Greetings!

I just want to say thank you so much for reading my blog. It means so much to me that people care and want to know whats up with my life. I have gotten a HUGE blessing... pretty much unlimited and good access to the internet this evening. :) So I got a lot of old emails from people who were encouraging me that I didn't even know had been sent (That means you dad! I just got all those emails! Thank you so much)

Anyways....yeah... thank you. A lot.

This week was actually pretty busy and full of many different things. I think I already said this but the brentwood church team came on Sunday and left yesterday (saturday) but I got to say goodbye Friday night. My heart was paining because both Amanda and Justin left and I loved getting to know them soooo much. Now I have to visit the east Coast. And even Sal who works for Sports Outreach, I got to meet him and I really enjoyed him so I am sad to see everyone leave. But I think the team had an amazing time... and I was so impressed! They worked so hard and were so possitive and energetic. It really helped me to regain energy and got me excited about their project.

Also.... SPECIAL THANKS to Megan. She gave me the key to her room so I could take not one... but TWO showers this week. WOW. I had no idea I was soooo dirty. Like soooo dirty. I think I shed half the weight of my hair after the first shower and it was even warm. thank you thank you thank you!

This week was really good but also really exhausting. The ladies at the house (Esther, Jessica, Agnus and also David) would get up so early to start cooking. I usually couldnt make it so early, but I would get up around 5 to help. Then I would quickly fetch water, shower, and head to Pugwiuyi village. There I helped Jessica serve and clean all the food. in between tea time and lunch time I worked on the road. The Brentwood church was also working on the road but many of them were building the piggery. The picture above is the piggery. If you remember the picture I took of it a few weeks back you can com... they accomplished a lot in just 4 days.

After the 4 days of work, Friday was the celebration day. Esther and a few other women cooked for the WHOLE village. I would say there were maybe a few hundred people and africans can really eat. It was so amazing all the work they did preparing food with just charcoal stoves. They have some huge pots too! If I cooked in one of those pots I would have made food for myself to last over a month!

THIS is the car that we transported ALL the food in. Esther, the driver, and I sat in the front seat (meant for 2 people) with 2 babies. Then about 5 women, one man, and a two year old sat on the back with the food. We drove like that on village roads for almost 1 1/2 hours to Pugwinyi. it was an experience.

Also... you cant see their faces but in the above picture mama Esther is in yellow, Jackie is in red, and Kakembo (David) is in the back of the truck.

 Of course they performed traditional dances for us. And of course, I joined with two other girls from the Brentwood church. At first they laughed, but by the end I think they were impressed with our skill (ok maybe not impressed... they were just entertained i think)

This is the famous mama Florence. She can dance! And she is also the women who gave me the name Anyadwe, which Aloysius will now only call me by that name. I think it is becoming permanent.

It was so great to have such a hardworking team here, but now it is nice for everyone to get some rest. Esther left early this morning for Kampala to pick her children from boarding school. They are starting a sort holiday this week so she will come back Friday with Karen, Job, and Hannah, and of course Joshua. I had a lot of fun with Joshua and little baby Gary yesterday. I think Gary is actually my child because he seems to really like me, and I think I want to take him home (Gary is the little baby in the picture I posted last week).

I have learned a lot this week from the church that came. Especially about how missions teams work which is great for what I want to do with my future. I learned a few things that work well and also some things to stay away from. I also learned, or more re-experienced, what it means to be exhausted. It is making me a little anxious. I am starting to realize I wont get much rest when I go home no matter how hard I try. And then in less than two weeks I am leaving again. It is becoming really real and really scary actually. But I am also learning that I believe in God, I have salvation, so God brings me through exhaustion and sets me free from fear and anxiety because I can trust God more than I can even trust myself. I think it has been a while since I have really been able to say that with honesty.

Thank you for your prayers. again and again. I havent gotten sick once (except for the medication stuff). I havent been injured. I have always been safe and well and I have been going through a lot of changes and tough experiences but good ones. If you know Aloysius and Esther, please be praying for them. They work really hard and they need rest. Like all the time.

