Uganda trip part 2!

So we are now staying at Mama Aidah and pastor Morris's house and the rest of the team is on their way home. The past 3 days have been so busy!!!!!

On Tuesday we spent a good chunk of the morning waiting for our van to arrive and getting everyone's luggage on top. When we finally were dropped off and the team was gone kristyn and I were ready to go! We got Paul and took a trip to town. We visited mama Irene in the hospital and got to see her babies. They are doing so well! We also got to explore town and go to the super market and another market where Paul got a case for his new laptop. It was neat to walk around town and get to know where everything is a little bit better (even though I am semi directionally challenged. Lol.) When we were done we took a piki home!!!!! It was so much fun :-) Kristyn and I were laughing the whole time. Our poor driver probably thought we were crazy. (Thanks Paul for helping us with this!) When we got home we had lunch the. Went into Namatala and walked around for a while talking to people along the way. When we got home we were outside when we ran into some of the ichooseyou kids on their way home from school. We invited them into our room to do homework and it was so much fun! I loved getting to know the kids and what subjects they do well in and which subjects they need help in. After all of the homework was complete and correct it was time for the kids to go home. Later that evening after dinner we had an EPIC dance party in the courtyard behind the main house at mama's. It was awesome. Winnie, Flower, Paul, Haley, Scott, Kristyn, Shadia, Nicholas, Marvin, and a few others we're with us and it was a blast!

Wednesday morning Kristyn, Paul, and I went into Namatala early to help a little girl with a burn on her foot. Poor girl. It was very infected and probably hurt a lot when we were cleaning it. She probably hates us. Haha. After we were done we did a few more things in Namatala then went home for lunch. After lunch we took a nap then had homework club in our room. The kids love it and I love getting to help them and see them learning. After the homework club Glenn came and picked us up and took us to the market so that we could go shopping because we had decided to cook dinner! We got a few things then went to Chat N Chino and used the Internet for a while. When we were done we went back home and cooked a FABULOUS dinner! It was so much fun! Scott did most of the cooking and Christopher have him a few tips here and there while the rest of us watched and gave input when asked. Haha. After dinner we attempted to make homemade cookie dough and fry it haha. It was a lot of fun but didn't quite live up to our expectations. Note: sugar in Uganda isn't like sugar in America. Haha. Then we put in a movie we had bought at a market to find that it was not at all what we were expecting! It was dubbed and it was AWFUL! So Glenn and I took a trip to town again to find a movie in English! We found it and went home and all of us watched Avatar in Mama's living room. It was a lot of fun!

Today we went to Namatala to redress the burn and then we went to covenant to talk to Sarah about what the kids need as far as tutoring. When Paul got us a piki the kids thought it was hilarious! After lunch we took a couple kids to visit their mom in the hospital (thanks Glenn!) and then left them with her while we got a few things in town. The kids were so happy to see their mom! After we were done in town we went back to get the kids and we took them home. Then we had to go back to redress the burn because we didn't have any bandages that would work this morning so we had to improvise. After that we won't home, had dinner, and came to Chat N Chino for some Internet.

Busy 3 days!!! But it has been great and I'm so happy to still be here! My heart is going to break when we have to go home. Not thinking about that yet. Haha. For now I'm just thanking God for allowing me to be here. Praise Him!

