My flights to Uganda always yield some sort of excitement! Weather delays, midflight re-routes, lost luggage…these are just a few we have experienced so far. My flight here on this trip proved to be the most entertaining of the three to date.

The excitement began when a rather “round” guy stood up in the aisle with his head phones in and started dancing! He broke out with some rave dancing mixed in with some classic head bobbing! It was bad…really bad! This guy thought he was the next Usher though! You could just tell he was one of those guys who thought he was the stuff out on the dance floor. After he broke bad in the aisle, he started aggravating some of the passengers. He was basically just being loud and obnoxious. Come to find out…he had been hitting the red wine pretty hard! I and the other passengers in my section (who are now mocking this guy) watched several of the flight crew come and deal with this guy to no avail. Eventually, one of the flight attendants that I would even be afraid to tangle with gave him an official written warning and told him if he did not stay in his seat and keep his mouth shut he would be greeted by Uganda 5-0 at the airport. She was no joke! He put his hands on her one time in that “I love everybody” kind of drunken way and she bout took him out! It made for a good 30 minutes worth of in-flight entertainment!

After they got Mr., “So you think you can dance” settled down, I began a conversation with a woman sitting in the same row across the aisle from me. Actually the conversation got started because we were making fun of the guy together! Don’t worry …I repented later. It was hilarious though! Turns out this lady is personal assistant to Billy Graham’s daughter and lives in Raleigh. She told some really cool stories about Mr. Graham. One of the things that stood out was the fact that at 90+ years of age and having preached all over the world…he is still memorizing scripture. Actually he is memorizing the whole book of Psalms, and because he can’t see well, he has big flip charts with Psalms written out on them in big letters so he can see it. It was really neat just hearing about his character and love for God. The man is the real deal, a true spiritual giant of our day! I can’t wait to see what kind of excitement the trip home with Joyce brings! Please start praying now.

When I got off the plane, I was greeted by the very distinct smell of Uganda. The best way I can describe it is Smokey, probably from all the trash fires and cooking fires. It is very unique and you smell it all the time. I spent the first night at the airport guest house. The guest house is very nice (by Ugandan standards) and I slept great. I woke this morning (we are 8 hours ahead of NC) to all kinds of birds singing outside my window. It felt good to be back. Having been here three times within the last nine months; it really feels like a home away from home. I am so glad to have experienced so much of Joyce’s culture.

I arrived at the orphanage after a three hour drive from the airport. The driving here is the worst part of the experience. It takes forever to get anywhere! When Joyce saw me, she ran up and gave me a big hug. It was so good to see her again. We go to court tomorrow for our ruling, after which I will sit her down and try and explain that she is now my daughter and will be coming to live with the rest of her new family in the States.  I would greatly appreciate your prayers for that discussion…for her and me both!

I also got to meet a new baby here at GSF who captured my heart immediately! I say baby, but he is actually over a year old. I don’t want to give you his real name for various reasons, so I will call him Frank. Frank looks like one of those kids you see on the sponsorship commercials. He is around 17 months old and is severely malnourished. Actually, he is clinically starving. He is just skin and bones. He looks like a little old man! His arm is only a little thicker than my finger and he only ways around 11 pounds. This kid is a real fighter though and has the best smile you have ever seen. Claudia is taking care of him and is a pro at nursing these deathly ill kids back to health. Please keep him in your prayers!

It’s almost 10pm here and I have to be up at six, so I’m going to call it a night! Wherever you are reading this form tonight, I pray you have a great night’s sleep! I pray you grab the ones you love and tell them so. I pray you ask God to give you a true burden for something bigger than yourself, and I pray he answers you!

Goodnight from Uganda.