Pictures, Videos, and Stories

So, I figured I'd better add pictures and videos to this thing so it's not so boring :)

The video is from the room I usually work in while at Watoto--the toddler room. They are so cute. Sorry the video is sideways, but just tilt your head a bit and you'll be fine :) The pictures are of 1) Me and Daniel (sooo cute) 2) Me and Mercy (sooooo cute!) 3) Lake Victoria 4) A premature baby at Watoto 5) The front yard of the house I stay at in Buziga.
Pictures from rafting, and video or pictures of the house will be coming soon!

6-26-12
Today I’ve been in Uganda exactly 3 weeks. That seems crazy. In one way it feels like I’ve been here for a lot longer, and in another way I feel like three weeks flew by. I’ve met so many cool people while I’ve been here, and last night was the first time I had to say goodbye to one of those people. Caylin left at around 7:30 last night, and we found out only minutes before she left that we wouldn’t be able to go with her to the airport as we had previously thought. We were all pretty bummed out. Caylin was like the mother in the house, part of that might be because she was the oldest one in the house (26), but it was also because of how she took care of everyone—no wonder why she’s so good at being a nurse. And in a couple of days the majority of my remaining roommates will be moving to a town several hours away from Buziga—some I may not see before they head back home.
I’ve also seen and learned a lot of things about Ugandan culture since I’ve been here, some good and some not so good. The other day on the way to work Rebecca, Anna, and I saw a man being led down the street by a group of people. The man was naked except for a loincloth type thing a couple people were holding over his front side. The people around him were all carrying sticks, and even though I was pretty sure I knew what was going on, when we got to Watoto we asked one of the nannies what that scene was all about. She confirmed what I had thought. The man was more than likely a thief. The crowd was humiliating him by leading him around the town virtually naked, then they would beat him with sticks, and ultimately they would burn him. Yes, burn him alive. Just typing that fills me with so many emotions—sadness, anger, confusion, fear.
It seems so backwards to me that this man’s fate should be left up to an angry mob. When I first saw the man, and guessed what was going to happen to him, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what. I couldn’t have stopped it. So a few minutes later I prayed for him. I prayed that he wouldn’t be afraid (because I’m sure he knew what his fate would be), I prayed that the mob would have mercy on him, and I don’t even know what else I prayed. Since I saw that a few days ago I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I had heard a while ago that thieves were beaten and sometimes burned, but it was different actually seeing that man in person from the window of the taxi. I saw a man who was alive and well, and I knew that by the end of the day he would most likely me dead. That kind of information does something to you, I can’t really explain it. Part of me wishes I would’ve seen his face, but part of me is glad I didn’t. If I had I don’t know if I’d ever be able to forget it.
While that is certainly the most difficult thing I’ve had to deal with since being in Uganda there are so many more things that bring be joy in being here. The faces, smiles and love of the orphans at Watoto, the worship and passion of the people at church, the wisdom and care of my roommates, the joy and strength of the people here. Like everywhere there are good and bad things about Uganda, and I know God is going to teach me things through both.

6-27-12
Tonight me and a bunch of my roomies went to see a Ugandan dance troupe. From7-9:45pm we watched a group of young adults perform traditional African dances. It was SO cool! Right now my roommates and I are swapping photos and videos before the majority of them move to Gulu tomorrow afternoon. They leave at 2pm (while Anna and I are at work), so tonight is our last night together, and probably the last time I’ll see some of them. I can’t believe it’s been nearly a month that I’ve been in Uganda. I can’t believe all that has happened and what I’ve learned already. I’m so blessed by all of the experiences I’ve been able to have, and I have loved being able to experience and share those things with my roommates. It’s so cool to live with people from such different backgrounds, upbringings, and cultures. It’s great to learn and grow in that kind of environment.
So, since we’re all swapping photos you know what that means right?? I’m finally going to add photos and videos to my blog! Yay!! J There will be thing from the Babies Home, Rafting (eventually), and things from the Dance Troupe, and maybe some photos of my roomies and house. I need to take more photos of the house I’m staying in now, I’m sure it’s nothing like what people are expecting—it’s gorgeous! I would also love to take photos of Kampala and what I see on my drive/walk to work, but it’s complicated with taking pictures as a white person in the city. A lot of people in the city don’t like their photos taken, especially from a mzungu (white person). But maybe if/when I get sent to the country I’ll be able to give you all a taste of African life from a non-mzungu point of view.
Today before the Dance Troupe a couple of us went to a craft market and looked at possible souvenirs to bring home. There are so many things, and I have no idea what to get people!! But I did find a present for my sister—right when I saw it I thought of her. So that’s one down…about 6 to go J I have ideas for everyone (except my dad, go figure), but it’s actually finding the time and spending the money on them. But I think I should get the souvenirs while I have money—I don’t want to wait until the end of my trip and end up getting everyone a key chain.

