Days {36-43}

Wednesday - July 11th

Truthfully, I don't remember what happened this day. Aside from finding out that we were going on our safari the upcoming Friday, rather than next month when we all thought! But here's some photos from today:

(@ Amani - Fred representing Milwaukee!)

(@ Amani - Joseph)

(@ Amani - Wycliff)

(@ Amani - Becky loving Micheal)

(@ Amani - Wycliff, Fred, and Simon)

(@ Amani - Precious Enoch)

(@ Amani)

(@ Amani - Martha)

(@ Amani - Frank)

Thursday - July 12th

Less than 24 hours until my 3 day safari - that's all I've got.

Friday - July 13th

Well, I woke up at 4.30 this morning, because our ride was leaving at 5! My cold apparently came back, which caused a little damper on the ride. I had to be sure to bring rolls of toilet paper for my nose.. There were 8 of us total, and Lindsay was also sick - I'm kind of thankful it wasn't just me. Anyway, we had an 8 hour drive ahead of us, and of course I wasn't able to fall back asleep at all. I suppose it's okay though, when I'm in the car here, I can never take my eyes off of what's going on around me. I never would have imagine Uganda to be so lush and green. And I absolutely love the number of small towns we drive though, it just never seems to get old for me. Our first stop was at the equator, how cool?

(@ Uganda - The Equator)

The most exciting experience was seeing zebras! They don't actually live in Queen Elizabeth Park, due to the grasses being too long there. So, they hang out and graze on some farmers land along side his cattle. Which I think is kind of funny. Anyway, Wilson, our amazing driver, drove off road and parked the van for us to get out. Which means, I was walking around with the zebras, it was an incredible thing. Also, I was finally able to use my zoom lens I bought before my trip - woo. But, I never imagined myself ever being able to live out this dream of mine. They're such beautiful animals, kind of larger than I expected, but you can tell they're solid muscle.

(@ Uganda - Zebra)

(@ Uganda - Zebras)

We finally arrived at Simba, where we were staying for a couple of nights. It's not part of the park itself, but it was really nice. They were dormitory style cabins, so we were all together. They also have a nice restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was exciting when I got to sign the guest list, and was able to walk around the place:

(@ Simba)

(@ Simba)

(@ Simba - [currently in love with this photo])

(@ Simba)

(@ Simba)

Saturday - July 14th

(This day was jam packed) We woke up around 5.30am to be ready to go on our "game drive" by 6. On our way to the park we saw our first elephants of the trip. Wow, what an incredible sight. They were in the distance, but knowing that I'm looking at an elephant in the wild was such a beautiful thing. It kind of took my breath away momentarily. After paying, the first animal we saw were lions - there was a mother and 3 cubs! Other than that we saw a number of buffalo, water bucks, warthogs, and kobes.  The lions were at a distance, but they are in the middle right hand side of the photo:

(@ Queen Elizabeth - Lioness and cubs)

(@ Queen Elizabeth - Amazing sky)

During the drive, we stopped at a beautiful lake for photo opportunities obviously. Not to mention, bask in God's creation, sheesh. Here's the group I traveled with, the man in the middle being Koja Wilson - koja meaning "uncle" in Lugandan. Lauren decided to dub him Koja, and he felt quite honored, what a sweet man.

(@ Queen Elizabeth - Megan, Josie, Becky, Lindsay, Koja, Myself, Emily, Lauren, and Tori)

(@ Queen Elizabeth - Kobe)

Next, we headed for our nature walk. We made one stop before though at a gorge where you can pay to track chimpanzee's in the wild, how amazing is that? If I had more time and money, that's something I definitely would have done! But, while we were there, there were swarms of butterflies, and knowing me, I couldn't resist.