I hope to update again soon.

Praise God! I get to use the internet for more than twenty mins!

Man I have finally been working my butt off. It feels good but I am soooo tired. The Brentwood church is working in Pugwinyi to build a pig house and doing a lot of work building the road and that sort of thing. They are a great church and it is fun to get to know them... especially with their weird accents :) Who knew the east coast was so different from the west coast.

For me, I am trying to get up early to help with the cooking for the team. Esther, Agnus, Aunt Jessica, and Senior (all people who live at the house) get up at 4 in the morning to start cooking. I usually get up around five. I have been helping with some cooking, fetching the water, and cleaning the dishes. Then at about 9 to 10 we try to head the village. I have been helping Auntie Jessica serve the food, clean the food, and do all that. Thankfully in between I have also been able to work on the road or do some work with the Brentwood church. It's been a good experience. Also it is GREAT to see Amanda and Justin again. I really love them!

Here are some of the pictures I meant to post earlier

This is for Jubliee.... This is the daycare where the children come on the weekdays that used to be the church when I came 4 years ago. The church now is in the background.

Laundry

This is where I fetch water everyday. 

Joshua in the front and baby Gary in the back.

Justin and a giraffe at the Churchill.

Sorry for the short update this time. I am a little distracted and have a lot to do. Hopefully I willl see Robert again soon so I can use his computer. Thank you for keeping up with me. Thank you for the prayers.

A disclaimer here:  Sam couldn't get the internet to work so she sent this update, via email to me (her mom), and I think she intended to send pictures but either she couldn't or they didn't come through.  Either way, the pictures aren't included and since she won't be able to send them until the weekend, I am updating her blog anyway.  Enjoy!

Hello everyone.

I was at first so surprised that so many people were viewing my blog. The last time I came on I was thinking wow there are a lot of people following me! Well… I just met a lot of them. I guess the Brentwood church has been keeping up with what Justin and I are doing by reading my blog, and now finally they are in Gulu ready to serve. I am so thankful to meet them all. So for anyone else who is from Lynchburg, they have arrived safe, have already experienced the farm, real Acholi church, maybe even some interesting food, and are just one day away from getting to work.

This week hasn’t been slow, but it has been really simple. We had a staff meeting on Monday. So… I think if American’s were running the meeting it would have maybe lasted 1-2 hours. But it ended up being close to 5 hours long. Of course it was a good meeting, just kinda exhausting. Then on Tuesday the staff came for ½ a day but left early and haven’t been back all week. With the Brentwood church coming they had to make some last minute changes and Aloysius ended up leaving Thursday to pick the luggage for the team. It was good for me though because I love doing the house chores. I think I can safely say I can fetch water, do laundry, do the dishes, and the biggest achievement…. Taking care of baby Joshua. Man he is becoming a handful.

I think it was Thursday that I went to town with Erik and Esther and Joshua. I went to the market and bought foods with Erik and then with Esther I bought some African patterned fabric so I can have some clothes made. Lydia has been involved with Aloysius’s ministry for a long time and she is making the things for me. The most amazing part to me was that I purchased 24 yards of fabric for about 35 US dollars. If you sew at all…. You know that is sooooo cheap. It was really fun to have a day with Esther and Erik and even Joshua. I think I am seeing that I have a purpose here. Esther told me today that me being here has really brought her peace because raising a 1-year-old, cooking and cleaning all day, and attending to a very busy husband is a huge job. I am so thankful to God that I have been able to relieve her even just a little bit. I know both her and Aloysius are in need of a very serious break and that has been my prayer since I came that I would not be a burden to them but instead be helpful to ease their crazyness.

