May 11, 2018 – My journey back to “the Bend” has begun. I’m in Amsterdam and relaxing a bit into between flights.

I think I always say it’s hard to leave Uganda and friends. Keeping up with the wonderful progress of PCAU and being a part of encouraging the staff and working with them is fulfilling. They are a good group who always ask, “How is the United States and your friends?” They continue to work hard and often long hours. Rose’s health has improved and I found that she had increased energy, but some days she needs to be a bit slower! We all pray for her health!

I participated in the evaluation of the Children’s Camp. It is a success whenever we bring children together – and a small miracle when they ALL arrive from the great distances. They had FUN, and their simple evaluation is that it “should never end!” We did agree that there were some definite negative aspects of this year’s camp location – cleanliness, on-site staff preparedness, quality of the food, loud noise/music, etc. The biggest positive thing was that it wasn’t far and didn’t take us long to get there! However, there are other options for the future.

Another strong suggestion is that we keep the children for an additional day – have one day of events/activities at Lweze Conference Center and then a day away. I have to say, this is one thing that I had hoped would happen. It seems practical due to the distances traveled to make better use of the time we have with them when they gather. Much more discussion will take place and some of the activities will be altered and adjusted.

My last day in the village was busy. I didn’t go into the office so I could pack, catch up and relax, but. if you are at home in the village everyone knows and everyone comes. This happened up until the car came at 7:30PM to take me to the airport. I can’t complain, it was another wonderful and memorable day for my short trip.

For those of you who have followed George and ALL his stories, let me assure you he is currently doing very well. He remains in school and is very proud that he is speaking better English. He told me, “Auntie Roberta, you tell them!” He will return to the same school after break and we pray for continued positive results.

Thank you for journeying with me. Thank you to the Center for Hospice Care for all the work they have done over the years to strengthen and grow this partnership that serves as a model for other partnerships. This is the 10th Anniversary of the partnership between PCAU and CHC and will be celebrated with an event at the end of July this year. Rose and two other staff plan to attend. Maybe you can attend too. All will be welcome!