6-29-12
Yesterday was an interesting day. I spent the morning part of my shift helping out in the special needs room. My first day at Baby Watoto I spent in the special needs room, but at that time I was so overwhelmed by the needs of the children it just stressed me out. Yesterday, however, I loved being in that room. I’m not used to being around children with such intensive needs, but I don’t know, yesterday in that room was so life giving. I wasn’t afraid, stressed out, or overwhelmed like at first—it was a very life giving experience actually. A couple of the boys in there (Elisha and Christian) I am always tempted to steal and bring home with me, they are SO adorable!! I took a video of all of the boys in that room, and hopefully I’ll be able to post it soon. After I was in the special needs room for a while I moved in the corridor of the Babies Home and played with a couple girls, Christine and Comfort. Christine is a 4 year old girl who is severely malnourished—you wouldn’t be able to tell she’s 4. It was my second day playing with those two girls and yesterday when I had to leave from playing with them Christine started to scream/cry. It was so horrible—I hated leaving her. When I tried to go back quickly and comfort her she just lifted up her arms and wanted me to pick her up, ugh, it broke my heart. Maybe I’ll steal her too.
In the afternoon part of my shift, after a break and lunch, I was asked to go to the hospital called The Surgery and stay with another volunteer that was looking after a couple babies that were at The Surgery for treatment. I was at the hospital from around 3:30-6pm. One of the babies needed a chest tube put in and the other needed a blood transfusion. The baby who needed the transfusion (Timothy) is a premature baby though, and the doctors much have tried to put a line in him at least a dozen times, but his veins are so small they could never get in. That poor boy had such a rough time, and by the time I left they still hadn’t gotten a vein to work. Being at the hospital was quite tiring because a lot of the time was spent just sitting around and waiting for people to come by and help or check up on the babies. It makes me really thankful for the medical system we have in the States, although for Uganda this hospital is considered one of the top ones.
A fun thing that happened yesterday is that I got a call from one of my best friends in the whole world! It was so amazing to get to talk with her on the phone for a half hour or so and get caught up on how her life is going and tell her some things about what I’m experiencing here in Uganda. The only bad thing is it made me miss her more and made me wish she were here with me J But it was such a blessing to hear from her! And next week I think I’ll be getting the chance to talk with a couple more friends (plus family) and I CAN WAIT!! Talking to people from back home makes me feel more like myself. Since I’ve been here I feel like I’m not as funny, sarcastic, or crazy as normal just because I’m living with people I don’t know that well. But hearing from people from back home and remembering what I’m like back home allows more of the real me to come out here, which I love!
I’m definitely feeling a lot more comfortable here in Uganda. I’m getting over the culture shock more and more each day, and working in and getting around in a city even seems more normal. Living in the house here in Buziga is starting to feel like home, I think it helps knowing that I’ll be here for another month so I can settle in more and get more comfortable. Maybe it’s the ability to communicate with people on Facebook now too that makes things seem more normal, I don’t know J But I am enjoying feeling less out of place than I did in the beginning.
Today Anna and I had a day off so we, and Anna’s friend Julie, went to Speke Resort near our apartment. We paid 20,000 Ugandan Shillings (around $8) to lay out in the sun, and use the swimming pool and showers. After a few hours of that we headed back to our apartment and made lunch. We made fried rice and green beans. It may have been the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been here. Julie showed me how to do the rice in a new way and I think I will cook my rice like that from now on, and Anna just fried the beans in a skillet. But I haven’t had green beans in so long I inhaled them so quickly—they were delicious!! It’s such a cheap meal, but it was SO good. After that we had pineapple, a bit of coffee cake Anna got from the market down the road, and coffee. It was such a nice day off, relaxing and hanging out with friend and eating some good food. I also did laundry for the first time since I’ve been here—quite an accomplishment! I’m so thankful we have a washing machine, and then I just hung my clothes over the banister of our balcony to dry. I think I’ll actually fold my clothes and put them in the wardrobe in my room instead of living out of my suitcase like I have been for the last 3.5 weeks. I also think I’m going to take a video of our apartment and give you all a tour of where we live and post it. It’s VERY nice!!

The Adventures Continue

6-19-12
Yesterday I started reading The Hunger Games and I’m already on page 222,and I plan on reading a bit more before I go to bed tonight. This is the first fiction book I’ve read in years; I’m loving it! Yesterday I also realized that my debit card wasn’t working in the ATMs here in Uganda, and I’m still trying to figure out why. I’m starting to freak out about how I’m going to manage my finances while I’m over here, but I’m also trying to remember that God has it all under control, and I just need to trust Him. But worrying is one of my biggest downfalls. Hopefully it’ll all get sorted where my card will work, but if worse comes to worse there’s always Western Union. Today at the Babies Home I had my “initiation”…which means it was finally my turn for a baby to throw up on me. I wasn’t in the Babies Home for five minutes when Daniel (legitimately one of the cutest babies on the planet) puked all over me…all down my dress. I was stunned, I’d never had anyone throw up on me, and I didn’t know what to do. So I just laughed, change Daniel, changed into extra scrubs the nannies had, and clean up the area where my initiation took place. All in all, it wasn’t too bad—I mean, vomit didn’t get anywhere near my face or skin really, just on my dress, thank God! Being in Uganda is starting to feel more normal, which I think is helping my homesickness and ability to settle/feel comfortable here in Uganda.

6-20-12
Tomorrow my roommates and I are going white water rafting…there’s 10 of us in all. I’ve just finished packing up what I’ll be needing for the day tomorrow, and my roommates are around me finishing up their packing. We need to be at the end of our road by 6am tomorrow morning to meet the taxi that will take us to where the shuttle bus will meet to take us to the Nile where we’ll be rafting. We won’t get back to Buziga (the town where we’re staying) until late tomorrow night, around 9 or so. We’re all getting really excited and a bit nervous, but some of our friends/temporary roommates who went rafting recently have reassured us that the rafting trip is well organized and quite safe.
Tonight 12 of us were in our apartment; 8 people who actually live here (including me), and 2 married couples (one pair from Norway and the other from Australia). It was a really fun night, we all sat around the table (which only has 10 chairs) and ate “pork”—it’s just pork, but it’s a rarity to get it here and it’s quite delicious…it’s famous among my roomies. Tonight wasn’t the best batch, but it was great to have some real meat!! Although it’s nothing like what my papa makes back home, it was DELICIOUS. My parents would have been proud—I sucked the bones dry J I’m also just a hundred pages or so from being finished with The Hunger Games and I’m wondering if I can buy the other two while I’m here; I’m addicted J
Today was exciting for another reason as well—I GOT AN ATM TO WORK!!! Well, God got an ATM to work. Part of me was telling myself to just trust God and not worry about it, that He would provide for me and work all things out. But there’s another big part of me that just stressed out about it and thought of the worst-case-scenarios over and over. It’s easy to trust God to provide for you after He’s done so, after you see that He actually does it, but in the moments when you need to trust the unseen it’s so hard! It’s something I really want to work on; trusting the Lord in ALL circumstances and knowing He’ll work all things out for my good on His timing. Stressing out and worrying about things I can’t control does nothing but increase my heart rate and make me irritable and frustrated. I’m SO unbelievably thankful that God has given me a way to access money so easily while in Uganda, and it came at the PERFECT time…go figure. Well I better get to bed, I have an early start tomorrow.