I saw a funny sight last week that is worth sharing. I don’t think I have mentioned that while I was working in the garden a week ago, I was working side by side with a chain gang. I didn’t even know those still existed until I came here and I would once in a while see a truckload of black men wearing yellow uniforms… or until I saw those same people clearing the field with machetes next to the garden I was preparing with an armed guard watching them. Now you are probably thinking I am crazy for coming here… but I promise I was safe. Back to the funny sight I saw…. There was a guard and a prisoner coming into the compound of the house to return a few tools. After the prisoner returned a hoe, Justin and I realized that the prisoner was carrying a hoe AND a machete, but the guard was holding nothing. Is it just me or is there something wrong with that picture???

The best part about this week has been that the daycare is now back from holidays. I love listening to the children singing back lessons to the teacher in the mornings. I haven’t been teaching them yet, but I have been there for breakfast time. I don’t know I just love children!

(picture)

This is the building that they teach daycare in… sorry there isn’t a better view. Jubilee if you are reading my blog… this is the building that USED to be the church. I am so amazed it now looks so small! Koro has really grown. I asked the teachers and there are about 65 kids enrolled which is sooooo many but on average I have only seen a maximum of 40 arrive on a given day. If it is a rainy day a lot less children are able to come.

This is the well that I draw water from everyday. Water fetching is not really an artform…

This is Natasha. She looks really skinny, but actually she is due in about 2 weeks so I am PRAYING I get to see the kittens before I leave.

….Laundry….

And Justin with a giraffe in front of my favorite hotel in town. Its guarding the door because they are remodeling the reception room.

Thanks again and again for all your prayers. I know this week will be very exciting and it will be about another weeks time before I can update again. But at that point I know I will have many exciting things to share about what the Brentwood church has been up to. (I am also going to force myself to take some good pictures.)

She also wanted me to add - that we got up (well I was about an hour later) at 4 in the morning to start the cooking for the team. WE cooked by candle light and with coals!

It has actually been kinda a shock having the team here. It means my time is running out. Aloysius joked in church today that he was going to cancel Anyadwe’s (that’s me) flight home. Last night was my first night here without Justin around and it was very sad. I feel like he is some brother to me and Aloysius and Esther are our parents. I think he was secretly sad as well…

After this team leaves (which is only in one week) That means I have like 12 days left. Not even two weeks. I think I have decided to travel to Kampala sooner than I was originally planning because I have some business to attend there. I met someone who I want to interview and potentially find a scholarship for. Long story short: This boy named Ivan is very very smart and has been mentored by the ministry for a long time. He got such good marks in school that he is government funded to go to a university to become a teacher (which is very rare here). But his passion is engineering. I am in engineering school and I see so many students who don’t even really value their education but this man really has a passion so I was touched. I am hoping I can find someone at OSU who would be willing to pay for his tuition. It is so cheap. I think it came out to maybe 600-700 US dollars a term, 2 terms a year. Anyway… so that means I need to interview him, which means I leave Koro even sooner :(

I am sad but coming home will be just as wonderful as coming here. Again Again thank you for support and prayers. I can really feel God’s presence; I can feel that people are praying. I think it has been a long time since I have felt this kind of peace in my life. It’s not because things are peaceful here… but I am remembering the value of obedience to God and trying to live with less fear. You know, I think I have accepted every offer to share my testimony, talk to someone, do some task, even play soccer with big strong men (ok I actually refused the first time… but eventually I did) and it has been so rewarding to me. I am learning a lot.

Adios Amigos! Talk to you again soon.

Hello! Greetings from the farm... and I mean from the farm. Sorry it has been so long. (Ok.. maybe I say sorry too much)

This week I really was an Acholi women. You know during the wheelchair mission one of the wise ladies that works at Koro gave me an Acholi name (Acholi is a tribe that is mainly in northern Uganda. They speak Luo). She calls me Anyadwe (On-ya-d-way) which means daughter of the moon, or as beautiful as the moon or something like that. This week I think I finally deserved the name because I finally got to just live sorta like a Ugandan.

