Monkeys, Milestones and the Pope

Monkeys

We recently went with some friends to Entebbe Botanical Gardens. It was just under an hour drive from our place and was a beautiful and peaceful spot to spend our Saturday morning. City living is a big change for us and it was refreshing to find this place and enjoy the quiet and green space.

The kids enjoyed seeing the different flowers and trees, as well as seeing who could find the biggest termite mound.

(Our friends Jonatan and Samuel, kings of the termite hill)

 Of course the monkeys were a big hit too and it was fun to see how close we could get, before they ran away or growled at us for being to close.

It was a fun morning and we are thankful to have a place like this that we could explore and enjoy with friends.  

Milestones

Last week we stepped over the three month mark of living in Kampala, and we realized that it is now the longest we have lived in one place outside of Canada, with Nampa, Idaho now in second.  We praise God for his continued presence and comfort in times of missing our friends and family.  We are so thankful for the friends we have made here and pray that these friendships would continue to develop and deepen.  

The Pope

You may be wondering why we are including this in our blog, but right now it is a big thing here in Uganda.  Pope Francis is coming to visit Kampala this weekend, which in any place would mean lots of people and congested traffic, but you would simply avoid those areas and continue on with your plans. Well, it's not quite like that here.  Congested traffic and road closures take a whole new meaning here in Kampala, where traffic can already be crazy and when some roads are closed there are no alternate routes. So we planned ahead and were sure to have enough groceries and the girls get to enjoy an extra day off of school.  We will be hanging out at home this weekend enjoying the extra time to bake and do some Christmas crafts.   Not a bad way to spend an extra long weekend.  

The week ahead is going to be a busy one with Christmas concerts at school and Hannah and Jasmine preparing for their term exams.  If you think of them specifically in the next couple weeks, pray that they will have peace about this new experience, and that they will have clarity as they study and write each exam.

You just never know

This morning started of pretty normal, getting the girls breakfast and making a mad dash to get out the door by 7:10am. It was a little overcast, but it would likely clear up so I threw my load of laundry in, ready to hang up when I get back from the school drop off. I was on for car pool this morning, so we drove over to the other family's house and picked up their three girls. All seemed to be going fairly smoothly, and we were well on our way by 7:22. We drove down a few small roads, took a left down the hill and onto the short bumpy stretch, before turning onto our first main road. It looked a little more backed up than usual but most days when we passed the entrance to the other school, it thins out and is fine. Well..... not today. Today was the day for people to have car trouble and stop their cars in the middle of the road. The first was on what we call "Rainbow Road" because that is the name of the school that accesses onto that road. The traffic was backed up halfway down the road making our quick little drive, now more than 15 mins just to get to the corner. The older girls in the car were starting to get a little concerned that they were going to be late and therefore build up too many late's and get a detention. I assured them that we were still fine and as soon as we got to the corner and onto the next main road it would get better. Well, not exactly. There was a second car that had stopped in the road forcing traffic in both directions to have to make their way around it. Thankfully that stretch of road can handle 3 cars wide but it made for some interesting diversions. The rain was picking up a little at this point but we successfully cut through the long traffic line and made our next right and had smooth sailing the rest of the way to school. Although, by this time it was 7:53 and we were stopped in the cue waiting for the guards to check our car and for the traffic line coming out of school, to stop so we can be let in. At this point the big girls decided they would get there faster if the ran the last bit, so out they went and jogged down the last stretch of road and into the school parking lot. Oh and it is still raining :-) But they did make it on time and I then parked and took the younger girls to their classes and headed home to hang up my laundry. Well, maybe not just yet. But I was really hoping that my drive home would be less eventful, and for the most part it was. It was still raining and the cars were still stalled in traffic, but since I wasn't on a time crunch, I wasn't worried. The traffic was even more backed up on our first main road stretching from one corner all the way to the other, but it was mostly the other side, so my drive was fine. So what did I learn....? Not to wash laundry when it is over cast! Ha,ha. And that you just never know what your morning will be like. Traffic and weather can be so unpredictable but I don't need to be stressed when I can't change it anyways. Living in Uganda is an adventure and we just need to take it in stride. Although tomorrow I might leave the house at 7am though just to have the extra time. Sorry there are no pictures to go with this post. It would have been fun to show you the traffic in the rain, but I didn't think to bring the camera on the school run.