Day {13}

Saturday - June 16th

I woke up around 9.30 this morning? But, shortly after waking up, Becky and myself went outside to read our Bibles. Emily graced us with her presence after a while as well, not to mention the children managed to find us while we were out there as well. As soon as we told them what we were reading, they grabbed for our books and flipped through all of the pages. It was pretty toasty out, so again I found myself sweating - but, I'm determined to spend plenty of time in the sun. Jeremy told me I should probably lay off.. but, it's one of the simple pleasures of being in Uganda that I can't find myself passing up. Around noon, I think all of us girls went to The Source for lunch. I had to leave my camera behind at Amani due to a low battery ): But, I had a guacamole chicken wrap. I'm not usually a fan of guacamole, but this was good - it would have been even better if there wasn't as much guac, because I feel like I was eating more of that than anything else. It was really nice just sitting around and chatting though. It takes probably 3 times as long to get your food here, than in America. I suppose that could be a good sign, meaning it's fresh, but after a while all I can think about is the fact that I'm hungry! Anyway, after lunch we hit some shops. I found a few things for people, and a dress for me. So, as I've mentioned the paintings before.. I really want to buy a few, however everyone at Amani tells you what you should be paying for something, which is naturally less than what the people are asking for. And, when it comes to the paintings, I feel really bad trying to haggle the price, because 1) I think they're absolutely beautiful, 2) I know how much time is spent on art, and 3) if paint is expensive in the US, I can't imagine the prices here.. it's just difficult because I don't want people thinking I'm just blowing me money, when really I think they deserve what they're asking. I mean really, 50,000 Ugandan Shillings is around $20, which is still a decent price to buy a painting at. I'm just having mixed feelings, because I'm definitely not the kind of person to haggle prices. In my eyes, I see them needing the money. Someone pointed out that I don't know how they spend their money, but that's the same in America too - and I feel we never try to haggle prices in America. I learned that it costs about 20,000 Ugandan Shillings to send their children to school, so really, if they use the money accordingly they could easily pay for their children's education. Granted, I'm aware that they raise the prices because we're white - and they think that we'll just give in and pay. But honestly, everything is handmade here, and I don't really see a problem paying what they ask for, because it's typically still cheaper than what it would be at home. So.. that's my shopping dilemma. Seeing as I didn't have my camera, I managed to take this with my phone. I love the brightness of town in Jinja. Blue windows, orange buildings - it's beautiful:

(@ Jinja - window of local shop)

Later on, around 8.00pm, most of us went down to The Keep to join some others for Karaoke Night. I've never been a fan, because more times than not, when I hear karaoke - it's a bunch of drunk people that don't even remotely sound good. But tonight, there were some decent singers. There was a Ugandan guy that sang "Hello", and he sounded beautiful! There was also a group of Ugandan women that kept going up there to sing, they were a fun bunch. Tina, the preschool teacher brought her ministry team to The Keep (that's who we met up with), and quite a few of them went up to sing. Mainly the younger girls, due to the DJ playing songs such as "One Time" by Justin Beiber, "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. They played "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira - oh my word. So many people ran up there to dance, it was awesome. One Ugandan guy had memorized the music video - so he was legitimately doing the dance Shakira does. There was a little girl that was standing by her table dancing, it was probably one of the cutest things ever! But, even yours truly went up there with Tina and a few other volunteers to sing/dance to Y.M.C.A. I have NO idea what possessed me to get up there, because I hate being in front of crowds! Look:

(@ The Keep - Tina and her ladies [Tina on far right])

