Meet the kids!

Joshua is the oldest of the Rafiki kids and such a leader. He loves to goof off and mess around. The other night I was showing the kids how to dance like Cinderella and Prince Charming do, and Joshua picked it up for sure! At random times the past few nights he has treated me to a dance! So precious!

Joel is such a funny kid! He can be quiet sometimes, but has the most infectious smile! Me and him have nicknames for each other. I call him Jarrel and he calls me Auntie Cass. He thinks its very cool that he has a nickname for me.

Fauziya is a girl that loves to laugh! She laughs all the time! Which works out well for me because I love hearing her laugh! It takes about 5 minutes of giggling for her to finally give in and hug me goodnight because she knows that with my goodnight hugs comes tickling!

Cocus suffers from Potts disease from tuberculosis of the spine. But that doesn’t slow him down one bit! He is a very sweet boy that loves to sit in your lap and be hugged. I almost always see him with a smile on his face! 

Brenda is a high energy child for sure! She is so much fun! She loves flexing her arms and showing you how strong she is, and she is strong for sure! I’m convinced she is 100% muscle.

Annet is a girly girl in just about every way! She loves playing with babies and looks after the little ones with such a caring heart. Any time we are coloring she takes an extra long time making sure she colors in the lines.

Oscar is such a smart kid! He is so good at speaking English and speaks in full, complete sentences. He loves teaching, rather its teaching me a new word in Luganda or pretending to teach the rest of the kids school.

Esther is a little sweetheart! She is quiet and softspoken, but is such a helper. She has such a kind and gentle spirit and a precious smile!

Jerom is a sweetheart! He has such a sweet smile! He loves playing with the older boys and getting to help with chores. He takes such joy in reciting our weekly Bible verses!

Don is such a cutie! He has the cutest one-toothed smile you will ever see! He had to get all of his baby teeth removed due to infection and uses little dentures to eat.

Carol is such a little princess! She has a wonderful spirit and loves to be twirled around like a ballerina. She has been working very hard making sure she knows all her alphabet, colors and shapes. Such a smart cookie! Last night she told me I was her best friend- I could have cried! So precious!

Emma is short for Emmanuel. He is the cutest little boy I have ever met! He is such a cuddle bug and loves to give me goodnight kisses and “nosey kisses” or eskimo kisses. The youngest of the kids he secretly enjoys being babied, but at the same time he just wants to be one of the big boys.

Prayer Mountain

Yesterday our team spent about three hours on Prayer Mountain, a huge piece of land on top of a mountain that a pastor bought and has set aside for people to come and pray.

It was a new experience for sure.

But, it did make me think a lot about prayer as we spread out and took some time to ourselves.

First, I realized was that I was just given an hour and a half to pray by myself. And I don’t think I have ever prayed that long. I wish I could say that I have an amazing prayer life and can pray for hours on end, but I don’t.

Our time in the U.S. is so rushed. We are constantly moving from one place to the next, adding on more and more responsibilities, activities, and just stuff!

This is when I decided that I have loved living on “Uganda time.”

Here people take their time. You can sit down and talk to someone for a couple of hours and they haven’t checked their phone every ten seconds. No one is rushing to go here and there. No one is really rushing at all.

Somewhere along the way a busy life has become synonymous with a fulfilling life. We think that if we involve ourselves in every thing possible, that somehow we will get the most out of life.

Proverbs 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God”

Notice that it doesn’t say, move quickly, and know that I am God.

Be still.

Don’t move.

Don’t rush.

I know that I am one of the worst when it comes to over-scheduling. I try to be everything for everyone to the point that I am only giving a little bit of myself to a lot of different things.

I think it’s time for us to take a step back. To make time in our lives to be still, and to know God. To pray and seek Him. We will not know Him if we don’t communicate with him though prayer and His word.

Just chillin on the Nile!

I haven’t had internet for the past few days, so that’s why I haven’t been able to post. But, here’s what I’ve been doing for the past few days!

On Saturday we took the kids out swimming, which is a real treat for them. It was so fun to watch them in the water and to help some of them start to learn how to swim. The whole time I was trying not to think about the fact that there was probably no chlorine in the pool… But hey, when in Uganda….

Sunday was my first time to experience church in Uganda, and I loved it! We went to Watoto Church which is very big in Uganda, there are multiple campuses and they have an awesome choir that travels all over the world!

Monday I was in the car all day on the way to my safari! It was a long and bumpy journey, but completely worth the drive! We stopped to look at the Murchison Falls when we arrived at the park, and they we gorgeous! Then we headed to our lodge for the night.

