So, I hope you like these. Like I said, there will most likely be more coming. There might even be some video too. Keep an eye out for that!
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Beginning of the Pictures
Hey everybody! Hope all is well! I've been here going through literally hundreds and hundreds of pictures over the last few days. There are SO many! So I thought I should share a few of them with you. I'll probably post some more soon, just wanted to go ahead and get some of them up here. Enjoy!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
It's Been a Little While
So first off, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back on here and update this. The second half of last week was really busy and I didn't have much time to get on the computer. So if you really want to know what all has been going on, there might be a little bit of light reading to come.
So here we go:
Last Wednesday everyone visited an elementary school not far from our house. For a large part of the morning we were outside doing yard work. We spent a couple hours clearing out some brush with machetes and "slashing," a form of cutting grass where you sling a dull blade back and forth until the grass just gives up and falls over. It's pretty labor intensive but believe it or not, it's a pretty good stress reliever. I'm still partial to the riding lawn mower however. In the afternoon we got to play with the kids during their recess. While some of the girls were playing games elsewhere, a few of the guys started a soccer game with some of the children. Playing a soccer game in flip flops on a field covered in rocks turned out to be a pretty bad idea. After dribbling the ball around for about an hour with 50 kids chasing me, I realized that I had cut my foot and half of my shoe was covered in blood. Talk about the highlight of a day. The day had been too much fun to even worry about a little thing like that.
The next day would turn out to be one of my favorites. Thursday morning we got up bright and early and at 7 a.m. headed to the other side of the city to visit another babies home. We went straight to work when we got there, the girls playing with the babies and the guys carrying firewood. After moving a rather large pile of wood, I chopped wood for about 2 hours. After that came the fun part, playing and singing with the little ones. Since there were only a few of us there, I was asked to lead our group in a couple songs. Any of you who have heard me sing know exactly how terrible I am. I think I may have made a couple kids cry, but I'm not sure about that part. Either way, the whole situation reminded me that God is not concerned at all with how well you sing, just that you sing and make a joyful noise to Him. I for one am definitely thankful for that truth.
Friday was definitely one of the most eventful days I spent in Uganda. Again we got up early in the morning, this time heading out of the city to a village over an hour away. We spent all morning in knee-deep mud and debris-filled water cleaning wells so that this village might have cleaner water to use for cooking, cleaning and drinking. A friend of ours had recently started a church in the village, which had formerly been a hotbed for witchcraft. We heard stories of how numerous people were coming to know Christ, despite the repeated attempts of the local witch doctors to bring down the church. It was great to hear about all the work that the Lord has been doing in that village. After working all day, we had about a 30 minute walk back to the cars where we could finally get some food. During that long walk back the skies completely opened up and we were drenched by the strongest downpour I have ever witnessed. It was safe to say there was no need for a shower that night. Then, to our surprise, when we finally got back to our cars a number of the villagers were there waiting for us, ready to play a game of soccer. By that time the rain had stopped, so we agreed to play them. It must have been quite a sight to see everyone sliding around on the flooded field. Everyone slept pretty well after that long hard day.
Saturday we got a break from all the work and drove up to a place called Jinja, where supposedly the source of the Nile River is located. We ate lunch at a nice resort and then got to go swimming in the river. Later that afternoon a few of us even got to go bungee jumping, which is one of the most fun things I have ever done. Another of the guys and I enjoyed it so much that we actually payed to go do it again. The videos of it are pretty interesting, so I'll have to upload them some time soon. Sunday we went to a large church, pastored by a Canadian man, that reminded me a lot of churches back at home. After church we just got to relax and spend some quality time with some of the awesome friends we had made throughout the past two weeks.
Monday morning, we left early for the airport, to head home. A few amazing friends even got up early to ride to the airport with us and to see us off. It meant so much to me to have them do that, when they easily could have slept in for a few more hours (I wouldn't have blamed them at all if they had). That is one thing I am most thankful for during this trip, the simply amazing friendships that God provided. None of the trip would have been as much fun as it was without them there with us.
