The Nile

One of my long time dreams came true Tuesday, when I actually got to take a boat ride on the Nile! I even put my hands in this historic, ancient river. It was beautiful and so peaceful there. Since it was a Tuesday, it was pretty quiet. What an adventure getting to and from there, though!

We got to the taxi park in Kampala at about 10:30 in the morning and found the bus going to Jinja (which is where the source of the Nile is). The bus was almost full by the time we got on it so I had to cram into the back seat with three other people while Raquel had to sit in one of the pull down seats in the middle of the aisle (the least comfortable place to be). At least I was by the window, which is good for the trip but bad for the taxi park. It was so hot that we were all sweating just sitting there so I had to leave the window open. Unfortunately, when you do this in a taxi park, hundreds of people come by trying to shove their goods on you to buy. You can buy anything from water to shoes to biscuits to table linens. If you're a mzungu, you're even more of a target, so I had the happy task of trying to get rid of these pushy guys as they came by my window. Some of them started getting more aggressive as time went on. One guy asked me if I wanted water. I said no. Then he shoved the water bottle through the window, into my face, asking I would buy it. I gently pushed it away and firmly said "no." You know what he did? He shoved me! Unbelievable! I was so done at that point. Thank goodness the bus was starting to move at that time. We had sat there for a half hour before leaving the taxi park.

So, then I had a small boy, maybe 1 year old, sitting on his mama's lap next to me. He gave me the evil eye pretty much the entire trip. He also felt it necessary to throw food at me. Fun. Three hours later, we arrived in Jinja. Thank God. Then we had the fun task of throwing off all the boda drivers who hounded us the second we got off the bus. We went into the gas station nearby and asked them where to go and how much a boda ride should be. Then we found a driver and asked him to take us to the source of the Nile. He asked for 2500. I told him 2000. He said 2500. I turned to the boda driver next to him and asked him if HE would take us or 2000. Before he could respond, our boda driver said, "Ok, let's go". haha, that meant he'd take us for 2000. Good negotiating skills, huh? :)

Once we got to the Nile, it was so peaceful, we felt like it was a welcome respite from the crazy taxi ride. Hardly anyone was there, being that it was a Tuesday afternoon. (Except for some school kids on field trips, who asked for pictures with us.) We ate lunch at a little restaurant overlooking the Nile. It was all outdoor seating, with a thatched roof for shelter. We had chicken and chips. Then we decided to take a boat ride on the Nile. It was only about a 20 minute ride but it was so amazing to be floating on the Nile! Our driver took us to Lake Victoria then back down the Nile. The source of the Nile is Lake Victoria and the river flows all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. It takes four months for it to get from Uganda to Egypt. Crazy!

After our boat ride, we were ready to go, knowing that our ride would be another 3 hours and we really needed to be back before dark. We got to the taxi park and were very pleased to have our pick of seats. We sat in the back, together, next to the window and the taxi filled up so fast that we were able to leave by 3:30pm. A few hours later, however, we stopped due to brake problems and had to wait for another taxi to come along and pick us up. We didn't get back to the city until 7 pm. Once we got to Kampala, the city was more of a zoo than usual. Traffic was bumper to bumper. It was dark by this time and we were ready to get home, especially after the happenings of the night before in front of our house (I'll tell you that story in a minute). We kept inching closer and closer to the taxi park but not very quickly. At about 7:15, the taxi stopped and the driver told everyone to get out. Raquel and I didn't know exactly where we were so we wanted to move fast and get a boda driver asap. We asked the first one we saw to take us home. We didn't even haggle over the price. We got on and received the ride of our lives. He raced through traffic so fast we felt like we were going to fall off. He sped between cars so we felt like we might lose a limb. He almost hit a taxi and almost hit a bus. We had to stop short a few times. By the time we got to Sanyu, we were shaking from all of the adrenaline and had to drag ourselves up the stairs to safety. The next day we found out exactly why the city was such a madhouse. Apparently, there had been a strike at the car parts shops, which are located next to the taxi park. There were fires and riots. They were burning tires so even driving through the city for the next few day, we came back with black soot all over our faces.

The next day, when we walked down that street, the asphalt was black from the fires. We were lucky that e were dropped off so far away from all of that craziness. These last few days have been really interesting. On Monday night, a woman was robbed on the street in frott of our house. It was about 8:30 at night and it was RIGHT in front of our house. We heard her screaming and ran out to see what had happened. She must have screamed for 15 or 20 minutes. She had been walking by herself down the dark street and someone had come out of the bushes and stole her purse from her. She was in shock so she kept screaming. It was unnerving, to say the least. We had 7 pm curfew anyway but now we saw why. This is a street that we take home every night, too. Then, this morning, we saw one of the volunteers who stays at Sanyu and she was all scraped up and a mess. She was hit by a boda driver the day before. This city is insane! Thank God we have been kept safe and are leaving soon. Keep hose prayers coming!

