Uganda Update Part 3

The girls arrived on June 5th. I had 3 wonderful days alone in David's village until the girls arrived ready to go. The night they arrived we went on an impromptu visit to David's village, Birra, and were treated to a wonderful music program. The school consists of mostly orphaned kids and they gave the Goals for Girls team a welcome like none other. The next day was jam packed. We started out volunteering with the orphaned babies at Sanyu Babies home in Kampala. We happened to be there the day volunteers came to immunize. Imagine my suprise when I saw that the volunteers vests said, "Mormon Helping Hands". Wow, all the way across the globe, members of my church were doing great things. I was so proud. I was extremely moved by the way the girls handled the situation. It was a heavy load and they jumped righ in feet first. There were 2 babies in particular that were in dire straits. They were both completely malnourished and desperately needed feeding tubes. There is a wonderful women from the US named Hedda who is over there adopting herself, but she is also a volunteer social worker for Sanyu. Two of the girls approached her independantly and both gave her $100 of their own money to get feeding tubes for the two babies that were sick. We were all completely overcome with emotion. Hedda had had a very hard week and was so grateful. Of those two babies, one of them, Esther caught a special place in Kimmy's heart (one of the girls on the team). Her mom Susan was along and they talked and later asked me if they could get help to adopt Esther. Esther is one of the sick babies. Without help, Esther was most likely going to die, so Susan called up her husband and he said, "Bring her home". It was one of the most selfless things I ever witnessed. Susan is 51 and her kids are almost all raised. I was so impressed with her and learned to love her deeply while I was there. She is now in the process of adopting Esther. After Sanyu, we went and played a soccer game against disabled children in the Kampal Kids League. KKL is who we partnered with. They bring sports to disadvantaged kids, street kids, orphans and disabled children. It was so fun to watch some of these kids running on their hands as they had no legs. They were bright and fun. Like I said, the day was jam packed. We soon left KKL to go to the Salvation Army home for disabled children. We gave all of the girls pretty headbands made by Kimmy and the boys got rubber bracelets. The home was very humble and it was a sombering experience. We then went onto Katanga Slum. There is a soccer field (if you want to call it that) that we met with a KKL girls team and taught a short soccer clinic, followed by a game. The field was dirt, completely bumpy, bushes randomly growing in it, followed by an occasional cow crossing during the game. This was a huge highlight as the field was situated lower than the slum and whenever there was a good play the people up above in the slum would cheer. We gave everyone Calle shirts and took lots of pictures and film. Calle is a street soccer brand and they donated tons of balls and shirts. In return we were to get footage of the girls and African girls wearing their brand in a street soccer setting. The pictures turned out beautifully. It was a jam packed day. What impressed me the most, was the fact that we could drage these girls all over to extremely emotional situations and they were always ready and willing to jump right in feet first.

Update Date 2

Dear Friends, What to I say. Already I feel like I have grown more in 2 days than I have in a lifetime. I have had a different experience so far as I have been staying in village experiencing life with them. I have been eating delicious food cooked from a fire, had no shower, and used a "long drop". Today I spent the day at a primary school and all 300 children are orphans.
They sang and danced more beautifully than I've ever heard. At the end, they pulled us and the villagers up and we danced to the drums. It was like a high. Feeling the beat (although I couldn't keep it) and losing yourself to the dance. I was also presented with several double orphans who are available for adoption. I am trying to help David find families for them in the US. So, I have video and pictures and can now share. It was a heavy, heavy moment. I had a grandmother who is caring for her grandson ask me to take him. This is heavy. It's very emotional. We were invited by a sweet student named Patrick Magonga to go to visit his home and meet his family. We trounced through the jungle avoiding the stinging ants and wer welcomed into his home. I've spent many hours in deep conversation with several teenage boys who are orphaned. I felt so privileged to have them open up to me and share their stories. One of them has adopted me as his mother and when I left him for the last time tonight we embraced and he wouldn't let go. He was very emotional. I will send pictures of all of this or put in on blog soon. I am honored to be here serving. Thank you to the people who donated money. I want you to know that today there were 2 children who were not in uniform, that is an indication that they were to poor for school. I found out later that they are the sports teachers children. I was able to put together my money and the donations to pay for the 2 girls school fees for the year. They will start Monday. At first I told the father that I could only afford to pay for one. I was so sad to tell him that, then I remembered the donations and it hit me like a ton of bricks, give the donation money to pay for the other girl. The father had asked me to go home and see if someone would sponsor his other daughter, and now, both are cared for. There are plenty of others if any of you would ever like to sponsor someone. This is real, I have seen them. The fees are $150 for one year. Just a thought. I feel so privileged to be here with David and his foundation. He is a member of the church and is an amazing Christian man. The love for his people is so evident. I hate to make blank statements, but please keep these people in your prayers. They are precious.....................Thank you from the bottom of my heart to those who are helping with my family. I really feel like I am making a difference and I couldn't do that without you. Love to all!

