October in a nutshell

Hey Everyone!

I have so much to catch up on in the blog and I don’t know where to start. We have been all over the place these past few weeks and it has been wonderful. Newman’s parents, Bob and Lynn, arrived here in Uganda on October 14th and Newman and I drove down to Entebbe to get them. It was so fun and strange at the same time at first because I couldn’t believe there were actually here. They got in late so we stayed the night in a hotel in Entebbe and then made the trip back up to Masindi on Monday after Newman ran some errands for work. Bob and Lynn didn’t mind us getting some work done, and it also was a chance for them to see what our lives are like when we are in Kampala running around from place to place in the crazy traffic. Newman warned his Mom that she will want to scream out at times as he drove but he asked that she try to restrain herself (he tells me this too) and she did an awesome job. I know when we first started driving around here I couldn’t help freaking out a little from time to time. We made it back to Masindi in time to sip a G &T on the back patio and for them to get their first glimpse of the monkeys in our back yard. We spent the next few days in Masindi together. Newman worked a good bit, but also spent time with us when he could which was great. I showed Bob and Lynn around Masindi, took them to the market, bought groceries, and showed them how we do life here. They adapted quickly and were already hand washing their clothes and bathing in the dark when the power was out, which was most of that week. We also had city water go out, but luckily we have a reserve tank that got us through.

The main event for that week was the Grand Opening of the Labor and Delivery Ward and Surgical Theaters on the 17^th. That date was also Safe Motherhood Day in Uganda, so there was a small event for that as well at the clinic following the Grand Opening. We had a great turnout of invited guests and locals who came to show their support. Newman’s Dad did the opening prayer, the Resident District Commissioner was the guest of honor, and the Arch Bishop Elect as well as a few others gave speeches. There was a ribbon cutting and a tour of the new facility. It was a proud day for MKMC and PMI and we were so happy to share that with Bob and Lynn. We went to Masindi Hotel that night for dinner so that they could see where the teams come and stay and so that they could try the delicious food. The rest of the week was pretty low key and we prepared for our trip to Burundi.

Grand Opening Pictures:

Lynn with a baby from Blessed Day Care at the Grand Opening

Newman and Joseph the clinic Administrator

 

Opening Prayer

 

 

Archbishop Elect Stanley Ntagali

 

Patient testimony

 

RDC and Patrick

 

 

 Newman and Wilson

 

We flew to Burundi on Friday and stayed for 6 days. It was my first trip to Burundi, Lynn’s second, and Newman and Bob’s third. Our good friend Freddy Tuyizere, who works for Youth for Christ, met us at the airport with his wife Mama Jo, and they took such good care of us the rest of the week. We stayed at a little guest house in Bujumbura for the first night. We then traveled to Gitega in the center of the country for the rest of the weekend. Freddy is amazing. God has given him some pretty amazing visions and Freddy has had the boldness to follow them. God has richly blessed him for that. We were blessed enough to see some of fruit of those visions. We stayed at the Homes of Hope orphanage that Freddy started and we were loved on by 37 of the adorable children who live there. I’ve never gotten so many hugs from a group of children in my life. We also toured the school that has been built there for those children and the community as well as their medical clinic. Freddy also started a premiere boarding school called Gitega International Academy which was started because of his vision of raising up a new generation to be the future leaders of Burundi. These were both amazing places which were made possible completely because Freddy and others helping him followed the vision and calling given to them by God without hesitation or fear. We hiked to the top of Mount Songa which is the highest peak in Burundi and it is in the dead center of the country. We prayed for the nation there and spent time with children who joined us on our hike. During this week we also toured a newer Homes of Hope in Cibitoke which is home to a few children and is still expanding. They are busy building the school and clinic for that site. The last day we spent a wonderful afternoon on the beach on Lake Tanganyika and had lunch at a really pretty beach side hotel. We also had the chance to have dinner with other friends, Simon Guillebaud and Onesphore Manirakiza, in their homes with their families which was really nice. Overall it was a great trip and I know we all cannot wait to go back again one day soon.

Burundi Pictures:

Bob and Lynn on top of Mount Songa

 

Me and Newman on top of Mount Songa

 

 Sunset in Gitega
 

 Homes of Hope Gitega Children
 

Beach day with Freddy

Freddy

 

Unfortunately while in Burundi, I was a little preoccupied at times thinking about my family because I received word that Pop, my mom’s father, was not doing well. He had been fighting bone cancer for some time and they had just moved him to a hospice facility. I knew when they moved him there that his days were numbered, but I thought for sure I would be able to see him over the holidays when we come home for a visit. I was told that I needed to call while we were in Burundi and say goodbye to him. I was shocked and in disbelief, but I am glad that I was able to borrow a phone and talk for a few minutes to him to say goodbye. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I was very glad to have Newman’s family here with us. When we landed back in Masindi, I called my Mom and found out that Pop had passed away the evening before around 5pm. My Mom said that he went peacefully and that everyone was doing pretty well and that my Granny was doing ok. We will all miss him dearly but I am so glad that I know exactly where he is and that we will all be together again one day. He is no longer suffering and his weak and diseased body has been replaced with a brand new one. I knew when we moved here that life would go on without us, and we might not be around for things like this, but we also know that God called us here and this is where we are supposed to be. People will continue to get married, have babies, and pass away whether we are there or not and that’s ok. 

So, we returned to Masindi with slightly heavy hearts, but also so filled up from the trip to Burundi. Life here is a roller coaster but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The rest of Bob and Lynn’s time here continued to be wonderful. We took a trip to Paraa lodge where we looked at Murchison falls, went on a game drive, went on a river safari, and swam in the pool. We all enjoyed ourselves of course because it is an amazing place and we all could truly relax. I took them to Masindi hospital so that they could have something to compare our clinic to, and I took them to Family Spirit orphanage in Masindi. Ask them about that if you want to hear their reaction. We prayed over our whole clinic room by room and walked the whole property which was really nice. We met with neighbors and shared a meal with friends. Finally we went back down to Kampala where we shared an amazing meal at one of our favorite restaurants and we took them to the craft market to do some shopping. They left on the 2^nd to go back to Charleston. We were sad to see them go, but we knew we would be with them again in just a few weeks.

Paraa:

Game drive

 

River safari sighting

 

Bob and Lynn in front of Murchison Falls

 

This was our entertainment while we waited for the ferry to cross the Nile on our way back home

 

 

Conspiring on how to score a snack from the big guy

 

 

 

I hope that anyone who wants to come visit us will. I was talking with Bob and Lynn and we all agree that even though they read our blog and hear our stories, without actually being here and seeing everything it’s hard to know how life really is here. It has its ups and it has its downs, but doing what God calls us to do is always far more exciting and fulfilling than any other plans we would have for ourselves.

Thanks for reading this marathon post, and there is so much more I could say, but I just wanted to hit on some of the highlights of the past few weeks. Thanks for everyone’s love and prayers!!

Love,

Trish