Namatala/Pee

Well it's been a great couple of days in Mbale/Namatala! Yesterday we spent the morning at the school with the ichooseyou kids and helped them write letters to their sponsors. They get so excited at the word "sponsor" haha! Each kid had 1-3 letters to write depending on how many sponsors they have at the moment. They wrote the letter and colored a picture as well. Teacher Sarah would tell them they had to re-draft if it wasn't clear enough! It was so cute. When they were done they were allowed outside to play with the mzungus! Haha the boys had an epic game of soccer going on with booth and the girls sat on the steps with us while we painted their nails for a while. As usual, there were plenty of kids that aren't in ichooseyou around. They just like being around the mzungus, and of course probably hope to be chosen if they stick around long enough. We just need more sponsors!!! *hint hint! Sponsor a kid!*
After a while kristyn came and I got to talk to her and hang out with her for a while. Kristyn is such a sweet girl! She is 12 and very smart. I believe she had been in school but her dad passed away and now they can't afford it. Sad story but one we hear too often. Right now all I can do for her is love her and I hope she knows I do!!! It looked like rain for a while but nothing really happened. Just a few sprinkles for a while then we had clear skies again! We had spaghetti at Mama's for lunch and as usual Christopher did an excellent job! After lunch it wasn't looking like rain (finally!) so we went to Namatala. I looked for Chede on the way to mama Sarah's but they weren't home. Mama Sarah took us to see what rice looks like when it's being grown. That was pretty cool. I didn't get to see it up close but the field was beautiful! We had a flock of children following us that had to stop before we got to the field because there wasn't room for everyone. They stood about 100 feet away and yelled for us the whole time. It was cute at first but then it got old lol. After we were done we went back to mama Sarah's and helped her with her beans. After I picked some for a while my pile was done and I decided to go look for Chede again. Kady went with me and when I got to Chede's hut I saw Maria carrying Ana. Maria was trying to tell me something but she doesn't speak English so I didn't know what. Even though she doesn't speak it, she understands English pretty well so i asked her where chede was. She just started walking so I followed her. A short way away I saw some "shops" and then my sweet Chede saw me and started running to me! Her mom was there so she came and said hello. I asked if I could take Chede with me and she said yes and then started walking with us. When we got to their hut she put some things inside then came out and I asked if she knew where mama Sarah lived and if I could take Chede. She said yes again and started walking toward mama Sarah's. When we got there I was able to ask mama Sarah to ask her how old Chede is and she said she is almost 4!!!!!! That's so much better than 6!!!!!! I was so relieved and happy when I heard that. We hung out at mama Sarah's for a while and played and had a great time. :-) When we left mama sarah's hut Becky wanted to see Teko Brian's new hut. We walked to where he lives and saw his Jjaja too! She started taking her karamojong bracelets off and giving them to us. It was so sweet. Then a neighbor came and reached up her arm and started pulling a bracelet off of her bicep! Hahaha. She gave it to Becky and Becky put it on her arm! Hahaha it was so funny and so cute. Then we started walking back toward mama's house but on the way a child stepped on something and was bleeding so we stopped and bandaged his foot. While we were bandaging a fight broke out a few huts away. Some of the kids ran and watched including Teko and Maria, who was carrying Ana. I yelled for them and Teko came running back immediately. It took Maria a while longer to realize I was calling her. A mama that was standing near me noticed I was calling her and walked toward the fight and called her and sent her to me. When I had both of them with me I gave a "fighting is bad!" speech then it was time to go. I walked down the road a ways then had to send Maria, Ana and Chede home and we walked back to mamas and went home.

Today we went to church which lasted about 4 hours long. While we were in church Chede peed on me. Hahahahahaha. I was holding her and she was extra squirmy. All of the sudden she started crying and then my lap was warm and wet. I put her down to finish peeing and she looked so upset. She was still crying and looked worried that I was mad because she peed on me. I kissed her and told her it was ok and I loved her. I cleaned up my lap and then they let all the kids go from the service and I went with them. I took Chede outside and put a diaper on her then went and washed her skirt and my dress out in the well. Kristyn, her neighbor, kept telling me she as sorry and I kept telling her it was ok! Once we were both as clean as we were going to be we walked around and played and had a great time. This was my very first experience being peed on in Uganda! Haha it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. oh! And I taught Chede to say I love you! I'll post it soon. It's so cute :-)

Tomorrow is the teams last day here then Kristyn and I are moving to mamas house for our last 2 weeks. Sad to see the team leave but excited to see what God has in store for us! Thanks for the prayers and keep them coming!

Pictures!!!

