"I think this is the craziest thing that I've ever seen/done/experienced."
I feel as though I say this sentence or something like it almost every day here, which is a wonderful thing. New experiences are around every corner and it's so amazing to be a part of them! Every time something else crazy happens, we turn to each other and say "Welcome to Africa," because here, our crazy is their normal and it is fantastic.
Whether its using the bathrooms here called squatty potties with a lizard keeping you company in the corner, cooking dinner in the hallway because every other outlet in the house is not working, riding in the back of a pick-up truck with Meghan to small villages on roads that were half the size of our truck with a million holes and bumps and cliffs and a bridge made of sticks, running through the most rain pouring down I have ever seen to our smoke house to cook grilled cheese for the team because the power inside went out halfway through my pile of sandwiches, managing to pull a heavy and long couch frame out of a pantry of the dustiest house I have ever seen with Hillary, teaching an English class to 13-18 year old boys with no idea that's what I would be doing when I arrived and also with no lesson plan to follow, or holding baby Moses and seeing his smile when I hug him and then learning that he was abandoned by his parents in a plastic bag floating in a swamp nearby, every moment here is so new and beautiful and mind-blowing and teaching me more than I can ever explain in words.
We started our work at Makobore Boys High School here in Rukungiri this week. Our purpose is to be around the school as a positive influence, mentoring and discipling the boys, and helping the school wherever needed. The school went through a rough couple of years with a lot of behavioural problems and they are now trying to start fresh with new students and a new attitude. As we are still just beginning and the school is just starting its semester, our schedule for the days is very flexible and different each day, but our days have looked more or less like this: arrive at the school at 730 (a half hour walk with the biggest hill in the world), lead devotions with the boys (we've chosen to study the book of Ephesians with them), help out wherever is needed while the boys have class (this has included cleaning out offices and teacher houses and classrooms, as well as a day where I taught 13-18 year old boys an English class because they haven't found a teacher for that class yet – I was handed a text book, led to the class with Christina, and we walked in and made up our lesson as we went), head home for lunch, walk back to the school in the afternoon for more helping out wherever needed, and then playing sports with them and hanging out with them until their dinner at 630. I've already been able to have some really great spiritual conversations with some of the boys and it feels awesome to know that God has placed us here to help re-create the school in a way that honors Him and that will help the boys become His disciples so that when we leave, they can go out and spread the Gospel to the parts of Uganda that we did not reach. Even just cleaning out a classroom in order to create a better environment for them, though it doesn't seem like much, is exactly what I know God has required of us.
Over the past couple of weeks when we haven't been at the school, I've also been able to see what God is doing in some other amazing places. Playing with the children on our street and building relationships with our neighbors, visiting a youth group in a village nearby and sharing the importance of church with them, seeing the beauty of this country's landscape in each crazy bus/truck ride we take, visiting 3 churches in tiny villages last Sunday with Meghan to speak about the importance of Sunday School, and visiting a home for needy children and simply loving on them for 2 hours. We went to this home yesterday and it was probably my favorite experience of Uganda so far. This home has 12 children who were all either abandoned by their parents or were not being taken care of, so this home took them in. The children range from 1-15 and hearing all their stories was absolutely heart-breaking. But being able to sing with them and hold them and see that this home is making them feel loved and like their lives are worth living absolutely warmed and filled my heart. One little boy that I mentioned earlier, Moses (they chose this name for obvious reasons), completely captured my heart and I am so thankful that God saved him and has brought him to a home where he can be loved, not tossed aside.
I keep forgetting that we've only been here for 3 weeks because so much has already happened, and I am so excited that I still have 3 months left in this beautiful country! I've now been away from home for almost a month, and though there are days where I miss it, I can truly say that this has been the most amazing/life-changing/crazy/
First day at the school!
This is Moses!
Much love from Uganda!
