Answered Prayer!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Thank you to all who have been praying for us - we got the visas for the kids today and will be leaving Saturday night as originally planned!  The embassy staff put in some extra effort for our visas and we were able to get what we needed this afternoon.  Two other families from Alabama were also trying to get visas for their children, and all of us were able to get the visas completed.

After we got the visas, we took the kids to God Cares school so they could say goodbye to their friends.  It was tough because you could tell the other children were happy for Alex and Maureen but also sad because they weren't going too.  Ivan, Justin and Jane seemed like they took it the hardest. 

Pastor Dongo with Alex and Maureen

After a long, hot day of waiting (4 hours for Maureen in the morning as she got braided extensions and 2 hours for Alex as he waited with me at the embassy) we hit the hotel pool.  The kids love the water and it was a great way to cool off and burn some energy. 

Angie jumps in on the braiding effort

It's amazing as I look back at this process, that God's timing was right on time for each step of the way.  I have to admit, it became a bit nervewracking but patience and trust were the key lessons learned.  For all the ups and downs, our experience was extremely fast and smooth compared to every other family we talked to.  Judges make arbitrary decisions on which kids are adopted, rulings can take months to get written, paperwork can get lost and orphanages can lose their licenses.  We started this process on October 1 with our homestudy and here we are 5 months later, bringing Maureen and Alex home.  God is good!

Need Your Prayers For Friday!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

We walked to the embassy for our morning appointment and gave Freda, the embassy representative for adoptions, our documents.  We had everything she needed...then she threw us a curveball.  When I asked if we'd be able to get visas for the kids tomorrow, she acted like it was very unlikely.  Since all of our flights are set up for a Saturday night departure, we really need to get these visas on Friday (the embassy is closed on the weekends).  Freda indicated that after the documents were submitted, an orphan investigation must take place and it might require a consular officer to do a field study - in other words, travel to where the children are from to verify the information.  This could take weeks!

After Angie stopped hyperventilating, we went back to the hotel to wait for our interview appointment that would take place around 2PM where we would get all the details.  Simon joined us for this interview because in my earlier meetings at the embassy, I was told having him there would make the process go much faster. 

We arrived at 1PM for our 2PM appointment because I wanted to make sure we didn't run into an issue where we'd wait so long that the embassy would close for the evening.  Two other couples from Alabama who were also adopting were there waiting in line in front of us.  One couple had been trying to adopt in Uganda for 2 years and the other couple had been in Uganda for nearly a month trying to finish their adoption.  Not encouraging news to hear!

Around 3:30PM, we went in for our interview and it was pretty short and straight-forward.  We were asked how we came to know the children and why we were adopting.  After a few simple questions for Maureen, Alex and Simon, we were told that the staff would try their hardest to get us the visas tomorrow.  We are scheduled to come back in at noon and get the news.  This is the last item we need to board the plane with the kids and be admitted back into the United States.  Your prayers for tomorrow will be greatly appreciated!

It's Official...For Uganda!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

As we sat and ate breakfast, we heard on the radio that there was some violence in Kampala for the mayoral elections.  Apparently, someone discovered a number of pre-printed, stuffed ballot boxes at one of the polling stations.  For the rest of the day, as we drove around, we had to be concerned about whether there were areas wew should avoid.  Fortunately, we had Badru as our driver again and he knows what's going on and where to stay away from.

On the drive to Victoria's in the morning, we noticed an extremely high police and army presence.  When we arrived at her office we met Alice to pick up the death certificates and the judge's order and ruling.  Even though it was a public holiday and she had arrived in Kampala at midnight the night before, Alice made it into the office to give us the papers.

Angie wanted to do a little shopping, so Badru took us to the Africa Village shopping area for tourists.  While we were there, we drove by the police station and saw their armored vehicle with water cannon.  A couple of pickup trucks full of policemen in riot gear drove by a little later.

We originally had planned to have dinner with Simon and his family that night, but since there was some election violence we decided to meet earlier in the day.  As we drove out to meet Simon at the restaurant, we heard on the radio that the election had been postponed due to all the voting irregularities.  What a waste of a public holiday!

