This month update is so late, I won’t even begin to
apologize. I’ll summarize as quickly and as thoroughly as I can, just to let you know where I am, what I’m up to, and what’s happening next.
Ok.
First of all, travel day from Nairobi, Kenya, to Mukono,
Uganda was the most hellish ride we’ve had so far. At least in my opinion it
was. We left our hostel in Nairobi on June 6th, at 530am, hopped on
a bus to Kampala by 7am, and off we went.
The bus was a nice bus, but the road was NOT a nice road. A
couple times I distinctly remember praying fervently that God would keep the
bus right-side up and on the road as we swerved around other buses and trucks
and motorcycles – every time we stopped for breaks, I was grateful to have
solid ground under my feet again. We got to the border at the hottest part of
the day (in my opinion!), figured out visas and fees and then crammed back onto
the bus. The bus dropped my team and Team WOW off at a gas station, in the middle of somewhere, around 8 or 9pm (ish?). Got picked up and went to our home for part of the month, a nice little guest house in Mukono, and then slept VERY well.
8am the next morning, we were up and ready for ministry!
Ministry here looks like this: Lots of working with kids!
We’re partnering with Christ Ambassadors for this first part of the month. This
translates to: teaching random classes in their primary Christian school. There
are about 200 kids (if I was told correctly) and each and every one of them has
stolen my heart.
So far, I’ve taught PE, music class, and done more than my
share of singing, dancing, hand games, and teaching the kids new games they’ve
never played before…I’ve taught a Sunday school class for about 40 eight to ten
year olds with about one minute to plan, on my own. I’ve sung a song in
Swahili, alone, without a guitar, for about 15 people.
Yes, I’m a much different person than when I left.
The pastor here, Joseph, has an incredible heart for
children. Him and his wife have adopted 20+ kids and educate them in their
school and take care of them as their own. Every morning before the crack of
dawn, he drives around the city and picks up the other children who attend the
school but can’t walk there because of safety issues (we’ve been told there is a lot of witchcraft here and child sacrifices). This is a huge ministry in itself – the parents are extremely grateful to have their child in a school that is safe. These kids are taught well and are loved and cared for – it’s really inspiring to see it and be part of it.
We participate in bible studies every week, home visit evangelism, the church service, and other things that might just be escaping my mind right now.
Uganda is incredible.
I love it here.
I love it when the kids yell my name and come running at me, and don’t slow down before crashing into my open arms full force. I love playing games like Duck Duck Goose with them for an hour – just because I can hear them laughing and see them smiling and I know that they are happy. I love meeting people on the streets, meeting people in the village and praying for them. I love walking the long distances and having a busy, hectic, crazy day – and getting to the end of the day completely exhausted. I’m happy. Don’t get me wrong, hings aren’t perfect, but I wouldn’t want them to be.
Ok…I’ll cut this short. I’ve got 11 minutes on this computer left, so I don’t have much of a choice 🙂 I miss you, love you, and will be working on a couple blogs for the next time I get internet in town.
(OH! And according to my teammate Sarah, and according to how many malaria pills she’s got left, we’re down to 70-some days left before coming home! How insane is that?)