Uganda Part 1

Hey There, I made it safely. I am in Bira which is about 45 minutes outside of Kampala. I got here this morning and on my plane was the Ugandan National Soccer Team, as well as two Ugandan Elders returning from missions in Zimbabwe. Today I did something I said I would never do, that is, ride on a Boda Boda(motorcycle). They are super dangerous. I didn't have a choice as I had to change money and that is the mode of transport that David had for me. I was really scared, especially in Kampala when we were in the middle of 5 o'clock traffic. There were hundreds of cars and buses and bikes and people and we were zooming by them within inches. I won't be doing that anytime soon. On a funny note, the driver asked me out and I had to inform him that I am married. It is wierd to be back here again. It doesn't make sense unless you have experienced it, but you almost feel like a celebrity. People either stare at you like you are an alien, or children run at you, touch you and yell Mzungu (white person). You feel like you are loved for doing nothing at all. It's a great feeling. I joined some boys playing soccer today. I've never played in flip flops with a ball rolled up with plastic bags. I scored two goals, but I think they were going easy on me, you think? I met a sweet girl today whose mother died 3 days ago. Her father passed 3 months ago and so she is now double orphan. She came to live her from Kenya 2 days ago and she was shell shocked to say the least. She only speaks swahili, so she was very confused. She wouldn't speak and didn't even perk up when I took her picture and showed her. Her eyes were glazed and she looked as if she was going to cry. So sad. I will post her picture soon. I visited with a lady today who had a beautifuy baby and the minute I picked her up, she peed on me. I will post that picture too. Conditions are pretty primitive, but I can handle roaches. I've got my net all tucked in. I lifted up my mattress and there were a few bugs. All our food is cooked over charcoal (wood) and is is really good. The people are lovely as usual.

Touchdown

Well, I am finally here. After a 40 something hour journey. I went to london and navigated the tube and found my way into the city. Went to Westminster Abbey and that was quite the experience. I was completely exhausted and ready to get back on the plane. Arrived at airport and met up with 2 missionaries who were just returning from Zimbabwe. I felt really good as one of the missionaries is a double orphan and he had no one to greet him. They waited for their ride and we formed a quick friendship. He said that he was no longer sad as I was his mother. I gushed all over him and told him his parents were proud. I will see him on Sunday when we go to the Kolo branch. Arrived in David's village. Staying at his compound. Accomodations are primitive, but nice for Uganda. I helped mix concrete..........i'll post pictures later.......too hard to describe. David's great Aunt died and today we are going to her burial. Should be an interesting experience. Thanks for all your support.

Feelings

I leave in less than a week for my second trip to Africa. Last year I came back with a vision to take a US girls soccer team to Uganda and do soccer clinics for the poorest children in Uganda. I met a wonderful person, not by chance, and she had a soccer team she thought would want to go. We then put together this daunting experience for 16 American girls. We are the first team ever to go to Uganda. At times, the planning has been like a full time job. At times, I've wanted to quit. I didn't get paid to do this. Yet, I know things will work out. Uganda is about the unknown. You can't expect anything to happen on your "American" timeline. I have anxiety about leaving Shawn and the kids for so long. How is he going to do it all? I'm trying to put it all aside and let God take care of it. I am going to be different when I come home. I'll probably go through a period of time where I have sleep issues (like I did last time). I'm a visual person and I couldn't get the images out of my head. I'd tuck my kids in at night and think about the millions of kids who didn't have a mom or dad to do that simple task. Anyway, bare with me........if I talk about Africa constantly, I can't help it. Really. Follow my journey here and at goalsforgirls.blogspot.com. I'll try to update it as often as possible. Either one or the other, or if I'm lucky, both!

The Rescue of Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers

Think about this for a minute. As our days and lives go on in normal fashion, there are thousands of abducted children living under the direction of a madman, Joseph Kony. Who is Kony? He is the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, or the LRA, a rebel group once wreaking havoc on Northern Uganda. The war in Uganda has ceased, but Kony, after fleeing like a coward still has thousands of children hiding in the bush being forced to kill and terrorize people wherever they go. Are they rebels? No, they are children, brainwashed and turned into killers. As we go about our normal routines, let's stop and think about them, better yet, let's do something. On April 25th, Invisible Children will be hosting an event across the globe in 100 cities. One of them happens to be in Seattle. It is called The Rescue of Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers. The point is to make people who have power, authority and fame take notice. It's sad to say, but atrocities of this nature get noticed, through media and moguls, not the little guys like me. But, with all of us little guys gathered at this event, the media and moguls will come to "rescue us" and in turn will rescue the thousands of children held captive by making them a priority. Will you join me? What if you were the unfortunate one and your child was abducted. Put yourself in the mother's shoes whose child was ripped from her arms and led into the bush. This is real people! I have been there and loved these children. Please help me rescue them!

Great News!

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I am sooooo excited to get back to Uganda. As it gets closer and I start to work on the trip a little more I can barely contain myself. Something super cool......US Soccer has agreed to partner with us (Goals for Girls) and is allowing us to use their logo on all of our brochures. In essence they will be a sponsor and we should know by next week how much equipment they will be donating for us to take to Uganda.