As my eyes darted from face to face, trying to capture every detail, every scar, the heaviness of their reality was more than evident. The group is refferred to as people living positively, as in HIV positively. I am fairly certain their intent was a play on the word 'positive' which would be uplifting and somewhat beliavable until you hear their stories. Stories of men taking their wives medications, stories of people dying because they didn't want to wait at the hospital three days to recieve their medicines, stories of men reinfecting their wives over and over again, stories...

Approximately 72 hours ago 11 starry eyed young adults began trickling into the Atlanta airport to embark on the biggest adventure of their lives. 4 months in a third world country with complete strangers, if that isn't complete and utter craziness I don't know what is. We had all seen each other on facebook, which helped keep the awkwardness to a minimum. We were all overflowing with joy, excitiment, and even some nerves as we headed out to load our luggage into the vans. After spending Friday night wandering around the cold Atlanta streets we headed into the middle of nowhere...

Well, this is it. The last blog… Africa is a place you just can’t describe. It breaks you apart and sometimes it feels like a bowling ball strapped to your heart. It also puts a fire in your soul that commits you to a new lifestyle; an unordinary lifestyle that runs from what our western world says. After Africa, you just can’t go on believing the world is ok without you, and more importantly, without our savior.   Being here has utterly changed me and reshaped me. I’ve learned what it means to despair, to give up, to lose sight; but I’ve also learned...

To my dearly devoted blog readers,   Congratulations!  You have made it to the end of my Uganda journey.  This is my last blog while in Uganda (I think), and I will soon be home in the States.  Even as I’m sitting here writing the blog, I don’t know what I’m going to say.  I want to tell you what Africa is like, but there is no combination of words man can compose to express Africa’s true nature.  I want to tell you how much I love it here, but there is no amount of time large enough for me to pour out my heart fully for you.  But...

Hey everyone! So about a week or two ago, I posted a blog called The VAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!! asking for donations towards a new van for the wonderful Alpha Resort Hotel staff. It turns out that they need it more now than ever. Just last night, the current van got stuck in a mud pit and is messed up for good. The engine flooded with water and the van is still stuck in the pit. Thank so much for those of you who donated! We are so thankful for the money that has already come in. BUT, we still need more. The deadline is this thursday and we are still short a few thousand dollars. So look...

In the words of our host/Pastor, Pastor Johnson, “This is Real Life.  Their life is really, really real.”  These past few days we have round out just how real it really, really is.   Early Sunday morning we woke up to head to a small town called Pader.  Now, if you know anything about Uganda’s history, you know the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) took over and terrorized much of northern Uganda.  The LRA had a particularly strong hold in Pader, and Pader still remembers it, the wounds stinging five years later even though there is now peace....