Pretty Much Amazing...

Mzungu: (mi-ZOON-goo) Luganda for white person. Literal translation: chicken walking around with it's head cut off. This is what the children scream as we pass by. We were picked up yesterday at 10:30am by Sam, who helps run an organization in a nearby village that my friend Kate works with. We went with him and two other young men to this village, Namagera, close to an hour away from Jinja, not really knowing what to expect other than there would be a widow's group there that makes necklaces, and we were going to take their pictures and document the bead making process. We were in for so much more than that!

I won't tell you the day detail for detail, because every second was amazing and I could go on and on. To summarize, we had never been treated with such warmth and kindness by anyone in all our lives. They were so grateful to have us there and made us feel so incredibly welcome. The entire day we were humbled by their hospitality and gratitude. When we arrived in Namagera, we were driven to the building that WOCAP (Widows and Orphan Community Action Plan) uses as a secondary school for children in the community. Waiting for us were a group of widows, excitedly shouting and yelling as we got out of the car. The whole drive people were waving and saying jambo (hello in Swahili) and shouting MZUNGU! Once we arrived we were treated like we were sent from God. They knelt down as they shook our hands and had us sit in the best chairs and were just so amazing to us.

We got a tour of the land that WOCAP has for growing crops such as sugarcane, coffee beans, maize, potatoes, and g-nuts. They also had goats, cows, pigs, and chickens. The women and children that are part of the WOCAP community use the food that they grow and animals to feed themselves and their families, and if there is any left over they sell it in local markets. They had a primary school that was washed out by the rain and has not yet been rebuilt. They do still have a secondary school, but only about a third of the students are girls, as they drop out young to get married. WOCAP is working on educating young girls, which in turn will help to establish a nation of educated women. Also, they have a bead making program for the widows. They make necklaces which are sold in the US, and are looking to expand their markets cause that's really the only thing limiting them, so if you have any interest in buying some beautiful necklaces, let me know!! :)

So just some highlights of our day there: as we were driving by one kid he saw us and let out this excited yelp and was like "A MZUNGU!!!!" which pretty much every kid that we saw yelled, but for this specific child, it was as if he had seen Santa Claus. I've never heard such excitement in a voice; we visited a few of the widow's humble homes and at one were served amazing tea, chapatti (this delicious tortilla-like bread), juice and bananas; the widows performed two songs for us, both very impromptu that they seemed to make up on the spot. The man translating for us told us that they were singing about how happy they were that we were there! And all we were doing was taking pictures. It was so humbling; they had us give a speech to the women, which we completely had not expected and kinda just stood awkwardly in front of them without anything interesting to say; and they gave us vegetables and tried to give us a live chicken (I was terrified!!!! There was no way I was riding in the car with a chicken inside!!!).

One of the best parts about the day was the children that we saw. They were SOOO excited to see mzungus, and we kept trying to talk to them in Luganda which they thought was hilarious. At first they'd run up to us, but stay about 10 feet away, so it took us a while to get them to warm up to us. Once we did they were happy to shake our hands and get high fives and bongas (knuckles/pound/whatever you wanna call it). One little girl ran away from me crying when I said hello to her, but the rest responded much better. It is crazy how seeing a white person can put these kids in such a frenzy. We had a lot of fun with them, though, and they were so adorable.

So after we'd visited Namagera and taken all our pictures and interviewed some of the women and had all these amazing experiences, they told us they were taking us somewhere for lunch. We drove about ten minutes down the road and pulled up at the place where my raft trip ended two years ago. I was so confused when we pulled up next to the Nile River Explorers sign. Didn't expect to see that again! But it turned out they brought this picnic dinner for us to this spot on the Nile next to these raging rapids and the most beautiful surroundings you can imagine. You know where Simba goes when he runs away into exile and lives with Timon and Pumba? That is what this place looks like. Just GORGEOUS. So they fed us this amazing food and we ate on a rock next to the water and it just felt like we were with family. They were so welcoming and amazing to us. I felt like I'd known them forever. We had such a good time with them and just treasured every moment of it.

This blog doesn't even touch the surface of how amazing of a day it was or how incredible the places were that we saw and the people we met. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful they all were and how happy they were to have us there. They have such an incredible community and help each other out and care so much for each other's well-beings. They rely upon each other and themselves for EVERYTHING. They have NO money. The necklaces and anything else they sell help to pay for their kids to go to school, and they have no money left over for really anything else. But they did not for one minute let us feel sorry for them. They were so strong, and so inspiring, and so hopeful. I REALLY hope that I'm able to do something more for them while I'm still here.

