Hello Gulu!

Day 2 in Uganda for our team began with a 7:00 breakfast. After hearing the rooster next door and the Muslim call to prayer at 5 am, this wasn’t too much of a stretch.

We enjoyed a colorful, bumpy and dusty ride out to an orphanage to attend church with the kids and their caregivers. We were immediately surrounded with joyful faces giving big hugs and welcoming us. Mary Virginia and Josephine met with some of the elders of the orphanage who make the magazine beads and bracelets that are sold at Sweet Sleep and we purchased some of their wonderful new creations. While that was going on, Paul and Jen interviewed some of these women to hear their life stories. The rest of the team was busy getting to know the kids and had a ball.

The orphanage campus is surprisingly expansive and beautiful, with several buildings and a school. A soccer field sits in the middle of all the buildings and a swing set under a big shade tree. Following church the children were excited to show us their beds and mosquito nets that were provided to them through Sweet Sleep in the summer of 2009. Each bed was perfectly made and you could tell that they took great pride in their beds and bibles!

As we finished up at the orphanage, we were all extremely thirsty and were looking forward to buying some cases of bottled water for our six hour van(s) ride to Gulu in the northern part of Uganda. Twenty minutes into our trip, one of the vans broke down and was stuck on the side of the road. After some masterful planning and strategic coordination by Josephine and our driver, Jack, another van arrived and we were caravanning again.

Honestly, driving down the road and looking out the window is literally indescribable and is difficult to put into words. It was like watching a movie! Fresh produce. Goats. Thin cows and giant poisonous storks. Fried meat on a skewer. Dusty mopeds. Wrapped up babies on mommies backs. Potholes. Thousands of waving children, curious and smiling. Handmade bricks, and huts of all shapes and sizes. Campfires. It was mesmerizing. Darkness came and we continued to dodge potholes, oncoming trucks, and pedestrians. The nighttime breeze was a welcomed change from the sun and dust from a long day of driving.

We arrived to the Watoto House this evening around 8:30pm and were welcomed with open arms by the staff and Jennifer, our program director in Gulu. A warm meal was waiting and we love our new home for the week! Thank you for your prayers! Please keep them coming!

Tim and Mary Virginia