Days {33-35}

Sunday - July 8th
We tried out a new church this morning, it's called Acacia. It's mainly a white church - but there's a few Ugandan's mixed in there as well. The pastor apparently is from Virginia. I wasn't planning on attending a mzungu church, but I rather this one over Calvary. Only because I just feel like I got more out of the message than I have the entire time I've been here. I was really looking forward to the experience of going to a Ugandan church - however, I don't think it's worth wasting the time I should be spending getting into the Word. So, I think now that I've had that experience, I'm ready to just focus all of my attention on the Lord - seeing as that's why I'm here. But the church takes place outside, which I think is absolutely beautiful. I feel like I've never quite experienced church like that until now - I feel like I'll always want church where I can feel the breeze and hear God's creatures outside. 

(@ Acacia Church)

(@ Acacia Church - After service)

After service, we all headed to Ling Ling's for lunch. That place is seriously so good. We just spent the whole time chatting away about I don't even remember what. We sat outside though - absolutely wonderful! 

(@ Ling Ling's - Light fixture)

Finally when we got back home, a few of us went outside to read our Bibles - well.. we ended up just talking for a while, which was really nice (: I love bonding with these girls! But, other than that, I spent the night in my bed watching Season 2 of The Office, courtesy of Emily!

Monday - July 9th

Started my morning off with preschool - as always. Tina wasn't here again, so we were kind of winging it yet again. But Sandra had the really cute idea to make visors out of paper plates. They got to color on them, and put stickers on. I think they turned out really cute!

(@ Amani - The Elephants)

Sadly, I don't think I did much of anything today. I just kind of hung out in my bed and watched more of The Office. I've found myself being very exhausted lately - I'm not really sure why. I would appreciate prayers for energy. Also, I think I've already mentioned this, but I can already sense my heart starting to break. I leave in 43 days.. I know that may seem like a long time to all of you back home, but the days fly by here. And I'm scared they're going to fly by too quickly; the last month has already gone by too quickly. I can't help but feel so at home when riding around Jinja on a boda. Walking the strip of stores and recognizing the store owners and exchanging smiles with them. I have yet to meet one unpleasant Ugandan. They're such wonderful and beautiful people. They definitely don't fail at making someone feel at home. However, as much as I'm loving it here - the sense of missing people is starting to feel more present. I definitely wouldn't mind hugging a few people from home. Also, I have Liz patiently waiting for me to come home! 8 months is far too long to go without seeing your oldest, and dearest friends. Absolutely can't wait to tackle her! (Be prepared..) I almost even feel ready to get back to school. I can't wait for my orientation job this fall - I'm excited to still have the opportunity to work with the freshmen and University Housing. I feel as if I'm just feeling a lot of feelings recently. OH! I went to a cafe with Becky today - I had wonderful coffee, but.. I also had a slice of lemon cake. I definitely came across a giant ant baked into my cake. I feel that if I were home I would have panicked, but let's be honest.. I've probably eaten a handful of ants since living in Africa. So, I pulled it out with my fork and flicked it in the grass - then proceeded to enjoy my cake. I still can't believe how well I handled the situation, quite proud of myself. Africa has definitely taught me to be more tolerant to situations that I really have no control over - or should I say that God has taught me that. He's definitely been challenging me since day one, and I couldn't be more thankful for such an awesome teacher!

Tuesday - July 10th

Tina's back! And I'm not excited just because that means preschool runs more smoothly, but because I actually enjoy being around her. I love knowing that she genuinely loves these children in a way that others may never understand. I will never understand how anyone that volunteer's here doesn't feel the same overwhelming and unconditional love I have for these kids. It's just amazing knowing that in the process of me teaching them to be intelligent, tolerant, God-loving people, they're teaching me just as much - if not more. After preschool, I watched some more The Office.. I'm in love. Then during our big break, most of the volunteers went to try out an Indian restaurant, whereas I wasn't really in the mood for new cuisine, so Sandra and I headed to The Source Cafe. Long story short - we ended up sharing a table with a man who was born in Uganda, but raised in the States who moved back to Uganda 4 years and 2 days ago. He now owns a juice business in Kampala. He and his factory manager chatted with us the entire time we were at The Source. It was really nice to hear a couple of Ugandan's thank us for our work in this country. For a while, I wasn't entirely sure how the local people felt about our particular mission. But the manager, who has lived in Uganda his whole life mentioned that there are so many children that are just abandoned and left to die, and my eyes naturally began to tear up. One thing that I'm trying to work on is understanding. It's so easy to get upset with the parents who choose this sort of life for their children, for leaving them in a swamp, or on the side of the road. But at the same time, they may be thinking that would be a better life for them than what they may be able to provide. And that just breaks my heart knowing that parents are in such situations where they think their child's death would be better than the life the parent is living. It's something I'll never be able to wrap my head OR heart around, that's why I've just been turning to God when I feel the need for comfort. Anyway, we did a little shopping. Sandra liked the skirt I was wearing today, so she wanted to check out the area I found it in. On the way, we ran into the rest of the Amani Crew, and we picked Sara up along the way. When we got back to Amani, we only had about 20 minutes before we had to get back to work. I had an outing today, and took Frank. We all headed to Surjio's for ice cream. I really enjoy taking the kids out. I know they aren't super appreciative at the time, but I know how much they enjoy it - and how excited they get when you tell them that they're the one your taking today. 

(@ Surjio's - Frank)

(@ Surjio's - Frank's "sweetie")

(@ Surjio's - Frank and his sweetie)

Okay, seriously.. look at those eyes. How can you NOT fall in love with him?! Sorry, I just had to get that out there! I'm currently just sitting in my bed. This is what I've been doing since we put the boys to sleep. I'm really tired, and kind of have no motivation to interact with anyone. I'm going to hopefully get to sleep early tonight - let's pray it works out, and I don't get too distracted! I apologize for getting lazy with blogging, but I feel like I'm getting to the point in my trip that I'm just getting worn down. These kids definitely keep Auntie Laura running around day after day. But, I hope you all are doing swell! Have a good night / afternoon - depending on when you take the time out of your day to see how I'm doing on the other side of the world. Thank you for being so great (: