My Daughters

The picture I couldn't wait to have ... K8 & Crorice <3 xo

She's HOME!!!!! :)

more later! :)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thank you for praying her home! :) xo the wright crew

K8's En route home ...

She txt'd me as they were boarding in Amsterdam. She didn't have a great flight from Entebbe to Amsterdam and quite a long layover in Amsterdam.

I checked KLM's website and it looks as if they sat on the runway for about an hour before taking off but they are still scheduled to arrive in JFK around 3:30 p.m. our time.

I've added a pict or two of what we've been up to while she's been away. Stay tuned for all the amazing stories and photos which I'm sure K8 cannot wait to share!

Thank you again for your prayer, support, and love!!! She could not have done this without you!
xo
b & the crew



John refinished a hope chest we were hiding for K8 and added Home...the place your story begins

En route ...

Msg from JoAnn ...

7:30 am ... grand time matching sponsors with children, 30 sponsors became 4 bus loads of people off to church ... at the end of the service, each sponsor was called up and received a gift.

Buffet Lunch: sponsors with their child(ren) and boy could those kids eat!
then free time to do whatever they wanted together
mid afternoon the sponsors gave their gifts to their kids :) :)

Group Photo!
Prayed, praise and worship time
tearfully said goodbye

Packed up, checked out
9:00 p.m. rolled out to airport and waiting at the gate (at the time of this msg) ...

Next msg will be from JFK once through immigration.

K8 txt'd about 2:15 p.m. (our time) asking for prayer....
I asked her what she'll be hungry for. her answer: gooey louie's cheesesteak (east phila) and a raspberry iced tea. :) hahaha She was boarding and I asked that she let me know when she lands in Amsterdam which s/b ~ 5:50 a.m. (their time).

She's expected @ JFK ~ 3:35 p.m. Monday afternoon.

Thanks for your prayers for her flight and sanity and heart. :)

xo K8's Mama xo

other cool stuff ...

I forgot to share some other God-orchestrated moments prior to K8's departure!

Here is one, considering we should pray for the weight of K8's luggage on the return trip:

Randy and Meg graciously allowed Kait to borrow their Madagascar suitcase (thank you!) it was the perfect size for Kait's items and the extra supplies for the children. YAY!

The weight limit for KLM is 50.5 lbs. We weighed the suitcase here before leaving, but Brian Reagan style (if you don't know ... look him up. hilarious!) Anyway ... we were a little nervous but were prepared to unload anything and repack in K8's carry on. K8 placed the suitcase on the scale at check in and it was precisely, exactly, on-the-dot 50.5 lbs. Is that cool or what?!! So cool.

:) God is good all of the time and all of the time God is good!

JoAnn's Update / Saturday

Today was Center Day ... a full program day.
8 AM on way to Kampala; traffic was better
the children greeted the group while in their classrooms
the group plugged right in to the classes helping to teach
the 3-5 yr olds were learning about hygiene and keeping their bodies clean, they learned about soap bubbles and a mirror--the mirror was their partner and they checked their progress in the mirror and were taught about how special and beautiful they were
play time
snack time
lunch time
presented the gifts to the children and prayed over them
the kids did not want them to leave
visited an African Village Shopping and Coffee shop
Super market to purchase tea and snacks and spices for the tea
ate lunch at a Chinese Restaurant
Graduates from the program joined the group for lunch
Margaret came...a graduate, recently elected to parliament, the honorable Margaret is a senator; she gave a powerful testimony; Margaret had been in Somalia on behalf of Uganda in an equivalent position to our defense dept.

Back home

Very early start tomorrow, 7:30 AM Child Visit Day!!!!!
(K8 gets to spend the day with Crorice--finally!)
Pray for a safe, wonderful, punctual day for this special time tomorrow.

Tomorrow night: 11:30 PM is flight home.

