"Bittersweet"

We are home.....What an amazing trip it was. Let me start by saying sorry for not updating the blog while we were away. Pastors Internet was down, the local cafe took forever to work and because of the conference we were not at a place we could sign on. Thanks to all of you who left us messages it was exciting to read when we returned. Well now the most important piece of business would be Bennett......WOW......God is good. He is such an amazing little boy. Scott and I fell in love the moment we laid eyes on him. It is awesome how God works. He is without a doubt our son. We are so grateful for the time the Lord allowed us to spend with him and yet our hearts yearn for so much more. Coming home to our family was a beautiful day and yet it was bittersweet. Scott and I feel torn between two worlds, we have children on each end of the earth and we are standing in the middle, split in our thoughts and emotions.

Leaving Bennett left us feeling as though our very breath had been knocked out of us and yet we felt the same way the day we left Colton, Haley and Hannah to travel to Africa.

Uganda is a beautiful place. The people are amazing, they have a great hunger for the Lord. During the conference Scott and I learned that many people had walked 30+ miles just to hear the Word preached, hoping to get a glimpse of the move of the Spirit. They are so gracious and loving.
There were many times during our trip Scott would disappear on me, I learned very quickly to close my eyes and listen for the laughter of the children and in their midst I would find him. Scott fell in love with the Ugandan people in general but the children captured his heart. Scott gave his food away, his water bottles, bible, pair of shoes and anything else that was not attached to his body. It was a blessing to me to sit and watch my husband serve the Lord in such an unselfish way.
We also had the opportunity to travel to Jinga and visit the Amani Baby Cottage.......heart be still. The children at the cottage were true angels on earth. I had the pleasure of meeting Danyne the director as well as her two daughters who were also adopted from Africa. Most importantly for those of you who have been wondering about Frances..........he is beautiful, healthy, happy and much much more. I must say that was probably the highlight of my trip other than meeting Bennett. I will return to Jinga on my next trip, Frances made me promise to bring him some yellow popcorn and he wants to take a boat ride. I don't know if they will allow me to take him but I would love to and if at all possible I will.
Last but certainly most important I was given the honor of meeting Monica, Bennett's birth mother. She is a beautiful young lady who has a great calling on her life. She is soft spoken with a quiet shyness about her. Scott and I were able to give her a small gift as a token of our love as well as the gift Breanna had sent to her. The only concern she expressed was her financial ability to finish school. We assured her that education was important to us, she is important to us and we would see to it that she always has a place at the King of Kings college. Monica held Bennett briefly, smiled at him and placed him back in my arms. Heart stopping moment.......the love that it must take is more than I can comprehend. She is amazing.
I could ramble on forever about our experiences in Uganda hoping to give you a small glimpse of our time there and how precious the people are but it will be impossible to bring to life what we were so blessed to be a part of.
I will leave you with pictures of Bennett and one of Frances a heart stopping moment when he hugged my neck. Thank you all for your prayers they were felt. Thank you to all of you who looked after our children while we were away. We are abundantly blessed to have family and friends like you.
Many Blessings
Sher