Week 3

Hello friends and family! It's been another eventful week in Mbale! I'm really starting to get the hang of things here and I'm settling in quite nicely.

A few memorable moments from this week:

On Monday, Callie and I took one our our IChooseYou girls to the doctor to get a growth on the back of her neck checked out. The doctor said that it wasn't a problem, but since it had grown and was causing her pain, she opted to have it removed. This thirteen year old girl lay her head in Callie's lap, large tears of fear streaming down her sweet face, as the doctor shaved the hair around the growth. Due to the fact that the skin on the back of your neck is very tough, the doctor struggled to numb the area. Poke after poke after poke, enough feeling was lost to cut it off. One nurse voiced her concern, "Shouldn't we get something to cover this? Won't blood spray on the mzungu?" As she went in search for splatter protection for Callie, the doctor went ahead and cut it off. In the end there wasn't much blood. Not nearly as exciting as you thought it would be, huh? Callie was rather relieved. The entire adventure at the doctor lasted something like four hours. Our sweet girl was such a champ!

On Wednesday, we had our very first Bible Club after school! I recruited a couple of P-3 students (the equivalent of 2nd grade) to help me lead a couple of songs, and one boy boldly volunteered to pray for us. I read from the Jesus Storybook Bible, the story of creation. We worked on a memory verse (Genesis 1:1), promising that if they can say it to me next week they will receive a sweet in return for their hard work. I'm pleased with how it went. I spoke to some of our older kids (5th and 6th graders) about starting a more "grown-up" study for them once a week and they're really excited about it- some even said they would like to study two or three times a week! I am so pumped to see these kids so eager to study the Bible. I am praying the Lord stirs a deep hunger for His Word in their hearts, from the youngest to the oldest. You should pray, too! 

Guess what! Our cat had kittens! Since there are three kittens and three girls in the house, we each got to name one. My favorite one looks unarguably like a lion cub, so, naturally, I named him Aslan. (If you don't understand why I picked this name, please google a Mr. C.S.Lewis.) 

Callie heard that one our mothers was sick and possibly in the hospital, but we didn't know which one. We headed to the main hospital to see if she was there and if we needed to do anything for her. There are moments here in Africa, out of nowhere when it hits you: this is not America. My first time visiting the hospital was one of these instances. I don't want to exaggerate it- I did not see anyone covered in blood or with body parts out of place. It was not a horrible, terrible place. But it was not what I am used to. The crowds, chaos, and overall feeling of hopelessness was heavy on my heart. I thought about my trips to the hospital as a child. It can be such a terrifying experience for a young kid to stay at a hospital, but everyone is working their absolute hardest to make you feel safe and at peace. It isn't like that here- they're just trying to keep everyone alive. There were kids lying on beds, their mothers standing outside, holding their hands through the bar windows. You never know when it will hit you: this is not America and my heart is not okay with it. An enormous mixture of feelings come in these moments. Fear. Discomfort. Sadness. Compassion. Guilt. I took my thoughts and confusion to Jesus. A wise lady once told me, "Pray until it lifts." I prayed, and it lifted. 

I am crazy about all of our kids in IChooseYou, but a few in particular have completely captured my heart. Priscilla is one of them. One day after lunch, she lay her head against my chest and just let me hold her. I held her and sang to her until the bell rang. Not all the money in the world is worth a moment like that. 

I finally finished decorating my room! I can't even tell you how excited this makes me. It turned out exactly how I wanted it. This may seem like a very silly thing to you, but lay off me, I'm a teenage girl. 

I got a PO box this week. I put the address on the right side of my blog. Feel free to send me letters! :) 

Until next week! 

Em 

Week 2

Hello friends and family!

Another week has flown by, I can hardly believe it. I spent the week getting to know my way around town (all by myself!), getting to know the culture and new way of life, and meeting lots and lots of new people. Luckily, I am pretty good with names. (Side note: I secretly think it's hilarious the amount of people who say they are bad with names. It's funny to me because everyone says it, but they act like they are a rare breed. When, in actuality, 90% of people are pretty terrible at remembering names.)

This week was very fun as well as educational for me. Here are a few highlights:

On Sunday evening, Callie and I took a mass of our IChooseYou kiddos to the supermarket for a treat. Most of them picked strawberry ice cream, but some (the smart ones) chose chapati. In case you are unfamiliar with chapati (I have no idea if I am spelling that correctly), it is a delightful flat bread-like thing. It reminds me a lot of the large homemade tortillas my mom used to make when we lived in New Zealand. You can get it on the street corner for about 25 cents. It is one of my favorite things about Uganda. Seriously, it'll change your life.

I have taken three children to the doctor this week. One had the flu, one had Typhoid fever, and one needs a filling in his tooth. I was very glad to get to know my way around the doctor's office and experience the process you go through to see a doctor. Something I learned: always bring a book for yourself and Angry Birds for the kids, because it can be quite a long wait in there. I enjoy the trips because it gives you one-on-one time with the kids (and they can't leave when they get tired of me asking them questions- they're stuck! Ha!)

I've really enjoyed meeting some other mzungus in the area. We have game nights quite often (I have learned three new games this week. My comfort zone has been stretched beyond it's limits.) I made one pal who lent me his French press, so now I have fresh coffee in the morning! Hooray! I also met an Australian guy at a birthday party, and we had a lengthy conversation about Frozen versus Tangled. As Disney princesses are my specialty, I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion. It was also great to meet someone from Down Under. New Zealand, I miss you.

