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