Just a few days after we arrived back in Africa, we were reunited with our three older boys who came home to Uganda for their one month break. Coming back to Adjumani has definitely required a lot of adjustments - mostly to the heat - but has been so sweet in many ways.
After an 8 hour drive north, we arrived in our driveway, greeted by a group of men and women from our church singing, dancing and cheering for us! With many smiles, laughs and hugs we were welcomed back with such amazing love. Baby Judah was passed around and by day 2 he was given 2 Madi (local tribe) names: Opini (which means dedicated to God) and Anzo (meaning thanks and praise which is exactly what Judah means!)
Don't be too fooled by this smiling face. The hardest part of our transition back has been the heat. But we are thankful that we are all getting sleep at night and so thankful for our solar system which powers our fans through the night.
Jumping back into life was like we never left. Back to cloth diapers and washing by hand.
Day 2 we also spotted our first snake back where the boys were working on their motorcycles. Thankfully it's not poisonous and Isaac used his new knowledge from an interim trip at school to save the snake and simply transport it somewhere else OUTSIDE of our yard.
Carson remembers a lot about life here. He quickly reconnected with his old friends. In this picture Judah is joining Carson and Jonah playing under the mango tree.
The #1 thing Isaac and Evan were looking forward to was riding their motorcycles again. The 3 big boys went on a 3 hour ride in the bush and found some mountains to climb with spectacular views. They've also jumped back into evening soccer with their friends.
Everyone has been so excited to meet little Judah and of course everyone wants to hold him. He's learning to be passed around. Tomorrow that will really be stretched as we return to our wonderful church family for our first Sunday service since we've been back. Eli's been asked to preach, so yes, we're definitely jumping right back in.
Isaac, Evan and Joshua will only be with us another 2 weeks before returning to school so we've been trying to soak up the time we have with them. They've been so thankful to spend this school holiday home in Adjumani.
We'd really appreciate your prayers as we continue to adjust back to life here. We've already been amazed at so many ministry opportunities. Our friends here comment that we seem fresh and younger looking. :) I do agree that our time stateside was the rest and refreshment we needed so now we'll be tapping into that energy for all that God has ahead of us.
Here are some ways you can be praying for us:
1. Pray for Eli as he checks in with each of the TEE centers and begins the diploma program. The diploma program will require a lot of added work.
2. Pray for Eli to have the chance to do his 8 weeks of research for his PhD so that he can finally complete his dissertation and complete this degree he's been working on since 2017!
3. Pray for health and safety. The heat has been oppressive and this area has so many mosquitoes.
