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!!

For I know the plans I have for you.....

Doesn't everyone sit and wonder at some point in their life if what they want to do is what they are "supposed" to be doing? Have you ever caught a glimpse of it? Have you ever reached a point where you can look back and all of a sudden say, "ahhhh....I can see now how the path my life has been taking has lead me to THIS moment and at least for now, my future direction seems a little clearer"? I'd like to share with you how that has been happening for me.

One Sunday a couple of years ago, Doug and Dawn Stride returned from Kampala, Uganda to visit our church in Mississauga. As they shared with us stories of their life in Africa, they also talked about an exciting new project that was being developed by Watoto Child Care Ministries. For more than a decade at that point, Kampala Pentecostal Church and Watoto Child Care Ministries had been working to care for children in Uganda who had been orphaned or abandoned. People from all over the world had come to build up villages and well over 1000 children from the age of three were now living in loving homes with a mother, sisters and brothers. They were receiving an education and health care and it was and continues to be Watoto's vision that these children will grow up to become Uganda's future leaders. Now, Doug and Dawn shared, Watoto was working to open a babies' home within the city of Kampala. The facility would care for infants up to three years of age, at which point they would transition into one of the Watoto villages where they would also have the opportunity to grow up in a home with a family who loved them. That morning as Dawn sang a song she had written called "African Lullaby" I was touched so deeply that through my tears, I nudged the friend next to me and said, "I'm going there someday. Really, I am." Knowing what a heart I have for children, she smiled at me, passed me a kleenex and gave me a hug. I'm not sure she even remembers, but I sure do.

Now fast forward two years later.....The Bulrushes Babies' Home (in the picture above) has been open since January 2007 and is already bursting at the seams. Currently 88 little ones are receiving the love and care they need and might not otherwise be getting. There have been opportunities to get involved from here in Canada that I have really enjoyed being a part of, but always in the back of my mind has been the memory of Doug and Dawn's visit two years ago and the growing desire to actually travel to Uganda myself.

In early January of this year, I learned that Bill and Nancy Clark who I got to know through Watoto last year were planning a trip to Uganda for this summer. I thought I might have the chance to send some items to The Bulrushes with them. Then it was suggested that maybe I could come along and make the delivery myself.

Since that moment a lot has happened. I have been in touch with Watoto Child Care ministries and my volunteer application has been processed and accepted. I have started getting my vaccinations and my tickets are booked. Together with Bill, Nancy, and three other young people from the Stouffville area, I leave on June 30th for Kampala, Uganda, East Africa. For the month of July, and will be volunteering at The Bulrushes changing diapers, feeding hungry children, rocking little ones to sleep, blowing bubbles, singing songs, kicking around a ball and snuggling up together to read books. I really have no idea what God actually has in store for me there, but I'm ready to find out.

I hope that over the next few months, you'll drop by here from time to time. I'll be posting as often as I can both before I go and while I'm gone. It's as close as I'm going to come to bringing you all with me! Thank you all for your prayers, care, love and support. I hope it makes you smile to know how much it's appreciated and that it's going to be passed onto some well deserving little ones!!