I feel back at home in Africa. As we went to church our first Sunday here, I was having flash backs as to why I fell in love with Africa in the first place seven years ago. There is something about the people and places here that bring me so much joy. I love playing with kids, talking and hanging out with the women in the kitchen, and there is no better way to see Africa then on the back of a boata (motorcycle or taxi).
This month so far we have visited jju jju’s (elderly of the community) and asked them if they needed any prayer. We prayed for one woman who was having pain all through her body: head, neck, shoulders, knees, etc. After praying she rejoiced and said she was pain free! I have never seen so much joy on a woman’s face before. We have also visited a few businesses and friends of the pastor. We receive lots of goodies on our trips! One day we received 14 advacados and a HUGE jackfuit. But we have a lot of down time also. We came up with a few projects that we could help with.
Deirdre and Lindsey put together a girls/woman’s night this past wednesday. I think I painted approximately 450 nails that night. We gave them purple bracelets and decorated crowns to remind them of the royalty they have since they are part of the Lords Kingdom. Over 60 people had to have showed up. Too many to count!
We have also decided to paint the elementary school here at Goshenland. When we arrived the school had been extremely faded and needed new paint. We are working for free to cut labor costs and pulling together money to purchase paint.
We have also decided to help out with the two or three buildings that are not finished on the property; a school and dormitory. These buildings have been in the same state since 2009. Parents do not want to send their children to school here since there are no windows, doors, or floor. We thought about fundraising for this, but we thought that actually doing manual labor for them for free would have more of an impact. If we threw money at them, they still couldn't find time/people to do the labor. So this past Tuesday we went to the “clay fields” and made bricks. We had an assembly line going, throwing bricks from one to another to stack. Next we molded bricks and slashed grass for them to put the newly molded bricks on to dry. The bricks that are made on this purchased land are not only used for building, but also for paying the teachers that work at the Goshenland school.
Finally, we are planning a back to school carnival! The kids are on holiday until the beginning of February. We are each planning our own “station” including games, crafts, and hygiene. Hopefully this will be something fun for the kids before they return to school after we leave.
We have an amazing house with amazing cooks. I love the women that are serving us this month. Uganda caters to vegetarians 🙂 Fresh advacado, veggies, chapati, every day for meals. I could not ask for a better place to be this month. There is a difference between living here and living life with the people here. I love living life with the people here. AND their children work harder than any child I have ever seen in my life; from washing cars, washing our laundry, or cooking meals for their brothers and sisters while their mother is cooking for us. I cannot express how grateful I am for their ministry to us.
While I am in love with being here, I am also in love with the fact that I know I will be coming home in 4 months. Not going to lie, I can’t wait to see my friends and family. I am missing them dearly. But it hasn’t become a distraction, but almost giving me the idea to take every thought captive and not miss out on what God has for me here.