O ya, by the way, I decided to stay till October 17th! My plane ticket is officially changed! Nikki and Natalie will still leave on September 10th, but I'm going to stay an extra 5 weeks! During my extra stay I'm planning a safari with Charlie (the volunteer coordinator) in another part of Uganda that's really tropical and we're sure to see lots of elephants and hippos! And we're also thinking of going with some of the people we met yesterday (parents and Mina don't freak out!) up to Northern Uganda to stay with some of their friends and see some of the displaced people's camps and meet some kids and people that have lived through the war and devastation that Northern Ugandan people have suffered through. Don't worry, it'll be very safe for us, as visiting mzungus are treated like royalty in Uganda, and they know people we can stay with and have assured us we'll be safe. Plus we won't be going alone, but with other Ugandans, so we'll have protection. So I'm really looking forward to spending two more months here!!

I'm definitely not ready to leave the kids at Amani (who are still precious and adorable and amazing and bring us more joy and more love every day), and I'm definitely not ready to leave Uganda. It is so diverse and rich and powerful. It truly is the pearl of Africa. The people could not be more friendly and welcoming. The land could not be more beautiful. The food could not be more delicious. The children could not be sweeter... It's amazing.

One more quick story... Today after church we went out to lunch at this mzungu restaurant in town. As we walked into the restaurant two little street kids followed us in and sat with us at our table. Not really knowing what else to do, we bought them lunch and tried to get to know them a little. Little Joseph was 10 and his brother, Moses, was 5, although I'm pretty sure they were lying about that cause kids here look way younger than they are so they can get away with it. But the way Joseph was looking after his brother, sharing everything that we gave him with Moses and explaining to him what we were trying to ask him... it was really a special thing to get to see. So that is Uganda. You really should come and see for yourself. It's just incredible here. It really captures your heart.

So all you mzungus, I hope you're doin well back in America. We miss you and think of you all the time and hope you're all doing well back home! We love your comments and emails and updates, so please keep them coming! We really really really appreciate all your love and support! And if you wanna learn more about some of the stuff we've done/are doing while we're here, here are some links you can check out:

Amani Baby Cottage (the orphanage we're working at): http://www.amanibabycottage.org/

Katie's blog and ministry (that Nikki wrote about the other day):

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

http://amazima.org/

WOCAP (Widows and Orphan Community Action Plan): http://www.wocap-uganda.org/

With some of the children from WOCAP

Children that followed us around Namagera Village :)

You know, just eat dinner next to the Nile at sunset. Just like any other day...

Our Ugandan family

Katie's house & The boat trip!

Hello again!

So this week has been very busy for us all. On Tuesday we went to visit Katie's house because she teaches the kids in her program a bible story on Tuesday's. It was really eye opening to see how she lived and to meet all the kids she has been ministering to. It was also nice to finally meet her precious (precious!) children. There were about 200 kids who attended the bible lesson. Alea, Natalie and I got to feed them porridge as a late breakfast. After playing in the yard for awhile we gathered on the porch to listen to Katie teach about Jonah and the whale. Afterwards they all colored a whale picture with a bible verse on it and we all played some more.

When I look at kids like those we saw at Katie's I see poverty, but I also see happiness and joy for the Lord. It makes me wonder what's better....materialistic world lacking in spirituality or a spiritually rich world lacking in material things? I sense God's presence so much more in this country. These people do not ignore God because they need to rely on Him everyday and I absolutely love it. God is so much more apparent here because He is wanted and He is not ignored or set aside. I think God manifests Himself in our lives according to how much we pursue Him, and when I see the joy in these children's faces it makes me want to pursue God so much more. I think that is also part of the reason doing the Lord's work here in Uganda is so fulfilling and amazing.

On Thursday we took all the preschoolers on a boat ride just down the road from the orphanage. We boated on Lake Victoria to where the Nile begins. I think the kids really loved it, especially when we saw a group of monkeys. For some reason I was really fatigued and tired that afternoon and I realized later it was because I was relying on myself and not the Lord's strength to work through the day. So I prayed about it last night today my attitude has been so much better, and the work (although it has been the same) has been so much lighter. Please be praying for our attitudes to remain positive and servant like, for the children's health and happiness, and also that God can continue to do His work and mold our hearts. Thanks again for reading!

