Waiting, Waiting and MORE Waiting!

I am good at making people wait for my blog posts, I am always telling my kids to 'Linda ko' (wait a bit in Luganda) but am not so good at waiting myself.......
The reason I have taken so very long to update my blog is because I have been doing some serious waiting!
Firstly, as I shared in my last post, I was waiting to hear clearly from God to make sure that I was moving forward in the right direction. And then, when I was confident that I had heard from Him, I continued to wait, this time for the decision of a committee that met last wednesday.....and then for a little person to be told what they had decided :)

I think the only reason that I have survived through this whole waiting process is because of a lesson I learnt some time back, a lesson that we all need to learn. We need to wait not on people, or on something to happen or for something to change but to wait on HIM! If I had been waiting on people or even for my heart`s desire to be given to me, then I would have been in a state of extreme anxiety and got my knickers well and truly in a twist.......but whenever I felt the smallest pull towards doing this, I felt the Holy Spirit just reminding me that I should wait and trust only in God. After all, he is the one who is in control of all things and who knows better than I know myself what is best for me. In HIM, whatever happens in life (and death!), I will always be loved and satisfied. I was reminded over and over again that our strength is renewed when we trust and wait on Him. If I had chosen to believe I was waiting on anyone or anything other than God then my strength would have vanished and I would have been a wreck.
Just as well I have learnt this lesson as I know I have lots more waiting to do.........
The Fostering and Adoption committee here at Kasana decided last week that I could move forward in fostering and adopting a very gorgeous 3 year old girl called Nakidde Mary from Hope Family (our baby home.) Many of you may remember how she had begun transitioning into my home back in 2012 but sadly things didn`t work out. However, these issues have now been resolved and over the next few weeks Mary will be transitioning into her new family.

The precious moment yesterday when one of the 'Father Figures' in Hope Family brought Mary to me after telling her that I am going to be her Mummy made all the waiting in the world worthwhile! She has known me as her Auntie Katie for a long time now so remembering to say Mummy instead will probably take a while but as we shared with the other children in Hope Family that I am now 'Mama Mary', she proudly held my hand and beamed! I know there will be many challenges ahead for both of us and I know I will never be the perfect Mum but I am so grateful for the privilege of being given the honor of guiding her through her first 20 or so years of life and being the one who hopefully she will always feel she can turn to for encouragement, prayers, love and cuddles.

I am very blessed to have been given 3 months of maternity leave so that I can devote my time totally to Mary to ensure that we make a strong bond and that she settles well into her new family. We would really appreciate your prayers.
Adopting a child here is not an easy process and there are many, many papers to get stamped, signed, copied, approved etc. There are many very busy people to chase and get appointments with (Local Chairmen, Police Officers, Probation Officers, Lawyers, Judges etc.) And then there are family members in the bush with no address other than 'beyond the mango tree.....' But God has gone before us and he keeps reminding me of the scripture in Isaiah 57 v 14 where God is saying 'Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.' God will make a way and will make things happen in his perfect timing.
Already I have lots to be thankful for as since I wrote the first draft of this post, I have managed to get the probation officer to come and do my 'Home Study,' I have managed to get a birth certificate for Mary, a police check for myself and several letters of recommendation. This may sound straight forward to you but I can assure you it is not! Several of my friends who have gone before me in adopting children here have warned me that it is anything BUT straightforward and every step needs lots of prayer, patience and grace!

On the same day that the committee approved my application to adopt Mary, I also received a wedding invitation from my brother and his fiance. Their wedding is on September 6th and although I don`t want to get my hopes up, I want to have faith that God can make it possible for Mary and I to travel to England together for this special day. If not, then I trust God has a better plan and we will remain in Uganda and celebrate with them in spirit; maybe we`ll have to treat ourselves to a day at the pool so we can skype with family before / after the wedding!
I am sure many of you have questions and even opinions about my decision to adopt, especially as a single person who is volunteering in a foreign country! Hopefully, if time permits then in the future I will write some more about how I came to this rather alternative and massive, life changing decision. It hasn`t been easy and it isn`t one that I have made on my own! All I will say here is that when God asks you to do something, sometimes it seems crazy and unwise to many people around you and even to yourself, but if He wants you to do it, he will make it so clear and give you all the courage, strength and peace of mind that you need to take the next step forward...........
After all, Jesus told us that we should be willing to give up EVERYTHING for Him........after all, he gave up even his LIFE for us; a good thing to remember on GOOD FRIDAY!

I will finish this post by sharing one other area in which I managed to trust God this last few months........
Many of you who know me well will know that I am somewhat a little scared of cows and have been since I was a baby. So it is with great pride that I can tell you I managed not to wet myself when I went rhino trekking with the crazy American girlies last month. CHECK US OUT with BIG RHINO AND BABY RHINO only metres away!

Thanks for sharing this adventure with us!

lots of love from Kate & Mary x x x x 

p.s. Many photos STOLEN from Wesley Steebs as my hard drive has crashed :(