#Anderson5adventures

Kibaale

Anderson's, Antonio and his momma, partnering together for a better future!

Here it is our last full day in Masaka, tomorrow we head to the city for some shopping and friend time before we fly home on Monday.  This was a tough last week at the Kibaale school for our family.   Being here for a couple of months provided us with an opportunity to really build relationship with some of the kids, teachers and staff here, so saying goodbye and trying to process all we have seen and done has been hard.  Below are a few ways we spent our last week.

With money raised by you our friends and family at home we were able to purchase five bed sets with mosquito nets and deliver them to the family that we built the mud hut for!  This momma touched my heart so much, she was the hardest working person mudding that hut and she was just full of love.  Her and her family were so grateful for all the help they have been given and a huge shout out to Hyer Homes renovations along with the team from PA on sponsoring this home for the deserving family.  They were looking forward to moving in this easter weekend!

 Two nurses; TJ and Amanda came from the west coast of BC and are here for a couple of weeks to help out in the clinic and they came along with us to deliver the mattresses and bed sets.  Everyone when they come jumps right into driving in the back of the truck.  I think my kids will miss this.

 Jacob is over a hundred years old.  We visited him on our last trip here in 2009.  He is the sweetest old man.  He has had 20 children and none of them are surviving so he has been looking after all his grandchildren and now his great grandchildren.  His health is failing though, but I am so thankful that we got a chance to see him.  He lives in a remote area and it had just rained so getting there was a bit tricky and carrying up a couple of huge bags of maize also proved as a workout for Jeff and Dan.  We were so muddy after getting up and down, me falling and then the truck getting stuck in the mud.  Dan and Moses managed to push the truck out while Jeff drove and it was priceless to see how muddy Dan got!  will have to post that picture in the next blog.  He had tried so hard the whole climb up to Jacobs house and back not to get to dirty and he was covered.  It was awesome!

 We had the privilege of meeting my mom's new sponsor child.  Her name is Shanita, she is the one in the white t-shirt.  She is in nursery as well as our new sponsor (we took him along with us for the visit).  Again thanks to your generous donations we were able to bring her and her family two bed sets and mattresses and a solar lantern.  Her family was so incredibly thankful that next we knew they were giving us potatoes, eggs and many avocados.  It is the most humbling experience to have these people give to you.  Thank you mom for sponsoring Shanita, it is the most rewarding experience and I am so glad we got to be there and meet her.

 Palm Sunday is a big thing in Uganda and Kibaale Community Centre does an amazing job of being in their community this day.  There is everyone from P3 and up marching into town singing and waving palm branches and a truck with a PA system and the Pastor is preaching.  I have to admit I was a little embarrassed when asked how we celebrate Palm Sunday at home and I could not reply that we did the same thing.  What a neat thing to be able to be a part of.

On alternating Wednesdays the clinic staff goes out to three neighbouring villages and provides and immunisation clinic for babies and we had the privilege of going with nurses on this day.  It was so amazing to see these mothers coming from all over with their little ones to get them weighed and immunised, it was a full two hour clinic.  Allyson and Michelle loved seeing all the little babies and helping getting them weighed in.


We are so incredibly grateful for the experiences we have had here.  My kids have risen to so many occasions here and we have been so proud of them jumping in and helping out.  We are also incredibly thankful for our friends the Dycks for putting up with us for the past two months, hosting people is a tiring job especially for two months with a full family but they have gone above and beyond in shaping and making our experiences so meaniful!  Next time we write it will probably be from our home in Langley which seems really sur real but we look forward to seeing our friends and family again and sharing in person some of the amazing things we were able to be a part of.  Thank you for following along on our journey here and for being a part of the work here with you donations.  Please if you have ever considered sponsoring a child Pacific Academy Outreach Society and the Kibaale Community Centre is the best kind of sponsorship,  35$ a month and you help out an entire family receive medical care and your child gets a great education and a healthy meal once a day.  Let me know if you are interested.  Until next time.  God bless.
Sherri

#Anderson5adventures

Kibaale 

     Our time here in Uganda is coming to a close.  We have a week left before we board our very long flight home.  We have had an incredible couple of weeks down in Kibaale at the school.  We have had the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities here.   The outreach team from Pacific Academy arrived just over a week ago and were very gracious in allowing us to help them in some of their outreach activities.  We have led devotions, helped with crafts in the Awana program, led stations at sports day for the school, we went to our new sponsor childs house to meet his family and see the needs that the family has, we were able to help in mudding a hut for one of the students here,  our kids painted a wall with animals in the staff day care, and a highlight was participating in the Palm Sunday March.

