At last I write..

Hello to all! Our flight went very smoothly on Saturday night. We arrived here in Uganda Sunday morning at 7:30 am Uganda time. It took over two hours to get out of the airport! Due to the recent terrorist activity, customs took a lot longer than usual. They had to check all 22 of our bags for bombs and such, but all they saw was gifts for many of your Compassion children. (Yes, all of our luggage arrived here undamaged, and none of your Compassion packages were lost). We went straight to Agape Chapel from the airport. We arrived to church a little late, but it was a great service. Pastor Michael and the other people there were very happy to see us. We stayed for a little while after church and then headed straight to our hotel. There we checked in, unloaded our many bags, and ate lunch with Peter Habyarimana. We were able to shower and/or nap for a little while before leaving for the Agape Village Orpanage. Joel was not feeling very well on Saturday or Sunday, so he stayed back last night and slept while we went off to the orphange. We were welcomed by cheers of joy and an immediate outbreak of song. It was pouring rain and it was very dark out, but that didn't stop the children from showing us how excited they were to see us. They set up a large lamp in the sanctuary and invited us in to greet us more. They had been waiting for us since 2 pm, and we didn't arrive there until about 7! We couldn't stay there long, but we were just glad to get to see them briefly.

Today: We got up at about 7:30 am this morning, got ready, and ate breakfast. We had several errands to run before heading off to the orphanage again. One of the things we had to do was meet with Jacque's lawyer friend in regards to the Balli family adoption. It sounded very promising! The lawyer's name is John, and he used to be sponsored by a Compassion sponsor. He said that he thinks the Lord will give us favor with getting custody. We are still moving forward and trusting the Lord to guide our every step. We believe God will close the door if it is not His will. For now, we are working on getting the kids passports and an appointment with court to grant us custody. We are on our way to the Agape Village right now. I did not have internet access before just a little while ago, but I should be able to regularly update from this point on. My mom, Sandi Balli, and Debbie Baker will be spending several hours meeting with and discipling the six mothers at Agape Village today. Joel Roggenback and Aaron Cronen will be spending some time with Pastor Tom, the pastor here at Agape Chapel. Besides that, we have no plans. The kids here get out of school at 5 pm. I hope to get to play some soccer with them later! I will try to post pictures and videos tonight.

Thank you all for your prayers once again!