skills. Thankfully, fabulous people like Clara are around to teach my children... and babysit too!
Photo provided by Emma =)
Clara travelled to Uganda with me last summer. She surrendered to be a missionary a couple of years ago, but her trip to Uganda was her first overseas venture. She was amazing! She is definitely meant to be a missionary. She is constantly looking for things to do, picks up on cultural things very quickly, and has a real knack for talking with people... any type of person. The librarians and school administrators loved her. There was even some discussion over how many cows would be required for her dowry. Thankfully, I was there to prevent our friend, Dave, from selling her off, as we were technically her "legal guardians" for the trip. Here are a few pics from our adventures last summer.
Clara and some children at the Watoto Village
Clara and my other favorite Mercy.
Don't worry they weren't injured....the bandaids were part of our children's church Bible story.
And this is where Clara and I really bonded. This was our room at Lake Mburo. There is no electricity and after dark you have to stay in your room because of roaming animals. So we stayed up for a long time talking because what else are you going to do in the dark at 8 o'clock. =)
And finally, this isn't really related to Clara, but I saw this picture and it made me smile. This is a picture of the best shower I've ever had in Uganda. The water is heated in the big barrel over a fire and then it sits in the run all day to keep warm. The shower was dark, which may have been a good thing, but it was the perfect temperature and had amazing water pressure. I was the only one brave enough to try it, and I'm so glad I did. After I was done, it was almost dark so no one else got to use it. There are some advantages to having an adventurous spirit.
One more random thought that occurred to me while looking through photos. You really need to check out http://www.watoto.com/. This is a ministry started by a church in Kampala, Uganda. This church is now huge and their ministry is exploding. One big part of that is they have several "villages" outside Kampala for orphans. Each village includes a small church, a school, and a common play area. Each "home" includes approximately 8 children of different ages and one housemother. These homes truly become family units. These children get the love and attention many have never experienced. Watoto cares for all of the children's needs all the way through college. The only children available for international adoption are those with special needs. All others remain in the village family units. We toured two of their villages last summer and it's amazing! To help fund all of this, they have a children's choir made up of the orphans, that tours the world. The choir is fantastic. We saw them a couple of years ago in Wichita. Also, if you are looking for a mission trip, your group can go and help construct more homes in the villages. So check them out and see if they will be coming to a town near your this year or get more info on their current needs.
Outside of a Watoto home
Inside of a Watoto HomeChore time for one Watoto family
And finally, as far as our adoption stuff goes, we are still waiting. There is a slight chance a good judge may be available before the holiday starts on July 15th. Please pray for this to work out for us. But if it does not, we will wait patiently and trust in the Lord's timing.
