Celebrating 50 years of Independence!

50 YEARS....JUBILEE

Celebrating Independence in the USA usually meant hot dogs, parades, beach picnics, family gatherings, potato salad, baked beans dressing in red/white/blue and ended with FIREWORKS!!! This year in Uganda, we celebrated 50 years, JUBILEE, of independence for this nation.

To celebrate, we made chocolate cakes for Amani Baby Cottage mommas to have for dessert. To many, this was a holiday from work. For our precious mommas, there is no holiday that all can be absent. We were not even going to stay for lunch that day which included a rare ingredient....meat. Our family wanted to bless the mommas with the cakes, then return to our home. But no, they would not have it that way! "You stay and share our lunch. It is our Independence Day. You stay and celebrate with us." So, we stayed and shared their celebratory lunch. Having lunch at Amani is common for us, but on this day we felt we shouldn't take away from their abundance for that day. We are humbled, loved, and grateful to be her with these precious women.

Today, in the Sunday paper, there is an article of history that was made this JUBLIEE..... quote "At the National Jubilee Prayers...President Yoweri Museveni made history when he openly repented his sins and the sins of Uganda..."  "Father God in heaven, today we stand here as Ugandans, to thank you for Uganda.....We confess these sins.....Forgive us of sins of .......Lord forgive us and give us a new beginning. Give us a heart to love You, to fear You and to seek You. Take away from us all the above sins.......We want to dedicate this nation to You so that You will be our God and Guide. We want Uganda to be known as a nation that fears God and as a nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness and justice to fulfill what the bible says in Psalm 33"12 Blessed is the nation, whose god is the Lord. A people you have chosen as Your own.....I renounce.....I renounce..... and I hereby covenant Uganda to YOU, to walk in Your ways and experience all you blessings forever......in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen"

 Wow. May it be so, may it be so. Celebrating Independence has never been so meaningful. This country is where our oldest daughter began the journey 13 years ago. This country is where our two youngest children were born. This country is where our oldest son took the longest journey of his life. This country is where we call "home" and abide in His Grace. May we celebrate this year of Jubilee repenting, confessing, prayin for forgiveness and seeing God move in ways we never imagined. We. Are. So. Grateful.

David's Blogging

Scroll of Truth

“Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of Life.”

 Proverbs 4:23 That verse is from my Bible Study called “The Squire and the Scroll”. I am learning how to be a knight for Jesus.

Last Sunday Courtney, Danyne, Diana  and I,  all of us four, sold Amani Butter Cakes. We sold a lot of them.  We had some fun. A team from Australia choir sang some songs.  Amani got  gifts.  We raised  over 300,000 shillings for Amani Baby Cottage!  

 Another Sunday, Courtney, Danyne, Diana, Aunt Charlie and I went horseback riding. Everyone one loved it except when we went near the water.  

September update

"Uncle Dusty taking bags full of grass to feed the cows that provide our milk in exchange for their manure to feed our garden. That's a true story." Danyne posted this on facebook.

I used to read blogs. Sometimes I would wonder why there was a long gap between updates. Now that I am a blogger, I understand! Life continues to flow day by day and we live by our duties, schedules, children, family, events, etc. As you can see in the pic, Dustin drives the van. Mary has yet to drive very far at all. Driving on the "other side of the road" may not be a problem, but the roads are not smooth and the drivers fast! Maybe one day I will venture out on a busy road, but for now I am content to walk and "catch a ride".

We are settled into our new home. Waiting for you to come visit! David and Courtney are doing well, except growing out of their clothes!! They play outside so much of the time and they are eating well. Courtney even eats greens thanks to the Amani cook(Mama Sarah) and our blessing, Miss Mary. They attend a home school group on Fridays and are learning Swahili!

The weather is cool at night and hot in the day, but not too umcomfortable. The birds sing, the roosters crow and the monkeys play! Today the monkeys came onto the porch to see in the door. David thinks they probably wanted to watch the movie he was watching! This is Africa!

Another child went home to her forever family a couple of weeks ago. Such a reward to see the children with their parents. Even though the process is hard at times, it is wonderful to be a part of it. We are thankful for the opportunity to see this happen. The building process is moving along. We had some men volunteers these past two weeks helping Dustin. He is very thankful for their involvement in labor, gathering supplies, laying tile and even shoveling the "gift" from the cows!

 

Thank you for your continuing support and prayers. We would love to hear from you. It is so good for our hearts to read emails and comments. Thankful for magic jack, email, skype, facebook, but so much more for the words you send.  Thank you!A precious preemie, Naome, that we had the privilege of caring for in our home. Courtney does so well with the little ones and the older girls as well. Naome is now at the babies' home and thriving very well!!!

A new house

We have moved into another house here in Jinja, Uganda! The house is BIG! Well, we consider it big, compared to our Texas home of 25 years. The bedrooms are large, the kitchen is very large, the dining and living rooms are large, there is an in-door laundry room(something I have always wanted) and the bonus room upstairs with large storage closet is an extra. Right now, we have two house guests, so every bedroom including the bonus room is filled. My heart's desire was to have a home and have guests. We are so at home already! You have a place to stay, so come visit!

