It is Sunday evening here, our day off from working. My time here is quickly passing, with only 3 more days of working in the clinic before starting the trek back home. I can hardly believe that one week from today I will be sitting in the comfort of my church, with my family! It is bittersweet, the time for leaving. I can hardly wait to see everyone but it is always difficult to leave behind new and some old friends. There is so much to be done here.

Speaking of new friends, our driver Peter, stoically informed us Saturday morning that he had received a phone call informing him that his wife had delivered a stillborn baby Friday night. He trusts in God, stating "it will be alright". He was unable to return to Lira, where his wife was because there was no replacement for him. Please pray for Peter and his wife Lydia.

I have struggled to write my feelings or experience adequately, or "creatively" enough to truly give to you this experience. It is really all I have wanted to do, to be a voice. A voice for the children, with chronic runny noses, rounded tummies, and dirty little bodies covered in thread bare clothing. To be a voice for the women who believe their worth is in childbearing, and after 10 babies, age well beyond their years....For the women who walk for miles with babies on their backs, to fill their gerry cans with clean water, only to carry that back on their head as well. I want to carry home the faith and spirit of hope of the MTI Uganda staff, as the work tirelessly everyday to care for people regardless of their tribe, language or religion.

Each day for the last several weeks, we have traveled the same bumpy, dusty road to the camp. Always, I am moved by the contrast before me. Tiny homes constructed of mud, sticks and tin dot the roadside, the background is incredible green hills, lush with banana trees. Uganda is truly a beautiful place. I watch the children, waving and shouting "Muzungu!" as we walk down the road. They giggle and ask "How are you?" (I think this is the only English many know) Always trusting enough to hold my hand. I can't help but think about the difference between the life of my grandaughter, Mia, and Zawa, the little girl with a dusty face and a smile that will melt your heart! Or Jibu, a little boy, wearing a month's worth of grime, a spark in his eyes, and a little swagger in his walk. He is absolutely adorable!

There are moments when all of this seems overwhelmingly sad, when it seems that nothing will change here. That the unfairness of the extreme poverty and constant threat of violence that many have lived with is never going to end. Just as these thoughts seep in, I see the excitement in David Alula (medical officer with MTI Uganda) as he talks about all the projects to improve child health, malaria prevention and treatment and clinic outreach for Medical Teams Intl. His enthusiasm is contagious and I find myself thinking about when I can come back!!

I have seen God working here, everyday. From truly live saving treatments to the hope given to a traumatized refugee by the kind touch of the staff, God is here. Much of the world may forget the incredibly difficult life these people face, but God is faithful. He has not forgotten them, He is just waiting for us to "pick up the towel". For me, He has allowed the hands of these children to grab hold of my heart. For this, I am greatly blessed. And I know I will not soon forget their precious faces.

Please pray for peace. Mungu akubariki!