...and...that's a wrap! Wednesday Aug 20th

Today after checking out of our hotel room we arrived at Chayah and got down to

the business of employee reviews.  All is well and everyone was happy to receive

a well deserved increase in their monthly salary...and we are blessed to be able

to encourage them that way.

 We talked a bit, Dann with John and me with the older girls.  Rashid received

the balance of the unused water balloons from yesterday and made quick use of

them.  9 yr old Maureen, was our photographer this morning and took these shots.

Photo by Moreen

Melissa and Edrine are in their final year of primary school so they have been

in classes everyday during the week from 7 to 4pm preparing for the final term

and their final primary exams.

Today though, they returned at about 1pm for lunch and then to spend our final

afternoon with everyone at the pool.  Dann and I no longer fit into the 7

passenger van with all of the kids and Janet, they've just out grown it so we

took Melissa and Olivia with us on bodas and stopped at three shops that had

shown interest in the t shirts they had made.   I was wearing mine, but I

encouraged them to each wear one as they were trying to sell them.  They came

out of the bathroom from changing with a customer in tow who'd complimented them

right away on their shirts.  

Two shirts were sold right there on the street at our retail price to a group of

visiting short term missionaries, which is exactly who their target customers

are.  These girls wanted to take pictures and were so encouraging and our two

we're so excited.  

It didn't go quite as we'll in the other two shops, but they

sold 2 more to the main vendor on the street "The Source Cafe", and two to

another shop across the street.   Now the most difficult part of all, saving

all 80,000 shillings until January when we return. With all the copying that

goes on, they may have just had their best day with this design, but they have

gotten some experience, and opportunity so that is worth something.

We headed to the hotel and met the rest of the group which quickly exploded into

squeals and shouts and stealing of floatation devices.

It was the first day in

a while when nobody went under involuntarily, whew!  Of course, we didn't know

realize that until the end of the day so we some super power vigilance until

everyone was safely dried off.  Ice cream on the patio came next.

Doreen

Sharon

Judith

Regina

Yoweri

We are grateful.

I'm in the back seat of now of Chris's compact car about 90minutes into our long 

drive to Kampala for our final night here in Uganda.    That means we have had

our swim party,  a small dish of ice cream a final group picture and said our

goodbyes.  My heart is tear stained once again, but what a gift to love and to

be loved by Chayah's children and staff.  I'm uncomfortable beck here but I

don't think it's because I'm packed between the stack of empty suit cases and

the door.  More likely, it is because for the life of me I cannot figure out to

pull these two worlds of ours closer together. It might really be a gift

actually, that I have no choice but to focus on the family that is on the same

continent we are. 

There are at least 12 people I cannot go much longer without putting my arms

around...and so it is a gift to go from one amazing family here to precious

family at home that call us by our real names "Papa & DD".   Life with Jesus, on this side of heaven doesn't get a whole lot better than that. 

"Yes & Amen" A "Yes" day at Chayah. Aug 19th, 2014

We headed for Chayah early this morning, stopping in town at the bank, a place

for card stock and a box of water bottles.   A flat tire on the boda boda meant

we traded for another at about the 1/2 way point.

We met with the kids first thing and talked to them about the temptations of

this world and that Jesus was worth everything they may have to walk away from. 

Our destiny is heaven where there is more than we can every imagine.

Then we told them it was "YES" day and encouraged them to meet in small groups

and write down what they would like to do today.  Their excitement was so fun. 

Within just a few minutes small pieces of paper were turned in to us.  Their

smiles grew as each one was read aloud and Dann responded with a "yes!". 

Thankfully there were not 19 different ideas, but over and over again we saw

"swimming" "water balloons" "net ball" and "sleeping slide" (slip n slide)

 

We announced that they should put on their "swimming costumes" and there was

some of the most joyful and creative and risky slippin' that I've ever seen. 

 

 

After about an hour, they were tired and cold, so they bathed, washed their

suits and found something a little quieter to do.


After lunch a boys against

girls net ball game ensued and some of the rest of us played UNO.  The youngest

ones had a mattress in the yard and talked Dann into being the sardine that was

piled upon.  The laughter was contagious, especially when he was at the bottom

of the pile. 

   We taught them to make human pyramids...

 

We taught them to make human pyramids and then filled water balloons for a

series of tossing games.  There was no pouting, no crying over being the first

one to break the balloon, just sheer screaming and fun at the grand effort and

splash of water when it broke. 

Tomorrow we'll keep our promise and bring them to the hotel to swim before we

say our good byes. 

It has dawned on me over and over again this week, that these particular

children may have rarely if ever been recipients of attention, praise or the

affection of a father.  Surely it has not been constant or recent.  Watching

Dann with them, playing, wrestling, teaching or nodding approval at their

singing and dancing makes me pray they understand a little bit more about a

father's love, most importantly the love of their Heavenly Father.  

He is capable of showing us everything we need to know in His word, but every culture in the world clashes and falls short of a true father figure.  So grateful we can love them in the best way we know how and that God himself will cover where we fall short.  In the meantime, having a "yes" day at Chayah was more than fun for them and a wonderful gift to us.