6-21-12
Rafting was AMAZING!! All 10 of us left the apartment at 6am and got into our Matatu (taxi) which delivered us straight to the location we had to get on the rafting bus at. At 7:15ish the rafting bus left Kampala and at around 9am we arrived at the rafting station near the city Jinja. After we paid, got some tea, and general information about rafting we all got onto another vehicle (kind-of like the ducks from Wisconsin Dells, but on wheels) and traveled about 45 minutes to Jinja—the town we began our journey on the Nile in. Once we got down to the water we received general safety information/instruction, we then split into groups into 3 separate rafts (there were other rafters along as well). In my boat were six girls I live with and 2 guides. We hopped into our respective rafts and got some hands on training before we hit the rapids. We learned how to paddle properly, what the guides’ instructions meant, how to jump into the raft after we fell out, and loads of other things. I felt pretty prepared, and was getting quite excited, and nervous—the adrenaline was definitely going!
There were 8 rapids total ranging from grade 1 (not major) to a grade 5 (pretty stinkin’ serious). We did 4 rapids in the morning, then had a lunch break on the river, and then finished up the last 4 rapids by 3:30. We were on the Nile from approximately 10am to 3:30pm, and the only thing that got burned were my thighs, quite an accomplishment! The first couple rapids were exciting, but nothing that made us flip or fall overboard. The third one was the grade 5—that one kicked my butt. Throughout the day I fell out of the raft a total of I think 5 times—5 of 8 rapids I fell off of, but nothing was as bad as that grade 5! When I fell out of the raft I was either hit with waves, had the boat on top of me for a few seconds, or both. When I finally popped up out of the water it seemed like my lungs didn’t remember how to work; I had brief moments between waves were I could catch my breath, but it was like my lungs wouldn’t allow me to take full breaths, and then I was hit by another wave, and another. The grade 5 was the worst of this, and it seemed like the more I fell out of the raft the easier getting back to the raft was, or at least less scary.
Even though there were moments I was completely terrified, it was an INCREDIBLE experience and I’m SO glad I did it! I’m able to cross this off of my bucket list and will have some amazing photos and a video to remember the day by. The 10 of us split the cost for the photos and video and we each ended up paying 18,000 Ugandan Shillings which is equivalent to less than 10  US dollars—pretty sweet deal! After rafting the team had a meal ready and waiting for us, and then we got back on the “Wisconsin Dells  Duck Truck”, and then got on the rafting bus which would take us back to Kampala. About a half hour into the bus ride back I had to pee SOOOO bad, to the point where it hurt. It was 5:30 at the time, and we weren’t going to be back in Kampala until 7…and there was sure to be traffic. So I broke down and asked one of the other passengers to ask the driver if he could pull over so I could pee on the side of the road (I was in the back of the bus and couldn’t ask the driver myself). After I had asked the passenger to ask the driver about 5 other girls expressed their extreme interest in stopping as well. About 10 minutes after our request the driver pulled into a gas station (I honestly would’ve been fine popping a squat in the bushes at the side of the road, but I did appreciate the privacy the gas station offered). I ran with knees clenched together to where the lady said the toilet was, threw open the door, and had my first experience peeing in the hole in the ground—it’s not like an outhouse. I really didn’t care though, I had to go so bad I would’ve gone practically anywhere. We were off again in no time and arrived in Kampala at around 7pm, and then my roommates and I made the 20ish minute walk to “Taxi Park”, where all of the Matatus back to Buziga (where our apartment is) are. It was a little sketchy at times walking around the city as it was getting dark, but it was really nice having the 2 guys there with us. We got back to our apartment around 8:30. It was a full day, and tomorrow I have to work from 7-3:30. That’ll be interesting. But it was an amazing day full of fantastic memories!