But it was a lot of fun. I'm trying to blame my energy on the Espresso Milkshake (courtesy of Becky - thanks girl!). Once I was up there though, I came back to my table and just kept bouncing around. It was kind of annoying, because I officially have a cold. So, I had brought a roll of toilet paper in my purse for when my nose needed to be relieved. OH! Hold on.. I totally forgot to mention when the 5 or 6 of us girls just about peed our pants. We were walking down the dark road to get bodas to take us to The Keep, and we had grabbed our flashlights so it wouldn't be as dark. But, I had noticed two people walking down the road also, but was easily sidetracked due to the fact people walk around at night all the time, and because we were walking under the tree where the GIANT pelicans sit. Megan N. started moving closer into me because she thought  she heard something in the bushes, so naturally my heart starts to panic as well, and I quickly flashed my flashlight over there, to see two people leaping out as us. Obviously my first instinct was to start screaming and shuffle away, and then one by one every other girl started screaming too. While we were screaming, we slowly recognized the culprits.. one, being Susan - my Ugandan roommate, and the other being Kirby - Amani's owner's cousin. I have never been so scared in my life - initially, my first thought was, "CRAP! I haven't even been here two weeks and I'm getting attacked!" Susan definitely taught me a lesson though, if I see people walking on the same road, then realize they're gone - I should be more cautious. Wow, my heart is racing just reliving the moment. But yes, anyway.. after karaoke, we all came home. I chatted with a few girls, represented Coldspring Drive a bit, seeing as they're all so curious about Jeremy. It's kind of weird how much I've been asked to talk about him since I've been here, ha, sorry Jeremy - but it is a little weird. Then it was off to sleep, which really, I absolutely couldn't wait for, I'm praying that rest will help me feel better because I have no cold medicine with me, seeing as I never would have expected to catch a cold in Africa.

Day {12}

Friday - June 15th

I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat. Not enjoyable - and it hasn't gone away yet. However, I also woke up this morning not wanting to wake up at all. Thank the good Lord it's Friday, for real. I never mentioned this in yesterday's blog, but, there were 3 geckos in our room last night. One in our main room, and two in our bathroom. I showered with one last night, I noticed a tail behind a shampoo bottle, then when I looked back there was a face. Not gonna lie - it kind of caught me off guard. Then when I was in there changing, I saw the other one above the sink! That one was stinking huge compared to the others. I'm not really afraid of them, but I've never had to share a room with geckos, so I was a little frightened thinking it may jump on me! Here's a photo of one we found earlier this week, they're kind of cute - I just don't want it on me: 

(@ Amani - Gecko #1)

Today I was kind of having an emotional day. I don't want to say that I'm homesick - but the reality of me being here for two and a half months is finally starting to sink in. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely loving every minute I spend here, but at the same time, that just means I'm not spending any of my time with loved ones at home. But, Jeremy reminded me today, that that's one of the sacrifices I was willing to make this summer. I need to just keep reminding myself that I'm here to have a servant's heart, and it's not necessarily fair to the children for me to be missing everything at home when they're one of the reasons why I'm here in the first place. I feel like I've been asking for prayer a lot lately, but that's all I have to rely on right now. And those of you that are keeping me in your prayers I appreciate it more than I'll be able to express. There's a few specific things that are difficult for me right now, but God knows my heart, and I hope that you would just incorporate that into your prayers tonight. Thank you! Playtime this afternoon was fun - I was a feeling a little tired from my nap, so I'm thankful there were visitors to keep the children occupied! But they played with bikes today, so basically they were content all on their own. Looking at pictures of the kids never fails in bringing a smile to my face:

 

(@ Amani - Desire)

(@ Amani - Eric)

(@ Amani - Henry)

(@ Amani - Enok)

I need to make something small to eat -I'm so hungry. But, I think I'm going to turn in early and just read my Bible. Thank you everyone who takes the time out of your day to read my blog - it means so much to me! (: Night!

Day {11}

Thursday - June 14th

This morning Lynley had to teach preschool, she's the teacher's intern. By the way, I've absolutely fallen in love with her name - it's so beautiful. Anyway, that was quite the task. It was Lynley, Becky and myself. Half of our other volunteers were still on their safari in the morning, they arrived later in the day! Thankfully! Not only was it stressful getting the boys ready for sleep on my own, but I missed them! (: But yes, Lynley ended rushing through preschool, she was so nervous. But, I think she did a fabulous job! Afterwards, the 3 of us just hung out for a while, which was really nice, because I haven't really had the opportunity to get to know Lynley. She's such a southern sweetheart. Side note - I'm seriously so blessed to have these girls in my life. They're all amazing, I know I've mentioned it before, but man, all of them are SO beautiful in their own ways. I would love to be able to stay in touch when we're all home in the States. Helene is already expecting a wedding invitation whenever that day comes, ha. They're just wonderful women of Christ, and you can never have too many of those in your life. But anyway, after lunchtime, I had an outing! I absolutely love going on outings, granted I'm spending money on the children. But, I love spending my time, attention, and love on them. I took Eric to Surjio's with Becky and baby Wycliff. I absolutely adore Eric. He's so content all of the time. I love holding onto him, and watching him look up at the trees with the biggest smile on his face. He's so beautiful. He's very observant too - when he sees that you're trying to get something done, he's right there ready to help you. He even tries scolding children when he sees that they aren't paying attention to me. Normally he talks up a storm, but he was quiet almost the entire time we were out. I bought him some chocolate ice cream, and he loved it! At this point, I think the children love everything we give them. But I also ordered a vanilla ice cream for me, and I think it was absolutely delicious. It tasted like real vanilla - not artificial. It was fun just spending quality time with Eric though, instead of having 5 other kids pushing him around to get my attention. Here's a couple photos of our time together:

