Just Life :)

Hey there everyone! I have missed you all so much. One big thing I am learning is how much I love, appreciate and value so many things I have back in the states. The biggest thing is my relationships. I miss you all.

But now is the time for me to fill you in on some of my adventures and my life here in Uganda. So, I am beginning to settle nicely into a school routine here. I lovvvvvve my classes. I have a nice variety between American students and profs, as well as Ugandan students and profs. All my classes are taught seminary style, which is beyond awesome. I read a ton and engage in class discussions. It’s the best and most refreshing learning. In my Ugandan politics class, I sit and drink American coffee in my professor’s house with 6 fellow Americans. How cool is that? Only papers and discussions! No notes, midterms or finals. Hope that gives ya an idea of my education over here!

Now for dorm life! I live in a giant hall of girls. It is similar to something you could find at a large U.S. university. In my room I share a very small space with two other American students. We have a communal hall bathroom. I have officially gotten use to cold showers, squatting to pee and carrying toilet paper into the bathroom with me at all times. I promise to post pics soon! Hahaha. I mean of the dorms- maybe not the bathroom specifics . Also, I am beginning to get use to hand washing my clothes…. My Ugandan peers definitely still laugh at all of us Americans while we wash…. I am pretty sure I just soak my clothes in water. They never really seem to be cleaner. With time I am sure I will get better! As for food, I literally eat rice and beans every day! Sometimes I mix it up with some g.nut sauce, which is a tasty peanut based topping that is a purple pink color. On occasion I eat matooke- the staple food of Uganda. A bland mash potato type thing…. Again, I will post pics soon! Oh and my favorite time of day is tea time! I get that twice daily J African tea is so delicious! 

Lastly, I just completed a two week home stay with a Ugandan family. I loved them. I slept at their ‘house’ for two weeks and came to school during the day. Now I am back in the dorms, but can definitely stay connected to them by continuing to come to family functions, church, etc. In my family, I have a mom who is a school teacher. I am going to go back to her school weekly to help children with their pronunciation and teach them silly games. My mom’s name is Faith and she is super spunky and fun. My dad is a tailor and makes school uniforms. He loves sharing the Ugandan culture with me and provided me with some amazing opportunities. I went to a wedding and a house warming party. I had the chance to wear a traditional Ugandan dress (a gomesi sp?). SO cool! He also provided me with some cool Ugandan foods I had never had like sugar cane, papaya, roasted bananas and so much more! I will fill you all in on the specifics of my family dynamics another time.

Hope this gives you all an idea of what I am doing here! I can’t wait to share more silly stories, the details of my life here and everything that I am learning!!!! Sorry for the brevity of my blogs and the lack of detail. I want to tell you all everrrything, but there is no way over the internet. Plus, it takes time to write it all and I want to fully be immersed in life here, but stay connected to you all. Ah difficult! But please continue sending me life updates, prayer requests, etc

Lastly- prayer requests! Please continue to pray that God is in all of my learning. I have been challenged so much in my faith, theology, worldview and spirituality. Pray that God would be working in all of that so that I could respond more clearly to the calling He has for my life. Pray that God would comfort me in times of uncertainty and that He would reveal Himself more clearly to me.

Love and miss you all!

Rwanda, Rwanda

So blogging is a little more difficult than I thought… First off, I am back in Uganda and settling into classes now. All is well.

There is so much information I want to share with you all, but it is so hard to find the time and more importantly the words to express to you everything I am learning. I desperately want to describe in depth what I learned in Rwanda. I think many of those stories will have to be shared once I am back in the States. I predict many coffee dates once I return. Just know that in all the stories I share with you, hold fast to the perspective Africa is so different than any preconceived notion you thought you knew about this place. I cannot wait to explain more about why I find this to be true. Perhaps through my blog some of you will see this, or once I get home to share more stories. 

            For now I will highlight each day of my 11 day trip.

            Day One- 14 hour bus trip. They appropriately call buses ‘coasters’ here. The countryside is beyond beautiful. 

           

            Day Two- The last Saturday of every month is a community workday. I had the opportunity to partake in this and work alongside fellow Rwandans. Best service experience of my life (ask me more about this adventure and why it was so good!)

            

 Day Three- I went to a rural Anglican church and experienced a warm welcoming. I learned on this day that people are not kind to me simply because I am white. Rather, my skin helps to show I am from a far away place, and people in Africa welcome all foreigners with a celebration. This made me feel more at peace in accepting their kindness. Also, it made their welcoming feel so authentic, genuine and deep. The value they saw in my runs deeper than my skin. (someday ask me about western influence in Africa, and our misconceptions about ethnicity)

         

            Day Four- On this day we visited Genocide Memorial Sites. We went to Nyamata, where hundreds of people were slaughtered in the church. I walked among the dead in mass tombs. 10,008 people are buried in these mass graves. Also, we visited the Kigali Memorial Site. Over 45,000 people are buried there. (Please ask for more stories, reactions about this day. It was intense)

           

            Day Five- This day’s theme was about Reconciliation. We heard stories from survivors of the genocide, as well as first hand testimonies from the people who participated in the killing. (PLEASE ask me someday about the power of forgiveness, this was by far the most life changing day)

      

            Day Six- We met with an American business man who is practicing the concept of social entrepreneurship. He used to be a very high up in corporate America, but recognized how it did not fulfill him or fulfill the life God had planned for him. So, he and several other Americans like him run a business consulting firm in Kigali. They are not a ministry or a NGO. Rwandan business men respect their company more for this, and therefore they have a larger positive affect on the community. (anyone planning on being a missionary/pastor/or entrepreneur- ask me about this adventure. This man offered an extraordinary view on missionary work and it’s affects on African society. In my opinion, he offered a better example of how to share Christ with people and he offered a way we can all live missionally.)

           

            Day 7- We traveled to southern Rwanda and stayed at Catholic guest house. I got to use my French and talk to little old nuns. How cool is that? (Someday ask me about that conversation hahahahaha)

            Day 8- Spent the day hanging with Rwandan students at an international university. Also, we visited a cultural museum. They danced for us! Don’t worry I have video.

         

            Day 9- We traveled back to Uganda to Bushara Island camp. I slept in a cottage on an island in the heart of Africa! How cool is that?!

Day 10- This part of our trip was more of a retreat/debrief to process the information we learned about. I woke up in the morning and ran around the island in my Chacos and watched the sun rise. Then, I canoed to a near by island, climbed to the top of it, blazed a trail down the side of it, and swam back to my own island. How stinking cool is that? I had a blasssssst that day.

Day 11- a very long bus ride back to campus……. I didn’t even count the hours…. J

            As you can tell, the information I am sharing with you is a bit scattered and sporadic. I seriously cannot wait for some of the conversations I will have with you all when I return. Mass-media communication does not to justice what I am learning here. I am learning soooo much and class hasn’t even started! Tuition money well spent. Haha.(sorry for the lack of pics... they take like 5 min each to upload....)

            Soon I will try to fill you all in about campus life here. I love you all and keep me posted on your lives.