6-22-12
I finished The Hunger Games today. I am officially addicted to the book, and I’m praying that the books stores in Kampala have the other two that I can buy. Today I stayed home from work because I wasn’t feeling that well, and I’m only now starting to feel better. Tonight was such a good/fun night. Most of my roommates and I got together in our living room and watched the Sound of Music. It was my first time seeing it (shocking, I know). I feel like if I ever see it again back home I’ll always think of tonight in Uganda with my roommates. Halfway through the movie though the power in our apartment went off—the power in Uganda is rationed so at random points during most days power goes out. Power outages can range from several minutes, to hours, and even days. Tonight it lasted about an hour or an hour and a half. It was dark outside and so we lit the only candles we had left. Then a few of us decided it would be the perfect time to cut and paint our toenails…by candlelight J After that the power still wasn’t on so we decided to roast marshmallows…by candlelight. We roasted marshmallows, talked about our favorite episodes of The Office, told funny stories from our lives, talk about Brian Regan (an hilarious comedian), and other random things. It was just such a cool night, all of us sitting around with just the candlelight joking around with one another and just bonding. It seems like I’ve known these women a lot longer than 2.5 weeks. Eventually the power came back on and we were able to finish The Sound of Music…I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed watching it (I’m not usually one for liking musicals).
Today we all found out where we’ll be staying for the month of July. Four of my roommates (Alla, Sarah, Rebecca, and Marie-Louise) are moving to Gulu, a town several hours away. Myself and another one of my roommates (Anna) are staying in Kampala. At first I was quite disappointed that I wasn’t moving to Gulu or Suubi, but staying seemed a bit more bearable once I found out Anna was staying. I think that if I were the only one of us to be staying it would be a lot harder. Anna is so fun, and such an amazing woman it’ll be a blessing to get to spend a few more weeks with her in Kampala. Anna is a 22 year old from Germany, and I’m finding out just how similar we are. I do hope that I’ll eventually be able to experience what life is like in Suubi or Gulu, but for right now I’m going to try and remember that God wants me in Kampala for a reason. I also realized today the blessings that come along with staying in Kampala (the capitol of Uganda). Suubi and Gulu are in “The Bush” (basically they’re in the country, miles away from the city). Being in Kampala is convenient for getting groceries, getting money out from ATMs, buying airtime for my phone and adding space to my internet stick. If I were in Gulu or Suubi I’d either have to stock up on the things before I left or I’d have to make (and pay for) the trip into Kampala to get those things. It’ll also be nice to stay with the babies at the Babies Home in Kampala—I’ve just started to get to know so many of them it would probably be quite difficult to say goodbye. So, for at least another month I will be living in the same apartment in Buziga just a short (in comparison with Gulu and Suubi) half hour taxi ride to Kampala.

6-23-12
This morning I got up around 8am (Ugandan time) and had a great quiet time with God. I read through 4 different chapters from 4 different books in the Bible (Leviticus, Acts, Psalms, and Philippians). Then I finished my breakfast and started to journal. A section that I read in Philippians stuck with me most from the morning and that’s where I started my journaling. The Lord just put so much on my heart and showed me so much in my life that I desire to work on. This is a scary thought for me, but I’m actually going to share the journal entry I wrote this morning. I wasn’t planning on doing this when I wrote it, but I feel like it would be a good thing to share…maybe after reading if you’ll understand why. Just so you know in the journal when I use “You” with the capitol Y, I mean God.

“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13)
I think for so long I’ve trusted a discipler, a sermon, a pastor, or a good Christian book to “work out” my salvation and transform me. I’m not saying that God can’t, or hasn’t, used those things to shape/mold me, but I don’t think I actually trusted or thought of God doing the work in those situations. It was “out of sight, out of mind” with God. I would think, “wow, that person is so wise, so solid, they must know what they’re doing,” and I’d trust them—put them on a pedestal. Sure I had head knowledge that God was working through them and giving them words to speak but that knowledge rarely made it to my heart. I want to see You when I see solid brothers and sisters. I want that to lead to more praise/trust in You—not people.
Lord I’ve been so consumed with the opinions of others for so long. I feel like on the outside that probably doesn’t show to people, but You know my heart and thoughts God. You know how many of my decisions are made for others rather than for You. You know how I calculate each action and word to try and make myself appear better to others. God, help me break the chains of slavery of people’s opinions. Help me live, act, speak, and think for Your good opinion—not those of other people. God help me be malleable—help me humble myself enough to be shaped, transformed, and changed by You and trials/circumstances You put in my path. Help me not fear change or the unknown, and trust that You have awesome plans for me.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare (peace) and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  (Jeremiah 29:11)
In the Hunger Games, President Snow says that hope is the only thing stronger than fear. I like that—it just affirms that God, who uses hope, is stronger than fear which Satan uses. God is stronger than Satan and so are the tools He uses to shape us.

Thinking about posting a journal entry is a bit scary, especially when I think of people’s opinions toward it. Being vulnerable and completely honest about myself isn’t something I’m good at or have much practice in, but I think it’s good for us to be honest about who we are. I think we need to be honest about the good things and the bad things. The things we love about ourselves and that are going well in our lives and the things that are tearing us apart and that we’re struggling with. I feel like a lot of people feel like asking for help or admitting struggles makes them seem weak, so they try to handle everything on their own. But God gave us people, and more importantly Himself, to help us through these struggles. Admitting faults and struggles doesn’t make a person weak…it makes them human, it makes them relatable. I’m not saying we should all go around talking about just our problems all the time, because it’s annoying and depressing when all a person talks about is the bad. We should talk about the good, for sure, but we shouldn’t be afraid to share the tough stuff too.

6-24-12
Today was a pretty interesting day. Work was a little stressful (well, a lot stressful) because there weren’t a lot of nannies working today because it’s Sunday. But there was still just as much to do as there always is. I was glad that we only work half days on the weekends, so we got done at 1pm today instead of 3:30. After work some of us got together for coffee quickly before church at 2pm. Church was AMAZING! I love the worship here and how passionate the people who attend Watoto Church are when they sing and pray, and simply talk about God. It makes my heart happy. The last two weekends I went to church I’ve cried because of the worship—not a balling my eyes out, crazy, ugly cry, but I was just overwhelmed by how beautiful it all was; how much they love God and aren’t afraid to show it. I think another thing that made it so emotional is that worship like that just allows me to feel the Holy Spirit so clearly…which always makes me emotional J After church all of us decided to go watch our roommate, Mitch’s, cricket game. He’s a really good player and was actually asked to play on Uganda’s national team. His team won by a landslide (202-79) or something like that. Cricket is an incredibly boring sport to watch (in my opinion) especially when you don’t know what’s going on, fortunately we were only there for the last 1.5 hours. After the game the roommates (including Mitch) and a few of Mitch’s teammates went out for pork. It was SO good…again, not like what I have back home, but after nearly 3 weeks without quality meat in my system this stuff was amazing! It was cool to experience the atmosphere of the restaurant we ate at as well, to actually be out in Uganda. It was another fun night here in Uganda, but it was a late one so I’m glad tomorrow is my other day off for the week.
Tomorrow night Caylin (one of my roommates) leaves for home. She’s the first one that I’ve really gotten to know well that’s leaving, the rest of my current roommates are here for at least another month. We’re all pretty sad to see her go, and even Caylin wants to stay longer. We’re all riding to the airport with her tomorrow night to say goodbye, I’m glad that we get to go with her, but I hate goodbyes. It’s just so weird getting to know someone over a short period of time, growing to care about them, and then having to say goodbye with a very slim chance you’ll ever see them again. I do hope that I’ll be able to stay in touch with most (if not all) of my roommates from here at Buziga. Thank God for Facebook and e-mail. Late next week the 4 other roommates of mine from Buziga (Marie-Louise, Alla, Sarah and Rebecca) are moving to Gulu, that’s going to be weird too. The only “original” volunteers that will be in Buziga will be Anna and I. Even though it’ll be sad to see those girls leave I am excited to see who the new girls will be, where they’re from, and what they’re like. It’ll be nice to try and help them out the way Caylin, Anna, Bret, and Rebecca helped me out my first few days/weeks—and are still helping me. This trip has been such a blessing and I’ve been here less than 3 weeks. I’ve learned so much already, and I’m sure have A TON more to learn in the next couple months. It’s weird, the days here go by so slowly, but the weeks fly by. I can’t believe it’s nearly July!

