It was another busy morning with a half empty nursery of cranky babies, walks with the boys and taking Joseph to the office.
It always seems that when we go to Budondo we're all exhausted. Londa made the point though that we always seem to be tired in the afternoons anyway, which is true.
While I waited by the van for the guys to be ready to leave I captured this lizard sunning himself in the garden.
First stop was to a girl that Charlie had noticed at the kids club with an infected ear. Her ear looked pretty bad and was oozing pus. We took her to a clinic not far away to get her checked out. The clinic is the photo above. A small room with a few chairs and some boxes stacked in the corner. Fred even had to use the light on his phone so that the lady could see in her ear. Sarah, the little girl, is about four and was very brave. She sat there with her hands folded in her lap and never moved a muscle as the lady cleaned her ear out for her.
We continued on to our many other stops. Aaron had got more hoes to give out to families again and wanted me to take photos of every gift and family. He had me following him around taking photos all the time. Aaron knows several different languages and has a habit of talking to us in Lusoga when we're out at Budondo. I think he must think it will help us learn the language more but it hasn't really helped! So every time Aaron spoke to me, or nodded in my direction I assumed he wanted me to take a photo again. I said to the others, "if all else fails, take a photo!". I felt like his personal photographer, but at least I was doing something. I now have a whole lot of photos of Budondo families holding hoes and I'm not sure what he wants me to do with them!
We visited this little boy who has been sick recently. He's looking better now though.
We visited Joyce and caught her in the bath:).
And the photo shoots continue.
This is Aaron and Salim.
Managed to get a photo of myself, thanks Elena!
This is Sarah and I after we dropped her back home to her family along with some antibiotics.
You can see her ear in this photo.
The last few times we've been to Budondo we've ended up with a van full of kids. They sit in the van patiently while we visit families and then we drop them home again on our way back to Jinja. I was sitting next to a little girl in the van and as I smiled down at her she said "I love you". I didn't even realise she could speak English as she was fairly quiet. Spontaneous declarations of love from a stranger. I love you too little girl, though I don't know anything about you.
We have made so many little friends from these visits that last Saturday, for kids club, they ended up with about 300 children instead of the normal 120 or so. Sometimes we feel a little bit like the "white representatives" on these trips which is a little uncomfortable, but I love befriending so many children and making them smile.
With so many babies sick now, Emma moved several cots into the clinic for them and is sleeping in the adjacent storage room tonight. We're all forbidden to enter so that we don't spread it further. I understand and don't want to spread it, but it's also hard for me not to be able to cuddle my babies when they are so sick. Joanne came down with it pretty bad around lunch time but was almost back to normal by bedtime. Rosie is better but very weak and David has worsened and has also had a feeding tube put in. Many of the girls in the cottage are coming down with it now and Alex is as well. Please pray that they will all get over it soon and that Emma will be able to keep up with them all.
I've started reading a book called "The Lamb" to my boys each night which details the redemption story from creation to the cross. Hopefully we'll be able to finish it before I leave. The boys especially love the pictures. Sande has become so much more animated at bedtime and now wraps his arms around my neck as tight as he can to say goodnight. I love his smile for me which he gives rarely to anyone besides Isaiah. He very rarely shows extravagant affection, but tonight when I told him I loved him he quickly gave me a big slobbery kiss on the lips:).
I wonder how many of them I can fit in my suitcase?
"The rich and the poor have this in common, the LORD is the maker of them all."
Proverbs 22:2
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