One txt from K8 today:
Just got back to hotel. Long day. I see nahabwe tm at 7:30 am. goodnight. plane leave 11:30 p.m. tm nite.

Friday Update . . .

Update from JoAnn!

Unbelievable day...
Arose early for a Game ride ... they saw tons of African animals including ones the sponsors did not have names for. they saw giraffe, elephant, antelope, birds, many different kinds of animals

They then drove near the Congo Border to visit a Child Center.
The Leader came flying in on her motor-motor, she was seated side-saddle. haha
Kids were lined up with flags greeting the group.
287 children and their family members came and people from the area were curious so they came to watch what all the commotion was ... the contrast of the sponsored kids and the kids who had nothing made them speechless. it was heart wrenching.

lots of songs were sung with the kids

Lorraine, one of the sponsors in the group wanted to sponsor a child from this child center.
there are 4 who did not have sponsors. They called the little girl up and Lorraine told her that she was going to be her sponsor. The expression on the little girls face was priceless and she was beyond excited. Lorraine spent tea time with her little girl.

tea time

after teatime the little girl was saying Mama, Mama, my Mama came... so the Mama was able to meet Lorraine, too, and spend time with her. The Mama had a brand new baby boy and asked Lorraine to honor her by naming him. Lorraine did. She named the little boy after her son. They then had to do lots of paperwork and get the name correctly translated.

the group split up and visited families in homes

the Chairman of the center was late and apologized; he is also the mayor of the village.
the group ate with the families and then rain started to pour. the children right away turned their bowls upside down to cover their heads.
the group tried to take shelter under a tarp ... it didnt hold up so they ran scurrying trying to find shelter, it was quite the downpour

just a little while longer the sun came out

before the group left for the plane, the mayor/chairman presented the group with handmade gifts of carvings; animals and native symbols

MAF flight back in 2 separate planes on a tight schedule or they would have had to stay another night.

they all had a free evening to eat on the beach or the hotel.

Tomorrow they are up and off early again to visit more child centers!

Thank you for checking in!

K8 texted Zack today! :) I received one text "Hi Mama it was a very full day. Back in Entebbe. Exhausted going to bed ..."


:) Sleep sweet, Kaity B. xoxoxoxox

End of Day 4!!!!

K8's did text today even though she thought she may not be able to from the bush. Wonders never cease. :)

"Hola Mama well i'm locked out of my room and my roommate is not answering. ugh. but it is a gorgeous nite. we took a boatride and tm is safari....nvm, i found my roommate. she wasn't even in the room. haha yes the boat was awesome and the plane was not bumpy went smoothly. so this is a beach resort right on the nile. so many pics. i ate. i miss you. we go back to entebbe tomorrow. i had a gr8 convo with my roommate. the real beach is back at entebbe. this beach is all bush. haha ..."

:)

Update from JoAnn, the leader:

They packed all their luggage in storage at Entebbe and took very little with them to the National Park at the northwest part of Uganda.

12 Sponsors flew MAF flight and the others flew the Eagle Air charter propeller plane.
Less than an hour flight to the National Forest.

Joseph drove the bus up from Kampala.

A safari vehicle took them to the safari lodge. En route they were greeted by giraffe and gazelles, birds, wart hog, water buffalo, and baboons!

Buffet lunch.

Boat ride... 3 hrs on the African Queen. Great view of the falls on the Nile. Hippos in the water, crocodiles, birds, wart hogs, and then elephants on the way back to the lodge.The sponsors said that this is just what they needed after being on an emotional overload.

Processed and spent inspirational time together.
Another phenominal buffet.

Free for personal time.

Another early morning tomorrow, leaving the National Park, visiting another Student Center, and then off to fly back to Entebbe.

Thank you for continued prayers!

