"Your grace beyond reason has paid for our freedom, we're made alive in You." ~Hillsong
July 2-13
This past weekend, Sarah and Kiahana left for Jinja to visit the Jewish tribe that lives there. Jeffrey also joined the rest of his UNC interns in Jinja, where they rafted the Nile, while he rode a four-wheeler alongside. Amy and I decided to stay in Busia, and it turned out to be such a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. On Saturday morning, the two of us decided to make pancakes and scrambled eggs for everyone. Amy knows how to make pancake batter from scratch, so while she was busy mixing away, I cracked the eggs. It’s so interesting how normal it seems to me to cook everything outdoors with chickens strutting around my feet. It was extremely fun! Everyone, except for Amy and I, likes their eggs barely brown, so they thought that Amy and I were crazy for all but burning our eggs. Uncle Ken’s two sons, Jordan and Elijah, go to school near their grandmother’s home about an hour away, and they periodically visit on the weekends. They arrived on Friday evening, and it was so hilarious to see how they approached the pancakes on their plates. We cut them into bite-sized pieces and sprinkled sugar and pieces of bananas on top. The closest thing to pancakes in Uganda is chapatti, so naturally the older Elijah now calls pancakes, the “chapatti of the US.” It was very interesting to see how everyone ate all of their eggs and bananas before they ventured to taste the pancakes. I guess I’m not the only picky eater. haha Once they tasted them, they were definitely a hit though. On days when the sun is out, Amy and I will lay out for a spell after lunch, which is such a common activity in my mind. Everyone around the house and the children that visit Uncle Ken’s house can find no good reason why anyone would want to ‘sleep in the sun.’ On several occasions, we have been asked if we are sick, and my favorite response from Irene was “I will pray for you.” They honestly have no idea why we would want our skin to be darker. It’s so interesting to see how small a thing such as skin color can differentiate amongst cultures. On Saturday night, I took Happy Feet over for the children at New Hope to watch after dinner. I often wonder how much of the language they pick up on from the movies that volunteers show them, because they always laugh at the most interesting parts. The day after they watch a movie, Olivia and several of the other girls will reiterate their favorite parts. It is so hilarious to see how they interpret the movies, but I am overjoyed that they truly light up when they are recounting a storyline. Sunday afternoon, Amy and I decided to explore one of the side roads near the orphanage, and ended up going on a two-hour excursion through some of the most beautiful Ugandan countryside that I have seen yet. We came upon the secondary school that the New Hope children attend after P7, barely escaped death by a herd of cows and almost forgot the way home because all of the dirt roads started to look the same. It was an amazing walk though, as we reflected on all that God had been doing over the past few weeks and discussed C.S. Lewis, Beth Moore and Francine Rivers. I am chopping at the bit to be able to read “Redeeming Love” and “Captivating” when I return home. I truly thank God for allowing all of us volunteers to get along so well. I have learned so much from all of them, and am already dreading the next two weeks where we will all have to say our goodbyes.
I must admit that I am becoming spoiled. This past Thursday, Amy and I discovered that a pineapple is only 1000 shillings, which is the equivalent of about 40¢. This is the same price as one apple here, so you can imagine our excitement! Since then, we have purchased one everyday for dinner. Thus far in my twenty years, I have never tasted such a fresh fruit, and it's so much fun to cut. My favorite part is the slice from the bottom, because it’s the juiciest in my opinion. I will greatly miss this treat when I go home, because let's face it, pineapples don't fare too well growing in Belmont. :) On Monday evening, Uncle Ken and Aunt Susan returned from visiting their daughter in Jinja, and brought a truckload of pineapples, bananas, maize, mangoes, rice and jackfruit for New Hope. It was as if it were Christmas morning to see the look of excitement on all of the children’s faces. Jackfruit is perhaps the largest fruit that I’ve ever seen. It’s slightly larger than a watermelon, and has the consistency of a slimy wax. I finally overcame my fear of the texture and tasted a piece at dinner that night, and I must say the flavor is absolutely divine. Jackfruit tastes like a cross between strawberry-kiwi and a citrus fruit, although it’s not tangy or bitter whatsoever. It would make a wonderful juice, except for the fact that it has no juice at all. I wish I could bring one back to everyone, but I don’t think the airport would appreciate that. It’s quite interesting to see how my cravings for food have changed since I’ve been here. My first few weeks, I wanted Coke and Snickers terribly, and now I’ve gotten into the habit of eating an apple for both lunch and dinner, devouring peanut butter and of course my pineapple.
“How can I keep from singing Your praise?” ~Chris Tomlin
Yesterday was a great day. As I went to have my music lesson with Olivia, she informed me that Uncle Mark wanted to learn the songs that she has learned too. Uncle Mark is the one who investigates a child's living condition when they are being considered to live at New Hope, and he is so good with the kids. After Olivia had to return to class, we spent the next half hour singing “Shout Unto God” and “The Same Power” by Hillsong. It was actually precious, because he said he had always wanted to learn how to sing. Later that afternoon, Olivia and I reconvened, and soon after Uncle Mark joined. He handed me a notebook and asked if I would be wiling to write down the lyrics to the songs we had worked o, as well as the artist. He said that he hopes to sing in church one day. I think this definitely put into perspective just how blessed I am to have gown up with such a strong presence of music around me. From playing the piano with Grandpa guiding my fingers, to singing in various choirs and in church, I have always had music. I hope that I never take for granted just how precious a gift it has been to have such incredible teachers throughout my life. I pray that I will be able to adequately serve Olivia and Uncle Mark over the next two weeks, and help them as much as possible in their endeavors to learn ‘music.’