(@ Gorge)

(@ Gorge)

Finally, we got to our nature walk. We walked through a forest, and learned about what the local primates eat, and how the local people used to hunt and whatnot. I was more captivated by the light that was shinning through the high tree tops, and by the little beauties found amongst the big things. Along the way, we came to a bat cave.. and anyone who knows me, knows I absolutely hate bats. However, I feel this was almost a once in a lifetime thing, so I don't know where I found it, but I managed to muster up enough courage to stand 5 feet from hundreds of bats. The cave itself houses around 100,000 lives bats. When standing near the cave you could feel the heat that's generated by all of those little animals living in there, and the smell was extremely potent seeing as there's 100,000 bats worth of guano. As much as I dislike them, these guys were a little cute:

(@ Nature Walk)

(@ Nature Walk)

(@ Nature Walk - Bat cave)

(@ Nature Walk - Bats)

(@ Nature Walk - Bats)

(@ Nature Walk - Praying Mantis)

(@ Nature Walk)

After our walk, we headed for our boat ride at 3.00pm, which is where we saw more animals..! But on the way there, we came across these little guys hanging out in the road:

(@ Uganda)

(@ Uganda)

FINALLY at our boat ride, basically, I took way too many photos - so I'm only posting a few..

(@ Boat Ride)

(@ Boat Ride)

(@ Boat Ride)

(@ Boat Ride)

(@ Queen Elizabeth)

(@ Queen Elizabeth)

And this is how we ended our night. After this, a family of elephants walked in front of our van. What an emotional thing to experience, I can't even begin to explain what I was feeling exactly. I can honestly say I'll probably never be in as much awe as I was in today. I'm so blessed to have had this opportunity to see all of this in person. Aside from people, my heart also belongs to animals - I was raised to love and appreciate them, and chances are, I'm going to raise my children the same way. Because God made them to be so unique and beautiful, I have no idea how anyone can think that anyone different created them, and the world in which we all live.

Sunday - July 15th

This morning, we made the decision to go visit some caves and waterfalls, versus trying the game drive again. We headed out around 7.00 am. On the way we were driving through small villages, and through extremely lush and dense landscapes. If I thought I'd never be in so much awe on Saturday, I was completely wrong. I found myself in tears a couple of times - it's just amazing having the opportunity to see what God has done on the other side of the world. And knowing that He called me here for a purpose. I just feel so honored that God is allowing me to witness all this beauty, and knowing that He's doing so much work in my heart. I thought I had a big heart before coming here, but now.. nothing can keep me away from loving people. No sickness, social status, appearance - God has shown me a deeper meaning of unconditional love, and this is one of my most treasured lessons I've ever learned in my life. But, on the way to the caves, Koja Wilson stopped to show us these crater lakes - all I can say is wow. They are absolutely beautiful lakes tucked in amongst some of the most breath taking landscapes.

(@ Uganda)

(@ Uganda)

(@ Uganda)

When we finally arrived at our destination, we found out that our "caves and waterfall" wasn't exactly what we had in mind. In order to see both the caves and waterfalls we had to hike through the jungle - which was pretty amazing. However, I was completely unprepared for this, so I had to keep handing off my lens to the tour guide while I found foot holes for me to place my feet in while climbing down a steep hill with only branches to hold on to. The waterfall was wonderful, it was exactly what I think waterfalls should be, it led to a little pool that I would have loved to take a swim in. But, in order to see it from the front, we had to climb behind it, I definitely got a little more of Africa stuck on my shoes, seeing as I was trekking through mud at this point. After the waterfall, we headed back the way we came, but went past our entrance point to the first little cave. The tour guide told us the story of the people who used to live there, and what the legend of the cave was. Then we headed to the bigger portion of the cave, which was also full of beautiful greens and browns. Once we were out of the jungle, we stopped at the van for some water before the second part of our hike. I decided to bring my camera bag, that way I wouldn't have to awkwardly carry my lens around with me. But, I come to find out that the second part of our hike thing was a legit hike. We hiked up a large hill, and the view from up top was beautiful. It was awesome to have my size put in perspective. Up there, I was so little, so insignificant. It's just amazing to know that we have a purpose somewhere in the world, no matter how small we are. This whole weekend, I've been thinking a lot, about who I am and why I am where I am. It's hard not to, when you've seen such beauty firsthand, and have felt your heart dramatically grow in size. I will never be able to express how blessed I am, and despite how insignificant my size is in the world - I'm very significant to some. Anyway.. we walked to a lake, which had a beautiful backdrop of a enormous hill - I would consider it a mountain personally. But, we find out that we're about to hike up that giant anthill. It was 1,600 meters, which is roughly around 5,000 ft. The hike up was not an easy task for me because, 1) I couldn't breathe the way it was due to having a cold, and 2) I decided to tote along a 15lb backpack. Silly me, had my laptop in it, which made the hike up almost unbearable. I kept telling myself, imagine the photos I'll get when I'm on top. And let me tell you.. the view was beyond worth it. I've never experienced something like this in my life. I couldn't believe that I was honestly a part of what was happening - because truthfully, I probably wouldn't have done something like this at home. But, have a look at the beauty I was exposed to:

