Looking back

Oh man. It is really seems that the loneliness that comes after having family members (and other visitors) leave almost steals the joy of having them here at all. I hate that!! It becomes very comfortable in a very short time to have people to share all my meals and quiet evenings with. And suddenly very empty when they go.
It feels necessary to throw myself back into ministry when they go. And not really because I neglect it quite a bit when they are here so there is lots of catching up to do. But mostly because being so busy feels better than the alternative.
But anyway, that is enough of that.
Catching up a bit: Overall my time with my friend Rachael was very refreshing. There was lots of time away from Soroti and Karamoja which gave me a nice break. She posted some of her a pictures on her blog- well worth going over and looking at.  We spent some time in the game park and traveling around Uganda and having several unplanned "adventures".

On the same trip to drop her off at the airport I picked up my parents. It is always wonderful to have them her. I treat myself to a bit of a "stay-cation" when they visit though we also spent some time resting at a nice little place on the Nile.

 Dad did a whole pile of projects that I needed done around the house. Hung pictures, fixed the oven, screen doors, hours working on the truck, updating my solar power, the list could go on and on. Mom and I canned nearly 20 jars of salsa (Aunt Pat, I still use your recipe every time!), and she made piles of pot holders and yelled at me every time I used a towel to pull stuff out of the oven. :-)

Some how he broke several of my tools....

They also really served the team in providing hours of child care at our team retreat while the rest of us got to spend hours in meetings.

We also spent a few nights at my house in Karamoja. Both of my parents were given Karamojong names. My dad's means big bull with large horns. (As demonstrated in the photo.) Mom's name means windy. I'll reserve comment. :-) 

Mom and Dad, when you are ready to retire I could make you a nice little mud hut next to mine...

I'm sure the village will happily accept you as elders. And cost of living will make Dad's pension excessive.