(@ Surjio's - Eric and his ice cream)

(@ Surjio's - Eric and I)

(@ Surjio's - Becky and Wycliff)
  

Since it was Thursday, I wasn't able to help put the kids in bed because it's Bible Study Night. Bible study was absolutely wonderful. Again, these girls are such blessings. I'm so thankful for how open and comfortable we feel with one another. I would never guess these things happened to these girls because they're all so wonderful and happy. What strong women, and I relate to quite a few of them. One thing that I want to turn over to the Lord is my need for some kind of control. I like to think that things happen according to me, but I couldn't be more wrong. My main thing I need to work on is understanding that things in life need to happen according to God's timing. Truthfully, I'm struggling with this concept at the moment - so if you could please pray that God brings me understanding, and allows me to find more comfort in His decisions, I would greatly appreciate it. Last night, we all ended up talking about a volunteer who had come here with the idea of needing to rescue the children at Amani, and that's really not the case at all. Helene made it perfectly clear that in the end, it's the children that end up rescuing us. We all had some kind of inkling that we would be the ones teaching them about God's love, but honestly, these children are some of the biggest examples to live by. Every month they find themselves having new Aunties, and with barely knowing them, they open their hearts and arms to them instantly. It amazes me how quickly they're able to love complete strangers. Helene said that these children know everything that we've left behind at home to help them, and that just makes me love them even more. These children are so appreciative, and it warms my heart. She had said last night that it may not always seem like we're doing much, but we are doing so much for them. We're paving the path for their future. We're teaching them how to love others as if they're family and how to be selfless. There are so many acts of kindness played out by the children that make her statement so real. It brought me to tears last night, just knowing that the relationships I have with the kids is not only helping to build their character, but it's also building mine more than I can comprehend - at such a fast pace. Thank you Lord, for all of these children, and for giving me a big enough heart to have a special place for each and every one of them.

Days {9-10}

Tuesday - June 12th

I feel as if my days are starting to sound a little monotonous. I woke up, had breakfast, went to preschool. We made tiger puppets out of brown lunch bags - they actually turned out really cute! After that, I took my break. I've realized that I love my break time more and more every day. Especially this week, because more than half of our volunteers are gone for a safari until Thursday - so there's only 4 of us running around with the kids. Well, 2 technically, because Emily and Lauren are with the babies. I had an outing today! Falkner took Brian, and I took sweet Henry. We took them to The Source (where I had dinner last weekend). Henry had a scone the size of his face! But he loved it! We took boda's there, I think the boda ride is what Henry loved more than anything. When we got back, all he kept telling the other boys was the fact that he rode on one this afternoon.

                                       

(@ The Source - Henry)

When we got back, it was about time to feed the kids and get them in bed. But before that, I managed to take this:

 

(@ Amani - Boys B and Boys C)

Once all of the kids were in bed, a few of us went to get Rolex again for dinner. Almost as soon as I got home I was ready to sleep. But, I ended up skyping with Jeremy for a little bit. Last night was the first night I've cried since I've been here. It wasn't even about anything specific, I just have an overwhelming load of feelings. I haven't really processed anything since I've been here. To be honest, I haven't really missed home since I've been here. I think I've just been so busy, and haven't really wanted to dwell on the people or places I left behind at home.

