We're Here!

Travel
We left Dayton at 1:20 pm on Thursday, July 7th. We landed in Minneapolis with just enough time to get to our next flight…6 concourses away. (It didn’t help that Darin had already taken his sleeping pill. He was practically falling over.) We had to talk to someone before entering the plane. Kind of like border patrol, but not sure who they were. Having been prepped for this already, we knew what to say. Simple, one word responses. But Darin forgot, and had a conversation with the guy. Sigh… Our flight to Amsterdam left right on time. We were fed well, and watched movies. Neither of us could actually sleep on the 8 hour flight because we were so excited. We had a five hour layover in Amsterdam, so we had Starbucks to help us stay awake and walked around the airport. While waiting in line to board our flight from Amsterdam to Kigali, Rwanda, we saw a plane on fire! That flight was about 8 hours, with a one-hour stop in Kigali to refuel, and then another hour to Entebbe. We went through immigration, which was a very easy process. All the Ugandans were so helpful and kind. We then found our luggage (everything made it, which was not what we expected!), and then went outside to find our guide. Hudson held a sign with our names and then directed us to his van. It was about a two hour drive to the village where we are staying, but Hudson drove quickly, so we arrived sooner than anticipated.

Accommodations
We are staying in a tiny hut that is built to accommodate four families. There is a bed with a mosquito net, a large shelf, and a small sitting area. Including our bathroom, our room is about 250 square feet. Quaint, but nice. Today, a little lizard took up residence in our shower. Within the village is a pottery shop, beauty salon, bakery, internet café, swimming pool, and restaurant. We have eaten well all day. Egg whites and bread for breakfast. Rice, beans, and beef for lunch. And dinner consisted of the most delicious zucchini soup, rice, cooked vegetables, and fish.

Meeting Rose
We were told by our guide that Miss Cathy, the baby home director, would be here to get us “midday” to take us to the baby home to meet Rose. Knowing that Ugandans are laid-back, we were not sure when to expect her. Miss Cathy arrived with her daughter and Rose around 3:00…which was a huge surprise! We had been expecting to meet her at the baby home, but this was so special. I carried her down to the bakery and café and we just sat with her and snuggled her. She wanted to chew on our room key and play with her ball. She made little faces at us and blew raspberries. Miss Cathy bought her some sweet bread, which she loved. She is so special that Cathy takes her home on the weekends. There are no car seats, so when Rose left, she sat in the lap of Cathy’s daughter. This was scary for us, but we are not here to pass judgment or change how things are done. Next Steps Tomorrow, Cathy will pick us up to take us to church with Rose. On Monday we will meet with our attorney at her office and discuss the case. Then we will go to the baby home and meet Rose’s nanny, Rashida, and all of the children. We have been told to not devote all of our time to Rose because all of the children will want extra attention. On Tuesday, we will go to court. If all goes well, we will get to keep Rose with us for a few hours on the weekends. Please pray for us.

Adoption Update

So we left our babies (and our hearts) in Indiana yesterday.  Darin and I cried like babies when we drove away, and I cry every. single. time. I think of my babies.  Jonathan did not cry.  He said his eyes were just itchy as he rubbed them like crazy....  Owen told us to get back in the car and come with him.  Their grandma told me that they did great last night (no tears!!!) and woke up happy this morning, so that is a huge relief.

We will embark on our journey to Uganda...to our precious daughter...tomorrow afternoon, and should arrive around 10:30 pm in Entebbe on July 8th.  Our guide will meet us at the airport and take us to our "home" in Kampala, about an hour's drive.  Hopefully, we will get to meet Rose on Saturday morning!  We will also meet with the orphanage directors and our attorney, and receive guidance as to what our court hearing will entail.  Adoptions are not being processed quickly right now; most families are making two trips, and some court dates are being rescheduled once families arrive in Uganda.  This may not seem "fair" to Americans, but it is the norm in Uganda, so we plan to go with the flow.  Right now, we are scheduled to arrive back in the U.S. on July 27th, but have packed for longer, just in case we get to stay longer and make only one trip because the process moves more swiftly.

Please pray for our travel, our babies and their grandparents, Rose, and the court hearing.  Thank you all for supporting us on our journey to Rose.