Kampala Mayor Election Postponed

We had an authentic dinner at the Bamboo Nest with Simon, Betty, Sandra, Esther, Collins, Mary, William, Francis, Maureen and Alex.  Sandra, Esther and Collins are Simon's children.  Mary is a cousin to Alex and Maureen, she is the daughter of one of their aunts on their mother's side.  William went to elementary and high school with Simon in eastern Uganda and now they are both in Kampala.  Francis works with Simon at InterFreight.

Counterclockwise: Alex, Maureen, Collins, Esther, Francis, Simon, William, Sandra, Mary, Betty, Angie

 

After dinner, we went back to Simon's house to look at some pictures.  Betty had prepared some dadis, which are some kind of vegetable that gets deep fried into small chunks.  They are a great, crunchy snack that goes well with beer...and the homemade beer came out!  This time, I thought I would try it.  You can see in the picture below, there is a special hollow stick with a "filter" on the end to sieve the beer and keep it from clogging the stick.  It was unusual primarily because it was warm.  It didn't have a strong taste even though I was told that it had a higher alcohol content than bottled beer.  After a few sips, I returned to a cold, bottled beer that Betty was kind enough to provide me.

No, I really am drinking the beer!

Badru drove us home and we made popcorn for the kids and watched cartoons.  Angie pulled out the leapsters (electronic learning games) and Alex and Maureen played with those for a while until bedtime.

All Aboard The Uganda Rollercoaster

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The only way to convey the ups and downs of today is to give you a timeline...then you'll get a sense of our frustrations and succeses.

08:00
Angie and I arrived at the U.S. embassy very early to try to get an appointment to start the visa process for the kids.  Normally, Monday-Wednesday-Friday mornings are for U.S. citizens and Tuesday-Thursday mornings are for Ugandans.  We reached our contact at the embassy, Freda, but she said we would have to come back on Wednesday morning since they were booked with other appointments.  For those who know me well, you know I would have strenuously argued for an appointment immediately but we were missing one key document that we would receive late Tuesday evening, so waiting until Wednesday was OK.  The visa normally takes about 48 hours to complete, so we'd still be able to make our Saturday departure.  As we prepared to leave, the receptionist mentioned that Wednesday might be a public holiday in Uganda and the embassy might be closed.  What?  First of all, this date wasn't on the official list of embassy holidays and second, why would there be uncertainty whether a day was a public holiday or not?

08:30
We walked back to the hotel to think about our options in case a public holiday is declared.  There aren't many options.

12:00
We brought some gifts for Pastor Dongo so we decided to walk down to the church to see if he was there.  We had 2 jars of creamy peanut butter (his favorite!), two packages of dental floss and a scanner we had used earlier to scan pictures that Simon loaned us.  When we arrived at the church we dropped off the items and heard that Dongo was down at God Cares school.  We had two options to get there: hoof it for 1.5 miles in 85F weather or get a ride in one of the taxi vans for $0.50.  Did I mention that it was 85F and anti-perspirant is a luxury for many?  Angie has a keen sense of smell and I felt she might have an issue riding in a hot, sweaty, four-wheeled armpit...so we walked. 

We discovered Obama also does pizza - Chicago style?

12:30
We arrived at God Cares school just before lunch and found Dongo.  Soon, Ivan appeared and we talked to him for a while.  Later, Jane and Amphian showed up and we got to spend some time talking to all of the kids who visited California last year.  They all wanted to know where Alex and Maureen were - some had heard rumors they were in America.  We couldn't say anything yet, so we just told the kids that Alex and Maureen were with their Uncle and were not in school.  Since it was now lunch time, we got to watch the lunch procedure for the kids.  The younger kids went first and got their bowls from a rack and then got in line for posho.  Posho is made from white corn flour mixed with water and heated until it sets up like extremely firm mashed potatoes.  Next the kids got in line for a scoop of beans.  Once they finished lunch, they went and washed their bowl and put it back in the rack for the next child to use since they have lunch at different times.

Amphian, Frank, Jane & Ivan with their bowl of posho 

 It's lunchtime!

