Week 8...Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

Wow. Where to even begin. This was a bit of a crazy week for us, but it was SO much better in every way compared to the week before, and we are overjoyed to finally be progressing to the last few steps of the process! We were so nervous going into this week, not knowing what to expect, or even if our rulings would get signed, but God showed up for us in major ways, and we were able to get both our rulings and the boys' passports on the same day!! We are truly blessed beyond words to officially be parents to our boys, and our hearts could explode with the amount of love we're feeling for them on a daily basis. Every day is a new adventure, new beginnings, new heaps of patience and compassion, new expectations, new understandings of their hearts and ours, and a whole lotta crazy! The boys are definitely starting to be more comfortable with us, and have truly begun to understand all the change taking place. J still doesn't quite understand the concept of going to America, and we're nervous for how this change will be for him, but I know he will settle in well, especially since L will be there too. We have been working on the concept of a family as well, and L can finally list the 4 of us as members of his family. Priceless. It's been so sweet to see their understanding grow and change each week, and we are amazed at how God is knitting our hearts together. Here's a glimpse at week 8...

Monday I was still feeling pretty sick...coughing, congested, very lethargic and fatigued...so after we ate breakfast, I decided to lay down and rest Monday morning (per Paul's strong recommendation!). Paul went to get the boys from the orphanage and after their morning music, he took them to a local restaurant with our friends, Scott and Megan. The boys did well overall, but were still getting over being sick themselves, so it took a little more mental capacity to keep them in line. Paul and the boys got back to our apartment around 12:15 and I helped make them lunch and get them ready for a nap. They were a bit wired throughout the morning, and it took all our patience to get them settled down, but they finally fell asleep at 1:45 and slept for a little over an hour and a half. They've been pretty unpredictable in their naps with us, but we're praying that the more comfortable they get, the more peaceful they will feel. In the afternoon, we decided to be a bit lazy, and just went outside to sit in the grass at our guest house. The boys played well, but it was a super hot day, and we had to rest in the shade often! At 5:45 we got them ready to go, and walked back to the orphanage. L was so sad to go back, and it broke our hearts once again to have to say goodbye. After we dropped them off we walked back home, as our landlady, Alba, was making us dinner. It was Scott and Megan's 1st wedding anniversary so I had asked Alba to make them some Tiramisu as a special dessert! Not only did she make an amazing tiramisu, but dinner was extra good and Paul and I were privileged to share in Scott and Megan's celebration! We also celebrated a bit that night, as during dinner we got a phone call from the orphanage director letting us know that our written rulings had been signed (Yay!) but not sealed yet (Ugh). We were excited for one step closer, but still so frustrated that every day seemed to be another "almost there." Regardless, we were SO happy at the news, but definitely tried to stay realistic. After dinner we sat and talked with Scott and Megan until 11pm before parting ways for bed. It was a good day.

On Tuesday, Scott and Megan left at 4am to head to Kampala to go on a safari, so we said our goodbyes the night before. Paul and I were dragging from the weekend and I was still feeling sick, so we picked up the boys and just headed back to the apartment. God must have known we needed a little break because the boys played together...in our room...for almost 2 full hours...while Paul and I interacted with them from their bed. It was such a nice change for us to be able to just sit for a period of time, and the boys were enjoying every minute of their game! We have large wooden doors for closets/storage in our room, and the boys love hiding in there. So their game became going inside the doors, getting in their car to drive to Kampala, and bringing us back "sweeties", chipati, juice, mangoes, bananas and samosas. It was so sweet and Paul and I were laughing consistently at their antics. At one point J went into the kitchen and said, "Allo!" with his hand to his ear, then continued to babble in Luganda and made-up words while wagging his finger at the air as if he was yelling at someone while on the phone. We got a bunch of it on video, and we were seriously laughing so hard at their imaginations! At 12:30 we made lunch and then got ready for naps. L slept terrible and was up after less than an hour. They often use the excuse to go to the bathroom to get up or get out of different situations, and L was milking his need to go "susu" (pee). J also only slept about an hour and a half, but we made them have quiet time in their bed until we went to get them. Thankfully they are pretty good about this rule, and we are grateful for a little bit of quiet in the middle of the day. Once they were up we did snack, and then they wanted to go right back to their Kampala game. Paul and I again hunkered into the bed (or Jinja as they called it!), and waited to receive all the gifts our boys were bringing. It was a wonderful afternoon, and we so enjoyed watching the boys continue to build their relationship together. At 5:30 we decided to head to the orphanage a little early as we wanted to speak to the director before he left. When we arrived he had already gone, so we stayed and played with the boys for 45 minutes or so before walking to dinner. We went to one of our favorite places in town, and had dinner with the other 2 adoptive moms who are here with us. They were both in a bit of a funk, and Paul and I were trying to encourage them as much as we could. On our walk home from dinner, Paul called the orphanage director to check on our rulings, and thankfully he informed us that they had both been signed and sealed and we were good to go! Can I get an Amen?!?!?! So with that we set up our trip to Kampala for the next day and prayed that things would fall into place. It was hard for us to celebrate though as the other family here did not get their rulings and have been waiting just as long as we have. It's definitely been humbling to have to stifle your emotions in order to be sensitive to others' journey and difficulties. God has taught us so much through this, and I know this is just the beginning!

