Friday Market

We all got up early this morning! We were leaving for Kampala at 6:45 to go to the market there. Alex and another Ugandan man picked us up in a little mini bus. Katelyn was feeling unwell this morning so she decided not to go:(. It ended up being the 6 of us plus Sandra, Kaity and Adeline (another girl working with a different ministry). 

It's almost 3 hours to Kampala with morning traffic. I took barely any photos today because most of it was spent in the bus! Traffic is terrible and makes you all hot and sweaty because having the windows open doesn't do much if the bus isn't moving. 

We went to the market first and the girls bought heaps of stuff for souvenirs, as it's cheaper than in Jinja. I didn't buy a lot of stuff because its only my first week here! It's kind of fun haggling for a good price:). They all say "Madam, please support me, support me." After that Sandra took us to a Mexican restaurant called "The Little Donkey". The food was not too bad and very cheap! 

Sandra had to do some more errands and then we bought ice creams. If you go into a large shop, grocery store or the bank here, you have to show them what is in your bag and they wave a metal detector over you before you can go in.  

Alex took some photos while we waited for Sandra. The driver was going to take a photo with my camera but a guard came and told us we couldn't take photos. Oh well! So these photos are off Alex's ipad. 

From left to right: me (in case you've forgotten what I look like), Colleen, Paige, Londa, Elena, Nicole and Kaity. 

It felt hotter today but I think it's just because we were stuck in a bus most of the day. 

We then went to Shoprite and Game. Anyone who's read my blog from Malawi knows that they have these shops in Malawi so it was something familiar for me! Again, I didn't buy much and was done way before the other girls so I sat in the shade with Alex and our other driver. We talked about the differences that they see in Australians compared to Americans and what Australia is like. Alex had heard about bush fires and asked all about them. He found it amazing that a fire could get so big and out of control. After the girls were done we headed back to Jinja. The traffic wasn't too bad on the way home so it only took 2 hours and we were back by 6pm. 

As we pulled in the gate all the kids started yelling all the aunty's names. Most of them are still learning my name, but I could hear one little boy yelling "Aunty Cia Cia, Aunty Cia Cia!" Then I said to one boy that I'd missed him and he said "I missed you, Aunty." So adorable! :)

We get a bit of a sleep in tomorrow and then I'm in the nursery! I get to meet all the babies! I'll have to learn a whole new set of names and routine. 

"The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honourable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and full of compassion."

Psalm 111:2-4

Outings

This is my corner of the room. I don't have any lighting except for my head torch and there's not many windows so it's really dark. 

This is the rest of the guesthouse. 

Today I had preschool with some of the kids. Mary, the preschool teacher, took a group of them to one of the ladies houses just down the road who works with Amani. She takes care of all the adoptions. The kids love going to her house. 

I was by myself with the boys after preschool as Paige was working with another organisation. I sure missed her during the normal feeding routine! One of the boys was naughty and wouldn't stop crying so he had to be taken to the office then when he got back he went "su su" (wee) all over the floor! 

I was assigned outings this afternoon. So Nicole, Kaitey and I took 3 kids to the Keep for icecream. It was so much fun! Both Kaitey and Nicole work in the nursery normally and the're both Canadian. We had Sarah, Isaiah and Sande (pronounced Sunday). First you have to dress them up in their outing clothes, don't they look smart! Isaiah and Sande are both my boys. 

Above is me, Sande, Sarah and Kaitey. They are so quiet when you take them out, they just take everything in. Sande did not say one word the entire time!

Kaitey was talking to a older Ugandan man at the Keep and he called her a spinster because she's 20 and still not married:)!

We went and picked up the mail for the girls. Paige was very happy because we brought back a package for her.

Nicole was happy because she found her favourite soft drink which they don't normally sell:). The guys unloading the crates of soft drink kept annoying Kaitey trying to get her phone number. One guy kept strutting around until Sarah ended up bawling her eyes out. We told him off "Look! You're scaring the baby!" and he left us alone. 

We went back home on bodas. You don't have to pay for a child; yay!

Then it's just playtime again. 

