The first days

Well we’ve been here now for a solid week. Sorry I have not been able to update much lately, but hopefully I will be able to write two blogs a week. We will see though…

Our flights here went well. On the flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam I sat next to a family from India. They had a two year old little boy who quickly became my new best friend. He was full of energy the entire flight until the last thirty minutes. Once we got on the next flight from Amsterdam to Entebbe exhaustion began to settle in, but the lady next to me started up a conversation and we enjoyed hearing each other’s stories for a good bit of the flight. It was cool to see the work of the Lord from the start. In the Atlanta airport we met a man from Louisiana who was headed to Ukraine, but felt the Lord leading him to Uganda and wanted to learn more about what we were doing. On the flight to Entebbe the lady next to me was a professor at Wisconsin and was taking a team to Uganda for nursing. She too was interested in what we were doing. It was also encouraging because our flight to Entebbe was about 70% missionaries. I just love to sit back and watch the people the Lord puts in our paths to further His work. I love meeting new people and seeing what the Lord is doing in their lives and somehow connecting or networking with them to further the work of the Lord. I pray that our eyes would continue to be open so that we would see these opportunities and converse with the people around us.

After naps, food, conversations, sunrises, more food, sunsets, again food, we finally made it to Uganda! Allen, Jay, and Eddie were at the airport to pick us up. We stopped by the orphanage for a minute to meet the kids and then headed to our apartment to get some rest. On Sunday we met Allen and Jay at the orphanage to help them get all 17 children ready for church. This was quite the experience. The girls walked in in their dresses with their chunky, black school shoes on. This is when we realized that they did not have Sunday shoes. I will have to put up some pictures because it was really funny to see them in pretty Sunday dresses with huge, black shoes on. We walked down to the main road; all 23 of us piled into a taxi and off to Watoto church we went. When we arrived we were surprised with an outdoor, celebration service that lasted 3 ½ hours. About 30 minutes into it some of the girls looked miserable, although they did not complain, so Carrie took some of them to sit under a tree. After that came the “I need to susu" ( go to the bathroom) requests began. After our first bathroom break we rotated walking around, sitting under the tree, and taking kids to the bathroom for the next three hours. At one point Mercy took off from the back to the front of the congregation with me chasing after her. It was quite the sight to see I must say. The people there probably thought we were crazy… six muzungus (white people) taking 17 children to church. After the service we loaded them back into the taxi and went to the home for lunch. I was taken back because immediately the kids started doing chores. They washed their clothes, cleaned all the dishes, mopped the floors, and cleaned their rooms. I was told that they do this everyday. The greatest sight was watching two year old Mercy wash her clothes. I don’t think I would ever see this in America. It takes enough for parents to get their 20 year old children to wash their clothes in the washing machine here in the US of A.

Monday was quite the day. We headed back to the home (orphanage) to meet with Jay and Allen and go with them to finish registering the kids for school, get them school supplies, pay the fees for school, get their uniforms, and take them to the doctor for check-ups. Well things did not go as planned. Unexpectedly, a team of 12 showed up to see the home and play with the kids, which was fine, but we were unable to leave. Then Fanitah and Fredah both got sick, so I was going to run them to the doctor. Well just before I left Julius started running a fever, crying, and was having a little bit of trouble breathing, so I hopped in the car with him (we decided not to take all three- The Ugandans there said Fanitah and Fredah probably had malaria so just to get them medicine). Eddie, Julius, and I went to the doctor. (Take note that Eddie speaks a little bit of English and Julius speaks no English) I was about to have some fun. I walked into the doctor with Julius. Eddie walked me in and then sat in the car. When I finally figured out that the chairs were in line to see the doctor (after several people jumped in front of me) we went into her room. She just stared at me when I sat down so I was like “He has a cough, fever, and we think it’s malaria.” I have no idea what she said back so I just pointed to Julius and said talk to him. This was my second day with the kids so at this point I knew very little. She asked me his last name; I had no idea. She asked me where we lived; I again had no idea. (I made something up after she stared at me like who is this person). She asked me our phone number and because it’s a million digits long I had no idea. Also, we ran out the door so Julius did not have shoes on. So this is the picture…. A white person walked in with a child who does not have shoes on, does not know his last name, does not know where she lives or where he lives, does not know her phone number, and honestly does not know what to do at all in this doctor’s office. It was quite the learning experience and to say the least humbling. It made me really want to know Luganda because he had to get his blood taken and a shot and I had no way of comforting him through words, which was really frustrating. We learned a lot that day in the doctor, but due to the length of this blog I will end it there. Nonetheless Julius had malaria, but he is doing great now! I now know how to take a child to the doctor in Uganda, except next time I will know their last name. When we got back to the home Deborah and Dennis were not feeling well. At this point I just felt so bad for Jay and Allen because we had so much to do that day and none of it got done and five of the kids got sick. This was life for them for the past few weeks so we felt the need to try and take a little load off. Also, when 17 children are involved, the word “plan” is not a part of their dictionary.

