Friday, April 11, 2008

Note: We are in Bondi now at our hotel with Internet access but it is
Saturday......follow our progress below to how we got here.....

After our blog, we went back to the home to wait for William to arrive
with the new van so we could head to Bondi. The van wasn't ready so we
went to eat and then returned and William had just arrived with the new
van. We loaded up the van and was ready to go BUT we received a call
from Mandy. She was on her way back from the airport with the adoptive
families. (She had rented a van and driver so she could get all the
luggage - the 4 missing pieces arrived - and, of course the two
couples). When we called, she told us to wait before we start. the
taxi drivers were protesting a new ruling from the police dept. about
their driving habits and were rioting. They had stopped most of the
taxi service and only a few of the taxis were operating - considered to
be illegal by the rioters. Mandy's van got caught in the middle of one
of the riots. The rioters had blocked the road and when the van
stopped, they yanked open the doors and told everyone to get out.
Mandy grabbed the door, closed it and locked it. The driver knew one
of the rioters (the ringleader) and convinced him that they were not a
taxi service and please let them go. The taxis already stopped had all
the windows broken out and the people terrorized. The rioters carried
large pieces of wood - similar to a large club - to break the windows
and trash the vans. Mandy offered money (20,000 shillings - about $12
of let them through) They accepted the money and Mandy and group was
on their way. They were stopped at a couple more road blocks but were
able to get through without any more difficulty. The wives were very
shaken. Mandy advised us not to come and so we waited for her at the
home. By the way, that evening, William saw them on the TV as a camera
had recorded what had happened.

Mandy and group arrived and unloaded all the luggage and we all met the
families that had arrived for the adoptive process. the adoptive process is long and lots of paper work, forms, interviews, etc. - it is not an easy process. Welcome Home Africa Orphanage prides itself on doing things the correct way to insure there are no problems with either the US or the Uganda government. After approval of the US State Department, The Ugandan Government (social services and state departments), these two families are meeting the children for the first time. They had seen pictures only. One family is adopting 2 children and the other family is adopting 3 children. It was a beautiful sight. They were seated across the table and each of the adults were beaming. All of you know how proud a new parent can be........this was the reaction of the adoptive parents. We all sat and watched from a distance while the children and their new parents were getting to know each other. The children warmed up a little to finally sitting in the laps of their new parents. It was a wonderful experience to be able to witness the meeting. I could not get over the looks on the adults as they admired and looked at the children. The parents were able to spend several hours with the children. After two days on the airplane coming to Uganda and the terror actions of the rioters, the new parents did not show any fatigue or looked tired at all.....all you could see was the joy on their faces! Do you think that we (the US group) needed to see this part of the adoptive process? I think we were supposed to see this and not go to Bondi for the meeting.
Our group went back to the guest home to re-group. Mandy finally brought the parents to the guest home so they could finally rest. They will spend some quality time with the children at the Home for a few days before the children are allowed to spend the night at the guest home. Each child take their own time to get used to the process.

Our group went out for dinner as the guest home was not expecting us and went for Indian food......it was very good, however, some of us (Barbara included) had a little stomach distress over the food - just a little discomfort. She is OK now. After dinner, we retired for a night of sleep but the weather was stormy and heavy rains throughout the night with lightning and thundering all night long. Barbara and I got very little sleep......I guess we haven't fully adjusted to the time difference.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Happy Birthday, Tony - wish we could be there to help you celebrate.

We got up at 5am to have breakfast and leave for our crusade. The rioting has stopped and all seems to OK. We left at 7am and drove to Bondi. They wanted to get here early so that Talent could teach some classes that had been scheduled. Our meeting will be at around 4pm. We have checked into our hotel and getting some rest before we start. The trip here was uneventful but the scenery was beautiful with the tea farms and the green hills. Remember - we are at about 3500 feet and on the shore of Lake Victoria - the headwaters of the Nile, the longest river in the world. The temp is in the high 60s and overcast and nice.

This catches you up to mid day on Saturday. The last 24 hours has been very eventful.

Love all
DAD and MOM

Jerry & Barbara

Mema & Papa