One Year

It was exactly one year ago from today that we headed to the Vancouver airport, 6 bags in tow, and said goodbye to our friends and family as we took off for Uganda! When we first arrived, I thought a year would never end and we would be stuck inside a strange phenomenon called the never-ending-year, where the days, hours and minutes went by agonizingly slow with no way out. The day after we arrived, we got up in the morning, and mid-toothbrushing I broke down in tears on the tile floor and claimed I was already homesick! Thankfully Paul is levelheaded and reminded me that a year would go by quickly. At the time, I thought he was crazy. But now that a year has passed, I can hardly believe it! Not only that, but we've done what I never thought we would do - extend our time in Uganda an additional 6 months. And something else has happened that I thought even less likely: I have grown to love being here and am excited about the decision we've made to stay longer! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?!

Living here this year has allowed us to experience things that many people don't experience in a lifetime. (I was going to post photos of all our major highlights up to this point, but I just couldn't narrow it down!) We have also learned to adjust our priorities in life and focus on what matters: relationships, servanthood, sacrifice, loving your "neighbour" (yes, people on the other side of the world are our neighbours!), etc....

There have been some low moments (getting malaria, escaping from riots), some strange moments (being pulled over the by police and then having to give them a ride to court because they don't have their own vehicles), and some heartbreaking moments (holding tiny, abandoned babies at the orphanage). We have seen (and been involved in, for Paul) huge amounts of progress at the Timothy Centre, which is always a great encouragement and a reminder that this hard work will soon have an incredible impact in, and beyond, our community.

The list of all our experiences here could go on and on (I guess that's what past blog entries are for) and we're excited about what our remaining months here have in store! Thanks for continuing to keep up to date, pray for us, and support us. Happy one-year to us!