We're home, and visiting Family:)

The Toronto airport!!  We were so happy when Paul, Jaimie, Jordan and Nathan surprised us at the airport.  Then Dad showed up with Lyla too.  It was great to see family again !!!

We flew into Toronto airport on Friday afternoon from Rwanda, and left the next morning for Florida on a Campbell family vacation for a week.  It was nice to be with family and relax on the beach!

Jakob!!

After a great week in Flordia, we spent time with Kim's family in Whitby, Strathroy and Huntsville. Thanks Lisa, Don, Adin and Van for flying in from Saskatchewan to visit!

 Adin Anne!

I sure missed my Mom!!

Jordan has a new baby brother Nathan.  He was born while we were in Africa.  Sept. 15th! 

Weston!                                              

                                                                                  Lyla Marley!

Van!!

Saying Good Bye:(

 In the Orphanage some of the older kids paint most Saturdays and they sell the paintings to raise money for the things that are needed there. Mark and I couldn't leave Rwanda without buying a few of their paintings.   

 Lunch time!

Mark went to finish up another bed for a family in Ubuzima before we flew home that evening.  The kids ALWAYS jumped at the chance to build with him.

Alain is part of the Ubuzima group. (Men, Women and children affected with HIV) He and his wife have 4 children.  Alain is an artist  for a living.  We brought home 20 of his painting to sell for him.  If you're interested, let us know!!

 

A quilt that the ladies from Ubuzima made us! 

One of our going away presents. (if you can't tell, it's a painting of Mark and I on our wedding day:) 

 The group is praying for us as we are about to leave them for the last time. 

We have not posted any pictures of us balling our eyes out.... but believe me, we did!!  It was incredibly hard to say good bye to these amazing people. 

 Yvette's room after she got the walls cemented.  The wall  were all just dirt, and it would fall on her as she was trying to sleep.  Thanks to Meghan and all those who contributed to helping Yvette and her family fix up their house!

 

We had a small good bye party with some of the Street boys and 'former' street boys and girls.

Sincere wrote us a song and sang it to us for our going away present. So sweet, but pretty emotional.

                                                      The boys were up and dancing!!

Saying Good bye:(

Our trip to Uganda

 We took a bus to Uganda for a few weeks to visit some friends of Kim's.  Kim had spent 6 months in Uganda about 5 years ago and had gotten very close to a Ugandan family while there.  They have 5 kids who are all over the country attending different schools. We had a great time traveling around visiting all of them, and seeing more of East Africa.

 Kim with her 'African Mom'

 Mark is with Kim's African Dad (Joash) and brother Joab. 

We had such a great day in a little village that Joash grew up in.  His Mom and 3 siblings still live there with their families.  Here are a few kids that live in the village.

Kim and Grandma!  She gave birth to 14 children and now has over 80 grandchildren!! Incredible lady!

Mom and Dad :)

 Mark is loving sugar cane.

 This is Peace and her daughter Heidi. Peace was rapped and got pregnant when she was 14 and is now raising her beautiful daughter as a single mom. Thanks to some  friends and family from Ontario, we were able to give Heidi enough money to pay for her schooling for the next year and a half.

 

 Joshua and Faith are Kim's African brother and sister.  Joshua makes and sells paper bead necklaces so that he can help pay for his 4 siblings and his own education.   We have brought some home to Ontario to help him sell.

                                                   Down town Kampala, all day every day!!


Mark is helping a 7 year old girl put about 50 lbs of sugar cane on her head to take home so that her family can sell it.

The Rwenzori Mountain!  We spent a day hiking through them.

This man is using a rock to get coffee beans out of the shell that they grow in.

A small church in the Rwenzori Mountains.

                                                       

Adorable kids!!

                         This is what a typical kitchen looks like in a village home.  It is not actually in the home, it is a little room they build beside their home.  They use  coal and firewood to cook.

We got to visit another one of our sponsor children while in Uganda.  Her name is Mercy.  She is 12 years old and has 2 brothers and 3 sisters.  They are all being raised by there Grandmother. 

 This is insides Mercy's house.  Her Aunt, Grandma, 2 cousins, 2 brothers, sister and neighbor are all there to greet us!  Such an amazing day.  Compassion International is a great organization for sponsoring children through!  We were really impressed.

At Mercy's school. This picture is Kim with a kindergarten class.   

Mark is just about to use an outdoor bamboo shower!  (the mustard bottle was our shampoo:) This was at a nice camp ground we spent a day at to relax before heading  back to Rwanda.