Well this last week has been so incredibly full I am emotionally and physically exhausted, but in the best way. I have learned that here in Uganda Valentines is not just a one day thing but a whole week affair, and being in the spirit of things we international students began the week with a wonderful treat. Natalie, Thomas and Jack spent all day last Monday in whispering conferences and announced to us all that we had to be ready for supper at 5:45 dressed up and  wearing red, pink, or white.  The rest of us girls were pleasantly surprised when we found waiting for us a valentine’s picnic out on the front lawn.  Thomas had cut all the watermelon into our initials sculpted it to say “house of love” only the house was not words but an actual house. We had spaghetti and heart shaped garlic bread, the chocolate peanut butter covered Oreos. Not the healthiest thing I know but it was sooooo….. good!  I love being outside at dusk and doing so for a picnic with my wonderful God ordained family was the best. I cannot think of a better valentine’s day. 

                Tuesday we spent the afternoon in our district groups  out on ministry. When I found out that my group was being sent to Bulrushes Baby Home I could not help but scream in delight.  Imagine my disappointment when I got there and found that it was nap time and after having a tour we would be cleaning.  There was one little girl still slightly awake and I could not help but stand staring at her and having my heart melt. In the end though when I thought about it I felt so incredibly blessed by being able to serve, not in the way I wanted, but in a way that got me out of my own way and allowed others to relax with the children. God has given me a strong, fully functioning body and I do not stop to appreciate that face nearly enough. I ended up scrubbing the floor of the babies outside play area with Brian and as I was not allowed to scrub and ended up holding the hose we both ended up with very wet feet and pant legs.  When we got back to the church later that afternoon we all found out from Mamma Shirley that we had been volunteered as a class to help at the churches red carpet Valentines Banquet.  The class went nuts; we were so excited (mostly) it took quite a while to calm us all down again.  It was only when we found out that we all needed a red, black or white dress that some of us girls started to freak out. In the end though, all was fine and we were given Wednesday afternoon to go shopping with a few of our Ugandan class mates. That was quite an experience. 9 girls trekking around down town, 6 of them white and all looking for the same thing, black dresses. At first it was overwhelming and stressful but once I found my dress I began to really enjoy it all. Being a white woman down town always ensures that it will be an experience but a few of us have now decided that we really want to go back. After it all Friday night was a success! We had twenty-eight young women in a room all with forty-five minutes to get dressed to our finest, it was a bit of a mad house but we all did it. I had thought that I would be over dressed but I quickly learned that when African women dress up they really dress up! I ended up feeling like I was under dressed if anything, though I know I was most definitely not. We were all split up with different jobs and I ended up at the guest table checking tickets against names and though it was at times boring I did have fun. In one slow moment when I got up to visit I ended up dancing under the stars which was super fun, especially given the fact that I don’t dance, or rather compared to all my class mates I CAN’T dance.  After all that had happened during the week (we had also gone out for a full day of ministry on Thursday that resulted in a lot of walking) all our leaders felt we deserved a break so they gave us Saturday off. It was such a blessing!!! We were so tired and being able to relax rather than go to the villages was a nice treat.

                Yesterday was, like every Sunday, our day of church ministry.  I have come to love Sundays, we rotate through various jobs such as children’s church, cell table, ushering, security and a few others. Well the one that I have been avoiding for the last month is parking. I did not want to do it! For some reason or another yesterday Saul decided to volunteer me to help in parking, I was not impressed. However as the day progressed I truly did have fun. I ended up sent out to the road to act as traffic warden and though at times there were people who just made me shake my head it ended up going so much better than I had envisioned.  Brian (not from my 360 class but from the pioneer class of 2009) kept telling me that I did a good job; people seemed to listen to me better than him. His only complaint was that people stopped watching their driving to instead stare at the white, muzungu, girl standing in the middle of the road! My favorite part was when kids would wave to me as they drove by, sometimes this presented a problem though as the parents would drive more slowly and back up traffic a little to let the kids all wave !  Though I did have fun I have decided fair is fair and next week Saul will be working children’s church with me, he really doesn't want to, poor guy he doesn't know what he has started.  After the final service had started Thomas, Hakim, Brian ( from my 360) and I went for a “walk” up the “mountain” ( Thomas says it was a baby hill, I say it was steep and there was nothing ‘baby’ about it) to visit one of their living hope clients.  There I met four of his grandchildren, they were also very cute! When we left we decided it would be fun to run as fast as we could down the “mountain”. It was super fun, I have gone full out running like that for a long time. I was only sad when my shoes ( not runners) began to fall off and I had to slow down. Needless to say though I pulled a muscle in my foot I would not have changed  anything about Sunday. The best part was when we got back and I made another new friend. She was sooooo…. cute and we had a ton of fun beeping each other’s noses  during the final prayer. Oops maybe not the best idea of my life but that’s ok it wasn't my worst either.

