...and 0!!!! We're Here!!!!!!

We have arrived here in Uganda! Praise God! We didn't have any complications with our flights at all and we got here safely with only 1 missing bag. We had a bit of a wait at the airport because our friends' van broke down so they had to get here in a different van after checking to make sure they could leave a van in a safe place. And of course everything takes longer than it usually would here! But there were some other friends from New Hope at the airport to meet us. We went to Garden City, one of the shopping malls in Kampala, and did some shopping and ate some lunch at a restaurant.

When we arrived here, there were several kids from Jonathan Family (one of the 8 family groups at Kasana) to greet us and help us carry our luggage into the house we are staying in. We are living in this house until the lady who lives here gets back from furlough. She is part of Jonathan Family so lives near them. We also had some cards and posters on our door. Many people and families had written these to welcome us back. Today and for the next 4 or 5 days we will be going to eat lunch and dinner at other families' houses so we don't have to make anything but breakfast. I'm sure Mum appreciates that especially because it's Dad who makes breakfast.

Thank you all for your prayers! I have been able to get a good sleep and have not had any problems adjusting to time difference. Continue to pray for the rest of my family as they have had a bit more difficulty (Catriona and John aren't awake yet!) adjusting. We appreciate all of the support you have given us and will continue to be thankful for your prayers!
Christina

10 To Go

Wow! It seems like just a few days ago when I wrote we had 50 days to go. And now it's only 10! With house sold, school books collected, and room packed up, much of the furniture gone, and school finishing in a few days it seems like we're almost ready. We still have quite a bit to do though. Please pray for speedy packing in these 10 days until we leave. Especially pray for Catriona that her head will heal from her concussion.

50 Days!!

We only have 50 days left here in Calgary! We have sold our house and are starting to get packed up. We've had some wonderful times with friends and family. It was wonderful to see all our cousins in Colorado for a week. I can't wait to see my friends and family in Uganda.

The Count-Down Begins

Well, actually the count-down began about a month ago... It is 3 months until we hop on an airplane at the Calgary airport. We are beginning to feel geared up for leaving. Please pray for us as we visit our relatives later this week and for quick house selling! If you would like to get our March support newsletter please go to my parents blog at:
http://uganda.mortonhome.com/

Jinja

We took a trip to Jinja, a city about an hour away from Kampala. We enjoyed 3 days exploring. We went to Bujagali Falls and also went on a boat tour (we didn't think through it very carefully as we weren't wearing lifejackets on a roaring river...:). We even got to go horseback riding. We had a great time swimming at a hotel and just enjoying the scenery. I hope you enjoy the pics.

Sorry

I realize that I am back in Calgary now and have been back for two and a half weeks and that I haven't posted anything for over a month but I will try to catch up on some things I've missed in my next posts. I'm not sure if anyone will still be looking at my blog but if you are keep looking and I will try to catch up on anything I haven't written about yet.

A Walk In The Village

Yesterday, we went to visit our sponsor child at his home in the village. We stopped at David Family to pick up the girl who would be translating. We walked to their house and just as we were entering the village Sam, our sponsor child, and a few of his siblings came to meet us. When we got to their house we were greeted by Sam's mother, his grandmother, his aunt, and his other siblings. We went inside the house and sat down. We talked for a bit with the girl from our family group translating. Then we gave the family some gifts. For their whole family we gave a blanket. They opened it up and looked at it very happily. Then Sam's mother very carefully put the blanket back in the case it came in. We gave Sam a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and a tank top. We were kind of worried they wouldn't fit but when he tried them on they were a perfect fit. I gave the girls (Sam's 3 sisters and a cousin) hair ties to wear as bracelets. I had also made his sisters a paper that had their names stamped on. We gave Sam and his little brother baseballs which John and Sam's brother played football (soccer) with later. We also gave the girls a skipping rope and after they thanked us they immediately went outside to try it out. They were really good at it and did lots of tricks with it. Sam's mother and aunt brought some tea (warm milk, which we think had caffeine in it because I was up a lot in the night when I usually sleep right through) and bread. I think there was a bit too much sugar in it for me because I drank it fine at school the next day. They were very concerned so I did my best to drink a little. We went outside to look at their garden. They had just harvessted maize. Then Sam presented us with a chicken! Sam's mother said, "It is for eating." We all joined hands in a circle to pray. Daddy started, "Heavenly Father" when the chicken burst out of his arms and began squawking like crazy. We all burst out laughing. We let someone else hold it as we started praying again and we made it through the prayer without further interruption. Afterwards we said, "It thought we were asking the blessing on it." We had to walk home quickly after the goodbyes because it was getting dark. Anyway we got a chicken for a gift. to be continued....