But first a few pictures from a visit to International Hospital in Kampala to visit Maate, the 15 year old who Jennifer referred there for treatment for what turned out to be disseminated TB in his GI track. He's doing well, has more energy and spunk, but still hasn't gained much weight. He'll stay at International until he's able to tolerate solid food by mouth and demonstrates weight gain while doing so. He has a feeding tube and gets some calories that way until he can tolerate food by mouth. It was great to see him and it seems they treat him well and that he's hanging in there. He's been there almost 6 weeks now and when I asked him if he's eager to go home he said he is but that he understands that they need to be patient with getting better and that it will go slowly. It's only slightly ironic that I'm wearing my Ted Drewes shirt and visiting a child that has likely never had ice cream and may never in his life, not to mention is 15 years old and doesn't weigh much more than 20 kg! Great choice on the wardrobe for the day, Heidi. Geez louise. Come quickly Lord Jesus!
This is Maate and his dad - it's a huge deal that his dad is even there, and he seems to be doing a good job with him and his care too...initially Maate's mom didn't think they'd be able to convince him to go with Maate to Kampala, so the fact that he went and is still there is a huge answer to prayer. Thanks to all of you who prayed for Maate - keep it up! As you can see he's got a long way to go before he's a healthy 15 year old!
A bedside in the Hope ward - a ward for sick kids who can't afford to pay for their care - it's funded by various businesses and organizations around Uganda and it's absolutely phenomenal that this kind of care is made available to people like Maate this way. SLCH friends - notice the lack of equipment at the bedside and the presence of the mosquito net over the bed...different priorities and resources!
This is the outside of the hospital - mind you this is a private hospital but pretty nice, eh?
Here's the instructions on the inside of the bathroom stall door instructing people on how to properly use a flush toilet - note "1. Do not stand on the toilet seat, SIT on it." Evidently if you're used to only sqatting over a hole, then when you see a toilet, you stand on the seat to then be able to squat over the hole to do your business...I think it's why the hotel we stayed in on the Sesse Islands the first night had no toilet seats in any of their bathrooms...just a little cultural education for ya.
Now this is back here at home - this afternoon I was going out to the cho and saw this beautiful butterfly flying around all of the beautiful flowers planted along the path - these two pictures are the best I could do - it's a fast little sucker and I'm a slow photographer! 
I think you get the idea...So, our drive home yesterday was pretty uneventful, which is good. It was slow because we were so loaded down with stuff, but thankfully was without problems. I drove the Fort Portal to home leg and realized again how much I like driving this road...it's like an obstacle course...so fun, and sooooo beautiful too!
I think I also forgot to tell you the closing part of the story of Mukidi I started at the begining of my story of our time away. We knew when we left that he didn't likely have much long to live. During our last week in Kampala Pat got a phone call on Monday that he was unconscious and much worse. An hour or so later, another call to say that he had in fact died. This is a big loss...he was a wonderful man even from my short time here. This is the same man who when I visited for the first time with Pat not long after I arrived told her, "I can tell by her smile that she loves people." Shoot, who says stuff like that?! That could be the most wonderful thing anyone's ever said about me, much undeserved I think. You can pray especially for the Myhre's as they grieve the loss of a good friend and neighbor.
It's good to be home. It's different coming home this time. It feels like I'm not brand new anymore, thank goodness! I feel like I'm no longer in survival mode but up for relational interactions in a way I wasn't before feeling so new. Please pray for me to take time and have courage to forge ahead with friendships here.
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