Small Wounds

It's funny, we plan these small wounds clinics and it never ends up being about the small wounds. Haha. Today we had a small wounds clinic in Namatala at Teacher Sarah's house. We had plenty of children with boo boos show up and we were able to help them, but we also had many other people that came looking for help. We had parents telling us their children had malaria and asking for help. Unfortunately we don't have malaria medication and money doesn't grow on trees. We also had parents and grandparents complaining of their eyes hurting. We had simple eye drops that we could hand out but that isn't going to solve the long term problem. I had a mama that brought me her baby and showed me some gooey looking stuff around the neck and around her bottom. Of course we had NO CLUE what to do so I held the baby for a while, we tried to clean her up some and then Becky decided to put baby powder on her because it looked sort of like a rash or something. We tried telling the mom to see a doctor but that won't happen if she doesn't have the money. After the crowd of children disappeared we decided to move to a different location in Namatala. We moved to Mama Sarah's house and set up in the back of the van. Most of the team walked around trying to let people know we were there but strangely it was pretty quiet in Namatala today. I went to get Chede and take pictures of her and Ana so that I could get some advice on how to help them. We got to their hut and their "dad" said, "where have you been these past few days?" in a somewhat harsh tone. So I explained as best as I could that I had hives and wasn't able to come out but now I am better so I am here. His tone changed and he said "oh, sorry sorry." and then grabbed Chede and Ana and told me that they both had been throwing up and coughing all night for the past few days. My heart breaks every time he tells me things like that. I want to help so badly but I just don't know what to do. And as always, money doesn't grow on trees. Not even for Mzungus. Oh how I wish it did, or would, just for a short time so that I could help my babies!!! I took pictures and then took Chede, Ana, and Maria with me and we headed back to the van. When we got to the van we saw Kady (who seems to like Ana quite a bit :-) who wouldn't?!) and decided to put a diaper on her so that she could hold her without getting peed on. Haha. When I put her down on the seat of the van I felt something hard hit my hand. I thought maybe I had hit her tailbone or something but it was awfully bony. I looked at her bottom to see if it looked strange and it didn't. I felt her tailbone area and it definitely wasn't what I hit. I was moving my hand to put the diaper on her and noticed it again. This time I found it. She has a lump about the size of a silver dollar on her left bottom cheek. You can't see it much from the outside but when you feel her bottom it is very hard and pretty big. I have no clue what it is or how she got it but I definitely don't like it. These children need help. I want to help them. It's killing me. The hardest part is knowing that even if I fed them now it would go back to how it was when I leave, if I took them to the doctor now they would get sick again after I leave. What do I do?! I wish God would just come down and hand me a piece of paper with clear instructions on exactly what steps to take with this family. Then I could actually DO something instead of just stand by and watch these girls get more and more sick. I know I keep asking for prayers about this but I need an ARMY of prayers at this point. It is taking all I have to not just sweep them up into my arms and carry them all the way to a hospital for help. I know that isn't the wise thing to do at this point, I just don't know what is. If I took them I would be responsible for the payment, which could be very small or could be way over my head. I feel stuck in the most awful place ever and it is really wearing me down. Pray please. It's all I know to do at this point.
Tomorrow we will have another small wounds clinic and another eventful day I'm sure :-). More to come!

No More Hives!!!!!

I almost forgot to mention that I have been Hives free for two days now! Praise God!!! Thanks for the prayers! I now know exactly who to call when I get sick in Uganda. Thanks Mama Aidah, Pastor Morris, and Glenn for making sure I was given the best medical attention around! Thanks to the sweet nurse that did such a good job every time she gave me a shot! I hate needles but she was very good with the shot. Thanks Becky for letting me cry and holding my hand while I got the shots. Thanks mom for not freaking out TOO much when I told you. I love you and I know it had to be hard being so far away from me when I had my first ever allergic reaction/hives. Thanks Ginny for giving me Benadryl instructions! Haha I know I can always count on you. Thanks Aunt Kim for giving me advice on how to make it bearable! I have so many people that love me and it showed A LOT when I got Hives. Haha. Love you all!!!

In the day of trouble I seek the Lord.

Psalm 77:1-2 "I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted."

I feel like this a little bit right now. My heart is completely broken for this place and these people. Chede and Ana in particular. Everything inside me wants to DO something for my baby girl but I don't know what to do, or where to begin, or if I have the funds, etc. I am crying out to God asking for help, direction, wisdom and understanding and coming up dry.