Roommates, Bodas, and S'mores

6-11-12
From Saturday night until this morning I (and nearly all of my roommates) have been sick with the flu. From Saturday night to today I ate the following: a granola bar, a banana, a piece of bread with pb&j, and a piece of toast. I’m finally starting to feel better and I’m getting my strength and energy back. Today I was able to walk up and down the stairs in our apartment without feeling faint for the first time in days!! J It also helps that two of my roommates are nurses, so they were taking really good care of all of us sickies. Yesterday I got to actually talk to my parents and my brother for the first time since I’ve been here; I called my mom when I landed in Uganda to let her know I arrived safely, but that conversation was literally under 2 minutes. It was really great hearing their voices and hearing what has been going on back home. I think hearing from them really helped my attitude too; I was starting to get pretty homesick (as were a couple of my roommates), but hearing their voices was enough to calm me down and put things back in perspective. One of my roommates that was feeling homesick shared something really cool yesterday. She was reading Exodus 14 where Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, but when they got to the Red Sea and saw the Egyptians coming behind them they asked Moses if he had brought them here because there weren’t enough graves in Egypt and that they’d rather had stayed as slaves in Egypt than die here. Verses later God performs the awesome miracle of parting the Red Sea and delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians. My roommate (Alla) said that it showed her that she (like all of us who were homesick) was questioning why God had brought her out of America to this place that is so new and therefore intimidating at times. She said she’d rather follow God’s plan for her (being in Uganda this summer) than being “enslaved” in a place that she wasn’t supposed to be. That made me feel a lot better. So many times we question God’s plans when they are scary or difficult, but we just can’t see what He’s teaching us or where He’s bringing us right away. But once we do see the results of His perfect plan we are so thankful for the process, even if it was difficult. 

6-13-12
Last night I came to a realization. After my first day back to work after being sick I was exhausted. I walked a half hour to the babies home and back, and took care of babies for several hour with a piece of toast and a bottle of water in my system…not good lol. When I got home I felt like I was going to pass out. Luckily, some of my roommates were making tacos and offered me some—which meant that I didn’t have to cook my own dinner! Most of the roommates then proceeded to watch a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother in the living room. It felt like we were all home; eating tacos, watching TV, chatting about life. When I got to bed though, I found myself wondering whether or not I could make it here until September 3^rd. I mean…it’s hard being here. Yes, it’s also fun and great, but there are times when all I want is to be back where things are easy, comfortable, and familiar. I’ve been having trouble breathing and have had an annoying cough for a few days because of all the car fumes in the city (I honestly don’t think ANY American city could top it, I’m pretty sure they don’t have any restrictions for pollution here). So I was lying in bed, thinking, when I realized that just because something is your dream doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy or that there aren’t going to be seriously difficult times in it. Dreams don’t equal easiness. I also realized this whole concept of dreams also being difficult also made sense on other areas; career, dating relationships, following Jesus, etc. I would love a job that I’m passionate about, a relationship where I and a guy complement one another well, and being a complete Jesus freak. I think part of me has always known on some level that there are going to be hard times with anything, no matter how good it is, but I think last night was the first time I realized how hard it could be. I mean, I was thinking about quitting, just giving up and saying “no thank, this is too hard, I quit.”. What if I were a marriage, or a job, or my faith?? If fulfilling my dream of coming to Uganda and taking care of babies could make me feel like quitting I know that any of my other dreams could (and probably will) make me feel that way sometimes too. Then I realized that there were reasons to not quit, some selfish and sinful (like not wanting people to view me as a quitter, not knowing what I would do with the money people gave me to come here that was spent on plane tickets and room/board), but there was also the fact that in the hardest times in my life God has taught me some of the biggest things and changed me the most, and just because it may be hard right now doesn’t me that it’s any less of a dream/blessing to be here, and it doesn’t mean that tomorrow won’t be an amazing day. It’s about taking one day at a time, taking everything in stride, leaning on and relying on God for strength, patience…everything—because my strength, patience, compassion, etc. hasn’t (and won’t) ever be able to do the job right and from a humble loving place. I can’t wait to see what God is going to teach me in the next 12 weeks. I know from the struggles that are already coming that it’s going to be something big, and I’m excited and honestly a little anxious. J But I know from experience that the coolest thing about learning something is the journey you get to take while learning it.

