#Anderson5Adventures

School has started

Term break has ended and the start of a new year is under way here at the Kibaale Community Centre.  It was so great to wake up Monday morning and look out across the grass and see all these beautiful faces making their way to their classrooms.  As it is at home it took a couple of days to get their classes and schedules squared away, so the first couple of days, Shannon and myself and even Michelle came into the office and helped Jeff hand out contracts to the teachers to sign and do some filing,  It was a great way to see and meet many of the staff at the centre.

We also spend a day going into the village and buying the necessary items needed to fill the gift baskets for the nursery students which so many of you donated money for.  It was a great day of working together with the Dycks and the Schultz's (another family here from LCS) filling the baskets and then the next day getting to meet all the nursery students and their parent of guardian to hand them the basket.  It was truly rewarding and humbling all in the same breath.  

 four cups of sugar with each basket, 2 cups of rice, matches, salt, 10kilos of Maize flour, biscuits, soap, laundry pail, oil, 

Finished baskets 

Parents and guardians walking home with the nursery students with their baskets.

Playing duck duck goose with one of the PE classes 

 Tea time

 New nursery student

Look at those precious faces!

Anderson Family Adventures

Safari, Swimming and Soccer

Heading out for Safari for one night two days.  Kids were super excited to get to sit up top of the vehicle while Uncle Jeff drove us around the park.  Last time we were in Uganda as a family we went on Safari down to the Queen Elizabeth park, it was great then as we got to see hippos, lions and elephants. this time we headed just a short couple of hours away to Lake Mburo National Park.  It is 260 square kilometres of park with animals such as giraffes, zebras, buffalo, many different species of birds which Jeff gave us quite an extensive run down on:)  It was such a great couple of days to see Gods' amazing creation and to be surrounded by all His animals in their natural habitat.

 Kids love driving Ugandan style:)  We managed not to have any injuries.

 Giraffes, zebras, antelope, wart hogs all in one picture, pretty sure there were monkeys around too.

 Our very gracious tour guides and hosts:)  love them and the work they are doing here.

 Election day in the country, everything is shut down, it was super hot out so we took advantage of a pool day at a local hotel.

 One of Kylie's teammates donated a whole teams worth of uniforms from Soccer BC  thank you Jayden, Carmen and Doug for your generosity, the kids loved the uniforms.

 It is such a treat for them to have matching jerseys for games.  The pride all the kids had when we handed them out.  Thank you to all the Langley FC members who donated.

 This is the water break the kids get at the soccer school, one bag each for three hours of practice.  We told Kylie we never want to hear her ask for water during her hour and a half soccer practice again especially considering the heat these kids are practicing in.

It has been a great week here in Masaka while the kids are still out on term break.  They are usually back in school by now but with the election this year they were out for a bit longer.  They are still counting the votes for the election and there have been riots in Kampala, but we have not been affected down where we are in Uganda. Social media was shut down for the couple of days but we are back up and running.   Monday the kids all come back to school, so tomorrow we are heading back down to Kibaale for all of next week.  We are so looking forward to seeing all the kids.  We will spend the week making up the gift baskets that so many of you generously donated too.  The 45 new nursery students will love going home with those.

#anderson5adventures

Week 1 Uganda

We left Dubai last Saturday morning and after a sleepless evening for myself, we were greeted with amazing grace as we loaded our bags onto the scale at the United Air Emerites counter.  We were a bit over weight but the lady waved us through, then came the weighing of the carry ons which I knew each of us were over, Dan and I were definitely overweight with the laptops and cameras, not much else was in our bags but again we were graced with a distraction at the exact time we were to be weighing our bags, another lady was fighting with the scale lady and she waved us through.  Finally I could relax and Dan went a changed into his shorts and t-shirts since he was wearing half his wardrobe so we we would be less weight with out bags:)  it was quite funny.

The flight to Uganda was a short 5 hour flight, and we were greeted in the Uganda airport by Jeff and Avin and incredible heat:)  I had never flown into Uganda during the day before so it was so interesting to get a different perspective.  I also think that Avin and Ally have not stopped chatting with each other since they first laid eyes on each other.  I find it so amazing and it makes my heart smile when I see my kids with the Dyck kids and they just pick up like no time has past.  Jeff then drove us to a local shopping centre, with quite the grocery store so we could pick up a few essentials and then it was heading down to Masaka where they spend half of their week.  Here we stay in a guest house just below Jeff and Shannon's house.  There are a few guest houses on the property and the Girls school.  The project itself is quite amazing and I will go into more detail in another blog.  We spent a few nights here, the internet is a better here then down in Kibaale so the kids could get some online schooling done, we met some of Jeff and Shan's expat friends and really just spent time catching up with our friends.  We are so impressed with the work they do here.