Sarah kept eating dirt today every time I turned my back. I ended up with red mud smeared all over my face while trying to get all the dirt out of her mouth:).

Philip, one of the kids with cerebral palsy, had a cast put on his legs today. We all feel so sorry for him:(. The cast goes from his ankles to above his knees and he won't be able to walk for 3 weeks! He also can't be bathed or go potty by himself either. Poor guy, it'll be great for him in the long run but he's so frustrated now. 

Paige making necklaces and crowns out of string. 

The kids watching a load of rocks being delivered.

The older boys eating their dinner, minus William. 

They were good boys tonight:). 

I've taught Joseph how to give butterfly kisses and he loves to get one when I kiss him goodnight:). 

Sleep tight my little men!

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me. God has given me the strength I need to get through each day by His grace. 

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Philippians 1:3-6

Mid Week

This morning I woke up at 5am and couldn't get back to sleep. Oh well, I guess that means I'm getting enough sleep then! 

I had one on ones this morning with 3 of the boys. I took Christopher, one of the older ones, and Babu, one of the babies on a walk with a few other girls and some of their one on ones. 

Babu quickly fell asleep in the stroller. Christopher had to pick up every single flower he saw to give to his cottage mama's. Christopher and I did some skipping and jumping over pot holes together. 

These birds are some kind of stork. They are everywhere and they're huge! They are over 3 feet tall and have a 6 foot wingspan. Christopher was terrified of them, and I've got to admit that they are ugly looking things. I finally convinced him that they were more scared of him and that Aunty was bigger than them so I would look after him. 

Christopher and I did colouring together to finish off our one on one and then headed back for porridge at 10am. 

After the usual after eating routine, we went outside to play. 

At 11am I took Isaiah for his one on one. He's one of the younger ones and a very quiet little boy so I did most of the talking:). We did colouring again and then some swinging on the swings together. 

My attempt at a selfie:). 

This is Noah, another attention seeker, always having to be picked up. We did some swinging together too. 

All the younger ones having their lunch:).

From back left to front left in a circle their names are: Isaiah, Judah, Michael, Sande, Jay, Babu and Edmund. 

Today was a fast day for the staff, so us girls went into town for lunch after our weekly meeting with Sandra. I was told that they had good filet steak where we went so that's what I ordered. I didn't realise how much I've missed a good piece of meat! 

Joseph is my little trouble maker. He's a really smart kid, so I think a lot of his mischief is from boredom. His imagination runs wild. He giggled for ages when I showed him I could wiggle my ears:). 

The kids love to pick out any marks on my white skin, something as simple as a freckle is fascinating. Joseph asked about the veins in my wrists, so I taught him about how blood runs through our bodies to keep us alive. The rest of play time was spent pretending to suck Aunty's blood out of her veins, which makes her sick, then putting it back, which makes her better:).

Babu, my little cutie!

Isaiah, my quiet one. 

The younger ones having their dinner. Some of them end up wearing more than they eat, which is why they all eat in their nappies or underwear. 

My feet:).

Bug bites and all, this is actually fairly clean for the middle of the day!

We had dinner early tonight. Soup was on the menu, so Londa made it in the afternoon which meant we only had to heat it up. 

I had pineapple for dessert. Mama Josephine, the lady who does our washing and cleaning also cuts up all our pineapple for the fridge. She also boils the rinds and we drink the water like juice. 

I went to bed early while the other girls watched a movie. 

"Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them..."
Romans 12:6

Getting the Hang of Things

I'm still tired, but today was a little easier. There's hope I will eventually get the hang of this!

I was assigned to preschool this morning. About a dozen kids at a time go to preschool with Mary the preschool teacher. Londa and I were assigned together, so we gathered the older ones up and went to preschool.

They are learning about touch this week. First there was "circle time", then play dough, painting and colouring. Then they had a story and got to play in buckets of water, which they love. 

Morning preschool finishes at 10am and then they head back to the cottages for porridge. 

After porridge its the same routine; strip, wash, potty. Then it's play time outside!

During this time the cottage volunteers do one on ones with assigned kids for the day. Paige took the first two and then I did one. 

