Halfway point

Yesterday marked my halfway point for this trip. I can’t believe I only have 6 more weeks in Uganda! Time has flown by for sure! I am so thankful that I am here!

Sunday night we were blessed with the opportunity to visit Ndere Cultural Center and watch some traditional Ugandan dancing. I was completely blown away by how awesome it was!

Mostly I was impressed at how much they could balance on their heads! The men danced and played these huge drums on their heads and the ladies danced with as many as 8 pots stacked on their heads! Then they walked up the stairs!

Monday we worked with a ministry called A Perfect Injustice, which conducts three programs a week in the slums of Kampala for the boys that are living on the streets. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday the boys come to hear a lesson, play games, have a devotion time, get some medical treatment if needed and are served a meal.

It was so encouraging to see the love and dedication that the staff of this ministry has for these kids. They truly are doing what God has called them to do and it is so evident in the faces and actions of these kids.

I also voted from Uganda! So glad that absentee voting is so easy! (Well, at least in the state of Washington, I can’t vouch for any other states) But I just couldn’t miss my first opportunity to vote for president! 😉 ‘Merica!!!

On a different note, I took about three and a half hours of my day today to get my hair braided. I expected it to hurt and I expected it to last a long time, but expecting things and experiencing things are totally different! I have the utmost respect for people who get this done on a regular basis!

That’s all for now! Tomorrow I’m going to a craft market! Hopefully I’ll remember to take pictures this time!

Wrecked

I just finished reading the book Wrecked by Jeff Goins. I would highly recommend this book, and here’s why:

I feel that many Christians are going through life knowing that there is something more. In the words of John Mayer, “something’s missing and I don’t know what it is.”

We are waiting to figure out what role we play, what the greater meaning and purpose of our lives is.

Goins explains that we are waiting to be “wrecked.”

He says, “To be wrecked is to be disabused of the status quo.”

Through reading this book, I realized that is exactly why I came to Uganda. I knew there was more. I needed to get uncomfortable. I knew that I needed to be wrecked. And that’s exactly what I’ve gotten.

Goins also gave a definition of compassion that I had never heard before, the literal definition: “to suffer with.”

So many people are under the impression that philanthropy, volunteering, and serving are to make you feel good about yourself. But if you’re doing it right, it should make you feel worse.

“This pain, this discomfort is the key, the answer to our longing. Not for the sake of suffering itself, of course. This is not masochism; it’s redemption, making all things new. We are remade in the same way all things are remade. We go back to the place where we begin.” – Wrecked

I’ve struggled with this so much since I’ve been here. I’ve found myself feeling worse and more helpless. There is so much need here and I am barely making a difference.

At times I get so overwhelmed with how many orphans there are in Uganda. And here I am working in an orphanage with 12 children on a daily basis. Two days out of the week I go work with other ministries and orphanages. I see so many needs. These ministries have physical needs of supplies, more staff and larger facilities. But they also have emotional and spiritual needs.

I wish I could meet all of the needs of everyone I have met, but it’s impossible.

But in being heartbroken, I’ve discovered so much about myself and about people in general. I’ve learned that I had to have my heart broken in order for it to be whole.

I’ll end this with a quote that I really love,

“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure” – Henri Nouwen

Eventful Saturday!

Today started with a trip to the clinic! All the kids got immunizations, and let me tell you, taking 12 kids to get shots is not an easy task. But, they put on their bravest faces (well, most of them) and took it like champs!

They had a super fun time playing with the toys and reading books in the waiting room!

 

After the doctor’s visit, since we were all out of the house already, we took everyone (except Carol) to get their haircut– which is just shaving their heads.

 

And since I was giving Moses a hard time about his hair-cutting skills (you could totally tell which ones he did and which ones the barber did), he asked me if I had ever shaved anyones head. Of course I have! I’ve shaved my brothers’ hair before… little did he know I had never shaved african hair! So when he told me I had to shave his head, he had no idea what he was getting into! (It was a painful process for him… sorry! 🙂 )

 

 

Then we all sat down and watched the most intense game of soccer I have ever seen! Uganda Cranes vs Zambia Chipolopolo! It was an intensely close game and Uganda totally should have won!!!

One Month!

I can’t believe I’ve been here for a whole month! I still feel like I’ve been here for just a couple of weeks!

Right now it’s raining here; it’s been raining fairly consistently for the past couple of days. It’s funny how when I’m in Washington I can’t stand the rain sometimes, but here it’s so relaxing and beautiful.

I feel like I have learned so much since I’ve been here! My eyes have been opened to so much poverty, hurt and abandonment. I’ve learned so many things about the Ugandan culture and history.

