from Uganda--March 18, 2010

There's the belief in Uganda that if you are doing something or having an event and it rains, your undertaking will be blessed by God. As we drove away from the Lulwanda Childrens Home today on our final visit for this trip, it began to rain. I just knew that it was God reaffirming all that we saw and experienced. And the smell of rain on a warm summer afternoon is my favorite smell in the world. God is good.

This is my final email from Uganda for this trip (yes, I'm planning on returning next year), and I'm overwhelmed. There is no way for me to process everything this quickly, so this will be a short note. We leave tomorrow on the van to Entebee where we'll get on the plane at around midnight tomorrow night. Then it's plane to plane to plane before I land in New Orleans.

This trip has been such an amazing experience, and I am grateful that I was able to be here. I'm grateful for smiling children who are always willing to give hugs. I'm grateful that I have food and clothing and shelter waiting for me at home. I'm grateful that I am in a position to be able to help others. I am grateful for the joy that the people I met have shown me. I'm grateful for delicious bananas. I'm grateful for the best pineapple I have ever eaten. I'm grateful that I will be able to drink plain water from the tap when I get home. But most of all, I'm grateful that my family continues to grow. These beloved children I spent the week with are mainly orphans, but they have a family in their teachers, their house mothers, and their peers at the school. I began this adventure hardly knowing anyone else on the team and not knowing the people of Uganda at all, but now I consider them all a part of my extended family. I thank God for claiming us all as his children.

It's time for me to sign off. I need to finish packing and get some sleep; tomorrow's a busy day. On a lighter note: we went to the market in town today where a man offered 8 cows to buy one of the ladies on our trip. We told him we wouldn't take anything less than 10 cows and 1 chicken for her, but he thought that was too high. True story.

Pray for safe journeys. Pray for the 150 children who became orphans because of the mudslides in Uganda last week. Pray for those teachers who live and work with these beautiful children making between $25-$60 a month. Pray that God will show me what to do with the knowledge I have gained and the blessing this trip has been.

Peace to you all-

elizabeth

from Uganda--March 15, 2010

Hi everyone! it was another beautiful day here in Mbale. I hope things are going well for you all at home. I cannot believe that it's almost time to come home! It seems like we just got here, but we have to leave in 4 days. So let me tell you some about the past two days:

On Sunday we worshiped at Covenant Presbyterian, and boy was it terrific! The joy that was on all the faces was glorious. To hear the choir begin singing and watch the children dancing in as they heard them just left me speechless. The singing was full of praise and delight and a little bit of dancing; we did what we could to join in, but we were sadly lacking. The kids crowded in everywhere they could sit or stand--even on our laps. There was a little boy of about 5 named David, and he wanted to sit on my lap, so I picked him up. He was asleep in under 10 minutes. He woke up once when the kids were dismissed; he watched them run tot he playground and start their games; he pondered going out there, but in the end sleep claimed him until the end of the service.

They made a delicious lunch for us (all of the food has been terrific including an omelet bar at the hotel for breakfast) at the church, and we got to eat with everyone. I had a good conversation with a man named Mike who is going to graduate from theological school here in May before he goes to work at a church plant in Kenya. He asked me what I do, and when I told him he said, "you? Really?" It's the common response here, but it led to some great theological conversation about Paul's writings and the role of women in the church. I know he doesn't agree with me, but the fact that we had the conversation was enough.

So we went back to the hotel for an afternoon of relaxation which turned into sorting out boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff to take to the Lulwanda Children's Home today. We had teaching stuff; we had clothes; we had craft projects thanks to you JJ Whiters! And it all had to go. But when we got there today and began seeing the school and the children, it was all worth it. This place is amazing. You have no idea how overwhelming it was to see such wonderful facilities and teachers. The library alone (including McComb school system books!) brought tears to several of us. This home is specifically intended to house and educate orphans, giving them the opportunity to continue their study at secondary school and university. But more than that, they teach the children about God and let them know that they are loved and important. They teach the kids about discipline, as everyone has their chores to do. The older kids help out with the farm animals and garden that supplies some of their food. The school is really working on sustainability, and to that end they are installing solar panels later this summer. They also began accepting students from families in the village, and their tuition money allows the home to take in more orphans. I got to observe the P-3 class, and the kids are incredibly smart and well-behaved. I was amazed at all they were learning, and their teacher just kept going and going, blending language to math to science without the aid of textbooks. What they do with the little they have puts us to shame.

