Teaching, bodas, and mushy faces

Today we served at a new ministry called Mengo Youth Development, they have a children's home and school for forty 6-14 year old boys and girls on the outskirts of Kampala and a street ministry in the slums of Kampala for boys around aged 20. We went to the home and school today.

The teacher relinquished all responsibility and we all got an opportunity to teach. I led 10 kids in class Primary 2, they were between 8-11 years old. The kids were really well-behaved for having a mazungu in their class who they could have tried to take complete advantage of. We worked through some English, I taught them about the calendar a bit, and did some mathematics. The very visible difference between American schooling and in Uganda is that here repetition is how they learn, they don't get taught concepts at all, that is except when I'm around. Today I don't know if God blessed me with a lot of patience, a good class or he was trying to tell me that I'd make a good teacher.

After they had lunch we headed to the field where I broke all the kids into 4 groups for some football (soccer) and then a tag game! And the teams that weren't playing got use frisbees and jump ropes we brought with us.

We had a great time today, I continue to get sun, run around like a crazy woman, and enjoy the abanna (children). I've lost 15 pounds between not totally loving the food and running around like a crazy woman; it's a bit difficult expending a lot of energy on the days I'm serving when at the same time I'm fasting, but I do make it through and I think about the sacrifice that much more.

I've also been getting more daring with boda boda experiences (these are motorcycles, but slow ones, not quite scooters, without helmets but with insane traffic conditions) . I've gone from clinging for my life to a boda driver to sitting back and holding on to the bar behind me to even sitting side saddle with a cake in my lap, holding on to nothing, but praying fiercely!!

Check out some of the kids at home letting me give them mushy faces: Jerom, Esther & Don

Well, I'm about to attempt sleep, despite having just watched a mouse run across my floor, up my suitcase, up my curtain and into a hole in the wall. I don't have much in my room to seal it up with and its raining feverishly outside, so I covered the hole with 2 toilet paper rolls and used band-aids to keep them up, I'm praying that they hold. Also, I'm also super excited to find out if I'm having a neice or a nephew, I just have to wait a few more hours; not sure if the anticipation will also hinder my sleep?!

Halloween & the market

Yesterday, in anticipation of having my day off today, I had the kids make masks out of paper plates. Then today I bought some chocolates and mints for them so we could have a little halloween. I had Auntie Joanna and Auntie Cassady hide behind two doors and had each kid knock on the door and say Trick or Treat and thank you after taking a candy. It was too cute!! I don't think any of them really understood the concept and I didn't go into very great depth as to what we were doing, but I guess that might have been a wise decision! What did they care, yesterday they got to make something fun and today they got to wear it and get candy?!

 

Also, today was market day and I took some more photos of that experience to share.

 

 

 

 

Lovin on my kiddos!

God sent Sandy so you all could empathize with my life here, how we constantly lose electricity or running water. Just kidding, glad you are all safe!

I know you aren't supposed to pick favorites when it comes to your kids, sometimes for the day though I do pick my favorites (of course I don't tell them). Well, maybe it's more like they do something to make them my favorite for the day. I do absolutely love them all to pieces.

I came downstairs the other day and Joshua was standing at the trash cans throwing something away and I said, "Hey handsome, how you doin?", to which he replied, "Hey beautiful.", without missing a beat.

Cocus fell asleep holding my hand and laying in my lap on our way home from church on Sunday. I smiled the whole time!

Esther, even though I had to yell at her multiple times through nap time, followed me around afterwards wanting to be with me all the time.

You know how I said I went through the girls' closet, well I put them all in adorable long t-shirts and black leggings today, super cute.

Joel and I were working on his reading skills tonight, he's improved since I've been here and craves all the praise I can give him with a cute blush.

Sometimes I look at Emma and think Benjamin Button; is he a cute old man or a little boy?

Don sometimes forgets I don't speak Luganda (with the exception of maybe 10 words) and uses Luganda words intermized with English when he talks to me.

Jerom has these cheeks, both on his face and his bum, that make you just want to pinch them. I'll give him tons of kisses and then he starts laughing with this high pitched laugh and I have to just keep on giving him love.

Do you know it was only after a month that I found out that Jerom and Joel are brothers, I knew from day 1 that Esther and Brenda were sisters, but neither pair of siblings act like it, they are all equally loving and equally doling out some punishment.

I am only here for one more month, time seems to be going so fast and I am going to bawl like a baby when I have to say good-bye.