Tuesday we spent the day in the city trying to round up last minute things for the kids before they started school Wednesday. Yesterday was pretty low key. We had several meetings so our brains were fried, but we enjoyed spending time with the team from North Carolina. Today we slept in and went to eat at Good African Coffee, a taste of American food. We spent the rest of the day playing with the kids, dominating card games (Allen and I dominated Jay and Mason), and enjoying good conversations.

The Lord keeps reminding me to take everything a day at a time. For some reason I feel like it is easier to do that in America than here. Maybe it is because I feel the weight of having things planned for everyone everyday, which to an extent is good, but for one we’re in Africa (where plans are never made) and two I feel that there is a lot the Lord is leading us to do. My prayer is that no matter what the day brings, no matter how frustrating things may make me, no matter what the plan is, I need to set aside my desires, plans, and frustrations and seek out the decisions that will glorify the Lord the most. I desire discernment for decision -making, purity of the heart, and a humble mind. I am very anxious to learn right now and soak in everything. I pray that that eagerness will not fade and that patience and love will abound in my walk with Christ.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Please continue to pray for Sozo as they seek the Lord for guidance and for the children that they know the love of Christ surrounds them. Visit sozochildren.org for updates on the orphanage.

1 Peter 3:8

Home sweet Home

Lauren and I arrived safely in Atlanta yesterday at 2:00 pm. We both stayed awake for at least 45 hours so we were exhausted. It was a bittersweet reunion. Both of us wanted to stay in Africa and hated to leave all our new friends, but we were excited to see family and friends here and I think even more excited about our Chik-fil-a visit.
Overall, I cannot even begin to think about how much the Lord exceeded our desires while we were there. He did so much more than we thought or imagined. I mean He is a faithful God and the Word says: " Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" Ephesians 3:20. Although we got to be with a lot of people and were told several times how much we helped them and encouraged them, this trip changed my heart and encouraged me just as much if not more. I wish everyone had the opportunity to go and do what we did. It was enough to just see the how mighty of a God we serve. How good He is to us. How faithful He is. He is more than enough for us. He is to be glorified.
Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and sent me letters. I was so encouraged when I read everything. It meant so much to me to have such faithful friends and family supporting and praying for us. It was really cool to know that Christ connects us all. I was being encouraged by my brothers and sisters in America which helped enable me to encourage and be with our brothers and sisters in Uganda. My only request is that you please pray for the people and the ministry going on around the world and particularly in Africa. They were telling us that there is a Christian movement going on in Uganda and more lives are being saved everyday. So please keep praying for what Christ is doing there to be sealed. Below are the names of some of the people we met that either became Christians, are not Christians, or have been a believer for a while. Please pray for them:
Mark Kasozi, Hadija Kansika ( has a sick daughter), Nakomya Fatoma, Teopista Namusoke, Lukiya Namulondo, Jockline Nakojobi, Godfrey Bwire, Jose Rocki, Ssekotewa Muhamod, Prospel Agata (he was one of the men drinking that we talked to, but came to know the Lord. I talked to Joel recently- the man who took us around that day- he said this man was really serious about being a Christian but has the temptation everyday to go back to drinking because he is surrounded by people who do -so pray against that and that he will find new friends who will encourage him in the Lord), Steven Wosobe, Etiya Ahimbisibwe.
Once again thank you all for everything! I love you all!
" But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33