(@ Uganda)

(@ Uganda)

                                 

(@ Uganda)

(@ Uganda)

(@ Uganda)

(@ Uganda)

(@ Uganda)

Overall, it was an incredible weekend. It definitely blew any expectations I had out of the water. So thankful for an awesome God, clearly I get my appreciation for art from Him - because His creations are intricate, colorful, and inspiring. I know this has been super sappy, but I'm just so in love.

Monday - July 16th

Not too much happened on the Amani front today, except it was "Dress Up Day" again:

(@ Amani - Jonah the Lion)

(@ Amani - Joseph)

(@ Amani - Pumpkin Innocent)

(@ Amani - Jacob the Pirate)

Seeing their excitement to dress up, brings absolutely so much joy to my heart. I'm so thankful for all of the smiles they bring me every day. I don't think I'll ever get tired of what I do every day. I'm in so much love.

Tuesday - July 17th

Today we celebrated Benja's 5th birthday! We had a little get together which included cupcakes and kool aide. It was fun having all of our boys and girls outside waiting for cake, just waiting patiently. They sure do love their sweeties, almost more than I do! (:

(@ Amani - The Boys)

(@ Amani - Michael praying for Benja)

(@ Amani)

Wednesday - July 18th

The only thing I really have to talk to about today was my time spent with Joseph. He was sitting on my lap, and I told him that I was very tired so I rested my head on his shoulder. And whenever I would pick my head up, he'd look at me and say "Auntie, lay down!", so I would. And he began to talk to me in his 2 year old jibberish, just talking and talking. Honestly, I cried a little. I think this is my favorite moment I've had since I've been here. He's such a naughty little boy, but I know he has a huge heart. And he's definitely worked his way into mine. I've talked about him before, and I'm sure I'll talk about it again. I can't even begin to explain the love I have for this child, all of his temper tantrums, crazy moments, and unnatural amount of su su included. He's so amazing to me in many ways.

** Sorry for the lack of actual blogging - I've just been really exhausted lately, and this blog post has been actually quite overwhelming, due to the number of photos I've included.

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 (:

Days {30-32}

Thursday - July 5th

Well, after battling Surjio's internet to get my blog done.. our internet at Amani got fixed! I've felt so distant from everyone back home - granted, I'm thousands of miles away, but I've had the convenience of internet the whole time I've been here. It makes me kind of sad to realize how much I admire technology. During the last week I was able to dig deeper into the Bible, and focus more on that - which is a very important aspect of why I'm here. I taught preschool this morning! I was a little intimidated, but I think it went well. The children were more behaved than they have been all week - thank You, Jesus. I actually really enjoyed teaching them, and singing songs with them. During play time I gave out the shorts that Grandma Jenny and her friends made. The boys were so excited (: I had just enough for the boys that are in the room that I work with - and I managed to snap a photo:

(@ Amani - Boys C)

(@ Amani - Joseph)

This is Joseph. He's attached to my hip. I don't know what it is, but in the last week he hasn't left my side. As soon as I come outside, he runs to me yelling "AUNTIE". He's super territorial as well, whenever any other child tries climbing on my lap, he throws a tantrum yelling that I'm "his" auntie. It's wonderful being so loved by one of my boys, but at the same time - it's probably not good how clingy he's become. I don't really know what to do about it, slash, don't really want to do anything about it because I love him so much. Since he's been so attached, I've been trying to teach him to be nicer by apologizing when he hurts people and sharing. As soon as I say "ow" now, he rubs my arm and says "I'm sorry". He's too adorable to not want on my lap all the time. However, he's su su'ed on me far too many times.. he's not potty trained yet. But, tonight was Bible study - which ended up being pretty good. Our topic was spiritual warfare. I didn't have too much to say about it, because a lot of it was about the Devil challenging you and whatnot. But, I never really give the Devil credit for any hardship I'm going through. I always see it more of God challenging me, because in the end of it all - nothing but good comes of it. I don't think I've ever blamed anything on the Devil, but after hearing everyone's stories, I almost felt like I haven't gone through a lot spiritually because I haven't had this kind of confrontation. However, I've grown so much spiritually. I've been through things I never wanted to, but I did, and it's only drawn me closer to God. Even it was the long way around. I'm so thankful for where I am in life right now, and for the people that have helped me grow in ways that I wouldn't have without them.