Tuesday we woke up bright and early at 5:15 to eat breakfast then head out for our land safari! On the land safari we saw giraffes, buffalo, tons of birds, a few different species of antelope, some monkeys, and a lion! The lion was very close to our van, so that was an exciting experience! After the land safari, we had lunch and headed out for the river safari, on the Nile!!! Here we saw tons of hippos, huge crocodiles, beautiful birds, and a couple of elephants. It was an awesome day! Throughout the whole day I was still reminding myself that it was real!

Everything that I saw on those safaris just pointed back to God in every way! The landscape and all the animals were so beautiful and definitely created with intelligent design. I am still in awe every day that I get to be here and experience this part of the world! I’m falling in love with it more and more every day!

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Painting, dancing, and PB&J’s

Yesterday was my first real work day here in Uganda, we went to visit our girl Mary who is in a boarding school for children with disabilities, the Elizabeth house. We were able to serve there all day yesterday and do some activities with the kids.

When we arrived we found out we would be painting the boys house, and I’m sure they were all entertained watching mizungu (white) women painting. (Painting in Uganda is a mans job, most women have never painted anything). The walls were so textured that we have to go over it 3 or 4 times before the painted covered the whole wall.

In between the 3rd and 4th wall we started eating our snack… PB&J sandwiches. Now if you know me at all, you know that PB&J’s are probably my least favorite food on the planet. Well, a Ugandan miracle happened because I ate an entire half of a PB&J!

Once we finished the house we took a break and they served us lunch. We had somosas and rolls, then rice, beans, and cabbage. Somosas are my new favorite Ugandan food! They are basically little African wontons with peas in them, so good!

After lunch we mopped the floor in the dining hall then had our activity time with the kids. First we sang a couple of songs, then the kids performed a traditional dance for us (so precious!). After they danced, they wanted to see us dance, so Moses (one of the staff members at our Rafiki house) taught us how to dance like Ugandans. Needless to say, it was so fun

Then Moses and Joseph taught the kids a Bible story, we colored and then we said goodbye. It was such a fun day!

I have been so blessed by everyone I have met so far, and I can’t wait to see what else the Lord has planned!

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Throughout the time I was preparing to come to Uganda, I wondered why God had called me here and if this was really where I needed to go. Without a doubt, I know God called me here. I can’t see the whole picture now, but I can rest assured that He is working all things together for good. And that is enough for me.

So for now, I am loving every second here in Uganda. Even Leonard (the lizard that makes frequent visits to our bathroom) hasn’t been too bad!

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Day One: Complete

I am finally here! I am still in shock that I am actually here in Uganda! I am so happy!

I didn’t get to see all the children off to school, but I spent the morning with the 3 kids that stay at home. One of the girls has already captured my heart. Her name is Carol and she is 3 years old, the same age as Charis. (She is just as tiny as Charis too, we are always having to tell her to pull up her shorts because they just fall right off of her little petite body!) She loves it when Auntie Cassady helps her twirl like a princess.

I went to pick up the kids from school around noon and I fell in love with each and every one of them! They are all so precious! They ran up to me yelling “Auntie Cassady! Auntie Cassady!” and they all gave me big hugs!

I had my first taste of Ugandan food for lunch today: posho and beans. It was way better than it looked! The best way to explain posho is that it is basically smooth grits cooked too long. It looks like mashed potatoes! (I will try and remember to take a picture next lunch)

I am so beyond blessed and thankful to be here in Uganda. I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for the next 3 months.

The next blog will have pictures I promise!!!

The adventure begins…

Well, I can’t believe today is finally here and I am on my way to Uganda! I am running on twenty minutes of sleep because I was way too excited to sleep last night! The journey so far has been an adventure for sure!

To start off, I was under the impression that I could check two suitcases for my flight, but while I was checking in I was informed that there was a $100 fee for a second bag on an international flight. But, my second suitcase was carry-on size and only had school supplies and stuff for the kids in it, so no problem. I had a carry-on suitcase.

But there is one tiny problem, all of my shampoo, conditioner, and curl spray was in that bag. Three months worth of hair product is sitting in the garbage at security. While that was definitely a better deal than paying the $100 fee, I was pretty frustrated.

After a 35 minute process of standing in line and finally making it through security, I headed towards my gate. Found out that I got to get that suitcase checked for free because the flight was super full!

So, both bags are checked (for free), I’m on the plane, no hair products, life is good. Then I fell asleep. Since I was exhausted after only a 20 minute nap last night, I was out. And I have a vague memory of the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen on a plane…. I had my head on the shoulder of the guy next to me who was kind enough to just push me back on my side of the seat. So embarrassing!!!

So right now I’m a third of the way to Uganda, one flight down, two more to go! God is in control! Pray for smooth and safe travels as I fly into Europe and then to Africa! 🙂