Update

So what has been going on lately?

Glad you asked...

Well things are changing with the boys almost daily.  Things in Uganda seem to change all the time.  We think one thing is going to happen and then it doesn't.  For instance?

Dan

I am so sad to report that the uncle was in Dan's village all day looking for a school for him and none of the schools would take him.  Their excuse?  It is the end of the year.  It is super frustrating and ridiculous.  We are paying for school, so it isn't like the school isn't going to benefit from him being there also.  But mainly it is super annoying because that means that he is going to be just hanging out or doing odd jobs until the beginning of next year when a school said they would finally take him.    Four more months of him doing nothing.  Just another reminder that education is not a right in Uganda.  It is a privilege and one that is being withheld from so many.

Continuing on with the bad news...

Willy never came home after holiday.  If you remember the post I wrote about him, you will remember that I said he would rather live in the village than with us.  I was hoping for it too.  Just not like this.  Willy always stays until that last second before school starts to come back.  I don't really know why, but he does.  So this time, when he was late coming back, we didn't worry.  The uncle tried calling the dad but never got through.  When the day for school to start came and went, we still didn't worry.  It is a really bad habit in Uganda for a lot of kids to not go to school on the first day.  The uncle kept trying to call, but never got through.  Maybe 2 weeks after school started, the uncle finally reached someone(his aunt.  The dad still ignores his calls.).  Turns out, his dad got really angry and ran his wife off.

***Side note-We were considering that Willy should just be resettled and we would pay school fees while he stayed in the village with his dad.  We were worried to do that because his dad is very sick and it is inevitable that he is going to die.  It could be soon but there is no way to know.  His health gets really bad and then he bounces back.  If his dad died, we were worried about how the step mom would treat Willy.  She has her biological children with Willy's dad but the rest of Willy's siblings(same biological mom and dad) have run away.  So we wanted him to come home and we talk to him and his dad separately about it first.

Back to Willy's dad...

Since he ran his wife off, there is no one to take care of him, the house, or the business.  So guess who has to do it???  YEP!  Willy.  That means no school, no education, and who knows what will happen in the future.  I am really hoping that Willy and his father are able to repair their relationship and Willy is happy staying in the village.  I really hope that his dad will be kinder to him and value him more.  Since his dad wants him, there is nothing we can do.  We can't prove abuse and I am not sure that his dad beats him.  I think his dad is just really harsh and mean.  I think that probably he is verbally abusive.  But for now, all we can do is pray for Willy and his father and trust that the Lord will keep him safe.  The good thing is if things become too unbearable for Willy, he knows where we live and knows he has a place with us always.

In other news, the other boys are doing well and working hard this school term.  Dunkan has his sights set on first place in his class.  He continues to amaze me day after day.  Ronald has started his training for boxing.  It seems to have him in great spirits.  That last few times I have spoken to him, he has been really happy.  He says he is loving his training.  It keeps him busy, which is what he really needs.  We have finally began to look for garages for three of the boys to start training at.  Jacob, Kansiime, and Davis will start training as soon as the uncle can find 3 separate garages for them to train at.  They have all grown up so much recently and started to act more responsible and mature, so we decided that it was finally time.   We have also found a woman that is a qualified counselor.  We have yet to meet her but she was referred to us.  The day the uncle had scheduled to meet, she had a family emergency.

Things are well and moving on as you can see.  I am still back in the US and so desperately want to be back in Uganda.  I miss the kids more and more each day.  Every time we talk the first thing they ask is when are you coming back. I never have an answer but I keep telling them soon.  I would ask that you prayerfully consider helping make that a reality.

There are 5 things you can do to help:

1. Pray
2. Sponsor a boy or give a one time gift to help with the costs of running the home.  (No amount is too small to make a difference.)
3. Sponsor me (Any amount per month or one time gift would be greatly appreciated.  I have been so focused on fundraising for the home and the boys, I only have about 1/10 of what I need to live in Uganda. Again no amount is too small to make a difference.)
4. Buy jewelry or sell jewelry for us.
5. Invite me to speak at your church or small group to raise support or speak on our behalf to your friends, family, church, co-workers, strangers, anyone you can think of about what we are doing and encourage them to get involved.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help, support, and prayers.  They keep me going and are changing the boys as I type.