The Anderson family visits us in Uganda!!!

Our good friends, Dan and Sherri Anderson with their 3 girls (Michelle, Allyson and Kylie), have come to visit us and see the projects we’re working on in Uganda!! We feel incredibly blessed to have their whole family here with us!!!

Today we focused on visiting families where the parents have died and the children are being raised by their eldest sibling or an elderly grandparent. The families we met are very needy and were so grateful for the gift baskets of essential food items, school supplies and treats we were able to bring.

Happy Birthday Avin!

Avin turned 6 yesterday, her second birthday celebrated in Uganda. She's very proud to be "bigger, smarter, and to jump higher"!

Friends from Masaka came for dinner on Avin's birthday.

Happy 6th Birthday Av!

Kiambethu Farm

Rachel, Jamie and I (Shannon) had the opportunity to visit Nairobi, Kenya this past weekend. We enjoyed seeing the city, which although only an hour’s flight from Entebbe, is like a whole other world. The city is quite established and a lot busier than Kampala, yet very organized and clean!!

Our highlight was definitely a day trip we took to the Kiambethu Tea Farm. A British couple, Fiona and Marcus Vernon, operate the tea farm that has been in Fiona’s family since 1910. Beautiful gardens, acres of tea and an indigenous forest surround their home.

We thoroughly enjoyed hearing Fiona talk about the history of the farm -- her mother, herself and her own children were all raised here, as well the process of making tea, which was amazing!! After touring the estate we finished our afternoon with a delicious meal.

Colobus monkey's, the little kids on the tour had fun feeding them bananas!

Fiona, describing the process of making tea inside their beautiful home. 

Photos by Rachel.

Wild Hogs

For Christmas, we bought the kids 3 plastic motorcycles. Motorcycles in Uganda are actually called a "boda boda". If we'd known the hours and hours that all 4 kids would play with them we'd have bought them as a gift a lot sooner! 

Recently, some of the guys who work with us on the property saw Joel's interest in riding "boda bodas" and for the past few days, he has been getting lessons on their real bodas. He now steers, shifts, and starts the bikes all on his own! He says it's his new hobby, just like his Papa's back home! 

Here is our friend, Arthur, giving Joel lessons on the boda boda, and making sure Avin and Finn get a turn to ride around too!

Losing Teeth

Avin is a very proud almost 6 year old, she's lost 2 teeth in the past couple weeks! The money she gets under her pillow the next morning has Joel, Av and Finn all searching their mouths for more loose teeth.

"Ballack Obama"

I (Jeff) spent this past weekend in Mpigi. Shaun and Brenda Gaynor, from Peace Portal Alliance Church, have arrived to spend the month working there. If there is any excuse to head up there to hang out with the kids, we jump on it.

I was having breakfast with about 10 or 11 boys when one of them asked me if I knew “Ballack Obama”. I told them that I had never met him, but yes, I have heard of him. Then I watched as they sat there, crossed their legs, drank their tea and discussed “Ballack Obama”. I don’t know what they were saying, all I heard was 10 year old orphans in the middle of nowhere, with no newspapers or TV, talk for 10 minutes about “Ballack Obama”.

It was pretty funny.