Whenever my aunt moves to a new house, she always sends out an e-mail letting all her family and friends know about their new address and that they are settled in by inviting them to the new location of the “Wallace Bed and Breakfast,” letting everyone know that they are welcome to come visit.  She started this when she and my uncle moved away from Texas and most of their family in an effort to encourage said family to visit.

While I have never sent out an announcement about the new location of “Donahue Bed and Breakfast” after we have moved to a new area, I have always thought it was a fun idea.  Of course, it’s a little far for people to come visit our Bed and Breakfast now, and our facilities are a little lacking.  We only have two bedrooms, no guest bedroom.  And our couch is barely big enough for Caleb to nap on let alone anyone anywhere close to adult size.  Besides, we only have two mosquito nets, one for our bed and one for Caleb’s.

But thankfully that didn’t stop my mom and sister from coming to visit.  We had to find other sleeping arrangements for them (they ended up staying at the eMi duplex where the interns are housed), but they did join us on several occasions for breakfast and we even took breakfast up to them one morning.  As you can imagine, hosting and entertaining is decidedly more challenging in a developing country, but we managed OK and I think my mom and sister really had a good time.

Actually, having my mom and sister here was good practice for our next venture in the world of hosting: hosting a new eMi family, Gary and Erin Hightower, who have come to serve as long term volunteers as well.  It was good timing really, especially for Robert who was acting as chauffer as he was able to drop off my mom and sister at the airport the same morning he had to pick up the Hightowers.  After chauffeuring my mom and sister around for a while, Robert has gotten quite adept at navigating the horrendous Kampala traffic.  I even tried my hand at Ugandan driving, but only in our immediate neighborhood.

As we showed my mom and sister and now the Hightowers around town, I came to the realization that this really is “home” and I have been showing it off as such.  The realization was a little startling at first, but I guess it shouldn’t have been.  Since arriving in Uganda, we have made a concerted effort to truly make this “home.”   And I guess we have succeeded.  Home is where the heart is, and our heart is definitely here in Uganda.  The Donahue Bed and Breakfast is official open for business.  Y’all come see us!

Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.

Psalm 84: 3-4