14:00

After the kids gave us a tour of their dormitories and classrooms, we headed back to church with Dongo in his car.  I set up the scanner for Dongo and his assistant, Carol, and they were very excited to be able to scan documents and pictures.  We called Victoria, our lawyer, to get an update on how Alice was doing in Soroti getting us the final documents - the signed and sealed judge's ruling and order.  Bad news!  The power was out at the court so they could not print the documents for the judge to sign.  It was getting late in the day and Soroti is a 7 hour drive from Kampala, so if Alice couldn't get the document signed in the next few hours, we wouldn't have what we needed for our appointment the following day. 

15:00

We got ready to leave the church and walked back to the hotel.  We discussed again with Dongo whether there would be a public holiday on Wednesday for the local Kampala elections.  Dongo was pretty certain there wouldn't be a holiday because it was so late in the day and no one made an announcement.

16:45

Back at the hotel, I got an email from Freda at the embassy.  More bad news.  Wednesday had been declared a public holiday and therefore the embassy will be closed.  No appointment.  Fortunately, she made an exception for us and will meet us at 10am on Thursday to review our documents and then we can have our interview at noon.  Two big questions loom: if we meet on Thursday will there be enough time to issue the visas before we leave on Saturday AND will we get the documents from Soroti in time for our meeting on Thursday.  Oh, the suspense!

17:30

Answered prayer.  We get an email from Victoria that Alice received the signed documents from the judge and would be back very late Tuesday evening from Soroti.  I was very impressed with Alice when we were in court two weeks ago and she found a way to get the documents we needed.  Although the power was out, there was an edited hard copy available.  She was able to take those copies to Soroti and type them up herself, make copies and get back to the judge for signing.  It was midnight before she got home in Kampala.  We were thankful for Alice's persistence and excited with the news - one more hurdle to complete!

Seriously?!?!

First of all, thanks for all the prayers - Uganda and Kampala have been very calm after the elections.  Whenever there have been any incidents of demonstrations or strikes, the ever-present military and police have shut them down quickly.  We traveled all around Kampala today and it seemed like business as usual.

Well, we met with the lawyer this morning and they still haven't received the written ruling from the judge.  One of the lawyers is going to Soroti today to get the signed and sealed ruling and bring it back on Tuesday - nope, no FedEx service here!  Strike One!

Simon had to travel to Soroti and Katakwi last week to get the death certificates for our embassy appointment and he delivered these to the lawyer this morning.  These documents had to be submitted to another government agency in Kampala to get a long form death certificate.  The long form document will be ready on Tuesday morning.  Strike Two!

We picked up Simon at InterFreight and saw where he works as a warehouse supervisor.  Next, we picked up the kids and drove as fast as we could to the U.S. embassy for our 1:30PM appointment.  We were about 5 minutes late and when we walked up to the embassy gate, we were told it is a U.S. holiday (President's Day) and all embassy staff were out.  Strike Three!  You''re out!

You can imagine we were all a bit ticked off that we were given an appointment on a holiday!  Soooooo, we drove back across town and dropped off Simon at work and spent some time with Aunt Betty and the kids.  Betty showed Angie how to cook chapati, kind of like a thick, fried tortilla...delicious!  We looked at pictures and asked a lot of family questions. 

The plan for tomorrow is to go the embassy (again!) and make sure we can get an appointment for Wednesday afternoon - they only schedule orphan interview appointments on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.  A potential wrinkle is that Wednesday is the local Kampala election day and most businesses have that day off too.  We're praying that we can get all of the paperwork ready by Wednesday morning so we can have our appointment Wednesday afternoon.  If we can do that, we'll have the kid's visas on Friday and can travel home as planned on Saturday.  If not...well, don't want to think about that!  Despite well laid plans, many things end up going down to the wire in this process - learning to be patient and trust in God's timing.

Arrival in Uganda...Again

Our plan was for Angie and I to meet in Brussels - Angie coming from Washington Dulles Airport and me coming from Munich.  We saw each other in the security line as we headed toward our departure gate in Brussels.  Success!