Friday - July 6th

I woke up this morning with every intention of going to volunteer at Spring of Hope, which I think is more of a medical based organization. They have a clinic that's geared more towards the villages, we would have been helping hand out medication for epileptic children and would have been able to see how they take part in physical therapy. But, instead - I woke up with a stomach ache, and felt that it probably wasn't the best idea to go out to the village for the whole day not feeling well. So, I stayed back with only 3 other volunteers to do our normal routine. I went on another outing today to The Source Cafe, I took William with me, which is our oldest boy at Amani. He's so excited to go into town, and thankfully really well behaved. He loved every minute of it (: I worked on some of the photos going on Amani's website, but here's a couple photos I took upstairs by the babies:

(@ Amani - Baby Frieda)

(@ Amani - Sande)

Tonight we went to The Keep for dinner, apparently the first Friday of every month they have traditional dancing. It was really awesome. It amazes me how fast these women can shake their hips - but, I learned that it's not just the women. The men are able to dance just as well! It was too funny, but Jeremy - I now have proof that men can dance, so no more saying you can't! Towards the end, they asked people go up and dance with them - naturally Lauren went up there! She's had quite a few experiences that involve dance, it's pretty awesome. I'm always too afraid, so I always choose to just remain in my seat and do my dancing there. My favorite thing about watching these men and women dance is that you could tell they were all enjoying it! It was absolutely wonderful seeing them all smile while doing what they do best (:

Saturday - July 7th

Today has been such a lazy day - but it was much needed! I started my morning off by watching Marley & Me, bad decision. I cried like a baby. I have no idea what possessed me to watch that of all things. It made me laugh so much though, because my dog does some random things as well! But the ending absolutely tore my heart in two. After that, a few of us took our 2 new volunteers into town to show them around a little bit. It was nice getting to know them outside of Amani. When we got back to the compound, we all kind of did our own thing for a while. I started blogging and messed around on facebook for a while. I heard the kids outside playing, so I decided to check it out from our porch off of our room. I snapped a photo or two of the Mama's blowing bubble for the kids. I love how much kids love the small things in life:

(@ Amani - Mama Georgina blowing bubbles)

Right now, I'm currently rocking a baby with my foot while blogging this post. She's so incredibly beautiful. I think rocking babies to sleep is one of my favorite things now, it's so cute! But, for the rest of the night, I may spend some time with my Bible. We're also planning on going into town to get rolex, and maybe watch a movie back at Amani. For the time being, I'm going to continue to enjoy my day off, and lay in bed for a little bit! (: Thank the Lord for Saturdays! Looking forward to tomorrow, I think we're trying out a new church and getting Chinese for lunch! Yum.

Days {23-29}

** The storm last Tuesday fried our internet modem, which is why I haven't been able to update my blog. I apologize sincerely - I've been missing my blog as well! Honestly it's been kind of nice without the internet. I've been able to connect to some of the girls some more, which has been fun! But, let's see what I remember about the last 7 days!

Wednesday - June 27th

Okay, well, this was the first day without internet - not fun. Other than that though, I don't really remember anything about this day.. wow.. I'm sorry. Here's some photos though:

(@ Amani - Henry)

(@ Amani - Simon)

(@ Amani - Caroline)

Thursday - June 28th

All I remember about Thursday is Bible study. We were all meant to bring in a scripture or song that represented something we try to live by. I chose Psalm 16: 8, " I have set the Lord before me. Because He is at my right hand. I shall not be shaken." I always need to remind myself that I don't go through hard times on my own, He's always with me - more than likely the one who is testing me. I'm never alone. But, I also played the song "Give Me Faith", which is probably one of my favorite songs ever. It just speaks to me, and brings me to tears almost every time I listen to it. I'm just so blessed.

