Status Update

I thought it might be appropriate, now that I'm right around the halfway mark on the trip, to give you guys a quick status update. I have about 2 1/2 weeks to go, and a little less than two weeks already under my belt. It certainly seems like I've been here much longer!! In a good way...

So far, I've spent lots of time with a boy that I always knew would play a prominent role in the book. His name is Julius and he lives with his three younger siblings in Jinja. I've had the chance to spend two days with him so far, and plan to spend another day with him in the coming week to hopefully see his home and his school and meet his siblings.

I have also spent some time with some girls from an orphan rescue ministry called Dwelling Places--primarily a girl called Harriet. Today I will be spending the day with Harriet and her brothers Sam and Joseph as we go out to another orphan home called Watoto to visit their younger siblings. Please pray for us to have a good time, and also for good interviews.

Next week I plan to connect with a man named William in Jinja who runs a small home for AIDS orphans, and also a man named David Livingstone who runs an orphanage outside Jinja. On the 16th I will leave Jinja for good, so please pray that this will be a productive week.

I will be coming back to Kampala on the 16th, and will be leaving the next morning for a 2 1/2 day safari with Lori at Murchison Falls game park. Upon leaving Murchison Falls, I hope to find my way to Gulu in the north to meet with some orphans there. I have no contacts in Gulu as of yet, so please pray that the logistics will work out, or that I will be able to modify the plan to make those days productive.

I plan to leave Gulu on the 21st to return to Kampala. On the 22nd, I'm hoping to meet with a girl named Jackie whose parents were burned to death by the LRA, and on the 23rd I will go to a village south of the Equator to meet some orphans and the grandparents who care for them. Lori will be joining me to evaluate a well project in the village.

So that's the plan. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed yesterday, because right now I don't feel like I have anywhere near the amount of information that I need. Please pray that I will trust that the Lord has a plan, and that He will carry it out in His own time and way. I must just be fluid and obedient. You can also thank Him with me that I have been entirely healthy and safe for my entire trip so far. Literally nothing has gone wrong! I feel very insulated from trouble. I am confident moving about by myself, and have had no trouble at all with anything, really. I know that so much of that is due to your faithfulness to keep praying for me. Please keep it up. I hope to have the time soon to be able to write a blog just of things you can pray for me. Maybe when I get back from Watoto this evening.

And look for another video soon.

Hug yourself for me!
Amanda