I finally was taught by Erik how to wash my clothes, and it wasn't too bad! Except the second time I tried I think I was a little too ambitious and I rubbed some skin off my knuckles which really stung for a couple days. Haha... maybe Esther is more wise than I assume when she tells me to let her do things for me. I also got to cook a little, of course I washed the dishes (That part is easy), and even today I fetched all the water on my own. They get water for the house from a huge huge basin that all the rainwater runs into. At first I could only fetch half a bucket because it was too heavy but already I am strong enough that I fetched the whole thing today. I think my muscles are growing :)

Almost every morning this week I worked in the garden... finally! I love to work outside. I would get up around 6 and leave at about 6:30 to cut sweet potato plants and then plant them in a garden across from the piggery. I forgot to take a picture, but the next time I write I will be sure to have one.

After the garden I would usually wash or play chess with the interns from Mekere University. I think we all became good friends, even though the boys are kinda funny... I especially liked Heather (who you saw in my last post). They were the ones who put on the sports competition. They were supposed to leave last sunday, but instead stayed until Friday, which turned out to be a huge blessing.

Midweek we did some outreach. Usually during an outreach a team of staff people from Koro will play against a school or group or people, and then have a small devotional afterwards. I didn't play when we went to the vocational school or to the remand home, but I did yesterday evening. We played against these men who work as mechanics. Aloysius brings them to church to have an early service on Sunday's so they can work and go to church. So Sunday evening we had a match.... man it was hot. I was dying but I think I did ok.

This week we will mostly be preparing to meet the upcoming team. Justin's church will arrive on Saturday and stay for one week to work in a village called Pwigwini (or something like that) to build a piggery, some laternes, and to paint the daycare. It's so much work so I am anxious to see how it goes. As of now, 27 people are coming and out of the 3 vehicles we have only one is working. Also, the village is more than an hour and 1/2 drive away so it's becoming a logistical challenge.

Overall I am being really challenged spiritually, physically, and emotionally. The people here have a different way to doing ministry, conducting business, and even a different focus for their faith at times. Overall, christians all over the world can relate, but even moreso then past times I have been here, I am realizing where my faith is lacking because of the excuses I make in my life and just conforming to the culture I live in. I really want to live more purposefully. I think it is easy for me to make excuses for taking my walk with God at a slow easy pace, maybe even leaving it stagnant. But the reality is that the only thing I am doing is missing out. Missing out on the wonderful things God offers and shows you when you chose to obey him and serve him. It seems like the simplest concepts about following Christ are sometimes the hardest to really understand.

I am also being really challenged about how to effectively minister in other countries. Now that I am more involved on this side of things I am seeing struggles and cultural perceptions that I didn't see before. There is benefit, no doubt, for people to come and aid developing nations, but there are underlying things that come with it that I don't think people realize. They are things that are really difficult to overcome. It just has made re-think maybe what I want for my future and how missions or ministry or even traveling will be most effective. My second major at OSU is international studies along with ecological engineering and my whole goal (for now) it to combine practical things that empower developing nations (mainly environmental) with a good means of implementing them. I guess this internship turned out to be a perfect opportunity for me to really think about how to do that. Praise God!

 'This is where Brentwood church will work in Pwigwini. That is the start of the piggery

 These are the other interns besides Heather who left on Friday. hahaha... they are funny. From left to right we have Abdu, Ram (pronounced Rum hahaha), Mose (moses), Edwin and Muda.  I am going to miss them they were a lot of fun, and I am going to miss beating them at Chess!

 This is a piggery. To the right is where we made the garden, only it is much much bigger than what you can see

 Ok these are bicycles, but you saw earlier a picture of a boda boda (motorcycle.) Justin and I went to visit a missionary couple in their home. We played Farkle, baked brownies, ate pizza, and I got to ride a boda to the store!! Life goal Accomplished! (just don't tell Aloysius... he doesn't know)

PIGZZZZ


Thanks for your prayers. I can tell that people are watching out for me. God bless.