Friday - June 29th

All of the volunteers headed for Kampala this morning at 6.00am. There's a Friday Market in Kampala that sells a lot of souvenirs for almost half the price we'd pay in Jinja. Needless to say, I got all of my shopping done, finally. I wanted to get it all done sooner in my trip rather than later. But, Lynley had an Africa pendant on her necklace that I absolutely fell in love with, and I finally got one - now I can always have Africa close to my heart, even when I'm home. Aside from going to the market and the mall, we made a stop at Akiba, which is a home for children who are undergoing treatment for cancer. It was really tough to see those children, knowing that they're fighting a battle bigger than I've ever had to fight. Despite their situations, they didn't fail in having a smile on their face almost the whole time. It's wonderful seeing all of the different types of ministry people have started in Africa. Seeing the amazing things that have been done here make me excited to try to get more involved at home! But, on the ride home from Kampala, I felt this strong, overwhelming feeling of love for this country and its people. I almost had a moment of panic when I began thinking of when I'll be departing this beautiful place. I never imagined feeling the way I do now. And it makes me nervous knowing that I'm already dreading the day I leave, and I'm still here for 51 days. I'm so thankful that God put this mission on my heart, and that He's opened my eyes to be more understanding, and He's already showed me the meaning of compassion and love - way more than I've ever experienced before now. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't thank Him and everyone for allowing me, and supporting me to be where I am right now. As much as I miss home, I don't think I want to be anywhere else but here. I feel that's a very bold statement, but it's a reoccurring thought, which means God has placed it there.

(@ Kampala - Friday Market)

(@ Kampala - Friday Market)

(@ Akiba - Volunteers and children)

(@ Akiba - Sweet little boy)

After we got home from Kampala, we all headed over to Helene's for our 80's party. Of course only us Americans dressed for the occasion, whereas the Canadians came in their regular attire. We had awesome snack food, and watched the original Karate Kid. By the end of the night, I was pooped. What a long day, but it was a fun one!

(@ Helene's - 80's Party)

Saturday - June 30th

This morning we headed over to one of the Amani Mama's village to watch a traditional dance. We all took a mutatu, which is a Ugandan taxi. Which basically is a van that crams as many people as it can in it, thankfully this time around it was just our volunteers. But, we headed over to a side of town we've never been on, it was really interesting to see all of those new things in town. The village is a little ways away from town though, it's kind of hidden amongst a bunch of trees and whatnot. Anyway, Mama and her neighbors welcomed us with open arms. We were able to see a lot of the women making beads. We've all bought them, but haven't really seen the whole process. There were lines with beads hanging out to dry.

(@ Village - Beads drying)

                                                                 (@ Village - Woman rolling beads)

As sappy as this sounds, but as soon as the women started dancing, I found myself in tears. Every day I'm hit with this reality of where I am. Never in my life have I imagined I'd ever make it over to Africa, but here I am. It was just so amazing to see that, at their home. But of course, all of the children ended up crowding around us - and honestly, every single one of them was so beautiful! After a while, they all got super goofy as well! Have a look:

(@ Village - Local boys)

(@ Village - Women dancing)

(@ Village - Women dancing)

(@ Village - Crazy children)

(@ Village - Crazy children)

(@ Village - Crazy children)

When we got back from the village, a few of us had lunch in town at the Source. Guacamole is beginning to grow on me, I used to strongly dislike it in the States, but it's wonderful here. Anyway, Sara and I went around and did some shopping. We bought Bibles to have them painted by a local painter, he's so talented. Later that night, I went with Sandra and Sarah to get Sandra's eyebrows threaded - I ended up getting mine done! I've always wanted to try it, but I've always been afraid to. I hurt for a little bit, then you get used to it. The Indian woman who we went to said I have a nice shape to my brows, which was nice to hear! Finally, after all of that, we went to The Keep for karaoke. All of us volunteers went up there to sing "Lean on Me", and we dedicated it to our preschool teacher, Tina. It was Sara and Megan H's last night in Uganda, so I'm glad it ended up being a fun night!

