**I'm doing a series of pictures of interesting and funny signs**
I am happy to say or maybe sad to say, I haven’t quite decided, that this is the first time in my life where when I have a shower actual muddy water comes off of me. I ring out my hair and it’s like chocolate milk. Haha, it is kind of gross, but not the worst I could have to deal with. When it doesn’t rain, seeing how most of the roads are dirt or have dirt surrounding them or huge massive dirt pot holes, it gets very dusty. And then when it does rain its one huge muddy slip and slide. Could be a bad thing if you are wearing new shoes, but who would do that? So I am typing you from Canada House, I spent yesterday typing up a small update article for the next ACTS newsletter and choosing pictures to go along with it, of the Memory Book Work (MBW) Training Week. Then I tried for indefinable amount of time to get them attached to an email and sent to Canada. Oh the luxuries of internet in Uganda. I am not to sure whether it’s a blessing or a curse, I suppose it depends on the day.
So I have been on Ugandan soil for about 121 days, minus the off day trips to Rwanda and Kenya. So let’s just say I have been on East African soil for 121 days, or four months. Wow, it’s really weird to think of that. A lot has happened in these four months. I have taken about 8,000 pictures, 60GB of video, facilitated a week long training session for MBW, documented numerous project areas of ACTS, traveled to Kigali, Rwanda and all across Kenya to Lamu, and developed an innumerable amount of memories. I think I went through some of the lowest times of my life, and some of the highest highs. I have cried a lot. I have laughed a lot. I have seen some of the craziest things, some of the saddest things, and some of the most joyous. The craziest things I’d say, are the roads. The traffic, the people, the bikes, the motorcycles and the terrible condition they are mostly in. It’s a little unnerving when you are following a huge semi-truck on the highway and they are wobbling all over the road, and the tires are spinning like they are held on with twist ties. And then there are pot holes that 7 year old children could hide in. Oh, and a truck is automatically a bus, they pile like 50 people into the back of them, or on top of the load that is already HUGE. It’s a scary place on the main highways. The saddest thing I saw, to me, was a three month old baby with HIV/AIDS. It was smaller than a newborn with a sunken face and skin stretched over its tiny bones. I can’t help but think the poor child was born into such a horrible circumstance and has almost no chance of living with a fatal disease that was attacking it so strongly already. There are so many medical cases that people just can’t afford to get help for, people dying of preventable diseases and deformities all the time. I met a girl when I was first here who had broken her femur and because there was no medical help lived with it for over a year! It healed horrible crooked, and she was unable to walk. I met her at the HOURS clinic luckily, so she was able to have surgery and get it fixed over a year later! I have never seen so much joy in people in all my life, amongst all the pain, suffering and poverty. The people here have seriously got it together with God. I wish they I could grasp the spiritual truths with such childlike faith, trust and devotion. It’s like there is no doubt. They are just able to hear the truth, receive it and live it out. God, I want some of that. It’s the North American curse I’ve got. Don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful and thankful for the circumstances that I grew up in. My mother and father worked very hard in their own ways to give me a more than comfortable life. But somewhere along the way, I got the idea that because everything is so available, so accessible in the world, that I can do it on my own. I don’t need anyone else to help me. Man is that ever a hard habit to break.
So anyway, I had some time so I thought I would type up a blog. Just some random thoughts and experiences for you! If you would like to hear about anything else, please leave me a message and I would be more than happy to write about it for you! I need some more suggestions. When I am living in this world over here, especially after 4 months, things start to feel normal and natural, and so I wouldn’t think to tell you about them. You know? So please bring on the request!I am happy to say or maybe sad to say, I haven’t quite decided, that this is the first time in my life where when I have a shower actual muddy water comes off of me. I ring out my hair and it’s like chocolate milk. Haha, it is kind of gross, but not the worst I could have to deal with. When it doesn’t rain, seeing how most of the roads are dirt or have dirt surrounding them or huge massive dirt pot holes, it gets very dusty. And then when it does rain its one huge muddy slip and slide. Could be a bad thing if you are wearing new shoes, but who would do that? So I am typing you from Canada House, I spent yesterday typing up a small update article for the next ACTS newsletter and choosing pictures to go along with it, of the Memory Book Work (MBW) Training Week. Then I tried for indefinable amount of time to get them attached to an email and sent to Canada. Oh the luxuries of internet in Uganda. I am not to sure whether it’s a blessing or a curse, I suppose it depends on the day.
So I have been on Ugandan soil for about 121 days, minus the off day trips to Rwanda and Kenya. So let’s just say I have been on East African soil for 121 days, or four months. Wow, it’s really weird to think of that. A lot has happened in these four months. I have taken about 8,000 pictures, 60GB of video, facilitated a week long training session for MBW, documented numerous project areas of ACTS, traveled to Kigali, Rwanda and all across Kenya to Lamu, and developed an innumerable amount of memories. I think I went through some of the lowest times of my life, and some of the highest highs. I have cried a lot. I have laughed a lot. I have seen some of the craziest things, some of the saddest things, and some of the most joyous. The craziest things I’d say, are the roads. The traffic, the people, the bikes, the motorcycles and the terrible condition they are mostly in. It’s a little unnerving when you are following a huge semi-truck on the highway and they are wobbling all over the road, and the tires are spinning like they are held on with twist ties. And then there are pot holes that 7 year old children could hide in. Oh, and a truck is automatically a bus, they pile like 50 people into the back of them, or on top of the load that is already HUGE. It’s a scary place on the main highways. The saddest thing I saw, to me, was a three month old baby with HIV/AIDS. It was smaller than a newborn with a sunken face and skin stretched over its tiny bones. I can’t help but think the poor child was born into such a horrible circumstance and has almost no chance of living with a fatal disease that was attacking it so strongly already. There are so many medical cases that people just can’t afford to get help for, people dying of preventable diseases and deformities all the time. I met a girl when I was first here who had broken her femur and because there was no medical help lived with it for over a year! It healed horrible crooked, and she was unable to walk. I met her at the HOURS clinic luckily, so she was able to have surgery and get it fixed over a year later! I have never seen so much joy in people in all my life, amongst all the pain, suffering and poverty. The people here have seriously got it together with God. I wish they I could grasp the spiritual truths with such childlike faith, trust and devotion. It’s like there is no doubt. They are just able to hear the truth, receive it and live it out. God, I want some of that. It’s the North American curse I’ve got. Don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful and thankful for the circumstances that I grew up in. My mother and father worked very hard in their own ways to give me a more than comfortable life. But somewhere along the way, I got the idea that because everything is so available, so accessible in the world, that I can do it on my own. I don’t need anyone else to help me. Man is that ever a hard habit to break.
So anyway, I had some time so I thought I would type up a blog. Just some random thoughts and experiences for you! If you would like to hear about anything else, please leave me a message and I would be more than happy to write about it for you! I need some more suggestions. When I am living in this world over here, especially after 4 months, things start to feel normal and natural, and so I wouldn’t think to tell you about them. You know? So please bring on the request!
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