Send Off Celebration

This coming Sunday evening, September 26, is a send off Party at Moon Valley Bible Church for Pastor Jeff Bauer and Me. If you are reading this, PLEASE consider this a personal invitation to attend. It will be a potluck that starts at 5:00. There are more details on the webpage www.moonvalleybible.org I would love to see my friends and share an old tradition of a potluck. Greenbean casserole here I come. I am getting excited about going in December. Here is an update that I got from Abby about several of the boys:
Kato Edrick
Kato loves singing and playing the guitar, he has a cheerful
personality and is very endearing. He was very happy to be living with
us now in the house and not in boarding school. Kato is very smart and
enjoys studing for school and practicing his English which he is good
at.
Davis
Davis is a hard worker and natural leader with the other boys. He is
confident and loves helping others. He is always wanting to wash my
clothing or wanting to iron the clothing of the uncles or help mama
Dan cook. He enjoys taking responsibility for other children and for
animals and for making sure that people's needs are being met.
Dennis
Dennis is our only boy now staying in boarding school. He lost his
father and 11 of his step-mothers (his dad had 12 wives) but he
remains with his mother who is sick with AIDS. he stays in boarding
school and then goes back to his village in Mbarara for his holidays
so that he can be with his mother. This however is going to be his
last semester in boarding school and he will be going back to his
village to help care for his mother. (We will pay his school fees so
that he can study from home). Dennis is growing so quickly! Dennis is
a thoughtful boy and carefully considers things before he makes a
decision. He has a good memory and learns things quickly. He is very
responsible young boy.
Bogere Monday
Monday is one of the most passionate young men I have ever met, he has
so much love in his heart and is such a sweetheart. Monday is a loyal
friend and will stick up for his friends and people that he loves no
matter what. Monday loves to laugh and sing and is a very good dancer,
especially for the traditional Ugandan dances.
Godfrey
Godfrey is a very hard-working young man. Godfrey is so helpful. He
will often ask if he can be given extra chores and he takes a lot of
joy in helping other people. Godfrey has a smile that can light up a
room and takes delight in making other people happy.
Amos
Amos is one of the youngest boys in our home and is doing so well. He
is a peaceful young man and never fights with anyone. He loves to
cuddle and is extremely teachable. Although he will stand up for
himself when he needs to he never starts a fight and treats other
people very well. He is an extremely smart boy and is doing very well
in school. He is also very disciplined and loves being clean and
keeping his things tidy.

Heartbreaker huh! Please pray for the boys. There are 17 now in the house plus the bigger boys that make the beads live in their own tiny apartment.

October 12, 2009

It has been just short of one month and I am hanging in there. I have a pile of beautiful cards from people that I know and don't know. Should I send thank yous to them? Probably not. But I wish I could personally thank the people who have taken the time to write me a quick note. People ask me how am I doing. I want to say that I feel too young to be in this place. But I know being a fifty year old widow is better than being forty or thirty. This past weekend I saw so many cute old couples, holding hands, and looking at each other tenderly. I am going to miss that. How will all of my couple friends treat me. Such a silly question. I know many of them will treat me just the way they always have. But how will I feel. That is a hard question to contemplate. How does any single person feel in a group of married folks? After being married for thirty years, many of my friends are couples. Will I feel like a third wheel? Will I avoid situations that make me the odd number? New places for my mind to wander and I am not sure I want to go there yet.
I am having a party for my daughter Vangie and her husband Josh. We are having an open house to celebrate their wedding. They got married on September 6, but I was unable to attend since Jeff was so sick. So I have been busy putting in the winter grass and flowers. My back yard looks pretty. I am getting ready to string lights and buy tablecloths and dinnerware. I am going to have it catered. For all of the parties I have had I have always made the food. Even big graduation parties but this time I decided to let making the food go. We will have Mexican Food and mostly finger food at that. Gotta love mini-chimichangas.
I have been driving the jeep. It feels weird. I don't think I drove it but twice while Jeff was alive . And I think he had it for three years. It is old, a 1987. But jeeps don't really age. they all look alike to me. The air conditioning is fried. But at least it is the fall right now. I still feel like I am going through a mid-life crisis driving a red jeep. All I need is a big purple hat! HA! I guess in a way widowhood is a life crisis, no matter how much you prepare for it. I hope Jeff is watching me and having a good laugh because I am certainly a funny sight and that is without the purple hat. That is all for now. The journey seems long but is really just a vapor! love GJ