The past few days have been filled with moments that leave me thinking "I never thought I would see the day when that happened." The very trip is one of those. I never thought I would be walking on the same Ugandan ground as my parents. I never thought they would adapt so well to a culture so very foreign. Or that their eyes would be opened slowly but surely in the same ways mine have been. I see their hearts being moved, a slow shifting in ways that are irreversible. It is neat to see how their first time experience is so different from my seventh. But how their first experience in so many ways mirrors my own and yet is unique to them in many ways as well. I have always lived with the weight of the world on my shoulders. And I can't speak for them, but in many ways I think theirs has been a gradual awakening that has been made so very real by meeting in the flesh the people whose names have been part of my stories. It just can't be put into words how much different the real life experience is from hearing stories through someone else.
Let's be honest. There have been moments of entertainment. The night we arrived for example, when my Mom was shrieking about the gecko in their guest room, and the Ugandan hotel employee quietly came over and told my Mom that they were harmless, and then later told me when we were alone that "those people are so funny."Or the time today at church when one of the house Mama's went up to my Mom and thanked her profusely for giving birth to me. I never thought I would see my Mom eat a grasshopper and then utter the words "That actually tasted pretty good." There have been so many moments to remember.
Well that is all. We have a busy week ahead of us, and as usual I know it is going to be too short. I can't wait to spend more time with all these people who are so very special to me.
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| I never thought I'd live to see the day when my Mom was posing in pictures so similar to the ones I'm usually found in. |
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| My parents got to meet their sponsored child Joseph today. A special experience for them. |
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| The family 2 children sang a few songs for us. So special. |
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| My buddy and side-kick, Little E. I miss this guy so much when I'm not here. |
