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! 

so two days ago i went BUNGEE JUMPING into the Nile River!!! Wow! I never thought I would do that! It took a long time for me to decide to do it and it was CRAZY, but so much fun! I guess I can check that one off my list haha. You can look at the pictures on Andi's blog andreacollette.com.

 It was a good day. We woke up at 5:30 and saw the sunrise which was so beautiful! We also took a small boat on a short trip around the Nile and saw where it starts. We saw some of the falls and then had a good lunch. It was a good day off before our friends had to leave for Alabama! 

The next day was a pretty sad day. We had to go say bye to our friends in Buloba and then take the rest of the group to the airport. It is now just Lauren and I here. Our first night alone consisted of  a PB&J for dinner. It looks like rice, fruit, and PB&J are going to be the food of choice for the next three weeks. Tomorrow we are going to Gaba church again, which had one of the best services I've been to. We also get to eat lunch with Patrick and his family who has a one month old baby girl, so I'm in heaven. We start work again on Monday. We will be splitting our time between a school and medical center. I think we will also go to the slums some as well as go out in the community to tell people about Christ. 

I have internet now at the new apartment, so I will be able to keep in touch a little bit better. Love you all! 

He Will Rejoice Over You With Gladness

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exalt over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

 

It was yet another incredible day. I started off the day by getting a tattoo from our good friend Amos who is an artist. Actually I got two, both on my right arm. Sorry mom, I had to do it. Anyways, after distributing eyeglasses we went out into the village again to tell people about the Lord. Pastor Isaac, Henry, Lauren, Morgan, and I were together. We first went to this family who lived next to a mosque. Half of the family were Christians and the other half were Muslims. Altogether there were about twenty people gathered around us. One of the boys, he looked about sixteen, asked a lot of questions about Christianity. We prayed together at the end as several of them came to know the Lord. Next, we went to an elderly ladies house who had never heard about Jesus. She was 70 and had never heard; that is crazy! We had the opportunity to tell her and when we finished talking she said she wanted to be a Christian. There were several people today that we talked to that had never heard about Jesus or who did not know much about Him. We got asked so many questions and several people came to know the Lord.

I don’t know what to say about today. I am just so excited! These people had never heard the name Jesus or did not know much about Him and we got to tell them! We sat down with so many families today who came to know the Lord and some were Muslims. It became so real today that the Lord has brought us here for a reason. These people might have never heard the Gospel and we got to share it with them. What an opportunity! At least 15 more people joined our family today and will one day rejoice with us in Heaven!

Also, this morning they took us to their old well, which is about a 1 ½ mile walk. We were given jerrycans (water jugs) to carry. This was about one of the hardest things I have ever done! Each jerrycan weighed at least 40-50 lbs. and we had to carry them all the way back. I struggled big time.haha. I tried to carry it on my head and oh man was it heavy! It amazed me that little kids do this every day more than once. Never again can I complain about working. I have a new outlook on the people here and the work that we do. I have not heard one child complain. I was told that these kids have a problem with growth. They carry these jugs everyday and it stunts their growth because they are so heavy. A lot of these kids are tiny because of this. What looks like a four or five year old is actually nine or ten. The church I am with helped fund a new well for the community so they do not have to walk as far. After today I am very thankful for this.

I hope everyone is doing well. I can’t wait to hear from you guys! Connor- I love you! Happy Graduation! I am sorry I cannot be there; I wish I could! You finally made it and now you will be with me at Alabama! I’m proud of you!

P.S. I did not really get a tattoo. Amos did it with a marker. 

Preach the Gospel To All Nations

 

Today was another great day. The Lord did some really amazing things yet again. We began the morning going to the people’s homes in Buloba preaching the Gospel. We split up into five teams. I went with Pastor Isaac and another Buloba man. Once we walked to the homes Pastor Isaac just walked up to a man and started telling him about Jesus. I was like okay I guess were doing this, so the other guy and myself went and talked to a man near by. He could speak English so it was easier. The guy I was with just encouraged him for a while because he was already a Christian. I got to pray over him when he was done. Then it was really cool because some kids began to gather around because their was a muzugoo there (white person, aka me) and one of the kids could speak English really well and so I asked him about Jesus and he said He loved the Lord so we went through some verses while more and more kids gathered around. Before I knew it there were at least 10 kids gathered around listening to us read Scripture. All I could think of was Jesus saying “Let the little children come to me.” We then walked over to four women sitting outside their home with their children. Pastor Isaac talked to them for about 30 minutes in Luganda. I had to just sit their because I could not understand what they were saying, then Pastor Isaac turned to me and said okay they want to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior lets pray over them. I was like well okay, awesome! I didn’t understand a word for the past 30 minutes and now they are going to accept Christ, great! Haha. We walked to several other people, some who were not so welcoming to Christ. I talked to the guy with us for a while and he was saying that witchcraft, prostitution, and alcoholism are all very prevalent in this town. He also said that a lot of people love the Lord on Sunday and then forget who He is during the week. Sound familiar? The best part of the day came next. Some of you guys wrote me letters and I open them every few days. Today I opened the one from Kyle and it turned out to be the focal point of the whole day. He wrote this verse in it, “For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:12-15 He also wrote in the letter the Great Commission. This was the most appropriate verse for the day. I showed a lot of people so it would encourage them when we were telling them about the Lord. When we were walking I showed Pastor Isaac the verse and it came in handy later. Our last person to visit was an elderly Muslim lady. She told us that she was a Muslim because it was in her blood, all her ancestors were Muslims. She also said that she believed in God but believed that she could go to God through Allah. She said that some people go to God through Jesus and others can go through Allah. Josh and I were sitting there and we were like man I wish I knew that verse by heart that talks about Jesus being the only way and then Josh looked down and his Bible was opened to John 14:6 which says “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” How great is that! Then Pastor Isaac pulled out the Romans verse I was talking about because it went right along with what they were saying (I could not understand that part because they were talking in Luganda) but he asked me for the verse! So that was cool too! We talked to this lady for at least an hour and at the end she asked us to pray that God would stir up her heart to believe in Jesus Christ. She said that she wanted to believe, but that God needed to stir it up in her! Wow! She did not believe just to make us happy, but wanted the Lord to change her heart. That is incredible! I could definitely tell that the presence of the Holy Spirit was there.

When we met up with the other group they said that five people they talked to got saved. They said they went and prayed around the shrine where people practice witchcraft. They also said that they have found bodies of people in the bush beside the shrine where they have sacrificed people before.

We handed out eyeglasses the rest of the day. We got a touch of home when we drove back because we got ice cream and tonight we get pizza! I love the food here, but I am happy to enjoy some good, not healthy American food tonight.

I forgot to tell you the other day we went on a 6-mile prayer walk around Buloba! Yes, I was about to die, but it was good. These people are incredible here. Also, a little side note, we enjoy our dinner and go to bed every night listening to the Muslims sing. There is a Muslim Institution really close to where we are staying.

This was another long one, but I just have so much to say. Wednesday we are going out again to tell people about Jesus so please pray for us. Pray that we would have wisdom and knowledge and that the hearts of the people would be open. Thank you all for praying, the Lord is definitely hearing our prayers and answering them.