Dear Friends and Family,

What a weekend it has been! Yesterday was a really full day. Livingstone showed up here at midday (which is what they call noon) and said that Jen would be able to see us with the baby. Jen is a girl who helped cook at the guesthouse on our last trip here. She was pregnant at the time and had the baby on August 28 after we left. She is Florence's best friend and I have to say one of the sweetest girls you could ever meet. When we left here last time we gave instructions to Livingstone to let us know right away when Jen had her baby. I'll never forget when Dave came to me after receiving an email to tell me that Jen had her baby and it was a girl...and her name was Rachelle Sara. I was stunned, humbled and honored to say the least. So, yesterday we got to meet this sweet baby girl who is absolutely precious. It was so nice to be able to visit with Jen and hear all about things. What a blessing! :)

Then we were off to a village called Katoga (not sure on the spelling). It is right here next to Gaba and is the place where Scovia found Gertrude, Racheal and Fiona when Gertrude was very ill. Scovia felt called to bring them into her home so that she could care for them. Soon after that she passed away. This is an area that they call a "slum." The houses are so small, just a few feet by a few feet and are made from sticks and mud. When it rains, houses can be easily washed away. This is the poorest area I have seen since being here. The children still have smiles, but there is a definite difference in the atmosphere. When you walk through Gaba there is a lot of activity, music, shops lined along the roads, the market area, and people everywhere. In Katoga it was very quiet and solemn. I am glad that I was able to see where Fiona was found though and as hard as it is to see this kind of poverty, I think it was necessary. They do have a couple of wells that missionaries have come in and drilled so they are able to get clean water. There is little money for food though or basic needs and none of the children are able to go to school. Another humbling experience.

We headed back to the hotel and visited with Livingstone, Florence and Bette and soon got a call from Isreal Kafero, Scovia's brother, who was in town and wanted to stop by and congratulate us on our court rulings and see the girls. Isreal was the one who originally let Mark and Rachelle and us know about Fiona, so it seemed quite fitting to be able to meet him in person before we left.

When dinner was ready, Rachelle was not feeling well, so the girls and I went to the little dining room to have dinner. I had earlier asked what the dinner options would be and had ordered fish and chips. Sounded good I thought. Then I walked to the table to see two large fish that had been cooked whole, with heads, tail, fins, and eyeballs included. This will be a dinner I will remember, as Fiona and Racheal were thrilled with what they saw. Evidently, Scovia has had this at home on occasion and the girls love it prepared this way. The fish was then cut into three parts, the head, middle and tail. Racheal picked the head, which is what Fiona picked as well. So they both started with a head and I watched as they picked every last piece of meat off the bones, pried the mouth apart to get to it all and ate the eyeballs, which I guess is quite a treat here. While it was hard for me to watch, this is what they are used to and they thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

This morning we went to church, which was great as usual. We came back for PB&J sandwiches and since then have been taking it easy. Hopefully the rest of the day will be a quiet and restful one.

Our biggest hurdle was accomplished on Friday with our adoptions being granted! Tomorrow, we head back to Kampala to get our written ruling and work on passports and visas. God has made our path straight during our trip, so we are praying for the rest of this process to go smoothly. If all goes well, it is possible that we could come home this next weekend! Things need to work like clockwork, but the thought of being home sounds so great to me, so we will work hard to get things moving along. If not this weekend, we should be headed home the following week.

Thanks so much for all your prayers and continued prayers as we complete this process and head home. How blessed we are to have so many people caring for us!

Love,
Sara