a heart multiplied by two

Today we got to stop by The Bulrushes for one last visit. We were lucky enough to get to see the babies just after nap and they were waiting with smiles and open arms for one last hug and play. I stopped by the clinic to check on my little one and guess what?? She has started drinking from a bottle! Up until yesterday, she was only fed through a tube inserted into her stomach but now she is a big girl drinking from a bottle. When we brought her home from the hospital a few weeks ago, she was 1.22kg. Now she is 1.78kg. She has come off of oxygen and is doing sooooo well. It was such gift to be able to feed her this afternoon and have one last snuggle and photo shoot :-)
I tried to talk our host and driver into rolling her incubator out to the van, bringing it on the plane tomorrow as my carry on, but they wouldn't go for it....so I left her there to grow into a great little girl, a loving young woman and a future leader of Uganda.
For the past few days I have felt like my heart is breaking in two at the thought of having to leave this wonderful little corner of the world. I know that there is no need to worry about the children because I have seen first-hand how well they are being cared for. God has provided a loving home and a bright future for these children and hope for their country as well.
I just have more hugs, kisses and smiles left. I'm not quite ready to leave but would it be any easier in a month...or six? I don't think so.
So what is a girl to do? Head home and pray...pray that others will always be there to care for the children who need them...pray that even more people every day will be given opportunities for a bright and hopeful future...pray that maybe the opportunity will come for me to come back some day...pray that instead of it being that my heart is breaking in two, what I'm feeling is my heart multiplying to twice its normal capacity.
I can hardly believe that the last day of this journey has come and almost gone. This past month has been full of learning, excitement, adventure and love. There are so many who I have come to care about here in Uganda. The faces and stories are constantly rolling around in my head and heart and I think in the months to come, this blog will be a great place to write about them.
Thank you all so much for your prayers, for your support, for your well wishes, for your love. All of it has helped to make this trip one of the most memorable times in my life.
Love,
me

Bats, hippos and lions...oh my!

Well, this ride I'm on is going well and has been a whole lot of fun so far. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to share more with you on an ongoing basis, but here's a bit of news for you.

Bats: We are currently staying a couple of days at Paara Lodge in Murchason Falls National Park (NW of Kampala). The landscape is gorgeous and hills and trees stretch in every direction for miles. The resort itself is a bit like stepping back in time to one of the grand hotels in Muskoka. It is open and airy, the rooms are clean and tastefully decorated with mosquito netting that wraps around both beds. There is a spacious closet in each room and each room has a balcony facing the Nile River (not bad, eh?) Anyhow, the dining room is upstairs. It too is open and airy and overlooks the Nile; a breathtaking sight when you get to watch the full moon rise over the water during dinner. Also taking my breath away are the bats....yes, bats. For any of you who know me well...it's forcing me to stretch myself to great lengths just to make it through a meal, through the main lobby or down to my room without screetching in terror!!! The only thing that makes me thankful for them is that there has been a bit of a reprive from the mosquitoes. It seems that they like my sweet Canadian blood and have feasted time and again. I'm looking a little more like I have boils all over my arms and legs than mosquito bites. A small price to pay for the chance to be here!

Hippos: We will be leaving after lunch today to travel up and down the Nile to Murchason Falls. We should be able to see lots of crocs and hippos along the way. Meghan, my roomie, got an up close and personal visit from a hippo last night on the way to her room. She was walking along the path and heard something behind her. When she turned around, there was a hippo following her. She quickly ran to the room (with hippo in hot pursuit) and went in through the glass doors to our balcony. Luckily the hippo didn't make it in with her and a guard was soon there, poking the hippo back down into the bushes. When they say don't wander too far around here, they say it for a reason!

