More Swimming Time!

Today, Ellen and I had the pleasure of taking two more Cornerstone kids for swimming.  Beatrice, who's about 7 years old, and 4 year-old Doreen, went with us to Mbale today.  After playing around in the water, they got to go on the swings, merry-go-round, and teeter-totter the hotel has to offer.  So much fun!  Here are some pics from the day.  Woo-hoo!

Good Times with Good Friends

This last week has been a special one at Cornerstone.  Ann, Glenn, Kevin, Emily and Caley, who are all from Evergreen Christian Center, have been visiting us in Budaka.  It has been a great seven days with friends, and getting to share the passion of Cornerstone Ministries.  The team has taught the kids softball, played Simon Says, and just loved on the kids in more individual ways.  I always struggle with the fact that I am only one person, and that reaching 30 kids is impossible.  But having a group like thi come creates opportunities for the kids to have so more concentrated love and affection, which is wonderful to watch.  The team already knows the names of most of the children, and every time they come into the orphanage, the kids run and give them hugs.
Here's a picture of the kids lined up to play baseball with the team.  The girl trying not to smile is Sarah, one of our oldest girls, as she waits her turn to bat.

Another great thing for me this week was to celebrate my birthday on Monday.  I couldn't think of a better way to start the day than by waking up at 5:15am, drinking a cup of tea during my quiet time, and then going down to see the Cornerstone kids for breakfast.  Then as a treat, my mom and I went by ourselves into Mbale town and had nature burgers (they call them "chicken" burgers, but there's no meat in them!).  It was a nice, quiet lunch with a little nap as I dozed on the way back to Budaka.  In the evening, I shared my birthday cake (it was a delicious carrot cake variety) with my mom, the kids, staff, and American team at the orphanage.  Each of the kids shared what their favorite thing is about me, and it was cool to hear what they said.  Mostly the children answered, "She brings movies for us to watch," or "She plays hide-n-seek with us."  As we munched on carrot cake, we also had tropical punch to drink, and the kids loved it.  Many children came up afterwards to thank my mom and I for celebrating with them.  Oh, how I love these kids!

Here is a picture from the party with Ann, Emily and Caley in the background.  It was a fun celebration!

Pool Time

Here's a picture of me with 3 of our Cornerstone children.  All of these kids took care of their belongings and saved their allowance to come to Mbale and swim.  We are so proud of them for showing responsibility!

For none of them having been in water before, they all picked up on the splashing game very quickly, as you can see in the picture below :)  From left they are: Brenda 2, Mutwahiru, and Sarah.

As we were driving to the hotel, I asked them if any knew how to swim.  Only Mutwahiru, whose about 11 years old, answered "Yes."  I asked him where he had been swimming from, and he said "I haven't."  I asked who taught him, and he said "My mother."  I don't know if you've ever heard of learning to swim without any water, but this was my first time! 

This last picture is of Magdalene and I.  She's about 3 years old and was terrified of the water for the first 20 minutes.  But within a short time, she was jumping into the pool on her own.  When we got back to Budaka, she told me she was going to go back to Mbale again next week!

Teaching responsibility...hopefully!

This week we have started a new area of learning and discussion with the Cornerstone kids.  We asked all of them to tell us what responsibility is and what does it mean for each of us?  We talked about President Museveni, the staff at Cornerstone, and the children themselves, and how all the responsibilities differ.  My two favorite responsibilities the kids listed for their president: "He has to make sure everyone in the country gets food" and "He has to collect money from all of Uganda."  I love how kids think!
As part of this whole responsibility "study," we checked through the children's belongings to see how responsible they have been.  Those who cared well for their blankets, sheets, etc., are getting new pillows and sheets, while those who abused their things are getting the passed-down ones from their friends.  Plus, those who have seriously spoiled their things are going to pay part of their allowance money to get new ones.  My favorite part of giving out the new things to the responsible children was watching their faces light up.  John, who's about 10 years old, got a huge smile on his face and began jumping around the room :)  Now we will see if others can pick up on the theme and care for their things!