This last week has gone by so fast I cannot even really remember what we have done.  I think that is due to the fact that Wednesday was a public holiday and therefore we got an extra day off.  We had planned to head downtown to the craft market and spend a day out together, I was pumped! The seven of us had gone the day Jack arrived and we were all looking forward to going back and showing him around this time. When we woke up in the morning however it was raining, and when it rains in Uganda it is generally not just a little rain like at home, it pours so that start thinking it is time to find some high ground where you won’t be caught if it floods.  Well maybe it is not quite that bad, but pretty close. We were not to be dissuaded however and after making two trips in a slightly sketchy hired car we all made it to the mall. From there we headed out with me in the lead. I know it is hard to believe but I was the only one with a head for the directions to the market!  I am sure that for the few Ugandans who were out and about it was quite a sight to see eight internationals running across the road in the rain, shrieking in fear that we would be hit ( it was our first unaccompanied trip down town and  therefore we had no one to help us cross the street).  However none of us died, though Danielle came close, and we made it safely to the market. It was such a slow day thanks to the rain and I loved being there, I found two beautiful (and cheap) paintings and very much look forward to our next trip there. After we met our “mamma and papa” at Javas for cell, and had a lovely time sitting on the patio having some treats that reminded us of home.

The rest of the week was not as positive, Friday night while all the guys in our class were at a mens conference Brian received a call from Rashidah. She was in the hospital having her baby. Needless to say he jumped on a boda boda ( motercycle taxi) and headed to be with her.  From all he has told me, and each time we talk I learn new bits of the story, there was nothing about this birth that went right or easy. Rashidah had not had anything to eat the previous day and was very weak, she should have had a c-section but did not. By the sound of it she was ready to have the baby whens he got to the hospital however as others came in and paid she kept getting bumped back. Brian has told me that there were many women there in the same room giving birth and the doctors ( I believe there were two ) and nurses would just move from one woman to another as quickly as they could.  Both Rashidah and the baby were very weak and when she was born ( it was a girl), she did not even cry. There was something wrong with one of the tubes in her neck that effected her breathing so she was immediately put on oxygen. However our beautiful little girl died shortly after, as the  hospital did not have the proper equiptment to save her. Rashidah was released from the hospital that afternoon, which made me quite upset, and when we went to visit her she was very weak. For her to sit up and talk with us took much of her energy and she admitted to us that she was very dizzy.

                 Needless to say it has been a very hard couple of days. I was told by Esther when she Jack and Thomas came home on Firday night. I can only recall one other time in all my life when I have cried with such bone wrenching sobbs. Though it may not make sense to all at home I felt like I had lost my own child. I know that I only met Rashidah and learned of her baby a two weeks ago but I had spent those weeks praying for them and imagining this little girl. What she would look like as a baby, how she would grow in the months that I am here and even what she would look like in the future.  I loved her with all my heart, I cannot even imagine how Rashidah feels. At home when something this tramatic happens there are counsilors , family and a whole host of other people to help deal with such an event. Here there is just us, and we are not to steady on our feet at the moment either. Brian saw many things at the hospital that no one, least of all an young unmarried man, should have to see and I am worried about how he is coping. I know that given time we will all be ok and the pain will fade but for now it is fresh and has hit us hard. All I can do at this point is listen as the story comes out in bits and pieces and offer support whilst also leaning heavily on my “ family” here at home, and praying. I do not understand why God has allowed this to happen, and to be frank I have had a few moments of yelling at him, but reguradless I do believe that we have all been brought together for a purpose and that God is in controle. Who knows but that we have been brought to this position for such a time as this. I will covet everyones prayers from home, I know the healing process will be long, especially for Rashidah and Brian, and I am ill equipped to help but where two or more are gathered there Christ is also, so I beg for your prayers. They are what will carry us through.