J in his car!

Wednesday was a good day, and by far our best trip to Kampala. We got to the orphanage at 6:30am, and the boys were dressed and ready to go. We hopped in the car, just the 4 of us, and off we went. The boys were SO much more mellow without the other kids in tow, and it was such a blessing to have a bit of a "break" while on the road. The traffic was pretty bad, and we did not arrive to the lawyer's office until 9:30. We went upstairs and waited while she made the copies of our rulings and court orders for the passport office. During our conversation I filled her in on our passport office fiasco from last week, and she was appalled. When I told her that the officer had kept all of our paperwork, including the pink slip (the most important thing needed to pick up your passports!), she was a bit concerned and decided to come with us (thank you Jesus!). So we all hopped back in the car (with a little less room!), and headed to the passport office. Once we arrived our lawyer did most of the heavy lifting and spoke with our contact A, as well as the green tent people on our behalf. After a 30 minute or so wait, mean passport man from last week, finally came out to speak with our lawyer and she explained the situation and handed him our paperwork. He then went inside to "look it over", however we saw him in the office just hanging out and chatting with other workers, so it was clear he was really concerned. The struggle is real my friends. So...after another 20 minutes of waiting he finally brought out another big book for us to sign, and we saw their passports in his hands! He then spent the next 10 minutes writing who knows what down in that book, before finally calling us over to sign them out. Praise Jesus! We finally had their passports in hand, and our lawyer made a couple copies at the passport office before we skedaddled out of there fast! From there we dropped our lawyer back off and headed to IOM (the medical office) to schedule the boys' medical visits. Unfortunately, Friday was a public holiday so IOM would be closed that day. So after handing over all of our required paperwork, she scheduled both boys for 8am Monday morning, October 12. This part was pretty quick and painless, and was the easiest part of our process by far. After we finished, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed back to Jinja. The boys were pretty tired from getting up so early, and thankfully both of them fell asleep on us for over an hour. By the time they woke up, we were almost back to Jinja and it was such a night and day experience from our previous trips. When we arrived back to the orphanage, they were having a party as the American director is currently in town, and she brought toys, balloons, cake, and food. It seemed fitting for us to have a party after such a great day, and we were smiling at God's love for us. While I stayed with the boys to "celebrate", Paul headed downtown to get some groceries and make copies of our paperwork. The boys were enjoying themselves quite a bit with the new toys, however both of them were staying close to me as compared to previous weeks. It was very reassuring for me! Once Paul got back, we handed over copies of our written rulings to both the American and Ugandan directors of the orphanage, and packed up our boys to take them HOME! They are orphans no more!!! It was so surreal to think that J&L will NEVER have to sleep in an orphanage again and Paul and I were equally excited and nervous all at the same time :) Once we got home we cleaned up, I made a simple dinner, and we sat down for our first dinner as family. You could tell the boys were so curious as to what was going on, but L kept saying "we are staying with you!" We were full of joy and exhaustion (ha!), but ready to take on the challenge. After dinner I gave them their first real bath (they've never sat in a tub bigger than a large pot!), and you better believe I scrubbed their little bodies good! L was excited and hopped right in, but J cried in fear for about 10 minutes, before finally agreeing to sit on the side of the tub. When it came to getting in, he started crying again, and it took Paul standing in there with him, before he would comply. By the end he was sitting and splashing with his brother and all was right in the world :) After bath we got them ready for bed, read, prayed and tucked them in by 7:30. By 7:40 they were asleep and we were SO thankful for a quick transition. J did fall out of bed early in the night (we were still awake sitting the in the hot box known as our kitchen), and we heard his cries and wails of fear. Paul rushed in and calmed him down and he went right back to sleep. I'm sure he was just disoriented (as he normally sleeps in a bunked-crib with rails), but thankfully we had no other episodes in the night. While the boys slept well, Paul and I slept about 2 winks all night as it's SUPER WEIRD to have your kids you've never seen sleep, sleeping in the same room as you. Not to mention, we were afraid of another falling out of bed episode and were awake about every 30 minutes to check on them. Woof. Despite the lack of sleep, it was an awesome day and I wish I could have documented more if it to remember all the little details that came with it. We are blessed.

