To see all of my adventures in Uganda (or at least the ones I've posted so far), click on the "Ugandan Adventures" tag at the bottom of this post.
Here's the message I posted to my private facebook group after returning home from my first trip to Uganda, meeting Micah Marvin, and then saying goodbye.
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one last thank you...
Sweet friends!
I'm knee deep in laundry and trying to get my head around the fact that I'm a middle school parent now (when did that happen??) And watching Tobin make remarkable swings between hugging and kissing any part of me he can reach....and throwing giant fits of disobedience and testing. Welcome home!!
I can't tell you how much I appreciate your prayers and encouragement, especially that last day & saying goodbye to M. I was such a MESS when I woke up Saturday morning, and by the time I left, I was totally calm - I felt very carried, and firmly under the Lord's wings. It was hard to say goodbye, especially with so many unknowns in the future. But I trust the Lord - whether this story ends the way I want it to or not!
I rode to the airport in the baby home's van, with the driver's 18mo son on my lap (no carseats in Uganda)...and my sad Mama's heart found it very comforting to hold a sleeping toddler as we drove through the ridiculously crowded Kampala streets.
My flights home went off without a hitch, and I had quiet iPod listening or non-English speaking seatmates for every leg....so I got a lot of rest. I especially enjoyed the early morning hours in the Brussels airport - where the only coffee available to me was Starbucks. I would have preferred a more Belgian option (when in Belgium...), but as the bucks was my only choice, it was a nice taste/feel of home. Then on my second long flight (the first was 7.5 hours from Uganda to Brussels; the second was 9+ from Brussels to Chicago), the in flight movie was the JJ Abrams Star Trek, which for me is like the movie equivalent of comfort food. I was kind of embarrassingly happy about watching it (even though we own the DVD and I have seen it lots of times already.)
It's been lovely to be home, and I'm thankful for some time to begin to process everything...and to spend some good time with my boys before the craziness of fall ministry starts up.
I feel quite good right now about M...but I'm sure as the days turn to weeks and the weeks possibly to months, that will get harder. I really have no idea how long it will be before we're able to file in court...that all depends on how long it takes our lawyers to track down the people involved in M's case. I'd appreciate your continued prayers for them, for him, and for us.
One last update on my dad.... He is going to start chemo and radiation this week, and once his tumor (hopefully) responds to that, they will do surgery. My dad was disappointed to learn that the chemo regimen he'll be on does not cause hair loss...he was hoping to lose some back hair. My dad = hilarious. They said he has the most treatable kind of the cancer...praise the Lord for that!
I hope you all know what your notes and messages and prayers meant to me while I was all by myself (but not really) on the other side of the planet. It's an amazing thing to be in the family of God! I appreciate that you were all willing to go along with me...and thankful that we live in a day and age where all of this is possible!!
Love to each of you!
Renee'
