Observations from Morgan

We have been in Uganda for 16 days now and we have plenty to reflect on. I (Morgan) want to try and capture some of the things we have observed both in our boys and about this beautiful country.

One of the first things I noticed about Elijah is that he kept saying to me in Lugandan, "Ya coco va mboko" with a huge smile on his face. I could always tell when he was really happy because he would say it over and over again to me. I thought it must mean something sweet like "I love you" or "Thanks for adopting me." Come to find out it actually means "I'm going to beat you with a stick!" So yeah, Elijah is quite the little jokester.

On day 1, I was shocked beyond belief when our large child, Nathaniel, cleaned up after himself without being asked to. After many days with him we now realize that he greatly prefers cleanliness and order and he is not a happy camper without those things. He will never be the kid who is always in trouble for having a messy room.

When Elijah gets angry because he was told "no" or because he doesn't get his way, he will sometimes strip off all his clothes and lie down naked on the floor. One time he even sat naked in a plastic wash basin for like a half an hour. I wonder what goes through his little head. "I'll show them. I will take off all my clothes. That will really sting and then they won't tell me no anymore." Son, all your doing is creating fodder for blackmail later in life. Can you imagine when he brings a date home?

Nathaniel is pretty independent. But I see a lot of a battle within him between the felt responsibility to be a caretaker for his little brother and to just relax and be a kid. I see more and more of the latter, for which I am very thankful. I want him to rest in the fact that he now has a mom and dad to care for both he and his brother.

Speaking of rest, we had one of the most peaceful times of the entire trip Saturday night when we went to eat on the shores of Lake Victoria. When I say on the shores, I literally mean sitting at a table, on the beach, 10 feet from the gentle waters. Around us were palm trees and all kinds of beautiful plants. There was candlelight, peace, quiet, a cool breeze and good food. I felt like I could live there on the shores and be completely content.

The next day I preached at a church in a small village about 2 hours from our guest house. I greatly enjoyed the privilege of teaching Sunday school and preaching the gospel with these loving people. God is certainly at work among the villages and people of Uganda.

There are so many more observations I could make about this experience. It really is one of the hardest but also one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.