Greater Things Have Yet To Come

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20

I cannot begin to explain how alive this verse has become to us over the last couple of days. So just let me begin to tell you a little bit about what has happened…

I have told you about our friends from Canada. Well we were going to eat with them Thursday night because they were leaving on Friday. As we had gotten to know them we did not think any of them were really Christians, so our desire for the night was to tell them about Christ. We prayed before they met up with us that the Lord would open their hearts and lead our conversation. Well one of the first questions asked that night was about the church. Then Turune asked us about the differences in Protestants and Catholics. Alex jumped in some with a few questions about the church and its history. So we thought we were getting somewhere, but it was to only get better. Alex began asking us a million questions about the Lord and our relationships with Him. She wanted to know how we know He is real. She asked us when we became a follower and what the Lord meant to us. We spent the entire and I mean entire meal talking about Christ! It was at least 1 ½ hours and the conversation never changed! Not to mention that before this they had never asked us a question about the Lord. We came to find out that Missy is Catholic, Kate is a Christian, Turune is Muslim, and Alex believes Jesus was a man, but says she cannot believe in God. She said she loves to ask questions and really wants to know about the Lord, but wants to know for sure that he is real and not just by faith. She said she did not grow up in a family who believed in the Lord and that is why she struggles so much to believe because she has heard that there is no God all her life. So please keep these people in your prayers! We are so excited to have started a relationship with them and have the opportunity to talk to them about Christ! How great is HE who gave us that opportunity and did even more than we expected! The entire night was about Him! I know at home my friends and I can have a conversation and it only be about the Lord, but to sit with unbelievers and talk about the Lord with them for hours and the conversation never change is incredible! There is still more…