Waiting at the lawyer's office

Waiting at the passport office in the white tent

Still waiting...

Waiting for our driver at IOM

Outside IOM

L sleeping on me

J sleeping on Paul

Party at the orphanage!

Dinner as a family of 4!

Their passports!!

Bath time! :)

A bit blurry, but asleep at our apartment for the first time! Thank you Jesus!

On Thursday we had made plans to meet up with Scott and Megan in Kampala and then head to Ngamba Island to a Chimpanzee Sanctuary. While the idea sounded great in theory, we didn't really think through that 1) we would be in Kampala the day before, 2) it would be our first night with the boys, 3) we would have to leave Jinja by 5am to get there on time. What can I say, we're ambitious parents :) So seeing that we already made reservations, after a horrible night of sleep, I got out of bed at 3:50am, got myself ready, woke up Paul at 4:30 to help me gather snacks and water for the day, then woke up the boys to get them ready. We basically got them dressed, brushed teeth and got in the car, but they did well as they were still in a bit of a daze. We hopped in the car with our driver at 5:10am and off we went. The boys were pretty chill in the car since it was still dark out, but when we got to Kampala to pick up Scott and Megan they were definitely much more hyper. Most of it was that they were tired, but we were also squished in a small sedan and we were all HOT AS HECK. I'm not kidding. SO HOT. I can't wait to be cold again! From Kampala we still had another hour+ drive to Entebbe where we would catch our boat to go to the island. Traffic was insane, and even though we were supposed to be there by 8:45, the guide was accommodating and let me know that as long as we got there before 9:30 we'd be all set. Thankfully we arrived at 9:15 and hopped immediately on the boat. The speedboat ride to the island took about 45 minutes, and man was it buuuummmpppy. I can't even explain to you how bumpy it was. It literally shook your insides when the boat came down and hit the water. The 4 of us adults were laughing uncontrollably at the experience, and what's even better, both boys FELL ASLEEP while dealing with the bumps! It was priceless. We got to the island around 10:15, and began our tour with our guide Amos. Amos was very kind, but very into the history and evolution of the island, and while interesting, we were really just there to see the chimps! For example, he continued to correct J&L for calling them monkeys and not apes. I was thinking, for real dude? They're 3 and 4. Just let them call them monkeys! So after our history lesson and tea, we headed over to see the chimps get fed. It was so cool, and the boys were LOVING it. The chimps were howling and grunting and running and clapping and anything else you can think of, and it was so much fun to see! After the feedings we got to go see a baby chimp who is only 5 months old. He was so stinkin' cute, and the boys were mesmerized by him! It was a cool experience, and despite the fatigue level, I'm so glad we did it. At 12:15 we got back on the boat to head back to Entebbe. The boat ride back was much better, and the boys were awake and loving the ride. At one point L looked up at me and said, "Mom!! I'm really like ride the boat!" My heart melted. Literally melted. It was so fun to see the joy on their faces and we enjoyed the ride too! We got back around 1:00, and headed to lunch with Scott and Megan. We ate at a leisurely pace, but the boys were wiped, and at 2:45 it was time to go. We gave hugs to Scott and Megan and said our goodbyes (as they were headed to the airport that night), and hopped back in the car. The ride home was pretty rough. There was SO much traffic, as Friday is a holiday and everyone was driving home for the weekend. We were moving at a snail's pace, and it was pouring rain, so we had to keep the windows up. The boys only slept for 30 minutes, because it was so dang hot inside that car, and we knew it would be a loooonnnggg ride home! We got back to Jinja around 6:30pm and we were all ready to collapse. I heated up some samosas I brought home from the orphanage party on Wednesday, we ate a quick meal, took a bath then headed to bed. The boys were so tired and were out within 5 minutes of laying down. It was a good first day with them, but the best part was the RELIEF that came with not having to drop them off at the orphanage when we got home. Since we arrived here, Thursday was the first day we didn't step foot inside the orphanage multiple times per day. It was so nice, and Paul and I can't really express the weight that was lifted knowing our boys wouldn't go back there again. God is good.