Well, I'd love to share more about our week's adventures but I have to go now to the slum program. I won't be able to access internet again until I get back home (unless I get to when we're in London). These next few days will be crazy anyway, with the stuff we'll be doing. Today is our last day at the slum program, last day with the babies. Tomorrow is our last day at Ssenge with the boys and Sunday we ship out to Queen Elizabeth Park. It's a 7 hour bus ride so we'll travel that day and stay at a hostel that night and Monday night. We have a 2-3 hour game drive on Monday through the park then we get on a bus again on Tuesday for Entebbe. We are staying with a pastor and his wife in their guest house that night since it is close to the airport. They will drive us to the airport the next day then we fly to London an have a 19 hour layover. Wear going to stay in a hostel in Piccadilly Circus that night but we probably won't sleep much. We want to see the city! I'm so grateful that I'm with my adventurous friend. Then we fly home on Thursday! I can't believe it. It feels like w are on our journey home already and yet there is still so much going on that we won't be resting by any means. Anyway, I wish I could blog more this week but I will definitely update everyone when I return. So, look for updates next week! Love you all.

God's blessings in Uganda

It's amazing to see how dramatically God has changed my heart during the last few days. I can't begin to describe to you how AWESOME this last week has been and how HAPPY I am to be here. I'm finally at the point where I get excited about each day and feel like my heart is here and not a thousand miles away. I will miss these amazing kids and friends I have made while here. I can't believe how quickly these last few days are flying by. What a blessing. The slum program has been so much fun lately. The neighborhood kids have been coming arund so there are a lot of little ones to play with. That's what I love. It's a disappointment that not more of our street kids are coming yet but, with time, I believe they will.

I have become especially attached to one little girl at the slum program, Martha. She's probably about 4 and she lives in a house next door to the church. She latched on to me riht away on Friday anmd I sat with her and colored with her and carried here around all afternoon. She even fell asleep on my lap towards the end, which was the most amazing moment. It made me want to be a mom someday. At the end, when it came time to leave, I went to put Martha down, and he said, in english, "No". She grabbed on to me so tight, it was hard to get her down. Once I did, she wrapped her arms around my legs and wouldn't let me go. She held on to me so tightly, that I had a really hard time trying to get away. By then, the whole team had left and I was having such a tough time getting away. It was the most traumatic goodbye I've ever experienced. She cried and cried. Finally, George came back to get me and tell her in Lugandan that we had to go and would be back on Monday. I cried. It was incredibly emotional. On Monday, she found me right away and we still spent most of the afternoon together but \I me much more of an effort to spend time with lots of different kids at the same time. It helped ans she actually played with the other kids this time. She was more involved with others and when it came time to leave she was able to wave goodbye to me, rather than cry. She is in the pictures below. The one where I am holding her, I am standing next to Martin, one of the leaders of Voice of Hope, an organization that works with African Hearts to get kids off of the streets.


We have experienced so much in the last few days that I can't begin to describe it all to you. We had an awesome church experience on Sunday. We went out to Ssenge to go to church with the boys. It's in a rural area, so the building has four walls and a roof but no doors and open windows. We got there a little late and everyone got up and gave us their chairs. It was embarrassing but such a friendly, welcoming gesture in their culture. There were maybe a hundred people crammed into the small space. They had awesome worship. They sang acapella, except for a drum, and they DANCED the whole time. I had such a blast. It was fun to be with the boys there. They sang a song and I felt like a proud mother. I just look at where they are now and am amazed at what God has done. They are the sweetest, smartest boys I know. At that moment, I knew that this is why we came here. These boys didn't need money to be saved, they needed love, a safe place to live, healthy role models, and lots of hugs. When I look at the incredible role models they have in these men who call themselves their "uncles", I see how blessed these boys are. These guys don't just take care of their physical needs like food and beds. They sit down on the floor and color with them, they play soccer with them, they hug them, they talk to them, they show love to these boys that is rare. These boys adore their uncles and I can't think of better men for them to look up to. They show these boys who Jesus is in every sense. Although, Raquel and i play a small part in this, I can see so clearly how only 6 months of love has built the self esteem of these kids. Giving them worth and showing them that do have so much to offer is huge! Being here and showing them that is so important If I can reach one boy and Raquel another, and so on and so on, as volunteers come, that is something to praise God for!