                        Top left to right: Annet, Joshua, Fauziya, Cocus, Brenda, Joel, Oscar
                                     Bottom left to right: Emma, Carol, Esther, Don, Jerom

On the street

Yesterday after being diagnosed, finally, with Giardia (a parasitic infection that has left her sick on and off for the past 6 weeks, ugh!) the missionary, Joanna, was all ready to pay at the hospital by credit card but their network was down. I was able to loan her most of the cash but didn't have it all, so we set out for Garden City, a mall with an ATM, to only have it eat her card, I felt so bad for her! Last night we were discussing what her facebook status should read: I got diagnosed with Giardia, haven't pooped in 5 days, the ATM ate my card, Emma fell in the toilet (oh yes, the tiniest little Emma at 3.5 years and 24" tall, went to sit on the toilet, but the seat wasn't down and he fell bum first into the toilet with his legs and head popping out...yes, please laugh!), and then I burned my eye with icy hot. Poor Joanna!!

So we went to try and retrieve Joanna's card from the bank this morning, and after sitting in a traffic jam for an extra hour this morning, she successfully got her card returned to her! The traffic jam was the beginning of a hectic morning in which we got in two minor accidents, but serving turned it all around! Oh, what another wonderful day serving. We've made Mondays our day to go to Sanyu Babies Home in the morning and then A Perfect Injustice (API) street ministry in the afternoon. They are both ministries that leave you feeling like you helped. I might get frustrated at times, like when no Ugandan is around and I've got 20 children aged 1-4 in front of me, most of them crying and none of them knowing English, but then I just start singing a random song from VBS 25 years ago, start clapping my hands and stomping my feet and suddenly the kids stop crying and start staring at me in amazement, or when you walk to the dining hall and the mama walking in front of you just left the kids in the dining hall without supervision to walk down to the play area, or out to where the plumber left all his tools and they are hitting each other with wrenches...hello!!

Today, because of the generosity of friends and family I was able to purchase two large saucepans (ok, think 2'-3' in diameter) and a charcoal oven for the street ministry, we also brought some medical supplies to leave. I led a lesson today on Uganda, showed them a map of the world, talked to them about some geography terms, showed them some photos of Uganda and then told them about the Ugandan flag. I broke them in to 6 groups and each kid got to make a Ugandan flag. These kids, because they don't have access to a formal education, really want to experience that, so doing things like writing on a board of chalk (notice I didn't say chalkboard, we meet in a structure with a tin roof, no walls and a dirt floor; no walls means no walls for chalkboards, so they carry around a board of chalk), asking questions and having them raise their hands, and doing artwork is really effective. I then taught them another VBS song that would get them active, and they loved it, can't wait to share the video! After playing soccer I led them in a devotion on friendship, the red in the Ugandan flag represents brotherhood and I translated that to friendship, I told them the story of Jonathan and David being friends. They always seem to ask, but then what happened? I like it, they're interested!!

Its amazing how different these kids are, one might want to sit next to you and hold your hand, the next kid will hardly bump fists with you, they all have varied pasts, most of them sordid and sad. The slums of Kampala are not pretty, they don't smell good, and these young teenagers sleep on the streets every night. Their clothing tells it all, with one shoe, shirts 3 times too big and full of holes, a sweater in the middle of a 90 degree day, or wearing a girl's shirt, its a sad picture to paint, but it is real for these kids. I was remarking the other day how you could walk into a store and see a kid playing on a phone, wearing matching clothes and looking well taken care of, but then you walk just up the street and you see a child that looks like its been featured on the Save-A-Child infomercial.

Today I met a guy at API who was at the beginning of his week of spending it as a boy on the street, voluntarily. He was going to eat with them, like them, only what they eat, and he's going to sleep on the streets. I doubt he'll steal for his food like these kids do, or beg like they do, or try and swindle you like they do, but he's going to survive as honestly as he can as they do. Will you please join me in lifting Justin up, for perseverence, and for God to not have it rain a lot this week? And, also, please pray for all the ministries of Uganda, for the workers, those being served, and those supporting them. Thanks!

While I was at the street ministry I finally got to capture a picture of the biggest bird I think I've ever seen, well, next to Big Bird! The boy that pointed it out to me thought I was crazy cause I was so excited to finally get a picture of it! I have no idea what it is, a stork of some sort maybe, but they are bigger than Emma!

I've been praying in earnest for all of you on the east coast!! Hunker down folks and heed all warnings!

Toys, Noah and Faith

After having to re-start our day this morning (I spanked every child after breakfast and sent them back to bed after spending the two previous hours telling them to be quiet, listen to their aunties and uncles, stop hitting/beating/pinching/tattling, etc, I was already done). So we restarted our day, I hugged each one of them as they exited their rooms and set up wood blocks for the girls and legos for the boys to play with, and after half an hour they switched toys. They've had these toys in the living room, but they are in big black bins so I think they are often forgotten, well what better to do on a rainy morning than play with legos and blocks, my personal favorite toys! They looked so All-American, check them out (I also went through the girls' closet on Thursday and made them all cute little outfits that actually match, they pull whatever they feel like out ordinarily!)

