Chikaste Yesu! (Praise Jesus!)

Where do I start? Last time I wrote it was Valentines Weekend. Time flies when you’re in Africa..haha. So during Valentines weekend the Lord did the most amazing thing. Only in Africa would a rat go under my legs and I would drop my laptop and it would break. So in other words, my laptop is no longer working but it is alright. In many of my classes we are talking about poverty and how possessions don’t matter. It is easier said then done. But when something actually happens you have a chance to match your believe with your behavior. I did. For my possessions are not mine; but the Lords. And He was proving a lesson that I hold too much value in my material items. Everyday is a learning experience. Now I spend most of my time on the Internet in the computer lab with other UCU students and I love it, I would have never gotten to experience the computer lab and meet the people I have, without my laptop breaking. I love Africa…where there are bats in the bathroom and rats in my room. Not to mention last night the power went out, while I was taking my cold shower. My roommate rescued me with the flashlight. I love Africa.
Valentines Day was amazing. Had a dinner date with the Guild Pres and some other peeps and then joined Honors College for a late night dinner and dance party. We also watched the Proposal. It was a great time.
Every week I go to Chain and Salama and work with the children and those that are blind. I was able to teach a geography lesson to P7 at Salama and I used a topographical globe so the blind students could feel the different continents and we sang the “continent” song. I love teaching. At the orphanage, chain, I had my first fried goose egg and had a track day with the kids. I love being able to volunteer in the community.
I love my UCU friends. Stopped by my friend’s room just to say hi the other day and I ended up staying for two hours having porage (that tasted like Cream-of-wheat:) and tea. I love Africa. I also have started to baby-sit for a professor’s family and it is a highlight of my week. I play drums while I sing with the children. And then I am able to watch movies on their TV. It reminds me a little of home!
So for 10 days I spent my time in rural Uganda in Kapchorwa, which means, place of friends. It is in the Northeast part of Uganda. It was one of the best times since I have been here. I stayed with a family where my mom was a teacher and my dad was a farmer. And I had three little siblings, two brothers and one sister. There were two things among many that made the week in Kapchorwa amazing. First was every morning I would wake up and bathe outside under the sky. It is like an outside shower and I would just watch the clouds and the sky as I bathed, it was amazing, I’m sure the local cows saw me (T.I.A.). Secondly, every night mom put me in charge of bathing my little siblings. So every night outside I would give my three little siblings bucket baths, I felt like a true African momma. I loved it. My momma let me help her cook (I love how in Africa it takes 3 hours to prepare a meal and in America it takes ½ an hour), fetch water from local water hole, repoop the house (every Saturday my mom would add more cow poop to the floor, because our house was made out of mud, I’ll put up pictures), wash dishes (right by the chickens), wash my siblings, sweep the house…etc….it was a great week to experience the “true” African way of living. During my ten days, there was no electricity, no running water, no showers, no toilet, no TP…all the things we think are essential to living in America, there was non. Yet during those ten days I experienced the simplicity of living without the worries of material things. I loved it. Everyday I ate Chapatti; my favorite food in Africa. Church service in Kapchorwa lasted 5 hours. I laugh to think that people in the States start looking at their watches after two hours. Another highlight of my week with my family is when I brought Oreos for my family. I bought the Oreos in Kampala the week prior and saved them to give to my rural family. Wow. I gave my family the first Oreos they have ever had in their life. They loved them so much. It was a joy to see their happiness in the simplicity of having Oreos. And how in America we take so much for granted.
Everything is b-e-a-utiful. From the rainbows after it rains, to the clouds as I bathe, to the stars as I sleep.
Poverty is in the eye of the beholder. My family did not live in poverty; they were never hungry, but lived simply. No TV, cause of no electricity. No toothbrushes, cause of no sugar intake. No material worries, cause there wasn’t any. No deciding what to wear, cause there was no option. No time, cause of no watches. No bedtime, cause it is when the sun goes down. We cooked dinner and I journaled every night by lantern. I loved not having a “schedule”, just living every day at a time. Some days I would never know what time it really was. I also treasured the communal aspect of Africa. I sometimes wouldn’t know who was family because everyone treated one another as family. The children loved touching my arms and playing with my hair. I also haven’t eaten so much cabbage and drank so much tea in my life. I also spent one day with my host mom at her school. It was truly an opening experience to what life is like being a teacher in Africa.
My whole mindset of missions has changed. It is not about accomplishing a task any longer; but about building relationships.
On my last day in Kapchorwa I went to visit the neighbors, my dad dropped me off and said he would be right back, it wasn’t until 5 hours later he finally came to take me home. It was one of the most trying times because I was out of my comfort zone and I wasn’t expecting to be there that long, but during those 5 hours I was able to show the love of Christ to the neighbors and it was amazing. For the Lord taught me a lesson, The lord is my father and sometimes he will put me in places that I am not always comfortable in, but he will use me to be a witness and always care for me in the end. I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS WEEK IN AFRICA. My family in Kapchorwa does the same things my family in America does (cook, laugh, worship, clean), but they just do it differently. My life seems so small now that I have seen how others live in the world. (While I am eating at Aramark next year, my host family will be eating beans and rice in their mud hut).
After our home stay we had a weekend of debrief and we were able to hike through the three main Waterfalls in Kapchorwa. It was amazing, I felt like I was hiking in middle earth. It was a 6 hour hike and I worked off all my chapatti:) I was also able to make coffee, I will never buy coffee at starbucks the same anymore.
When I arrived back from my rural home stay I found out I was going to be an RA next year (Chikaste Yesu) and I was so excited and celebrated my going out rolling with some of my honors peeps. Also, I have been handwriting all my papers in school…it is an adventure. Laundry is a three-day ordeal, because sometimes it rains at night and my favorite hobby is to iron while listening to my ipod. Found out I got an A on my first African paper and I took my first test in Africa on Tuesday in Ethics. I love all my friends in Ethics. We all study together. My Friend Trish, got a tattoo and I have been helping her with it. It’s an outline of Africa and I love it. This weekend USP has taken some field trips to the local Islamic Mosque and I was able to speak with some Muslims. We also got to go to the Local AIDS support organization and talk to those who are HIV+ and I was able to hear one woman’s testimony. Difficult, but amazing.
Passion fruit is my new favorite fruit. I have taught ninja to honors college and they love it. I dress up in banana leafs with other students and run around campus late at night and scare security regularly (Nate this reminds me of you). I love Jesus. I love Africa. I love you!

Thanks for all your prayers: I am getting better from the cold I caught in Kapchorwa. Continual health and motivation for schoolwork.

PS. Tomorrow is Women’s day = a public holiday in Uganda= no school = Partay