Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
I cant believe it is already Thanksgiving! Here is is feeling more like fourth of July. The sun is shining and there are afternoon thunderstorms almost everyday. I am writing this a day early because I don't know if I will be able to tomorrow. It has been a busy week. We received two new kids this week. One on Monday and one yesterday, and expecting another this afternoon. The first girl, Shakira, is 5 years old and was in the hospital for Malaria. She is very small and thin. She has already shown signs of improvement and this morning was smiling and playing with her sister. It is always a good sign when the kids begin to play. It is usually a sign that they have turned a corner. The second child, Isma is very ill and breaks your heart. He is very weak and sometimes has trouble standing on his own. He has to be encouraged to eat and is challenging me to come up with creative ways to get him to take his nasty tasting medicines. He is on several that have to be taking many times a day. Poor little guy. The one we are expecting today is the worst of the three. He is 7 months old and the brother of Isma. He is in need of much prayer. He is very thin and his immune system is in bad shape. He is very sick and dangerously thin. We have been trying to get him here for several days and hope that today is the day.

The rest of the children are improving day by day. Some of them are getting close to going home, but we are waiting for Renee to get home before we release anyone. The house is very full indeed and we are beginning to get creative on the sleeping arrangments. All nine cribs are full and some of them are doubling up. So far everyone is getting along and we are grateful for that. I have not posted any new pics because my camera battery died. I am hoping Renee will be able to bring me a few from the states as they are hard to fine. Cant believe I did not think of that before I left! Duh! Josephine has recovered well from here eye surgery and her eyes are just beautiful! Mazafalu has adjusted well to his glass eye but still hates having it taken out to clean it I really can not blame him for that. I don't particularly enjoy it either! :)

Thanksgiving for Danielle and I will be nice. We are invited to a fellow missionary's house along with many others. We are having a traditional Turkey dinner with most of the trimmings. We are looking forward to it very much. Katie went to kill the turkey this morning. ( A better woman than I!) If you want to know more about Katie and who this amazing women is you can check out her blog at www.kissesfromKatie.blogspot.com
The short version is she is a 21 year old American who came here and has taken in 13 children and is being just an amazing Mom to them while running a ministry in one of the slums here in Jinja. We are in a bible study together as well. The more I get to know this young women, the more I like her.

This afternoon I am off to a village called Kikira to try and obtain some food supplements for one of our kids. We have been able to get plumpy nut from them in the past. In case you don't know what plumpy nut is, it is a mixture of peanut butter, dry milk, fat, and vitamins that most kids love and helps them to recover from Malnutrition. It has made a real difference in many of the kids in our program.

Well, I will close for now. Know that I love and miss you all. I hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving where ever you are in the world. I pray that as you take time to remember what you are thankful for this year, that Jesus is at the top of your list. There really is nothing that is more valuable than the gift he offers us.

In His Service,
Jennifer