Love,

Nikki

Katie's porch
Some kids from Katie's house
Some more...I'm pretty sure they never had seen themselves on a camera before
Just for fun :)
Dan, Nicole and Walker

Hi everyone!! so we are nearing the halfway point in our exciting African journey and I can hardly believe how quickly the time is flying by!! During this week, it has become very apparent to me how truly attached to these kids I have become. One little boy named Bobby has really stolen my heart. (He is about 4). One morning, he came running across the grass to me the moment he saw me, yelling "Auntie Natalie." I didn't even know that he actually knew my name before this, and in that moment he melted my heart!! We have also made up a little dance to the George of the Jungle theme song. Now all of the kids are running around saying "Auntie can we do George." Its precious!! Every single one of these kids makes us all feel so special and loved!! They are all so sweet and adorable!! Basically, its safe to say that these kids have completely and fully captured my heart!!

They have also taught me more then I can ever fully understand. The kids (and even most of the grown ups) have a sincere joy for life. The people here live simpler and more conservatively than in the U.S. The kids are content to play in the yard with a ball, the tire swing, or even the little mangos from the trees. They don't know what video games are. They don't have ipods. They don't have cell phones, yet they are happy. They don't eat many sweets (or "sweeties" as they call them). They don't watch much tv, yet they are happy. Their clothes hang dry outside on wire lines. They don't have their own rooms. They don't live in nice suburban homes or play with other kids in a culdesac. They don't have a lot of the things that we consider "essential" or "important" for kids in our world back home, yet they are sweeter, better behaved, and happier than a lot of the kids I have come in contact with in the U.S. These people simply have a joy for life, not just the stuff in it. Their days don't revolve around the most recent Twitter, or a new scandal Brittany Spears has stirred up. They don't have the most recent season of the Bachelor, and they don't yet know what happens in Gossip Girl, yet they still find things to talk about. They still find ways to entertain themselves. And they are still happy. And the crazy thing is we consider them to be less fortunate. When Americans think of Africa, I think we generally think of poverty, disease, and misfortune. But ironically, their culture is in many ways so much richer than ours. This is particularly the case when it comes to spirituality. Jesus is apart of their daily lives; in fact, for many Ugandans He is the center of their lives, exactly where He should be. They walk around singing songs that glorify Him and they try and raise families with Christian morals. Its interesting to me that in the U.S., we constantly ask the question "why?"... "Why do bad things happen?" "Fires?" "Hurricanes?" "War?" "Terrorism?" "Where is God?" In our hard times, many of us frequently doubt or question God's sovereignty, and some even use life's problems to argue that God doesn't exist. However, here, there is more poverty, more disease, more child abandonment, and many other hardships that are uncommon in the U.S., yet these things draw the people here closer to God. They rely on Him to help them through each day and they thank Him for all of their blessings, in the good times and the bad. And its ironic, that we, "the fortunate ones," are quick to lose our faith when our "ideal" lifestyle starts to crumble. We are more blessed in so many ways, yet we are so quick to lose faith. I think to some extent this is because we are perhaps too fortunate; so fortunate, that we take many of our blessings for granted, not realizing that they are blessings at all. I think sometimes we allow all the "stuff" we have, skew our priorities. We assume that an iphone is a human necessity and that the freedom of speech is just a given right. We allow our "blessings" turn into distractions from what is really important, glorifying God with our lives. When we ask the question "Where is God?", I am learning that we need to realize that He is the one thing in this world that hasn't changed, and that, instead, maybe it is our perception of His importance and presence in our daily lives that has changed. Maybe, we are just too busy, or too self sufficient to rely on God. But when we look around at this imperfect world, is that really the case?

This is just some food for thought. My time here has made me tremendously appreciative for all that I have in the U.S. and it has also made me reevaluate a lot of my own blessings (some of which I had never before considered blessings). I just wanted to share with all of you some of the life lessons I have been learning here in Africa. Thanks for reading!!

Lots of Love,

Natalie

Banaange!!!!!

Time is flying by so quickly. I feel so attached the kids here already! I don't know how in the world we're going to leave. I actually am looking in to staying a little longer. Nikki and Natalie will be going back on September 10th as planned, but I'm considering staying until November. I have no job to go back to, no school, no rent to pay, no commitments of any kind... so why not? I am just loving it and don't really see why I should be in a rush to get home! I'm just waiting to see if there's room for me to stay. A lot of other volunteers are signed up to come in the next couple of months, so we'll see!