End of Day 3 Update! :)

Today I definitely copped a slight attitude of my daughter may text at anytime, so I have no time to be tangled up. And as the day wore on and on, I watched the clock, checked the Compassion phone message line, watched the clock, counted 8 hours ahead (I actually count 4 hours back) more times than I’ll admit, and considered a few possibilities for not receiving a text or message today. I was getting emotional! <tear>

But, alas, the familiar text alert f-i-n-a-l-l-y came and it was her—not a false alarm, er, I mean a text from someone else. ;)

She texted, “Hey Mama, thank you for the message :) i was bawling my eyes out at the group dinner cuz that’s when she told me.**[JoAnn] gave me a huge hug.** haha Today was too indescribable will have to wait till face to face. And I miss you and a girl asked 2 come home with me and it took everything in me and my friend david to keep me from sobbing…very emotional day. a girl gave me her # and [people] want to friend me on fb hahaha... some rain. tm we take the plane to northern Uganda. no clue if i’ll have signal there.”

***this part of the message interjected from a subsequent txt to clarify. My message via the Compassion phone message line was for the leader, JoAnn, to give Kait a huge hug from her Mama. :)

Update from JoAnn:

Full, exciting, fantastic day!

Very short ride to today’s Student Center.

Treated to the most wonderful surprise: not very many children (it was exam day) but greeted by an amazing staff. The Pastor of the Center shared a devotional. An orphan gave her testimony. A young man stood up and gave his testimony. Not a dry eye.

School children came to sing for the group. (both Compassion kids and not) They sang about how God has made them and loves them. The group sang songs for the children which just delighted them so much.

The group was able to see how files are kept on each sponsor child.

Tea time.

The group visited the office where they saw the crafts of the children and women: handmade candles, soap, beautiful necklaces.

Broke into small groups. JoAnn’s group went to Harriet’s house. Simple little home, sat on the floor, visited and learned how to peel the green bananas. They washed, rinsed in buckets, hung the bananas and then cooked them to make matoki. Kait did a variety of different jobs. The Ugandan men were impressed that the male in the group helped with the matoki and swept the floor. They considered him to be a good example.

Kait visited with the neighbor lady, too.  

Did extra things as the matoki (green banana drink) cooked.

Gave a gift to Harriet and prayed with her.

Lunch … table filled with pots filled with different foods. The children were so excited to serve the group.

Prayed with the kids.

The women of the area came for a Bible study, gave testimonies, danced, and sang.

Small break.

Dinner. Joined by 3 amazing young people who graduated from the sponsorship program. The young lady of these graduates came from the remotest parts of Uganda and was able to join the sponsorship program. She sang for them with a beautiful voice. These 3 young people were so thankful for how the group enabled them to know the LORD and live successful lives.

Praise the LORD with me for this wonderful group and continue praying for the wonderful group.

Fly tomorrow in a put-put plane out to the bush.

End of Day 2

An update from their leader:
Started out very early
Hit bad traffic but only 10 min late to the Compassion offices
They were able to join their devotional time with the staff.
The leader spoke on trust from a Spiritual perspective
The sponsor tour group composed a song on the way to the office and then sang the song for the office.
Q&A time with the Ugandan Compassion Team
Tea time
Visit offices in a more personal venue
Hotel for lunch ... a mess of traffic, short cut was blocked
Dining on the green lawn
Leadership Development Students of Compassion's Uganda Christian University joined at the tables
Graduates Shared testimonies
Lots of wonderful prayer time with the students and graduates of Uganda Christian University
God was moving ... time was a non issue as they just allowed God to move
On the way home, they experience exchanging money ... however it was a new place and it sounds like there were a few mess-ups but they viewed it as a learning experience
Each team member was then able to seek dinner(supper) on their own enjoying the culture
They have a very active schedule but they can sleep in a little bit tomorrow.
:)

I thought I'd share 2 Timothy 4:1-5 "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word, be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 

Praise the LORD for the deep desire of these beautiful people to know CHRIST!

