Rwanda & Kenya & LA

Well, I made it back with no problems!!! Very tired, but all in one piece! I was able to spend a day and a half in Kigali, Rwanda seeing the city and spending time with a few different missionary families. I saw the effects of the genocide still evident and drove by the "Hotel Rwanda". Renee and I went on a city search for some pottery to take back and had some home roasted coffee! So good! It was hard to say good bye to my friends after being such a part of their lives for so long. I miss them already. I am so thankful that God worked it out for me to then see Shayla in Nairobi for three days!!! It was great to catch up on each others time in Africa. We also walked all over Nairobi seeing the sights and visiting people. One day we decided to have the theme of "where ever the wind blows us" and took the bus downtown to walk around the city. The wind blew us through a big park and took us to the swings for a bit then past the All Saints Cathedral and over to a hotel for cokes and nachos (at least the african version- still good). This then lead to our big adventure of the day.....when paying the bill, Shayla realized she didn't bring as much money as she thought and we had just enough to cover the bill but no extra to cover the bus fare home!! So, we had to come up with a plan to find bus fare. We did have two phone cards that we bought for her roommate and decided our only hope was to sell one on the street, which produced much laughing. We walked out of the hotel and looked all around wondering where to begin. I saw a man walking by with his phone out and decided to ask if he used Celtel. He said no, but wondered about the strange question which lead us to explain our predicament. He laughed with us and thankfully was very nice and so we got to talking and found out he lives not too far from Shayla and felt bad for us and gave us the 60 shillings we needed for the bus. We were relieved that we didn't need to sell the phone card and that God sent us such a nice person to help. So we laughed the whole way to the bus stop and arrived home with a good story! That night we went to dinner at her host families house and were watching the news (the first TV I'd seen in over two months) and there was a story about how the city was going to crack down on hawkers.....again we had a good laugh at our new profession!!! Yeah for adventure! I then flew from Nairobi to Amsterdam (8 hrs) then wandered around the Amsterdam airport for 8 hrs reading, dozing, and finding samples of cheese, chocolates, and cookies at the different shops to eat during the day (thanks to Dad for instilling in me that free is best!!!). Don't worry I did buy myself lunch! Then had the ten hour flight back to LA where Sara picked me and my luggage up at 3:30 on Friday. I went to a baby shower for the family that I've been babysitting for in LA that night and didn't stay real long since I was falling asleep and feeling quite dizzy. I made it to 9:30 and then crashed and had a great long night sleep!!!! It seems like I'd been gone forever and yet also that I just left. Thanks for all the prayers and continued interest in my adventures!!!! I sat in the Nairobi airport waiting for my flight to board listening to the Israel and New Breed song "If not for your grace" and just reflecting on all that God has blessed me with and allowed me to do and provided and protected and challenged and taught me and just how thankful I am for God's un-ending grace in my life!! Its really amazing to me to look back and see His faithfulness and above and beyond blessings! Yeah God!!!! Later...Ann

Last Days

Only a day and a half left. The last two weeks went fast. We did the normal daily stuff and took a couple trips to the Islands again, one for pre-school (one of the families live on one of the islands and we went to their house to do pre-school) and one afternoon for a birthday party. We also took the girls to their friend's house (an Indian family that owns the supermarket) so the girls could learn how to put on a Sari and Renee and I could learn some Indian cooking! Very fun and very good. -Sara, I bought some of the spices so I can show you what I learned!!- This last week though we were at home most of the time because Brian got Malaria and was quite sick (but doing better now) and Renee and I had bad colds. The kids were fine and had lots of energy! We are all feeling better now! Tonight we are having the youth Bible study from the church over to have an American feast! We are making jello, hamburgers, pizza, mac&cheese, peanut butter cookies, salad, & quesedias. They've been talking about doing this for a while. We'll see what they like! Tomorrow is church and then Monday morning we all drive to Rwanda for the day and night to visit some missionary families and see the area. Then my flight leaves around noon Tuesday to Nairobi, where I'll spend a couple days with Shayla and see what she's been doing the last 8 months! Then I fly through Amsterdam again with a long layover and get back to LA in the afternoon on Friday. Please pray for all my traveling and layovers and health!!!! My next blog will be from LA! Later!