Our days are so full here. We start working with the kids at 8am. Like I said in the other post, I've been with Baby A. The "premies." Really just the babies under a year old. I am so in love with them. A bunch of them have these horrible blistery rashes, though, so please keep them in your prayers. Up until today that didn't seem to bother them, but the two that have it the worst were extremely fussy today and just inconsolable. I felt terrible. But somehow, even with their ear splitting screams that sometimes don't stop no matter what I try, I still have this overflowing love for them. I have all these precious babies that fall asleep in my arms every day. How could I not love that?

Every night, regardless of which baby room I'm helping in, I've been going into the toddler boys room before I call it a night. One reason is because it's my favorite time of day with them cause they're super cuddly and want hugs and kisses, which they run away from most of the rest of the time. But another reason is because I have completely fallen in love with this one particular boy with the biggest smile and the biggest belly you've ever seen. And I LOVE putting him to bed. When he sees me coming his huge smile spreads across his face and he hides in the corner of his bed and laughs and laughs when I sit on his bed and tickle his belly. Then he asks for a hug and I hug him and kiss his forehead and say goodnight and he says "goodnight" with his enormous lips and adorable little voice. And tonight he said "I love you!" and my heart basically just melted and I haven't quite recovered. I can't tell you what an impact this little boy has had on me. The other day I was feeling really down and I went out into the yard where all the kids were playing and he ran up to me asking to be picked up. Eventually I had to put him down and he just cried and cried. I was gone for at least five minutes, and I came back to find him in the exact same spot still crying, with Natalie next to him trying to comfort him. The second I picked him up he stopped crying and I just held him for a while on the tire swing and found so much comfort with him in my arms. I just adore him. When we took the toddlers on our special outing yesterday to get milkshakes and brownies I took him. He drank the milkshake so fast I didn't even get to share it with him! And he didn't make it halfway through the brownie before his tummy started aching... "Auntie, my belly's hurting."

You probably really don't care to hear anymore about this little boy so I'll spare you more stories, but o how I wish I could take him home. Seriously, this little boy is probably the highlight of my days. Aside from little Helene. She's my other favorite :) She is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen and has the funniest little smile that distorts her whole face (which I sadly haven't been able to capture on film). I adore her.

I could go on and on about each individual kid, but it would take forever and you most likely wouldn't care. They each have something soooo special and lovable about them. At the end of every day I feel drained and exhausted, but at the start of every new day I can't wait to pour out more love than I ever thought I could possess on these darling little children, most of whom will never know what it's like to be part of a real family. It's hard to remember they're orphans when you see how happy they are. I'm not going to tell you right now about all the times my heart has broken for these kids and their horrible situations, but my tears are always quickly stemmed by the next adorable thing that they do or say. They have so much joy, you'd never know the awful situations they've come from or even that they live in an orphanage.

I hope you all are doing well. We REALLY appreciate all your love and support!

Love love love,

Alea

Our special outing with the kids... the restaurant brought out toys for them to play with!

My LOVE.

Jinja.

Helene! Somehow she managed to steal my glasses...

Precious little Benja.

One week!

Hi all!

Well, we've officially been here a week now! (We arrived very early last Wednesday morning.) God is amazing in the ways he is constantly using us to serve the children. He is providing us with lots of patience and abundant love for these little ones. I can definitely say I am loving it here. I absolutely love the kids! I couldn't say that enough. :) This morning we sang and clapped with some of the one year olds while they attempted to dance -so cute. This afternoon we are headed out to a local restaurant with some of the toddlers to buy them milkshakes and brownies. I am finding that I am becoming more and more attached to the kids even though we've only been here for a week.

So, yesterday we were looking at three of the children's "books." The books are photo albums that some of the kids have from families in America, who are about to adopt them in the next couple of months. They were so excited to show me pictures of their Mommies and Daddies and siblings as well as their future pets. But I literally lost it and started sobbing when one of the curious kids who wasn't supposed to be in the room walked in and started crying because he didn't understand why he didn't have a book that he could show me. I tried to cheer him up and eventually he stopped crying but he kept asking why. I can't understand how a person can be so selfish and prideful to the point that they are willing to cut off so many opportunities and a better life for someone else. I mean they put these kids in orphanages for the rest or their childhoods. There actually are several kids here at Amani that are un-adoptable in this way. I am going to be praying that the parents change their minds. All the volunteers decided that we are going to take pictures of the kids who aren't being adopted so that they can have books too though. :) I haven't anticipated how much love I would have for these kids. This trip is going to change my heart and it already has begun. I can't wait to keep you all posted and to tell you all about God's movement here in Uganda :)

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Nikki

Nicole

Zahara

Eve

A peak at life at Amani Baby Cottage

Little Walker stole my glasses... Had to chase him around the yard to get them back :)

Judah is a little cutie

Katie was just a year old when I was here last. She's so big now!