Whew! Internet!!

Hello everyone I hope I can fit in everything I want to say.

Everything has been good. Friday was the last day that I got to see the wheelchair team. Actually It was very sad to see them go, our time seemed very short. They saw 69 people that day which is a lot. Unfortunately a van came when we had already packed everything up. There was nothing we could do, and it was a very sad situation. The most we could do was pray and tell them to come back next year.

Actually I wasn't there very much on Friday. Justin and I were stolen away to go to a village called Pagwini to deliver bricks. Ok actually I didn't do anything... the locals moved all the bricks into the trucks, out of the trucks... I just kinda watched. Typical. Very typical haha. Pagwini is the village that Justin's church will visit when they come. They are going to use the bricks we brought to make a piggery and maybe a latrene. It's really remote, and in the dump truck it took a good hour to hour 1/2 to get there. Man... now I see why having teams here is so exhausting for Aloysius. There is so much work involved!

Haha... actually we had a pretty interesting experience. So we were driving a small dump truck and... as Aloysius put it.... "We drive in to bush to pick rock!" haha...so that means we basically drove deep deep deep into the grass to put a bunch of bug boulders into the back of the truck. It was the funniest thing I have done so far... There was no road, no dirt path.... just tall grass. Hopefully I can download a picture so you can see.

Friday night we had a dinner and said goodbye to the team. It was really nice, I have never had roasted goat before! Saying goodbye is sad. I am going to miss Jill, pastor Greg, and everyone else.

Saturday was a blast. We have had a few african interns here from Mekere University doing sports science... actually Justin and I hang out with them a lot. Anyway, they did their final project Saturday which was an inter church competition. It was SO FUN. :)

It was supposed to start at 10..... of course it didn't start until about one. We did relay running, a 100 meter sprint, a sack race, and a really weird relay at the end. I did the baton relay (They pronounce it Batton, like Batton Rouge) and then I was forced into the 100 meter sprint. Thankfully it wasn't as embarrassing as I thought it was going to be when I was standing on the start line next to tall african women.  I came last, but at least I put up a fight. Then I did the really weird relay with a team of all whites... me, Justin, Cara, and Jake (who are a couple that live in town).

At the end there was a dance competition and of COURSE I danced :) Justin thinks I can't dance, but the Africans liked it. I made it pretty far, but Jake tied with a 60 year old women in the end. This event was so fun... you know, Ugandans really enjoy the simplest things. I appreciate that they don't ever get embarrassed and just enjoy everything. I have been trying to be more like that.

That night Esther told me I was speaking in church the next day. ...... AHH. I wasn't super nervous, but once I was talking it was really intimidating. I just chose to say my testimony and it was like 15mins of talking. I have never done that before. After I spoke, Esther was talking because Aloysius was attending some village church. She talked for sooooo long, but whenever she talks I just have to listen. She speaks with such authority and her wisdom is so rich. She is kinda like a dark chocolate German cake.... Yummm. I miss American dessert.

Speaking of America, Justin and I got dropped at the "Coffee Hut" yesterday. Ok. Weird! It was just like being at home. Really really weird.... I had a wrap with french fries and the fatty food just knocked me out. I eat so healthy here. It's all matoke, rice, beans, fruits, cabbage, that kinda stuff. When I go home it will be so hard to adjust.

Ok I am done. Hopefully it won't be another week, but sooner the next time I update.

Oh and thank you for your prayers. I have started taking my meds at night and it is really helping with the issues I was having. I appreciate that so many of you are thinking about me, it means so much.

This is me and Heather, the one girl intern from Mekere. We have become good friends! I really like her :)

Ok this is what we drove though to get the rock from the bush......

 This is a picture of Esther and Aloysius's home. I sleep in that room with the window on the far right. The ladies are watching dishes... which I finally did this morning! Evertime I ask to help Esther says no no no rest... no no no i will let you do it later. So this morning I didn't have anything to do... so i just did them! Yay! It's just like home really, my appt doesn't have a dishwasher.

