My "different" lifestyle in Uganda is slowly but steadily becoming more "normal" for me. I've created somewhat of a routine, and although each day is hardly predictable, I'm becoming more used to what kind of challenges or interruptions I might have. I thought I'd write to try to give you a glimpse of what a typical day is like for me.
Today is Thursday. I usually wake up around 8:30, crawl out from under my mosquito net, and enjoy 4 minutes of hot water for my shower. This means getting wet, turning the water off, soaping up, and then turning the water back on to rinse. But I'm happy for the running water! Showers are less than glamorous when you consider the 2x2ft curtain-less shower. There are frequently little clans of bugs hanging out around the shower and sometimes I even get the luxury of removing a small snake from the shower that crawled up the drain. The good thing about these little snakes is that they're only like five inches long. The bad thing is that they're nearly impossible to kill and OH so fast! Below is a picture of one of the little snakes and the shower:
After I shower I pick which one of my skirts to wear. Every day is a skirt day at GSF. For breakfast I eat porridge (boiled maze) or eggs. I spend some of my morning working with little Mark on "school." I bring him to my house and work on learning colors, shapes, and letters. He's been doing so well that I even started reading lessons with him. If he is a good boy, he gets the reward of reading a book on my iPad (I use "reading a book" loosely - the iPad actually reads it to him). Depending on his attention span, we might do school for 30 minutes or for 2 hours. He's been doing so well lately. It's really encouraging to see his progress even after 1 week! The teachers will not allow little Mark to attend school because of his high energy level, so that's why I do school with him instead (they say he can only go to school if I take him). Last year I took him to school every day, but this meant spending 5 hours of my day in a classroom. Due to the nature of my work this year, I don't have that kind of time. But I figure that if I spend at least 30 minutes with him working one-on-one that he will probably learn (more) than what he would learn in a typical school day. I only feel like I have the authority to say that because I spent over a month in his classroom last year! Below is a picture of Mark coloring and a the sidewalk where Mark practiced writing the letter "M" with chalk (disclaimer: he did not write the yellow M's).
Casia and I eat lunch at 1:00. We typically eat poscho, beans, cabbage, carrots, and pineapple. It's delicious! Below is a picture of poscho, beans, and cabbage:
I spend the rest of the afternoon working the on the sponsorship program. This might mean I am writing a post on the sponsorship blog (www.gsfsponsorship.blogspot.com - check it out!), creating profiles to sign kids up for sponsorship, going through financial statements to find out which sponsors are active, or sending out letters. I've also recently revamped the scholarship program. The scholarship program is for GSF kids who have aged out of the GSF and are in boarding school, vocational training, or university. GSF is struggling to find funding all of these students. Currently, the funding coming in is miniscule compared to what is needed to financially support these students. So, we have started sponsorship for scholarship students and are working on promoting the program. It's a load of work, but because GSF is currently tight on finances, if we do not raise support for the scholarship program then GSF will have to pull out the students. Below is an example of one of the students in the scholarship program:
Around 5:00, after the children have finished at school done their chores, they often wander over to Casia and my house. It becomes a mini-battle: fend off kids while trying to work or just invite them in? I usually end up submitting and spend until dinner playing with the kids, whether it's initiating a soccer game, playing volleyball, coloring, or cooking something. I spent this week making a corn-snack with the kids. First we took the corn kernels off the cob, boiled them in water for a couple hours, dried them out in the sun for two days, and fried them. It's way more involved than I realized..and honestly it doesn't taste super good. But the time with the kids made it worth it. Below is a picture of Geofrey with the boiling corn. He was the recipe director:
We eat dinner at 7. Dinner is anything. Sometimes we make smoothies, salads, eggs, pasta, toast...it's whatever we come up with. Evenings are all different depending on the night. Tonight is Thursday, so I will be going to youth group with all of the GSF teenagers.
The "weird" parts of life are all just life now. Of course I don't have a car and get a ride on a boda (motorcycle) when I want to go into Jinja. Of course I need to walk through the market to collect some of my groceries. Of course I pick bugs off of my bed before I get in (ok, I am still getting used to that part!). It's all part of adjusting, and with every day I feel more and more adjusted. It doesn't mean being away from home isn't still hard - it will always be hard. But even if I were to go home, being away from Uganda would be hard. It's all part of this journey on which God is leading me.
Last post I mentioned that I had gotten my hair braided. This past week I cut all of my hair off! Casia, my roommate, just happens to be an awesome hair dresser. I'd been thinking of getting it done for a while now but never had the guts to go through with it. I decided on night that I wanted to cut it, and the next morning Casia did it for me! It's refreshing to have a new 'do that's fun and easy. It definitely surprised all of the GSF kids. Now they tell me I have "African hair" because it's short =).
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. It is so encouraging to know of the family I have back in America! I can feel your prayers. God's grace fills even the toughest of days. I ask that you continue to pray! Here are my newest requests:
1) Pray for the next two Sundays as I teach all of the GSF teenagers Sunday School. I taught a them a couple weeks ago and it went well. Please pray that God would open their ears and hearts to whatever God speaks through me!
2) Pray for the Gwartneys as they left on Tuesday for furlow. They will be in America for the next 4 months. Pray for a safe, refreshing, and productive trip.
3) Pray for Joshua, the newest GSF child! He arrived on Monday and is 3 months old.
4) Please pray that I would take comfort in the grace of God in the difficult times when I miss Daniel, family, and friends.
5) Pray that God would give me wisdom as I work through and grow the sponsorship program.
6) Thank you for praying for Katelyn, Kelsey, and Naomi. You can praise God for safe deliveries! Katelyn is blessed with another beautiful baby girl, and Kelsey and Naomi have two adorable little boys!
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| Me and Joshua, the newest GSF baby! |
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| Grocery shopping in the mark |
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| The market is the best place for fruits and veggies! |
