Good bye Mukono!

Today marks my last day in Mukono!  I think today is day 95 in Uganda.  I can't believe our time here is up, and it has flown by.  Last night we had a farewell party last night and it was a blast!  My mom surprised with a brand new top and skirt, earrings and necklace.  It was so nice of her and I love it so much!  The party was a blast and it was so fun seeing everyone dressed up.  My sister Toepista was able to come and I was really happy for that. 

This mornign we were able to have a quick photo shoot before I had to say goodbye!  It definitely sucked saying goodbye and this was literally the hardest goodbye, I have ever had to encounter.  I think what made it so far was this was the first time in my life I was saying goodbye to people I truly loved and had a connection with and I have no clue if I will ever see them again.  In America you say good bye, but you will see them again eventually.  And I just don't know when I will see these people again.  Giving Gertrude and Toepistas hugs I never wanted to let go.  But I know this is part of life and I am just so thankful for the time I have had with them. 

 

 



Last Week!

This week marks my last week in Mukono,  I cant believe the time is finally here but it has been a great 3 and a half months.  We are traveling to Rwanda tomorrow and I am really excited for what is in store for us there.

This week I got a package from my parents.  My dad made all my family members rosaries.  It was literally the greatest gift I could give them.  My dad and mom also wrote every one a note.  I was so excited to deliver it to my family members and they loved them so much.  That night we prayed the rosary using them.

Last Sunday evening my mummy took my friend and I to the Charismatic Catholic Renewal church service in Kampala.  It was a very happening church service and every one was waving palms for palm Sunday.  The church was beautiful and we got to watch part of an Easter Carols concert when we first arrived. 

I made an American meal for my family.  We had hamburgers and potato chips and pudding with oreos.  Everyone but my 4 year old sister loved the food.  She is just very picky I think!

Last week I said good bye to my practicum site.  They had just finished exams for the day so we just got to hang out and relax.  All the head teachers were busy so I led community worship with the school and requested some of my favorite songs to sing.  Saying goodbye was hard but easies than I expected.  Before I left the students prayed for me and that was really touching.  When all the students pray, they talk out loud in their own language and it really touches me.  I got some fun pictures with the students and I am really thankful for my time there. 

P6 Class

P7 Boys

P7 Girls

 

 

This past weekend my friends and I went to Wonder World.  We wanted to do something really fun for the weekend but had no clue what.  We were hoping for a soccer game but the game was in Spain this weekend.  One of our friends told us about Wonder World, "East Africas Number 1 Amusement Park"  We were warned that it was no 6 flags but we thought it would be a great way to spend a few hours on Saturday!  We had a blast and it was the best 10,000 shillings spent all semester.  By the way, we were the only ones in the park and they were basically catering to our needs.  And less then half of the rides were working!

 



Living Life

These past few weeks we have just been living life here day in and day out.  I have been waking up in the morning, going to classes, eating at the Dining Hall (rice and beans every day), taking lots of tea, walking home, hanging with my sisters, dinner, bathing, night time prayers, then sleep.  Not much exciting has been happening, but it has been nice to just live life here with not much going out.  I am really getting used to everything and feel about of the town of Mukono.  Today marks 2 weeks left in Mukono, Uganda! I cannot believe that we have already been here for almost 3 months, time has flown by.  And I am definitely not ready to go home yet.  However, we are going to Rwanda for 10 days and I am getting really excited about that.

 

The other weekend my host mom took me to a dance show at the National theatre in Kampala.  The dance show was put on by a orphanage as a fundraiser.  The boys in orphanage danced a little but then other volunteers danced as well.  They dance hip hop, tango, salsa and a lot of other dance I don't exactly know.  They also preformed poetry and sang. 

 

 

 

The other day I had 2 of my friends, Maria and Joan, over from my New Testament class.  It was nice having them over to my house for dinner and we had an extra nice dinner.  We even had soda to drink.  I don't know how much I am going to communicate with my friends once I leave, but it has been great getting to know them these last 3 months and having classes with them. 

 

 

 

Last week USP teamed up with Honors College to lead community worship.  We sang 2 English songs, 1 Luganda song, and 1 Swahili song.  It was a lot of fun leading worship, I basically just stood up on stage and smiled the whole time.  We had multiple practices leading up to it to sound extra good.  We all matched and looked very smart!!!

 

 

 

We traveled to the Uganda Martyrs Shrine. The shrine was built in remembrance of 25 Ugandan Catholics and Anglicans who were executed in 1885-1887 by Mwanga II, the king of Buganda. Each year Christians observe June 3^rd as a day of remembrance for the martyrs.  This was the Anglican shine, but next to this Shine is a Catholic shine that I actually went to early this semester one Sunday for mass. 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks ago the religions class took a field trip to a Mosque.   I am not in class however I was able to end the trip.  It is called the Gadaffi Mosque in Kampala, the countries capital.  This is one of the biggest Mosques in Africa.  The windos were from Italy, carpet from Morocco, and chandeliers from Egypt.  We were able to climb the minaret, adjacent to the mosque, where the calls to prayer are broadcasted.   

 

 

 

 

This past weekend we went on a Safari in Murchison Falls.  It was about a 6 hour drive from campus.  It was a 2 day safari, the first day on a boat, the second day on land.  It was a lot of fun, and we all had a blast.  We were really excited we saw a lion, our guide said that he might go 3 times and see a lion every time or go 5 times and never see one, so we were lucky.  It is just by chance.  These were some pictures taken from the safari from my friends camera.  

