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.
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 3rd. 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.
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 3rd. 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.
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.
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!
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!
Dearest Bella,
ReplyDeleteAs I read this most recent blog my heart ached I can't imagine how it felt to be so sick and to be so far from home. Because lets face it when your ill you need your mommy. But as I read on and as you started to recover I saw how God healed your illness and your worries your faith in Him is what gives me strength as you are in Uganda the people you are meeting and have yet to meet will never be the same because they now know you. We love you Bella and hope to chat today.
Love mama and papa
Michelle...
ReplyDeleteI just got caught up on your adventures. I see God's fingerprints all over you and praise Him for His provisions. I see He is providing you the strength, wisdom and grace you need for each and every moment AND through the good, the bad and the ugly times! Keep trusting in His sufficiences. He is able to accomplish infinitely more than you can dare to ask or hope for. Know you are dearly loved and prayed for from back home in good ol' WI. Love ya chica! You are in His grip! Big squeezes sent your way!
Mikaela
Mikaela,
ReplyDeleteThank you : I like to read comments that are left for Michelle and reading yours also lift my spirits so from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!
Brightest Blessings to you and your family.
From Sandy,
ReplyDeleteHello Michelle – keep going, there will be tough times, but don’t give up. You are doing what you should be doing and you are were you should be right now.
You are spreading your “wings,”, now fly. Give the best you can and you will be rewarded more than you ever expected.
I’m sooooo proud of what you are doing, the challenges you are facing will be overcome and at the end of this experience, you will shine.
Love you dearly Michelle. God’s speed. Love Sandy
Sandra J. Egbert
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteSo many of my friends are asking me how your doing so I am taking 10 of your cards to work today thinking a lot of folks I give them to will check out your blog and hoping some of them comment. So if you get comments from unknown names know they are people so proud of what you are doing and that are behind you waiting to read your weekly adventures.
love you Bella