Wednesday - June 13th

This morning was a little rough. I just felt really emotional today, and truthfully didn't really want to do anything for a while. Preschool was fun though, we made Noah's Ark with paper plates. They were actually super cute! I ended up going to the children's clinic with Lauren, Becky, Mama Lois, and 3 Amani children. It was like any other free clinic, except we were the only 3 white girls there. Lauren and I were discussing this, and we feel like we're stared at either out of fascination, or because they'd rather us not be there. However, the children don't seem to mind us being there. I can always count on the Jinja children to give small smiles when I flash them mine. There were pigeons hanging out inside the clinic, because it wasn't really a closed off building - it was somewhat open. But, going back to being like any free clinic, we were waiting.. waiting for a very long time. The babies got weighed and measured and then we were on our way. We got back just in time for lunch - rice and beans. After lunch I decided to step outside for a couple of hours to catch up on my Bible reading. I absolutely loved sitting outside in the sun soaking up the word of God as well. This is something I plan on doing more often. I feel I need to come home with a fabulous tan - otherwise no one will believe me when I say that I've been in Africa for the last 2 and a half months! It's slowly coming around. Unfortunately, I'll have a farmers tan on my arms and legs, seeing as the majority of my skirts go down to my ankles. After I finished reading my Bible, I came in and read the last few days of my devotional as well. Then it was play time. The longest playtime of my life. The mama's kept the kids out there longer than normal, so Becky and I were getting impatient due to the fact that they still needed to eat, bathe, and get ready for bed. Finally, they were all in bed - so I read them a story. They were really good for the most part, which was both surprising and a relief - a mama had stayed in there with me though to help me out, thank the Lord. Becky made pasta for dinner, that was really nice change. I'm super thankful she made it, it was delicious! Now that I'm all finished blogging, I have to go downstairs to the preschool and hang up their work they made today. I was sidetracked by going to the clinic today, and only just remembered when I wrote about it earlier. The only photo I took today was the one on Instagram from the clinic:

                                      

(@ Children's Clinic)

Have a good night everyone, please pray that God continues to give me strength and comfort everyday! Thank you!

Day {8}

Monday - June 11th

I'm not going to lie to you all, I'm very exhausted - so this may not be a long post. This morning after preschool all of the volunteers headed over to the new Amani Baby Cottage location that's currently under construction. It looks absolutely beautiful! I would more than love to come back and see it when it's finished, just in case it's not by the time I leave here. Anyway, us volunteers were doing a variety of things from sanding the walls, pulling up concrete, sweeping, to laying down tile. We were all very busy, but were more than happy to help in any way possible. We came back to the compound for lunch - which was fried chicken. I'm not a fan of eating meat off the bone.. but I tried it, then gave the rest to Lauren. The time spent after lunch was very chill. I managed to skype Liz who's all the way in New Zealand! I absolutely can't wait to see her when I get home! But I had to get back to work at 4.00pm. Today was "Dress Up" day for the children, so most of them were wearing crazy costumes, running all over the place (: Once the kids were in bed, the volunteers headed out to The Keep - where we had milkshakes the other night - for Faulkner's going away dinner; she leaves on Wednesday. I played it safe and got spaghetti, it was "interesting". Becky told me tonight that I say everything that I've tried in Uganda is "interesting"! But yes, I'm finally home and showered, and more than ready for bed. Wishing the internet would work on my phone though to say goodnight! Here's a few photos of the kids today:

 

 

(@ Amani - Justine)

(@ Amani - Sande)

 

(@ Amani - Henry dressed as Woody)

 

(@ Amani - Frank as Spiderman)

Day {7}

Sunday - June 10th

Overall, it's been a really laid back day. I went to a Ugandan church called Calvary today. It's mainly comprised of Ugandan's, but there a handful of white people (muzngu) as well. Since our group was new, they asked us all to stand up and introduce ourselves and say where we were from - it got funny after the third person, because we were ALL from the United States. During their worship, they sing some songs in English and then some in Lugandan. When worship started, I couldn't help but start crying - because this is why I'm here. This has already been an eye opening experience. And I've already deepened my relationship with Christ in such a short amount of time. I'm constantly praying for His hand of protection, and giving Him thanks for everything I have at home that I don't have here. I'm so unbelievably blessed to have the church I have, but there was just something about this church that made me fall in love with it. I think it might just be because it's in a location where the people need to rely on Christ for so much. I think the love they have for God is so pure, and I feel as if they are living their lives for God day in and day out. But, I definitely felt God in this tiny church - it was so powerful! The pastor preached in English, and there was a woman translating the sermon into Lugandan. That was a really interesting experience in itself. The church is within walking distance, so I'm thinking of taking a walk up there just to snap some photos for you all to see the size of it, compared to Parkway or whatever church you may attend. After service we all just hung out outside of the church. There were so many children jumping around for their pictures taken, and silly me chose not to take my camera - I just didn't want to be disrespectful, seeing as I'd never been there. But now I know for next time! I did manage to take one with my phone, I've been trying to occasionally post some photos on Instagram, but here it is:

                                                                       (@ Jinja - Calvary Church)

After we left the church, we all went out to eat at the Ugandan pizza place, Surjio's. I had a pepperoni pizza - which means I probably had some of the pepperoni I brought over from the States. It's just been really great getting to know the volunteers these last couple of days. I seriously have grown to love them so much - I can't get over how nice and beautiful, inside and out they are! When we got back from lunch, we all split up and kind of did our own things. I finished yesterday's blog, seeing as the internet was not cooperating with any of us yesterday. Then I went for a little walk around the compound, played with Amani's dogs with caution. I feel as if they don't get much love, which makes me sad, because they're so beautiful - annoying.. but beautiful! I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but the dogs don't bark - they howl. Alllll night long, no joke. Once these two start, all of the other dogs in Jinja join in, and since we don't have glass on all of our windows, we hear it perfectly. I came inside and played with the babies for a while. Having 6 babies rolling around on our living room floor is one of the best things ever! Especially when they're as giggly and happy as these ones are. Here's one of the only photos I took today:

(@ Amani - Fred and Justine)

A few of the volunteers went outside to play with the older children for a while. I ended up being the last volunteer to come inside, I just can't help myself. Every time I went to head inside, they would say, "No Auntie".. gets me all the time. Finally, when I was at the point of exhaustion - I had to come in. It was really hot in the sun, and unfortunately I'm a sweater, so it wasn't the prettiest picture ever. But I'd rather sweat and be with them, than sit inside all day. I've found that I just always want to be outside doing something, even on my days off. Anyway, when I came in I started catching up on my Bible reading, talked with Becky for a little bit, ate my leftover pizza, and now here I am. I've just been chatting with my dad and Abby on the phone using Whatsapp. I'm really thankful for this app, it stinks that I need wifi to use it, but it's better than nothing! I think I'm going to keep reading my Bible, take a shower, and hit the hay. Back to work tomorrow. After preschool, we're going to go help out at the new Amani site!

Day {6}

Saturday - June 9th

First day off! And it was a fabulous one! Started my day off with some breakfast, toast and pineapple as usual (: Becky and I had all of the intentions of going into town until it decided to start storming. So, I laid in bed, read my Bible and fell asleep. Once I woke up, we ate some lunch. Becky and I then chose to go take a short walk. We ran into about 5 local Ugandan children, and they were jumping up and down yelling things at us. Obviously we didn't understand what they were saying, so we just smiled at them. A woman who was walking behind them told us they wanted a picture taken (Becky and I were carrying our cameras), so we turned around and snapped a few shots and they of course loved it. We continued walking towards Lake Victoria, but then thought we better turn back around. On the way back, when the kids saw us again they began jumping up and down again. So I got my photo taken with them, they were so beautiful. Shortly after we got back to Amani, 4 other girls were getting ready to go into town! When we were walking down to the gate we got distracted by all of our boys running around outside, so we needed to stop and say hello! A lot of them were so excited about all of our sunglasses, and just to be getting love from their Auntie's. Have a look:

(@ Jinja - the local children)

(@ Amani - Christopher)

(@ Amani - Henry)

When us girls finally got into town, we definitely hit the stores. I can't describe the culture found in the stores. I loved, and wanted to buy everything - thankfully I didn't! I did find a few gifts for people at home, and I bought myself a new purse, handmade in Uganda (: There's a store full of paintings, and honestly, they are some of the most beautiful paintings I've ever seen. I love when you can see every brush stroke the painter made, and the when there's a richness of color. We then went to eat at The Source, which is a cafe in town. I had my first Ugandan hamburger. It's quite different than our hamburgers - they serve it on toast, and they had veggies grilled into it. Different, but good. After dinner we headed back to Amani to exchange all of our photos from the day. Then we watched "We Bought A Zoo", and I then skyped with Jeremy for a little bit. Then headed to bed. It was a long, but wonderful day. Here's a recap of our time in town in photos:

(@ Jinja - shopping)

 (@ Jinja - Megan N and I)

(@ Jinja - beautiful paintings being sold)

(@ Jinja, the Source Cafe - Ugandan hamburger)