Meet Caleb!

I love Uganda. It's just one of those countries that's close to my heart. I have read a lot about Uganda, and Brandon and I hope to adopt from there someday (maybe not our first child, but hopefully our second!) We had a correspondence kid in Uganda for a very short period of time, and in my first letter to her, I made it very clear to little Annet that I just loved her country and was so excited to have a friend there. And then her financial sponsor cancelled. And we had just picked up Jayid's sponsorship, and couldn't take her on. I was so sad. That was over a year ago! I think about Annet a lot, and still had a strong desire to sponsor a child in Uganda.

I had been thinking recently about requesting another correspondence kid. I know some people can't handle writing that many letters, and that's ok. We all have different gifts, you know? I really like writing letters and cards. I sometimes feel like I am single-handedly keeping my local post office in business. Sending cards and other mail is just what I do. And since I only work part-time and don't have any kids of my own, I have the free time that it takes to write to lots of kids. So I sent the email to Compassion, asking to be put back on the list- but this time, I specified that I would like a child in Uganda. I've never asked for a child in a specific country before, so I was a little nervous! I guess I was a little worried that I would sound demanding (not that I think people who request kids in specific countries are pushy- it's just something I wasn't super confident about!) And I was afraid I'd have to wait a long time. But I only had to wait about two weeks! Maybe a little longer. That's pretty awesome, considering there were a few holidays in there.

Brandon and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on Thursday, January 2. My husband, whom I love dearly, is not a gift giver. It's just not something he does. Some people's spouses are the flower-sending, card-buying type, but mine is not, and that's ok. I do get a little bummed sometimes on anniversaries and Valentine's Day when I don't have any surprises, though. So I was very, very happy when I logged into my Compassion account that night and found an unfamiliar name in my list of kids!! I consider our new correspondence kid my anniversary present, even though Brandon didn't pick him out and Compassion had no idea it was my anniversary. : )

So.....meet Caleb! He's 12 years old and his birthday is August 21. It looks like he lives near Iganga, which is to the east of Kampala. He likes everything- sports, art, games, singing, telling stories, and running! I'm really excited to get to know Caleb. I've already written him an introductory letter that will go out with everyone else's letters this weekend!

Caleb's current photo...

...and his previous one!