 Sack race!!! Justin fell when it was his turn.. hehehe

So little Joshua was being really stubborn on Saturday. He really really really wanted the microphone. Like really wanted it.

Kopango! Greetings from Koro.

Today was my third day doing the wheelchair distribution. It has been so different and really great and really exhausting. The first day was just crazy trying to figure everything out. Yesterday was emotionally straining and today was really busy... and HOT. We distributed about 56 chairs today, which is actually a big number.

This is how the whole operation works: People come in, they get registered with a medical form. They go to a physical therapist who fits them with a chair and makes straps and cushions for them. sometimes the fitting takes 30 mins, sometimes 5 hours! Then they get trained on how to use the chair, and then finally they are given an opportunity to hear the gospel. My job is registration which is a busy job, but good for me :) I work with my new friend Heather and also a man named George... who has taken the liberty of making balloon animals for everyone.... and hats... and other weird things....

 This was our last patient today. I made him the hat :)

So yesterday was really hard. I don't know why but some of the people who came in really affected me. You know, these people come from far places like in villages. They have to pay to travel here, which for most is a LOT of money. I lot of them dont get any medical care, and might not even know what they have which has caused them to cripple. Sometimes they grew up perfectly normal but then got Polio, Meningitis, any disease really and it crippled them. The reason this ministry is so amazing is that these people would never ever have an opportunity to get these chairs otherwise. I am really impressed and very thankful that I got to be a part of this.

 This boy was really hard for me. When he first came in no one was with him, but he cant talk. So we had to wait for over an hour until his mother came and once she came we could register him. He was very very crippled, he kinda drooled and he was of course non-verbal. But once we asked a few questions (in the local language) you could just see, he understood you. At first I thought he wouldn't look at me because he couldn't focus well because of some mental incapability, but then I realized that he was perfectly functioning mentally, and maybe the reason he wouldn't look was out of shame or timidness. It took some time but I finally got him to smile and by the time he left he was looking me in the eye.

I just kept thinking about how this man is totally normal, but trapped in a disabled body. you know people here don't have a good understanding of the disabled and not a lot of acceptance for them. It is just so sad that this man is stuck like that and given no opportunities. What I need to learn more though is that I know God takes care of those people. That's why I have faith, because I believe God is in control, he is much more powerful than a wheelchair or anything.... it's just difficult for me to remember.

This guy named Benson was also very significant to me. His feet arent in the picture, but he is also totally crippled in his legs and partly in his hands. But when I really took a look at him I could see his kind and genuine spirit... I don't know why but there are some people that I just really like when I see them.

Later though (after hours) I saw him with another man who had recieved a wheelchair and the other man was arguing with some people. I guess they were having trouble figuring out how to transport the man and Benson to their homes. It was funny because the one guy was really upset, but Benson was just laughing. 2 hours later, he was still there! (I had been sitting with him some of the time... actually I was mostly playing around with his chair haha....) The angry man had found a ride, but Benson still had no way to get home. He lived in a remote village over 30 Km away (like 25 miles). The cost was too high for him to pay a taxi, so he was just waiting... but he was so patient and not complaining. Finally I asked someone, can I please just pay for the taxi??? It was only 10,000 shillings, Which is maybe 5 dollars! So he got a ride home after all that time.

I tried to put up other pictures but at the moment it's not working. For me, I am pretty exhausted. People here kind of treat me like I am weak... and i guess I kinda am. If you are praying for me please pray for strength, emotionally and physically. The malaria medication I am on is also causing a lot of issues. It makes my skin very sensitive and I have some sunburn that isn't healing fast enough. Also it makes my stomach feel gross. At night, these DOGS bark SOOO loud haha. They sound like they are dying... but it also affects my sleep! I know the Lord will make me stronger, so if you could just be praying for that I would be so grateful.

Thanks for keeping up with me!