It's Time

After 30 days, it's time to come home.

If we stay much longer, I may not be alive. On Sunday I broke my pinky toe. On Monday morning our little van was rear ended by a tour bus at a very high speed...it is a total mystery that we did not crash and were not hurt. Monday evening I fell extremely ill. Bad headaches and very high fever.

So it's time.

even more importantly, it's time to introduce everyone to Perez. We just recieved his visa...so Ali and I are now officially parents...parents to one of the greatest kids alive!

Let me tell you something about his name, Perez Muwanguzi.
In the old testament, the name Perez means "breaking out"
The name Muwanguzi is not a family name...it was a name given to Perez by his father at birth. In Uganda, often times parents will change the last name of a child...hoping to carry with it new favor of God rather than dragging along the past. Perez was given the name Muwanguzi. In the Ugandan language, that name means "victorious." So after this long and emotional, and times challenging process...our sons name seems to be no coincidence.

And.

We are ready to be back at home, with our friends and our church. Each time we travel (as much as we love what we do here) it serves as a reminder to me how much we love what we do in San Diego. So see many of you soon...and many others at Christmas.

Our anticipated arrival is Thursday evening at about 7:15.

So for the last time (though when we get home we will post a comprhensive update of our trip and a complete slideshow)

good night, from Uganda with love!

Party Time

The real celebration will begin when we recieve Perez's visa and can return to the states...still, there has been much to celebrate.

Last Sunday was Ali's birthday...she is happy to be in Uganda on her birthday, but we were missing family and friends to celebrate with. The morning was spent at church, then off to lunch with a pastor and his wife. After 3 hours of church and 2 hours of lunch, we were ready to go home. But Pastor Stephen wanted us to meet a couple more people and show us a property. We obliged. By 6pm we were done. We thought. Stephen told us he had just one more stop...he wanted us to meet one more person. We walked into a restaurant, rounded the corner...and there sat several people we are close with at the school and church...surprise! Dinner, cake, gifts, games...the whole schbang (Ali's comment)...they also snuck Perez out of the home so he could share in mommy's birthday. Ali was so grateful and truly honored...a birthday not to be forgotten.

On Saturday, we were invited to a Ugandan wedding. We learned upon arriving that the wedding was also combined with a school's graduation and production and an adult women's certificate graduation (a one year course called women of significance). It was a huge party...and long!!! It's also important to note that Ali and I are treated like king and queen. Everywhere we go we are ushered to the front, given the best seats...though they are usually on the stage facing the crowd. We are served cold bottled water while everyone else slowly dehydrates...it's all well...embarrasing really. But to the Ugandans it is hospitality. During the wedding, I was asked to stand and pray for the couple as they exchanged rings (you must always be ready to speak). Later, Ali and I were asked to present the marriage certificate to the couple...on stage, and we prayed again. Then the place burst into song, which was really great...but we were stuck standing on the stage next to the choir...so we joined in...causing many to laugh. We then stayed a short time (which in Uganda means at least one hour) for the reception.

Today, Sunday, we were back to church. It was another party...another 41/2 hour service. Of course my speaking alone was reason to celebrate...but this day too had a party. After I was finished, there was a baby dedication. Of course Ali and I were asked to conduct it (you must always be ready to speak). About 30 kids were dedicated...it was neat to be a part. While the families were going back to their seats...one mother shared that this very day was her babies one year birthday. So to the stage she brought her child, a party hat, a cake, and one candle. There we sat, in church...4 hours into church, and a birthday party broke out. Thankfully, we were not asked to speak...but we were not offered cake either.

Now, as we begin another week here, we hope to find reason to celebrate again (see first paragraph).

all for now (but check out the new pics in the slideshow)
Love to all, from Uganda,
Steve and Ali

snags and delays

Hello again...

It's been some time since we've been able to establish internet connection. We have now found an internet cafe (that works, doesn't drop and is actually a little quick). We have a few minutes now, so we'll give a brief update...we hope to load more pictures tomorrow.



