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

Could there really only be four more sleeps until I leave for Uganda? Let's see....

4 sleeps....24 hours a day....that's.....ummm.....24+24+24+24....no way! Yes, I think so....Wait! The calculator.....Thursday (12.5 left) Friday (24) Saturday (24) Sunday (24) Monday (23 hours 55 minutes) :)

I'm a math whiz! Drum roll please............

107.5 hours until I leave. Thank goodness! Here I thought I had less than 100 hours to go!

Ok...minus work.....Thursday (7) Friday (11).....minus "night with the girls" on Friday (4)....minus Cornerstone dinner on Saturday (7)....sleep....right....I need to sleep....8 (yeah, right!) hours/night x 4 nights (32).....minus dinner and goodbyes Monday night (6 -- yes, it does take me a long time to say goodbye).....minus team BBQ on Sunday (4)....so where are we now?

calculator........drum roll......107.5-71=36.5

Look at that 36.5 hours of "free time". Time to pack, pay bills, do banking, clean up my place. Some people put in a whole work week in 36.5 hours and I have that much "leisure time" left. So why am I sitting with this panicky feeling that I'm not going to get from here to there and it's all going to fall apart? I know it's unwarranted and that I'll have everything I need by then and it'll all work out, but still, I'm given to moments of panic. Like when I remember I have to also do laundry, still go shopping, get to church Sunday morning and, oh yes, bathe. Maybe I should be picking up a copy of that book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff".

Last Sunday morning at church, I ran into Reese Archer after service and she asked me how everything is going. A calm came over me as I was reminded of why I'm going. "Just get me to Uganda and put a baby in my arms" was my answer to her. That's the important part of this journey. Right now my head is just busy with all this "stuff" because I haven't done this before. My brain is trying to figure out the best way of sorting everything I have to do and it's having to create "new folders" because a lot of it is new. But how exciting! What a challenge! What a gift to be able to do this!

And I've had so much support. People have gotten involved and their support and encouragement is so appreciated. If I don't say it when I see you, please know that I go away with a lighter heart once I've spoken to you. And to all of you who have said that you wish you could come with me or are "living vicariously" through me....welcome on board. This next month is going to be fabulous!

Kids are taking me by surprise...

Matthew (the 4 year old I care for) took me by surprise yesterday. We were on our way to a birthday party for one of his friends when he piped up from the back seat, "So Shannon, how's your life?" I wasn't quite sure how to answer that one. I've been so preoccupied with preparing to prepare to leave at the end of the month that I've honestly been a little overwhelmed by the whole thing for the past couple of weeks. There are items to buy, appointments to keep, bags to pack, and really all I want to do is spend as much time as possible with the people I'm going to miss while I'm away (and get more sleep!). But Matthew didn't ask me what was going on in my head, he didn't ask what was next on the to do list or if I thought I'd fit in everything I want to do before I go. Matthew was in the moment. "How's your life?" Right this instant. Here. Now. Today. And as we drove up Royal York Drive I regained some perspective. I have a place to live. I have a job. I have a family and friends who love me. Life has it's stresses and challenges as always, but I was able to look back in the rear view mirror, smile and say "My life is good thanks Matthew." (By the way, I asked the same question of Matthew and he said that he thought his life was good too! A nanny loves to hear that.)



I was also surprised yesterday by a group of eight special young people. Kelly, who I went to highschool with is now a teacher at the highschool in Bracebridge where we attended. She teaches a class of eight students. When they heard about my trip to Uganda and that there was going to be a shower held to benefit The Bulrushes, they decided to take on a special project. The class had shown an interest in learning how to sew and they went out and purchased some material. Then each student set to work sewing a baby blanket! Kelly's mom and dad made a visit to my parents' house last night to tell them about what has been happening and Mom called me today to fill me in. I'm so deeply touched by their hard work and willingness to get involved. You can't imagine how excited I am to have the privilege of delivering these special gifts.