Friday we met up with a young man named Joel who is a teacher and evangelist in a slum near Kabalagaga. He was going to take us around the slums so we could share Christ with people and help clean up some more cuts that the kids had. We started off at the school. These kids had never had a white person come visit them so they were screaming and yelling, jumping up and down, and running to us as soon as we walked in. This school was one of the poorer schools we had been to. Joel was telling me later that they had very little help because the community is so poor so he will often have to pay the teachers with his own money. Note that this man is 23 years old and is trying to make a living too. We helped bandage some of the kid’s cuts and then went to the classrooms and told them about the Lord. Joel said they were so encouraged because white people came today and told them about the Lord. Since we were white he said that the children will go home and tell their parents that we came and tell them what we said. This means that the knowledge of the Lord will spread into their families!  After this we went to where the market is and prayed over a mother. Then we were telling this man about Jesus and he said he would become a Christian later so Lauren asked if she could pray for him. After she prayed over him he told us that he accepted Christ while she was praying. When we were talking to him a Muslim woman came up and wanted to know what was going on, so we told her. She said she wanted to know about the Lord and also became a Christian. We continued to walk down the street talking to people, encouraging those who knew Christ and telling those who didn’t. Then we came to a group of men and Lauren and Shanna talked to them while I went with Joel to talk to this single mother. She said she was a Christian so we encouraged her and prayed over her and her home. Then Joel and I had a chance to talk. He asked me what is something that encourages you and helps you when you do not feel that the Lord is answering you. What are things that help you? I told him that I have to remind myself of the strength and power of the Lord and remember that He can do immeasurably more than all I ask or think. I told him to remember the Lord’s faithfulness and stay surrounded by people who will encourage you, then we looked at Ephesians 1:15-23 and Ephesians 3:14-21. He began to tell me that he was struggling because he was not sure why the Lord would call him to this community to do what he is doing when he has very little support and the community is so poor they can barely help themselves. He said that he had been praying for the Lord to send someone and that He was about to lose all hope. We talked more and then he said to me, “ You have encouraged me more than you know. I was a bit fearful to come out into this community alone and just walk around telling them about Jesus because I knew they would be hostile and not welcoming. Then you guys came and said you did not care at all, lets tell everyone. I am now not afraid at all and once y’all leave I will continue this.” He continued, “ I have been praying that the Lord would send me encouragement and help and He did! He went all the way to Alabama in America to send me people to this small slum in Uganda! How great is the Lord! How faithful is He! The Lord tells us to be careful who we talk to because we could be entertaining angels. I do not know what you are, but I know you being here is a miracle from the Lord.” Isn’t this awesome! That the Lord would take us from Alabama to a small slum in Uganda just to encourage this man and he will now go out and tell all about the Lord. If this is the only reason the Lord sent us here it is enough! See His faithfulness. He answered this man’s prayer in a drastic way! He is Lord! After we talked for a while and Lauren and Shanna finished we continued to walk down the street. We passed by a place where a group of 8-10 men were drinking, a few of them were drunk. Joel asked us if we wanted to minister to them and we said yes. We tried to talk to one man at a time and to those who were more sober. As we were talking to this one man he became very interested and asked a lot of questions. We all walked with him to the side of the store and talked more. He told us that He wanted to be saved so we prayed with him and as we did another man walked up. We talked to him and prayed over him then he said he wanted to be saved. We encouraged him and told him more about the Lord then prayed with him and as we did that two more men walked up. We told them about the Lord and guess what as we did that two more men walked up. Before we knew it we had a small crowd gathered in this tiny area in between two stores and were telling them about the Lord. Not all of them came to know the Lord, but the Lord asks us to preach His word and the heart is His to change. Joel is going to keep up with these men because they all wanted to know more and guess what…. Two men got redeemed from alcohol today and became our brothers in Christ! All that was done today was through the Lord and for the Lord. None of this was us, we are just vessels used to spread the word and bring Him glory.

The past couple of days have gone way beyond what I thought would happen which is why you never keep the Lord in a box because you have no idea what He will do! Please pray for these men and women who came to know the Lord. Pray that they will be encouraged and continue to seek him on a daily basis. Pray also for our friends in Canada. Pray that they would continue to seek out answers about the Lord and that the Lord would surround them with Christians.

We don’t want to come home now! Haha.

Hebrews 11

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Mulago Hospital

I think that yesterday was our hardest day so far. We went back to Mulago Hospital and this time we were able to do more things inside it. We started off in the labor ward, which was a lot different here than in America. There were at least fifty plus women lined in the halls and open areas waiting to give birth. They would lay down wherever they could find a place. We walked inside the door to only find more and more women waiting in a very small area. Dr. Martin took us to meet the lady that we were going to work with and when we walked in a lady had just given birth and was helping clean up the area. She didn’t make it to the actual area they give birth so it was in a very small room, not really even enough room for the four of us. I mean this lady had given birth literally two minutes before we walked in and she was already in her normal clothes, cleaning up and ready to walk out. It is like they give birth then the nurse says, “okay, next.” They then took us to a room where the image will never leave my mind and the smell will never leave my memory. When I walked in Lauren and I immediately looked at each other in shock. This was a very small room packed with naked women lying on about ten beds each of them ready to give birth at any moment. There was no privacy, no room, no husband, and one nurse for all of them. When we asked how old the women were they said 17,18, 19, 20, and 21!  For the rest of the day I was pretty quiet and just in shock at what all I had seen.