Psalm 77:9, 11-15 "9, Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?...11, I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 12, I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. 13, Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? 14, You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. 15, You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph."

And God will redeem the people of Namatala. In His time, in His way. He has not forgotten to be gracious. He has NOT shut up his compassion. God is here! He is moving, He is speaking, He is redeeming! His way is HOLY.

John 14:18 says "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." God did not leave us alone here. He sent us the spirit. The spirit is our helper, our friend, our strength, our GOD, and the spirit is HERE NOW and moving in me and in this place. I have not been left as an orphan to figure this out on my own. Chede and Ana have not been left as orphans or street children to fight for themselves and struggle to survive. We have a helper. We have a savior. A savior who died and rose again for our spiritual needs, and sent the spirit as a helper for our daily needs. Right now I am in need, and I am holding on to the promise that I have a helper. God is guiding me whether I see an immediate plan of action or not. Praise Him!

I am still in desperate need of prayer. I don't know why I'm so overwhelmed by the severity of the malnutrition problem this year but I am. Maybe it's because it is my little girl now, maybe God is trying to show me something, maybe it is just actually worse than last year. I don't know. But my heart is broken and I need comfort and direction from the one who knows best and wants THE best for His children. I need a minute by minute reminder that His way IS HOLY. A moment by moment reminder that His ways ARE GOOD. Lord, I believe these things and I trust you with my baby girls. Please keep praying with me for Chede and Ana, and the rest of Namatala. Also pray for me to trust in Gods timing and plan, and to hear His voice when He gives me direction. Thank you!

On a happier note, today was a good day :-) We planted a garden at Medina's house today! (mama Beatrice and Agnes) There is a special place in my heart for Medina. We don't speak the same language but somehow last year we bonded. She tells me she loves me all the time and always hands me Agnes to hold when she is around. Last year on our family day I held Agnes for a long time and Medina just loved it. Haha I loved it too ;-). I wish I could introduce you all to Medina. She is so humble and kind and sweet! Medina just carries a soothing presence about her and has the most gracious heart.
Medina had told us that she had a place for the garden that was ready to plant. It had been prepared mostly before we got there and just needed the manure spread around and seeds planted. Well the manure was ripe, that's for sure! Haha it smelled oh so lovely (NOT) and looked terrific. (jk!) Our awesome guys got right in there and started moving Manure around. Becky decided she would as well and then Becky, Kady, and Deanna took turns with the hoe while David and Scott did their thing along with two guys from Namatala. Turns out the two guys from Namatala were farmers! They helped us organize the garden and we planted carrots, tomato, cabbage, egg plant, kale, and green peppers. I got to put the actual seeds down which was so cool! Something about planting literal seeds and knowing you are planting spiritual seeds as well is just amazing. Medina was SO excited. She just kept saying thank you over and over to all of us. It was a good day. The past few days it has rained after lunch so we have had to come back to the hotel. Can't really walk around Namatala in the pouring rain! However, we shouldn't complain because our gardens are being fed!!! Today has been a good day :-) back at the hotel we decided to play swap and I apparently am AWFUL at games that require a quick reaction. I'm pretty sure I'll be made fun of forever for always being the last one to slap in that game. Hahaha if you've never played you should. If you play with me you'll probably win! Lol. Now we are about to go eat at Glenn's Chat N Chino :-) Yummy! More later!

P.S. Thanks for praying with me friends and family! You may never know how valuable you are to me but your prayers are worth so much!!!! Thank
You!!!

Hives day 2/Pray with me please

So I woke up with new spots. They weren't as bad as day 1 but they itched a lot more. We decided to see the doctor and they gave me another cortisone "iv" and sent us away. They are getting better but not as quickly as yesterday. I know I'll be fine but it's annoying. The most annoying part is the fact that I've been stuck "resting" for the past 2 days. I miss Namatala and my sweet Chede and her sisters and her neighbor kristyn. Hopefully tomorrow they will be gone and I'll be able to be with the team. Please pray with me that this ENDS FAST! I'm tired of being stuck in the room in Uganda. My nightmares came true lol. Please Lord make this end so I can go back out!

