New Year Update
The last few weeks have flown by. My mom came to visit mid-December where she got to see HEAL before we closed for Christmas break. We went on safari that was awesome for a few days before flying home together. The pictures below in order from left to right: 1. Mom and I sitting on top of the safari vehicle while seeing a lion; 2. Mom and I pretty dang close to 6 rhinos resting in the shade; 3. Mom and I with our guide after chimpanzee trekking, during which we got to see about 10 chimps up close and I got hit in the nose by a huge branch that fell while one of the older chimps riled up the younger ones; 4. Mom and I on the ferry crossing the Nile River; 5. Taken while Mom was in Jinja with Ian after going on a Sole Hope clinic
And then I had exactly two weeks in the US of A of before I flew back here (a journey that took me 66 hours due to one of my flights being canceled after sitting on the plane for 6 hours). While home, I got to spend time with my family and was able to go and see my best friends as well. I had a lovely time home but I do wish I could have had a little more than two weeks.
I jumped right back into work the day after I got back. I was supposed to have landed Saturday, giving me Sunday to get settled and recuperate before getting back to work. However, I got back Monday and started work on Tuesday. We had a team of 14 here for the first two weeks back. And now things are settling back down into a normal routine. While the team was here, we had two graduations that we celebrated. We graduated 12 students from our preschool program. And then we graduated 7 students from our three-year long sewing curriculum. It was our first Advanced Sewing graduation and I am so excited for them as they are each receiving a sewing machine to launch their new businesses. We will walk alongside them this next year as they build up their clientele and then they will be set up to succeed on their own.
Today is a Ugandan national holiday, so the James Place was actually closed today. I took the opportunity to go with Heather on a Sole Hope clinic out in a village. There were quite a few volunteers today, so I ended up holding kids who were having a hard time with the jigger removals and then helped make sure people were where they needed to be.
And then tonight all of my friends and I went and found a beautiful hilltop to watch the sunset on. What a great way to end a day off.
And then I had exactly two weeks in the US of A of before I flew back here (a journey that took me 66 hours due to one of my flights being canceled after sitting on the plane for 6 hours). While home, I got to spend time with my family and was able to go and see my best friends as well. I had a lovely time home but I do wish I could have had a little more than two weeks.
I jumped right back into work the day after I got back. I was supposed to have landed Saturday, giving me Sunday to get settled and recuperate before getting back to work. However, I got back Monday and started work on Tuesday. We had a team of 14 here for the first two weeks back. And now things are settling back down into a normal routine. While the team was here, we had two graduations that we celebrated. We graduated 12 students from our preschool program. And then we graduated 7 students from our three-year long sewing curriculum. It was our first Advanced Sewing graduation and I am so excited for them as they are each receiving a sewing machine to launch their new businesses. We will walk alongside them this next year as they build up their clientele and then they will be set up to succeed on their own.
Today is a Ugandan national holiday, so the James Place was actually closed today. I took the opportunity to go with Heather on a Sole Hope clinic out in a village. There were quite a few volunteers today, so I ended up holding kids who were having a hard time with the jigger removals and then helped make sure people were where they needed to be.
And then tonight all of my friends and I went and found a beautiful hilltop to watch the sunset on. What a great way to end a day off.
Trip of a lifetime on more than one level. It was so many things...amazing, awe inspiring, overwhelming...but I'm so grateful to have done it and see that world through my daughter's eyes. I am blessed beyond measure and humbled by her heart every day.
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