Yoga!!

I'm here!! We'll see how this post goes --- internet cafes are less dependable than I'd like : )

So we flew into Entebbe, Uganda on Monday and stayed in a motel. Jas and I took a walk the next day down what we named "Rooster Ave" (Cock a doodle doos everywhere!). And really took in how dang beautiful this country is!! I wish I could describe it to you... Oh how I wish.

We got picked up by Andrew (YWAM Soroti staff) in a taxi to take the day trek to Soroti! I feared for my life a couple times - the drivers are crazy!! But we made it in one piece. Even though it was about an 8 hour day to get there, I was amazed and fascinated by seeing Uganda. Mmmm so amazing. Shops everywhere. Naked (but cute) babies. Lush vegetation. It was absolutely captivating.

When we arrived on the base, we met another DTS from Trinidad and Tobago (T & T) also doing their outreach. They're the same size as us, seven people, and are really fun. Jillana from their team has gorgeous dreds - and my baby dred is super jealous. LoL. After Soroti, they're going to Rakai in Southern Uganda, which is the birthplace of AIDS. The first case was found there and it's still a huge problem. It's rare that you'll find anyone over 26 there. Crazy.

The next day, we walked into town to check things out. Man, are we a spectacle!! We got stares all day long with lots of different reactions. They call us "Muzungu" - white person. It's not demeaning, it's simply a label. In fact, it makes me laugh : D. "Hey Muzungu!! How are you?!?!" Some people want to come up and touch us (mostly kids). There are lots of gentle hand shakes. Others ask for money - also mostly kids - because they associate being white with being rich. Can't blame 'em. They're right, aren't they? Contrasting to that is the special treatment. Sometimes, we'll be told to budge in line in front of Teso people (**In Soroti, the people are called Teso and they speak the language Attesso - the common language in Uganda is English, but there are over 30 other languages throughout).

Thursday was International YWAM Prayer and Fasting day. So we fasted breakfast and lunch to spend some time worshipping and praying. Man alive, it was cool. I have come to love love love African voices. We sang a few songs in Attesso, a few in English. Then the T & T leaders led prayer for unreached people groups in the world. We asked the question, why have so few heard the Good News? I always tend to come back to struggle through the question "UGH! What do large cats have to do with it?" I don't understand yet. I'm gaining patience, but it's still difficult when people talk about people. It's about people people people, and here I am, wanting to work with cats. I know it will fall together and make sense, I know it will. I just lose my wits whenever I hear about how lost and hurting people are.

One of YWAM Soroti's ministries is Amacet, a home for orphaned or abandoned children. About half of their kids are HIV positive, so they also administer medical care. They try to limit their stay so that kids can go back in to their clan as healthy as possible. It's like a little family - people just wanting to take care of kids as best they can.

Friday was my 21st birthday!! I had a really good day : ). Crystal, Carolyn and I (go Team C!!) helped Stephen, the base director, paint a room in a building on his lot. It was really fun to be able to bond with the director and to tell him about our lives. He comes from a place of wanted to learn as much from us as we do from him. Humble, fun, approachable, hilarious. What a guy!! Carolyn taught him some Western slang ("Hey man, what's up" and the like - yeah, we're really cool)!! So funny.

While we were at Stephen's, we also got to hang out a bit with his kids and their friends. I think I've made a little buddy. His name is John and he belongs to Andrew, who is also on staff with YWAM. Whenever he comes to the base, he runs up and sits with me and it just fills me with joy!! All the kids call us "Auntie" or "Uncle." I love it.

When I got back from my one-on-one with Lindsey, I went in my room to find my mosquito net stuffed with 80 or so balloons!! Ha, so funny. They made me get in (which was really difficult - I had to manage top bunk, a mosquito net, and getting all the balloons to stay!) - I'm sure you'll all see pictures of that later... LoL.

