James 1:27

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven’t written in quite a long time. I could say that I was pretty busy but to be honest, I’m having a great time and I just didn’t want to come in from playing outside or not spending time with my wonderful roommates. I’m sure going to miss this gorgeous weather every day. Anyway, there have been quite a few new experiences since I’ve blogged last and I can’t believe I’m down to less than a month before this trip will come to an end… at least for my first trip:)

Another little boy has come to the orphanage, little Joel. Joel was very sick when he first arrived and the volunteers took him home for a few days after work so that we could watch over him at night and feed him when necessary. He’s just over two years old and is pretty tiny but just after a couple of days of eating the famous plumpy nuts (a high calorie packet all the malnourished kids eat), he’s looking better already. Those first few days were pretty nerve-racking, though. After the first night taking turns staying up with our little Joel, we all had a new understanding of what it was like to be worried for your own child. Even the girls who didn’t take a shift that night didn’t sleep well. We were all worried mothers! Little Joel stuck it out (with lots of prayers) and now he’s laughing quite often and never misses a plumpy nut meal. 

I definitely have a new appreciation for all that my parents have done for me over the past 22 years but I also totally understand now why they would wait up for me to get home or not get a good night’s sleep if I was off doing something crazy (maybe like flying to Uganda…).  I love all the kids here so so sooooo much and the more time I spend with them, my love for each one of them grows. One of them might not listen at all during preschool or they might be mean to their brothers on the playground, but at the end of the day, you look at their sweet little face and it’s impossible not to say “I love you” to them. Each child has their own personality, their own little quarks and it’s so fun to now be able to say, oh yeah, well you know Simon won’t eat anything but pineapple and watermelon at snack time or Jeremiah’s just crying because he wants attention—that’s not a hurt kind of cry… or to have your back turned and know who hit who based on the number of feet between each child or the blatantly guilty look on their faces… or to see Charlie giving a book to his brothers after going over learning how to share in preschool and realizing how proud it makes you feel… or seeing four year old Elijah feeding baby David in his high chair because the mama needed more help. The list goes on and on of precious little moments that make me so grateful for being here and for God allowing me to take part in this Amani family.  I thank Him everyday that I am able to know each one not only by name but by their personality and who God made them to be. It’s so easy to see Christ’s face in each one. 

                                                    The preschool class making funny faces

Speaking of children, Kate (another volunteer), one of the mama’s and I went to a maternity ward in Jinja to give the new and soon-to-be moms a sweater, a hat, and baby booties to each one. As surprising as it seems to give African moms sweaters in weather like this, the babies here are still really wrapped up in blankets when they’re born and for a while after that. And of course, rainy days call for scarves and winter jackets for everyone since it’s about 70 degrees outside. So chilly! So we went into this hospital and it was a very eye opening experience. In the waiting room, there was a hand drawn poster with very descriptive steps on how to deliver a baby… In the waiting room! Next, we ventured into where all the moms were waiting to deliver their babies. There must have been roughly thirty women in there with the beds all lined up against the walls. They didn’t really look like they were having a blast but they were very thankful to receive the donations we gave them. Next, we went into the room where all the moms had just delivered their babies. Again, they didn’t look like they were having a good ol’ time but they had their babies swaddled and sleeping next to them and they were all so adorable! That day, ten twins and one set of triplets were born along with two more sets of triplets that were expected to be born some time that day or the next. Talk about a productive day! I also had a new understanding of why there was still such a high mortality rate both for the babies and the mothers here in Uganda. There wasn’t a whole lot of medical equipment; it was more of a place to come and have your baby in a clean place. There was a room for the intensive care babies and they all had the tiniest oxygen masks on that I’ve ever seen but other than that, I didn’t see one IV or anything else to help when complications might arise. It must be even scarier to deliver a baby here than in the U.S., but what other option do they have? I did have a great time passing out the donations from the baby cottage and hopefully, we’ll be able to go back very soon. 

Finally, last weekend, after mass, I was invited to go have breakfast with one of nun orders in Jinja. They apparently live right up the street from me! I say one of the nun orders because one, they spouted off about twenty different orders that actually live here in Jinja and two, the language barrier made it a bit difficult to know which one was there’s that they spouted off. Nevertheless, I had a great time getting to know the six nuns who are studying here but are actually from Kenya. After I left, I realized that this was the first time I was actually invited into another person’s home while in Jinja. Yes, the volunteers and I went to the volunteer coordinator’s house before (which was soooo much fun) but I had never been into a Ugandan’s home. I tried to be as polite as possible but I wonder if I did some strange things that made them laugh afterword. I tried two new types of food while there—porridge and sim-sim. The kids at Amani eat porridge everyday for a snack and I’ve always wanted to try it since they seem to always be gulping it down. With a fair amount of sugar and honey, it was bearable, but I don’t think I’ll be eyeing the kids’ porridge anymore. Sim-sim, on the otherhand, was really delicious. It’s a type of sweet spread where you add peanut butter to it and eat it with bread. Other than the whole gluten intolerant thing, it was good! I had a wonderful time hearing about how they all grew up and we looked at lots and lots of pictures from before they were nuns to the present. I even showed one of them how I skype my family back home and she was VERY excited about this new discovery. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started skyping other nuns very soon:)

 

Sorry this is kind of lengthy but there are still so many exciting things happening and I guess when I don’t blog for a while, this is what happens. Thank you all for your many prayers. I’ve been praying for many of you too. God bless!

 "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27