     The team from PA left this morning with Jeff and Shannon for safari and the school is quiet on this Sunday afternoon.  This week we are on own for a few days and we will do a few more home visits and spend our last couple of days with the students here.

     Michelle has definitely found her place in the class room with the special needs kids, most of the kids are deaf so she has enjoyed them teaching her sign language.  It was so amazing to watch her with the students on sports day as she helped lead them to the different stations.  They told her that they were scared to come and participate but that she made them feel special.  She goes everyday at 2 to spend a couple of hours in their class, doing crafts with them and learning with them.  Ally and Kylie have enjoyed spending time in the staff day care, helping out, playing with the kids, I think they have each become attached to certain little kids in the daycare.  Both girls also took a turn leading their own devotion this past week in the P4 class, no help from me just the girls stepping up and taking charge.  I think this has been one of the most rewarding things to observe here is seeing my girls step up and lead and participate and use the gifts and talents that the Lord has blessed them with.

    

#Anderson5adventures

Rwanda, Kibaale Community Centre, and Ostriches

I am so amazed that we have the opportunity while here to experience so many different things.  Last weekend we went away to Kigali, Rwanda for a short visit.  We really wanted to go to the Genocide memorial and have our kids learn some pretty hard facts about what life was like for some.  It was a sobering experience as we read different accounts of the atrocities that happened on Rwandan soil and also an experience of hope as you looked around the country now and saw people helping people and how resilient the Rwandans were and are, a definite message of hope and peace.

 Border crossing between Uganda and Rwanda.  

 Hotel Rwanda

The wall of names of those who lost their lives.

Looking out over Kigali

After Rwanda we returned to the Kibaale Community Centre for a week with the school kids.  Our family was able to lead devotions in the P4 class for the week, as well as help with one of the PE classes, then at 2pm the girls would either go to the special needs class or go to the daycare to hold babies.  The special needs class is mostly kids with hearing deficit so the girls loved spending time with the kids and learning sign language.  Also on the Tuesday the Awana program started up and we were able to help with teaching the memory verse, crafts and games.  The one thing that really stood out to me this week while working with the kids is their ability to pray.  During devotions, chapel and Awana there is a time of the kids just kneeling and calling out to God, it is the most amazing sound I have ever heard on top of their amazing singing.

 Morning devotions

PE class, cat and mouse with the parachute

So proud of my girls during devotions, they would read the scripture and pray a blessing over the class.  We had one exciting morning while we were singing with the class and all of a sudden the kids were running to a corner and one kid went and got a broom and right in front of where we were standing there was a snake by one of the school benches, the kid wacked the head off with a broom and on we went with singing and praising God, needless to say I was praising God a little more excitedly that day:)

First day of the Awana program.  The kids looked so great in their new shirts.  They were all very excited to be a part of the program.  I think they all really liked it when we tried to repeat the memory verse in Lugandan.

Chapel with the primary grades.  The singing was beautiful as was the praying.  The only thing that threw me for a minute was when the teacher thought I was going to give the message and minister, lost in translation I guess when I had asked her earlier that morning what time chapel was and she said oh good you are coming and I said yes.  Apparently that was me agreeing to minister:)  She let me off the hook considering I didn't bring my bible only my camera that day.

We went to a local Ostrich farm where the kids got to "ride" an Ostrich.  The funniest was the ostrich got more upset after each kid, so when they were going to release him I stood off to the side to get a picture, I thought he would run straight and it looked like he was going to then all of a sudden he changed directions and came straight for where I was standing... yup there might have been a scream in there and then lots of laughter.

We got some rain in Kibaale which was great to fill up the water tanks!  and our kids enjoyed playing outside in it and so did some of the kids from the school.  After the rain there was a game of soccer between Canada and Uganda, pretty easy guess as to who won:)

#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.