After lunch I led the chapel service where we all sang some songs together, and then we talked about Jesus. After that, it was onto the crafts! And they loved them. Seriously, I have never seen kids so happy to make butterflies and decorate paper bags. It just warms your heart. And after that, some of the women from our group who are school administrators did some training for the teachers, so we had the kids! A group of people went outside and gathered around a tree. Picture 75 kids sitting around 2 adults listening to 5 books being read to them. They were quiet and attentive the whole time.

I was inside with two other ladies getting crafts ready for tomorrow, and some of the kids asked me for coloring sheets (that's what the 3, 4, & 5 year olds did during craft time), and the next thing I knew, there was a deluge of children wanting to color. And when they would finish, they would come show us what they had done. One boy even gave his picture to me. I remarked to one woman with us that I have never seen kids so excited about coloring sheets before, and she reminded me that they don't have disposable resources like we do. Some of these kids didn't know what a coloring sheet was before today. The things we take for granted.

Well it's time to get ready for dinner. I have seen and heard so much, and I cannot wait to come home and talk with everyone about it and show pictures. You'll probably get sick of hearing about Uganda, but I don't care. God has put a love for this place and these people in my heart, and I know that we can help and learn from each other.

Hope everyone is well. Talk to you later.

elizabeth

from Uganda--March 13, 2010

Here are the emails I sent home from Uganda. I'll get pictures up here soon!

Well, it's 10 am on Saturday where you are, but it's 7 pm here this lovely Saturday evening. And the weather is absolutely beautiful. Everything is green and lush, and the trees are beautiful. We're spending our second evening in the Mt. Eglon Hotel in Mbale. It took us a long time to get here yesterday by van, but there were a few unexpected stops, like the grocery store for Diet Coke (not just or me!), a fantastic lunch at a Chinese restaurant in the middle of nowhere, and a few traffic incidents that we drove past. From what I can tell, traffic laws are regarded more like suggestions that no one follows; it's a bit terrifying at times.

But we spent all day today at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Mbale painting the classrooms at their primary school. They picked pretty cream and green colors, and we went to town! We ended up finishing 7 rooms, and the guys will go back Monday morning to finish room 8 while the women begin at the orphanage. Needless to say, we are all exhausted. But it's a good tired; some of the teachers came out to help us and by the end of the day, the place was swarming with kids! Several of them wanted paint in their classrooms, and we were more than happy to share the brushes for a few minutes! The kids are absolutely beautiful with these gleaming smiles that will melt your heart. By he time we left there at 6 pm, the playground was full of kids playing soccer together with the new ball we picked up at the store. It was wonderful.

Tomorrow we are going to worship at Covenant Presbyterian which I am very excited about. I and another lady in our group am going to teach the womens Sunday School class, but they really want to hear about us and our faith. I hope there's time to hear from them, too.

I will say that the poverty is absolutely astounding. There are some absolutely beautiful homes that we have driven past, but there's not really a middle class. It's starting to emerge, but it's not really there yet. So the options are basically huge mansions or shacks with dirt floors. It's hard to look at; Americans for the most part don't really know what poor is. We are so blessed.

My roommate here is Cassie who is an operating room nurse from Austin. She is great fun, and we get along swimmingly; after all, we both love Jane Austen.

Okay. I need to get ready for dinner now.

Miss you all and talk to you soon.

Love, elizabeth

Unconscious Mutterings

From Unconscious Mutterings through the knittinpreacher. Some thoughts...

1. Bow out :: exit at the top of my game
   
2. Relationships :: harder than anticipated
   
3. Facebook :: helpful or hindrance?
   
4. Items :: too many
   
5. Ours :: wishing
   
6. Sting :: you want more blood?
   
7. Hangover :: nope!
   
8. Contacts :: I'm afraid to touch my eyeball
   
9. Lonely :: tired
   
10. Seven days :: Holy Week

What are you thinking today?

My bags are packed, and I'm ready to go...

So I'm mostly packed and ready to go, but I'm heading off to Uganda on a mission trip on Wednesday! I'll be gone from March 10-20, and I hope I can count on you for prayers and good thoughts. I'm really excited about going, but I'm getting a bit anxious; there's always more to do than there's time for before a big trip, isn't there?

The leader of our mission trip team, Mike Thrasher, has set up a blog to write and post pictures while we're abroad. Please check it out at: www.uganda2010missiontrip.blogspot.com

Talk to you guys later!