That night we celebrated with ice cream and soda. The ice cream was half melted, but was still fluffy and delicious (I had chocolate vanilla in case you're wondering, which oh I'm sure you are : P). Jas is our "Hospitality Coordinator" for outreach, so part of her job is planning birthdays. As you can tell, she did a great job. She then whipped out a card from all of them (with "21 Reasons Why We Love Kern"), Reisens (my favorite chocolate, mmmmmm), and the best of all, notes from home. Jas had been talking to Sarah at home to get together some birthday wishes from my friends back in MN. Oh my goodness, that was the kicker. It was so great to have a piece of home while being away for my birthday. So if you wrote me a note through Sarah P, thanks. I got your words and I love them.

So even though I wasn't at home with family and friends, in a way I was. I was VERY blessed and loved by people I consider to be family.

The next day we went into town to get dresses made (so excited!). While we were there, we ran into muzungus from an organization called World Race. It's so easy to spot people who are white here, you can't help but talk to them and see what they're doing. They are mostly American. They travel around the world - 11 countries in 11 months to do mission work and volunteering. Cool. Way cool. They've already been to the Philippines, China, Kenya, not Uganda. I can't remember everywhere else they're going, but there's Tanzania, Bosnia, Romania, Guatemala, Nicaragua, etc... So now whenever we see them in town, we say hi. Really nice people.

Twice a week, YWAM drives to villages to do kids' club. There are about a dozen villages that they visit on a rotation. So on Saturday, Julious (YWAM staff and Mike's roommate!) and Katharine (our translator) drove us out in the middle of nowhere to lead some fun stuff!! In the first village we went to, someone had died earlier in the week and because of the community meeting they were having, we couldn't do any programming. But we were able to teach some kids how to play frisbee while we waited. It's amazing what you can do despite the language barrier (many villages around Soroti only speak Attesso - and though we're learning, it's still difficult). All the girls approached us by taking our hands and curtsying (I'm not even going to look up how to spell that... bleh!), which is a sign of respect for older people and for muzungus. So sweet : )

So we decided to try another village - success!! We walked into a small classroom to meet the kids and one of the first things I noticed was the chalk board

How to Deal with Depression

1. When you're father dies

2. When someone dies

3. ...

(In English, which confused me a little.

I think they may be learning as they get older)

Wow. It amazes me that they have to expect death and depression to the point of teaching it in schools. I had a death and dying unit in school, but it was more of a "this could happen" thing than what these kids have to deal with.

We then played slinky tag with them and sang a fun song. They couldn't really sing because it was in English, but they loved the actions. When we're all running around, laughing our heads off, it doesn't really matter what language we each speak. Thank the Lord for universal things!

We loved riding in the van through the bush. Everyone, no matter what they were carrying, would stop and wave to us. "Yoga!" (Hello!). One kid actually called out something that sounded like he was saying "No Melons," but Katharine told us that what he said meant "Take me with you." Ha! It's amazing how kids will want to come with! They love the adventure. School kids in Soroti will ask you how you are, where you are from, and that you should take them with you! Older guys will tell you to marry them (got one of those today!). Everyone just wants to come back to the States or Canada!

I apologize if this post is jumbled. It's definitely more difficult - so much to tell, so little time!! And I hope you can keep from nodding off without any pictures!!

Things you guys can pray for:

I didn't take enough water with my malaria medication on Tuesday of last week and I think it got lodged (ick, I know). I woke up with a burning chest, ah!! It still burns when I eat, hiccup, burp (makes me hate burping for the first time in my life). I don't think it's of any concern, it's just very uncomfortable. Pray for healing and that it just goes away!!

Stamina. I could see us getting very tired. Between adjusting, the heat, and the different work we'll be doing, we could be exhausted very soon!! There's lots of chill time, thank God, but you still get pretty tired.

For our village stay. Starting tomorrow, we'll be staying in a village through Friday or Saturday. Meaning no electricity, running water, and perhaps a language barrier. It's going to be AMAZING, but very very different, even from staying on the Soroti base.