Outside the house, the yard is filled with beautiful flowers, trees, bushes and plants. Our porch is big enough to sit and enjoy the scenery. The weather has been cool enought to accomodate a cup of coffee on the porch! Here is a picture of a rock on the path outside our kitchen

Yeah, well, I think it looks like Africa with a red dot where Uganda is. Maybe you can see it.

We are grateful to the Lord for the house. It is a few minutes walk from our gate to the new Amani Baby Cottage. Now, Dustin only needs walk a short distance instead of 30 mintues. Now, Mary has a longer walk to the present Amani, one she hasn't tried yet! Thank you for your continues prayers for our family. Pray for the children going through the process of guardianship. Pray for peace, strength and rest. God has plans for us, we trust in His Holy Name. Thank you!

David

David is blogging tonight:
"Thank you for supporting us. I went to the zoo. I am helping my dad build the new Amani Baby Cottage. Today at school I learned about the food pyramid. How is church doing? One of my friends is turning 5 tomorrow and then going to Ameria on Thursday!!! Sunday is my and Courtney's adoption day, number 8. The money here is different, it is called shillings."

WORDS

Court: what great joy to be in court and hear the judge say "granted". With that word, another child belongs in a family with a dad and mom. The work getting to that word and the continuing process until the family boards the plane, is tedious-emotional-hard work. But, the reward? priceless and joyful. I am honored to be a part of this side of the process.....meeting the parents, walking with them through the days of steps, sigantures, forms, appointments, disappointments and joy. I am thankful.

Airport: what great joy to be in the airport waiting for a parent to meet their child, some for the first time! With that word, "waiting", I had time to observe others waiting and those arriving. Most of those waiting had signs with names for people arriving. So, I watched the arrivers: those whose expressions showed exhaustion, wonderment, anticipation, and some even fearful. I watched teams with matching t-shirts with many bags, ready to "conquer the world." I saw grandmas greet their families: in a word, that made me sad. But, I knew I was in the airport because God had brought me to receive a parent coming to see their child. I am thankful.

Illness: what great joy to be here in Africa and be well most of the time. The word "illness" struck me last Friday. I began with slight nausea and then uncontrollable shakes. If I had been at home in Jinja, I would have gone to the International Clinic. But, I was at the US Embassy in another town, with a parent , her child and her mother-in-law. Can you see the word "embarrasing" coming now? As a guard escorted me out of the building, the parent was quickly seen and recived the document we had come for. We then proceeded to an ER, malaria test negative, infection positive. Two IVs  and one injection later, we were on our way back to Jinja. After a few days rest, I will be good as new. I am thankful.

Prayer: what great joy to know some of you have been praying for us. Living here is not "a piece of cake", instead the word is ......well, there several that come to mind, but I am NOT complaining, just describing.....trying, hard, difficult, stretching, ...yet the words that come to mind that make those words just little words, are......rewarding, family, children, progress, people, prayer(LOTS of that word). I am thankful.

Continue: what great joy to know that God will continue to use us as we follow His leading. We have been here for 3 months! We are seeing families united and bricks being laid. Restoration is a beautiful sight when seen with our eyes. Pleae "continue" to pray for us, support us financially, and write to us. Emails from you mean so much to our whole family. Let us know how you pray, let us know how your family is doing, and continue to read our blog and newsletter. We are thankful

Amani's Mommas

One of my most favorite times here in Jinja Uganda, is to be with the mamas of our babies' home. They fill my heart with song, my mouth with laughter, and my spirit with love. One of the mamas is also our neighbor. We sat together one Sunday afternoon and made a necklace, a bracelet and a pair of earrings from orange beads. Well, I say "we" made them.....I had strung only part of the necklace and she had made a bracelet and earrings, then finished the necklace for me! She had remembered I wanted orange jewelry to wear with my gomez and I have lots of use for that color.

The mamas at Amani Baby Cottage always have an encouraging word when I am not smiling. Some have an admonishing word when I slightly complain that I am tired. Some have tears when the children are having heartache. But they all have such love for the children. You can't be around them long and hang on to any grief, pain, weariness, sadness, homesickness, illness......they just don't allow! I love them so much, I am grateful for the way they bathe, feed, clothe, sing, play and care for the children.

When we move into our new building, the mamas will be divided into the cottages of children they are assigned to oversee and care for. This will not lessen the bond they have, but will strengthed their bond with the children and give them great joy. The cottages are being painted beautiful colors and Scriptures are being painted in each one, as well as in the clinic. The mommas will be surrounded by beautiful walls, but their spirits is what carries the children through hard times and joy.

When you think of us this month, pray for the mommas. There are almost 35 workers: cooks, dishwashers, laundry(you can't IMAGINE the amount of handwashing these wonderful workers have), mommas, housekeepers, assistants, social workers, administrators, and more I probably can't think of right now. Pray for the finishing and the move into our new building. Pray for the health and well-being of the mommas. Thank you for taking time to read and pray.

 Like the t-shirt reads in the above pic of my neighbor-friend, the mommas truly believe GOD IS ABLE!