I've enjoyed working in the office with Sarah, IChooseYou's employee. She has been very helpful teaching me about IChooseYou, the kids, and Ugandan culture. She is even trying to get me to speak a little bit of Luganda, but I have proved to be a disappointment. When people say, "How are you?" in Luganda, I can reply, "I am fine." And that's about it.

On Thursday, I went with Callie and the girls she cares for to a local swimming pool. It was so much fun to see the little girls enjoy the cool water, but I think I may have enjoyed it even more. Swimming has always been one of my favorite things to do. Whether it be a pool, river, or ocean, I'm there. Swimming takes me to this place of childish delight that I can't really explain. It's like the weightlessness of water strips away every care you may have, every worry that weighs heavily on one's heart. It made me think of the time last spring when my family went to South Padre Island for a few days. The first night we were there, my big brother, Taylor, and I ran straight into the ocean without a thought. I swear, we were five and six again. I miss that big guy. He asked me to be his Valentine yesterday. What a cutie.

I received some sad news this week. My step great grandfather passed away after a long battle on Dialysis. We are grateful his suffering is over and he is in the arms of Jesus. Tom was a wonderful man, and he loved my Mama Joe so well. He was an incredible example of Jesus' love, and he will be greatly missed. His funeral was today. I'm hurting over his loss as well as this nagging "I should be there" feeling. I knew that things like this would come along, moments where I question whether or not I'm in the right place, but I didn't expect it to come so soon. I should be there. I should be there for my great grandmother, for my grandmother. I know that my presence would not make a huge difference, but still. I should be there. I should be there because they're mine.

But I'm not there.

I hold on tightly to the promises God has given me. He is good. He has a plan for me and it's a really good plan. He called me here, so here is where I'm supposed to be. That's it. No doubts, no questions. I stand firm on His promises.

"You must go to everyone I send you to, and say whatever I command you."
Jeremiah 1:7

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

What a guy, that Jeremiah. I think we would have been friends.

Thanks for reading. Until next time.

Em

Week 1

Hello friends and family!

I have been in Mbale for less than a week, and so much has happened since I stepped foot on that airplane. The whole travel process went incredibly smoothly. Every flight was on time, every bag accounted for after we landed in Uganda. Thank you to all who were praying for us, your prayers were clearly answered. Callie and I (Callie is my house mate/ work mate/ African mom) arrived in Uganda at 4AM on Monday morning. Our friend Natalie graciously picked us up from the airport and drove us the four hour journey to Mbale. When we stopped for lunch in Jinja, we spotted Katie Davis, founder of Amazima Ministries and author of Kisses from Katie. I've already seen a missionary celebrity! I'm feeling pretty cool.

When we arrived in Mbale, the house that we are going to be living in still had a few repairs to be completed, so we stayed in another house for a few nights. My first "Welcome to Africa" moment was when I took a shower and spotted three bugs. Surprisingly, I was not bothered by this. After all, bugs want to get clean too. I spent a few days getting to know the area and meeting the IChooseYou kids and some other missionaries. (Thanks to dinners at the homes of other Americans, I have had guacamole three times this week. Praise the Lord, Mexican food is not completely lost.) Everyone, both mzungu (the name for white people) and Ugandan, has been very kind and welcoming.

One part of living in Uganda that I was somewhat fearing was transportation. A few places are close enough to walk to, but most of the time you have to take a boda in order to get somewhere. A boda is a motorcycle taxi. It costs between 40 and 80 cents per ride, depending on how far you're going. My first time was not so scary, as I was wearing pants and could sit normally. But the next day came the real challenge: sitting in a skirt, sidesaddle. Good gracious, was it nerve racking. I've taken bodas somewhere around twenty times now, and the fear has subsided. I consider myself a pro now, though, I tell you, nothing in the world could have looked more awkward than me on a the back of a motorcycle for the first time. If my sister had been there, she would have made fun of me for days.

On Thursday we were able to move into the new house. When I saw my bedroom, something cool happened. A couple of years ago, I had this dream about this house that I was staying in, on the ocean. It was a really beautiful, old, white house. In my bedroom in this house were these huge wardrobes built into the wall. A lot of things happened in this dream, but the thing I remember most were the three wardrobes. They were old, but completely beautiful and HUGE. Now, for an organization freak like myself, storage makes me downright giddy. In the dream I was a little girl and I couldn't wait to fill the wardrobes with my American Girl dolls and all of their many accessories. Anyway, when we came to look in the new house here in Mbale, I saw that my bedroom has built in wardrobes, exactly like those in my dream from a couple of years ago. Pretty cool, huh? Thanks for cool dreams, Jesus.

Here is a picture of our house:

I am looking forward to really getting to work next week. I am working on plans for tutoring and Bible teaching schedules with the kids from IChooseYou. I've only met some of them, but I am already completely in love. I also got to meet Sarah, IChooseYou's only employee. She and I will be working in the IChooseYou office together every day. I'm really looking forward to spending time with her and getting to know her better. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me, Sarah, the kids, and IChooseYou this year.  

My other housemate, Melanie (She is completely WONDERFUL. I adore her), said something the other day that really stuck in my brain. She said:

"Living in this place can be really difficult. Some days are wonderful, and some days are really hard. But if God has called you to it, every day is worth it. But that's what it takes- 
a real calling." 

Thank you, Jesus, for calling me. Though hard times are sure to come, I am confident that I am exactly where He wants me to be. He's awesome, y'all.

Thanks for reading. Until next week!

Em