last day at blessed hope...

friday was an emotional day. i kept telling the girls to "get it together. don't let the kids see your cry." i was realizing, however, that it was going to be difficult. i was trying to prepare them as well as protect them. these children had marked our hearts and their environment was etched in our memory. who can forget such poverty and loneliness? one thing that does help is that these kids are loved. after talking with teachers in depth, i got a good sense of how much these kids are loved. the children at blessed hope are so fortunate to have love, food, shelter and beds. i feel they are more blessed than some of the kids we see on the streets each day. when i put it that way, this seemed to help the girls be comforted. yes, their morning meal is purplish millet, they have corn mush and beans everyday...no fruits or vegetables...but they are loved and taken care of. pastor michael called me over and gave me gifts for my family. his wife had made a purse for me and little tea place mats for all 5 of the girls. we had had such a good talk a few days before. he also gave me a photo of his family. they rarely have photos of them taken so for him to give it to me was an honor. i think they think if we can see them we can pray for them...or remember to pray for them. i was puzzled whether or not to keep it. jen took a picture of the picture for me so i could give it back to michael but he insisted i keep it. it's almost an insult to try to return a gift. he gave me his contact info and asked for mine. he told me he would pray for my family back in the states. i am so humbled by these kind people and their true desire for someone to "stand in the gap" for them. michael was the one who thanked us for doing so. as we were wrapping up the day's events, we were assembled at the shelter. the kids were lined up in their rows. auntie irene told us that the kids were going to pray for us. i expected them to just bow their heads as someone led the prayer. ummm, no. each child extended their arm toward us and they all began to pray in unison, saying what they wanted to say. tears were rolling down my face. it was beautiful! their eyes were closed and they were speaking effortlessly, even the little children. we couldn't understand, or rather hear, specifically, of course, because it was like a song...all words colliding in harmony. one of the male teachers was next to me. i did hear him say at one point to "protect our friends. give them safe travels. thank you for sending them to us. may they mount up like eagles. give them strength." i have never experienced anything like that...ever.

after we left the orphanage, it did us some good to go to the market. on the way there, moses returned but on the opposite side of the bus as me. amanda was the lucky girl today. patrick, our driver, proceeded to tell us that moses was on drugs. ya think? as we drove through the middle of the city we actually saw street lights and road signs. in the more rural areas, this is not seen. we had not been to the business section of kampala until today. we spent about an hour going from vendor to vendor. got some purse type bags, beautiful sand stone nativity sets, found caroline an ugandan football (soccer) jersey, football (soccer ball) made from banana leaves (they actually play with these) and some ugandan jewelry. very inexpensive gifts but a blessing to the people who make and sale these crafts.

after the market we met josephine and her family for dinner at an italian restaurant. this was really the first time we had had food similar to what we were used to in the states. however, the cheesy, saucy food made us a little queasy. the ugandan food is more bland and we had gotten used to that.

arrived back at the house around 10:30. it had been a very long and emotional day. we had to get up early the next morning for our trip to jinja.