Whittaker Woman

One mans junk is another mans treasure!

My friend Kristen works for Passion and she traveled with them to Uganda back in May. When I heard she was going I was quick to ask her if she would take some things for us to our Compassion friends down there. She was fabulous and said yes...
Today I got a email from our friend Dennis. He works for Compassion and sent me some pictures of our stuff being passed out at a couple of Compassions projects.
 
Nothing today could have brought me more joy! Well except if you go and sponsor one of these kids today!

NO Visitors allowed!

Well I have finally had to admit that I can't handle visitors ANYMORE!  I am  going to the bathroom 4 times a day. I would say that I have a healthy colon, but 4 times a day is not working for me!  So to the doctor I went to get some medicine for good old travelers diarrhea! I told him that I did not have diarrhea but he seemed to tell me I did. ?  I guess I have some friends  hanging out and truth be told  they are not welcome anymore. The fun part of it all is I am not alone... BooMama, Shlog, & Flowerdust, .

Lions, and tigers and bears

Well ok so maybe only lions but there were 10 in all!  We finished our very emotional and exhausting week with two days of detox time out on the Nile! Yep that's right folks where baby moses floated in a basket. I have to say that going on a safari has always been a dream of mine and this trip brought me to tears every time I allowed my mind to stop and think about where I was and what I was doing. It was incredible! I really felt like I was at disneyland, but it was real! We went on a "Jungle Cruise" and minus the men climbing up the totem pole everything was exactly the same!  Here are some pictures of our amazing time!

 

   
These hippo's are straight out of Disneyland!

   

 

   

Home...

We traveled about 24 hours by the time our flight was suppose to leave Chicago. I was tired and despertley ready to get home and be with my babies. We had been sitting a lovely 4 hour layover. Then we the great news that the plane was delayed about 45 minutes. Once we boarded the plane they told us that there was some mechanical issues and that took another 45 minutes to fix. When we were sitting on the plane we got a phone call from our friend who was watching the girls and she told us that #2 just threw up. Great, I thought,  I survive 8 days in Africa and now I am going to get sick once I get home. So with all the emotions of the week, my jet lag, the delays on our last leg of the trip and thinking about having to be a mommy to a barfing baby... well I lost it. Right there on the plane. Just bawling. This week I surpressed many tears  but not now, there was no controlling this. The plane was  tiny so there was no hiding the fact that all of the sudden i am sniffing because snot is pouring out of my nose. HA good memories. We finally landed at 9pm. Got picked up at 9:30pm, got all the kids and got home around 11:30pm. AHH, back to life. 
Oh, one wonderful thing that happened last night, was our sweet friends who took our girls, picked up our house while we were gone. I still have boxes to unpack but we had a made bed to climb into and rooms that were picked up. When we left it looked like a tornado just blew through so it was the best gift I could have received last night. Maybe I am acts of service too. It was a great ending to a challenging evening.  H

It a universal game...

Peek a Boo
 

 

This is real

I keep looking at these pictures and keep thinking this
is not real. I am not here with these kids, in this land,
there is no way that this is real. I have been so blessed
by this country. These people have taught me what it
is like to be pure, and full. I will forever be changed.

Airplane ticket: expensive
Hotel and food: to much
A moment like this: Priceless


Click here to sponsor a child.

Toys?

Who needs toys r us when you have a tire. Boys all over
Uganda have a tire and a stick. It just reminds me of
the simplicity of life. H

Work me over

I am a adoptive mother, its in my nature to take a precious human being who does not have a mommy and be the best one I could be for him. That is what has worked me here. You must watch this first to understand this post...

This is what  Shannon told me:
He is an orphan, his mother and father have died. His caretaker which is his aunt is very sick  and his other sibling is also very ill. Somehow he is not infected and is healthy and beautiful. His smile was so contagious. He was so joyful to be with Shannon. Think about it, he is going to be all alone here in a years if not months. And here comes this hope, this woman who is tangible, who sends him gifts, who sends him money so that he can survive, and who writes him letters of encouragement. This woman who LOVES him. That is hope. That is what this organization is about. I did not completely get it until yesterday. I am so wrecked by this. My heart is so broken. I could not have been Shannon. I could not have allowed him to get back in the car where the social worker was driving him four hours away back to nobody. I just could not do it.
Click here to be a Love to someone like Shannon has.  H

The Heart of Africa

We kept driving out of the city. The land became less and less populated and homes became more hut like. The road was long, dusty and bumpy but it took me to paradise. We traveled to a village in the heart of Uganda. It was one of the most surreal moments in my life. I have grown up to have a heart for this wonderful country, it has always been my number one dream destination,  and there is stood in a tiny village in AFRICA! I was living what I have always seen on TV.  I was standing on African soil. It was just unreal.

One thing that Compassion understands is that a child needs personal attention from the time they are born. Yet many of these mothers have no understanding what it means to be a mother. They do not understand nutrition, health, spiritual guidance, or  even simple things such as play time. So Compassion works with mothers begining with pregnancy and up. They do house visits once the baby is born once a month. Logging in all the development and growth that has happened. It is amazing what they teach these mothers who just do not know how to be mothers because their mothers did not know.
We traveled by foot through this village to experience a house visit. This mother is married however the husband also has four other wives. She does not know when he will come around so basically she is a single mother. The home visit was so detailed I was shocked because I have never had any kind of report done like that by any doctor I have ever gone to. It has been mind blowing the details Compassion puts in to this part of their program.

