Well, I have finished my first full week here in Uganda. I arrived here late Thursday night on the 12th, but Friday was really just a rest day and then Saturday I spent most of the day settling in and walking around the village and the S.O.S. property. So much has changed since I was last here! It’s really encouraging to see the ministry grow so much in only 2 years! Speaking of growing, as I getting over jet lag on Friday, one of the kids came running to tell us that they had found 2, I repeat, TWO, 7 foot green mambas in the village in a tree above a man’s hut and he had knocked them out of the tree with a rock and smashed their head with a shovel. So naturally we went running to see them. When we got to the house a boy had them both tied to the back of his bike and was dragging them around and the other kids were chasing after him. Pretty typical… Of course I was bullied into touching them, I didn’t want to, but I also didn’t want to look like a big mzungu wimp. It was quite the welcoming to the jungle to say the least.
On Saturday I headed out to Kamapala, the capitol, with Shannon, the 3 of the 4 Hurley boys, and Obote, one of the students living with the Hurleys, to watch the boys play in a baseball game. Basically, they had heard about this team and they wanted to play, so we went to Kampala to check it out. When we showed up there were about 4 teams there and they were playing tournament style and the team that the boys were playing on was getting ready to warm up to play against this other team from the city. It was really bizarre because I never thought that I would be going to baseball game in Uganda, soccer is assumed, but not baseball. The boys did great, considering that they were playing with kids much larger than them and they had never practiced before, and their team even won their game!
Even though they didn't really have all the supplies they needed and most of them weren't even wearing shoes, they had a great time and it was a ton of fun to watch! During the day when I’m not playing with 7 foot mambas or going to Ugandan baseball games, I am a homeschooling the Hurley kids. There’s Elisa (14), Ezekiel (11), and Ethan (10), and Evan (7). Let me tell ya, it’s a really humbling experience when you get a 9th grade algebra problem wrong, or you have to read the lesson over again because you can’t remember the process of photosynthesis. It’s a real temptation to just tell the kids that they are never going to use that stuff again, but I just have to fight the urge and tell them how important it is to know the difference between chlorophyll and chlorine. The first week has been a lot of fun, and we are really getting into the groove of things.
After school is finished for the day, I move onto the other tasks that I have to complete. I am helping out the primary school here on the property, Legacy Christian Academy, and that is really neat to see what a quality school they are running here in the middle of the bush. It’s so great to see these kids get such a good education that teaches them about Jesus at the same time. Please remember them in your prayers as they continue to education 100 kids this term and more to come in 2014!
On Mondays after school I meet with a lady named Felistas. She is my translator for my Thursday bible study and we meet together on Mondays to go over the study that we are going through. It’s a really great opportunity because while she is helping me out I am able to disciple her and walk with her through Scripture. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I go to bible studies with other women led by different people here at SOS and Thursdays I jump on a boda boda (basically a low powered motorcycle) and head about 20 minutes away to a neighboring village called Bukyeke and lead a bible study there. I have been told that the numbers can vary a little, but I can expect to see Edith, Patrick, Justine, Hezron, and Lydia there every week. Out of those five people only Justine is a believer. Edith is an Anglican, Patrick is a Catholic, and Hezron and Lydia don’t claim a religion. This last week when I went they had so many questions, especially Patrick, and are so open to the Gospel. Please be in prayer for this bible study as we go through Romans and they can see that Christ is the only remedy for their sin. It’s such a sweet group of people and I am completely overwhelmed with excitement to study Scripture with them every week. Sundays are spent with a group of Muslim kids in a village about 30 minutes away teaching them stories about Jesus. Their parents are mostly Muslim, but in this culture there isn’t much accountability as to where your kids are during the day, so they are free to come to bible study without their parents caring. It’s great to spend that time with them playing games and memorizing Scripture while they learn about a greater God than Allah.
All in all, this first week has been such a great start to an exciting year. I am so thrilled to see how God is going to work in my life and the lives of the people that I am around. I know there are going to be challenges along the way, but I also know that my God is bigger than those challenges and I have a lot of people praying for me back in America. Thank you for keeping up with my blog, and I would love to hear from you and what is going on in your life on the other side of the world! Feel free to email me at journeysofamzungu@gmail.com. Thank you for reading and keep your eyes open for more news about what is going down in the bush!
