We Are Home!!!

We arrived miraculously home on the night of July 18th.  So we have now been settling in for a bit over a week.  And yes, it has taken me that long to come up for air and find a moment to blog. 

I feel like I need a shirt that says, "I live for laundry, I mean love."

 Yes, If it kills me I WILL be going back in time and sharing many of the details of my 3 and a half week journey of adoption in Uganda.  For now dear friends...enjoy these photos taken by our dear friend and travel companion (who helped me with the kids and coming home without hubbie).  Thank you Katie Rae!!

I can't say enough about the power of prayer during our time in Uganda...for that matter starting with the miraculous answer to prayer that happened only FIVE DAYS before we departed when we got news of our court date.  The intensity and excitement of that week, really never subsided as our faith journey crossed the ocean and moved to the continent of Africa.  That 5 days notice, was just foreshadowing of the events and miraculous timelines that would unfold in Uganda. 

The good news is we were granted Legal Guardianship of our daughter and son and we are now home safely building our new relationships and knitting our now larger family tightly together....one moment at a time. 

Okay, off to bed... first night up past 10pm for this former nightowl, now completely cured.  Who knew?  All it took was becoming the mother of five :)

Meet My Son, Freddie

Meet My Nuluu

No matter the age, they all just long for arms to hold them. 

Me and Katie Rae

Me and Damali (Director of Sonrise Baby Home)



overdue Update

First of all I'm so sorry for not updating more. So much has been happening that it's been impossible to condense and if you know me, you are laughing right now....cause I can't condense anyway to save my own life. ha! So, let's see we met two of the surviving relatives of both of our children on day 2, our first morning waking up with the kiddos. I was like Wow! Lord!  This is intense from our first morning waking up in Uganda.  It is all on video for our children to have one day.  This precious time documenting family history was such a blessing and a gift.



Later that day I had my first true market experience in Jinja. I never made it to the market last year. Nulu wanted to go with Momma, so she walked right with me all the way as we went along from stand to stand, weaving our way through the maze of alleys and pathways to some of the most fresh and delicious produce. If only I had a cold jar of Kraft mayo I would be buying cucumbers and tomatoes for a sandwich.


Okay this is my next attempt at blogging, after beginning this one ohhh two weeks ago. To say that life here in Uganda has been overwhelming (but in a good way) is an understatement. Now I understand once again (like last year) why many people can't keep it up, when they are in Uganda. And just like at home, parenting my two here is just as busy as my 3 back in the states. Except for their ages (3 & 5) they are discovering and experimenting and getting into all kinds of new things more like 2 year olds.


So after our first weekend in Jinja, Uganda, we were able to visit the village homes of our children. It was a really good day but an intense day. I had really wanted the Lord to give me confirmation that this is the best plan for the two children that He has chosen for our family. Just like all people all around us in our lives in the US or our friends in third world countries...there is pain and suffering all around us, and no one's story is simple. So the stories of our children's extended families isn't simple either. I have no doubt, that we are exactly where the Lord wants us this day. I have no doubt that we have been chosen to be the forever family for F and N and that they will fit in our family like missing puzzle pieces. And yet, as I have blogged about before, there is great loss in adoption. My feelings and emotions (which is why I can't trust them) have gotten so complicated when I see the special gifts and personalities of my children and how they have effected the children's home where they have been raised the last two years. It hurts when I see the unique role they have played in the orphan home dynamic and think about the void that will be left in their absence. Don't get me wrong, I keep finding peace in knowing that God has a special plan for my daughter and son, and that is why out of all the children he could have called us to be Mommy and Daddy to, he chose N and F. I am just sharing my mix of thoughts, because this is reality, and I want to be real about what it looks like to adopt an older child that is not an infant or young toddler, one who has relationships and true friendships. So there are tears at times....times that reveal just a glimpse, just a hint of unknown future pains. Even after I voice my concerns...the Lord whispers to my heart, this is the path I have for you, just walk in it one day at a time, it is a plan for good. Not a pain free path mind you, but one that He will use for the ultimate good and to glorify his name.


These thoughts I am sharing are not in chronological order of my last two weeks. These are experiences that have emerged slowly over all our time here.


