What happened after the Wooly visit was only explainable by God's timing. Angella and I needed to borrow a car from our friend Patt, who happens to live in Nsambya which is also where the Agape orphanage is. My mom decided that a good place to spend some of the money she had was to help them finish the kitchen of the house so Angella and I figured we could also stop and drop off the money. We were going to do it Friday but because of the slow start from the rain we didn't have time. Two of the children, Diana and her brother John were visiting their grandmother so we didn't get to visit them at Watoto. We got the car and drove to Agape, planning to be in and out really quickly. As we were getting out of the car, a girl walked up and gave Angella a hug. At first I thought it was a random patient or something. Then she stood in front of me and I stared at her. She looked like Diana, but I didn't quite recognize her because she looked so grown up and healthy. It turns out that her grandmother lives literally right next door to Agape and she happened to be on her way to church. It was perfect timing - from delivering the money on a different day, staying later at Watoto, and Diana going to church at exactly that time because she was late. It was awesome to see her and since we saw her, we found a way to pick her up and take her for the fun event with all the other kids today! It was perfect!!
As for today, I can't even start to describe all the excitement, but I'll post a few pictures to help! We collected all the Woolies and a few of our adult friends to help out with taking care of them. The event at the Oval was huge! There were a ton of bouncy castles, a huge speaker system with fun music, face painting, and good food for the kids. When we got to our meeting place, we ended up waiting over an hour for the Woolies to arrive. In the meantime, Angella had told her brother, Clement about the even and asked him to come and help. He pulled up with a car full of kids. I assumed it was just a bunch more kids to have fun with. I was wrong - it was a car full of 7 Scouts (i.e. Boy Scouts). They came complete with uniforms, a huge first aid kit, and a tent in case we needed shade. They were invaluable throughout the day. Any time a kid's location was unknown, the went on a search, the took kids on trips to the bathroom, delivered food and drinks, and basically were rock stars! I really shouldn't expect anything less from a member of Angella's family!
In addition to the scouts, we had a really great help named Godfrey who is one of Angella's other friends. He is so great with kids and is a teacher so he knew exactly how to get the kids under control and he seemed to really enjoy the day! I was so appreciative of his hard work and I don't know how much more difficult the day would have been without him! The kids really loved the day and running around. When I got home I just felt like my heart was full. We got to be a part of a really special day with really special kids. None of them got lost or hurt and there were almost always smiles! We got cotton candy at the end of the day and all the kids got seedlings to take home and plant. It started pouring right as we were leaving, but it was just fine. The kids were happy and we just sat under a canopy until it was over. I am just so happy that we got to enjoy such a special day and the sunburn I have on my chest and arms are SOOOOO worth it!!
Another bonus is that UGANDA WON GOLD!!!! Everybody has been so doubtful about getting a medal that it has become a bit of a joke! When he won, we were getting phone calls from friends saying there was a gold for Uganda. We didn't know what event it was until we got home but we were still ecstatic! When we got home, Hope said it was the marathon (a really tough event!!) and that when it happened, the entire neighborhood was cheering and you could hear people yelling all over Ntinda! It's so great that they are all so excited! I really hope that the Kiprotich comes home while we are here so we can go to welcome him in. The government has not been very supportive of its athletes so it is great that they were successful without even having the backing of their country's leaders!!
Finally, the most dramatic part of the night was the FIRE! It was so crazy! There is a big shopping center called Capital Shoppers literally next to us with only a brick wall to separate it. So many times I have wished there wasn't a wall so we didn't have to walk around the whole neighborhood to carry things home. Today I was very thankful for the wall! I really wanted a cheese sandwich from the restaurant in Capital but my mom suggested Tusky's deli which is just a little further down the road. Since it was a quick trip, Angella and I decided to just take the money we need. I think it's the only time I've traveled without my bag, phone, or really anything. While we were gone, the fire started. My mom will tell the whole story, but I will briefly re-share.
They heard a person pounding at a door and yelling. Hope went outside to see a man yelling and pounding at the window of the third floor on the other side of the wall. A group of people were on the ground trying to convince him not to jump, but he was frantic, saying he was burning and he needed to jump. Somebody tried to get a ladder but it wasn't tall enough. Then a rope was thrown, but they decided it wasn't strong enough. Finally, JB took one of our mattresses and a couple from the neighbors and jumped over the wall with them. They convince him to jump, but first he got scared and was hanging from the window. When he finally dropped, he ended up breaking both of his legs but otherwise he survived. The smoke was the worst though. It was blowing directly over the building and into our house. Because of the way it was blowing, it only went into our house, so we were forced out. Angella and I went back to get our phones and ID's because we weren't sure how bad it was or if we might have to sleep somewhere else tonight. The smoke was so thick we could barely breath. We got in and out as quickly as possible. After experiencing that little bit of smoke, I can't imagine how scary it would be in a really big fire like that! After making sure everybody was okay, Angella and I couldn't resist the urge to see what the fire actually looked like. Based on the amount of smoke, we were sure it was huge! When we got there, we saw it was probably only a few stores, but there was a ton of damage. The whole township of Ntinda seemed to be out to look. I felt horrible for the shop owners who were being kept away. They were worried about damage to the stores and the possibility of people looting. We got close enough to take just a few pictures, but it was mostly too dark to get any good ones. I was just happy to know the fire wasn't too bad. I feel horrible for any of the small shop owners who had spaces. They lost everything and I am sure didn't have insurance. We will look at the real damage tomorrow. I am just glad there was very little injury and that there were at least quite a few emergency vehicles. The first fire truck didn't have water, but after that, everybody else seemed a lot more prepared. The fire was around 7 and it is nearly midnight. The sirens are finally done, but there are still firemen in the building with lights investigating the building. For now, I am thankful for a great day, but with all the excitement it is going to be hard to settle down and sleep!
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