Richard was my assigned one on one. First though he had to get new shoes! 

The shoes I brought were all handed out today and the kids names written on the back. Richard was so proud of his new shoes and I got him to run back and forth to "show them off". 

Richard wanted to read his Bible first so I read several stories, then he wanted to do drawing. Little did I know that that means I do all the drawing and Richard dictates. Anyone that knows me at all knows that I struggle to draw stick figures! Drawing just isn't my strong point. Today, though, I managed to draw everything that Richard asked with no complaints from him, though some were a little unrecognizable. Richard wanted Mary and Joseph, baby Jesus, a lion, a dog, a tree, a river, Captain America, the Hulk, and Batman. Thankfully we ran out of paper at this point:). His only complaint was that the Hulk was not big enough.

Richard and I headed back for lunch as the little ones had just begun eating. Lunch today was rice and beans. Us volunteers eat the same thing but with a couple of other things like cabbage or sweet potato. 

I'm still getting used to disciplining the boys. As I don't know their different personalities very well, sometimes I don't realise that they are being naughty until one of the mama's says something. 

Two of our older boys aren't with us most of the time anymore. I'm not allowed to share where they're going until it's finalised. 

During my break today I went into town with Paige and Elena to do the grocery shopping. We walked, which was nice and it gives me a chance to get my bearings a little more. I was a little torn between going with them and taking a nap instead, but I'm glad I went because it actually really refreshed me. 

I only had to get washing powder and coffee for myself. I think part of the reason I was so tired yesterday was because I had run out of coffee! 

We caught a Boda back. Elena and I shared one which doesn't make the price any cheaper. I rode side saddle today and the other girls think I'm crazy. Ugandan women mostly ride side saddle though, so if they don't fall off hopefully I won't! 

The rest of my break was spent drinking coffee and chatting with the girls. 

Hope with Agabba to the left. Agabba is new at Amani and is still settling in. His face is always that same expression. 

After break I was assigned to activities with Elena and Katelyn. We got out the balls and frisbees and played for a while. When they got sick of that we got out the bubble machine. They loved the bubbles! There was a slight breeze so they spread out all over the yard chasing the bubbles in all directions. 

Above is Michael. He's one of my boys in the cottage. He has special needs. He doesn't talk very well and is only just learning to stand. He's a cheeky little boy. He's always trying to stand when he's meant to be on the potty or climbing out of bed. He squeals with laughter every time you tell him off like it's all just a big game. He's adorable though and always laughing. 

This is Sarah. 

Still getting the names at the moment so I'm not sure what this little boy's name is. There names are written on their collars so they know who's clothes are who's, so if I get stuck I just pull back their collars. 

Above is Jane. She also has special needs. She can walk but is a bit unsteady on her feet. She is adorable but does have a habit of trying to chew on my skirt:)!

Aggaba and Hope waiting to be pushed.  

This is Philip. Philip has cerebral palsy and wears a brace on his leg most of the time. He is mostly paralyzed on his right side but he can still walk quite well. He is a little helper and is always happy to give the other kids a push on the swings. 

Hope again. 

This is Josephine. She has the biggest eyes and the biggest smile. 

At 6pm it's time to go back in and start the feed, wash, potty, pajamas, brush teeth and kisses goodnight. The older ones were naughty tonight so there was no bedtime story. 

We had French toast for dinner and fruit salad for dessert. I didn't help much with the cooking tonight so I did the dishes instead. 

Conversation at the dinner table tonight revolved around my accent and the words I say differently to the other girls like "zebra". I was asked today by one of the girls if we use the same alphabet:).

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:31

Work Begins

My day....

7:30-Get up, read God's Word, eat breakfast

8:45-Head down to Cottage "C" and play with the boys 

10:00-Porridge time 

10:30-Play time outside

12:00-Lunch time, wash, nap

1:00-Lunch and break time! 

4:00-Movie with kids

5:30-Tea time, bath, bedtime

7:00-Head back up and help start tea

8:30-Eat, shower, load photos for blog, reply to emails, finish blog

10:45-Bed

So I was meant to start the day with a one on one session with one of the boys, but because I still don't know what I'm doing much, I was told to just play with them. I mainly just read books:).