Lake Bunyonyi

Right in Kabale is a big lake that has hundreds of islands. We took the kids for the afternoon to one of the camps on the lake to eat and swim and play. Then last week Renee, the twins, and another missionary (who's here for a year) and I went to one of the islands (Bushara Island Camp) to stay for a three day get away! We all stayed in one of the cottages and had a porch that overlooked the lake. We got to eat a great breakfast out there. There was no electricity, so we used lanterns and played games at night. We even had a campfire and found sticks to roast the marshmallows that Renee and I made (they're easy to make!). It rained one day but the others were beautiful. The island is about one mile in circumfrance and has lots of trees. All over the islands there are like 300 species of birds. We went on a bird watching hike around the island with a guide and we found 25 different birds. Another day we had a dance group from the area come and perform local dances and songs. Everyone loved the twins and so we had instant babysitters for part of the day. Twins are a big deal here, they bring much blessing! It is such a beautiful area and reminded us of how great God's creation is and how creative He was in making so many different varieties of plants and birds. On Thursday Brian is leaving to go house hunting in Kampala for a week again, so Renee is very happy I'm here to help! I can't believe there are only two and a half weeks left. Its gone fast! Later...Ann

Kabale & the Davis Family

We are back in Kabale and it has been chilly and rainy...big difference from Kampala's sunshine and heat. Kabale is at 8,000 ft elevation. It is never a dull moment at the Davis house. With three lively girls and twin seven month olds, there is lots to do. The electricity has been off a lot of the time, so we've eaten four of the last five dinners in candle light. Also due to the power outages, there were three days where no water was getting up the hill to their house and the reserve tank was almost dry, so we really conserved, which brought on creativity! Thankfully the water was restored!! I have been helping Juli (six & a half) with some of her school work and reading lots of books and announcing fashion shows and playing games. Tonight is pizza movie night and the special feature is "Ratatouie" which they just got in the mail for Christmas! We're praying that the power stays on strong! I have been enjoying helping Renee in the kitchen as she has to make everything from scratch...even tortillas and chips and ice cream and pizza sauce. She also makes really good homemade sugar roasted peanuts. Their family is going to be taking a new position as short-term and mid-term coordinators and moving their family up to Kampala. They have looked for houses at the beginning and end of my time up in Kampala. They have had no luck finding places that would work for their family and fit their budget and be close to the ministry site. Some of the land agents even laughed at the idea. So...please pray that God would provide just what they need!!! Keep praying for my head too! I had a better day on Wednesday! But mostly still the same. Thanks for your prayers!!

Hope Alive!

