Uganda 2025 Day 29

Uganda 2025 Day 29

Today is the big day for me. Not only is it my last day, but I am having lunch with some of my Ugandan family and Jeff at faze 3 (formerly faze 2). I had on an outfit that Papa Moses and his wife bought me to wear, but he had Phionah pick it out. It is a traditional outfit from his tribe. Phionah did good picking it because she chose dark blue and blue has always been my favorite color. John Bosco had decided to take over the lunch and turn it into an actual party. Some of the guys said they would be there at 11 to prep for the noon lunch/party, but when Jeff and I arrived at 12:20, the only one there was Nathan. We had to request a table be set up for the group. Because it was a big group, they had us wait at another table during that time. They are always fast to put tables together, add cushions to the chairs and set up canopies. When Nathan walked up to us, he had the surprise I requested him to get with him. I was so happy and thankful! I introduced him to Jeff and let Jeff know that Ben, my brother, sponsored Nathan through university. Nathan is now an architect. He works for a company and also does side jobs. 

We were able to go to our table and ordered drinks. Not long after we ordered our drinks, David and Emma (male) arrived. I got up to give them hugs. David came down first. Then I had to do a double take in Emma’s shirt. It turns out, about 5-6 of the guys had shirts made that had a photo of me and said happy birthday RaeAnn listing a verse they chose for me, Luke 2:6-7. Now I can’t remember why that specific passage. I still can’t get over the fact they had shirts made. It makes me laugh and feel honored. I pulled David aside and told him the box at the table was his early Christmas present. That I had requested Nathan to find a good guitar for a beginner. It is an acoustic guitar, but it can also be plugged into a sound system. David was so happy. He told me thank you so many times at that moment and throughout the day. He also said a few times that he wanted to cry, but would later when he was alone. As time went on, everyone else slowly showed up.  John Bosco, John Bosco and David were given permission to invite a specific number of friends , but only because they requested to. Each friend that I met tried to shake my hand, but I told them that I do hugs. I was willing to do both too. 3 ladies and 3-4 guys came. They all felt like they knew me because of the guys talking about me or having me say hi on a video call. Actually, during this trip, John Bosco would be on a phone call and then hand me the phone to talk to whoever was on the other end. Usually I knew the person, but sometimes was someone I have never officially met. Jeff ordered garlic bread to share with the table and when a little over half the group was there, we started to put in our food orders. This way the kitchen did not receive a big order all at once. Papa Moses and his wife brought baby Samuel with them. He was passed around to many of us. He is such an adorable baby and blessing from God. I probably said it before, but they have been praying for this baby for 10 years. Friends and family have also prayed with them. When you get Samuel to smile big, he has cute, little dimples. We spent a long time visiting and then they started the festivities. Everyone went around the table and said how they know me and what they are in university for or what their occupation is.of course some expounded a little more than others. Actually, when it was David’s turn to talk I was surprised how well he projected… even though he was only two chairs away. He is normally so quiet I can hardly hear him. We ate during this time as food was arriving while everyone was talking. Not long after everyone finished talking, it started to rain. Thankfully, they do have a small building where all of us moved to. When we were moving, I went to grab the guitar first, but one of the guys took it from me. Then I decided to get my food, but that had already been grabbed by James. Nobody was letting me carry anything at anytime during the day. It was so kind and I had to reign in my independent, American woman tendencies of wanting them to let me carry things. 

I finished my lunch chicken tikka masala curry while others were still eating. So, I grabbed my bag to change into my second outfit for the party. This outfit is the traditional Karamojung wear. The guys (and maybe ladies) also had the neck beads, earrings, big beads for my waist, and beaded headband, so it was not just the skirt and top. Well, there are also sandals, but I was already wearing them. John Bosco sent the ladies in after me even though I told him they could finish eating first, but he wanted all four of us to walk back together. When we were done changing, I took a couple photos of us and then we walked back to the group. The moment we were near, the guys stared coming out to take photos of and with us. I felt like a celebrity. They all wanted photos together. We finally went back inside and the girls continued, but were moved to the seats next to me. There was more conversation for some time and then the next event happened. They had Papa Moses, Nathan and John Bosco give talks about me. I held it together well. Although, I did have some tears want to come. Then it was opened for anyone to say something. One of John Bosco’s friends even said something about me and he mentioned my “warmth” that started when he arrived. Everyone was so kind and I still had to hold it together. When they were done giving compliments and encouraging me, it was time for the cake. The guys arranged where everyone would stand with me obviously in the center. They had a birthday song playing that said to make a wish. Once everyone was organized and it was time, I had the knife to cut the cake. The people closest to me also put their hand on my hand or arm to cut the cake. One or two people further out, put their hand on someone nearby that was closer to the cake. I handed the knife to one of the girls to cut the cake the rest of the way because Phionah showed up and I needed to give her a hug. Due to the size of the cake and the number of people, the cake was cut in slices and then thirds. I helped pass out the cake. John Bosco had a friend make the cake. It was really good! I think it was a spice cake of some kind. The small slice I had was not finished though because people wanted photos. We took a lot of time taking photos. I do need to ask people to send them to me because I did not have my phone on me for photos. The MC kept trying to get us inside for the presentation of gifts, but was very unsuccessful for a few minutes because we were almost done and then someone else needed a photo. As I said before, I really felt like a celebrity. The MC set up a chair at the front. Each person that brought a gift came and presented it to me and we took a photo together. After that, I everyone went back to their seats and it was time for me to talk. I knew about this in advance, but still did not know what to say. I was so overwhelmed. It was probably a hot mess of words that became shaky half way through, so I cut it short. We were going to do dancing next, but I think I ruined that. Papa Moses and family were leaving because they had another event. I followed him out and asked if I could pray for him first. So I prayed for him and he in turn prayed for me. That was when the first official tears rolled down my cheeks. There had been some at the corners of my eyes when they were talking about me earlier. From that point people started leaving or mingling outside. I wanted to go around and pray for everyone, but I missed some because they left quick and I forgot when I hugged them. While we were mingling outside, David opened the cardboard box that had the guitar I bought him. It is a beautiful guitar! Even better than the guitar was the smile on his face. One of their friends helped him find an app that is for guitar tuning and downloaded it on his phone. This is when James came and grabbed me. We went back inside. He gave me my gift and gifts he bought for people at home. This was such a special time. He is an amazing young man! It was fun to look over at him throughout the day and see him and Jeff talking. They talked most of the time from what I saw. This is when I prayed for him. When we went back outside Jeff gave me a time limit until we would leave because he wanted me to get sleep before my flight. I then took the time to go to everyone and pray for them. Even the people I just met. Of course John Bosco prayed for me too and the tears started rolling down my cheeks again. When I had prayed for everyone I saw that was still there, I packed up my gifts and backpack so Jeff could get us a car. The servers were cleaning the room, so I thanked them for dealing with all of us and their work. I told them my friends and I go every year when we are in Uganda and I decided their restaurant had the best atmosphere. They were so appreciative and even wished me a happy birthday. It was such a good day and I was not ready for it to end. I did get to see both John Boscos because they had to stop at Jeff’s house to pick up bread and sugar I bought for Joyce, Claire, and Esther. John Bosco (2) I believe would drop it off on his way back to university. I opened my gifts so I could pack them easier as some were in boxes. They are all amazing. The funny thing is, two of the gifts are things I thought about buying myself this year, but did not and decided I could always get them next year. I ended up sleeping for two hours.