                On a lighter note, today is the last day of the penny and though it may not seem like a big deal to those at home, we Canadians in Uganda know better. Therefore we have done our best to honour our fallen friend who has served us so well for longer than any of us has lived. This morining we had a brief, but meaningful, burrial service for the penny. Emily prepared a beautiful eulogy that she read  as Danielle and I stood by and once our dear friend, the penny, had been placed in it’s shallow grave in our back yard we stood by for the singing of our national anthem. May he rest in peace for all his long years of service to our country Canada.

This last week has been so incredibly full, and I would not have it any other way! I have loved every minute of it. It all started on Tuesday, though I have a hard time believing that it has been less than a week, when we began our street ministry.

                I guess I should back up a little bit and explain things a bit better. There are five districts to Watoto, North, East, South , West , and Central, and our class has been broken into district groups so that each week we serve in the church at our district. Those large district groups are broken in half to make it easier to do some of the ministry’s. I was very blessed in my group, and in my small group (North district group B) I have been put with some wonderful friends. There are five of us Brian, Saul, Debbie (makes me think of you Mum) Vicky, and I.  I know I have already said it but I am so thankful to God for putting me in a group with these four!  Anyways, on Tuesday when we had all been divided into our small district groups we were driven to various slums throughout Kampala and told to walk until we found a family that we felt God has called us to who will become “our family” for the next five months.  Well after some initial confusion about where we were supposed to be my group got going and as we wandered we ended up in a back ally, when we turned  a corner to get out we found  a beautiful young woman, very pregnant, sitting there. She has become our family. Rashidah is 19 and due to give birth to her first child any day. That first day was hard for me as I really don’t know any of the language and am still finding my way in a culture that is largely the same but then wildly different from the one I am used to. For the most part I just sat and listened, though I really did not know what was really being said, as I had asked Vicky to translate for me when we got back to the bus.  What I found out was incredibly sad, but I found that though I fought tears I was not as moved as I would have expected. The only way I can explain why is that I never actually talked to her and it was like hearing a story told to you about a friend’s friend, if that makes any sense.  I did care about her but not with the crushing sadness and emotion that I had expected.

                Wednesday we again went back to visit, Rashidah, and I am so glad to say that this experience I felt much more comfortable getting to know her and the others she lives with. I managed to talk to her a bit, she understands English but does not speak it well, and then spent a large amount of time playing with the children of a friend that she lives with. During the playing they discovered my hair and I quickly found that the attention had turned from the game we were playing to feeling my hair and moving it all directions trying to get it to stay rather than fall back into place.  The next day we spent the afternoon buying things for our families that we had identified as needs, and boy was that an experience!!!

                 Our list was extensive; Rashidah has next to nothing for herself or the baby. What she was able to purchase near the beginning of her pregnancy is for the stay at the hospital. So Thursday afternoon my group and I headed downtown to the market.  Some of my other classmates were a bit shocked that I would be taken there but I loved the experience! Very few white people venture there so I found myself being constantly called to, and touched. There is no way I would ever go there on my own, I would be lost in the maze of vendors in a matter of seconds! Going with my group however had the effect of building my trust in them by leaps and bounds. When we were finished at the outdoor market we went to the supermarket to buy the rest of the things on our list. Never before have I weaved through traffic the way it is done here.  In the three weeks that I have been in Uganda I have yet to see more than one cross walk, everyone just walks where they please when they please. Car jams are common place and we had fun squeezing between many taxi busses all squished together in order to cross the road. I am just thankful for the jam otherwise I doubt we would have crossed so quickly. In the end it was a rush to be back at the church on time but I truly enjoyed my day.

                Friday we got to return to our families and give them all that we had bought and again, though I was not moved in the way I expected to be, I was deeply moved.  Rashidah did not have the words to express her thanks but from where I sat she didn’t need the words. Her smile lit up the small poorly lit room and there were tears shimmering in her eyes. When we left, though she is very malnourished, she found the strength to stand and walk us back out to the bus where we all stood chatting until we had to leave.  In the moment when we hugged goodbye I knew that I loved this dear woman as I would any of my friends back home and her baby is like one of my own family even though she ( I think it is a girl) is not yet born. I find myself thinking of them throughout every day, wondering how they are doing and praying that when the time comes for this precious little one to come into the world all will go well and Momma and baby will be safe and healthy.

