update on today...

Today was a good day.

We traveled into northern Iganga District to inaugurate a catholic church. The money from this church actually came from San Antonio – St. Hedwig. We started out leaving the hotel and going to New Grace. All of the children were there and sang to us. Since we were only there for a few minutes I was unable to hand out the Miller’s clothing or find Ben and others. I look forward to going back later this week to find them. The Catholic Church is close to a river about 2 hours North of Iganga town were our hotel is. The service was very formal and had about 250 in attendance. Distric representantives, 4-5 church leaders, 4 or so other people who I never figured out who they were all came to speak. We worshipped under tarps that whipped in the breeze, and it was HOT. They handed out a letter describing the place, the land that was given, the missionaries that had been there and how blessed they were to finally have a REAL church to worship in (remember, we were under tarps). I should note that the land and prayers have been given since 1890 - they have waited a very long time for a church. The sitting missionary looked young; he had come to the village in 1993 and was only the 4th in succession! Kemper is tired but always ready to preach or chase a child. Tomorrow we plan to travel into the north-eastern part of Iganga and stay for 2 days. Thanks to every one for your prayers. Pray for favor with the drilling company that the rates, quality, and speed of drilling would be the best! As soon as I sign off here, we are going to meet with a drilling guy to see if he accepted my proposal from yesterday...if so, we will hire him and get it going. Very exciting. Being with Richard and Peter and the kids at New Grace has raised my excitement level about investing in this place. Surprisingly, the more we talk about it, the less overwhelmed I am by it. There are some good systems in place it seems...

So glad to be here!

Brian

It's me - I'm here!

When I stepped off the plane, I was not sure how I would feel being back in Uganda. I have actually been nervous about my return and the feeling that being here- just one person - was useless. But then, the doors of the plane opened and it hit me...the smell of fires burning triggered my memory of this 3rd world country. The smoky air and the 85 degree weather at 9 pm at night felt so familiar and good.

We traveled quickly to Iganga town. This is the main city of the Iganga District and where New Grace Primary is located. The town has considerably more people here than even 6 months ago. There are easily twice as many people in the streets and Peter tells me that there are many more children at the school...I cant imagine. The people are as nice as ever. Smiling and yelling "Sabo" (sir) and "Mazungu" (white person). We have walked the streets and met so many people out working on the street. We are at the Mwana Highway Hotel...I am staying in the room Linda and Teresa were in (I think - it was one of the girls rooms). When I got to the hotel, the armed man standing at the door (with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder looked right at me and said "hello". This is not common as usualy everyone tries to steer clear of these guys. He began to approach me and I just held out my hand to shake his. He shifted his body so that his rifle would slide behind him and he grabbed the barrel with his left hand. He put out his hand and shook mine and again said, "hello". Wierd and cool moment.

Peter's heart for New Grace is so apparent. Since we were here last time, the two classrooms they had under construction have been completed. One is a classroom and one is a boys dorm. The boys dorm needs 12 beds at approx. $135 each. A friend (you know who you are) gave me some money and I will be buying a couple of them while I am here. This will get the kids on mattresses on beds and off the floor. Peter, I guess, got the government to step up, and the restrooms are in much better shape. They have put concrete floors down and PVC pipe to carry out the horrible smell we experienced last time. A girls dorm is halfway complete with walls up (Peter has funded this entire project on his own). There is a mountain of timber to be used for the kitchen and a clapboard kitchen in the back yard area. The well (the hand dug one) has been capped and the color was much better than before. Peter and I went this evening to determine the site for the new well. I told him I prefered it to be in the front so others in the community can come for water as well. 200 shillings buys enough water to fill a 25 liter bottle. The locals carry these bottles all the way to downtown Iganga and home. This is a several mile walk everyday for clean water. Peter and I have discussed charging 100 shillings for the new well (they save 100 shillings) and it is a much closer walk for most of them. My thought was we could use this to pay for the orphans food. Thoughts?!? Please let me know what you think about this.

We travel all over the Iganga district over the next several days and will have no internet.

Will keep you updated as I can...you can count on Courtney as I will be talking to her often. Internet service here at the Mwana Highway Hotel is....spotty to say the least! (remember guys)

Brian

Brian has arrived in Uganda!

I talked to Brian this afternoon...he was very tired, but very excited. The flight, he said was uneventful, and he slept a lot. The hotel that they were going to stay at was full, so they actually had to upgrade to a nicer hotel...on a golf course he said. I cannot wait to see the pictures of this one. He was laughing when he told me about it. Anyway, they were settling in for the night when I talked to him and he said he would call me tomm.

