Guardian Angels

I can't even begin to tell you all the ways God has provided for us on this journey. It's overwhelming to be honest. Family and friends have been used by God to make this adoption possible. All of this was before I even got to Uganda. When I headed to Africa on November 30th I had no idea that 14 weeks later I would still be here. I had a 12 week leave of absence from work with no pay so time was crucial...as time usually is in America. However, when you are in Africa there is no hurry. In fact if one more person tells me "be patient, there is no hurry in Africa" I might scream.

Part of the puzzle was figuring out where to stay for this long journey. With no income and living on the money I have in savings while still paying bills, car notes, insurance, etc. back home it was easy to see how worry would consume you. But oh how the Lord has graciously provided.

My friend SaraBeth put some feelers out for someone who might be willing to house me for two nights when I first arrived in Kampala. Within hours she connected me with The Penner Family. They graciously picked me up at the airport (very late at night) and housed me for a couple of days. Before I left to head to Nebbi Jena offered to let us stay when we came back to Kampala for the last part of the process. God bless the Penners for their kindness to us....none of us had any clue that when we arrived at their house in January that we would still be there 5 weeks later. There isn't anything worse than a house guest who long over stays their welcome. The Penners are a family of 9 and took in two strangers. When I realized that our timeline was indefinite we decided to give them a break. But our time with them was invaluable. The Penners have three kiddos from Uganda so I learned so much from Jena about hair care, about transitioning and so so so much more. I will forever be thankful for their kindness.

While we were in Nebbi we stayed with Pastor Geoffrey and his wonderful wife who I call Momma Joy. I was so well loved and taken care of in their home. Momma Joy heated my bath water every night. She spent long hours over a fire cooking for us. Life in Nebbi isn't convenient or easy. Our clothes had to be hand washed and Momma Joy would not let me do the laundry. We were with the Keronga's for a month. I got to spend Christmas with my Ugandan family and brought in the new year. I absolutely love this family and am so thankful for their willingness to host Daizy and I as we got to know each other as mother/daughter.

Our last stop has been a move to Entebbe with our friends Curt and DeDe. During my time at LC I really connected with Curt and DeDe's youngest son and his wife. I had met Brother Curt a few times. When I reached out to them on facebook about staying with them for a week or two they happily opened their door. Our stay with them has lingered but our time with them has been wonderful. We now have an adopted set of grandparents in Entebbe. They have loved us so well at a time when this mom needed a breath of fresh air. Daizy adores them and I dread the day we have to say goodbye even though I cannot wait to be home. We have felt so at home. We help cook and clean and have found a good little routine to each day. And I found some Downton Abbey watchers so we have downloaded Season 4 and caught up...yay!!

God has provided some incredible people for us to stay with along this journey...our guardian angels. I will never forget them and the role they played on our journey to becoming family.