My Every Day

So I don't know how I haven't given you this synopsis before, but here is my week in great brevity:

Sunday help bathe and dress the girls around 8, then get myself ready for church while they are eating breakfast and watching a Veggie Tales movie, church is from 10-12, have lunch and then it is rest time, which means free time, at 4 we play outside with balls, dolls, sand and buckets, puppets, or something similar. I try and always start our weekly Bible verse and story/topic for the week on Sunday just after bathing time at 5:45/6. Supper is at 7 and then we brush teeth and have devotions with the kids (praise time with the drums and singing and then a Bible story that is read in English and translated into Luganda).

Everyday from 4-8 pm is essentially the same, except everyday after Sunday we work on memorizing our verse and doing what they call "activities", aka the folders full of coloring opportunties for the kids, that correspond to the Bible verse/story for the week that Mom gave me!

 

Moses & the Ten Commandments (how cute is Jerom with his heart!)

Play time!

Monday through Friday I help bathe, dress and feed the kids for school between 6:45 and 7:30, we leave for school usually by 7:30. The school is within walking distance so we hold hands and walk to school. Three of the smallest kids stay home and have learning objectives for each day. We usually let the little ones play until 9:30/10 so they get some energy out and can focus for a bit and I use that time to get myself ready for the day, eat breakfast, start laundry, or do some dishes.

Mondays and Thursdays we do outreach and typically leave the house by 9/9:30 (this is Uganda, so all scheduled times are subject to change) and get back Mondays around 5 or 6 and Thursdays around 2. Tuesdays and Fridays the mornings stay the same as previously mentioned but I continue with laundry, teach the kids their learning objectives, read to the little ones or help clean the house or sort through messy cabinets. The children aged 4 1/2 - 6 are picked up from school at 12:30, lunch is served at 1 and then it is rest time. Fridays are movie nights, its cute because sometimes you'll see them acting out the movie on Saturday during play time.

Wednesdays are my days off, I typically get up and go for a long walk by myself around the community, then get ready for the day and to go grocery shopping. We leave for the market at around 11, once the sweeping and mopping of the house is complete. I enjoy going shopping because its a chance to get out and maybe see something new or different; I've been quite adventurous in the market trying to bring a little bit of 'American' food home. Last week I bought black beans and broccoli! After shopping at the open market we go for grocery shopping and typically on our way home I depart from the group for some exploration of a shopping center, for lunch or the like, just a little 'me' time.

Saturdays we get the kids up around 8, bathe them, dress them and serve breakfast by 8:30 or 9, then the kids helping in the cleaning of the compound, some may sweep, some will clean out the outdoor trash cans (I'm not sure why I'm specifying outdoor trash cans, there aren't any trash cans inside the house, which is somewhat annoying but probably helps kep unwanted creatures at bay.), others might wash their toys or their outdoor play sandals. After cleaning they are free to play all morning. After lunch and rest time they usually play some more, do an activity, or watch an afternoon movie if its raining. After bathing, supper and devotions I've instituted game night on Saturdays, we're still wokring on getting the hang of it, but they enjoy it.

When the kids are in bed the adults do a nightly devotion led by one of us volunteers/ missionaries, but by 8:30/9 its our own time. So during the afternoon free/rest time and in the later evening I write my blogs, do my personal devotions, read, do my laundry, clean my room, or talk with the other missionaries. (We've recently really been bonding over Ellen DeGeneres' stand-up comedy, Joanna's obsession with Chipotle, and my title, Fat Lesbian Mama (of which, by the way, I am none of, it's just an inside joke with the other girls)). Often times during the daytime free time I continue the laundry, do the lunch dishes or just have to sit there waiting for one of the kids to get out of bed so I can go and get them back in bed.

And that my friends is what I do everyday. Devotions is by far my favorite time, no not because it means bed is coming soon, but the kids are so happy jumping, dancing and singing a myriad of praise songs, one child is chosen to pray and they pray for each child and auntie or uncle they can remember, then they listen so intently to their Bible story in both languages, sometimes they even become actors of the story (see photos of communion/the Last Supper below). After the story is finished and they've seen the picture corresponding to the story, another child is chosen to pray, and its a similar prayer to the first one. Then they all hug their aunties and uncles good-night and ask me to come and pray for them. After tsu-tsu (peeing) they get in beds and I tuck in their mosquito nets, I pray for them, we sing a quiet, bedtime song and remind them that it's time to sleep and not to talk or disrupt each other. Goodnight abanas (children)!