Friday Friday Friday is graduation day! Today these sweet kids, once orphans and now part of the Restore Family, graduate. Today Uganda gets another set of leaders - a new generation of hope, trained and hard working.

Today!

We arrived on campus and the kids were dressed for us - dancing and singing. The entire school busted at the seams with energy and excitement. Today is the day!

Bob empowered the kids - giving them their charge to go forth in Uganda. To be a solution for this country, not a crisis.

We signed yearbooks and played and played and played. I made up some ridiculous clapping game that (somehow) captivated the youngest kiddos for hours.

I never wanted to leave.

As we loaded up the bus to head out, a sweetybabe named Ivan hopped on our bus. He presented Bob with a stunning painting. He said,

before the war we lost hope. But you've transformed our lives by starting the school. You've transformed north Uganda. You have shown us light and shown us we still can make it. We all have a future.

Today pieces began coming together for me. I still don't know what I'm doing here but I'm starting to see the way showering them with love - even for a few days - can make an impact.

I think sometimes we get really wrapped up in life's details. Our rules. Our goals. Our stuff. 

But what I've learned from these kids is that sometimes the best we can do is just show up. We just have to be present and listen and love the best we can.

I can't imagine leaving in just a few short days but I hope when I get home I don't forget what I've learned. I hope I remember how I felt as I sat with the little pies, playing and laughing, knowing life is so, so much more than rules and details. I want to live a life of great joy, of wild adventure and of deep love.