Kapchorwa... Easily the best week since I have been here

It has been a little over a week since we returned from a week long homestay in Kapchorwa District.  Kapchorwa is located in Eastern Uganda and it was about a 4 hour drive from the university.  We all got placed in families from Friday to Friday all over the village, and our sole responsibility for the week was to live life.  I was pretty nervous going into the week, I didn't know what it would be like to live with no electricity, no running water, and with a family that might speak little to no English.  Also, all of us USPers have become so close over the last 2 months, I didn't know what it would be like to not be with them for a week as well.  Luckily, I got placed with the best family possible and had the best week of my life!  My momma and papa were named Mike and Annie.  My papa owns coffee plantations and sells the coffee to factories, and also owns a small shop.  And my momma stays at home while selling buns, mandoesies, and vegetables at the market every night to make some extra money. 

 

I had the most amazing brothers and sisters I could have ever asked for.  Elizabeth-15, Brynic-14, Bowel-14, Finnasia-11, Emmanuel-8, and Tracy-3.  These 6 kids light up my world, and were by far the best part about this week!  Elizabeth was the only one that new much English with the older boys knowing a little, but that didn't matter one bit.  When they came home from school we would kick the "soccer ball" around for a little bit, then I would sell goods at the market with Finnasia, and then every night us girls had a sleepover!  I would also play with Tracy during the day all day.

Tracy.

All of my siblings. 

Finnasia.

Elizabeth

 

Eman, Bowel, Brynic

One of the best things about the week was being able to walk outside and be in awe of the beauty around me.  Kapchorwa is one of the most beautiful towns I have ever been in.  And lucky for me, my papa took me on "tours" everyday practically and I got to see all around the town and all the beautiful sites. 

This what outside the back of our house overlooking papa's plantations. 

We went in a cave on one of our first ours, it was really cool because there were crystals. 

Alli met up with us one day to go on a tour, she was a neighbor and family friend of my family. 

This week consisted of a lot of resting and relaxing and taking tea, but I loved it.  After a week of midterms, all I wanted to do was relax and not focus on school.  I appreciated how much I was able to get to know my neighbors, I wasn't able to talk much to them because they don't know English and I just knew how to say hi and how are you, but yet I was able to go over to their places and take tea with them and just sit and be present with them.  There is such a beauty in a community that just focuses on being present and nothing else. 

The first night there they had me kill a chicken and help prepare it, I screamed a lot once I cut off its head and yet the body was still moving.  They also had me eat the gizzard which was interesting experience. 

Dish dyer

Nicely made fence :)

Selling at the market every night in the evening. 

Papa's friends drinking one morning, a little different than American drinking, and it looked pretty nasty as well. 

Our house and papa's shop.

This is an expert from a journal entry I did for a class after the week. 

The last night there during my “farewell party” my brothers, sisters, and I were dancing the night away.  At one point I was dancing with my sister Finnasia, hand in hand, and all the sudden looked up at the sky and tears started running uncontrollably down my face.  In that moment, I was the happiest I have been in a long time.  I started praying to God praising Him for this moment, and thanking Him for placing Finnasia in my life for that week.  I realized that this past week, my 11 year old Kapchorwa sister was my guardian spirit, and the Lord sent her to fill me with exactly what I needed. 

            If you would have asked me at the beginning of the semester, where am I going to find mentors and guardian spirits?  I would probably have answered, the teachers, my host parents, my classmates, the PAs, or other adults, I would have never answered an 11 year old I met for 7 days.  All those people I mentioned have been guardian spirits and mentors helping me along the path, but right now Finnasia has been one source of unexpected help I didn’t see coming.  In this one week, God choose to reveal Himself to me and seek to comfort me through my sister.  Finnasia’s English was not that strong but that didn’t matter.  Once she warmed up to me, I just felt like any moment we were together we both couldn’t help but smile.  Every night I sold buns, and she sold vegetables right next to me, and I treasure those 2 hours together at the market so much to me.  We were also roommates with my other sister, and I loved sharing a room with Finnasia, and actually sought much comfort from sharing a room.  Finnasia was filled with so much joy and was also so happy.  She showed me what it really looks like to love your life, and love the moment that you have been placed in.

            When we started reading Primal Vision we really looked at not putting God in box, and be able to think that He can reveal himself in ways that we cannot even comprehend.  These past few weeks it has been my prayer every night, asking God to reveal Himself to me in ways I have never seen Him before.  I knew while I was in Kapchorwa, I was going to be stretched, with no power, no music, no friends, what I felt like, no anything.  How was I am suppose to see Him, when how I normally see Him is all removed from me, so He decided to send a spirit my way through my sister, which is such an AMAZING and COOL thing to think about!  We serve a God so big, He knows how we see Him, and reveals Himself in ways we can understand him. 

            This has really made me think about how God chooses to reveal himself here in Uganda.  I think Taylor once mentioned the concept that God may choose to be revealing himself through Muslims or the concept was something along these lines.  Though this concept may be farfetched; I am starting to see how it is applicable here.  In America, we may be use to God revealing himself through blessing us with a job with money to have a nice house and afford a good education.  Here they don’t necessarily get those blessings but they have each other and nature.  God chooses to reveal himself through family, brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors, and that is so awesome to witness.  I love my time here, and how God sends spirits to watch over me and comfort me, and I cannot wait to see what else or who else He sends my way.