In other news, yesterday Becky and Kristyn took mama Irene and the 1 year old daughter Sarah and the almost 3 year old son Amaza, which are the same size, to the hospital to have nutrition treatments and lessons for mama on what and how to feed the babies. We had planted a garden near their hut last week so that she would have food to feed them once they are out of the hospital and the food is grown. They left mama Irene with money at the hospital with the babies when we realized I needed to see a doctor. Last night we got word that mama Irene WALKED all the way home from the hospital with one baby on her back and one on her front because someone stole her money. Today the president is in Mbale so they couldn't get around very well to take them back to the hospital. I guess we are doing that tomorrow. I hope this mama realizes the urgency of her babies needs and decides to stay no matter what until treatment is done this time. Amaza won't make it if she doesn't. Pray for these people. I know I keep saying this but the malnutrition problem is VERY apparent this year. I know it was there last year but it seems worse now. Maybe I'm just more aware. I don't know. All I know is that it's desperate at this point.

Another thing you can pray with me about is my role here. I know I'm supposed to be here but I don't know when, for how long, what I'm supposed to do, where I'm supposed to live, etc. Please pray with me that I would have wisdom and understanding in what God wants from me here. Thanks!

I hope everyone is well in the states! Love and miss y'all! More later.

Hives...

Well, leave it to me to have my first ever allergic reaction in Uganda. Yes, hives in Uganda. Ugh. Haha. I'm about 90% clear now but I have had quite the night/day. It started about 1pm yesterday. I had put on deet and sunscreen and we were out by the pool on our day off. I thought I had been bit by a mosquito and it just got kind of red. The only thing that was weird was that it was kind of big and in the same place on both arms. I brushed it off and put on some more deet. Then we finished swimming/laying out and got ready for dinner. By this point I had one more and I figured I just needed to make sure I had enough deet on since we were eating outside. So we had dinner and decided to play card games in my room. While we were going upstairs I noticed that I had a couple more spots on my arms and the palm of my right hand was swollen and red. That's when I began to think maybe it wasn't a mosquito. While we are playing card games I realized I had some spots in places I KNOW Mosquitos couldn't get to. So I asked around and took two benedryl and went to bed. Around 3am I woke up feeling hot, itchy, and in pain. I went to the restroom and to my surprise I was COVERED in these red spots. They were everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Even in my face and feet. It hurt to walk and to smile and basically do anything. So I consulted my favorite nurse and paramedic in training (shout out Ginny! Sry I didn't tell you it was me last night. Didn't want to worry you.) and she said that "someone" could take more benedryl and gave "someone" instructions. So at 3am I took more benedryl and went to bed praying for the best. At 6 am it was worse. At 9:30am it was awful so Becky called pastor Morris and he sent a doctor that he trusts with Mzungu's to the hotel. The doctor asked questions, looked at me and told us to go to his office. At his office they gave me a hydrocortisone shot and a prescription and told me "you will be fine." so we left. I took the first dose of the medicine and then we went to Morris and Aidah's for lunch. About 4 hours later I'm 90% better! Thank you Jesus!!!!! So I survived my very first allergic reaction! And I'm in Uganda. Haha :-) now I just hope it was from the deet or sunscreen. I'm not using either of those again (don't worry I'm taking malaria medicine so I'll be fine without bug spray.) If it wasn't one of those I could be back in the doctors office tomorrow. Pray that I'm not please! I hated not seeing Chede or going to Namatala today. Pray that this is the end of my allergic reactions. Anyways I thought I'd share my hives story with you. I made it! Hahahahaha :-)