Message from "kahyleen" hahaha

"Hi Mama, long day. 7 hrs. crazy driving to get from entebbe to kampala to visit the compassion office and graduates. sat with a wonderful girl first yr college. she held my hand. and i talked a lot with other young women. the ugandans cannot pronounce my name so they call me kahyleen. haha ... wish you could all be here and feel God in this. i can't describe it. it's so heartbreaking but i have never been so filled with joy and love for Christ...I ate dinner! People are saying i have a new york accent!" :)

This is Crorice Nahabwe

This is Crorice our Ugandan Compassion Child.

Here is some info about her:

US School Grade Equivalent:	10
School Performance:	Average
Completion Date:	20161201
Child is attending school
Family Duties
Washing clothes Making beds Carries water Child care Gathers firewood Buying/Selling in the marketplace Kitchen help
Hobbies and Sport
Group games Volleyball Running Singing Listening to music Other ball games Story telling
Guardians
Mother
Natural Parents
Marital status of parents:	Were married, now separated by death
Mother is alive Mother is living with child Mother is supporting child
Employment
Mother/Female Guardian other employment:	Peasant farmer
No Father or Male Guardian Mother/Female Guardian is at times employed

Your sponsored child lives in the hillside community of Rweibaare, home to approximately 15,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of dirt floors, wood and mud walls and tin roofs. The primary ethnic groups are Banyankore and Bakiga. The most commonly spoken languages are Rukiga and Runyankore.

The regional diet consists of beans, bananas, millet, potatoes, green vegetables and posho (cornmeal dough). Common health problems in this area include malaria and AIDS. Most adults in Rweibaare work as farmers and earn the equivalent of $11 per month. This community needs scholastic materials and employment opportunities.

Your sponsorship allows the staff of Rweibaare Child Development Center to provide your sponsored child with Bible teaching, health monitoring, recreational activities and community service opportunities. The center staff will also provide literacy training, health education and parenting skills workshops for the parents or guardians of your sponsored child.

Straddling the equator, Uganda has a diverse terrain with plains, forests, lakes, swamps and mountains. Much of the south is forested and most of the north is grassland. The country's high altitude moderates the tropical climate. The population is largely rural; its density is highest in the south.

Uganda is made up of a hodgepodge of African natives where no one ethnic group dominates. Forty-two percent of Ugandans are Protestant, almost another forty-two percent are Catholic, and about twelve percent are Muslim. English is the official language and other languages, such as Luganda, are used for small-scale commerce. Sub-Saharan Africa, where Uganda lies, bears the heaviest burden of the AIDS epidemic. In this region approximately 22 million children and adults are living with HIV/AIDS; approximately 940,000 of these are Ugandan.

By the fifteenth century, the Buganda kingdom ruled much of what is now central Uganda. European explorers entered the area in 1862. Following civil war, a British protectorate took control in 1896. Independence movements of the 1950s came to fruition in 1962 when Uganda was granted self-rule. In 1971, army commander Idi Amin took control through a coup, looting the country and killing an estimated 300,000 during an eight-year reign of terror. An invasion by the Tanzanian army in 1979 overthrew Amin and the country went through a period of instability where governments arose and were overthrown. In 1986, Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Army took over the leadership after a brief war; he is the current leader. Since then, Uganda's economy has strengthened and the government has remained stable but the 1990s have seen a rise in insurgency in the north.

information from Compassion's site about Crorice: https://www.compassion.com

End of Day 1, p.s.

I was able to call in to Compassion and get a recorded update. I was also able to leave a message for JoAnn, the leader, who then gives the message to K8. :) I asked JoAnn to give K8 a huge hug from her Mama. :)

I typed as fast as I could while I listened to the message. Here is the snapshot of the day:

breakfast

orientation

reflective thoughts and prayer

student center, 10-15 min. drive

on the road to meet the mothers and babies … the van was escorted by mothers and children dancing and cheering their arrival.

praise and worship in their church

great spiritual time

a little bit about the church

time with mothers and children 

"break tea"

African spiced tea, hard boiled eggs, bread with honey (a few other things but I couldn't understand)

the group broke into 3rds and spent time in the homes learning what it meant to be a poor African woman … cooked bananas

planted trees, gardening

each Compassion group traveler received a personally wrapped gift with their names and cards for the group

memorial tree planting for this group

later, the group divided all the supplies that everyone brought and are set to distribute.