We arrived in Uganda last night around midnight, everything on our flight went well.  Angie and I had a whole row open so she was able to stretch out and get a little sleep.  We woke up this morning and everything has remained calm in Uganda.  I thought the Electoral Commission was going to make the announcement on Saturday evening but apparently they will do that Sunday afternoon. 

The preliminary poll information matches the polls taken earlier in the campaign - Museveni winning with 70+% of the vote.  As we drove from the Lake Victoria Hotel near the airport to our hotel near the embassy, we saw a very visible police and army presence.  I felt pretty comfortable seeing all these guys walking around with AK-47 rifles since it should deter any violent demonstrations. 

We were able to attend the second half of service at Pastor Dongo's church since it's just down the road from our hotel.  He made us fell very welcome and introduced us at the end of the service and explained to the congregation that we were adopting two children from God Cares school.  We spent some time with him after church and were introduced to his wife, Florence, and two of his sons, Thanks & Ezra. 

We plan on staying close to the hotel tonight, thanks for everyone's prayers!

Uganda Politics

In just a couple of days, Angie will meet me in Brussels, Belgium and we will fly to Uganda together to see the kids!  In the meantime, I'm following the political events in Uganda very closely.  For those who are interested, here's a brief history of recent Uganda politics.

Yoweri Museveni participated in the rebellion that overthrew Ida Amin in 1979 but was dissatisfied with the resulting leader, Milton Obote.  He then led a rebel army in the "bush wars" and was able to assume power of Uganda in 1986.  Since that time he has provided a "relative" level of stability and peace that Uganda had not expericed for a long time. 

Yoweri Museveni - Wikipedia

The word "relative" is used since there has been a long term battle with rebels called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda led by Joseph Kony.  This group was responsible for terrorizing villages, raping young girls and forcing young boys to be soldiers.  The LRA operated for a while in Amuria, the home district of the kids' family.  As a result, people in the countryside were forced to live in IDP (internally displaced persons) camps run by the U.N. to keep them safe from the LRA.  This arrangement led to a spike in HIV cases among the population since there were many non-relatives residing in a camp together.  The government has had success in the last few years of reducing the LRA strength and forcing them out of Uganda.

According to the Uganda constitution, there are term limits for the presidency but Museveni has sidestepped these rules claiming that earlier terms don't count since the constitution wasn't complete or claiming other loopholes.  The main oppositiion leader to Museveni the past two elections has been his former doctor and fellow rebel, Colonel Kizza Besigye.  In 2006, Besigye had his best showing but lost to Museveni 60%-40% in an election marked by accusations of voting fraud.  Additionally, Besigye was arrested and put in jail for much of the campaign period and there was substantial violence during and after the election.

This election period has been quite different in that there has been calm and peace during the campaigning.  Besigye has tried to bait the government into arresting him by making some controversial and accusatory claims against the goverment.  So far, the government has shown restraint and has left him alone which has helped keep the peace.  There have been accusations that Museveni has spent government money to effectively buy the vote this time around.

The people of Uganda will decide this Friday who their next president will be as well as their local and parliament leaders.  Most polls suggest that Museveni will easily win this time, but some have claimed the polls are biased toward the incumbent.  Below are some links that I'm following and will continue to follow to make sure we know exactly what the situation is in Uganda. 

OrbitUganda.com - Uganda News
New Vision Uganda Newspaper
U.S. Embassy in Kampala - Warden Messages

Thanks for all your prayers and concerns, we'll use common sense and stay away from any dangerous situations.  We plan on staying at a hotel near the airport the first night, since the election results will be announced shortly before we land in Entebbe.  If all looks calm, we'll move to our hotel in Kampala which is just down the street from the U.S. embassy.

Taking a break from Uganda

Saturday, February 12, 2011

We should receive all of the necessary documents from the judge on Monday.  There are a few other loose ends the lawyers have to take care of, so by the end of the week we'll be ready for our U.S. embassy interview.  Monday, February 21 we have our appointment scheduled at the U.S. embassy where our objective is to get an IR-4 visa for the kids.  I'm leaving Uganda this evening, flying to Europe for a week of business meetings.  The timing of the court hearing worked out well since I already had these meetings scheduled.  Angie will meet me in Brussels next Saturday and we will travel to Uganda together.   