Medical Clinic in Namatala

Yesterday was our first medical clinic and there were so many people! I had to take Chede (new CORRECT spelling!) and her sisters into the clinic because their parents weren't around. Then Simon (the man helping us organize everyone inside) told Maria to go get her dad and she did. Her dad came in and told me I could handle it then left. Then Simon sent her after him again and when her dad came back in he told him he needed to stay. So we went inside and the doctor was asking questions and most of the time their dad looked at me and I had to answer. I knew more about their symptoms than he did. It sounded to me like he has HIV, (I was only catching pieces of what was going on with him. Translation hiccups) so after I told the doctor all of their symptoms she came over to me and said "He doesn't take care of these. All of them need to be tested and they are not being taken care of." That confused me a little but when she said it she was feeling Chede's stomach and I kind of assumed she meant they aren't eating. So I took the girls outside to get tested for HIV and the nurse said "these don't have HIV they are malnourished" but they did the test anyways. They were negative PRAISE GOD!!!!!! But now I don't know what to do for them. Chede seems happy but she doesn't like to stand and I don't know if it's because she is a brat or because it makes her tired because she is malnourished. Every time I hold her she falls asleep. And Ana sleeps all the time. Poor baby. Her tummy is just like Chede's but baby sized. Ana has to be around 6-9 months old. Their dad told me today that mom goes and looks for survival every day. (survival=food/money/work) It's just such an awful situation that is entirely too common in this place. I can't even explain to you how "normal" distended bellys have become to me. Please pray with me that it would be made clear what my purpose with this family is! I feel so completely helpless. Today was just as eventful. I sat in with the doctors most of the day and watched them see patients. That was really interesting. Not like a doctors appointment in America for sure! Later in the day I traded with someone so they could have a break from the sun and was faced with a very hard situation. A little girl told Haley that she was being abused at home. We had no clue what to do. This isn't uncommon here but that still doesn't make it ok! Glenn eventually talked to her and calmed her a little but for the most part in this situation our hands are tied. It's so sad. Breaks my heart. After the clinic we found out that 2 children were sent to the hospital for malnutrition. Tomorrow we will be checking on them and getting more information. One of them is a 4 year old the size of a 1 year old. The other was a baby that was a month old and the doctor said it was dying. Please pray with us for these children! This is such a serious problem in Namatala and these are just 2 severe cases. This breaks my heart so much. I just wish I could feed them all! I can't. God can. Pray. Please. I will have to post more later. My mind is entirely too crowded right now. Thanks for praying with me! Love and miss you all at home!

Day 3 in Namatala

Today we began a little later in the day so part of the team stayed with the moms sewing club and part of the team came with me to Namatala. We went and found Chade and as soon as I rounded the corner we heard "Mzungu Chade! Mzungu Chade!" and then the mamas called for Chade and she came running around the corner to me! We went over where her hut was and the mamas pulled out "chairs" for us so we all sat down and played with babies. Chade was eating so she stood as close as she could to me while she ate. I had a cute flower headband with me that I put on her and the mamas loved it. While she was standing near me I could feel her little distended belly and it felt hard, almost like a pregnant belly but a little different. She was eating but it was just flower and water and I don't know how often she gets to eat. I was told again that she is 6 years old and I still refuse to believe that. I really hope she is more like 3 or 4. Hopefully soon I will be able to take a translator with me to go talk to her mom. After Chade finished eating she ran back to her hut, put away her bowl, and ran straight back out to me with her arms out. I held her a while longer then it was time for us to go to lunch. I handed her to Kristyn and asked kristyn to tell her I would be back in a couple hours then we left. Without tears!!! After lunch we went back to Namatala to plant another garden. A few people went early with me to go find Chade. When we got there she came running again and kristyn told me we could take her with us to Irene's hut where we were planting. I held her and kissed her and gave her some water and tried to put her down but she wouldn't let me. She cries every time I try! Paul didn't Elise me that she still cries and he told me to "test it" so I put her down and she cried and grabbed for me. I picked her back up. Haha! Once again there were plenty of people planting so I just played with Chade, Maria and kristyn. When it was time to go her mom came and took her from me and put her down. She cried and turned and reached for me and cried the whole way. Breaks my heart!!! Tonight we celebrated Molly's 19th birthday at Chat N Chino and it was great! Thanks Glenn! It has been another wonderful day :-) ichooseyou family day tomorrow!

Day 2!