6-14-12
I learned a lot of interesting information in the last few days. Yesterday I found out why virtually no one commits a crime in Kampala during the day. If I were walking down the street and realized that a man was trying to take something from my purse and I yelled out “thief” and pointed at him, in seconds a crowd would form and either beat the man to death in front of me or would beat him and then lynch him. Yeah…lynching is a very real punishment here in Uganda, which shocked the heck out of me!
I also learned that it’s cheaper (for me) to have people call me from home than calling them. Calling me from skype works well. I’m not exactly sure how to call someone’s phone from skype, but I’m sure it’s not too hard to figure out.

6-15-12
Tonight my roommates and I (Kaylin, Rebecca, Marie-Louise, Alla, Sarah, and Anna) made breakfast for dinner. We made pancakes (from scratch), fruit salad, eggs, and breakfast potatoes. It was SO good. We all sat around the table, Sarah said grace and then we just talked about life. It was the first “family dinner” we’ve had where we all sat around the table and all that jazz. It’s really cool/amazing how close we’ve all become in a little over a week. I wish we could all stay together for the next three months of my trip here. Reality is that Kaylin leaves in 9 days, and we’ll probably all move to one of the other villages at the end of the month. It will be cool and a blessing to meet other volunteers, but it’ll probably be hard to say goodbye to the first roomies I had here. They’re such amazing women. Mitch is cool too, but he’s barely ever around J
Another thing I love about my roommates is our TV watching habits. Ugandan TV is really interesting. Many of my roommates have gotten in a Columbian soap opera called “Beautiful But Unlucky”. It’s on Thursdays through Sundays from 8-9pm. It’s dubbed in English and has to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen, but for 4 days out of the week our apartment is glued to the screen to watch what happens on the show; I love it! I’m also getting more into soccer since being here. I’m realizing it’s not as boring as I originally thought it was.

6-17-12
I took my first “boda” the other day. They’re not really allowed by Watoto, but I think I had a pretty good excuse. Usually I go into work w/ Rebecca and we take the Matatu (a public taxi), but one day this week she wasn’t feeling that well so I had to go into work by myself, and I wasn’t comfortable taking the taxi myself or walking the 20 minutes from Taxi Park (where all the taxis last stop is) to Watoto. So my roommate Mitch (who’s been to Uganda 4 times) got me a boda driver I could trust. This way I could get all the way to the babies home on the boda (which is a motorcycle) and I wouldn’t have to walk by myself at all. So I get on the boda and within ten minutes he pulls over (the drive is much longer than that). He turned to me and said there was a problem with the bike he needed to fix, so for around 15-20 minutes I stood there while him and a few other guys worked on the back tire of the boda. It was around 9am and I was praying no one from Watoto would see me on the side of the road waiting for my boda to be fixed J Eventually the boda was all ready to go, so I hopped back on the bike and before I knew it I was at Baby Watoto. I got there at around 9:30 and I was able to leave with the volunteers who had gotten there for the morning shift (7am) so we took a taxi back home at 3:30. It was an interesting experience, but it made me never want to take a boda again.
Yesterday (Saturday) was my first time going to church here in Uganda (last week I was sick and wasn’t able to go). Myself and the other volunteers and nannies at Baby Watoto took a lot of children from the babies home to church for baby dedications. I got to hold a little baby girl called Mercy, she was SO cute! Afterward we gave the babies to the nannies to take them back to the babies home and the volunteers stayed for service. The worship here is REALLY amazing! The people here sing from their souls, with everything they have, it’s so beautiful. After service was over we all took “private hires” home…basically guys Watoto know that can take us home at night because taking a taxi at night would be sketchy! We left service around 7:15ish and didn’t get home until 8pm. There was a Uganda soccer game last night and they won, so the streets were packed! Once we got home my roommates and I had a campfire in the front yard and made s’mores…well, as best as we could J We got little cookie things for graham crackers, tiny marshmallows, and galaxy chocolate bars; they were actually pretty good. But I came to the conclusion that I want a campfire and I legit s’more quickly after I get home in September J It was a really fun night though with all of us sitting around the campfire telling stories and just learning more about one another. My roommates are really amazing, I’m so blessed to have them with me here. I can’t believe I’ve been here 12 days already, in some ways it seems like I’ve been here a lot longer, but in other ways it seems like the time is flying by—it’s already near the end of June!
Also, this upcoming Thursday all of my roommates and I are going white-water rafting!!! SO EXCITED!! It’s one thing that’s on my bucket list, and I can’t wait to do it. We’re going on class 5 rapids, yeah, in the States you need to be certified to go on those, but here in Uganda it’s a free for all. 2 of my roommates have gone of this rafting trip before and they have assured me and my other roommates that the people who run the rafting are extremely qualified and know what they’re doing. When we fall out of the boat (because I’m sure it’s a guarantee) there are people everything floating in canoes whose job it is to grab us and get us back in the boat. Don’t worry mom, I’ll be safe J A couple of my roommates and I are also looking into going on a safari in the near future—which is also on my bucket list, but I’ll have more information about all of that later. Hope all is going well with all of you. Miss and love you!

My First Few Days In Uganda

So, I just got my internet to work (literally minutes ago) so I finally get to post on here for you all! I kept a few notes in a word document while I didn't have internet so I wouldn't forget anything. So, here they are, hope you enjoy! P.S. I'm loving it here :)

Back home it’s still June 4^th, but up where I’m at it turned June 5^th a half hour ago. I’m seven hours into a 12+hour flight from D.C. to Ethiopia. I’m listening to the best of Nat King Cole, and eating a turkey and cheese sandwich. The local time here (just past Izza) is around 12:30am, back home it would be 5:30pm. I have a window seat and as we fly over cities I put my window shade up and it’s so beautiful to see the cities all lit up from 37,000 miles up. Around 5 more hours and I’ll be in Ethiopia, then just a short 3ish hour plane ride until I’m in Uganda!! This might sounds weird, but it hasn’t hit me yet…I don’t think. I haven’t had a “freak out” moment yet, I’m not sure if that’s normal or not J I know I’m still more excited than nervous, but we’ll see how long that lasts when I find myself in a foreign countries airport trying to get around.