(This is pretty much what the kids look like all the time,

reaching up at us and saying "Auntie, up!)

The kids playing inside the Thomas the Train tent :)

The one in the front in blue is Dan, the one with the big smie is Asherif,

the little one looking backwards is Benjamin,

and the one looking sideways on the left is Steven.

Nikki holding sweet little Jacob.

Walker's saying CHEEEEEEESE!

George is one of our favorites. He's just plain adorable.

Baby C eating dinner.

Day 4 :)

Baby C's yummy dinner

Jason sharing a fascinating gum wrapper with Bobby.

Cheeky little Fazira.

Our walk to Lake Victoria with Baby C.

This is Uganda.

Hello friends!

It's Alea... Sorry we've been MIA for the past few days. We've been really busy spending time with the kids and getting used to life here. So we're all really excited to tell you about our kids and each wanna write a little bit about things so far, so be prepared for a looooooooong one!

I can't believe we've already been here for four days... It's already flying by. We have been having an absolutely amazing time so far. I wish I could describe all the sights and smells and sounds of Uganda and do it justice. It's just a phenomenal place. We'll post more pictures and videos as soon as we get a chance. Right now we're stuck inside listening to a thunder storm and pouring rain :) This is the first day there's been anything but thick heat and sunshine.

The first day we were here we just got situated and played a little with the kids. We started in our assigned rooms on Thursday, me in Baby A, Nikki in Baby B, and Natalie in Baby C (Baby A has babies from 3-10 mos, Baby B is mostly 1 year olds, and Baby C is mostly 2 year olds). I thought Baby A would be a little boring cause all they can do is eat and sleep, but I have fallen in love with each and every one of them. There's little Susan with her sweet little eyes and this warm little smile. And Will, who cries hysterically when you're not holding him, but as soon as you pick him up he just settles down and sucks on my arm like a passifier. It's precious. Eric is 3 months old, but looks like he's only a month at the most. He's teeny tiny and I feel like he just might break if I touch him. Frank's a drooler. His mouth is constantly wide open as he takes in all the sights around him, and drool is continually dripping from his mouth. He has the funniest little chuckle I've ever heard. Joseph is super chubby and is extremely quiet, unless he's unhappy. Then he cries inconsolably. Andrew's a little terror. He is tiny, but he can already pull himself up and stand and crawl and will never sit still. He's extremely stubborn, but also extremely happy and easy to make laugh. Helene is my favorite. She's 10 months and has a big tuft of hair on the top of her head and is completely bald all around it. She loves to nod and shake her head and clap her hands. She's always happy and unbelievably precious. I just adore her. Already the older ones smile when I walk in the room and I've been brought to tears more times than I can count at how precious they are. They bring me so much joy. I just adore them.

We've had a lot of time to spend with the toddlers and preschoolers as well. These kids are just a constant encouragement. They see you coming and just run over and throw their arms around you, yelling "Auntie up!" or "Auntie, I want to go to town." They cry when you set them down or won't pick them up, steal my glasses and my camera whenever I have them with me, and constantly demand attention, but they are soooo loveable. I'm consistently walking around with two kids in my arms or kids hanging onto all my fingers. Two hands are simply not enough, but ten fingers can hold so many more children. Yesterday we took the two-year-olds on a walk by Lake Victoria, and they got so excited every time we saw the random animals on the sides of the road (cows, goats, dogs...)

There are a lot of kids that are still here that were here two years ago. One is Deborah, who was just a tiny little baby last time I was here, and now she's two. She has cerebral palsy, so she's not running around like all the other kids, but she has so much personality and the sweetest little smile. She's picky about who she likes and doesn't like, and she laughs when the other kids get into trouble. Josephine is still here. She's now 3 1/2 and still makes the same sounds when she's happy and swings her head from side to side for no apparent reason. I just adore her. There's little Dan, who was also just a baby when I was here last time, and all I remember about him is his smile. His smile took up his entire face and could brighten up the whole room. I asked Charlie, our volunteer coordinator, if he was still here and she brought me to him and asked him to smile and it's still huge. He's my favorite toddler I think. He's 3 now, and is kinda a crybaby, but I adore him. Katie, Matthew, Hannah, Matthias, Bobby, George, Jason, and Steven are all still here too, and they are even more adorable than I remembered.