Tomorrow: they leave @ 6 am because of Kampala traffic … apparently it's beyond horrible during "rush hour."

:)

End of Day 1

K8 texted: she's going to bed. It was a long day for her and she's feeling overwhelmed and isolated. She read all of the loves notes in one sitting--she wasn't supposed to find them all :) but she was missing home and wanted to read them. She mentioned that everyone in the group thinks she's so brave but she's not feeling very brave at the moment. She's asking everyone for prayer. Thank you! :)

Monday, Nov. 7, 2011

Today, the group will be visiting their first student center at the Kigungu Child Development Center (UG-511). Staff will explain to the group about the Child Survival Program and they will spend time with the mothers and children.

I received a text from Kait at about 5:40 AM: "I found my hearts home. Spending the day with mommies and babies..."

:)

Update ... it's 10:50 PM in Uganda.

Don't ask me why but the Preakness came to mind as I thought about K8's trip. I'm not even a horse person. haha More about that later.

At 12:21 p.m. our time, K8 texted me..."just landed in kigali...I think we are now taking a flight to Entebbe. I am so disoriented. No sleep. Africa is pitch black and it's 6PM..."

I told her that she had a 2 hr. connecting flight now to Entebbe. Her response, "holy crap r u serious???"

She then txt'd, "I'm in rwanda!"

She slept between 2 and 3 am, she thinks. I asked about the plane meals and she replied that I can read her journal when she gets home.

She just texted @ 2:37 p.m. our time, "just went thru imigration and bag getting. Goodnite..."

Let's pray she sleeps! :0)

b/t/w

:) by the way ... K8 has another blog--go figure--http://hisdaughter31.blogspot.com/

:) I am only keeping up with this blog, though, whilst she is away.

Travel Legs

I'm gathering my travel legs about me, I've had some Coffee Scoop coffee (thanks always to my parents freshcoffeescoop.com) and my migraine is slowly disappearing, therefore, I can think more clearly to add:

correction! Kait landed in Amsterdam ~ 1:00 AM. That timing seems better. My cell phone reads her text rcvd at 2:17 AM and my reply at 1:18 AM. How cool is that?! :)

I received a text a little after:
"Touchdown! Great flight these dutch people know how to fly. Morning! ..." 

That's K8 for ya. :) haha

I thought I would finally add a few nooks and crannies of God's blessings thus far ... Here is one: laaast Friday K8 and I went to CVS to pick up her malaria rx and another rx for the trip. The CVS pharmacist told us upon pick up that the malaria rx would be ~$140-160 (I honestly cannot remember the number but it's prob. the former.) At this point in the game, K8's Uganda fund had no wiggle room nor did her parent's. Anyway, the wonderful pharmacist told us right away that she knew we could get a less expensive comparable replacement. She called the doctor, she called insurance, and said she would call us back! We are not accustomed to this type of customer service--we just switched to CVS and happily, you might gather. :) We received the pharmacist's call several hours later and lo and behold, she was able to get K8 a new rx however K8 had to start taking it the next day and she did not have any in stock and would not until that Sunday. Oh. BUT! She called around to the other local CVS's and another local CVS was holding the rx for K8, ready for pick and get this--free! WOW! Praise the LORD! :) At this point were this tid bit in Psalms ... there would be a Selah right here. So, Selah! Let's calmly think about that. :)

#2 Nook and Cranny of tracing the Hand of GOD ... this makes me tear. We sent the email/fb/blog request that K8 required extra supplies, funds, etc. Our faithful friends answered the call including a cutie patutie Granddaughter who is following this blog. ;) Not only that--Grandma and Granddaughter went out in last week's snow storm, got stuck in a black out in the back of the Target store (emergency lights?!) suspending the shopping trip! Because of you, our Uganda little ones will be blessed with crafts, super skin/lip lotion
 goodies, and candy--they love the candy apparently.

