'I look up to the sky and say, 'You're beautiful!'"

Hi everyone! It’s my third full day here at New Hope, wow. I seriously do not even know where to begin. Last night it rained. This may seem somewhat trivial, but apparently, this year’s rainy season has been extremely cut short. Since this is currently the case, only time will tell if the crops will grow. With that said, it was immediately evident that I was no longer in Belmont or Davidson. I guess the best to start is at the beginning. Bear with me as I embark on this long journey.

The air was thick as I stepped off the plane with the other two volunteers, HaWook and Sarah, and saw the most beautiful landscape of luscious greenery against a background of hazy mountains. I thought it would look like the Lion King after Scar took over the Pridelands, barren and dusty. I could not have been more wrong. Entebbe International Airport is four hours from New Hope Orphanage and I cannot emphasize how vibrant Ugandan colors truly are. The drive on the way from the airport was absolutely crazy. Not only do they drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the road, but also there is no established speed limit and the streets are flooded with ‘Boda Boda’ drivers, which are taxi drivers on bikes.

Upon arrival to Busia, we were told that we would be staying with the director, Ken, and were welcomed with the traditional elaborate Ugandan greeting by all who live at his house. An eight-foot wall surrounds the house with a large iron gate at the front. I have noticed that it is common that the gates have a smaller door embedded into them. In the past three days, I have been immersed in the Ugandan culture, which is extremely hospitable. All of the meals are prepared by Ken’s wife and several of the older orphans and they mainly consist of rice, posho, which is basically the same as white rice that has been mashed, or noodle, some type of beef, avocado, and either boiled bananas or some type of potato. I have ventured to try the rice, noodle, and the potato, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. I have not been hungry at all since I’ve been here. There is also afternoon tea, which is great, however, the container says that it is actually coffee. It tastes like tea, and lots of sugar is usually added. The sugar is actually brownish, but is actually sweeter than American sugar. We had chapatti tonight, which is similar to a crepe! They are so good!

There were three other volunteers here when I arrived. Kiana, Amy and Mike. Right away, they warmly welcomed us newcomers, and showered us with advice. Amy and Mike have been here for about a month, and Kiana for two. Kiana oversees a program called Microcredit, which teaches business skills to women in the surrounding area and helps them apply for and receive grants for projects. She is so perfect for the work because she is very outgoing and has been in Africa since January. She is taking a year off of nursing school to be in Africa. Amy teaches English and Mike teaches Math to Primary 6 and 7, which are the older children. All of the volunteers are extremely helpful, and have made the transition into Ugandan life much easier. Yesterday afternoon, two new volunteers from Chapel Hill, way to represent North Carolina J, arrived. Maylott and Jeffrey are interning and are both going to be teaching the children. I look forward to getting to know them more! Sarah, HaWook and I are starting to get the hang of things to a certain extent. We have the first week to decide what our main focus will be during our stay here. The first night as we sat around the living room table eating dinner and getting to know each other, we asked everyone their major. Mike was extremely excited to learn that I was a music major because he has been trying to start a music program over the past few weeks! God is so good. Mike is leaving tomorrow for an internship in China, so this is perfect.

“Sing to the Lord, oh my soul” ~Hillsong

Praise the Lord on High! I had the opportunity on Saturday to sing with several of the girls. I taught them ‘Lean on Me’ and they absolutely loved it! All of the children have an incredible sense of rhythm. I realized that they did not understand the concept of harmony, so I began with the basics and brought out “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music. I had to explain what a deer was… I should have likened it to an antelope, but I said, “it’s like a skinny goat or cow.” haha After that crash course, we had fun as I taught them the chorus, “Waves of mercy, waves of grace” along with the motions. They were absolutely thrilled to have some choreography. I am going to enhance the music program this week and try to begin making a structured schedule so that the children will begin to have a specified time devoted to music. I think I will alternate days between teaching basic rhythm and notes on the few recorders that are here and teaching new songs. Oh, and I sang “Amazing Grace” while walking down the streets of Uganda with Irene, which is one of the orphans who is now in secondary school. It was a one of a kind experience. So amazing!! It appears that God did have a plan for my last second decision to become a music major J.

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” ~Psalm 139:14

Before dinner on the first day, Ken took us to the orphanage for a welcome ceremony. As we pulled up in the truck, all 80 children charged us. They immediately began telling us all of their names and wanted to know ours. At New Hope, all of the volunteers and staff are referred to as ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle,’ so now I am Aunt Hayley all of the time. I know it is cliché, but it was an overwhelming experience to be so lovingly accepted by so many adoring children. I feel for the first time that I have seen true exuberant joy when I see these children. We were herded into a room, which I later learned is used for church on Sundays and chapel on Wednesdays, where the children proceeded to welcome us with song and dance! The African Children’s Choir has nothing on these little ones! J Seriously though, they are so amazing. Even the smallest of the children dance better than anyone I’ve ever seen. One of the tiniest boys, Ashraph, captured my full attention as I watched his face light up as he sang and danced. Every time he would see me smile at him, he would get shy and smirk! Ah, he has stolen my heart! This is why I have felt pulled to Uganda for so long. To see the joy that exudes from these children greatly overshadows any of the petty complaints that I may have about being away from the comforts of home.

Talk to you all soon! May God bless you!!