Saturday forts.
Who said flooding was a bad thing?
Kami grading endless finals.
Some of the girls at Kampala City Secondary School
Boys outside one of the classrooms

Today is Wednesday, April 16^th and we arrived at the home Wednesday January 16^th, so I its officially 3 months. A lot has happened this month. With Sam’s health continually wavering, Kami and I have taken over almost all managerial aspects of the home. It’s both challenging and exhausting, but its work we are both proud of. With a full home of boys, school teaching, helping with homework, repairs, gardening, traveling for supplies, budgets, planning upcoming work and projects for the home’s continual presence here, there is never a dull moment. I think we are both learning more about life in this year than the rest we’ve lived combined. We sound like a married couple with a family when we talk at night. (…”This boy needs new socks, we need to pay the night guard, someone’s school fees are due, we need flour and cooking oil from town when we pick up supplies, three of the boys have exams in the morning so we need to help them study tonight for math…”) It’s like growing up warp speed. But we love it. The kids are amazing, and so responsive to love and a true interest in them. When you focus on them, they open up so much.

We’ve definitely had an eventful month in the city. This last week the government started impounding taxi buses that they deemed unsafe on the road. (Most local transport from the villages to the city is based on these bus taxi’s called “Mutatu’s.”) The swerve in and out of traffic picking people up and taking them far distances for the equivalent of .50 US. The few drivers whose buses were impounded started a riot downtown. We had just left town when they started trying to force other taxi’s not to drive and to strike. They lit fires and protested. The police sent out detachments and downtown erupted in tear gas, riots, fights and looting. Not knowing who was causing it, the police just began beating and arresting anyone near the occurrence. Over 500 people were arrested (most beat first) and only a few were actually the cause. Don’t worry too much moms. Kami and I have been very safe here, even when events out of our control have taken place.

Actually, that’s just what happened on Monday. We went into town to buy medical supplies and other needs of the homes and as I made a turn onto the street, a motorcycle taxi (called a “Boda-Boda”) went to pass me. He collided into my driver’s side door and his head actually went through the window I had just rolled down so our heads were nearly touching. Whenever anything like this happens, huge crowds form, and it was pretty intense for a few moments. I drove to the side of the road, we helped him with his bike and got his helmet off. More and more people were coming so we had him leave his bike at a shop right where the accident occurred and took him to a clinic. Nothing was seriously injured and he was just sore. We got him pain medicine and helped fix his bike. Although it was such an unfortunate event, everything that could have gone well did. Kami and I were uninjured, the man had nothing broken, the accident happened directly in front of a motorcycle repair shop so his bike could be fixed easily, and a really nice man helped us take him to the hospital, translated everything for us and when we tried to pay him a little in the end for all his help, refused payment. Its definitely Africa, there is definitely danger, but no matter what happens here, both Kami and I feel taken care of by God. We are always thankful for prayers of everyone supporting the home and have seen them answered.

Its officially the rainy season which means it rains every morning. When all the paths to school are nothing but thick clay, I usually end up at the school soaked and a few inches taller. (Clay doesn't come off like mud, it just builds up more. But, the rain does make some fun times for playing with the kids, as seen above.

Every Saturday we find something fun to do as a break from school, and this last week we used the mattresses to make forts with the kids. They had a blast.

We love and miss you all.