When we left the labor ward Dr. Martin took us to the Pediatric ward, which was almost harder to be in. We met a little girl that looked about 2 or 3. Her mom had abandoned her and left her at the hospital. She was so skinny. You could see her ribs, her spinal cord was poking out, and her arms where tiny. It was sad because Lauren and I carried her around. I had only been holding her for five minutes and she was attached. She would not let anyone take her from me and if they did she wanted me to take her back. As we left she just watched us confused. She looked at us like “why aren’t you taking me with you?” My heart was completely broken at this point. We then walked to the cancer patient ward and saw both children and adults who were struggling. I really just don’t know much of what to say because the things I saw could only be understood by your own eyes. We also went to the malnutrition ward where kids were fighting for their lives because their parents couldn’t or wouldn’t feed them or they were battling HIV. It was a hard day taking in and seeing just a glimpse of what goes on at that hospital. I am not writing this as a plea for Africa or to make you feel guilty, but just to try and show you even a glimpse of something outside of America. Guys, we have it good, really good. If nothing else, don’t take it for granted. 

A brief update

Thursday we started again in the morning at Wentz Medical Center following Doctor Andrew around and helping out with immunizations. Later we went to Mulago Hospital, which is the biggest hospital in Uganda. It was at least twice the size of Children’s Hospital. We were not allowed to do much because they are so strict, but we did get a surprise. Patrick’s brother took us around the hospital and took us to the gross anatomy lab. Guess what we saw there? Cadavers. Yes, at least 8-10 of them were on the tables and cut up. I walked by one of them, looked down and was scared to death! I saw a foot hanging out of a bag! Once again I am reminded why I do not want to go into the medical field.

Friday we went to Katonga Slums. Lauren brought a lot of medical supplies that we could use to help clean up the kids cuts. We spent a lot of time doing that and handing out toothbrushes. We also got to pray over some people and tell others about the Lord. Most of the people we talked to said they were Christians, but there was a lot of evidence of witchcraft. Most of the little children had beads hanging around their waists, which is a sign of witchcraft. The witch doctor will tell the mother that if the beads break it is a sign that the child is healthy and growing, which is a lie because their stomachs expand like a bubble when they do not get enough food, so it really is a sign of malnutrition.

Saturday we went back to Bethany Village, which is an orphanage. This orphanage is set up very well. They have about 150 children divided into houses. Each house has a mother and 15 children. They are given specific chores to do everyday and each house has a garden they have to maintain. When we got there the kids were working in the garden so we spent the first two hours helping them out there. We also helped cook lunch, fetch water from the lake, wash clothes, and play games with the kids. The little kids thought it was funny that in America we do not hand wash our clothes, so they enjoyed showing me how to do that. One thing I really noticed about the kids was their lack of complaining. If someone asked them to do something and they were playing they would immediately stop and go do what they were asked. They never once said, “hold on, I will in a minute” or “no, I don’t want to.” Also, lunch was not ready until 3:30 which is really late, and where American children,( I will admit probably me too) would complain or keep asking for a snack, these kids waited patiently and never said a word about it being late or them being hungry. It was good to watch how patient they were, how much they respected their elders and treated guests.

Also, I forgot to mention that when we were walking to get a boat that morning we passed by someone who was either dead or almost dead. He was lying in the garden and people were gathered around. You never know what you will see in Africa…

Sunday we went to surprise our friends back in Buloba. It was so exciting to see them and see how surprised they were! They did not think that Lauren and I would come back after the team left. Andi always told us to be prepared wherever you are in Africa to speak in front of people.  We got there and Pastor Isaac was like “ we would like to hear a word from our sister Cathy.” We each went up and spoke to the people in the middle of the church service. One other thing… We arrived at the service at 10:15 and they had already started and we did not end until 1:45! A little different than America, huh? These people are awesome! There is no coming to church to be filled for the week and then leave or come to check it off the list as something you feel you need to do. These people WORSHIPED the Lord. Their hearts were turned to Him and fully focused the entire 3 ½ hours on worshiping Him, not worrying about when the service was over. They wanted more.