Lions: This morning we spent four hours driving around the park looking at lots of animals. We saw lots of Kobe and small deer that I have nicknamed "obambi", giraffes and Uganda's official bird, the Crested Crane. Towards the end of our trip, we came upon two vehicles that had stopped next to a thicket and tree. There, under the tree, was the king of the beasts...Aslan.....Simba....a daddy lion. We pulled up and hopped out of the top of the van to take some pictures. Apparently, our friend was sick of the paparazzi because after standing up, he came within a couple metres of the van, roaring!!! I missed a great shot of the lion because I was busy praying and hoping he wasn't about to lunge through the sunroof, but as quickly as he came, he turned and walked off. As we started to leave, Nancy noticed that there was a female lion in the thicket as well. No wonder Papa didn't want us hanging around, he was trying to hang out with Mamma! Eventually, the two of them walked off down the road together, and as we were heading back to the lodge, I was laughing to think of how thankful I was for everyone's prayers of protection for me during this trip! They're coming in handy!

Well, it's lunch time....6am where you are....I send you my love. More to come....

Holding onto Hope.....

Doctor Moses at Bbira...

Thanks to everyone for being so patient and waiting so long for me to post here on my blog. It is a rather long, tedious process as we are on dial-up here at the guest house.

Anyhow, the past two weeks have been just great. The Ugandan people who I have met have been warm and welcoming to us Muzungu's (white folk).

As it's pretty much impossible to recap the past two weeks, I will fill you in on a bit of what happened yesterday. After breakfast we went out to Bbira. The Clarks sponsor several children and this was Nancy's first chance to meet her "kids". As we rounded a corner in the village, a group of young children came running for us, smiling and asking to be picked up and held. One little guy, Dennis, took quite a liking to me and kept hugging and kissing me over and over.

Around lunch time we went to the house of Dorothy (one of the Clarks sponsored children). Dorothy's mom, Mama Gertrude (her biological mom) invited us inside to have lunch with them. She is 33 and has Dorothy and a son, Jacob. Now that she is a Watoto mom, she has six other children as well. Years ago, Gertrude's husband left her and their two small children. When she went to her family, they turned her away and told her to make her own way. She didn't know what to do and told us that she had considered killing herself and her children. Of course she knew that this really wasn't a solution and believed that God would save her from her situation. Someone from her church knew about Watoto and ever since then, they have been a part of the Watoto family. Gertrude, in addition to being a Mama of 8, has also taken on many administrative responsibilities within the village. Recently she had to hand over these additional responsibilities to others as she developed a "brest sickness", which I would suppose could be cancer. Please keep this great woman in your prayers...

After lunch, I was ready to go on a search for the Bulrushes babies who had "graduated"to Bbira. I found that some of them were resting, but I got to meet Doctor Moses, Rachel, Sarah, Sharifa, John, Timothy, Innocent and my dear little Hope. Hope was glued to her Mama Ruth's side when we arrived and wasn't interested in having her picture taken. I decided to sit on the steps and chat with some of the kids and Doctor Moses, and when Mama Ruth put Hope down, she made a beeline for the stairs and crawled up into my lap. What a moment for me!!! She just snuggled right in and gave me a big hug. It was wonderful and I could hardly believe that this little face I had only seen in pictures was gazing up at me. After a few minutes she fell fast asleep and at that point, I broke. There have been so many things that I have seen and so many stories that I have heard since arriving in Kampala. It was only at this moment though that the tears came. The tears were short-lived though. Hope and all the other beautiful children I met yesterday have a great home and a wonderful village to live in. It is truly a place of beauty, promise and love.

The journey is underway

Well, we're off!
Last night we left Pearson Airport in Toronto. There was no problem getting any of the luggage checked and we are all doing fine today.
The flight last night felt a little long as we didn't really have a chance to get up and stretch, however I think that all of us are more tired than wired at this point and won't have as much trouble settling down for some much needed rest on tonight's flight.
We spent the afternoon taking the underground to Westminster. We walked through Green Park and over to Buckingham Palace. I'm surprised that Liz didn't show up to wish us a Happy Canada Day given that she was home and all, but I suppose she may have been busy...
After seeing Buckingham Palace (I did the tourist thing and took a ton of pictures...from every angle)we walked down to Picadilly Square, had a bite to eat and then took the tube back during rush hour (gave us a chance to chat with some people).
Things are going well so far. The team is great and we are all looking forward to arriving in Uganda in the morning.
Love to you all.
Shannon