There is the potential for a wrinkle in our schedule...the presidential election for Uganda takes place the day before Angie and I arrive.  Every 5 years there are presidential elections and in 2006 there was some violence and unrest after the election.  Everyone I talk to seems to think things will be calmer this time since the opposition candidate doesn't have as much support this time around.  Because of the elections, I jumped through some hoops to be in Uganda for our court date.  After election day, the courts get tied up with a lot of petitions related to the election.  These cases take priority over guardianship hearings, so it might have been months before we'd get another chance to be in court.

The best case is that everything is calm and there are no issues.  In the middle would be isolated pockets of rioting in the rural areas outside Kampala.  The worst case is widespread rioting which would lead the State Department to issue a Travel Warning and restrict Americans from traveling to Uganda.  Right now, there are Travel Warnings for Egypt and Pakistan as you'd expect, but also for Mexico.  The Travel Warning can be issued when the embassy is closed or the staff is reduced.  In either case, it would create a delay for us since we would be unable to process the visa for the kids.

Based on talking to a lot of people, it sounds like the most likely outcome will be somewhere between the best and middle cases and it would be unlikely a Travel Warning would be issued.  Ugandans are expecting the incumbent, Yoweri Museveni, to win again and the police and army are ready to move quickly on any unrest.  In the weeks prior to the 2006 election, there were numerous violent demonstrations.  This time around, the country has been peaceful.  Please pray for continued peace in Uganda during this time.  In any event, we'll be safe and stay away from situations that have the potential to be dangerous.

God is Good!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Kinda tipped my hand with that title, huh?  Our lawyer, Mark, traveled to Soroti last night to receive the judges order today.  When he saw her, she told him he was too early and needed to come back next week for her order...she confused our case with the Brewers!  Once she understood which case Mark was there for and that he was there at the right time, she granted the order.  The ruling has been written but needs a final review and her official stamp.  He may get the ruling later today or when the judge is in Kampala on Monday.  Angie and I are now the legal guardians of Maureen and Alex...now we need to get them home!

Waiting in Kampala

Wednesday, February 9

Up to this point, the adoption process has been made up of brief bursts of activity among longer periods of waiting.  Now we have a relatively short wait to hear how the judge rules but there is a 99% chance that the ruling will be in our favor.

I had a meeting at the U.S. embassy this morning to make sure they received the necessary documents from U.S. Immigration.  Once Uganda makes us legal guardians of Alex and Maureen, we need to get the proper visas from the U.S. embassy so they can come home with us.  This was the second time I met with Freda Luzinda, the embassy worker responsible for adoptions.  In our meeting she confirmed that she had received our adoption approval document and the medical reports for the kids.  Good news!  The only other documents we need are at the lawyer, so we can schedule our interview which is the last step in the process. 

Our meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 21 and Angie will attend as well as the children and their Uncle Simon.  At the conclusion of that interview, we will receive approval for the children's visas and they will be ready 48 hours later.

Later in the afternoon, I visited God Cares Primary School with Pastor Bethuel Dongo.  When I was here in December, I saw the school but the children were on break.  When I arrived, lunch was just finishing so there were kids everywhere!  Dongo was able to round up 8 of the 10 children who visited California last summer.  I recognized the boys but all of the girls had short hair again, so they looked much different.  A few of them recognized me but most of them needed a reminder.  The only 2 who weren't there were Alex and Maureen, who are not currently enrolled in school since they anticipated they would be adopted.

Amphian, Catherine, Faith, Jane, Justin, Frank, Ronita and Ivan

See them when they introduced themselves while dressed for a performance in California

Looking down at the courtyard from the 3rd floor

If you look closely, you can see Justin on the far right

A little background on school in Uganda: primary schools cover roughly first through sixth grade (P1-P6).  In general, there is no free public education system for primary schools unless your child is fortunate enough to have a sponsor.  Education is considered extremely important in Uganda but even if you can afford to put your child in school, the teachers may not be highly qualified.  If you are able to get a good primary education and do well on the state standardized tests, the government subsidizes secondary education.

