Reflections from Day Four — Part Two
From Carolyn: This afternoon we visited Rehab Uganda, an organization that is working towards rehabilitating women that are being exploited. Many are young, are forced into this lifestyle to provide for themselves and/or the children they have or to help pay for school fees. There were about 30 women at their Drop-In Center this particular […]
Reflections from Day Four— Part Three
Thoughts from Abby: A dirty wooden bench on a dimly lit front patio is protected from wandering eyes by a large tarp. The sound of bass is resounding in my chest from the huge speaker right next to me on the patio. Women, young girls actually, start pouring onto the patio, making it crowded and difficult […]
Reflections from Day Five
For over a decade, I’ve watched this organization, which houses pregnant teen moms, make a difference in the lives of young girls from all over Uganda and other neighboring countries. They are a safe haven and a second chance for those whose lives have been devastated by sexual abuse, unintended pregnancy, and rejection from their […]
Reflections from Days Six & Seven
Our team had the opportunity to serve at both God Cares Primary and Secondary Schools. Below are some reflections from Andrea: When we first arrived at God Cares Primary School, we were welcomed with open arms by Worship, the school’s administrator, and her husband Peter, the Project Manager. They gave us a tour of the school […]
Reflections from Day Nine
Our final day of service was incredibly sweet and meaningful. A few of the pregnant girls at the maternity home delivered babies during our time there, and invited us to come back and meet their little girls. There were lots of tears as we held these precious babies and thought about the life ahead for […]
Overall Summary & Next Steps
Here’s a small snapshot of some of the highlights of our time in Uganda. What this doesn’t capture, however, is the hundreds of other lives that we were priveleged to hold, counsel, and get to know. Now that we’re home and are processing and sharing everything we’ve been a part of, the number one question we’re asked […]
Reflections from Day 1
We woke up in the beautiful, green, rainy city of Kampala and spent the day with the babies (& toddlers) at Sanyu Babies Home, a Christian organization taking incredible care of 50 abandoned babies and toddlers between 1 day old and 4 years. Many of these children are found abandoned in garbage heaps, pit latrines, […]
How I Broke Another Woman’s Heart
An adoption story of tears, sacrifice, and lasting joy. I stood in the parking lot of Cedar’s Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and loaded my one-day-old baby girl into the back seat of our car, headed to our other daughter’s preschool graduation. Yes, we took our 24-hour-old baby to a preschool graduation. Totally normal, right? Less than […]
Why We All Kept Fighting for You
A love letter written by Chrissie and Brian to Olivia, the little girl they adopted through foster care. Dear Olivia, We didn’t know what we were getting into when we started. At first it was just a nice thought about a way to grow our family. That changed over the course of all the training. You […]
The Year Was 1967 . . . I Was 18 and Pregnant
This Is Us, Too — blog series finale When I first learned of my pregnancy, I got in my car and left the state, staying first with a friend and then with my father and stepmother. When my mother discovered I was pregnant, she urged me to do what was common back then: have the baby and give […]