This week marked the first week of classes and though it has been busy I feel like there is not all that much to talk about. We did a few classes on community and then a couple about personalities. Turns out that my personality type is steady very loyal and easy going, that is all a nice way to say people pleaser,go figure!

Saturday we had our first village day. Yay!!! I learned to wash clothes by hand ( all my Ugandan classmates were shocked), mop a floor ( no it is not the same as at home in Canada) and, one of my favourite parts , make chapati. Sooooo.... good, it similar to Nan Bread but not quite. I will be doing my best to make it in Canada as often as possible. The highlight of my day though was playing with some incredibly cute kids. We tried to play three way patty cake, that was interesting, and had many tickling sessions.
Today was the church district tour. All went to each of the five "celebration points" to see what they were like and next week we will break into our district groups on Sunday to go serve. For me that means going to Watoto North with my group. That promises to be interesting! Though our group does not have many "strong " personality types ( as we would say at home) we do have some very outgoing people. I am sure that amidst the work will be a lot of laughter. Afterwards us internationals went out for Indian food! Woohoo!!!! It was so good. I know it seems so wrong that we are in Uganda and we eat other ethnic foods, but it was amazing!! We were on the rooftop of the mall sitting on a lovely couch with the rain falling down around us eating Nan. I loved it and I think most of us agreed that we would be going back sometime in the next six months.

Well the last two days have left us all tired and most of us burnt ( myself included sorry mom ) but all of us are happy and so excited to begin our first official week of Watoto 360 tomorrow.

On Saturday we had a tour of the two villages near Kampala, Subbi and Bbira. They were more than I had ever imagined!!! Subbi is situated on the top of a hill and overlooks much of the lush green country side, where Bbira is flat and woven among the trees.  When we visited Bbira we found ourselves surrounded by children who were eager to play with us, cuddle, or sometimes just walk up to us and stare at the strange white people.

Sunday was the Festival of Hope, and it truly was amazing. The first thing we students were tasked with was greeting all those who came. This was a little different than greeting at home as everything was outside so greeting meant all of us lining the entrance waving and shouting good morning everyone who drove or walked by. It was quite an experience and though I did put on sunscreen I only remembered my arms and face so my front and neck are now burnt from the couple hours standing in the sun waving. At the end of the day the whole thing was wrapped up with a concert and I loved watching as most of my new family joined in the dancing. I would have loved to join them but my arms were full with a beautiful little girl. At first we played peek-a-boo together but in no time at all I had a sleeping little one all curled up against my chest. I would not have traded that moment for all the dancing in the world. Besides when her Mother collected her and went home I got my dancing lessons from a little boy and when all was said and done I was told that I really was quite good. I think all of us internationals are well on our way to completing our goal of learning to dance as well as our Ugandan classmates!!

On the way home on the bus we met 10 year old Esther and once again I found my heart was stolen. It was her birthday and we all got to sing to her and she confided in Jack and I that her dream is to have voice lessons. When I told her that my sister was a voice teacher all she could ask was how and where to find me and Natalie so that she could have lessons. I find myself praying now that if it is Gods will he will place me in the cell that spends each week at Esther's church so that I might build a greater relationship with this beautiful little girl. I will find out tomorrow, I am nervous but I know God has a plan for my life and all I can do is pray that I might serve Him no matter where he places me.

Well the last few days have been so full I don't even know where to begin.  Wednesday was our last day before meting the rest of our Ugandan classmates, and it was the first time that we met many new little friends. We woke up in the morning with a certain anticipation knowing that today we were going to the Watoto Baby home based in Kampala, called Bulrushes. We could hardly contain our excitement!! However we were not expected until three, so that left us with most of the day to find something else to do. While we waited Mumma Esther took us all to a craft market, and what an experience that was!!! In such a small space there was so much, it was almost overwhelming but at the same time I loved it. As we all spread out looking at our own pace at the different stalls three of us, Natalie, Danielle and myself found ourselves the joy of three beautiful little girls eating their lunch. It seemed that everything we said and did was funny to the one and the other two easily caught on to her laughter. I must confess that at the moment I am finding my own unique form of culture shock is in not knowing what to say. I would gladly cuddle every little child that I see but if you ask me to talk to them I don't know where to start. This is a major frustration to me but I am so glad to have Natalie around. This is her second time to Uganda and she has been blessed in that she connects so well with people. She loves them and they seem to know it so when she begins talking to them it comes so naturally.  I hope that in time this will come naturally to me as well, but for now I am super glad to have Natalie to follow around! The two of us also met another woman, Maria, who is expecting a baby in April. She blossomed as she showed us a picture of her two other children and talked to us about the names she had picked out for this baby.  As we left we were able to pray for her and that she would have a safe delivery of her baby, it was very cool.

