Well hello everyone!
It's been a while...
I know I have been able to connect with some of you, but others are probably thinking I've dropped off the face of the earth. Now that I am working nights, I have a bit time during the day to catch up on some things, including my blog. (And it helps that most of you are still fast asleep so I don't get distracted chatting on Facebook)
So, a quick recap of my arrival and first month here. Both of my flights went smoothly, there was no problem with any of my luggage and Sandra who works in the International Volunteers department at Watoto was there to meet me at the airport at 7:30am. On the flight from London to Entebbe I even met Anna who was to be my first roommate. Sandra helped us both to exchange some money, get SIM cards for our phones and then took us to our apartment in Kansanga. There we were introduced to Beatrice (from England), Yvonne (from Australia) and Mitch (from Australia). They helped get us settled and Yvonne offered us tea and bananas. The girls gave us numbers for taxis and arranged to help us get to the babies home for lunch and orientation. By the time orientation finished and we went grocery shopping then found a taxi back home, I had just enough energy to make a pb&j sandwich and head to bed.
The next couple of days were filled with trips to Bbira and Suubi for tours of the villages, more grocery shopping, a meeting for all Watoto international volunteers at Watoto Central and my first couple of shifts at The Bulrushes. I hope you'll understand my excitement and joy when I tell you this next part...Leila was sick!!! Now, I'm not excited and joyful that she was sick, but I was happy (what a weak word for how I really felt...) because she had been brought in from the Suubi Babies Home to recover. It was sooooooooo good to see her. The day I came into work and was told that she had been taken back home was bittersweet. I was glad that she was well enough to go back, but was sad it would be a while before we could spend time together again. This feeling didn't last long because with close to 50 babies at The Bulrushes, it's not long before feeding, playing, changing, bathing, singing, snuggling and laundry fills up your days and your arms.
Over the past few weeks I've worked the morning shift (7-3:30), the afternoon shift (11-7pm) and now, as I mentioned before, I'm working the evening shift (5pm-midnight).
There are quite a few volunteers here right now, but because everyone is here for different periods of time the number of people living in the apartment at any given time always differs. Beatrice and Yvonne have both gone back home now. Anna, who I met on the plane, has gone to Suubi Babies Home and so Mitch and I are the only ones left from the original group. Ashley (from Vancouver) is my new roomie and will be here for another week and a half and Kevin and Amanda, a married couple (from North Carolina) are here for nine months. Mitch is working with the Sports department and doing some coaching in the villages, Amanda is working with Living Hope teaching English as a Foreign Language to some of the ladies there and Kevin and Ashley are at The Bulrushes.
I will post some more stories about specific things that have happened this month, but to finish off, here are the top five things I am most thankful for...

5. Arriving safely and without any travel glitches
4. A wonderful home to live in
3. The chance to love on dozens of babies every day
2. Being able to still connect with friends and family back home
1. Spending some special time with Leila and being able to reconnect with her

Please know that even though I am not in touch often, I think about you every day and am so grateful to all of you. The other night I was talking with one of the supervisors at the babies home (Edith) and she was saying, not for the first time, how amazed she is that I would love everyone enough to come all the way here to help out. I let her know that even though I am the one here, there are a lot of other people around the world who love and care about them too and who have helped me to be here.
Your support, love, encouragement and prayers are all at work here every day...thank you!