Court is in Session

Tuesday, February 8

Round 2 of our court experience started early this morning.  Our court hearing was scheduled for 10am, so our whole crew arrived shortly after 9am.  The judge arrived around 9:30am so things were looking up.  As it approached 10am, we moved from the benches outside to the courtroom.  There was a row of seats for all of the advocates (lawyers) and everyone else sat behind them.  I thought the judge was going to come into the courtroom to hear our case but we watched the clock spin without seeing her come out of her chambers. 

Civil courtroom in Soroti

Earlier that morning I gave Alex and Maureen a small tin of mints, they had a few the day before and liked them.  I hadn't seen the tin since then but noticed that Alex was holding it while we sat in court waiting.  I didn't hear any mints jingling around so I asked him for the tin.  As he fished it out of his pocket, it felt empty and I couldn't believe they had eaten all of the mints - the tin was nearly full.  When I opened the tin, I discovered it wasn't empty - Alex had filled it with ants!  There were about 15 big, black ants in the tin and I think they were angry!  I quickly closed the lid and tried to stifle my laughter.  When I told everyone else they all said, "yep, he's all boy!"  Although he was sitting patiently, he literally had ants in his pants! 

Finally, around 11:45 we received word that Justice Margaret Oguli Oumo would see us in her chamber.  She is a fair, no-nonsense judge, when she had questions she wanted direct, succinct answers.  The Brewers and Esther went first, with Mark going through the file he submitted to court and the judge writing down her notes.  It was surprising there wasn't a court reporter to write down the proceedings, Mark had to talk slowly and repeat himself so she could write everything down.  At the conclusion, she said she needed to see the registration document for Redeemer House Orphanage and then she would make her ruling.

We were next and Mark repeated most of what he said for Esther's case. Since Esther was abandoned, there were some questions about where she was from but having Simon and the grandparents there, this wasn't an issue for us. She didn't have any questions for the kids and didn't ask any direct questions of Simon, the grandparents or me. Since our affidavits were part of the record, she would review those...plus her hand was probably getting tired!

At the conclusion she said she would give her order this Friday at 2:30pm. Mark will travel back to Soroti to receive her order. According to Mark and Victoria, since the judge didn't ask for any other documents or provide any negative feedback, we should expect a favorable ruling. The order is only half of what we need, we also must have her ruling. The ruling is a more detailed document that provides the details behind her order. Mark hopes to also get this by Friday, but may have to get it next week if it isn't ready.

Post court hearing picture with Simon, Alex, Maureen, Mark and Allis

Post court hearing picture with Simon, Alex, Maureen, Emolu Augustine and Ogwel Seicudina

After court, we went back to the hotel and changed to prepare for our 7+ hour journey home.  It turned out to be closer to 8 hours!  The ride back was relatively uneventful, just tried to avoid potholes and head on collisions when passing trucks.



Badru, our driver, is ready to load up and go!

The kids napping during the long drive

Court is in Recess!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Finally, after this long journey we got our day in court.  Mark needed one additional document for our case and was supposed to meet the Soroti probation officer prior to our court hearing.  The probation officer is responsible for verifying the children are orphans, who the legal guardian is and that the prospective guardians are suitable.  The officer was playing cat and mouse with Mark and was not being cooperative...more on this later.

Maureen waiting patiently in court

We arrived at court early and got some bad news - the judge was in Kumi wrapping up a criminal case and it wasn't clear when she would get back to Soroti.  While we discussed our options, the judge arrived a short while later in a truck with a soldier driver.  We were one of the first cases, so we thought we would have our hearing and still be able to drive back to Kampala that afternoon.  Nope!  The clerk told us that the judge was going to spend the afternoon writing judgments and there would be no court hearings that day.  Our case would be heard tomorrow.  What is surprising is that our lawyers called on Friday to confirm the court date...so it goes in Uganda.

Grandpa's face says it all!