So after a couple long flights, and a day spent sightseeing in London, I'm finally home. It is great to be home but I do already miss Uganda. I am so blessed that God gave me the opportunity to spend time there and to do His work there. I can't wait to go back and do it again. Thank you again to all those who have supported me in any way. This isn't my last post. I will have lots of pictures, and maybe even some videos coming soon, so stay tuned!
So here we go:
Last Wednesday everyone visited an elementary school not far from our house. For a large part of the morning we were outside doing yard work. We spent a couple hours clearing out some brush with machetes and "slashing," a form of cutting grass where you sling a dull blade back and forth until the grass just gives up and falls over. It's pretty labor intensive but believe it or not, it's a pretty good stress reliever. I'm still partial to the riding lawn mower however. In the afternoon we got to play with the kids during their recess. While some of the girls were playing games elsewhere, a few of the guys started a soccer game with some of the children. Playing a soccer game in flip flops on a field covered in rocks turned out to be a pretty bad idea. After dribbling the ball around for about an hour with 50 kids chasing me, I realized that I had cut my foot and half of my shoe was covered in blood. Talk about the highlight of a day. The day had been too much fun to even worry about a little thing like that.
The next day would turn out to be one of my favorites. Thursday morning we got up bright and early and at 7 a.m. headed to the other side of the city to visit another babies home. We went straight to work when we got there, the girls playing with the babies and the guys carrying firewood. After moving a rather large pile of wood, I chopped wood for about 2 hours. After that came the fun part, playing and singing with the little ones. Since there were only a few of us there, I was asked to lead our group in a couple songs. Any of you who have heard me sing know exactly how terrible I am. I think I may have made a couple kids cry, but I'm not sure about that part. Either way, the whole situation reminded me that God is not concerned at all with how well you sing, just that you sing and make a joyful noise to Him. I for one am definitely thankful for that truth.
Friday was definitely one of the most eventful days I spent in Uganda. Again we got up early in the morning, this time heading out of the city to a village over an hour away. We spent all morning in knee-deep mud and debris-filled water cleaning wells so that this village might have cleaner water to use for cooking, cleaning and drinking. A friend of ours had recently started a church in the village, which had formerly been a hotbed for witchcraft. We heard stories of how numerous people were coming to know Christ, despite the repeated attempts of the local witch doctors to bring down the church. It was great to hear about all the work that the Lord has been doing in that village. After working all day, we had about a 30 minute walk back to the cars where we could finally get some food. During that long walk back the skies completely opened up and we were drenched by the strongest downpour I have ever witnessed. It was safe to say there was no need for a shower that night. Then, to our surprise, when we finally got back to our cars a number of the villagers were there waiting for us, ready to play a game of soccer. By that time the rain had stopped, so we agreed to play them. It must have been quite a sight to see everyone sliding around on the flooded field. Everyone slept pretty well after that long hard day.
Saturday we got a break from all the work and drove up to a place called Jinja, where supposedly the source of the Nile River is located. We ate lunch at a nice resort and then got to go swimming in the river. Later that afternoon a few of us even got to go bungee jumping, which is one of the most fun things I have ever done. Another of the guys and I enjoyed it so much that we actually payed to go do it again. The videos of it are pretty interesting, so I'll have to upload them some time soon. Sunday we went to a large church, pastored by a Canadian man, that reminded me a lot of churches back at home. After church we just got to relax and spend some quality time with some of the awesome friends we had made throughout the past two weeks.
Monday morning, we left early for the airport, to head home. A few amazing friends even got up early to ride to the airport with us and to see us off. It meant so much to me to have them do that, when they easily could have slept in for a few more hours (I wouldn't have blamed them at all if they had). That is one thing I am most thankful for during this trip, the simply amazing friendships that God provided. None of the trip would have been as much fun as it was without them there with us.
So after a couple long flights, and a day spent sightseeing in London, I'm finally home. It is great to be home but I do already miss Uganda. I am so blessed that God gave me the opportunity to spend time there and to do His work there. I can't wait to go back and do it again. Thank you again to all those who have supported me in any way. This isn't my last post. I will have lots of pictures, and maybe even some videos coming soon, so stay tuned!
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