#3 Yes a third Nook and Cranny ... we call these friends our "egg people" because when we have eggs--they are our faithful egg purchasers. Anyway...K8's floundering Uganda budget did not afford the traveling toiletries. I wasn't too worried, I just told K8 to pray and watch God work. God worked through our wonderful egg peoples ... K8 has the best toiletries, I'm certain, of anyone on the trip and she doesn't have to worry about adverse reactions from chemical laden products...ok, here's the plug, trulypureandnatural.com. hahaha

I've been up off and on all night and I've been typing this for 1/2 hour ... so, over and out until the next update!

Thanks for staying tuned and have a great LORD's day! This is the day that the LORD hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

K8's En route!

K8's En route! I wish we would have followed my printed maps instead of GPS. I wonder what possesses that thing to take certain routes. We made our way past the Empire State Building and finally to the airport. The parking was great--right at terminal 4 and right up to where we quickly checked her in and sent her off at the security gate. We could not see the gate nor the plane ... boo. Besides the national debt in EZPass tolls...we're home and K8's in the air until Amsterdam tomorrow morning around 7:30 AM. :)

The Empire State Bldg. are you serious?

Bye, Kait ... I guess this is it. No big fairwell. :(

We couldn't even see her going through security. Her gate, #24, was to the far left.

Sorry ... phone cam whilst driving. :0)

It's Departure Day! :)

As I type this, K8 is taking her SATs. She should be finishing up! I'm just waiting for her to text me. :)

The vehicle is packed, the global phone ready for programming--which by the way, is a normal, old flip-phone that replaces her phone using the same phone number. So, please don't text her or call her. She'll text me and then I will relay the messages. We are charged for every text and obviously phone call. :)

The maps, GPS, and airport info. are all set, and our EZPass is prepped for JFK. Woohoo! She'll read this blog later so I can share: her love notes are all tucked away in various inconspicuous spots, both carry on and checked. She'll read her first love notes on the flight to Amsterdam. :)

Keep posted! I'm excited to trace the hand of God and hear how He moved in mighty ways! Last night was the first sign she showed of any anxiety. She said she's never felt so anxious. I believe once she is with the group--the butterflies will flutter away. At least, that's what I'm expecting for myself, anyway. ;)

Thank you for checking in and a greater thank you for supporting and praying!

xo K8's Mama xo

"Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation, the fear of the LORD is His treasure." Isaiah 32.6

it's TUESDAY! we leave SATURDAY!!

Sing with me! :)

"I am not skilled to understand, what God has willed what God has planned.
I only know at His right hand, stands One who is my Savior....
My Savior loves. My Savior lives.
My Savior's always there for me
My God He was. My God He is. My God is always gonna be...."
Aaron Shust| Dorothy Dora Greenwell. (c) 2005 Bridge Building Music, Inc.

This sums it up, from our dear friend Bob Uhrich ...

We'll be praying for y'all.  And especially that K8 experiences God and has a clearer vision of her calling and understanding of the woman of God that she was created to be.  The only words of wisdom that I have are ones that I have been slow to learn.  Just remember when God sends us on a mission he is often more interested in changing us than us changing the world.  After-all we're God's mission.  We are  excited for you Kait and have empathy for the rest of you, because we've been missing y'all.  We love you guys!

Thank you, Bob ... couldn't have said it better!

Just received an email from the trip leader, cc'ing the whole team. We're introducing ourselves via email--what a great way to begin!

Stay tuned! :)

K8's Mama, Bethani