So, after our village visits and lots of documenting for our children. We have had the pleasure of meeting the Sonrise Children's Choir...another outreach ministry of the Sonrise Community Church, pastored by Ivan Mukulu. He is also the director and patriarch of the Sonrise Children's Home. All I can say is the Lord has placed a passion in my heart for the children of the choir...not only are they working so hard to sing and dance and perfect their worshipful song to share with the world...but they have hearts for the Lord that come out of the most humble and devastating testimonies of suffering. I will be sharing their stories one by one in the weeks to come. And yes, that means I will be sharing with the hope that the Holy Spirit will call others to join with us in supporting these precious children. Pastor Ivan has a beautiful long term vision for the Children's Choir that I can't wait to share with you. These children, most with no resources for an education, or even daily food, will demand your attention as they offer up through their gifts the most pure and precious worship of our Lord and King Jesus. Once again my time in Uganda is humbling...and it is the reminder I want to be ever present that there is so much more to be done...there are brothers and sisters in Christ suffering and even more so the lost of the world who have not yet experienced the love of Christ. We can not get complacent. I beg you, get out of your comfort zone and go on a mission trip. Yes, it is true, it will change your life...but the bigger question is, will it effect eternity for you?


Court Update:


We went to court on our assigned Friday. We waiting for about 3 hours and then got to sit in on about 1.5 hours of someone else's ruling. The case in front of us was going to be heard for the remainder of the evening until 7pm, so we were asked to return Monday July 4th, at no particular time. Hmmm, interesting. We returned to Jinja, about 2-3 hours away late that Friday night. Spent Saturday recouping. Worshipped at Sonrise on Sunday, and then packed up a Matatu (van) again with all our court clothes and the surviving relatives of our children, and our friends and their boys and headed back to Kampala. It was a late night. After finding a hotel in the capital city...our dear friend Josh departed for the Entebbe airport. We had all made it to the IOM for our children's visa medical exams on Friday (hallelujah!) and then HAD to return on Monday for the 3 day TB skin test. Since our Judge didn't specify a time, our attorney said to go on to the medical check up. We did and were out of there, by 10:20am. We then went straight the the court house, arriving at 11am. We hung out in the waiting room all day long. They had rows of attached chairs, just like a doctor's office or the airport. After our 1st experience on the previous Friday, we decided not to put on our court clothes until we got to court. Well, we had hoped to find a restroom on a different floor of the same building just not the one right past the judge's chambers...well no such luck, so we sprinted past his door as not to be spotted in our Uganda dirt covered threads. We rushed (which is really funny considering how long we wait) to get dressed, we forgot F's socks...um go with his sandals...we are already in outfit #2, cause we wore #1 on our first appearance. By the way, did I mention that there is no A/C. Not complaining...it just helps to understand what all this rushing looks like with hubby in a full suit and tie, same with our son in a sport coat...looked so handsome BTW, but probably on the verge of heat exhaustion (j/k). So we are set, my stomach is doing backflips, and I am frantically looking over my Luganda (most common Uganda dialect in the region where we are) word cards (God bless you Marci Miller- you will never know how much I used what you created...my 5yo daughter gets them out everyday and names everyone :). Lunch time comes and goes, but we are too afraid to get up...the Judge could call us in at any moment. The children color (thank you Emily), draw, run around the room, eat packed cheez-its and drink lots of water and ultimately get lots of orange dirt stains all over their fancy clothes. By the time we got called into our actual hearing at 6:30pm...yes you are reading that right...I could care less about our clothes anymore. I really should fill in all the ups and downs and emotional moments during those 7 hours of waiting....needless to say there were many moments of intense praying as the day progressed. And yes, that entire day was spent in that one waiting room (and going up and down the hall to susu (potty)), with all 13 people that were apart of our witnesses (including us and the kids). I said many times, you can't explain this to folks unless we were all wearing helmet cameras. During our hearing the Lord's presence was sooooo evident as the questioning took twists and turns that revealed a glimpse again of God's greater plan and what He is at work doing that was much bigger than even our family's legal guardianshp case. So much to share one day, when this phase of our journey is complete.


I must go to sleep, it's 12:42 am the latest I've been up here....can you tell I'm missing my husband?. Pl ease pray for me to stop any feeble attempts to be in control, when I so clearly am completely out of any control of my current life circumstances. Pray for me to rest in Christ, as I repent of any fleshly attempts of the day to maintain control. Please pray for my children here with me, and wisdom for me as I navigate treacherous unchartered waters of love and discipline and the blurry line between them.


The spiritual warfare increases yet again, as the day of decision for our family draws near. I am weak. Psalm 61:1-5


Love,


Mandi