I have decided that in Africa, the adventures never end, and we could be here the rest of our lives and always have crazy things happen! Uganda is such a crazy country, and I absolutely love it.

 

We just got back from northern Uganda (Lira) where we were for a couple of days. We had a wonderful time there with a missionary there and seeing the ministry with orphans that her and her husband began several years ago. Before that, we spent several days in Kampala, networking, and filming some amazing things.

 

One day, Brian and I went with a doctor from the AIDS department of a local hospital to his home-care runs. He goes to the patients who cannot come to the hospital, and gives them their medication and checks up on how they are doing. It was very sobering to see all the suffering in the slums of Kampala. We drove around Kampala all day, and we saw so much poverty that it was completely overwhelming. It was really cool to see the doctor with the patients though, he was very compassionate, and would spend time just sitting and talking with them, and showing them that he cared.

 

One patient that we went to see was a father of 3 children who's wife died of AIDS 2 years ago, and 4 months ago he was diagnosed with the disease. His 14 year old daughter cares for him and also her 6 year old brother, who also was just diagnosed with AIDS. It was a very sad situation to walk away from, and very sobering.

 

Near the end of the day, we went to the poorest part of Kampala that we had seen all day, where we were going to see a 32 year old man. When we got there, we found out that he had died during the night. His body was still in the house, and outside there were many people gathered just kind of sitting there. You could see the despair on the children's faces and the hopelessness in their eyes, because that is all they have to look forward to. They have no future, no great ambitions for their lives because they are poor, and because all around them, their families and friends are dying of this horrible disease, and they don't know if they will be next.

 

It was definitely an overwhelming day for both Brian and I, and we saw much more than we ever thought we could handle. I came away with a much bigger perspective on the damage that AIDS is doing to Uganda, and all of Africa. It seems like a very hopeless situation, and yet there are people that are working so hard to help these people affected with AIDS, to educate them, and to get them medication to help their lives last a little longer. There is hope here, but often it can be hard to find.

 

There are so many things that I have seen here in Africa...it would take forever to share it all. But over time, there will be more stories, more experiences that I have had that I will be able to share with you all. It is nearly impossible to say everything at once, as my senses are completely overloaded every single day. One day I will return here, I know that I will. I have completely fallen in love with the people, the country, and I want more experiences like I have had on this trip. Africa has stolen my heart, and I don't think I will ever get it back.