It has been another wonderful day! Today we went to the village to plant another garden. There were plenty of people already working on the garden when I got there and soon it became too many people so I decided to focus on the children instead. I played with the kids and talked tried to talk to the mamas for a while then decided to go walking through the village with Kristyn and Kady. We walked for a while and we were about to turn a corner when I saw her. Chade was walking with a rather large group of children behind Sott, David and Mark when she saw me. She turned, started running toward me, and then put her hands up and grabbed me. I picked her up and held her for a very long time :-) we walked through Namatala some more then went back to where everyone else was. When we got there I saw Chade's sister Maria holding the smallest beautiful baby girl. I had Paul ask her if it was her sister and she said yes it was and her name is Ana. I took her from Maria, and held Ana and Chade at the same time! I was in Heaven!!! I got some pictures with Chade and Ana that I will post soon. I also tried to get pictures with Chade, Ana and Maria but I couldn’t get a good one because all the other kids tried to get in. We finally finished the garden and it was time for lunch so I had to send her home. This was a tiny bit of a problem because Chade cried and cried and tried to follow me to the van but Maria was holding Ana. Finally one of the mama’s in the area picked her up and helped Maria get her home. It was heart wrenching! Oh I love this girl!!!!! So we went to Mama Aidah’s house for lunch and had chapati(!!!!!) rice beans and bananas. It was SO good J not very healthy, but good. After lunch we headed back to the village in hopes to plant another garden. Becky told me we weren’t far from where Chade lives so I asked her to go with me to show me how to get there so I could get my baby. We went and from about 100 feet away she saw me (before I saw her) and started running toward me. Then someone realized she was running toward me and picked her up and carried her to me. I figured out that that was her mom! Her mom’s name is Agnes and she is VERY Karamojong. (As if you can be more or less Karamojong lol. She just really looked Karamojong.) Then her dad walked up and introduced himself again. I asked if I could take her with me to where we were planting the garden and he was hesitant but then he said I could if the neighbor went with us. Her name is Kristyn and she is 12 years old. So we walked back to the place we wanted to garden at but the team had decided we couldn’t plant today because we were unsure of the exact location for the garden, so it was time to go. Chade’s dad walked up right when we were deciding to leave so Becky and Mark talked to him a little. Kristyn had told me that Chade is 6 years old. (Oh how I pray this is NOT true.) I asked her dad and, go figure, he didn’t know. I hugged her, kissed her, and told her I love her then had to put her down. She immediately started crying again and Mark ushered me into the van saying it would only get harder if I didn’t go now. Her dad picked her up and walked toward the van looking confused. Becky walked over and said “She wants the Mzungu” and her dad said “yes, she does!” She cried and cried and her dad finally just had to walk away with her reaching for me and crying. I looked out the back window of the van and she made eye contact with me and reached and cried and it broke my heart! I wish she understood me so she could understand that I’m coming back! I WILL be back every day J haha. Hopefully soon she will begin to understand that I will be back. Becky told me that I need to get to know her parents so that they will trust me to come get her and carry her away whenever I want. I agree! I can’t even begin to describe to you how much I love this baby girl. I wish her mom spoke more English so that I could talk to her and find out how old Chade is and get to know her better. If she really is 6 years old then we have a majorly malnourished baby. This week has been about getting to know the village and planting gardens. Next week we will have our medical clinic and really get down to business. Oh Uganda J I’m so happy!

Day One Uganda!

So I already posted a short and sweet update but here is the whole rundown...

This morning we met in Wanale Hut for worship, bible study, and prayer. That was such a sweet time! Then we all got in the van and went to namatala. We went straight to Mama Sarah's area and Becky showed us the key hole garden that the first tem planted. It's cool! I think we get to take our shot at one tomorrow! After we saw the garden Becky told me I could go looking for "baby girl" so I did! I practically ran toward her house but then I had to stop and wait for Sarah because I knew I would need a translator. We started walking together and then from about 100 feet away I saw her and I RAN the rest of the way. I picked her up and just held her and she smiled!!! I never got to see her smile last year because she was sick so it was such a sweet thing to see her smile, especially at me!!! Sarah caught up with me and helped me ask a neighbor what her name was and she said her name is Chade. Pronounced Cha-day. She is just beautiful :-) Sarah wanted to catch up with the rest of the group so we took Chade and her sister Maria with us. I held her for at least 30 minutes-an hour and then Becky said it was time to send the kids home so we could go to a different area of namatala. When I put her down he just grabbed my legs and wouldn't let go so I picked her up and asked Paul to explain that I would be back but we had to go. He took her, explained, and put her down and she did the same thing so he had to give her to her sister Maria. Maria had to carry Chade home crying. It was so sweet! I can't wait to see her tomorrow :-)

