Life as usual

I should be in bed, but I'm working off a second-wind here.  Our trip home was great.  Patricia did really well on the three different flights, two of them 8 hours apiece and the third a puddle-jump from DC.  She slept throughout most of the long ones.

We enjoyed seeing family and friends at the airport.  Thanks to everyone who came out and made Patricia feel welcome!  And to the people who went up and down the escalator with her multiple times; it's always good to burn off some pent-up energy before bedtime.  And who wouldn't want to get some additional escalator practice after only having been on one for the first time in the previous 24 hours?

She slept well all night until about 8am, and over the course of today got to know the boys.  Before long she was playing guns with them for a time, and then in the next hour was looking for Casey with a doll in one of her arms and a purse in the other.  "Casey, come play!"  You'd have to hear this for the full effect.  The Ugandans are very fond of saying the stand-alone word 'come' as a bossy command.  That's just how she said it to him.  He was in the middle of a computer game on the laptop, so he took a minute to look her up and down, before he went right back to his game.  Funny thing is the computer game mesmerized her too as she watched what he was doing, so they both stood in front of the laptop for awhile.

The mountain of mail has been gone through and the bookkeeping of the Shaw family has been updated.  All are unpacked and the laundry is almost caught up.  We will soon have a birthday girl whom we will celebrate a little early with roller skating and a sleepover tomorrow night.  Life doesn't get much better, especially when you throw in that she is entering the age of double digits!

I apologize for the pictureless run-of-the-mill post, but ordinary sounds kind of good right about now.  Just some days to get to know each other and to unwind from the recent events is on the agenda.  Other than the roller skating and cake, that is.

Love,
Kim   

Because He Lives, she is now legal!

We're at the beautiful Airport Guesthouse now in Entebbe, soon to eat dinner and then head over to the airport this evening.  It's indescribable, how thankful and blessed we are right now.  I'll give a little background to the events of late.

Sunday afternoon in church we sang a variety of songs, some more contemporary worship style and some older hymns.  One of the hymns we sang, if I'm being honest, has never meant that much to me in the past but it took on a new meaning this week.  My typical experience with this song brings to mind 90 year old ladies belting it out in the small town church in Florida where I grew up; orange shag carpet, wood paneled walls and all.  Because He Lives. 
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future.

And as I was singing I was thinking about the Embassy appointment the next day.  And I know that all of it is out of my control.  Every single bit.  And I know that we have all become extremely attached to little Patricia.  And so I'm claiming all the phrases above with every note that leaves my mouth, every tear that trickles, and with every beat of my heart.  This is the Lord's battle.  It's not up to me.

And on Monday during the interview, the lady completing this with us was so gracious.  She had a smile on her face the entire time.  She thoroughly enjoyed Patricia and Maren.  We answered the questions she asked us, and then she left the room to follow up with her assistant to verify that one of the required pieces had been completed.  Nate said, 'Quick, let's pray.'  And we went to the Lord one last time, begging for the details to be worked out.  She returned and said that everything was complete, and when were our departure tickets?  Umm, tomorrow night.  All four of them.  Her next words were something to the effect of not wanting to cause such an inconvenience to us as to have to reschedule, and of course Patricia's visa would be ready and to return at 4pm Tuesday to pick it up.  Only God! 

I've heard so many reports of our friends praying, thank you each and every one.  I was thinking today, as we were driving into the Embassy, that we will find out when we meet the Lord if he granted these things so perfectly because of your prayers.  Maybe it was in His plan for so many to come together with the same request, and He knew the impact of His answer on you and on me.  And that it would change our prayer lives forever.  He does move when His people ask, no question.  Please stay spurred on by the power of prayer!

Last night we had a torrential downpour.  Uganda has been in the midst of a long dry spell, but a little past 1am we awoke to the loudest thunderstorm I have ever experienced.  Until the morning when we could talk to other people, we thought this was a normal storm for Africa.  But we soon heard otherwise; this was a biggie.  Now we were under a metal roof, but still.  The winds, rain and eventual hail were deafening.  I loved it, especially as I literally felt the power of Almighty God.  I had a strong sense of His letting me know that He is so powerful and in command, that He will have His way no matter what.  A God that commands the winds and the rain most definitely has His hands all over our bureaucratic situation.

We arrived at the Embassy a little early today.  I waited outside with the girls while Nate went in and picked up the visa.  He clarified an additional question, and then the staff went to work on completing the final details.  Her paperwork is in our hands!

Unless there are flight issues (no, we aren't flying through the northeast side of the States), we will arrive as scheduled.  If you would like more information, contact Amy at aleigh424@hotmail.com

 

Love, Kim