With September right around the corner, I am finally carving out some time to sit and update all you wonderful readers about our summer. It's always so helpful and healing to sit and process what beautiful ups and downs these last months have held.
In June, amidst ministry and the beginning of rainy season, we got to travel to Kenya to see the big boys for their midterm break. The week was full of rugby games, lots of EATING and getting to know the boys' friends and life at school.
With more rain in June, digging/gardening/weeding season begins in our part of the country. We count it such a privilege and joy to come alongside our friends and help them in their gardens. They think we're a hoot, trying to work like they can, but it's meant such bonding times.
We've also spent time in our church garden plot with other church members digging and planting. This year we are growing maize and rice.
Eli and I celebrated our 21st anniversary digging for most of the day.
The Battermann family (SIM missionaries also sent from our home church in SC) have been long time friends and their son Landon came to spend 2 months in ministry with us in Adjumani. He was such a joy and jumped into anything we asked him to. Our community loved him.
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| Picnic breakfast at the garden |
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| Carson and Judah continue to love life in Adjumani with their little friends |
Another ongoing ministry of ours is mentoring and loving on the young people we sponsor through school. Above I'm pictured with Godfrey who about to complete secondary 4. We also have several young ladies working hard to get through upper secondary school and hoping to go on to University.
The month of July was jampacked with more fun and excitement than I can remember in a LONG time! I think I'm still recovering from it all! We traveled by night bus to Kenya (broke down at 2 am in the middle of nowhere in Kenya and our trip stretched to a 20 hour drive.) The days leading up to Isaac and our niece Anna's graduation were full of sports events and other activities where RVA alumni and students competed against each other. One of our favorites was the rugby game when Eli and Jason (Eli's brother) played against our three: Isaac, Evan and Joshua.
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| Isaac and Leah after a dusty bike ride |
We were also thankful for time to get to know some of the boys' friends including their girlfriends.
I got to participate in an alumni choir and we sang a special song the Sunday before grad. I even sang a solo!
Graduation was absolutely just what it should be. Lots of photos, hugs, smiles, even some tears. What made this day extra special was that my parents plus ALL of Eli's siblings and parents came to celebrate with us. 2 Fader kids were graduating so it was an excuse for a "Reunion to Remember."
After a blissful week at the beach together, Eli and the other four boys headed home to Uganda while Isaac and I flew to the States, landing in Washington state, to get him ready to start university. As I've mentioned many times, Isaac has begun the Moody Aviation missionary pilot training program in Spokane, WA. It's a new area for him but we are so thankful to have good family friends who have "adopted" him into their home and are keeping an eye on him.
We had quite the list of things to do to get him set up for life in America. One of them was buying a bicycle for him to get around town. We also opened up a personal bank account, shopped for new clothes, set him up with a US phone number, etc. These 10 days with my boy were some of the most precious I will treasure forever.
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| Of course we treated ourselves to the yummy things we'd missed! |
Before I flew out to return to Uganda I got to help Isaac move into his house that he shares with 6 other Moody students and attended new student orientation with a full tour of the campus/hangars/airfield.
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| Moving Day |
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| Isaac's home for this year |
Spokane is a really beautiful place with plenty of trails to explore and hike, rivers to swim, and mountains to climb. This place has proven to be an ideal fit for Isaac and hearing how he's thriving and already enjoying his first month of school so far, makes the distance not feel so bad.
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| The day I got home after being away for 2.5 weeks! |
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| Eli prouding wearing his Moody Aviation shirt - a gift I brought back for him. |
I got home with only 2 and a half weeks left of Evan and Josh's summer break at home so our days were packed. I cooked up a storm and we worked hard in the day (projects around the house and at the church compound next door) and played hard at night (games or movies.)
One of Evan's best friends from school, Aidan, who lives in Kenya, came to spend those last weeks with us in Adjumani and he loved it. We gave him lots of first experiences - a great intro to village life.
They were serious! Not only did they nicely grill the meat and all of us tried it - quite tasty and tastes like chicken - but they dried the skin to use for a phone case for Evan. Meanwhile Josh preserved one of its claws and made it into a key chain which he took back to school with him to hang on his backpack. Oh brother! Y'all this is the very definition of being a Boy Mom.
Well all good things must come to an end sadly. After some great weeks with these awesome teenagers, we brought them back to the city and put them on the bus back to Kenya for a new term and a new school year. Evan is a senior this year and Joshua is a sophomore. It's weird that we only have 2 at RVA now and our family is spread across 3 countries! Thankfully when Evan and Josh come home for Christmas break, we hope to fly Isaac home to Uganda too.
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| First day of school pics taken by dorm moms :) |
