As I write this, my heart aches. Stopping to remember my sister-in-law is such a bittersweet thing. Many of you have asked how my brother is doing since my sister-in-law passed away. He and his children are doing well. They have many changes coming around the bend....one leaving for college, one headed to Washington to work for the summer, and the two youngest still at home with Dad. Through Lane Anne's suffering, my brother blogged about living life...through the hard times and the sweet moments that our sweet Savior gave each of them to remember. Tim and Lane Ann were the most significant model of walking by faith that I have ever had in my life. I have to say that if they had not gone before me, and I had not watched FIRST hand how Christ provided for them OVER and OVER and OVER again...I might not have EVER stepped out into the adoption world. Their love and faith is a PURE example of faith.

As Tim blogged, a love story unfolded before our very eyes. Every time I would sit down to read, I would pull out the tissues......it was BEAUTIFUL. SO, after many people telling him that they would LOVE to have it in print....your wish has come true!!

The Essence of Grace

This is a love story that chronicles the love between a man and woman until "death do them part." It started as a simple blog aimed at correspondence between family and friends. Whether the spiritual transparency depicted in these journals, spiritual truths contained herein, or unguarded honesty attracted others is hard to ascertain. One thing is certain. As this story was shared from one person to the next, those reading this courageous display of love amidst human suffering spread into the thousands. If you or someone you love is suffering from disease, death, marital problems or stuck in the throes of grief, this book is sure to challenge, inspire, and strengthen all those who read it.

You can purchase a copy on his ministry's website...disciplethenations.com. We all have suffered loss at some time in our lives. This book will give you HOPE.

Sorry for not keeping y’all updated the past few days, we moved to a hotel that doesn’t have Internet unless you are in the shop, which closes at 10…

Today is our last day…in the past few days, we’ve definitely stayed busy. We’ve been to the shops in Jinja several times, helped rebuild Agnes’s brothers house, visited the Karamajongs and bought more beads for 147, had Bible study with people from the community, visited Amani Baby Cottage and Our Own Home, gone on a boat ride (all 20-something of us), and spend A LOT of time at Katie’s with her girls.

Building Agnes’s brother’s house was hard, but rewarding. We separated and stacked bricks, made cement, fetched water from the well (I’m still sore from carrying those jerry cans…I can’t imagine having to carry them for miles…), and Mallory Prossy and I made PB sandwhiches for all 30ish of us. It was a good day, and I think we all felt pretty accomplished by the end of it.

Spending time with the Karamajong women in Masesse was awesome as well. We met the women who make the beads, held their kids, talked to children from the village, and had a prayer request/praise time with the women where they were able to share and have Katie and our crew pray for them.

What was really weird was going back to Amani. There are 8 kids (soon to be 9!) that live in Nashville that have been adopted from Amani, and I hadn’t been there in 2 years. The last time I was there was when I met Josie…it was so strange to think that if we hadn’t adopted her, she would still be sitting there in that yard, probably much sicker than she was when we first saw her. I can’t imagine not having her at our house, running/waddling around screaming and singing and laughing.

Last night we went on a boat ride on Lake Victoria. We split into 2 boats: Dad, Katie, Patricia, Mallory, William, Prossy, Agnes, Margaret, Lochoro, and I on one, and Michael, Annabelle, Joyce, Sarah, Sumini, Zuula, Helen, Scovia, Grace, Jane, Tibita, and Mary in the other…it was so fun. We were able to relax and fellowship with each other, and just enjoy the beauty of the lake. We saw monkeys and a (huge) lizard, and lots of other interesting animals, as well as the “source of the nile”. I think it’s safe to say that we all had a ton of fun.

Today is our last day here, and I don’t think any of us are looking forward to saying goodbye. We had to say goodbye to Katie, Grace, and Tibita last night because they had to go to Kampala early this morning so we won’t be seeing them, and it was HARD. Tibita cried, which caused us to cry…and that was only saying bye to 2 of 14. Today will be rough, but I’m lucky enough that I get to come back in June with my mom and Gwen, so I can say that I will see them soon.

Michael is going to post his thoughts on the trip when we get home, so that should be up in a couple of days...our flight flies out of Entebbe at 8 tonight (about noon Nashville time), so we should be home tomorrow night. I’ve had an amazing time and can honestly say I feel at home here. I can’t wait to be back again (hopefully for longer next time J).

Grace

PS-I tried to upload pictures, but (like I said), the Internet is not cooperative. So I'll upload when we get home!

I tried to blog last night, but my computer died and it didn’t save, so this will account for our experience so far.

Yesterday, we woke up early and traveled to Jinja, where Katie picked us up and took us to the AMazima worship day. We played, rolled around, got VERY dirty, and Mal and I helped serve lunch. (Preparing 300 bowls of beans/rice/chicken will wear ya out!) It was a great day, and we got to reunite with Katie and her girls…but the jet-lag definitely took its toll. By the end of the day, we were all dirty, bean-covered, and ready to hit the hay!

Today has been packed, so I’ll just give y’all a play by play of our day…

This morning, we woke up and walked to Katie’s, then all 25 of us piled in the van and headed to church. Church went well, it was different from our church in the US obviously, but was definitely a good experience and something I’ll remember.

After church, we headed back to Katie’s, and spent some time with her girls.

Since we have been here, one LITTLE one has specifically stolen my heart.

This is Lochoro. She is 4 years old, cannot talk or walk, weighs a little less than 15 pounds, and is extremely sick. Although she is not one of Katie’s girls, (she lives with her uncle, who leaves her at home alone while he goes to work during the day), she is living with Katie while she tries to get better. When I first saw her, my first reaction was “there is NO way this little bitty is 4 years old”...in my mind, a 4 year old is Caleb’s size (for those of you who know Caleb, he is a BIG dude), and he actually only three. The concept of not being fed for 3 years and starving to this extent of malnutrition is a little bit difficult for my brain to grasp. Especially a child this sweet! I’ve loved bonding and spending time with little Lochoro over the past two days.

Funny story from tonight…she was sitting in my lap eating a “sweetie” (a sucker). I looked up to see Katie’s jaw drop, and hear her say “DO. NOT. MOVE.” ….Because of the IV’s and meds Lochoro’s on, she pooped EVERYWHERE (including in my lap, and if you’ve ever had a child on that kind of medication, you’ll know that their poop is NASTY). So, Katie, dad, Mal and I cleaned up, and I bathed her and got a new diaper for her while Katie made dinner. One of the girls was playing with one of the cameras and just happened to take this picture right after she pooped and Katie moved her from my lap to the floor…hahaha.

One of the highlights of my day today was seeing Abigail Haynes! Baby girl is BEAUTIFUL, pictures do not do her justice. I loved getting to kiss all over her cheeks, love on her, and feed her. What made me happiest was that I was able to look into her big brown eyes and tell her that she has a mommy and a daddy coming to get her soon. And she has a sister who loves her, and happens to be my best friend. I showed her pictures on my phone, and she just grinned and grinned. Here are some pics…

Probably the funniest part of today was seeing the boys get their hair done. Katie’s girls had an absolute BALL braiding and twisting yarn into their hair. And they surprisingly kept it in all night…

I’ll try to post again tomorrow night, we are headed to Jinja in the morning to shop a little bit, visiting Amani and another orphanage, then all 25+ of us are celebrating my birthday with cake at a pool near here. I can’t wait! More to come later….

Grace

PS-I put all of our pictures on facebook, just an FYI for those of you who I'm friends with!