Sunday - July 1st

Woke up, and went to church. There was an Ugandan woman sitting next to me, who was very very close. She had the entire other half of the bench. She then put her hand/forearm on my leg, as if she was wanting to hold my hand. Sara was cracking up, which made me laugh - but of course every time I laughed my body would wiggle around which caused the woman to lean forward to try to figure out why we were laughing. It was just very interesting, and very unexpected. But, I've heard other stories of Ugandan's getting very close to some of the volunteers. I think some just aren't really exposed to white people very often, so they just get very excited. Sandra also mentioned that since we're white, they think we have a lot of money - and hope to be our friend because of that. I know the kids in the village get really excited, but I imagine they really don't see us very often. I had one girl petting my skin the other day, as weird as that sounds, it's really common with children. Not our kids at Amani though, obviously they're exposed to us all of the time. After church, some of us came to Surjio's to get some lunch and use the internet, however, when more than 4 people are trying to use the internet it runs super slow - which means I wasn't able to get anything done. Sara and I went to Ekisa after lunch and a nap. Ekisa is an orphanage for mentally challenged children, they currently house 19.

(@ Ekisa - Right outside of Ekisa)

They are so wonderful. One of the boys actually used to live at Amani, but I think when they realized that something wasn't working how it should they moved him over. This boy is probably the size of me, and I was carrying him around on my hip. He was so sweet though, he kept randomly coming over to me and giving me a kiss on the cheek. They have one boy who is perfectly fine mentally, but is at Ekisa due to how he looks. At first, I thought he was just a burn victim, but soon came to find out that his step-mum apparently threw acid all over him. When Sara told me that, I honestly began to cry. He's such a cute boy, and it breaks my heart that he has to deal with that for the rest of his life. He's really shy too, due to how his appearance looks. But, Sunday night is usually Mafia Night. As you already know, I'm not a fan, but since it was Sara's absolute last night, we all went and played at least one game. I moved into the other room at Amani today, so this was my first night in my new room. A little weird, but I slept like a baby.

Monday - July 2nd
Back to work this morning. When I went down to preschool, and when I saw the boys faces - I felt this strong feeling of missing them! We've been busy all weekend, so I hadn't seen them since Thursday because we even went to Kampala on Friday. I know I say this all the time, but I just love them with all of my heart! Today was a pretty laid back day, have a look at play time:

(@ Amani - Matthew)

(@ Amani - Christopher and Brian)

(@ Amani - Frank)

Tonight was Taco Night! Sandra and one of the Mama's were in the kitchen making homemade tortillas and guacamole. It was absolutely wonderful! I'm so thankful for the people I'm living with. (:

Tuesday - July 3rd

All I remember from Tuesday is my outing with Edwin. He's so adorable! He's probably one of the sweetest little boys at Amani. We went to Flavours Cafe, and I got him a chocolate milkshake. He couldn't use the straw, so we had to drink it normally, which resulted in this:

(@ Flavours - Edwin and I)

Wednesday - July 4th

Happy 4th of July everyone! It was a pretty normal day, nothing too exciting happened during work. But, after work we all went over to Danyne's house for a cook out! I was pretty excited about this, seeing as obviously I missed the real deal in America. We had burgers, beans, coleslaw, and chocolate cake. The burger was pretty good, however, I think they'll always taste differently here. But.. the chocolate cake was AMAZING! It's sad, but I get so happy when I find good chocolate here - I should have brought more with me.. It was nice just sitting around and chatting with everyone for a while. Instead of fireworks, we had a lot of confetti guns. It was pretty awesome, I want them for next year. But, we all stood around singing the National Anthem also. I'm not going to lie, it kind of broke my heart spending the 4th in another country. It was a good time though, and I'm thankful for such a wonderful day. It's great knowing that despite being here for so long, it just makes my gratefulness even stronger for what I have at home. Once we all got back to Amani, we decided to watch Bridesmaids. Probably not the most appropriate movie to watch, but it was funny. It was the Canadians last night, so it was nice hanging out with them one last time!