Blake's in Uganda: hiatus...

Hello all, sorry for the long hiatus! The last 6 weeks have been full of ups and downs- going through a lot personally, as well as keeping super busy with Restore activities. I'm in Kampala today, as several of us were able to attend the National Prayer Breakfast this week. Most of the Ugandan Members of Parliment, several ambassadors, foreign dignitaries, President Museveni, and hundreds from the community gathered at the Hotel Africana Wednesday to lift up Uganda in prayer. People from various faiths were there, and it was a wonderful morning of reunion, friendship, hope and prayer for the future of Uganda and the larger African community. Unfortunately, they didn't allow cameras for security reasons, so I'm unable to pass along any photos, except this one of ten of us squeezed in the Land Cruiser on the way home from Hotel Africana:

It's made a world of difference having John here- we're able to bounce ideas off each other, watch each other's back, and meet much more effectively with leaders as a team. Restore has had some pretty exciting developments, with some great prospects for finding land for the school in Amuru District near Gulu. It's been exciting to watch the students, parents, faculty and surrounding community exhibit more ownership in, and excitement about Restore Academy. The students have been doing wonderfully, and are growing not only in knowledge, but also in character and maturity. We recently elected the PTA members, and met with some of the Educational Officers for the local districts. We've been blessed to have such wonderful, wise men and women guiding us. This pic is from the Parents' visitation day last week:

We've also been very busy with the High Court, and just recently received some good news to move forward with a couple of exciting proposals we have submitted. We're trying to assist the noble efforts the courts are making to effectively administer justice to those in need. We should have more on this in the coming weeks.

John, his good buddy Kyle, and I were able to sneak away a couple of weeks ago for a little hiatus of our own. Finances have been super tight for me, so I was so glad when we had the opportunity to slip away for a two day shoe-string ($60) safari. Murchison Falls is not too far from Gulu, just an hour and a half west of the halfway mark between Kampala and Gulu. My REI tent (thanks to Erin) kept me dry in the torrential downpour and thunderstorm. Here are a few shots from the safari and the Nile River (thanks for the river tour Kyle):

Sunrise over the Nile

hungry hungry...

Jungle _____ of a feather stick together

H2O _____ soldiers (think Bob Marley)

After awhile...

honestly...ok, I'll stop.

Kyle and our river guide George: this guy was absolutely hilarious, and managed to hit us up for some beer money. Murchison Falls is in the background.