Emily's Here!

Last night my adorable cousin Emily arrived in Uganda for a month of working at a baby home called Acacia tree with me! My awesome new Ugandan friend Dan found a friend of his who was willing to drive he and I down to the airport (it took about 4 hours with the ridiculous traffic around Kampala!) to pick her up—Oh, how gracious and kind Ugandans are! I can’t even describe to you how exciting it was to step into Entebbe Airport and spot my pretty and long-awaited cousin loitering across the arrivals lounge! Em is one of my best friends in the world. Her heart is about as pure and genuine as they come, and it feels like such an unexpected gift of God to share this month here together! I am SO THANKFUL for the mere presence of such a friend! The last time we saw one another was a long-ago last June…

And, she came bearing gifts from home! Mmmmm, how I love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups :) They will seriously not last long!

We made reservations at a backpacker’s hostel in Entebbe for the month as it was the cheapest accommodation we could find. We’ve both experienced the “joys” of hostels in Europe and thought surely staying in a hostel in Africa would afford even more “delights” than those stays had (do note the sarcasm!)… So we were completely surprised to be shown to our room, opening out to its own patio, and find it the absolute best hostel accommodation we’ve ever seen! We have a big four-poster bed, our own little sitting area, lots of closet space, and our very own bathroom with a (cold) shower! We LOVE coming home to our special space each day, and waking up each morning to sit on the porch and drink our coffees in the tropical morning light, overlooking the campsite area replete with banana and mango trees. Unreal.

We start our first day at Acacia Tree Uganda tomorrow—a baby rehabilitation home here in Entebbe. We hardly know what to expect but can’t help but be excited! Amber, the other volunteer at Acacia Tree at the moment, is also staying at our hostel and we’ve had such a lovely visit with her over a pineapple we picked up fresh from the dusty village market today :)

We cannot sing enough praises to our great God whom we just hold on to and gaze at in awe as He leads us through this crazy new adventure in serving Him!