Above is William the eldest and one of the "babies" Judah. William is a big help with the younger ones. He is the same boy who told me how they kill and eat lions and he's constantly asking questions. "Why? Aunty, Why? He asked me today if I wanted a son to take home with me:(. 

("What are you trying to do, child, break my heart?")

Porridge time means first all the younger ones strip down to their nappies and eat their porridge on the floor. Then you take their nappies off, rinse them down, dry them off, put them on the potty, put clean nappies on them and their clothes back on. Then the older ones strip to their jocks (except William), eat at a little table, go to the toilet, then redress. Then they go outside for play. I went on a walk with some of the other girls and a few kids as part of their one on ones and play. 

Caroline very excited in her new shoes!

The kid's just want to be held all the time. It's easier most of the time to not pick up a child or they just cry for more attention. I try to cuddle them without carrying them around. 

Lunch time is the same as porridge time but instead of getting redressed they all go down for their naps. 

And then we get to eat lunch and have a break!

Sandra came and took me into town after lunch to exchange money and do my orientation. She's very organised and has been very helpful. 

I only got time to lay down for 20 min before it was time to head back down. 

I was meant to do an outing with Katelyn but it rained this afternoon so the kids had to stay inside. 

So we joined the activities group and watch "Horton Hears a Who" with the kids. It was a big job trying to get a bunch of toddlers to sit still long enough to watch a movie.

More play time then it was time for tea. Similar routine; strip, eat, potty, wash, pajamas, brush teeth, story, kisses goodnight. 

I liked the bedtime routine. I think maybe because it was much shorter:).

I'm going to need a lot of energy to get through my time here, and would appreciate prayer for that. The other girls work so hard. 

Please pray that I will have the energy and stamina to do above what is expected of me here. 

"..For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

Matthew 6:32b-33

Sunday Worship

I got up at 7:30 this morning. I wake up at about 6:30 though as that's when the kids get up and make a lot of noise. After spending time in God's Word and in prayer, it was time for breakfast. One of the other girls offered to make scrambled eggs for those who were up, so I only had to make the coffee. 

Above is the washing lines for the babies. 

Below is two of the girls waiting for our ride to church

Just before 10am a girl, Emily, came and picked us up for church. Emily is the niece of the lady who runs Amani and is taking over more responsibility from her aunt. She's a little younger than me and is from Florida.  

We went to a church called Worship Harvest Ministries, where most of the volunteers from Amani go. One of the girls goes to a Catholic church and a couple of the younger ones went and visited a different church. 

I loved the service, but it also made me miss all my church family. 

There was lots of beautiful singing, clapping and dancing. Strangely enough I felt very comfortable there. I've been to churches back home where they were very animated in their worship and they made me feel uncomfortable, like it was all a show. Yet, here it was just so enjoyable. I felt privileged to be a part of it and it made me a little emotional. Everyone sings beautifully and so loud! There was maybe just over 50 people and their singing was probably 5 times as loud as the singing at Frankston. The songs were easy to learn. I only knew one from home, "Man of Sorrows". Every now and then the words on the projector would be wrong or they'd forget to change the slide, but everyone would just sing their own thing until the slides caught up. We sang about 5 songs and the 3 or 4 people got up and shared different things that God had done in their lives recently. Then we had communion. This is rare, some of the girls who have been here a couple of times said they've never had communion here before. We had bread and red cordial. 

They took up the tithe then, and called up the musicians to perform as the bag was passed around. It was a little different but the music was great. The music leader would point at a musician and say "listen to Brother Timothy!", then he'd do his own little solo. They had 2 electric guitars, 1 acoustic, drums and a keyboard. After that we had the sermon. The text was John 6:22-33 and the sermon probably went for about an hour. It was a bit unstructured compared to what I'm used to. He would read a verse, then talk about it, move onto the next verse, talk about it etc, but he wasn't very consistent with his theme. I'm not actually sure what his main theme was. He also "ended" the sermon twice before he actually finished. He'd read a Bible verse and say "we can end the sermon here, because it wraps it up", and then he'd keep speaking:). 

