Tuesday…all day long!

I spent a great part of the day in bed. I went to the Internet Café and checked my blog and checked e-mails while having the usual one-shot cappuccino.. I am not sure what happened, but I barely made it back to the hotel before I got sick. I have no idea what happened, but I am wondering about the milk in the coffee. I spent over half the day in bed sleeping. It is possible, too, that my body is just getting worn out. I actually wanted to come home for this first time this entire month. I have been homesick and I miss my family, but I haven’t REALLY wanted to come home until today. I think being sick had a lot to do with it and I am worn out. I have pushed myself pretty this trip. We have been going back and forth between the school, working on the bike, and going into the villages. The physical aspect of all that is hard…not to mention the emotional aspect. I have been really concerned about leaving the boys at the school. I have grown so close to some of them and I hate to leave them in the same situation I found them. These are street boys. Literally, they were picked up off the street because they do not have homes. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of them didn’t deserve to get kicked out, but they have absolutely no future now. The place they stay does not send them to school. They do some English/Math/carpentry and a few other subjects, but they are not in school and they won’t be going if someone doesn’t step up and pay their school fees. I told you about Simon Peter, the young boy whose father fused his hands together over an open fire for eating the supper, but there are other boys there who have had an equally bad time in their short lives. I have been struck by one of the boys, Jeffrey, who has the sweetest eyes! His eyelashes are thick and curly. He is missing one of his front teeth and I would bet it has been knocked out. He must be about 11 or 12-years old. I think he is adorable. Every time we come, he smiles and slowly makes his way to where I am. I think he sees someone who really does have empathy with him. I wish I could help him. But, I know I can’t. The funding is completely running out for the project there and I happen to know that the director is looking for another job. Closing Noah’s Ark is eminent and giving us the buildings is equally realistic. We had another 20 women come to the school to register today. It is amazing how much our school is needed!!!!! I spoke to a woman today who is a hairdresser and she said she would like to teach women and men how to style and braid hair. Heather had her hair braided today and it took three women nearly four hours to do it! They charged her $25. Can you imagine what that would cost in the U.S.? Heather looks really cute in her braids. I KNOW for a fact that I couldn’t have sat still that long while three women pulled on my hair. They are meticulous with the parts. Her head is a work of art!? SMILE. I’ll be anxious to see how long she keeps them. This afternoon, I got up and went to the school to do the final wrap on the bike. We bought some hemp and it really works well. The sisal we bought from Kampala had a hard time drying, but the hemp has behaved perfectly. Our plan is to finish the bike tomorrow and burn “Bamboosero” into the frame with the boys at Noah’s. We have given them shirts and bought them sodas a couple of times. It is amazing how little it takes to make a child happy here. Dinner was a wonderful time…we picked up Pastor Chris and met Speaker Martin and Retired General Walter (I do not know his last name) at a restaurant. It is one we never go to because it is the “hang out” for the Muzungus and it is a bit more expensive. But, we had a great time. We didn’t leave there until 10:30 and that is WAY past our bedtime! It was fun. A wonderful thunderstorm came through and cooled things down. It was such a pleasant evening! It is getting time to start thinking about coming home. There is so much more to do here. I will leave the details in capable hands, though, because Deo is one of the finest young men I have ever know…bar none. He is responsible and he has the vision for what we are doing better that I do!!!! And, he wants it to succeed as much as I do. It is strange to say this, but…see you soon!