I have spent the last three weeks working with a partner ministry, Hope Alive!, that works to provide sponsorships for kids in different cities to provide school fees, food and other needs. They also have mentoring, tutoring and Bible studies. The first two weeks I was traveling with a team of 8 from a church in IL (I think I've recruited them for a Sunshine Bridge Builders trip!) that came to do VBS programs in three different cities for the kids while they are on break from school. I took the postbus eight hours up to Kampala to meet up with them and then the next day we traveled six hours in a van to Gulu. The road was so bad that we had to drive in the dirt next to it. We spent a week in Gulu working in one of the IDP camps (internally displaced persons). The families have been in the camp since 2001 to escape the conflict with the rebel group the LRA. Some came by choice, others were forced. Since there are peace talks now and the rebel group has left the country, people have started to go back to their home villages. But many are skeptical that peace will last. There were 160 kids, 60 of which are in child headed households. The kids were very excited to have the different activities. One of the staff was sharing his sugar cane with me and I had trouble using my teeth to peel it, so I used his knife.....I'm not so good with knives and it slipped and sliced open my finger....its healing nicely, but I've had to promise not to use knives anymore!! We then made the long trip back to Kampala to do the same program for the kids there and then after that we traveled 2 hours to Masaka to do the program for the kids there. We were very tired by the time we got back and the team left to go home. I then stayed in Kampala to help out with things at their office. I got to go on a field trip with sixty kids and ten leaders to the 'Uganda Wildlife Education Center" (formerly known as the Zoo). We had guides that took us to see the different animals all spread out around the property in natural habitats. The big favorite was the two white Rhinos. While eating lunch there, one of the many monkeys running around was very stealth like and grabbed my leftover food off my plate in the fistfulls...I jumped and scared him, but he tried to get more and ran off. Saturday I head back to Kabale with my friends for the rest of the trip. These last three weeks have been very busy and flown by. Pray for my head and neck as the roads have caused great pain!! Pray too for my friend Shayla and the crisis in Kenya. It has been getting worse again. I am hoping to stay with her for three days on the way home in March. The internet here is sooo sloooww, so sorry about not updating more or more details! The curency here is Ugandan shillings and $10 is equal to 17,000 shillings! Later...Ann

The first two weeks...

Its already been two weeks! Sara leaves tomorrow and I leave for Kampala on the bus. So I thought I'd add some pictures and a glimpse of whats been going on so far.
This is Sara and I in Amsterdam. We spent the first six days in Jinja at a resort on the Nile and watched the kids. There were a lot of monkeys running around!!! I got to sit in on one of the sessions that was briefing everyone on Hope Alive (the program that I will be working with in Kampala for three weeks). We left Jinja and traveled to Kampala and then made it to Kabale in ten hours; bumpy roads, a few stops and a drive through an animal preserve where we saw some elephants, wort hogs, African cob (the picture) and a few others. Also on our trip down we crossed the equator and took pictures. We weren't sure if there would be enough fuel available to get home because the conflict in Nairobi, Kenya has caused a fuel shortage in Uganda. But we did find enough to make it back. My firend Shayla is in Nairobi (I get to stay with her in March on my way back to LA)- she is doing fine, but has seen the effects of the election conflict and has had to stay in her home for five days. Pray for the two sides to reach an agreement! Kabale is at 7,000 feet alt. and very beautiful. We have been able to go to the market and Renee gave Sara and I a list and we had to buy the produce ourselves! Very fun! We also took a boat ride to an island twenty minutes away and hiked around the island and had lunch. Yesturday we visited a family from the church for lunch and today was Sunday so we were able to attend their church. We were very warmly welcomed! The last picture is their church. Please pray for my head-back-neck as it has been quite bad this last week. I think the bumpy roads have affected it and not being at the chiropractor. Brian and I are taking the eight hour bus ride to Kampala tomorrow so please pray for safety and not such bad pains. Also pray for Sara as she travels the next few days back to LA! Thanks for all your prayers!

Happy New Year from Uganda!

We made it! The trip went great, even though we only got like 2 hours of sleep in two days! We flew overnight 9 1/2 hours to Amsterdam and then spent 8 hours in Amsterdam by taking a train into Amsterdam Central and walking around the city and got coffee at the Youth With a Mission book store/ cafe. Then another overnight flight of 8 hours to Nairobi, Kenya then a short one hour flight to Entebbe, Uganda where my friends picked us up (we got all our luggage!) and we drove to Kampala and spent the night at the MAF (mission aviation fellowship) guest house. I was so tired that night I could hardly keep my eyes open at dinner. Today we drove two hours to Jinja where we'll be staying till the 7th at this nice resort over looking the Nile river (there's little Geccos crawling around our room!). Sara and I will be watching/ entertaining- with the help of the pool! six kids, while their parents are in meetings. Its been really warm (high eighties) durring the day and a little cooler at night. We are 8 hours ahead of Chicago time. Thanks for praying! Happy New Year!