6:45am // My alarm
goes off. I don’t really need it anymore since I’m already awake. Lilly has
been up and about since shortly after six, preparing water and cleaning the
home before she heads off to work.
7:08am // My
morning routine complete, I gather my Bible and sketchbook and spread the straw
mat on the veranda. I pray as I take a seat in the rose-hued light of the
sunrise for God to reveal His words and His will to me, to fill me with love
and joy, and to let me see through His eyes, hear through His ears, and breathe
with His lungs.
7:26am // Ugandan
kids pass by on their way to school. They look so cute in their uniforms and
tiny backpacks! All of them wave and say good morning to the mzungu. Because of
all the crusades and outreach we have done, and from me sitting on the veranda
every morning, many now know my name and call it out in greeting.
8:37am // Being in
the presence of God is the most awesome, comfortable place to be. Sometimes,
I’m sitting on His lap, other times I’m holding His hand as we walk through a
beautiful forest. Always, He speaks to me and shows me new things. I’ve read
more of the Bible in the past month than I have in the whole rest of my life.
Sometimes, I’ll walk with Solomon up the hill to the small cluster of shops to
buy bread or pancakes for breakfast and we have a good time talking and joking
about many things.
9:04am // Breakfast
is served! Usually, it consists of tea or coffee for the other girls as a
pre-breakfast. Then the actual meal which is usually a loaf of bread with
peanut butter and jelly (or butter and cinnamon sugar for the others) and a
banana. Other times, it’s an omelette with chapatti or bread or occasionally,
Ugandan pancakes which are made from cassava flour and ripe bananas then deep
fried until they have a consistency similar to that of old mochi and the flavor
of banana.
10:33am // Usually,
the morning is free and I’ll bathe, read, do a Bible study with the girls, or
spend time hanging out with Betty, Barbara, Hope, Flavia, and Hussein, the
awesome servant-hearted Ugandans who cook and clean for us. Other mornings,
we’ll have an activity and go speak at a school or work with students who are deaf
or have other physical handicaps.
1:07pm //
Lunchtime! Praise God for the cooks that we have, who always make us delicious
food. Compared to what some of the others have been eating, we eat really well.
It’s usually some sort of rice and beans or rice and a vegetable stew as well
as an avocado and a pineapple for dessert (btw, I’m now addicted to pineapple;
the ones here are the best I’ve ever had)
3:47pm // Time for
afternoon activities! This varies. For the first three weeks, we usually had a
crusade and we’d pile into the back of a pickup with all of the speakers and
music equipment and head off to a village to sing, dance, and speak for a few
hours. Other times, we have a speaking engagement at a school. Other time, we
are free and I’ll practice futbol in the front yard with some of the neighbor
boys — Nassa, Davis, and David.
5:17pm //
Hallelujah! It’s time for futbol! Solomon and I jog over to “the playground� as
they call the large field between Solomon’s home and RUDICOP school where we
play soccer. The guys have welcomed me warmly, despite my lack of skill. I’m
still not that good but there has been a definite improvement over the past
month and I’m starting to get more time with the ball. Solomon almost falls
over laughing when I’m able to keep the ball away until he grabs my arm and
steals it while holding me hostage; I then kick it out from between his legs
and attempt to race after it but can’t because his arm is clotheslining me.
7:23pm // After
almost two hours of futbol, I’m worn out and deliriously happy and in a great
mood from the exercise. As we all walk back to Solomon’s, I talk to the guys
and get to know them, finding out about their education and their lives.
7:53 // On some
nights, I’ll take a kerosene lantern out to the vernada and read Bible stories
from one of Solomon’s books with David and two of his older sisters, Anitah and
Rachel. They take turns reading and it helps improve their English and teaches
them about God. Other nights, I’ll joke with Betty and the other women or talk
to the girls on my team about different things.
8:15pm // Dinner is
now served! It’s always delicious, no matter what it is. Sometimes it’s stewed
chicken and chapatti (the other girls give me their bones and the weird pieces
of meat; thanks, mom, for getting me into the habit of eating things that look
funny :P) or rice and beans, other times it’s beans and chapatti or chips
(fries) and cabbage. There is almost always a pineapple for dessert. Yum!
9:25pm // I’m worn
out but refreshed in spirit. Oftentimes, the six of us will talk among
ourselves or with Pastor Solomon and/or his wife Lilly and have some great
lessons and discussions. Lilly and I have become close and Solomon considers me
his little sister now and treats me as such, joking and teasing but being
overprotective.
10:03pm // I try to
remember to pray for others as I settle down and drift off to sleep. It’s so
wonderful to be on the top bunk, have my own bed, and sleep in a new mattress!
I sleep well here, though I still wake up a few times during the night. At
first, I resented these times but now, I’ve come to embrace them as the Holy
Spirit waking me up to pray for certain people or things. Most of the time,
these wakings will occur between 2:30 and 4:00am. Though I wake up multiple
times, I always have plenty of energy for the coming day.
And that, my friends and fellow readers, is what my days here in
Mbarara look like!
