Things I have experienced in country...

• Riding a little motorcycle called a boda boda, a main form of transportation here.
• Eating a samosa (veggies and beans wrapped in a dough similar to a wonton, yum).
• Atending church that makes me feel at home.
• Riding a boat to the source of the Nile, Lake Victoria.
• Making mud pies out of red clay.
• Jumping on a trampoline.
• Seeing a man fall off the back of a boda boda, then jump up and get on again.
• Getting sunburned at the pool, even with enough sunblock to make my skin whiter than it already is.
• Watching my hubby play futbol (soccer) with local kids.
• A cockroach in my bed.
• Attending a Ugandan Independence Day celebration, ie a political rally. We were the only muzungus in the crowd.
• Shopping at the market for food for the children.
• Ryans chips masala and chicken coconut curry at Kingfisher.
• Seeing my hubby lead worship with an all Ugandan worship team!
• Walking (or footing it, as the locals say) across an old foot bridge over the Nile.
• Seeing a dead man in the middle of the road early on our way to Kampala.
• Watching Auntie Aida eat a whole fish head. The others had the rest, not a piece wasted.
• Pushing M. in the tire swing.
• Extreme thunder and lightning storms.
• Playgrounds that in no way would meet US safety standards.
• Running from a huge stork diving towards me while making some sort of strange prehistoric/alien sound effects.
• Feeling so impatient with the process.
• Being called Muzungu (white person) everywhere we went. It's like we're rock stars!
• Giving high fives, hand shakes and fist bumps (bongas) to the local children.
• Buying beef at the local market, cut straight from the carcass.
• Seeing a man carrying a queen sized bed on the back of a boda.
• Making many new friends. People here are so friendly.
• Small children begging for money.
• True worship and prayers before bed for the children at the orphanage.
• Beautiful birds.
• Waking to a rooster crowing at 5 am.
• Sweating buckets from walking a half a mile in the sun.
• Difficulty sleeping.
• Seeing too many people dumpster diving.
• Having my feet turn orange from the dirt roads.
• Swimming with M.
• Court hearings in the capital.
• Beautiful art and crafts.
• A Christian rap concert and getting interviewed by a tv station prior.
• Learning a bit about Ugandan history.
• Opportunities to read books.
• Buying and enjoying a fresh ripe pineapple.
• Seeing a man ride the rapids on a water jug down Bujagali Falls.
• Watch fisherman cast their nets on the river.
• Holding M. as she is suffering from a seizure.
• Off roading daily on unpaved, eroded muddy roads.
• Seeing how SLOWLY things move here.
• Watching a poorly edited local soap opera.
• Loading four adults and 11 children into an eight passanger vehicle.
• Taking several cold showers a day. You learn to love them.
• Loving on 14 special children every day.
• A lovely iced vanilla latte occasionally in town.
• Witnessing extreme poverty.
• Meeting wonderful missionary families who are doing wonderful things.
• Extreme disappointment and let down.
• Ugandan "drive thru", buying chapati from a stand while driving through the middle of a small village.
• Feeling like there is a perfect plan in all this and a reason we are here now.
• The "swimming attire" for some local kids at the pool, see through, suits on backwards, etc!
• Feeling secure, yet not so much with armed soldiers, police and security everywhere.
• Learning different English words. Like "shading" for coloring, "smart" for handsome or cute, and so on.
• Drying off with a crunchy line dried towel.
• Hearing a praise testimony at church about a village duck thief.
• Going to the Speke Monument (explorer who discovered the source of the Nile).
• Getting wet, slobbery kisses from M.
• Stepping over goats in the middle of the road or path.
• Feeding chickens from the dining table.
• Spending lots of quality time with my husband.
• Waiting too long to eat a popsicle and drinking it instead.