"Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive."
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

After traveling all over Italy with a heavy backpack on my back, yummy gluten filled pasta in my stomach, and  a Kate the Great travel buddy, I definitely welcomed the warm weather in Soroti, Uganda. Kate and I stayed there for a week helping our friends Amy and Susan with their ministry, Yesu Asobola Mininstry. We had so much fun taking pictures of all the kids in one specific village so they can receive sponsorships to afford school every year. The 5ish days we were in Soroti were great  but I was really anticipating going to Jinja so when Kate and I finally got to Amani, it was a huge relief.

It's definitely different this year than the last. The volunteers are different (but equally as awesome) and we now live above the orphanage which doesn't involve much interaction with any shoe eating dogs luckily but we do have a very confused rooster who we hear at all hours of the night and throughout the day. I think the biggest difference though are the kids... Who are almost the same exact kids as last time plus or minus a few that were reunited with their families or adopted. The difference is the fact that I know them now. I know their names, I remember some things they like or dislike, I know some of their reading levels, behaviors, etc. When I came last time, I saw orphans. When I left, I saw my precious kids. When I came this time, I saw my cottage A boys and it was like I never left.

I see individuals, not a herd of kids screaming to be held. Every child is unique and has different preferences. They're no assembly line. Feed, wash, teach, read a story, shoes on, push on swing, etc. It becomes difficult to not go through the motions, especially at bedtime. But how can it be an assembly line if each child was made in the image and likeness of God? One child needs his shark slippers on no matter if he's sweating profusely in his flannel pajamas already. One child needs Eskimo and butterfly kisses at night or else it's going to be one rough night for everyone else. Kids are funny. They know exactly what they want and don't want and they WILL be heard when things don't go according to their plan. The problem is, when there's 14 boys who have their own idea of the perfect plan, there's chaos. Yet, each one needs to be heard. Each one needs to be catered to (not too much of course). Each one would do a lot better if they had a family and I pray that they all will have a loving family one day. So, we do the best we can. The Ugandan adoption system is definitely on African time and I just pray that everything speeds up because these children are growing up before my very eyes. It's amazing how much kids grow in a year both physically and mentally. Please pray with me that these kids always get the love they deserve and a speedy process towards adoption.

I'll try to write more blogs! Sorry for a late start to them!

Things I'm looking forward to... prayer with the kids before meals

Round 2: Here we go!!

I'm so excited for my return trip to Jinja, Uganda to work at Amani Baby Cottage! Although it will be bittersweet to leave the U.S. again, I'm ready to return as a full time volunteer for another 3 months starting on December 31st. (Yes, that's New Year's Eve and yes, I will miss all the festivities but it's about $400 cheaper to travel on this day than normal wahoo!)

First, it's off to Italy with my travel buddy and great volunteer friend, Kate. We met in Uganda last year so it'll be super fun venturing off into Italy for a few days before heading to Uganda. As two gluten intolerant girls, it should be an exciting adventure... and hopefully not starve with pasta and pizza all around us! We'll be going to Rome, Venice, and Florence:) If there's anything we MUST see while we're there, please let me know!

Next, we'll be visiting some great volunteer friends in Soroti, Uganda for about a week and help them with their ministry. Their ministry is called Yesu Asobola Ministries and they bring care, education, and Christ to the children of Uganda. It'll be such a fruitful week serving next to my sisters in Christ in the same country but in a totally different village.  It's been a year already since I've seen my volunteer friends and I'm so excited to be reunited with some of them once again. (Too bad it's not ALL of us).

Finally, we'll make our way to Amani Baby Cottage where I'll serve the remaining 3 months with the wonderful 60+ children I fell in love with last year. I know it'll be different from the last time I was there since some of these kids have found new homes and others have been reunited with their families. New comers have joined the Amani family since the last time I was there too. It should be a new adventure mixed with some great memories from the last time and I ask that you please pray for me, my travel buddy, and anyone else going on a mission trip soon!

If you'd still like to donate for my Uganda expenses (rent, plane ticket, food, treats for the kids, etc.) please go to the link on this blog. Thanks for all of your support!

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

Loving life

 “I needed to start seeing the purpose of my life as not doing something to accomplish or acquire something but to always be doing something for someone, as Mother Teresa did.” Mother Teresa’s Prescription: Finding Happiness and Peace in Service by Paul Wright

I can’t believe I’ve already been here for a month! Who knew time would fly on African time? A lot has happened since my arrival including new kids coming to the orphanage and a crazy rafting adventure on the Nile. God has also blessed me with so many new thoughts and insights while on this trip. First, He tells us to always have child-like faith and to trust in Him for everything. There have been so many times here where I do feel like a child and I have so much to learn about this new place I’m surrounded by. A few weeks ago, there was a thunderstorm at night. I woke up in a panic and couldn’t tell what the sound was exactly. This was no Virginia thunderstorm! The thunder sounded like bombs going off in the distance and it kept me awake and praying for the rest of the night. Back home, I love thunderstorms but here, something so familiar turned to fear. New sounds, new sights, new smells (some good, some not so good) keep me wondering and experiencing this place through the eyes of a child. I love it. I’m not one to ask too many questions but here, I’m constantly asking them. And because I feel like a child, I think my prayer life has flourished. I pray for the things that I, as a child, see as pretty significant yet God’s probably smiling down at me with those Fatherly eyes knowing very well how small this problem will turn out to be.

Another aspect that really hit me the other day was the idea of the universal Catholic Church. Of course the Catholic Church is universal yet it really clicked when I was in mass and the Ugandan priest says in a thick accent, we pray for Pope Benedict the XVI. The songs may be a little different and the Ugandan traditions alter things in the mass ever so slightly but the Pope is the same (well, until February 28), our Church is the same. It was such a cool feeling to pray for Pope Benedict the XVI in Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Jinja, Uganda just as we pray for him at St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel in Fairfax, VA.  How awesome is that?

We also have a few new children that have come to stay with us at the baby cottage including baby Salim. Salim is a year and a half years old but is by far the smallest and thinnest baby I have ever seen in my life. He was very sick when he arrived but by the grace of God, he’s gotten so much better and now smiles and laughs a lot. He’s in the same cottage that I’m working in so I get to feed him and play with him often. Since his time here, he has filled me with so much joy with his progress over the past couple weeks. His big brown eyes just melt my heart every time I see him.

Finally, three of the other volunteers and I went white water rafting last Saturday. I’ve been white water rafting in West Virginia a couple times but I’ve never fallen out of the raft and things seemed like they were totally in control while there. My first warning that things were going to be a little different was when the guide said at some points, he’ll do everything in his power to not flip us since that’s crocodile territory. Great. So I not only have to worry about staying on the raft in class 5 rapids, I also have to worry about being eaten alive if I do happen to fall off.  However, my fear of crocodiles quickly escaped once we started since the whole raft flipped in the first two rapids of the day… I’m thinking the guide did that on purpose. He was so funny with his Ugandan humor and it really helped us relax.  We had a great day with tons of beautiful sights along the river and getting completely drenched multiple times by a speed boat with tons of mzungu passengers. Figures. I ended the day with a pretty nice sun burn from the African sun, great memories, and tons of laughs. I’d totally do it again if I could.

Here are some of my pictures from the past two weeks

Desire (6 months old) and Edmond (11 months old). With Edmond with us now, he should gain some weight very quickly.

Freddy!

Edwin and Henry playing dress up together.

Edwin! I'm so glad he's reunited with his family again.

The biggest avocado I've ever seen (next to an egg for comparison). Dad, imagine the amount of guacamole from this one avocado!

Sisterly love. I think this was before they ate haha

Henry and I at an outing to the pool

Tina!

 

Tina again! So so so cute!

Feeding time with the babies

Band practice in a field on my way home from town

Settling in

This week was much easier for me than the last. I got a little sick (from 52 drooling, coughing, and sneezing kids) last Thursday so I rested up over the past weekend and I had so much more energy this week. Things are starting to sink in for me here. These aren’t just ordinary kids that I’m nannying… these are orphans. Over the past week, I’ve seen three new kids come and one leave to go back to his family. One that really stood out to me was a dad dropping off a little baby because he couldn’t take care of her and he was leaving Jinja. He seemed so detached from the situation and it shocked me. At that moment, I realized where I was exactly and where all these kids had come from. Some situations were definitely worse than others but the fact is, I have a great responsibility caring for and loving these kids. This is not a place where each one gets the proper attention they need after going home from daycare or school. This is their home. A place for nurturing, for kissing boo boo’s, for teaching them how to share and love one another, and a place for understanding each child’s needs and acting on those needs. This is not just a job, it’s a family. It’s quite a large family but there’s three different cottages and I help out with just one. So, in my family, there’s four mama’s who take turns in shifts, then Matthew, Elijah, Godfrey, Simon, Brian, Charlie, Henry, Fred, Wycliff, Phillip, David, and Jeremiah. I feel so blessed to have them in my life and they bring lots of joy everywhere they go. 

It is obviously a drastic difference living in Uganda than Fairfax... Here are the major differences I've seen so far: 

1.      Chickens or the service men running and yelling chants always wake me up in the morning instead of an alarm clock on my phone.

2.      I haven’t seen one fly swatter… that’s why we keep geckos in the house.

3.      I’ve never been on a motorcycle but I’ve been on tons of bodas with no helmet on and holding onto a kid for dear life.

4.      The food kept disappearing in the pantry so we had a stake-out for our good ol’ friend Bruce, the rat. Turns out one of my roommates is a really good rat killer.

5.      Every day for lunch is some combination of beans, rice or posho, and greens and it hasn’t gotten old yet!

6.      It’s really fun to go out at night in Fairfax but in Jinja, we have to be back in our home by dark... so we have lots of fun before then.

7.      Instead of price tags on bags and paintings, I bring my haggling buddy so she can help me with the best prices for a muzungo.

8.      The mass is still the same, but I got a lot stares for being the only muzungo in the congregation.