The little catch phrase they use for church is "church starts on Monday, Sunday is garage time." It means something like Sunday is when we get our "nuts and bolts" tightened for the week. 

After church I briefly met Emily's aunt, Danyne, who sort of "owns" Amani. She says "y'all" a lot:).

We went back to Amani to get ready for the party. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to go or not, but I'm glad I did. It's hard not knowing anybody. Even the girls I'm staying with I still don't know very well. I got to meet some more people today though. To begin with I was sitting with Katelyn, but Danyne noticed it was almost completely locals on one side of the room and mzungus on the other. So she announced, "Okay, new rule, no more than 2 of the same colour next to each other!" So everyone got up and moved around and I ended up sitting with 3 Ugandan men and Charlie, the Australian girl who took us to Budundo yesterday. I found out that Charlie is from Perth and she does the administration side of Amani. 

So I met Patrick, Edward, and Paul and asked about their families and work. Patrick has been to Sydney once and couldn't believe I'd never been there. He said, "You've flown half way around the world to Africa and never been to Sydney!" He asked about my work and he said he'd been to a McDonald's once in South Africa. He thinks McDonald's is very organised because we everything is done a set way and very fast. Patrick has 5 kids and the eldest is named Joel. 

When I was talking to Edward, and he asked about my work, I had to explain what McDonald's was. When I said part of my job was to train new crew and teach them how to do things the correct way, he said, "Ah, you touch people's hearts with knowledge." I didn't know what to say to that! I can't imagine any of the trainees feeling that way!

The food was so good! We had rice with a beef stew, chapatis, chicken and beans with capsicum. 

Most people left after cake and ice cream. I have to say they definitely sing "Happy Birthday" much better than we do! They add more verses to our tune like, "how many years are you now?" and "you are looking very beautiful". I'm told celebrating birthdays is a fairly new tradition for Ugandans. 

Us girls stayed a little longer and played Uno. I find Uno is always different rules with different people. I taught them Ultimate Uno which the youth at Frankston play. They thought it was great until someone made the rule where you swap hands every colour change, then they got sick of it pretty quick. 

The photo above is Jonah, the little boy with the blood infection. He's still staying with Sandra but he seems much better. He was not as listless as he has been, in fact he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get a good photo!

We got dropped back at Amani at about 5:30pm. When we arrived back all the kids were playing in the fenced front yard and yelled, "Aunty! Aunty! Come in here! So we went in and played for a little while. 

Little kids clinging to my skirts is a feeling I missed from Malawi. A few people back home asked me to give cuddles to the kids for them. I felt like I didn't have enough hands though! When 4 kids want to be picked up, do you pick up one and leave the others crying? 

Above is Jay. Apparently he will be in my cottage:).

Above is Katelyn with some of the boys who are trying to destroy a tree stump. 

A few of these boys asked me where I'll work and were very excited to hear that I'll be in their cottage. 

One of the older boys, William, told me they'd found 2 frogs today. I told him I liked frogs, but he didn't. He wanted to know why I liked frogs and I said that I like lots of things like frogs, lizards, geckos etc. I think William thought I was a little nuts:). He wanted to know if I liked lions, and I said I'd never seen a lion except for in a zoo. He proceeded to tell me that lion tastes very good and how they kill a lion and cut it open to get the meat out. 

Above is Elena.

This is Londa.

This is Jay again. He ended up on my lap most of the time. 

Jay was pretty happy with his prime spot until I had to go.... 

...Then, he bawled his little eyes out when I put him down. 

I just waved goodbye and he stopped crying as soon as I was round the corner. 

I've only just met them and I'm wondering how I'll ever leave. 

The power went out tonight for a good 45 min and I thought wouldn't get any blogging done, but it came back on so I'm not behind. 

I get to start work tomorrow! I feel like I haven't done anything yet, so I'm looking forward to getting into routine. 

"Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent me." -Jesus

Mark 9:37