New Friends :)

We have two new friends here at Kwagala Baby Home—Susan (age 5) and Ben (age 3). They add so much life (and volume) to the home. Haha! Sweet Baby John is doing very well. He likes having new friends. Two days ago, Harriet dropped off her youngest two children. She’s had two husbands and both have left her and the children to fend for themselves. Her oldest two children remain with her living who knows where and not having much food to eat. She was so thankful to give her youngest two children a place to live, eat, and sleep.

The first day was rough. The kids were sad and Ben was cranky. He ate like crazy, which is why we think he has worms. We are taking him to the hospital to get him checked out sometime next week. He cried and slept and ate. Then ate, cried, slept, and ate some more. It wasn’t until I gave them baths that he cheered up. Then Mercy made Matoka (boiled Plantains) for dinner with this special sauce. I did not eat it. I made cheesy broccoli rice. Ben was being difficult. First, he wanted his sister’s bowl of Matoka. Then he decided he wanted the Matoka on the counter. After not eating any of that, he decided to climb in my lap…and eat my rice! Luckily, there was enough for both of us to eat well. It was so funny.

The second day was better. Joseph and I took the kids to the market. The day before I had gone with Mercy and bought shorts for the kids and shoes for Ben. The intention was for him to walk. Well he loves his new shoes, but he doesn’t like walking and when he does he moves super, super slow J The kids love to be outside though so I take them with me shopping.

Last night, when making dinner (Ugandan style Hamburger and fries lol), Ben came up to me crying “Mahi, Mahi.” He sat in my lap and I wrapped my arms around him and finished cooking. He fell asleep. I tried putting him to bed twice but he just woke up wanting to get held. Once he ate dinner, I went to bed with him. Let’s just say he had a LOT more energy than I did so it took a while for him to fall asleep. In the meantime, I taught him to say “Thank you, Jesus, for this day and for Mzunga Mahi (White Mommy) and Ben. Hallelujah! Amen...Silly Goose!...Tada!...Thank you Emsley for my shirt.” When the kids ask him and Susan who I am they say Mahi. I love it, but at the same time I feel for their mother. I wouldn’t want my children calling another woman mommy. But I love the fact that they think of me that way J I’ll be jealous if they call anyone else that! lol

Today, I heated up leftovers from last night for my lunch and cooked Chicken flavored rice for the kids. They loved it. Speaking of chickens, the last chicken we have that we were supposed to eat next week…..was eaten by the dog this morning L Not exactly how he got to it since it was locked up. I was  gonna take only Susan to the store with me and Joseph this afternoon. As we went to leave, Ben started screaming so I had to take him with…did I mention he’s a slow walker and so I have to carry him a lot? It took a while to get there and back. He’s heavy lol!

 There is so much going on here. I know I’m not putting many details, but there just is not enough time or words to express what goes on each day with these kids. Not only do I not speak their language, but Mercy and the kids don’t speak their dialect, so often there is a lot of frustration from all sides.  They smile and laugh, and they cry and hit. Sometimes it’s really crazy here and sometimes it is calm. I panic when they do something that could hurt them, and I get frustrated when they throw things. They are typical kids! But they hold such a special place in my heart. There are times during the day when I wish the mother would have given me parental rights so I can take them to America. But then I wish that for many of the children here. The language barrier would make it tough, but it would be so worth it!

My heart is heavy thinking about being home in two weeks. I wish I could start the trip over and do things this way from day one instead of crying so much the first few weeks. I wish I would have gone to the town more. I wish so many things. I wish I could change my ticket. I wish I knew exactly what to do. But for right now, I know one thing…I am coming home for a while and have a great deal of talking to God to do! I LOVE Uganda. I will be back…in December if I can help it…and I will be staying longer than 2 months. Just gotta raise the funds! Lord willing, I won’t be gone long from here. And I won’t leave so soon either.