We've been having a ton of fun with the other volunteers. We spent 5 hours last night playing Phase 10 with 8 of us. It was the longest Phase 10 game I've ever experienced, and by the end we were deliriously tired and laughing uncontrollably. Everyone's really fun and so great with the kids. And the volunteer house that we're staying in is just the upstairs of the orphanage, and the woman that started the home used to live here so it's very homey and really nice. Not exactly how you'd picture living in Africa. We have a view of Lake Victoria from our balcony. Everything about this place is just breathtaking. Anyways, I've said enough. Nikki and Natalie both wanna update you about their kids too!

Hi everyone this is Nikki!! I just wanted to give you guys an update about the kids I am taking care of! I help out with 11 one yr olds and they are absolutely adorable...of all the babies I would say they are definitely the terrors and the monsters but I absolutely love them. I have little Deborah in my group. She is the pickiest baby ever but I love her, and I have tried to become friends with her. Just yesterday she let me start feeding her without complaint :) My favorite though is baby Moses. He just was transferred from Baby A to Baby B so he is one of the littlest ones. I love him because he adores everyone who wants to play with him and he has one of the loudest voices of them all. Baby Josephine (this is a different one than Alea was talking about) is another of my favorites because she is ALWAYS happy. She has the chubbiest cheeks you will ever see and a cute little chuckle laugh. Her and Gift (another baby) are constantly getting into trouble together but are absolutely adorable.

Aside from the kids we are learning some words in Lugandan which is one of the languages spoken here. "Mzungu" means white person. "Weraba" (said "welaba") means goodbye and "webalay" means thank you, which can be very confusing at times. "Souu souu" is an important word to understand because it means "pee", and "jango" means come. Sometimes we hear the Mamas say "banangay!" which means "oh my word!" to the kids when they get frustrating. "Bambi" (pronounced "Bombee") means poor baby and they often say that when one of the kids gets hurt. But I'd have to say my personal favorite is "bonga!" which basically means "pound it!" (bump knuckles). We tell the kids to do it instead of a hi-five, but they know how to do both.

I am absolutely loving it here, although at times entertaining 11 one year olds at once can be exhausting, God has provided all of us with so much love and patience for these little ones and we would ask that you guys could pray that He continues to provide us with this amazing attitude. I would also ask that you could pray for little Deborah that she would learn to walk and crawl because she currently learning how. Jemmy (short for Jemimah) also needs prayer because she is having a hard time meshing with the other children. Please continue to pray for us and all of God's precious children here at Amani. We thank you so much for all your support and love! ...now I'm going to pass you off to Natalie :)

Hey guys, its Natalie!! So, as the other two girls have expressed, it is amazing here!! The kids are exceptional and make you feel like the most special person in the whole world when they come running into your arms and give you a huge smile!! The kids I have been working with are in Baby group C. They are only about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years old and they are probably some of the smartest little kids I have ever seen. When its meal time they all walk over to the door of their nursery and sit down until one of the mamas comes over and washes their hands. Can you imagine 12 two year olds sitting patiently waiting like that in the U.S.? I definitely can't. Each one of them then crawls over to their spot at the table and most of the time they don't even fight over the plates of food!! It seriously blew my mind the first time I saw them do this!!

