The First Week

Oltya! (pronounced oh-lee-oh-te-ah) or for my English speaking friends, How are you?

Sorry it has been awhile since I've updated, I have been incredibly busy, but I'll try and update once a week. For those of you who have been emailing me encouraging words and updates on your life, please continue, I love to read it. Even if I am not replying, I promise I read it.

So where to begin. Most days start out with breakfast and devotion, then we go to a project, then come back for lunch, go to another project and end the day with dinner, devotion and free time. The projects have been incredible. We go to the different projects and typically lead the kids in games, worship songs (I know now many worship songs in Luganda) and a small sermon. While the different organizations we work with are amazing and so essential, unfortunately they are understaffed, so the children are starving for love and attention. The first "real" project I went to was called Kids In Need. It is a rehab center for kids who were living on the street. The children's eyes light up when they see a "mzungu aka white person" even though we by no means deserve the star treatment we get from the kids here. Regardless, because of how highly they see us, we have a huge responsibility to be a good example and a loving heart towards these kids.

Another project I went to this week was Katelemwa, a home for disabled children. This was the most impactful experience I have had here by far. There was a little boy who suffered from some sort of mental and physical disability who was purposely banging his body against his wheelchair over and over making lots of noise. At first I had no idea how to quiet him and thought he was upset. But then I realized while I was holding his chair steady and making funny faces at him to distract him that it was his way of playing. The grin on his face and the smile in his eyes cannot be described, but once you got past his rough exterior,it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen on a child.

Two other projects I went to this week were Sanyu Babies Home and Remand Home. Sanyu is for orphans under age five, and here we helped with laundry, feeding and clothing babies, along with playing with the kids. This site was very sad because when playing with the children, we were not allowed to hold them. The workers were not being cruel by forbidding us to hold the kids, they just knew that if you held one, they would all want to be held and there were just not enough people to meet the kids needs. It was hard to pull the kids off your lap when they snuck on, but it was harder to listen to them cry because they wanted more time with you. Remand Home is a home for juvenile delinquents, most of whom are there for crimes they did not commit. I felt more impacted here than the impact I left behind. To hear 14 year old boys talk about how God changed there lives and thanking God for the blessings they have when they are living in a correctional facility is the biggest testimony to faith I may have ever seen.

We also went into the village one day which was completely different than the city. People smile in the city, people are out and about in the city, and while people are very poor, it does not compare to the poverty of the village. We went around in small groups and asked individual families what supplies they needed (mosquito nets, mattresses, jerry cans, etc) and we plan to bring them those supplies soon. Also we saw the site where EAC is building a training center for the village. While the despair in the village was rampant, when talking to the residents, a gleam of hope could be heard in their voices. I cannot wait to go back to the village for future projects and really lend a hand.

Lastly, from Saturday morning until Monday afternoon I left with a small group on Safari!! It was a five hour drive to the National Park, but we hiked down to the waterfall (which was an amazingly strenuous, but rewarding experience), drove around the park and took a boat ride in the Nile. We saw hippos, giraffes, lions (we got within 20 feet of them!), crocodiles, warthogs, elephants, antelopes, monkeys and water buffalo. The land was absolutely breathtaking and seeing God's creation at its purest was unforgettable, but I am excited to be back here as a volunteer, instead of at the park as a tourist.

I love each of you and miss you, and I'll leave you with this scripture I've been reflecting on.

"And we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit"-2 Corinthians 3:18