New slum program

Well, I found out a little more of Shafique's [pictured above] story on Wednesday. We all headed toward town to get lunch but we passed through the slums on our way. Of course, a few of the kids saw us so they walked with us for blocks, until we got to the restaurant. Shafique was one of them. Once we got to the restaurant, the boys stopped at the top of the stairs as we walked in. We had to turn around and convince them it was ok to come in with us and have lunch. Four boys came with us and you should have seen how big their eyes got when they looked at the menu to choose what they wanted. Each boy got a huge plate of food. We gave them our leftovers to take home, too. They were smiling so big that day, especially Shafique. It turns out that he has only been on the streets for a month. No wonder he still has some innocence about him. He ran away because his mom left him and his father beat him. It's the most common story you'll hear in this city (or in most of Africa, for that matter). He comes from a village about 6 hours drive north of here so I'm not sure why he ended up coming here but he did and now African Hearts is working on ways to get him off the streets. It was encouraging to hear Abby talk about their goals since we haven't been able to see the program in full effect yet.

Due to the disintegration of the previous slum program, they had to start over and I didn't know exactly what it would look like. She said that they had a program that involved literacy, food, medicine, and Bible stories. They were able to invite the government, as well as other NGOs to come observe their program and partner with them. This allowed them to get more kids off of the streets and into school than African Hearts alone could do. This is what they are starting to implement again. It is encouraging to know that Raquel and I are in the right place at the right time. We are actually going to be able to help them implement this program while we are here. So, we are making a difference. We had our first meeting in our new place on Wednesday. It's an outside shelter, next to a church. The church is providing it for us, as well as a locker to put medical supplies and things we'll need.

Today is our first official day of starting the program. Wednesday, we kept it simple and had the kids color and draw. They loved it!


One boy in particular was so adorable. I handed him paper and crayons and he kept saying something to me in Lugandan and wouldn't take it. I asked Collins to translate. He said that the boy, Robert, didn't know how to draw. Collins told me to teach him. Yeah, like I know how to draw. I drew a simple house. He took the paper from me and colored it in. Then he asked me to draw something else for him to color in. He was sooo proud of that drawing, let me tell you! Look at that adorable smile!About 5 new people came 2 days ago so we are all working with the street kids together. These people will be here until next week, same as Raquel and I. I love our new team. They are all so awesome! There's a retired grandma who came, who is so sweet. I love that she travels to other countries in her retirement to work with kids! Anyway, so today, each of us on the team is responsible for something different. Some people will do games, some art, some songs, and Raquel and I a Bible lesson. Fun! I'm excited for the first time to be going! I also feel really good this morning for the first time in a week. I slept most of yesterday so I missed a lot. I'm grateful to be back in the game. I am still eager to be home but I am counting the days we have left and trying to be excited about each event we have planned.

I just want to tell you all thank you so much or your comments and constant encouragement for me while I've been here. It's helped so much. Some days I have felt a thousand miles away from God and I have felt spiritually attacked on all sides. Your encouragement and prayers has made an impact. Yesterday, I sat on my bed and listened to worship songs on my ipod for the first time since I've been here and just worshiped my amazing God. It was a breakthrough for me and has given me the light spirit I have today. Thank you for your prayers in getting me to that point. Praise God for His constant goodness!

Another day...

I'm sorry about my fragmented blog last time. I had only 20 minutes to write it and no time to edit afterwards. I'll have to keep this one short, too, but I wanted to give you a little background on where I am since my last blog was more about what I've been doing. The people here are amazing- friendly, beautiful, and welcoming. The women here have got to be the most gorgeous in the world. Their skin is flawless and they are all done up so beautifully- hair and make up immaculate, dressed in their best. It is a city so I guess it's not surprising that people dress better here than in the rural areas. :)
The food has been really good- beans, rice, pineapple, beef, peas, chapati (extra thick tortillas- Raquel and I are hooked on these already), and bread.
I also wanted to give you a little background on African Hearts, the organization we are working with. It was started by four Ugandan guys in their 20's, who wanted to get kids off of the streets and to safety and a better way of life. These are the most amazing guys I have ever had the privilege to meet. They are strong, full of life and joy, and full of a desire to make a difference in their country and to these kids. The organization is comprised completely of people in their 20's. I was incredibly impressed by that. They are an inspiration to me.
Well, yesterday we got a day of rest, which was much needed. We went to church in the morning. The first service was at 8 am for kids from the streets. Watching the sing praise to God in their native language really moved me. Then when the pastor taught the lesson, most of the kids just laid their heads on the table and slept. Jess told me that this was a good sign that they felt safe here enough to do that and no one was going to interfere with that. If they wanted to sleep, they could. I love that.
We went to the regular church service after that. It was so American. I admit that I was a little disappointed but was also grateful that I understood what the pastor said and could sing along with the songs. :)

Well, that's it for now. We go to the slums today so I'll have lots to tell you tomorrow. Love you all and hoe to hear from you soon. I miss everyone!