I'll spare the many ministry details for now...each of things we have been involved in have gone very well and we're thrilled to spend part of our year of ministry in Uganda.

So on to Perez...

On Wednesday, we were granted legal guardianship of Perez. This was a huge blessing, and by many accounts, a miracle. In the judges written ruling, you can feel his tension...our request was not really in line with the law, but it is in the best interest of the child. He consulted 3 other judges...which resulted in 4 different opinions. In the end, he ruled in our favor!

We walked out of court believing things were over. On to the US embassy for a visa and that was it. Everything we had heard, including info from the immigration office in San Diego, said that this step was an easy, no brainer.

We have now learned otherwise.

The Embassy is reluctant to give the visa...so please keep praying.

They required more paperwork, tax statements (that we just recieved by email...thanks mom), a full medical exam of Perez (which we were told could take up to 3 weeks...we completed both exams in one day) and they now want to do their own home visit to Perez's mother's home. This step is necessary for them to determine if his mom is really able to provide for him or not. Everyone here is saying that she is not...but please pray that the investigation will agree. If not, no visa. That means we are officially Perez's guardians, but he can't leave uganda. No Way.

Finally, because of all of this, we have had to reschedule our return flights. We are hoping and praying for a return flight on Wednesday night, arriving in San Diego on Thursday night. But still not sure...so pray that everything can and will be completed by Wednesday...mid-day.

Okay, my minutes are dwindling and our ride is getting antsy (actually, he looks quite comfortable, but still)

We believe with all our heart this was meant to be, and that it will happen. We learn daily what it means to trust God and to wait on Him. And everyday this story becomes more and more interesting...which means it will be better to tell when its all said and done.

Good night
from Steve and Ali with love, from Uganda

odd, icky and the internet

Odd:

After a challenging day...witnessing the hard life a Ugandan villager lives, poverty, orphans, disease (we are trying to capture the up and down emotions that we experience each day, from hurt and pain to joy and laughter in this blog), we arrived back at Pastor Stephen's ranch.

I stood outside the front of his home on the red African soil overlooking the green landscape of the Ugandan hills. Ali was taking pictures of the common safari animal...cows. And in the distance I could here the beautiful sounds of the Titanic theme song.

What a way to end a day.

Icky:

We never know what we will see on any given day, but Tuesday was exceptionally gross. We were at the school standing outside while the children were gathering for an assembly (we quickly learned that a Ugandan assembly is not a pep rally, but a gathering of all of the children for discipline). We weren't real excited about watching what would transpire...fortunately, depending on how you see it, something else grabbed our attention. One of the cows at the school had seen it's last day.

For the next 30 minutes we (meaning Ali, me and about 50 children) watched some men butcher a cow. From taking it's last breath to being hung up for dinner that night. Our video is pretty awesome!

Internet:

Since moving out of the hotel, our internet access has become very limited. Currently, I am at the school using the one computer that can connect. To do so, I had to ask the secretary to take a break...she is finished with her break and simply waiting for me to finish so she can get back to work.

the point - We will do our best to keep posting, but our slideshows will have to wait. We will mention if/when we add pics to the slideshow.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with us in Uganda.

Oh, I almost forgot (okay, not really). We met in court today regarding Perez. The judge will not make a ruling until next Wednesday, so no news yet. My opinion in the court was that it did not go real well. Our lawyer and Pastor Stephen both think it was great and that we should fully expect the judge to make a favorable ruling.

Because the judge will be thinking this over during the next few days, please keep praying.

One last thing...

for those who saw me chasing the turkey. It is a real picture, but quite staged. The turkey is injured and can barely move. I gave the appearance of chasing but was not really moving either. And for the record, I was still a bit nervous.

Okay, the secretary has work to do,

so goodbye for now, from uganda with love.

We've moved!

After two weeks in our "luxurious" Ugandan hotel, we've moved out and into Pastor Stephen's home. The rest of the team has gone home and Ali and I are on our own for the remainder of the trip. Okay, we're not really on our own, we still have all of our Ugandan friends chauffering us around...but we are the only muzungus (white people).

