Pius, the new baby we got about a week in a half ago, is doing much better! He is now back at home with us and is eating very well. He is on medicine for TB, and seems to be doing decent. We see many smiles from him these days and occasionally hear him giggle. He is a beautiful new addition to our family!

I can't believe I have been here for two weeks now! The time has flown by! The Lord has been so faithful to me. There are days that are lonely and discouraging, and other days that are easy and fun- but regardless, it is good to be here. Those times when it is hard, I find God gently reminding me "Anna, why are you here?"- and at those times when I get discouraged or distracted I must be reminded "I am here to represent Christ. I am here to make him known. I am here to serve. My life is not my own. It is not about me- it is about Him"
There are opportunities everywhere I look. Opportunities to talk to the Mammas, love the kids, help with the dishes, change a dirty diaper, wash clothes, mop a floor or make a fool of myself dancing and make everyone around roll on th ground in laughter.
Every day I find I fall more and more in love with these children- especially the girls here. I have always thought that babies were the age I love the most- and although I really do love the babies, I am finding something special in the girls who are older. Those times late at night when I am up with the older girls, when all the work for the day is done, and they can be children- I find a beautiful side of them start to come out. This side of them is very child-like, and it is beautiful. It is the side of them that laughs, that does impressions of people and movies, the side of them that wants to curl up next to me and be held like a little girl. The older girls have a lot of responsibilities during the day, they help out around the home alot, and tend to be more serious and quiet during the day. I am beginning to treasure those times at night when we all come together and get to hang out as girls.
We got a new baby a few days ago. His name is Pius. Pius was dropped off by his father at his grandmothers doorstep. The father has not been seen since, and no one knows who the mother is. When I first saw Pius, I was struck by how much he resembles Edwin- a little baby I was very attached to last time I was in Africa. I have quickly become very attached to Pius because of this. He has been pretty sick since we got him though and he was admitted to the hospital today. Please by praying for him. He is very frail and skinny. He keeps vomitting up any food that we get down him. We expect he will have to stay in the hospital for a few days.
Other than that, most of the kids are doing pretty well physically. There are always headaches, stomach aches, tooth aches, and any other ache or pain you could think of that occurs every day. But for the most part, the kids are pretty healthy. They really are a beautiful group of children. They truly are a blessing from the Lord.

I am now in Africa! Everything went very smoothly. I was met at the airport by Holly and William. How nice it was to arrive and have dear friends waiting there to meet me! Because I got there in the evening, we spent the night in Entebbe and headed back to Jinja Saturday morning. It is so good to be back. It feels like I am home. It is a good, good feeling.
I met all the kids yesterday afternoon. They are a beautiful, sweet hearted group of children. They have been so welcoming to me. I love how they come up and wrap their little arms around my waist and hold on. I love how when we walked to youth group at church yesterday evening, the girls hold my hands as we walk. My heart has already fallen in love with these children. One of the girls ask me yesterday if I was going to be there with them forever and ever. How do you answer a question like that?

It has been so good seeing dear friends here that I have not seen since I left! They have all greeted me so warmly and made me feel so welcome. Seeing Richard, Mary, Mamma Robina, some of the babies from Amani, and meeting Mary and Francis' new baby Leuban has been so good!
It is good to be back. I am so thankful that God has brought me back. I am so thankful to be able to be here with these children, these people.

Sitting on the airplane, it all seems surreal. I can’t believe that after 2 years, I am finally going back. I can’t believe I am actually on a plane heading back to Africa. Goodbyes to my family and close friends were really hard. God has put amazing people in my life who have walked through life with me, loved me, pushed me forward, encouraged me, and prayed for me. For these people, I am so thankful.
Even as hard as the goodbyes were to these people, there is a peace and comfort knowing that my best friend goes with me. That God goes before me, and he goes with me. There is joy In knowing that I am where he wants me to be- and that for this time in my life, this is where he has placed me. It amazes me to look back over these two years of being back in the states and see what God has done in my life and in my heart over that time. I am, once again, awed by his faithfulness to me. I am awed by his gentleness towards me. We serve an amazing God. A God who knows how to accomplish what he wants to accomplish. A God who knows the perfect timing for everything in his childrens lives. A God who cares enough to give us not what we want or what we think we need- but what he knows will be best for us. It amazes me the way he meets with us individually-in a way that is real and intimate. It amazes me how he brings just the right people into our lives to love us, teach us, correct us, help our hearts to heal. He is a good God.

I didn't realize how it would change my life. I didn't realize how intertwined my life would become with theirs. I didn't know that when I left, I would feel my heart break, as If I was leaving my kids, my family, my home behind.
My time in Uganda changed me. It changed me at the core of who I am. For two years now, I have longed, prayed, cried, and wondered if I would ever get to go back.
And now I am.
May 7th I fly out of Portland, May 8th I arrive in Entebbe, Uganda.

Stop for the one. This is a phrase that I picked up along the way sometime during my time in Africa. Whether I heard it from a friend, read it in a book, saw it on a sign, or just came up with it myself- it is something that has stuck with me. I was reminded again and again, as I walked down those dusty brown streets in Jinja, Uganda, how Jesus, over and over again during his life on this earth stopped for whoever was in his path. Whether it was a manipulative tax collector, a blind begger, a group of little children, or a samaritan woman- how Jesus stopped what he was doing and put on hold where he was going, to talk with them, to heal them, to hold them....to meet them where they were at. And how I should do the same. Jesus never got too caught up in life to stop for people. He never was in too big of a hurry to heal someone who was sick or hold a little child. I long to have the heart that Jesus has for people. To stop for the one whoever and wherever that person happens to be.