Around two thirty we were finally able to have our tour of Bull rushes, and I will not lie, I did tear up at the sight of all those precious children. Before entering we all had to promise not to touch the baby's as right now there is a ban on the orphanage with some of the children sick. It was so hard to walk by their beautiful faces that were just crying for us to play with them and not be able to do so. There were a few who we were able to do things like play peek a boo with and to see them smile at even that was amazing. One of my favourites was playing peek with a little boy through the window of his room. I would hide behind the wall and then pop up and he would just get this huge smile that made me crouch down and do it again. After a while he started crouching and then when we would pop up at the same time that smile would flash again. They were all so precious and beautiful, I cannot wait until we can go and actually play with them for a full day.

When we got home around four we had some down time and then the last international student arrived and our family was complete. Thomas was incredibly excited to no longer be the only boy in the house.

Thursday was our first day with the rest of our classmates. Though I have managed to click incredibly well with all my new family members I have found that getting to know my Ugandan classmates is not nearly as easy. However Friday got a little easier and I know as time goes by I will be able to form some good friendships and I can't wait.  Twice on both Thursday and Friday we had worship services for a youth conference that was happening all week and again I was blown away. There is such a freedom of worship here where every hindrance is stripped away and people come as they are. Last night as we concluded the final service all I could think about was the old song that says " I will become even more undignified than this".  For everyone who has been think YC on steroids. I love every moment of every worship service and cannot wait for tomorrow when we have the Festival of Hope at Watoto West where all five churches will gather together, some 20,00 people. I know God will move in that place and it will be amazing!

Home Sweet Home

The last three days have been undescribable! I don't even know where to begin. So far there are seven of us international students with the final comming tomorow. Already we have become a family complete with a host Mom who looks out for us and whom we all love dearly.  When we first met her she told us she was waiting at home for us and couldn't wait until we moved in. Before we could do that on we had to go to thw Watoto central church service on Sunday.

Never in my life would I have imagined being part of a church service like that!! Words cannot fully explain it, it was so overwhelming.  For starters the building is easily four times bigger than out church at home and not only do they have five services each Sunday ( and one on Saturday night) but eah one is packed full of people praising the Lord. So much so that there is an overflow area where everything is broadcased out to. I was reminded of breakforth when everyone worships with abandon, only this is what happens every week. Pastor Gary Skinner has started the year with speaking about fresh starts, as this is the jubaliee year of Uganda.  Never before have I been to a church service where the pastor is so passionate about his message that he is jumping  up and down on the stage!  It alsomst reminded me of myself when in drama I made a mistake at practice ! :)  During communion I was moved to tears by it all, and my heart overflowed with thanks giving to The Lord who brought me to this place. After the five of us who had already arrived went to lunch with our Mom, Esther, and Joseph. That was a time filled with much story telling and it was just so much fun to be out with everyone.

Yesterday after much anticipation we moved into our new home!!! Yay!!!!! Even though we had had a fun morning of game playing and getting to know each other we were overjoyed when the bus pulled in to take us home. I was not prepared at all for this! It is georgous , Sydney will be glad to know my bed is pink and somehow Natalie and I ended up rooming together in the biggest room. Needless to say it has already been deemed the " hang out room " for all my new "sisters". My roomie Natalie is from Texas and I am so excited that I can finally embrace my inner southerner and say y'all and have that be normal!!!  I was going to upload pictures but the computer is not letting me so I will try again later. :(

I am so blessed, already we have become a family and I cannot wait to see where the next six months will take my four new sisters, two brothers, mother and myself!!  Already we have begun planning for how to decorate out prayer room to have thoughts, dreams, prayers, ect. posted on the wall to share with each other and last night after dinner we had a sharing and prayer time compete with singing to close off.  At this moment I feel so blessed beyond measure and certain that I am living as God has called me. I cannot wait to actually begin Watoto 360 on Friday, and tomorow those of us already here are going to baby watoto to spend the day. We are sooooo... excited!!!! After only a few days this country and it's people have captured my heart and I know that I shall never get it back.