It’s 5:40 am here over Africa (9:40 for all of you back home). I’m an hour and a half away from landing in Ethiopia. The sun is about to rise soon, it’s just starting to peak over the horizon; I love this time of day, it’s my favorite. The clouds here look different—they’re fluffier or something. I like them J I just ate breakfast; they feed us A TON on this flight!! I had a snack shortly after take-off, a meal, a sandwich after that, and then breakfast!! Holy moly, I was ready to stop eating like I do in the States, this airline isn’t making it easy, but the food is/was great which was a pleasant surprise. On the flight I’m sitting next to some high school students from Arizona, they’re volunteering at an orphanage in Africa as well, but I can’t remember which country. I’m nearly finished with my traveling for a few months, I’ll be happy to be on the ground again; the flight was really great and went quite fast, but I miss standing up and walking around. It’s nice that the long flights back will give me a good opportunity to process my summer in Uganda and try to get ready for being back in the States again, but right now I’m just trying to focus on enjoying this amazing experience, long flights and all J.

It’s 8:50pm in Kampapla Uganda, back home it’s 12:50pm; lunchtime. I arrived at “The Guest House” at around 1 or 2 this afternoon. I arrived at Entebbe airport before my scheduled arrival time (1:05pm) and I was a little worried no one would be there yet to pick me up. Frederick, however, was waiting there with a sign with “MICHELL HAYDEN” on it. Frederick, Rodney, Chris (all staff members of Watoto), Joyce and Kelsie (Watoto volunteers) were all there to pick me up. They each shook my hand, game me a hugs smile, and welcomed me to Uganda/Watoto. I felt to comfortable and safe with them, and they were joking around a lot, so that made me feel at home too! While I was waiting for my flight from Ethiopia to Uganda I met a girl named Melinda or Marissa or something like that (I was super excited about meeting someone that was going to be on my plane I forgot to remember her name). But she and I talked for a good 1-2 hours about life and what we were doing in Africa. She is interning with an organization in Rwanda. On the flight from Ethiopia to Entebbe airport in Uganda was the first time I had a freak out of any kind. I realized that I was going to be on my own to 1) get a VISA, 2) get my baggage, and figure it out if it didn’t arrive, 3) find the man who was supposed to pick me up and figure out what to do if I couldn’t find him, etc. etc.
My fears were all stopped once I got my VISA, quite easily, found my baggage, and found my name on Frederick’s piece of paper. Once I hopped in the van with all the other people from Watoto all I felt was excitement and relief for finally being here! Then Chris started driving, and I became afraid again J Ugandan driving is like the UK, steering wheels and cars of the opposite side of the road—it took me a while to realize that Frederick (who was riding shotgun, but if he were in the US would have been driving) wasn’t the one driving the car; he was turned around talking to us and I thought to myself “wow, he doesn’t even have to look at the road when he’s driving. How does he not hit something/someone??” Then I realized there was no steering wheel in front of him…I blame jet lag. But if I thought Chicago/Minnesota drivers were intense, I was dead wrong. Those people have nothing, and I mean NOTHING on Ugandan drivers. There are no stoplights, hardly any road signs, the roads are quite narrow and people walk dangerously close to the road. I was trying to take in all of the sights/scenes on the hour long drive; the people, the shops, the landscape, everything. I looked a lot like what you see on T.V. and on those “sponsor a child” commercials, only here you can’t change the channel to look at something else.
I don’t know why, but as we were driving through the city, passing and dodging cars and “bodas” (motorcycles) I felt so extremely excited and energized, and well, a little motion sick. Even though it was a COMPLETE culture shock and yes I did feel guilty and so sad for these people, I also was excited to get to learn about their culture and help them in any way I could. I was excited for them to help me; help me grow and learn and get a new/different perspective on so many things. I was excited about what these people would show me.
When we arrived at the Watoto Guest House driveway (protected by a huge gate that can only be opened from the inside) I met Grace; the gorgeous Ugandan women who would be “taking care of me for the night” as Frederick put it. Grace gave me a big hug and welcomed me to Watoto, and then her and Frederick too me to the room I’d be staying in for the night, that’s when I met Sarah and Ella. Sarah and Ella go to school in Tennessee and just finished their freshman year of college. Tonight Grace made the three of us and 4 volunteers from the UK (who were great!) pizza; I was so stuffed from the plane I couldn’t finish the huge piece they gave me, but it was sooo delicious!
The volunteers from the UK shared with us a pineapple they had bought on the street earlier that day; it was probably the best thing I’ve tasted. They also shared stories about people they were meeting and stories they’d heard on their week-long visit to Uganda. Tomorrow Frederick is going to take the three of us to town to shop (for phones and other essentials) and also to exchange our money. Tomorrow Ella, Sarah and I will also be moving into an apartment, were I’ll spend at least the first month of my trip at.  So much has happened in the nearly 48 hours I’ve been traveling, I’ve been in 3 different countries, flown over countless others. I just finished taking a bath (my first bath in years) and now I’m going to sleep in a bed in Uganda with a mosquito net over me. Well I think I’ve rambled on long enough for tonight, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget anything. Love you all!!

