How can I summarize two incredible months…
Here are some of my thoughts I wrote while I was in Uganda followed with a few from Swaziland
UGANDA——>
Here I am sitting on the front porch, my dreams having finally come true. I'm in Uganda watching a breathtaking African sunset. It's a nice cool 70 something degrees. Occasionally the rooster crows, probably practicing for the early morning hours. (It would be so embarrassing to have morning voice) There are the sounds of crickets and strange birds back up the rooster's lead singing. What a beautiful country. Although Uganda is the next-door neighbor to Kenya, the countryside changes so much once crossing the border. Our team was placed in a little town outside of Kampala, with Pastor Joseph and his wife they had 3 kids that they had taken in to give them a decent place to live in a loving home. There was Joshua who is 12, Peace who is 16 and Aggie who is 17. They were so loving. It was a blessing to be able to live with them and work alongside them. As tradition would have it, there is something called Ugandan time, and we were on it all month. Ministry started at..some point. We were given a time and it would be somewhere around that time. We got to work with some road construction at the church, clerical duties, bible studies, kids ministry, and evangelism.
My favorite was evangelizing, not only did we get to talk about Jesus but with such amazing people. We had a translator who brought us to different houses around the area of the church and we got to sit and talk with all sorts of different people. We heard about their lives and they shared their stories, most of them heart-wrenching.
Pastor Joseph's wife was amazing. I loved hearing about her life and being able to witness the daily sacrifices she makes for everyone around her, she truly has a servants heart. She's a spunky woman full of life and zeal for God. What a blessing she was.
Swaziland ——>
Before we left Uganda I went to the closest grocery stores and packed my bags, I had heard that Swaziland is one of the poorest countries in Africa. So, i'll be ready with chocolate, granola and any other vital necessities. I had probably 10 extra pounds in my pack. Well, I was wrong. As we pulled into the country I was surprised we weren't bumping over treacherous roads surrounded by city dumps, instead we were driving merrily along on smooth roads. Surrounding us was clean beautiful landscape. Small houses but very well taken care of. There were mountains and hills and the land was full of a feeling of freshness. We stayed in a town called Mpaka at a church and worked with care point not far down the road. The pastor was careful to make sure I understood it was a village NOT a town. It was a small village, but it really had everything we needed quite close by. There was a post office, a bus stop and a grocery store. 
Our ministry was working with an Adventures in Missions Care point center. They have a daycare in the morning and serve up to 200 kids two meals a day. The meals are always the same, beans and rice or beans and ugali (like a dry flavorless mashed potato) In the afternoon we would play with the kids and get to know them if they were older. Many of the kids come from extremely poor families. Almost all the children I met had lost a family member, for any number of reasons but for the most part from AIDS. Some kids were orphans and roamed from home to home or stayed with anyone that would let them. I could see that there was a tremendous amount of pain in the eyes of the children I met. Some of the babies clearly had deep attachment disorders and blankly stared past anyone who tried to give them attention. A child with an attachment disorder usually has been neglected as infant. In the first few months of a child's life it is vital that they be held and nurtured or they will have trouble accepting love or attention the rest of their lives. The sociology background I have was definitely having a field day.
One day, I was sitting and talking to one of the kids. She would come and find me each day and we would sit together and make small talk. We played games and put puzzles together. After about a week of knowing her, while we we're talking she told me that she was sick. She told me she is HIV positive and has AIDS. Her name is Winnie, she wants to be a police woman.
