A few weeks ago, some of the women on our team went to visit the women in prison. It all started when we were praying for patients, in the Tuberculosis ward, in the hospital. Some of the patients in the ward were from the prison across the street. This is when I met Betty, she is a guard from the women's prison. We told her we were there to pray for the patients, and she invited us to come to the prison and bring some encouragement to the women.
Betty and I became instant friends. After our visit to the prison, she asked when I would see her again. So we made plans for me to go to her house and have lunch. Chris went with me to her hut in the prison barracks. All the employees live right on the compound. I got to meet her sweet little daughter Rita, and I got to cook some African food. In Betty's culture, the men come first, so Chris was not allowed to lift a finger. He couldn't even carry his own chair, so yours truly had to do it for him. I also had to serve him his food. He says it was really hard for him, to sit back and do nothing but be served. However, I think he really enjoyed it.
It is customary, in this culture, that if someone invites a male to their house, the male has to eat the gizzard from the chicken they slaughtered especially for us. So Chris got to enjoy that part of the food. I was so glad I didn't have to eat it. If he didn't eat the whole thing, then he wasn't accepting their invitation.
Betty and I cooked a meal of chicken, Irish potato, rice, and beans. We also had some yummy baby bananas and sim sim paste(tastes like homemade peanut butter). We talked and laughed for about 3 hours, then Chris and I left.
I am sad to leave Betty, I really enjoy her company a lot. She is divorced, a single mother of 3 children (2 are away in boarding school), and the little money she makes in the prisons, all goes to her children. Unfortunately, their father has dead-beat dad syndrome, so he's not in the picture.
Her dream is to one day open up her own nursery school, so she can do what she loves and be able to provide well for her children. Please pray for her that God would open up doors for her and make a way. Also, pray hat she would know God as her husband. She always talks about how lonely she is and how she is shunned by society because she is single. Thanks for taking a sneak peak into my time in Uganda. Only one week left of ministry. Crazy how time flies. Love you all…..God bless!
