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| My good dogs and I out for a ski |
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| Gaston and his favorite Auntie!! |
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| Durango, CO with my Dear friend, Joy and her four-legged "Mega" |
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| Durango, CO |
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| My favorite part of the Super Bowl! |
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| My sweet Lily guarding our home |
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| Ice fishing on the Mississippi with friends |
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| Another Celebration Feast |
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| Fire and Ice farewell party! I will miss you all! |
Hello Friends, old and new! Feb. 2016
Just a few more days now and we’ll be back in action in Kisoro! Looking so forward to seeing my friends, especially the hardworking ladies and what they've been creating for us at the crafting co-op! All those smiling little faces and the arms eagerly wrapping around my legs at school, in the street or wherever I find myself, I can hardly wait!
Departing March 2nd from Minneapolis, after a layover in Chicago, Brussels and Entebbbe, I’ll arrive in Kigali, Rwanda on March 3rd at 10 p.m. I’ll spend a night in Kigali, at the backpackers, and then the next morning will be a three hour bus ride to Musanza, I’ll hop in the next shared taxi that’s going to the border. Myself and the other 85 people who can squeeze in it will make the 30 minute journey to the border of Uganda! I’ll lug my massive suitcase and backpack across the border into Uganda on March 4th!! I can smell it already, moto bike exhaust, greasy and delicious chapatis cooking on oily skillets and rich, black volcanic soil, probably some dung of some sort mixed in there too!
December, January and February passed quickly with more slideshow presentations and the opportunity to meet more amazing people. Telling the stories, selling the handmade crafts and sharing the many gorgeous pictures of Uganda have been an incredible journey for me. I continue to meet generous, kind and compassionate people all across the country who want to help. From the ladies in Hastings, to the wonderful ‘service above self’ Rotarians of St. Cloud, the High Tea party and the wonderful people of Faith Lutheran Church, the amazing people of Alaska. The wonderful people of Colorado, of Royalton, Minnesota and the incredible students of Pierz Pioneer Elementary School, St. Boniface Elementary School in Cold Spring Minnesota…the list goes on and on! The many, many friends and family who have hosted slideshows, did their Christmas shopping in Grandma’s living room on Christmas eve and the friends who have shopped from my bicycle, or the trunk of my car. It has been a trip! And then there are the students, I’ve met so many compassionate little beings. A seventeen year old student even donated her birthday money to Resilient Uganda, $150! She could have bought herself a new pair of boots but she gave every bit of it to help people in Africa instead! To say that I am humbled is not sufficient. Thanks to every one of you, Resilient Uganda will be providing four more water tanks this year in the volcanic hills of SW Uganda!
Partnering with elementary schools to raise money to help our friends in Africa has been another incredibly energizing opportunity. Through these schools alone and their amazing students with their generous, concerned spirits they will be providing two of the water tanks this year. The sweet innocence of their youth and their questions, the interest they have in helping and in learning have been a wonderful realization; our youth have a pure heart of interest in helping their brothers and sisters. One of the most remarkable opportunities while sharing the stories this year was when a first grader raised her hand and asked me if she could go back to her classroom to get her water bottle so that I could take it to the kids in Uganda! What a beautiful thing, that these kids don't judge, don't hate and aren't prejudice. These are learned behaviors that have not yet corrupted their beautiful, little souls.
2016 is already off to another successful and rewarding year!
Thank you to our partner organization H.E.L.P. International and
Thank you to each of you for your continued support and most importantly for your continued prayers.
Don't forget to email me every once in a while, see you in the spring!
With Lots of Love,
Bonnie
"We can't do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good we can do."
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