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!