Sunday the 26th of April

I slept in the longest I  ever have here in Uganda, 7am. We woke to a very cool and cloudy Kampala this morning.
More than I've seen so far.  (I actually wore my fleece in Church, they always have all the doors and windows open and it gets very breezy in there.)
Peter was picking us up at 9am to drive us to Bbira where we would attend St. George Orthodox Church again. I spent my 2 hours leisurely getting ready for Church.  At home when I only have 2 hours it is very rushed.  With no outdoor chores and animals to take care of and no children to make sure to get ready and no other chores to speak of, it's pretty quiet and stress-free.  This sense of calm is something I need to capture in my heart and mind to take home with me.

Today is the Sunday of the Myrrhbearing Women and the Noble Joseph.  I was a little homesick this morning, not just for missing Joseph's Name's Day but because I love to sing the hymnography for the Noble Joseph.
Dn. James decided to serve today and so I got to hear lots of English, mixed with the Lugandan. 

I also love that even though I can't understand the words I really do know what is going on in the service because it's pretty much just like my service at home.

There were many more children this week than last. 

First term of school is out. They are so cute!  There were 2 girls in the choir this week along with the 3 men.  They also must be home from school.
We handed out the rest of the coloring books, but I ran out.  This broke my heart as one little boy came up to me after he saw his friend have one and I didn't have anymore.  He was sad and I was sad. 
On the way home from Church we stopped off to see Henry, the young man we sponsor through St. Nicholas Fund.  He lives in a very poor area.  Peter parked the car in an empty building parking lot and we walked down a little narrow alley between tiny little houses.  Little children running around and peek out doorways at us.  We had to duck through hanging clothes along the alley.  It wasn't too far and we see Henry, his house at the end of the alley.  As we greeted him there were many children peeking and waving.  A tiny little girl, no more than 3, came rushing up to us to shake our hands.  She grabbed my hand and said “Hi!”  She grabbed James hand and said, “Hi!” but then didn't let go of his hand.  She swung it around and around.  She was so cute, very regretfully I did not get a picture of her!  I wish I had, especially since as we were leaving she rushed towards us for a round of hugs, wrapping her tiny little arms around our legs, even Peter. 
Henry had us into his home.  His home is smaller than our cabin (14x14) back home, so maybe it was 10x10, maybe!  Five people live in this one room.  Henry, his brother Alex who has sickle cell anemia, his older sister Prossi (she is the guardian of them all and the breadwinner—she cells mobile money/minutes for a living), his sister Sharon who is about 14 and his nephew (Prossi's son).  Sharon is in boarding school most of the time but when on break they are all there.  There was one bed a small sofa and part of the room blocked off by a curtain.  Henry said he and Alex sleep behind the curtain and the girls and nephew share the single bed.
We brought them a grocery bag of non-perishables (rice, beans, sugar, oil, and a little treat) and some cleaning supplies (dish soap, bar soap and toothpaste).

It was so nice to meet Henry, Alex and Prossi, his older sister.  Henry gave me a hug good-bye and said, "Say hello to the children."

I can't wait for the children to meet Henry.