MDD Day

That is, Music Dance & Drama day! The girls have been practicing all term for this day, and yesterday we were the "guests of honour" at their competition! The theme of the day was "Trust in the Lord," and the girls competed against each other in 4 groups of 6. (The groups were called Chozen Heavens, Divine Mercy, Ebenezer, and Shalom Crew. Love the Ugandan-ness!)

The competition included singing...

"Carry your candle"

...poetry...

...dancing...

...talk shows...

Tyra Banks

...and drama.

Pretty creative costumes considering most of them don't have many clothes other than their uniforms!

Goliath

The winning group, Ebenezer, won a fancy trophy - and boy were the girls excited!

Love these girls!

A Farewell from the Workers

Over the past few days we have received a lot of farewell gifts - so many that we will have to bring one more suitcase home than we thought! Many of these gifts have come from the workers, who are all sad to see Paul go - some of them have even come to the door in tears to say goodbye! Thursday was the official "farewell to Paul" day. Throughout the morning many of them came to our house with gifts, and of course all wanted to have their photo taken with Paul.

One worker even gave Paul a turkey - such a generous gift from someone who doesn't have much to give.

They then prepared a special lunch, which included the turkey...along with potatoes, rice, pork, beef, fruit, and soda.

Many of the workers also wrote cards and letters to Paul, saying how grateful they are to him for teaching them so much. I received a note too, that said, "At times we could annoy Mr. Paul, but you are there to cool him, thank you." Yup, that's my job!

Paul will miss working with these men that have become his friends over the past 2 years.

David & Doreen

Are you tired of reading about us saying goodbye yet? Because we're getting tired of saying it! Last night some of our very best friends in Uganda, David & Doreen, had us over to their house for a delicious dinner - mashed potatoes, pasta, matooke, pork, tilapia and vegetables. (*Note: Pregnant Megan did not complain about the carb-loaded dinner until someone, while walking behind her this morning, pointed out that Megan is getting fat. This person also pointed out that Megan will likely remain fat after giving birth unless she exercises really hard. I've heard this before in reference to my belly, but my BEHIND?! Yikes. Time for a diet.)

Back to the important part, David and Doreen have been such great friends to us over the past two years. We met them at our church and soon discovered they live right down the road from the Timothy Centre, which made it easy to visit each other's houses for dinner/tea/just to say hello. We always find that despite our cultural differences we do have a lot to talk about - our conversations often involve comparing Canada with Uganda, the good and the bad, and asking each other questions about anything and everything! We are going to miss their friendship so much - along with their three adorable children...Splendor, Theophilus and Davina.

One Last Visit to Kibaale

Today Lizabee, Paul and I made one last trip down to Kibaale. I had some work to finish in the sponsorship office, but mostly we wanted to give some gifts to our sponsor kids and say goodbye to the staff.

First, we visited Zam, the girl my parents sponsor. They recently bought her a new house and have been eager to see photos! So we took Zam from school, went and picked up her mom, and brought them to their new house which they hadn't seen yet. They were SO excited! There are a few things still waiting to be finished before their family can move in, such as a roof on the kitchen, but it's getting close. Now that they've seen it they can hardly wait to move in! The house they live in now is made of mud and the walls are crumbling apart. This will be such a nice change for them, they are so thankful!

When we got back to the school we pulled our two sponsor kids out of class to give them some gifts - a goat, a solar lantern, and a gift basket. One thing we have loved about living here is the chance we have to see our sponsor kids so often - we will miss passing them on the road in Kibaale and being able to say hello or visit their homes whenever we feel like it. They are such special kids...and pretty darn cute I have to say!

Nakalaalo Christine

Kasibante Vicent

Family photo - even Octoby's in the picture!

I will really miss the KCF staff that I've been working with over the past several months. We probably could have stayed all day saying goodbye and taking photos!

Moses (left) writes and translates all the letters from the students to their sponsors. Mugabi (right) is the KCF administrator.

Goodbye Kibaale! We love you SO MUCH!

Inside the New Casa

About a month ago, Sue and I spent a fun couple of days in Kampala choosing furniture and curtains for the new house. As of this week, the house is finished, fully furnished, and almost ready to move into (aside from a good clean and a few last minute touches)! Maybe I'm biased since Paul was the one who built it, but I think the house is beautiful! And our furniture choices were not bad if I do say so myself. *Ignore the haze in the air and the thick layer of dust on every surface. Like I said, it needs to be cleaned!

Living Room

En Suite Bathroom

Second Bathroom

Kitchen

More Matchy Matchy

A gift from our friends David & Doreen! You can't really see it in this picture but the fabric has giant flying horses on it!

The Girls!

Here's a little clip of the girls singing at Masaka Full Gospel yesterday morning!

The Goodbyes Begin

Although there are still 2 weeks before we leave the country, this morning was our last time at the church we have come to call "home" here in Uganda. It was hard to say goodbye! (I cried. Several times. And not entirely because of pregnancy hormones.) Over the last 2 years we have taught Sunday school classes, led worship, preached, brought teams, planned a youth camp, and made so many amazing friends. We really couldn't thank our church enough for the way they have invited us and allowed us to be involved in so many ways. This morning's service was another example of their love and care for us as they honoured us with thanks and prayers - they even (in true Ugandan style) had some clothes made for us to wear. And (also in true Ugandan style) me and Paul were matchy matchy.

The clothes made me look 90 weeks pregnant and made Paul look like a woman. But at least we matched! And according to our fellow church members we looked "smart."

To join in on the occasion, all 24 of the girls from the Timothy Girls College piled into a van and led the service with some special song and dance numbers! They were the stars of the show and sounded amazing!

Lizabee was asked to preach one last time, and shared from 2 Timothy.

Pastor Elijah and his wife Florence with Lizabee

Though we hate saying goodbye, we are so thankful for the relationships we've made with many people at Masaka Full Gospel, and we're excited for the day we will be able to come back and see them again, whenever that may be! Welaba, church!