Paul and Scott on the boat!

Me and Megan!

L sleeping on me!

Ngamba Island

Chimps!

Friday was a really good day overall, but Friday night was rough. SO rough. The boys woke up in the morning around 7:00, and were up and about by 7:20. We had a HUGE frog in our bathroom, from who knows where, and L was SO excited he had to come tell us right away :) So running a bit on fumes, we got up, got rid of the frog, then started getting things ready for the day. We had no plans, thank God, so after we brushed our teeth (all 4 of us!), we sat down to eat breakfast in our PJs :) The boys housed some eggs and yogurt, and we were enjoying having them with us for this new routine. After breakfast we got them dressed for the day, which sounds mundane, but I was in HEAVEN! Not only were they the clothes I brought for them, but they fit them so well, and they didn't smell like the orphanage! For the first time in 8 weeks, our boys smelled fresh and clean, and it was truly heaven. Words can't really describe the feeling that accompanies what I felt! In the morning we just hung around the house and the boys played inside. Paul had some work to do, so I watched them for a bit so he could get a few things done. At 11 or so, we put the boys on our backs and headed downtown for some errands. We needed to drop off the clothes the boys wore on Wednesday to the orphanage, get some food for the boys, and Paul and I needed coffees...desperately. So off we went! It was so nice to take our time and be able to do our own family routine. At 12:30 we arrived back home and Paul unpacked the groceries while I made the boys lunch. They ate well, but were clearly still tired, so we got ready for nap and they were out by 1:45. They both slept until after 3:30, and woke up so much more refreshed. Even though it's only been a couple days, the boys have been more mellow overall (especially J!), and we are praying the trend will continue. It's definitely been hard to navigate their needs, and know how to parent them well when we've only known them for such a short time, but we are learning, and so are they, and we are asking God to figure out the rest. We truly need to take it one day at a time (sometimes an hour at a time!) and realize that parenting is the best way to know God's heart, and also the best way to earn our children's trust. These boys have never known trust a day in their lives, and the more we paddle through the mud, the more the waters clear and we are able to move forward. Paul and I are definitely being tested and tried in every way, but we have never wavered in our faith or in the vast love God has for us, and with that, we realized we are winning! Friday afternoon, we headed outside and played with one of the other mom's and her 2 children. The boys did SO well today, the best we've ever seen them do, and we were seriously so proud of them. They were sharing, playing together, asking for things, and just being good kids overall. We had such a GREAT afternoon, and Paul and I were beaming in love. At 6:00, Paul headed out to go grab Ugandan food at a local restaurant and I got the boys ready for dinner. We all ate as a family, and it was such a blessing to see the boys eating well, interacting with each other, interacting with us, and just being normal kids. After dinner we did bath, book and prayers before bed, but then the night took a turn for the worse. We kissed them good night, loved on them a little more, and turned off the lights at 7:45. Fully expecting them to fall asleep, we headed out to the kitchen to clean up and put things away. Well at 9:30 and 9:45 they FINALLY went to sleep...after we had to cover their eyes with our hands and tap/rub their backs FOREVER to get the settled. Paul and I were exhausted from the last 2 days, and were literally running on fumes...it took everything in us to not go ballistic. J was being so defiant and Paul and I were just so frustrated. When they finally went to sleep, we felt like we had just run a marathon, and all we could do was put our heads on the table and take a deep breath. Additionally, it was HOT AS THE DICKENS in our apartment, which didn't help calm our temperament. Ugh. There were also some people, who knows how far away, bumpin' some sick beats (psyche!) as loud as they possibly could. I could feel the base beating in my chest. Thankfully it didn't wake the boys up, but this momma would've gone into dragon mode if they had. Ok. Rant over. In the evening, Paul had some work to do, so he went outside to make some calls, while I worked on some adoption paperwork for the Embassy. The paperwork is seriously never ending, and it won't stop once we're home. For a Friday night, it was a doozy, and I'm looking forward to changing our Friday nights once we're home!