6-6-12
Today I moved from the Guest House in Kamplala to an apartment in Buziga with Sarah and Alla. In total there are 10 volunteers here; me, Sarah, Alla, Rebecca, Kaylin, Marie-Louise (from Ghana/London), Rachel (from Oklahoma), Brett (a girl from Canada), Anna, (from Germany) and Mitch (from Australia). It was really great getting to know them all! Earlier today Frederick took Sarah, Alla and me to town to get phones and airtime, and to get groceries. We also stopped by for a brief visit at the Babies Home in Kampala. And tonight a bunch of us walked to the top of the hill we are living on and looked out over Buziga; it was beautiful, we could see for miles! Right now it’s 8:06pm here, and back home it’s 12:06; I just realized it’s an 8 hour difference, not 9 J Tomorrow a few of us newer volunteers are going on a Village Tour and meeting the pastor of the church we will go to in Kamplala. Then on Friday I will start work!!! I’m excited and nervous. I know it’s going to be a lot of work, and a lot of information coming at me at once, but I’m excited to care for these babies and getting to know the nannies and other volunteers more.

6-8-12
Today was my first day at the Babies Home, but before I talk about that I’ll tell you about my day yesterday. Myself and a few other new volunteers went on a “Village Tour”, where we visited Watoto schools and other Babies Homes. We went to the towns Bbira and Subbi. It was such a cool experience! At Bbira some classes of younger kids were switching rooms and when they saw us they started running towards us with huge smiles on their faces yelling “muzungus! Muzungus!” Muzungu means white person—people LOVE their muzungus here, but the children’s motives are much purer than the men on the side of the road J I got a video of the children running to us that I hope to load up soon. The Babies Home at Subbi was also very beautiful. It’s in the country (unlike Kampala), and everywhere you look is green rolling hills—the roof of the Subbi Babies Home has an AMAZING panoramic view.
Anyway, back to today. It was my first day in the Babies Home in Kampala (where I will be for the next month). I was SO excited to finally get out and do something/work with the children. I got up at 5am, left the house by 6am, took a “matatu” (taxi) to work with two other volunteers, got off the taxi and walked the rest of the way in (about 20 minutes). The Babies Home rooms are separated by age; 0-4 months, 4-6 months, ect. There are also rooms for premature, malnourished, and special needs babies. The majority of the day I spent with the special needs babies. I was not expecting to be in that room, and definitely wasn’t prepared. Although I was overwhelmed and felt completely incompetent, the nanny in there (Marian) was really nice and helpful. After I got over my initial shock and fear of working with the babies, who have shunts, are too small for other rooms, multiple-sclerosis, learning differences, or a load of other things, I realized how beautiful each of them was quite quickly. Those babies are SO tough, the things they have to go through on a daily basis many of us (and I know I) couldn’t go through for a few hours. I had to hold back tears at one point—a lot of the babies were crying, for one reason or another, and I just wanted to help them all so bad and give each of them whatever they needed, but of course, I had no idea what that was.
Although today was a challenge, and quite tiring, I’m SO glad I was put in the room I was put in, and I’m so glad I came to Watoto. The people here are amazing; the staff, my housemates, the people on Uganda…everyone. My time in Uganda will also help me trusting in the Lord for, well…everything; my strength, words, actions, attitude…everything. I know I won’t be able to help these babies on my own strength—when I tried to today I almost ended up in tears J But in that moment when I realized my strength wasn’t cutting it God seemed to say “Michelle, I brought you here for a reason. Your fears and insecurity in your ability to take care of these kids doesn’t mean you aren’t right where I want you to be. Just lean on me my dear.” It comforting to know that He cares for us and wants the best for us. Well, I’m sure that’s enough for ya’ll to read for now J Love you all!!

Final Countdown

As of today it's 2 days until I head to Chicago, and 3 days before I'm on a plane ultimately headed for Uganda. Three days from right now I'll probably be preparing to land in Washington D.C.--that's trippy. Yesterday I started packing, which is a huge accomplishment for me; I usually leave packing until the absolute last moment. There are only a few more things I have to buy today, and banking I have to get sorted out, but after that I'm all set and ready to go. When I say "all set and ready" I mean packing wise, I don't know how mentally ready I am yet.
I am SO thrilled to finally be going to Uganda--a lifelong dream finally coming true, but of course I'm still scared/nervous about going to a different country, traveling by myself, and not knowing anyone. Even though I have these fears/worries I have peace in going because my comfort, joy and peace comes from the Lord. I have every confidence [most days :)] that this is what He wants me to do this summer, and I'm so excited to see what He's going to teach me in these next few months. It's a cool feeling, being scared but also knowing, and having peace with the fact, that whatever is suppose to happen will happen. I just wish I had more experience with airports :)
I don't think it has hit me yet that I'll be gone for three months. It seems like such a long time right now, but I know that those months are going to fly by. My first month in Uganda I'll be in Kampala (the capitol city of Uganda), after that I may be transferred to one or both of the other two Babies Homes (one located in Subi and the other in Gulu). I've been working on my Swahili since I've been back home from school, but I'm guessing a lot of my learning with happen in Uganda--once I get immersed in the culture things will start clicking and sticking in my head.
I still have around $200 left to support raise, plus around $600 for white water rafting and going on a safari, but I'm not too worried about those things right now. I'm taking out $500 today in cash to take with me to get started/live off of for my first month. $200 of that $500 will be for my VISA and Speciality Pass for volunteering in Uganda, the remaining $300 with be for living expenses for the month. After that if I need money I will use my debit card and the ATM at the mall in Kampala to get money. I can't wait to dive in and learn about the Ugandan culture and its people!!
Thank you all for your support and for taking time to read this blog, it will be nice to know that people back in the States are reading this and keeping up with what I'm doing.
If you would like to financially support me while I'm in Uganda you can definitely still do that; for more informatin on how, please contact me at mhayd117@uwsp.edu (but know that I'll be checking my e-mail sparcely while in Uganda) or you could contact my mother at mtnestrs@tds.net. Thank you all so much for everything. God bless! :)