Staying with pastor Stephen is going to be great. He lives out in the country on his farm. His small place is home to some 15 people, though it's hard to keep track. And there are animals...lots of animals. We look forward to our more authentic experience.

A quick note. I gave my third pastors conference on Thursday with about 50 pastors. It was a great day, at least for me...I will be speaking on Sunday at the church that hosted the conference.

Ali held her second photo class today. The kids were excited to see their pictures for the first time, and were anxious to hear their teachers critique.

And what about Perez. Well he is all boy. And a rascal at that. We think he and our nephew Kyle will get along well. Today I walked around a corner to find him, and I did. Of course he was peeing straight up into the air... in the middle of the field with plenty of others around. Ahh Perez...

I'm being hustled off the computer so I must go...hopefully my new pictures have loaded by now.

talk more soon,

From Uganda, with love.

Nekemia's Story

(written by Ali)
I cried today. The kind of tears you don’t think are possible. The kind of tears that are so heavy and so wet you feel as if they drain life out of you…and maybe they do. The reality of a child’s life in this place just hit too hard.

A boy asked if he could show me his dorm. Let’s back up a little. This boy, Nekemia is his name, has been following me around since we got here, begging for sweets, money, clothes, any attention we can give. He’s not the cute little kid you want to snuggle with all the time. He’s rough, angry, jealous, a trouble maker often pushing other kids around. I’ve been doing my best to not get annoyed by him, but offer as much attention as I can muster (with the 400 other kids trying to do the same thing). So…back to the story. He asks if he can show me his dorm. I say yes and follow him to his dorm where he invites me in and shows me where he sleeps. He sleeps in the middle of a bunk three beds high. He climbs up, pulls his trunk off his bed (the kids keep these locked with their possessions inside), sets it on the floor and opens it displaying the contents. By this time, a crowd of about 11 or 12 other boys had gathered around. I squatted down and looked inside his trunk which held a tattered orange jacket, a sheet, and a small jar of cream. He looks at me and says “I don’t have.” “I want clothes like others.” “Why won’t you sponsor me like Perez.”

There I was. Crammed in between rusted metal bunks, squatting on a dusty concrete floor with 12 sets of brown eyes waiting for me to give him an answer, waiting for me to offer a morsel of hope that might get all of them to the next meal. I didn’t cry here. I wanted to, but I didn’t. I was the only one who could offer strength. I looked around at the longing in those boys. I told them I was here for them. I told them that I couldn’t do it all, but that the reason I was sitting in that room was to hear their stories. To look inside their trunk, per se, and feel their pain. To share all these things with the people at home and know that someone will hear their voice.

Someone will hear their voice.

They backed up, Nekemia put his trunk away, and I walked out alone. That is when I cried. All the way across the school yard and into an empty office where I put my head on the desk and prayed that this would all be over. That these kids would not hurt anymore, that my heart wouldn’t break and that, God would prove to me that he is holding this all together somehow.

The Watch

I bought this watch one year ago at the airport in London on our way to Uganda. I thought little of the purchase at the time, I needed a watch while in Africa and it was the cheapest I could find. Now, one year later, it is one of the most valuable things I own.

Last year Perez wore my watch nearly everyday. So when we returned to San Diego, everyday I put the watch on...everytime I looked at the watch, I was reminded of our little boy in Uganda.

When we began the adoption process about 8 months ago, the watch served a new purpose. It became my personal timer until we would see Perez again and stand with him in court (I don't think Perez will actual stand in court with us) waiting to hear the judge grant us legal guardianship.

We now know that date.

On Wednesday, November 19th, Ali and I will appear in the high court of Uganda and ask the judge to grant us guardianship over Perez. If our request is granted, we will be able to bring Perez home with us.

So over the next 7 days, as often as we come to mind, would you please pray for us and this BIG final step to the process. We are excited, confident and nervous all at once...and we believe in God's "timing."

Thanks ahead of time,

from Uganda with love