Saturday was...where to even begin. I'll just throw it out there...it was pretty terrible. I mean terrible. After the fiasco of putting the boys to bed so late the night before, Paul and I cleaned up, showered and I journaled before getting into bed around midnight. Soon after, the power went out. All we could think was please God, no! The power goes out fairly often around here and normally it's not a big deal, but when it goes out at night, it's the worst. When there is no power at night, there is no fan, which means our apartment is unbearably hot. Not to mention Uganda is SO LOUD at night. There are rooster crowing, really loud frogs, goats, club music, the works. So when there's no fan, you hear every sound. EVERY SOUND. Paul and I hardly slept a wink due to being so uncomfortable, and the boys were also up almost every hour due to the heat. At 5am the boys were officially up, and Paul and I literally had to peel ourselves out of bed. We knew it was going to be a hard day mainly due to the fact that the boys didn't sleep, however with us having hardly slept in 3 nights, we were struggling. L did fairly well most of the day with only a couple meltdowns, but J was so difficult. Just so difficult. We literally spent 2+ hours inside with him wailing and screaming due to being disciplined, with meltdown after meltdown for the most ridiculous things. He was being so stubborn, defiant and aggressive and all I could do was stand there and cry. At noon we ate lunch and put them down for their nap. They both went down relatively quickly, and we were grateful, because we thought we would never make it to nap time! Paul and I decided to forgo lunch and take a nap while they napped. Good decision. We slept for an hour and the boys slept for 2, which was great. They woke up much better than the morning, but still not quite themselves. Paul and I were still dragging and to be honest it was all we could do to just get through the day. We even tried a movie with them, but they were completely disinterested and we were at a loss for what to do next. At 4:30 we had to get out of the house, so we strapped them on our backs and walked downtown. Paul and I got coffee and dinner at a restaurant and the boys snacked and played relatively well while we ate. It was nice to get out of the apartment, but we were wiped from carrying them while being so tired. At 6:10 we headed back home and we let them play until 6:30 while I heated up dinner (leftovers from the night before!). They ate well and were mostly behaved, which was a much needed reprieve for us. After dinner we gave them a bath, brushed their teeth, read a book, said our prayers and laid them down. Unfortunately tonight was another repeat of the night before, and they did not fall asleep until 9:30. While they were in their bed, not sleeping, all I could do was sit in the kitchen and cry at the emotion of the day. I know most of the difficulty came from us being so tired, but to be honest, we have to be on and attentive all day long, and it's just so trying sometimes. I am also feeling very burdened by J's aggression when he gets so upset, and Paul and I are often at a loss as to how to get through to him. We know things will get better once he trusts us more and gets more settled in a routine at home, but in the meantime, we sometimes feel like we are spinning our wheels with no movement forward. Even while I type this, I know that's not true. We are making progress every day, and things are changing for good, but when you're in the midst of it, it's hard to see the tangible difference day to day. All we can do is give both boys continually over to God, and trust that He will heal the wounds in their hearts that we can't quite reach yet. It's just hard not being able to know exactly what they need. Paul and I LOVE Uganda and we have loved our time here, but this was the first day we were truly longing for the comforts of home. Most of the time we're good and we can deal with the difficulties that come with living in a 3rd world country, but when you're tired and hot and walking all day with children who need consistent attention and love due to deep wounds, it can become a bit overwhelming. We are looking forward to beginning our own routine in Charlottesville, and being able to count on the support of friends and family to help us through <3 