  This is her village her life and compassion has come in and given her a hope that  her baby will survive and become an adult that may go to the University.
   

 

Later that day she was at the Compassion project and I gave her a skirt of mine, and some clothes and toys for her son. She then came up and said "picture" she did not speak English so it meant a lot to me that she wanted to have a picture with me. I will always remember her and how she lives. I pray that Compassion will be with her every step of the way raising her sweet baby boy. 
Click here to sponsor a child.

I liked the color

I've actually wanted to always go potty in a squatty potty.
That was never on my list but it was  a secret  want. 
It lived up to my expectations. I did have to have someone
stand guard because I could not close the door.  Have you
got to experience this. If so where? H

Hanging on

Think about this picture...
This is what kind of difference we make when we sponsor
a child. They understand  what a Mzungu (white person)
can give them.  They grasp on to us  begging us to
stay!  To give them a future.
Sponsor a child here.

Their eyes

Their eyes are deep, aged, and full. They tell a story.
   
   
   
I touched and hugged on each of these sweet lives today. Each of them have
a story of abandonment,  abuse or even HIV, But they also have a story of hope
that is given to them by Compassion. These kids are nurtured, educated and
given a chance to change their story to be one of victory. I am stunned at the
difference $32 dollars can make.  Absolutely stunned. Come on the ride with me. 
Look at these eyes and help give them hope.

What would it be like?

What would it be like to have never seen your face
before. So many of these kids don't know what they look
like. They love to have their picture taken to see their own face.

Click here to sponsor a child.

Friends

There is just nothing like experiencing something
like this with some of your favorite friends!

How many do you have?

To be so honest the Whittaker household has to own at least 100 pairs of shoes between the 5 of us. I would not be surprised if it was not more. Today my spoiled self was put into place. This sweet baby boy did not even have a pair of shoes that matched and even worse they were both left shoes. Wow. Can you think about that for a second. What would your life be like if you did not even had a pair of shoes?

Click here to sponsor a child.

She will fit in my suitcase!

I saw her arrive with another little girl. I just knew I
had to hold her. I went and grabbed her and could
not let go. How precious is this little face. I did worry
a little about being extra blessed by holding her since
she was not wearing a diaper. Randy has a good story
about his blessing here. But regardless she stole my heart.
Seriously I think the Whittaker Family has officially
grown to be a family of 6. I don't know when or how but
I know that Carlos and I both agree. We're gonna do it again!

Click here to sponsor a child.

My Bean in Africa...

This is so cute. The girl on the right wanted to take a picture with her friend. She put her arm around her and then grabbed her chin to face the camera. Look at the attitude she got back. I felt like was right in front of me. I loved it.

Click here to sponsor a child.

LA Ink?

Well they don't know the show but Carlos is still
being stopped over his tattoo! H

Click here to sponsor a child.

It makes a difference

We have sponsored Wilma a sweet little girl in the
Dominican Republic for the past three years. Each month
we pay our $30 and we really don't think much about
what it is going to. Let me tell you the difference
Compassion makes, the kids in the program are clean, fed
and being educated which is the key to freedom.

Look at the difference...

Click here to sponsor a child.

Humanity is so beautiful!

I can not begin to write words that would help you understand what I saw today...

This is my favorite picture of Chris and this
sweet baby. She did the same thing to my arm and
When other kids tried to touch me she just hit them
away. She was one of the many in the slum we visited
today.

Click here to sponsor a child.

2:46 am Tuesday morning

We made it! 32 hours of traveling but we are here!

We met in Chicago and boarded a plane to Brussels.

After 10 hours we got to see the sun rise in Belgium.
We then boarded another plane...

and some of us were a little excited and full of energy.

Others were a NOT!

I was crying before my feet even touched African soil.
You see we stopped in Nairobi and about 50 families
boarded the plane. They were all dressed alike and that
is because they are being sent out of the country that is
in such chaos. They left their villages and are being sent
to safe ground where they can be safe. Randy here in the
picture told the story well. I just watched these
people, their joy, their love, their respect. Gosh I am
going to be rocked this week. I am so full of myself! They
were beautiful!

We made it!

We got to the hotel around 1am and they had kept their
buffet open just for us. It was so good!

This is why guys suck, they travel for 30 something hours
and look like they just got ready.

Thanks so much for following. One thing that really touched
me was sitting next to those families today. You know everyone
says that if you ever go to Africa you will never be the same. It
is so true. I have been here just hours and I know I am changing.
I hope I can be your eyes, ears and hands this week. I hope you
will be able to be touched by this trip that you will want to
look at your life and question so much of it. What do you live for.
What matters. HMMM i think I will be asking myself those questions
this week. Lets see! H

Who's here...

Please let me know who is following our trip. H

We are the worst travelers.

Wow it took so much for us to get out the door. We had to call Eric who was at our house a million times because we forgot our house key, then we could not find our credit card. We were a mess but we are here and ready to board...

Look at this. Only one bag for us. The other is full of
things for the kids there. I am proud of my ability to
pack lightly!

Blogging already! Here we go. H

24 hours left

My kids are driving me nuts! Sohaila is crying every other second. only wants daddy and Losiah is just a baby. However I only have 24 hours left of them and I am trying to soak it all in!

Sohaila was off crying.