I think the best thing that second day was heading the babies home where Shannon volunteers at and holding the babies and helping feeding them.  There were so many babies, at one point Michelle turned to me and said "mom they just keep coming"  plus at the time we were at the home, there were only two house mama's that I saw.  They have so much to do with getting the food, laundry done, chores done they just don't have enough hands to just hold the babies.

After a few days in Masaka at the Timothy Centre we heading down to Kibaale.  The school there has around 800 students but they were out on term break right now but luckily for us our little sponsor girl Rebecca was living next door to Jeff and Shannon.  Her mom is very sick so she is living with her aunt and uncle who work at the centre.  We were so thrilled to meet Rebecca for the first time after sponsoring her for 6 years, and then when she came over to see her wearing one of Kylie's shirts that we had sent for her was so precious.  We got to go see Rebecca's house that we helped build after her mud hut was falling down and we got to go see a bore hole pump that had been repaired thanks to our good friends the Nelson's.  To see where the kids used to get their water out of this dirty pond and to see them pumping the water from the pump was amazing.

Well it is midnight there so I will sign off for now.  We are heading out in the morning for a two day safari to search for Giraffes, zebras and leopards:)  Nothing like that kind of schooling for my kids.  Elections are next week here in the country so please be in prayers that things remain peaceful.  Love to all at home.
Sher

#Anderson5adventures

After a 17.5 hour trek from Vancouver to Seattle to Dubai, carrying five hockey bags weighing 60 lbs each and five carry ons, we made it safe and sound here to Dubai.  The poor taxi driver that picked us up at the airport.  The Lord gave us favour for the journey, all the way from checking in Vancouver and the clerk not even weighing our luggage (they might have been a pound or two over) to weighing our carry on bags and not making a stink about the fact they were over weight and the clerk just offering to check them for free.  The whole bag thing had been an anxiety of mine for awhile.  Now just hoping the leg from Dubai to Uganda we get the same favour:)


It feels a bit sur real to be sitting in Dubai, UAE, writing this blog.  Trust me, it is not lost on me how fortunate our family is to be having this experience.  As I have said before I am so proud of our entire family for the sacrifices we made this year to make this a reality.  As I sit in the apartment we are living in for the few days in Dubai I am listening to the call to prayer in this city.  There are prayers rooms by the beaches here, in the airport and people here are committed to this time.  It makes me realize just how much we often take for granted our opportunities and religious freedoms we have in our country, and although times are changing for us back home with those religious freedoms it is a reminder to me to teach my children to stand up for what they believe in and not to take it for granted.  The people here are committed that is for sure and we could learn a lot from that.

What an amazing few days we have had here in Dubai.  Beautiful weather, beautiful beaches, amazingly friendly people we have met and culture that I never dreamed I could introduce my kids to.  We have enjoyed down time by the pool and beaches, and a day of adventure going to one of the biggest malls I have ever seen and then up to the 124th floor of the tallest building; The Burj Khalif, to dune bashing the sand dunes in the desert, riding camels, enjoying a middle Eastern meal and entertainment while we ate on carpets on the sand with pillows and small tables.  Again eating that meal while sitting on pillows on the ground brought to mind the many Bible stories I have read with my kids and relating to them that this is how Jesus must have eaten in his time to, on the floor with pillows while enjoying the company of those around Him.

Here we are Friday mid afternoon, the bags are packed once again, we are heading off to the beach to enjoy the last little bit of Dubai before we leave early tomorrow morning for Uganda.  I think we are all feeling ready to leave here and to embrace our friends the Dycks and enjoy the next 7 weeks working along side with them.  Thank you again to all that donated you went above and beyond.  I look forward to posting pictures of the work we are able to do in Kibaale because of the funds you gave.  It really does take a village.  And to the Dyck family, get ready lol the Andersons are coming!!!
Till next time
The Andersons