We went back to the hotel with the probation officer so Mark, Simon, the grandparents and I could meet with him and get the probation report.  He was very uncooperative, perhaps looking for a bribe, and finally said since the children were from Amuria, we'd have to meet with the probation officer in Amuria.  This would have been helpful information to know a month ago - Mark was especially irritated.  We called the officer in Amuria and he was available that afternoon, so we drove another 2 hours to go meet him.

Entering the town of Amuria

Fortunately, when we arrived at the Amuria government complex, Simon knew the chief so we got priority to meet with the probation officer.  The probation officer knew Amodoi John, Alex & Maureen's father, becasue they had worked togther in Katakwi, a town near Amuria.  After a brief interview and a drive into Amuria town to print the documents, we had what we needed.

The kids got hungry waiting in Amuria and knocked down some mangoes to eat

Since we were "close" to the grandparent's house and the rest of the clan was expecting us, we drove to the Acowa sub-county.  This took another 90 minutes of driving and we were greeted warmly by the family.  After introductions and handshakes with the adults, it was the children's turn to shake my hand on bended knee.

There was a table prepared with dinner even though we didn't have much time to visit since darkness would be falling soon.  There was posho, millet, goat, chicken, milk tea and their homemade millet seed beer.  The food was delicious and the milk tea was hot which was reassuring.  It was either cow or goat milk since they had a few of each roaming around. 

The millet seed beer was brewed in a bucket and consumed through "straws" that were made from some hollow stick.  Who says you can't drink beer through a straw!

Grandpa was the first to the beer

Simon's younger brother, Joseph, told me that his wife had a baby the night before.  It was discussed in the clan that if the baby was a boy, he would be named after me.  Joseph proudly told me that he had a newborn son and wanted to know how to spell Troy!  The family was so generous and gracious, I wish there  was more time to spend with them.

As the time passed by, Badru became more nervous since he knew the roads would be tough to navigate in the dark.  We said our goodbyes and began driving back toward Soroti.  I began to get a little concerned when our two tire track ruts turned into walking paths.  If a car had traveled this path before, it had been quite a long time.  Badru turned on the four wheel drive and we moved along as quickly as we could.  Before it got dark, we were able to make it to a washboard road and enjoyed a bumpy ride back to Soroti.

Off-roading in Acowa

The most amazing part of this journey is that the grandparents were riding all along in the van.  I don't know how they were able to tolerate the constant bouncing and shaking, but as soon as we returned to the hotel, they were the first ones to bed!

What started as a disappointment with the judge worked out for the best since I had the opportunity to visit the clan and see the kids' home village.  Hopefully, we will get to see the judge tomorrow.

Riding the Kampala Express

Sunday, February 6, 2011

OK, you know that drive that was supposed to be 4 hours?  Well, it was more like 7 hours and while there were stretches of good road, the areas that were bad were littered with massive pot holes, typically grouped together.  I think you could make a fun video game out of it!

Our lawyer, Mark, and I left Kampala shortly before noon in a 12 passenger Toyota van with our driver and went to Emolu Simon Peter's house, the children's paternal uncle.  I'd already met his wife, Betty, but I also got to meet his children and younger brother's family.  From left to right: Uncle Simon, Adeke Esther, Okapello John Collins, Aunt Betty, Akullo Stella, Aguti Sandra, Christine and Ongorok John Bosco.  Esther, Collins and Sandra are the children of Simon & Betty.  Bosco and Stella are married and Christine is the older sister of Alex and Maureen.

Simon & Bosco walking out from Simon's house

Leaving Kampala, we drove to Jinja to pick up Charlie and Jenay Brewer who had a court hearing in Soroti as well.  They were staying at the Redeemer House Orphanage run by Kathy Vaughan and will be adopting Esther.  Charlie and Jenay are from Oregon and while on a mission trip last year Charlie met Esther.  Kathy also joined us to go to court since this would be the first adoption from their orphanage.  From Jinja we drove to Soroti, crossing the headwaters of the River Nile. 