During my math lesson with P6 yesterday afternoon, I had an epiphany. I have been teaching them about one cheer a week since I have been here, and they eat it up. It is so refreshing to see them take a break from their rigorous academic schedule to have fun. I have them for two hours straight yesterday, which I think it way too long for a 12-year old, let alone me, to pay attention. I made a pact with them that if they wanted to, the Monday before I leave they could have a performance of all of the cheers they have learned. An eruption of excitement broke out among all of them as I lead them outside for fresh air. Last week, I promised to teach them a dance, so I taught them one of my short sideline basketball dances. I think I could have literally just stood there and clapped my hands for 4 eight counts and they would have been satisfied, because I have never seen a group of students so eager to learn a dance before. I had taken them behind the pig house at the far end of the orphanage so we wouldn’t distract any of the other classes. My efforts were in vain, because soon there were little heads that kept poking around the corners to see what P6 was learning. They convinced me to take our lesson into the old resource center, in hopes of keeping this a secret. I cannot wait to give you all a full synopsis of their performance in a week and a half.
I now have an update on the sewing course. After deciding to just wait on Uncle Ken to return to bring up the sewing course, because he spends most of the week doing advocacy work promoting children's safety in Kaliro, I received a response about the supplies yesterday. Uncle Ken requested funds for the various supplies, and was turned down for the time being. I know that if it were meant for me to teach sewing, then it would work out. I believe that this may actually be an answered prayer though, because most of the women could not speak English. In my final two weeks here at New Hope, I am going to draft up specific directions for operating the machines and create a few simple projects that a beginner can easily pick up on. After I make sure that the directions are easy to understand, I am going to have one of the adults on staff here translate it into Luganda. This way, whenever the supplies are made available, they will have directions in their native tongue that the women can easily access. Please pray that the women who applied for the course will not be too disappointed that they were not able to begin as soon as we all had hoped. I am leaving it in God’s hands, and going to do my absolute best to come up with lessons that will hopefully equip the women with the basics skills that will bring in more income.
“I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.” ~Psalm 77:11
I am ecstatic about this week in my Bible study. I have timed it so that my last study will be my last night here, and oh, how God is using each week’s topic to pertain to my daily life. This week’s study is entitled “Believing God Has Been There All Along,” and it focuses on remembering God’s presence in your life from birth instead of dwelling on painful and destructive memories. I must admit that I am approaching it as putting unto paper my safari, which you will remember is Swahili for ‘journey,’ with God thus far in my life. Beth has structured it so that each day’s Faith Journal section will focus on a certain fifth of your life. The first day was naturally the first fifth, in my case from birth to four years old, and she had me describe my spiritual heritage and how God used my extended family to influence my beliefs. It seems like one would obviously remember how, as a toddler, your family influenced many of your behaviors, but by the end of my Faith Journal I was in tears. It was incredible to recount how God placed such wonderful grandparents in my life to mold and shape my climate of faith. I cannot remember a time when Grandpa, Grandma or Mawmaw weren’t praying with me, for me or engraining me with Christian values. I am so incredibly blessed to have had a stable support system from birth. I cannot wait to continue down this safari and recount all of the Godstops along the way. Back to God’s impeccable timing, this past Saturday, Barbara handed me a letter. This is very typical to receive from New Hope children, but this letter was quite different than the rest. She is honestly one of my best math students in P6, but she wrote me asking if I could explain how she could “know math like I do.” I wrote her back saying that I could make her study guides for each day, and her response completely astounded me. She said she would love study guides, but she went on to say how I have helped her forget the death of her father. Later that day, I received yet another letter from Barbara, only this time it wasn’t addressed to me, but my family. She asked me to give it to them upon my return, and it explains her story and how she ended up at New Hope. I did not expect this whatsoever, because it’s not very often that the children volunteer information about their traumatic experiences. She has faithfully been doing the study guides, and she seems so full of joy now that she has opened up to me. I pray that I will be able to love her as Christ would have me to, and point her to Him. I hope to be able to share with her scriptures from my Bible study this week, so she will be able to recall Godstops in her past. He is always faithful, and I just pray that she will be able to feel His presence in her daily life. Please pray that I will be able to be a beacon of light to Barbara over the next two weeks, and that she will grow closer in her walk with Christ. These children never cease to amaze me. I do believe that I’m going to hold American children to the New Hope standard when I return because they are simply extraordinary from their manners to their selflessness. I will never forget them as long as I am still alive.
I cannot wait to see all of you! You are in my prayers! May you reflect God's faithfulness in your life this week! You will be astounded as the Holy Spirit reveals memories to you.
Love and miss you!
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