Off Roading, Court & Grasshoppers

I know, the updates are few and far between...let's chalk it up to African time.

We have had a lot of noteworthy experiences since I last blogged.  The first came on Saturday when we went with a group of teenagers to a new church plant.  Two of the GSF staff members are starting a plant in the village of Buundo where GSF is located.  They found a building to rent at a good price that someone had begun to build and run out of money.  The structure itself was fine, but there was just an unleveled dirt floor and lots of plants grown up around it.  We went with the group to help level the land and get ready for the services that will start this Sunday.  The site is close enough to walk to, but since we had lots of tools and water, we drove.  Oh, how I wish I could adequately describe that drive. It began on a bumpy dirt road...the pastor of the church was standing next to the road to guide us.  Suddenly, he instructed us to turn.  Chris and I looked at each other...turn where?  It just looked like woods to us, but as we turned, we saw we were on a tiny trail that went around someone's field.  We began driving through this overgrown area, only to find the trail growing smaller and smaller.  The missionary finally stopped to put the car in four wheel drive.  It was unreal, if you have ever gone on the safari ride at Animal Kingdom, it doesn't even come close to what it was like driving through what Chris describes as the bush.

Sure enough, out in the middle of people's potatoes and cassava stood a mud brick building with an opening for a door and several openings for windows.  The teenagers began slashing, which is basically the Ugandan method of mowing the lawn.  They take their slasher and swipe it back and forth, cutting down the growth.  In the meantime, some of the men began hoeing the dirt inside the building.  We soon discovered that the teenagers were not trimming grass, rather they were cutting down someone's potato crop.  Tis was discovered when they excitedly found a potato they had slashed up...and began EATING it!  A hard, raw potato!  And they were so excited, like an American kid who found a hidden stash of candy!  They stopped the kids from that task but before long the men(Chris included) had the ground leveled...I was shocked at how quickly it went, and they began pouring water on the dirt to pack it down.

We decided to walk back to the orphanage with a small group.  It was FASCINATING!  We would be walking through the "woods" when all of a sudden, there would be a small clearing and a mud hut.  Sometimes several children would be sitting outside watching us go by.  The young boy guiding us showed us his hut and explained that his roof was leaking, so a little way down, he had begun constructing a new hut.  He showed us the skeleton he had completed and was waiting to collect enough mud to begin filling in the walls.  He also showed us an oven where they bake the mud bricks and showed  us a field of grass they use for the thatch roof.

On Monday, we made the two hour trek to Kampala.  We THOUGHT we were just going to court, but Claudia, who is helping us with the Ugandan side of our adoption, had many more plans.  First, let me just say that driving in Uganda is unlike any experience I have ever had.  Leaving the orphanage, we drove on a red dirt road for close to an hour.  because of all the rain, the road is filled with bumps, potholes, dips, etc.  I'm not entirely sure how cars even keep any sort of shock system around here.  There are also pretty much no traffic laws and there are usually about three cars driving side by side in one lane.  At the same time the body bodas ( motorcycles that people hire to get them places) are weaving in front of and between all the cars.  It is CRAZY and a little scary!  I feel really blessed that we made it to Kampala alive!

We started out going by the American embassy to pick up a form to get a medical exam.  We then went to a mall to get pictures made for her passport and for the medical exam.  We also exchanged money while we waited for the pictures.  We left there and headed to the place where the medical exams are done.  The place was PACKED!  No worries, hurricane Claudia stepped in and let them
know we needed to get to court and they got us in!  We left there and went to the courthouse and
stopped by a little cafe for some takeout samosas...delicious!

And then began the wait!  We arrived at the courthouse at about 2:00, our case was presented at 7:00.  But I am NOT complaining, apparently, that was a good day.  About 6:00, the lawyer came and told us we could go ahead and go to the courtroom, the judge was in the middle of a case when we got there...I do not have the time or space to describe that experience, but it was interesting.  While he was finishing up, Claudia leaned over and told me not to be surprised if he postponed our case until the next day.  My heart sank.  The thought of another day like this was hard to accept...so I stared praying.  We didn't know it, but there was actually one more case ahead of us.  That lawyer took her seat, the assistant read the case and the judge immediately told them it was late and he was postponing their case until the next day.  I prayed harder!  Our case was then presented to the judge...and he began to ask questions, I was so relieved when I realized he was going to hear us.  I don't know why he cancelled the case I front of us and heard ours, but I'm pretty sure the prayers being raised up all over the place had something to do with it.

This post is getting REALLY long, so I'll just get to the good part.  After interviewing the momma and the daddy and me ( yes, I was scared to death), he announced that he would render his ruling on Friday. That is AMAZING!  One of the missionaries here said they had never heard of a ruling going that quickly.  Claudia said that she feels good about getting a positive ruling, so we are praying and expectant for good news Friday.

NOW, for the really interesting part, on the way home from Kampala, Claudia discovered a road side vendor selling fried grasshoppers....evidently, November is grasshopper season.  She had told us that any visitor who comes during grasshopper season HAS to try them.  So, she made sure they had been fried with onions, bought a panful and passed them around!  Yes, I tried grasshopper and yes, they were actually pretty good ( by the way, apparently, they remove the legs and wings before frying).  I'm not sure if I could have eaten them if it hadn't been dark, but peer pressure got the best of me and I popped one...or two...or three in my mouth. AND CHEWED AND SWALLOWED!  I now feel I have really had the Ugandan experience, I hope I still have all my friends when we get home.

So, things are going well and your prayers are being heard!  A few specifics you can keep praying for:

Pray that things go smoothly and favorably on Friday and then pray as we begin the immigration process, I think I am just as nervous about that.

Also pray for our sweet girl.  She has left the toddler house and is staying with Claudia.  We are spending as much time with her as we can but she is VERY shy and really not sure about all this.  Yesterday, we took her into Jinja for some shopping.  I think everything got to her, but she had a MELTDOWN in the middle of one of the shops and was crying for Auntie Claudia.  Two muzungu in a shop with a screaming African toddler is a rather frightening experience.  We left the shop and took her for a brownie and soda and she calmed down, but we realize that this is going to be a really tough transition for her...and us.

Please, also keep the children of GSF in your prayers.  There are four teens here that are about to age
out and are in the process of being resettled back into their home communities.  This is a hard transition.

Also a little boy Richard who has sickle cell is having a lot of health problems.

Thanks again for all your prayers and for caring about what is going on with us, we love all of you and can't wait for you to meet our sweet girl!