They had so much fun, and actually the day got better from there, it wasn't perfect, but they were better behaved than before. Then I finally told the other missionaries (ok, and now you) that I've been frustrated with their level of commitment to serve and am exhausted from being the only one to get up with them for bathing, breakfast and school every morning, and constantly feeling like I'm the only one downstairs all the time; Joanna was only disappointed that I hadn't told her sooner. The administrator had tried a discrete way, and then so did I with my devotions, but sometimes direct and to the point is what is needed. I am personally a fan of direct and to the point, but often times people can be so sensitive that it's hard to share, so I was trying the other approach, but really, it's just not me. I'm going back to direct and when timed appropriately; i.e. before your oil well overflows (thanks Dad!). So you're thinking really her day got better by having this happen, but really it did, I felt so much relief. I know you know what I'm talking about!

After rest time I played so hard with the kids, chasing them, playing soccer, holding their feet while they walk on their hands, etc. My body is exhausted. But I managed to finish our week on Noah and the Bible verse: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Gen 9:13, and all but the youngest child, Emma, memorized it! I made supper tonight and all the kids ate it happily, which means none of them cried (see previous posts if this doesn't make sense!): spaghetti, ground beef and homemade sauce, with buttered dinner rolls warmed in the oven!!

Tonight is typically game night but the boys had misbehaved during naptime so no games was their punishment, since the girls got to stay up a bit longer I gave them each lip gloss to put on, painted their finger nails with clear (their nails get inspected at school so no chipped nail polish) and read them the story of Snow White. Girl time!

This evening I led devotions on faith, Hebrews 11, its amazing the amount of faith people like Noah, Moses, and Abraham had and what they did for their faith, it is actually very humbling and makes me think it should be easier for me to have faith if they did amidst all their strife. Read it and you'll feel similarly. Yesterday the kids watched Evan Almighty, its a movie based loosely on the story of Noah, and helped reinforce the incredible faith Noah had in building an ark in the middle of dry land. Hebrews 11 starts off with such a great definition of faith: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.

My middle name is Faith, you'd think that it would make it easier for me to have all the time, you'd think just because I took a leave of absence from work, put my life on hold for three months and went to mission in Africa that my faith must be immense. Well, I guess the day I said 'yes' to God about coming here it was, but it waivers all the time, just like what happens in most of you, we're human, but you should keep on striving to have more of it; where might He take you?!

A little sleep, a little slumber...

Pastor Josh at Watoto Church on Sunday warned Ugandans about being known for their poor work ethic and I briefly touched on this in my blog the other day. I was so astounded by the comparison between a Chinese worker's output and a Ugandan's, and then even by the comparison of a Kenyan to a Ugandan, that I had to dig deeper. The minister mentioned Proverbs 24: 30-32, but as I was referring back to these verses I realized he didn't include the well-known verses just after that: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit, and scarcity like an armed man. And boy does that speak to you/me!

Yes, we all need to take more personal responsibility and accountability for ourselves, but we also have a responsibility to our communities, our families, and others we surround ourselves with or associate with.

Yes, you might have a great work ethic, but what else might you let slack: your weight, your relationship with God, an important relationship with someone else?!

And then this digging deeper led me to 2 Thessalonians where Paul warns of idleness. How easy it is to sit there idly, being a busybody instead of really making progress, how we can be brought down by others who sit there idly while the world passes by.

Yes, I wanted to ignite some passion to work harder in some of my fellow devotional partners, but then I realized how much more I could be doing in other ways to keep myself from running on neutral, idling in the parking lot instead of moving forward. Its not just about your, or my, devotion to be at work from 8-6 Monday thru Friday, but to be a good mom, a devoted husband, an involved constituent, a good friend, and to keep growing in every aspect of your life.   

No stars?

I know I was sharing a lot to be thankful for just the other day, but I've got a big one to share. This morning the missionary that arrived just last Wednesday, Uncle James, departed for home. That's not the thankful part; he is a really sweet, honest approachable guy. But he was, among other reasons for departing, homesick and unable to really get comfortable. So the thankful part for me is that I have been so incredibly comfortable and so well-adjusted to life in Uganda. Yes, I've missed friends and family and my boyfriend at home, but God has kept me focused on my present circumstances and busy with serving in a multitude of ways; I am very happy here.

OK, and then my biggest disappointment...I thought that stars would be amazing here. No/Little light pollution to prevent me from seeing the stars, but no, they are more majestic at my parent's house than here. I still look up in hopes that one night I'll be pleasantly surprised, but even on my safari in the middle of a huge national park the stars were still hiding.