Love, compassion and generosity are alive and well folks!

24 days left until I leave for Uganda!

Showers of Blessing

It's time to celebrate!

This Saturday my mom, Sue, and I will be hosting a baby shower to benefit The Bulrushes. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to share with people (some of whom I've known my whole life) what The Bulrushes is all about and to share stories and show pictures of the children. Some of these little ones have been through so much. I've shed more than a tear or two thinking about the rough start they have had, but then I see them healthy, fed, clothed, smiling, playing...it's a great thing that Watoto has started and I'm crazy thrilled to be even a little part of it.

I'm praying for sun and hear that we may have more than our share of heat this weekend. No matter the weather, I know it's going to be a great day! My heart beats faster each time I see or hear of someone responding in kindness and generosity to the little babes on the other side of the world. Who knows what difference it will all make someday? I can't wait to see.

Bridget

Every once in a while, I have a very special day.

The most recent one happened on Wednesday. As I was leaving for work, I found quite a pile of mail waiting for me at the top of the stairs. Amongst the pile of bills and flyers was a plain white envelope with the Watoto logo on it. It was a new letter from Bridget!


Bridget Nassali came into my life about three and a half years ago. At the time, she and her younger sister had been placed in one of the Watoto villages. Both of Bridget's parents had passed away and her caregiver had become too sick to look after her and her sister. Bridgets' official Watoto profile I received when I started to sponsor her stated that "a good samaritan" had brought them to Watoto. Now Bridget lives with her sister and six other Watoto siblings in a home on a beautiful hillside outside of Kampala, Uganda.


I have received several letters over the years. She tells me of school, home, and friends. She often writes about her thankfulness for what she has and her desire to love others. Her interests have shifted over time from playing with dolls and skipping to leading groups of small children, learning about photography and working hard during her first year of senior school. I can't help but smile when I think about the wonderful future she has ahead of her.


Last year, my friends Tracy and Bel went to Uganda to work with a team and build a home in one of the Watoto villages. I sent along with them a few things for Bridget and the hope that out of 1700 children, they would be able to find my special friend. One Sunday after church, the team was taken to the Watoto village where Bridget lives to visit one of the homes and share a meal with one of the families. My good friends immediately went to work trying to see if anyone knew Bridget. Tracy began chatting with a little boy who said that he knew Bridget. Tracy continued to ask questions to see if it was "the right" Bridget. It turned out that she lived in the house next door! Even more amazing was the fact that as everyone was enjoying the meal together, Bridget came to the door!!! My friends only spent and hour and a half in that village of 800 children and in that time Bridget came to the very spot my friends were. It was a special meeting. Bel and Tracy spent time talking to Bridget, saw where she lived, took a video and pictures and gave her the letters and pictures I had written and lots of hugs. (I love telling this story)


From time to time I still pull out the letter she wrote to me after meeting Bel and Tracy. A couple of days after meeting Bridget, the team made an unscheduled stop at the school Bridget attended. The teacher had asked a few students to meet the bus and accept some gifts that the team wanted to leave for them. Wouldn't you know it? As Tracy stepped off the bus, she came face to face with Bridget. Bridget asked to run back to the classroom and soon returned with a five page letter she asked Bel and Tracy to bring home for me. In it she wrote that she was praying that I would have the opportunity to come and meet her someday. Now that is going to happen. As I have been going through the process of making arrangements to go on this journey to Uganda, I have also been making arrangements with the Watoto office so that I will be able to visit with Bridget myself when I go. I'm soooooo excited! I have written her more than one letter since the new year telling her how much I'm looking forward to meeting her....all of which I mailed off in a package recently after I received confirmation that the trip was a go.


I just wanted you to know about this amazing young girl in my life. You can rest assured that if you ask me about her, I'll start going on like a proud auntie (and probably offer to show off pictures and share her letters if you are willing.... :-)


46 more sleeps!!