After Chade and Maria left us we went a few other places in the village and then went to mama's house for lunch. When we got there we spent some time with the sewing ladies then went inside for lunch. Lunch was very good. We had fried chicken, potatoes, and pineapple. Typical Uganda food :-) very good. Glenn was there, Jared was there, mama Aidah was there...it was fun! After lunch, as we were getting in the van, Paul told me that Flower was home for lunch. I RAN all the way back there yelling Flower and she ran out and we had the sweetest reunion ever! She is still as beautiful as ever and I can't wait to spend some more time with her!

After lunch we went on a hunt for a hoe, nails, and a big stick (I have no clue. dont ask. you never know.) The hoe, nails, and big stick rang up to a totaly of 13,000 shillings. that would be about $6.50. seriously good deal!  Then we went to the hotel to get a few things before we went to the school. When we got there the kidswere still in class so we waited in the ichooseyou office for a while. Finally, the kids came running out. We all walked outside and I was searching for Teko Brian when all of the sudden I saw him running at me! He ran straight to me and gave me a huge hug! Then he said "Hi Callie" like he has been practicing with Becky and the first team. He never left my side :-) it was the sweetest thing!!! I also got to see Sandra! She no longer has hair but she is gorgeous! She was also pretty glued to my side. I saw Esther, Jacob and Isaac, Fortunante, Edwin, and a few other kids that I have missed so much this year! It was wonderful :-)

Our last stop of the day before the hotel was Chat N Chino (Glenn's coffee shop.) We stopped in to have smoothies and milkshakes and use the internet. The internet wasnt working when we got there so becky called Glenn and he came and fixed it. We updated facebook, blogs, instagram, etc. and drank our drinks then headed back to the hotel for dinner and free time.

This has been such a great first day in Namatala/Mbale. I am overwhelmed with emotions and overflowing with joy! Friends and Family- I miss you! Hope you will come with me someday. It's amazing here.

Tomorrow we will be gardening I believe and maybe some wound cleaning here and there. Monday and Tuesday will be our medical days so be praying for us! Thanks!

Uganda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm here!!!!! I am in Uganda :-) Praise Jesus! I am so happy! I found "baby girl"!! Her name is Chade! Her sister is Maria. She just let me hug her and kiss her and love her. Paul taught me to say "I love you" to her and I told her over and over! When it was time to go she held onto my skirt and just cried. She did NOT want to leave me :-) I got to see Teko Brian as well! He is so handsome and he has told EVERYONE that I am his sponsor and everyone knows my name because of it! Haha :-) I had the best reunion with Paul, Esther, and FLOWER!!! Sarah, Glenn, Margaret, Sandra, and everyone else are well, and we have seen them quite a bit today.  We are currently at Chat N Chino (Glenn's coffee shop) and we are having milkshakes and updating facebook/blogs/etc. The internet at the hotel is not very good this year.

I am so overwhelmed with everything so far. I am so happy to be here and I just don't know what to do with myself!!! I keep forgetting that I will be here for a long time...I don't have to rush to do everything!!! I'm not on my computer right now so I will have to post pictures to facebook from my phone for today. It has been a great day in Namatala! More later.

Today!

Today! We leave today :-) This will be my very last post from the states! I don't have a whole lot to say except that I am soooooooooooo excited!!!!! I am having major conflicting emotions right now, haha. I am beyond ready and excited to go back to Uganda, but it's still hard to say goodbye to the ones I love here. Family and friends, I'll be home soon enough! Then you will probably have to help me through being here again. Know that I love you and I am so blessed by you in my life! I couldn't do any of this without you! I hope you know that no matter how much I love Uganda, or how long I stay, you will always be missed, loved, and cherished every single moment of every day!

Now lets get going!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Houston, Dubai, and UGANDA here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!