Saturday, June 28, 2014

Musana Camps

Last week we went to Musana Camps (click on link to learn more) for a few days. Us kids hadn't been to the camp for a year and a half and lots has changed. We enjoyed hikes to the waterfall and beach, spending time with the staff there, and playing with some of the missionary kids. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures, but I put in a picture of the amazing view that we took when we went in 2012.

Hope Family

Hope Family has been a big part of what Catriona and I do here. We have been also taking a lot of pictures recently because the managers are in England and we've been sending them photos. In the past few weeks, one little girl celebrated her first birthday, and we said good-bye to a boy who has been here for a few years. He went to live with his biological family. Although it's great that he is able to go back to his family, it is difficult for the children and staff who have lived together for a long time to say good-bye.



Friday, June 6, 2014

Birthdays

On May 21, we celebrated John's 10th birthday in Jinja. We also celebrated Uncle Nathan's too because we found out it was his birthday as well. Everyone enjoyed the cake and we were glad it lasted the long car trip.
Cinnamon Biscuit Fans for Breakfast
 
John's Very Canadian Presents
 
 


Yesterday, we celebrated this little guy's 1st birthday. He is part of Hope Family and has the cutest smile. He didn't quite know what to think of the candles.
 
 
Cutting the cake
 

2019

This post is not my thoughts on what my goals for the next 5 years are. This number basically sums up the 3 days that we spent in Jinja for a Foreign Staff Retreat in May.

I helped babysit about 2019 kids for 2019 hours while the 2019 foreign staff discussed the 2019 issues they have. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. It just seems like a lot of people when you spend three days together and sessions definitely seem like a long time when you're trying to keep 20 kids who all want their parents occupied.

You may wonder why I chose this particular number. On the way back, Catriona, John, and I rode back in Auntie Kate's car along with 3 kids between ages 3 and 6. I was sitting in the back with one of them. He was really into the number 2019 that day, (actually he still is) so he asked me to count to 2019. And so for more than an hour I counted to 2019. You may not think that it is so difficult but when you are going on back roads being jostled continuously and nearly hitting the roof every 2 minutes with dust filling your mouth, it is. Try it some time and you'll see. Anyway, this normally very talkative boy was basically silent the whole time except for the occasional, "Are you almost there yet?" So that's my newest babysitting activity.

Anyway, the Foreign Staff Retreat, though maybe not restful was lots of fun. We got to swim, play games, go to restaurants, and just hang out. It was great to see the staff from Musana Camps too because we don't see them often.