Mom is Coming = The Beginning of the End

Yesterday I went to bed thinking about the arrival of my mom, who is arriving in a couple of hours! I talked with her a few times throughout the day to be sure she didn't have any questions and that she made all of her connecting flights. The last time I was here she ventured on her first solo international flight ever and she was appropriately careful make a clear plan. Good thing she can wing it, even in Africa as we showed up at the airport and waited until 4 am only to find that her final flight was temporarly cancelled due to some fluid leaking and an unfixable plane. She ended up making friends with 3 people my age from Poland and Uganda and explored a really nice hotel in Kigali, Rwanda with them for a night. We have been praying for safe travels all the way and no broken planes, but I think making new friends again would be okay.

If you are reading this blog you have probably met my mom - since I expect that it is generally family and a few close friends that have been following along - then you know she is pretty awesome. If you haven't, you should know - she is a pretty awesome woman. I mean, she took her first trip to Uganda when she was 61 years old and has the energy and enthusiasm of somebody younger than me. She is always ready to do whatever it is we are doing, whether it is riding for hours on a bumpy road in a cramped car to spend just a few hours with some kids at an orphanage, wait on a hard wooden bench for 4 hours while we wait to bring a child to a doctor, or walk around a crowded flea market in the hottest part of the day collect huge bags full of shoes and clothes weighing 50 lbs. Oh yeah, and my personal favorites, horseback riding near the Nile and riding an unruly (and drooly) camel at the Giza Pyramids.

These are just a few ways that my mom has amazed me while she has traveled. Prior to that she had lived in Hawaii with my dad for a couple of years when she was in her early 20's but hadn't done any international travel in her life. That doesn't mean she isn't strong and capable. Let's be honest, she has overcome a lot of things in her life (those are her stories to tell, if you don't know, you can ask) and managed to raise at least one incredible doctor (that would be Ross - I'm not there yet) . She has done it all with a smile on her face, a positive attitude, and a constant willingness to keep going. She is a prayer warrior in everything I have ever done and she continues to be an inspiration. That's not to say we don't have our moments, as I think any mother and daughter do. I am thankful that she forgives my impatience and continues to support me even when I make mistakes. I consider it a true blessing that my mom and I have shared two previous adventures in Uganda and this is going to be the third. I can't wait to see what these three weeks bring!

This post started out thinking about the end of my trip, but quickly became all about my super special mom, but the important thing is that her arrival marks the last part of my trip. In my mind, these 3 months are split up into three parts. First - myself living with Angella and learning as a medical student - also exploring Uganda independently and learning to be very self-sufficient here. Second - Pamela coming to be with me at the hospital and have some fun while we work in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Finally - my mom arriving while we focus on visiting orphanages and working on projects for Medicine for Sick Children. The second and third are overlapping a bit, but that makes it even more fun!

As of this evening, my mom has already proven her incredible ability to make friends wherever she goes. She called me from the terminal in Minneapolis to inform me that she made a new friend who is Ugandan and traveling on all the same flights as her to Entebbe. So now she has a travel buddy that will help her through the short connection in Chicago and make sure that she could make it all the way to Entebbe even if there were delays. Then she called me from a random phone in Amsterdam - turns out a nice passenger who she also got to know in the airport offered to let her call me so she wouldn't have to email me a message. I sometimes can only laugh as I stand in awe of how God has answered her prayers for protection and guidance as she travels alone. She has a way of finding the divine appointments that have been set out for her and making these connections so easily. Sometimes I wish I could be as friendly and talkative with strangers as she is in stores, airports, restaurants, and basically every public place.

The next week and a half will be with my mom, Pamela, and I sharing an apartment and doing as much as we can to help the orphanages we have known for a while, visit old friends, and try to figure out what the most appropriate and God-led purpose is for the donations that my mom has collected. Since I arrived, I have been doing some of the legwork, but now is the time to really focus. Most trips have been between 3-6 weeks and focused mainly on projects so this last stint will feel more like that. The bonus is, I have been here for a long time and done a lot of other things already. As Pamela and I walked to work today, I said that "I ONLY have three weeks left" and she reminded me that a lot can happen in 3 weeks. It's totally true, in 3 weeks, a lot can get accomplished and we can go a lot of places. The important thing now is that we continue to pray and focus on why we are here so that we can finish the task!