Monday we went back to Wentz and spent a lot of time in the lab. We learned a lot about the diseases there and saw them under slides. He also showed us how to find out someone’s blood type (Lauren was the donator to this experiment, I avoid needles at all cost.)

 

We are both still really enjoying our time here and are blessed to be a part of what the Lord is doing here. We do miss everyone at home including the food! Thank you for your prayers! It has been more than a blessing to know that all of you are praying for us. The Lord has done immeasurably more than we have expected! Please continue to pray for the people of Uganda especially against the practice of witchcraft, which seems to be the biggest problem here. Also, pray that Lauren and I would have the patience and endurance to finish out these last couple of weeks.

“The twelve gates were made of pearls- each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass. I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of the day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty- but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Revelation 21:21-27

A hope set before us...

The power of the Lord is immeasurable. The love of the Lord unsearchable. The wisdom of the Lord is unfathomable. The joy of the Lord is indescribable. And to know that He is mine and I am His is unimaginable. He never changes. “Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.” Ephesians 1:18. His hope is the anchor of our souls. Our hope is salvation. Christ. Eternity. “An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:4. By His mercy we have been given an inheritance more precious than gold. We should worship him humbly for his beauty is never fading. We have been saved by grace. This is not our own doing. So boast only in Him.  This earth has nothing to offer us except the opportunity to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. Seek him with all your heart and He will be found by you. “He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love, he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17. Christ is crowned with glory and honor for he is a merciful and faithful high priest.  Everything proclaims his glory: sunrises, sunsets, mountains, flowers, his people. When we finally meet face to face his bride will enter in and the angels will gather around singing. It is a beautiful romance. The only one that matters. I pray that all that is within you will cry out for him to be glorified. That your heart will be open and by his grace he will grant you to live in peace with a greater understanding of who He is. With all encouragement seek His heart. He promises that He will reveal more to you. He is a faithful God. “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” Proverbs 25:2. His promises are sealed with hope. A hope that is greater than all else, hope enough to live by. Walk in HIM. Walk with HOPE. Walk in LOVE so that others will know your GOD. THE ONLY GOD. Walk with comfort that your Savior has conquered the world! Do not fear, nothing is out of his control. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33. Sing praises to Him. Sing with a grateful heart. Sing with joy. Sing with all the nations, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a MIGHTY one who will SAVE.

 

“When we arrive at eternity’s shore where death is just a memory and tears are no more, we’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring, your bride will come together and we’ll sing you’re beautiful.”

“Heaven fall down on me. Bring your peace. Bring your joy. Let it rain. Let it pour.”

Hebrews 2:5-18

Soon we will be coming home. Wait for Him. Wait with hope…

Everything is an adventure in Uganda

We started working in our new places on Monday. We went to a medical center the first day and I was able to shadow a doctor all day. It is a small clinic so they do not do major surgeries, but overall that day I saw some pretty interesting things. I sat in the room with him while patients came in and out, most of them had malaria. Then we had to do minor surgery on an 11 year old girl's foot. He put her to sleep and then took a cyst out of the bottom of her foot. He would tell me, "come, look" and then explain to me what was going on. I was definitely reminded why I do not want to be a doctor. (Russell- I respect you even more now.)  Then the lab tech told us to come and work in the laboratory with him. We took people's blood and tested them for malaria. He showed us several slides of patients with malaria or HIV. After going back and forth between the doctors I learned a lot. There were four other people there from Canada and our new friend, Shanna, from Texas. They all asked us to lunch. All I could think about was okay, so I'm in Uganda eating lunch with people my age from Canada and Texas and I don't really know any of them well, this is awesome. (Don't worry mom- they aren't strangers haha. they are all our age doing work here). 