For example, in America if I were to say to my friend, “Wow, you look really thin!”, nine times out of ten that would be a compliment. But here, that would be super offensive because a lot of people don’t get enough to eat here and are thin due to poverty, not exercise.

Some things about the food here was surprising as well.

Eggs are not refrigerated, they are kept in little plastic cases in the pantry. When your cases are empty, you just take them down the street and buy more eggs to fill them.

Milk, is sold in bags. Yes, that’s correct, bags. Plastic bags that hold a quart of milk. They are kept in the freezer until the night before you use them and you take them out to thaw.

Also, it is totally acceptable to eat with your hands here. While here in the city its not as common among adults, the majority of kids here eat with their hands. And we aren’t talking finger foods here, they eat beans and rice with their hands.

On Monday I thought I was going to have my first experience with this at another ministry we volunteered at. They were so kind to provide lunch for us, but they didn’t have any forks or spoons. Esther and I looked at each other, and she asked me if I’d ever eaten with my hands. I’m sure there was only a look of terror on my face. I couldn’t be rude and not accept the food, but I couldn’t imagine eating beans and posho with my hands! But just as I had finally talked myself into it, one of the administrative ladies came in with extra forks and saved the day!

Ugandan tea is something that I think I’ve finally developed a taste for. Sometimes its just sweetened black tea (which I love!), but sometimes it’s sweetened tea with milk and ginger. It’s got a pretty strong taste and a distinct ginger smell, and at first I could never finish a whole cup. But it is actually very good!

And since tea only makes me think of coffee, I might as well touch on that too. It’s no secret that I am a coffee addict. I tried to give it up before I came here, but that was useless. But there is a french press here (Praise the Lord) and a couple that visited from central Washington a few weeks ago came with a little bit of Starbucks. I’ve made some Ugandan coffee a few times, but the kind that we have here at home is pretty weak. So hopefully I can find something a bit bolder soon.

My latest find though was a box of Nestle instant latte which was on sale at the grocery store here! At home, I know I would have never even touched that (I’m such a coffee snob) but I’ve grown to love and appreciate those little packets. Who knows, by the time I get home I’ll probably even like McDonald’s coffee…

Anyways, enough about coffee:)

I truly love it here and am so blessed to be able to be here! Africa has officially stolen my heart and I don’t mind one bit! If nothing else, this trip has just been a confirmation for me that I am supposed to be working in adoption advocacy and orphan care.

Thanks for reading and for all your prayers and support!:)

 

 

 

The year of Jubilee!

Uganda has officially been an independent nation for 50 years! Tuesday felt like the Ugandan version of Thanksgiving, with a 4th of July twist! Everyone was very patriotic and sporting the flag’s colors: red, yellow and black.

Laura had all the kids make Ugandan flags and they learned that red symbolizes brotherhood, yellow symbolizes sunshine, and black is for Africa!

We had an AMAZING meal of fried chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. The ladies of course were in the kitchen while the men watched TV (see, exactly like Thanksgiving in America!!) The national celebration was televised, so that was super fun to watch all the cultural dances and such.

I even got to try and help with the fried chicken, although Auntie Esther said that mine were “burnt offerings”… 

Joanna and I made cupcakes as well! Well, she made the cupcakes, I just made the icing!

It was a super fun day!

Facts vs. Knowledge

Since I’ve been in Uganda I have seen so many abandoned children. The reasons vary among each child, but the product seems to be the same. Every time I go into a different orphanage my heart breaks at the number of kids that have been left without a family.

At Passion last weekend, Louie Giglio talked about how so many Christians have so much knowledge about God, but they don’t really know Him. I have gotten a clear picture of this since I’ve been in Uganda.

The past few years I have learned and researched and talked about this huge problem we have in our world.

There are over 130 million children who have lost one or both parents worldwide.

There are over 500,000 children in the US Foster Care system.

If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world felt the call to adopt there would be no more orphans.

These facts and so many more are consistently in the back of my mind ready to share with anyone willing to listen. I love to talk about the need for orphan care and adoption.

However, until you walk into an orphanage and play with a child, feed them, listen to their cries, the facts are just facts. It’s only head knowledge.

But when you put a face with the facts and a name with the story, it becomes ten times more real.

That’s how it is with God. It’s not enough to just know the information. It is a relationship. It is a daily decision to walk with Him and learn about His character.

Me and Brenda 

Tuesday is Uganda’s Jubilee celebration of 50 years of independence! Can’t wait to share pictures! Please pray for peace in Uganda and for wisdom for the government leaders here. Pray for their economy to be strengthened and resources to be used wisely.