He is going to try to blog as well if he can, if not, I will keep you updated as we will hopefully talk everyday.

Thanks for your prayers for his trip. Please pray for the kids at New Grace - that everything with the well will fall in to place quickly! And for his meeting with Pastor Peter (in Ggaba) - we pray a partnership would spring forth so we can care for the kids at New Grace.

Love yall!

Court

At the beginning...

Hi friends.

Well, we are at the beginning of a new journey. We have begun the process of looking in to adoption. We go to a meeting tomm. in Austin to learn more and turn in our first application. This whole process takes quite a while and we are not quite sure what the future holds...we are just taking one day at time and trusting that the Lord will open doors and close them as He sees fit.

So, that is where we are. We will keep you posted on any updates.

Love you all!

Courtney and Brian

The Winter Blast!

We have survived the icey mess here Boerne!

I know our family in Illinois is laughing...that's okay, I sort of am too! Us Texans cant handle this stuff...we wanted snow and got ice! Lots of it!
When we went out and tried to scrape the cars today, we found ice an inch and a half thick (see the picture of Brian and our neighbor). The icicles were huge!

Our sweet puppies are just relaxing in the warm house...however, they are ready for their backtard to come back! Our grass and driveways...everything is a solid sheet of ice. Our dogs basically tiptoe outside to go to the bathroom and tiptoe straight back in. They are wimps about the cold! We have been hanging out with our neighbors and watching movies...we have the BEST neighbors! We are very blessed. We are now entering what the news is calling, "The Big Melt"..drama! We are suppose to be cold again tonight, but then we are suppose to warm up for the next few days! Everything is getting very slippery now that it is above freezing...the ice is now wet...lots of people falling.

The last picture is of our precious niece and nephews. My sisters are missing the big chill here is SA. Candace and her fam went to visit Kristin and her family in Australia. They are sending me pics like this in summer clothes...man I wish I was there...to be with them and to be warm! They are just the cutest things and I love them SO much...I wanted to throw them in just for fun! Love yall and stay warm!

Snow in Boerne!

That's right. We are all snowed (really more like iced) in today. All the schools are closed and lots of the roads...so, we are hanging out at the house drinking hot chocolate and playing outside. Look at our house! You can see the snow!

We are suppose to get more snow today and tonight! Very fun and rare for Texas!

California Dreamin'

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'! We got to meet up with some friends from home that now live in San Diego - the Wallers showed is all around La Jolla...one of the cutest little towns I've ever been to! And, we caught this beautiful sunset on the beach...thanks Wallers!

Hello friends and family and Happy 2007!

As many of you know, this has been a rocky few weeks leading up to Christmas for us with regard to our desire to start our family. However, we are doing well, and enjoyed being with family over Christmas. Our favorite part was being with the kids and watching the faces of our nephew and nieces taking in the wonder and joy of all the celebration... I never thought a kid would be so excited about a camo wallet...but, my sweet nephew Taylor was over the moon! Kids are the best!

After Christmas, we headed out of town for a litte "R and R". We actually went on vacation! It's a miracle! We spent 5 days in San Diego! Aside from the Holiday Bowl, the trip was amazing and such a great time for us to just be tourists and go on lots of FUN dates. We rode the trolley, ate lunch at the bar from the movie Top Gun, toured a Russian Submarine and US Aircraft Carrier, ate a little In & Out Burger (the best!)...all in all, it was a great trip! We stayed in a hotel right on the San Diego Bay - Brian did good! It was beautiful to say the least! The sunsets and New Years fireworks over the water were an amazing site from our hotel room window! Below are some pics from our trip! We love you and will see you soon...hopefully!



The bunks on the Russian Submarine were small! This sub tour was a challenge for anyone who is not crazy about confined spaces...me!!!



Brian and I standing on the flight deck of a US aircraft carrier...Brian loved every minute of this HUGE ship!

The Pacific Life Holiday Bowl! Not a good night for the Aggies - but a really fun experience!

Downtown San Diego - view from a boat on The Bay. Our hotel is the huge tower on the right!


Captain Brian! This ship is the one used in the Russell Crowe movie "Master and Commander"


Hope you have enjoyed our pics! We love you all and appreciate the love, thoughts and prayers from everyone over the last few weeks...We will keep you posted with any news!

Bless you and yours,

The Garrisons