Today we went to Bunga Hill Primary School and what a day it has been! We started off the day working with the little kids, but we got a little tired just sitting there listening to them say their A,B,C's and the teacher didn't seem to need us too much, so we went to the older classrooms. The school headmaster asked us what we wanted to do with the kids and we said we were good with whatever, that if they wanted to they could ask us questions. He said, " oh, okay so you teach them?"(in his Uganda accent) Well I thought this meant that we would tell them some about America. Not so much. He took us into the classroom and then left and so did the teacher, for at least two hours. Haha. So Lauren and I were like awesome,  I guess he was serious when he said we were going to teach. We spent a lot of time answering their questions about America and then we did a couple of small English lessons and played some games. They seemed to enjoy their day off with the Americans. The last class we went to was a group of 10-12 year olds and those teachers did the same thing, they wanted us to teach. Well this was the class that we went to a little unprepared. We asked them if they had any questions about America. These were some of the questions: " What plate tectonic does your country and state lie on?" "Do you have rift valleys and if so which one?" " Is the United Nation's headquarters located in New York?" ( I told him that I thought it was in Washington D.C. and he brought me a book because he thought I was wrong and showed me that it is in NY) "What is the youngest President of the United States?" "Who is your governor?" ( That one scared me because I thought he was going to ask me the names of a lot of government officials which I honestly do not know) They asked about every geography, political, and just crazy questions that I would not expect from kids here and especially not 10 year olds. They also asked us to sing the National Anthem, oh how I wish I had the video camera for that one. It sounded lovely. Do you know our emblem or national bird? You should, because you never know when you will be asked. We felt like we were in American History 101 with 10 year olds from Uganda. After they drilled us, Lauren and I sat down with a couple of them and before you knew it they swarmed around us asking us more questions. Lauren said that the kids with her thought that some Americans can fly because they have seen the Spiderman movie and thought he was real. They thought that we have invisible cars. This one surprised me- they asked us if Americans feared black people because their teacher told them that we do. I was not expecting that because I definitely did not think that they thought that. So what started out as a mundane day turned out to be quite interesting. 

Tonight we went with David to Maureen, his girlfriend's house. It was her birthday so they wanted us to come celebrate with her family. Well on the way there we took a boda-boda. This was our first experience and it was definitely entertaining. Boda- boda's are like a smaller version of a motorcycle and a bigger version of a scooter. They are small which means they like to zoom through already crazy traffic. No worries though, we made it alive. When we arrived her family was so happy to see us. We sat down and talked to them for several hours.(They eat dinner around 9:30, so my stomach was growling.) I really don't even know how to fully tell you how Ugandans treat guests, but they think that God has blessed a family when they have visitors so having us over tonight was a big deal. Her dad thanked us over and over and talked about how he was the most blessed person in their community because he had guests. They cooked dinner for us and we ate in the dark by one small lantern, which was really cool. I could not see the food I was eating and I think it was better that I could not. It has been neat to learn and see what goes on in their culture. It was Maureen's birthday yet she helped cook dinner and before we ate she walked around with a bowl and pitcher of water, got down on her knees and washed all our hands, starting with her fathers. It just reminded me of when Jesus washed his disciple's feet and how humbling that had to be. I just sat back and watched her kneel down and pour water over her fathers hands to wash them.  Then she served her cake she put it on a plate and individually knelt down on her knees in front of each of us, including the kids, and held out the plate for us to get a piece. I was served the entire night. These people here are servants. I was just taken back at how they treat people and serve them humbly. These people welcome you in love and serve you with a humble heart and they are real. They are truly  grateful to have you and really want to get to know you, it is not just entertainment and surface level small talk. These people intently listen to you and serve you. You can see Christ in them in all that they do. I have never felt so welcomed, served, comfortable, and loved more than I have by anyone and I am in a strangers home in Uganda, yet because they are in Christ they are family and it definitely feels that way. It has become so much more real to me that my family in Christ is not just in America, but it's all over the world. These people in Uganda are my brothers and sisters and I will one day see them in Heaven!