So, here is some cute info. about the kids I have had the pleasure of working with: Eve is the sweetest little girl ever and she hardly ever cries, even when someone steals her toy. Josephine just stares up at you with her little eyes and gives you the biggest smile ever. Zahara is a little pistol who hates when anyone else tries to sit in my lap while she is wanting my attention. She made this abundantly clear when she bit Patrick's toes yesterday as he climbing into lap to show me his toy. Patrick is a precious little stinker with the biggest eyes and smile I have ever seen. On my first day working with the kids, Patrick wandered outside and I told him to come back in. He just laughed at me and kept doing his own thing until a mama yelled at him and he came running inside. Apparently he doesn't find me very intimidating, haha!! Then there is Jacob who is so sweet but cries every time you put him down. There is Issac and Mebra who are twins and are pretty content doing their own things. Isaac loves handing me his toys as gifts. There is also Gavin who is a little punk and on my first day with them, every time he got in trouble or just wanted attention, he would come crying to me, and the second I acknowledged him, he would stop crying!! He loves clinging to me and this little manipulater has undoubtedly stolen my heart!! Nicholas is another sweetheart who probably has the nicest disposition of any child I have ever met. He always hands his toys to the other kids and strokes their heads when they are crying to try and comfort them!! He is so precious!! Zarita is the littlest one in the group and her legs are not yet strong enough for her to walk or crawl yet so she has become a pro at scooting around on her bum. I got to take her on an outing down to Lake Victoria yesterday, which was an absolute blast but let me tell you that if you want an arm workout, all you need is an 8 pound child and an hours worth of free time. Sadly, I was very sore last night. I ask for prays for her, that her legs will soon become strong enough to walk on her own, and that she is getting the nutrition and stimulation she needs to do this. And last but not least is Elijah, who is a bit fussy but has the cutest two-toothed smile ever!! Sadly, I will be spending a little less time with these little guys next week since I will be with the toddlers, but they are adorable and I can't wait to see how they continue to grow.

I have already gotten to spend a little bit of time with the toddlers, and let me tell you they are hilarious!! They completely hustled me on my first day. A bunch of them were pointing to a tree with what looked like unripe fruit and repeatedly saying, "auntie, I want a mango." A few of them already had some that they were munching on and seemed very convincing when they told me that the mamas give them mangos all the time..so i pulled a few from the tree and gave them to the kids...only to find out later that they weren't supposed to have them...little stinkers haha!! Its ok though because I have since then learned that mangos are a regular, harmless, sneaky indulgence that the kids somehow get a hold of on a daily basis!! This whole ordeal was started by a little boy named George...and while he was not at all thrilled when I took away his mango, we are now the best of friends and I adore him!! Today he ran across the grass to give me a big hug!! He is so sweet!!

Well, now that you have read the longest blog post ever....haha we hope you have great day and just ask that you keep us in your prayers, that we can continue to do God's work and pour out into these kids and all the people around us!! Thanks for reading!!

-Natalie

p.s. more photos and videos to come!

Flying, Running, Driving....WE ARE HERE!!! YESSSS!!!

WE HAVE ARRIVED!!! so after about 23 hours of travel, we have made it safely to the Amani Baby Cottage!! we left LAX at 8:30 on April 10th. our plane was delayed for 45 min which made for an exciting adventure when we landed in New Jersey and had to run to the opposite end of the airport to make our flight to Brussels!! after dodging many people and taking advantage of the moving sidewalks, we made it to the gate just before they closed the doors. God is def looking out ;). after 8 hours we arrived in Belgium, where we were desperately hungry for an actual meal. Unfortunately, the Brussels airport was not the biggest. and due to the poor location of our terminal, we were separated from food and a delicious looking chocolate shop by a glass security wall. not so fun haha!! eventually we got on the plane and after about 10 hours landed in Entebbe, Uganda. And all of our luggage made it!!! YESSSSS!! we drove for about 3 hours to the orphanage and finally got to sleep at about two in the morning Ugandan time (we are 10 hours ahead). This concludes our flying adventures....for awhile!! Africa is amazing so far and we are excited for our first real day here!!

-Natalie

We are leaving tomorrow morning!!

Hi everyone!
I just wanted to put out a quick prayer request list for those of you who will be following our blog! We are leaving early tomorrow morning (8:30) from LAX and if you guys could be praying for our safety as well as the trip to go smoothly. Also if you could pray that God's can use us in everyway possible from the moment we arrive to the moment we leave while we are in Uganda that would be fantastic. I love you all and I can't wait to write to you when we are there!! God bless!

Love,
Nikki

Leaving in a Week!!!

Hello friends!

I just wanted to write a quick post to thank you for joining our journey to Uganda, and we appreciate all your prayers and support! We leave a week from today and fly from LAX to New Jersey to Brussels to Uganda and will probably arrive to the orphanage around midnight their time. It'll be an exciting adventure and hopefully we'll have some sweet things to post for you to read.

If you read this before we leave, please be praying for a few last minute things: that we would get all our last minute shopping and packing done without trouble, that all our medical and health stuff will go through, that my contacts will arrive on time :), and that our flight will go smoothly! We've had some issues with our plane tickets already, so just be praying that we won't run into any problems!

Thanks and God Bless,

Alea