Charlie, Esther and Jenay

On our way out of Jinja we were stopped by the police.  I was sitting in the front passenger seat next to our driver, Badru.  The policeman came up and wanted to know why were driving with a cracked windshield - it was pretty bad!  Badru explained that where he drives, the road is under construction and a lot of stones get kicked up by trucks, so as soon as he fixes the windshield, it cracks again.  The police officer wasn't buying it but seemed a bit surprised to see a big, white guy in the car.  He asked me if I agreed with Badru and when I said I did, he let us go.  We were all expecting that a bribe was going to be required but he must have decided to play it safe since he didn't know who I was.

Along the way, there aren't any McDonalds to get drive-thru so we'd stop and get drinks and food.  Vendors would stick their food in through the window and negotiate a price.  There were grilled bananas (meh! kind of dry) and everyone's favorite - chicken on a stick!

Your choice - gizzards or leg + thigh!

As we approached Soroti we began to see many trucks bringing in NRM (National Resistance Movement) supporters dressed in yellow shirts.  President Museveni leads the NRM party and he was in Soroti campaigning for the upcoming election.  Nearing the hotel, we saw a tremendous military presence and once at the hotel saw all of the top Uganda generals and some of the Uganda ministry officials.  Later I found out that February 6 is Army Day, commemorating when Museveni was able to wrest control of Uganda from the opposition.  Simon recognized a number of district, county and sub-county representatives since Soroti is near where he grew up. 

Tomorrow is our court date!

Awaiting Our Day In Court

Arrived in Kampala last night, staying in a much nicer hotel this time - Le Petit Village.  Don't worry, even though it says "Petit" the bed is big enough!

The hotel is just down the road from Pastor Dongo's church, so I walked down and met him briefly this morning.  He was excited to see me, definitely wasn't expecting me.  While I was there he gave me the children's passports.  These might be helpful in court since it proves the children visited the United States and returned according to their visa which reflects positively on their visit with us.

I'm getting ready to take a taxi to meet the lawyer and then head toward Soroti where our court hearing is being held.  It's about 400km away, so we'll be on the road for at least 4 hours.  It's pretty warm already, even though it's only 9:00AM, probably in the high 70's already.  I don't know what to expect in Soroti, I hope I'm able to find a good internet connection.

Tomorrow is the big day!

En Route To Uganda

It's Saturday morning here in Brussels, Belgium and I'll be in Uganda late this evening.  On Sunday morning, our lawyer, Alex, Maureen, Uncle Simon and I will drive to Soroti for our court heairng.  I've heard it will be a 3-4 hour drive but the roads aren't as good as they are in Kampala, the capital.  My back may be paying the price!

It's been so encouraging hearing responses from family and friends we've known from elementary school, high school, college, North Carolina, Ohio and California.  All of the words of encouragement and prayers are greatly appreciated.

I don't know what my internet access will be like when we get to Soroti, I may have to find an internet lounge to get a good connection...not expecting my hotel to be a Hilton or even a Holiday Inn!

Ready, Set, Go!

I awoke this morning to the following email from Carol who works for our attorney, Victoria:

Hello Troy,
Your matter has been fixed for Monday 7th February 2011.Can you be in Uganda this week?
Thank you.
Carol.

My first reaction was, "are you kidding me?!?!"  We had planned on March so I was arranging to get all my business travel done in February prior to going to Uganda.  There was no way we could get Angie's parents here from Michigan on such short notice...plus, Angie would be wreck having to leave without adequate planning! 

I called Victoria and found out the court would accept having only one parent present if there was a good excuse.  I think 2 days travel notice qualifies!  So, we'll fill out a Power of Attorney document for Angie and I can take care of the court hearing by myself. 

I've already got a trip to Europe planned for the week of February 14, so it looks like I will go to Uganda for the court hearing, try to visit the kids' home village, visit their school and then leave for Europe on February 12.  During my week in Europe, we should get the court documents we'll need for the visa at the U.S. embassy.  On February 19, Angie will meet me in Europe and we'll fly to Uganda together.  We'll be in Kampala for a week to take care of the visa process at the U.S. embassy and then should be back home by the end of February.  That's the plan!

Pray for not only safe travel but no travel delays!