24 March 2007

So let me catch you up. We are home in Soroti! It feels so good to be home. And it is so nice to be able to say that about my home on the mission field. I am happy and at peace. God has really worked in my life, brought us here, and is with us. I am so thankful. You have no idea how much better it is to feel this much better about living on the mission field. I am in awe. Did I mention how grateful I am?

We finally got our passports stamped. We are official for another 3 months. Hopefully by then the church will have it's NGO papers in order and we can apply for our 1 to 5 year work visas. Thanks for all of the prayers.

We traveled home Thursday. Everything went well but it is a long five and a half hours in the car with small kids. Plus Josh took us on an extra half hour detour. Whoops. I am just thankful for places to stop with bathrooms, good driving, safe driving, and air conditioning.

We arrived home at about 3pm and the house looked good. It is really nice to come home to a clean, ready and okay to live in house. (As opposed to Mahula where you had to clean, dust, fill water buckets, sweat, uncover things...) Josh asked if it was different coming home here (oppose to Mahula). Does he even have to ask? It is so different, so much better. I don't dread it, I look forward to it. I don't feel sick to my stomach or homesick. I have peace. I am relaxed. I am not worried. I have privacy. I have family and a team to work and fellowship with. Everything is different. And now I know why we had to change.

Don't get me wrong I know I will still have hard times, but overall it will be better.

The girls are happy to be home too. They have been playing nonstop. They were so excited to see Patric, our guard. It is so cute to see them walk with him and hold his hand. I can't help but smile seeing the love those little girls give to a boy who has been so hurt and alone. Our girls sure know how to share God's love.

Grace seems to play better now. At least if she freedom and can go outside. She loves to explore and stomp on ants. It is a fun age. She is learning a lot and continues to learn new words. She says more, sh sh qui (quiet),alleluia and I do (thanks to Avalien), and all gone. She knows all the animal sounds too. She is changing and it is cute. I wish you could see and hear her. Grace has had diaper trouble. She poops up to six times a day and has off and on diaper rash. I guess her body is adjusting to all the changes too. She isn't thrilled with clothe diapers and neither are we.

I was thankful for house help when we got home. The laundry is done and the floors and bathroom are cleaned. We also have a boy (teen) named Sam who does our yard. Sam goes to school by our house and this way we can help him with school fees. He is supper friendly. He calls me Mama which I am not so sure about but it is very cultural. Sam was also abducted by the LRA for about three months. He was cutting our grass with a slasher (machete) but now can use our new push lawn mower we bought in Kampala.

Angie and I walked to our local market Josh found. Everyone was so nice and glad we came. I was so excited to be able to walk and get every kind of fresh food I need. We bought about 25 small oranges for 60cents and went home to make orange juice with our new electric juicer. Have I told you about chipatis? They are like a thick taco shell and they are sold everywhere in this country. My family loves them. We made tortilla chips out of them today and guacamole dip.

Josh ordered local food to be made for our family tonight. Our neighbor made it for us. We had posho, corn flour stuff, and a green leaf peanut soup. I loved it but my kids weren't so sure. Lydia must have forgotten her Mahula days. Hopefully it will work out to get local food made twice a week so I can have a break from cooking and can go for a walk.

We were happy to get one more piece of furniture but disappointed nothing else was ready. I guess we get to sleep on the floor awhile longer. I sat in the girls room tonight reading books and I was so happy to have a normal room. The bunk beds, crib, dresser, tile floor, and lamp make it look so nice and comfortable. I guess it is just more like a real home than Mahula was.

Grace and Lydia have been learning to sleep all night all by themselves again. I was up with Grace a few hours the last couple nights. I sat in a chair by her bed and held her hand. Hopefully, it will only take a couple nights to get use to her bed.