On Sunday we skipped church (heathens, I know) and decided to just lay low. We were still feeling so wiped from the past few days and we needed to re-charge. The boys were up at 6:30am, but we made them stay in their bed until 7:15. At 7:30, Paul got up with them and let me sleep in until 8:00. I haven't slept until 8:00 in over 2 months, and it was so nice to let my body rest. I could've cried for joy. At 8:00 I joined the party, and together we got the boys dressed and made/ate breakfast. It was raining on and off all morning, so the boys mostly played inside. At 10:00 Paul took the boys for a walk (we borrowed a stroller from another family for the day...yay!), and I stayed home. Paul took the boys downtown for their snack and then got us some coffee for the day! He also stopped at the grocery store to get a couple things, and he let the boys get out and walk. They have never done this before, and Paul said it was clear they loved the adventure! While they were gone, I read my Bible, worshiped, journaled, prayed and rested. It was AMAZING. Literally amazing. I can't even tell you how much I needed these 2 hours. It was such a time of refreshing for me, and I felt much better once I was done. God is faithful. The boys returned around 12:15 and I was greeted by L yelling, "Mommy, I missed you!" It was awesome :) I could've squished his little cheeks for days! Once we unloaded the groceries, the boys ate lunch and then we got them ready for their nap. L fell asleep fairly quickly, but J took more than 30 minutes to settle in. J will definitely need to learn some self-soothing techniques once we're home, and I plan on trying a weighted blanket with him to help down-regulate his nervous system. Today I literally had to lay half my body on him to get him to settle down enough to go to sleep. It's always a very emotional time for me, but I'm seeing the change it makes in him, and it's worth the effort. After lunch the boys played inside and out, but the weather was iffy so it made staying outside for longer periods of time difficult. For dinner we decided to take the boys out (again, I like to call us ambitious instead of crazy!), and overall they did well. They are familiar with the restaurant we went to, so that helps a lot with their comfort level. It was SO nice to have the stroller for the day, and it made the walking SO much more bearable. Tomorrow we are going to Kampala at 5am, so we are praying the boys will sleep well as we know it will be a long day. 

This week we will be starting part 1 of the Embassy process, and we will be going to Kampala on Monday and Wednesday to get the boys' medical exams done. On Monday they will do their intakes and then do Tb and HIV testing (please pray for this, as we've seen J get a shot and it took 4 women from the orphanage to hold him down...Needless to say we're a little concerned), and Wednesday will be their physicals and Tb checks. Once this is complete it takes a week for the paperwork to get to the Embassy, so we are praying we get our first appointment with them on the 21st; but realistically it should be no later than the 26th. The first appointment consists of our document check, to which they will go through all of our paperwork with a fine tooth comb, as well as go through our financial records to make sure we are financially fit to be parents. Crazy, I know. Once this is complete, we will go back 2 days later for our Visa interview. Here they will interview us to make sure we know the boys' history and background as well as ask some questions about our life at home. The boys' biological relatives (that we had at court) will also need to be present as they will be interviewed to make sure they understand the permanency of the process. Because there has been so much child trafficking that happens through adoption, the Embassy is strict on making sure the biological relatives are fully informed and that there are no misunderstandings. This shouldn't be an issue for us, but we are still praying things go smoothly with no hiccups. If all continues to plan, we are hoping to fly out on Tuesday, November 3 in order to arrive back in Dulles on November 4!!! We are super excited, but trying not to get our hopes up until our butts are in those airplane seats! Please continue to pray us home!

This journey has been and continues to be so crazy, but we have seen God's hand all over our family, and words can't describe the love that we have for both J&L. They are true reminders of God's love for us, and not a day goes by where we don't thank God for His provision. While things have been trying, we have never felt closer to God or to each other. Paul and I have worked really hard to remain on the same page despite the emotions of each day, and I can't thank God enough for Paul's ability to be here during this time in-country. He has literally been a rockstar and I'm not sure what I would've done without him here. Not only has he been loving, patient and attentive with the boys, but he has worked every day during our down time to provide for us financially, has taken the boys a few mornings on his own to let me rest, and all without a single complaint. Words can't express how blessed I am to have him as my husband. His love for me and the boys is evident in his daily actions, and I couldn't imagine going through this process with anyone else <3 When he gets home make sure you give him a high-five, because he totally deserves it! Or take him out for a burger...He'll enjoy that too!

As things continue to move forward, we can't thank you all enough for your e-mails of excitement, prayers and encouragement. On days when we feel weary and downcast your words always lift us up, and help us continue to press on. God has given us such awesome friends and family during this time, and we don't even want to imagine what this would be like without all of you! You have helped us through the good times and bad, and for that our hearts are forever grateful. 

As we get closer to coming home, we ask that you consider sharing our Go Fund Me link on your social media accounts (http://www.gofundme.com/6x9s6sf45d). We are so close to the finish line, and every dollar helps get us one step closer to our end goal. Your generosity has been unparalleled over the last year, and we would not have made it this far without your kindness! We love you all so much and we can't wait to see you all soon!

Love from Uganda,