The Good Life

From time to time I find myself thinking about how most of my friends are in serious relationships, getting married, having children of their own, starting careers, attending grad school, or doing something with their lives. I think about myself, twenty-three years old, having absolutely none of this and become discouraged. Then there’s always the realization that God has given me something much greater than marriage, a child, further education, or a “real job.” In fact, He’s given me the realest job of all.

God has given me the job to serve in his army. Serving in the Lord’s army is mighty big job. I may be missing out on everything California side at the moment, but I look at what I have here in Uganda, and come to my senses. I am working for God. Beat that! My boss is the greatest boss known on earth.

I currently live with seventeen children who hold a sturdy grip on my heart; seventeen children who have changed my life for the better. I have nine children in my Primary-3 class who challenge me daily, but who also teach me how to be a better person. They have mainly taught me what it means to have an unconditional love for someone. And there are many more children whose lives have touched mine, and mine theirs.

It is in the faces of these children I work with that I realize all I have and I begin to stop pitying myself for not being in a relationship or for furthering my education. I realize I have more than I could have ever dreamed of having; a life of sheer grace, blessing, and happiness.

My life may not be what I ever pictured it to be, but it is more than I could ever imagine it to be. Each day is another day to embrace God’s love and to share it with each person I encounter. My job serving in the Lord’s army is not always an easy one, but it is a good one. One that provides all the benefits needed, and let me just tell you, my boss is out of this world.

I pray that my friends’ weddings are all they ever dreamed of them to be, that their children are born healthy, that my colleagues enjoy their jobs, and that grad school isn’t too rough. But I also want to take a moment to say sorry that they are missing out on what I have going on over my way.

So for now I will continue enjoying this wonderful life God has graciously blessed me with. And I will continue to let the children in the New Creation Family Home and students at New Creation Centre believe that I am cool enough for Zac Efron, or shall I say “Troy,” to date me. I think we are going to get engaged soon ;]

Random Ramblings

I have felt as if I have needed to post something profound for all of you who read this blog of mine, but I haven't been able to come up with something "profound" recently. I feel bad posting about random, funny things constantly, and never really anything of substance. But then I realized that it doesn't really matter what I post, as long as it's from the heart.

So instead of searching for something deep to write about, I thought I'd just make a lighthearted post once again, about some of the random things that have either made me laugh or almost keel over dead.

So let's begin, shall we?

I think I forgot what it's like when a boy's voice starts changing. There is one boy in P5 named Jordan, whose voice is changing and squeaks terribly. The other day he was in my P3 classroom and said the word, "if." And it was the highest pitch I think I've ever heard someone talk in. Izzi and I got a kick out of it and repeat it to him constantly now. Well today at church the pastor preaching said the word "if" in exactly the same tone which Jordan does and I just about susued in my pants from how funny it was. Unfortunately Izzi was not there to laugh about it with me.

Friday I walked home with three of the boys from school: Patrick, Isaac, and another Isaac. On the walk I took a good 'ol fall in all the dust and dirt. I was reminded that here in Uganda, no one really cares if you're okay, they just say, "sorry." All three boys said sorry as they tried to hold back the laughter. Once I stood up, took a bow and told them that we should probably put a cone up, the laughter spilled from their mouths. I proceeded to tell them to just wait, because their turn was coming. I'd take a fall any day to hear kids laugh as hard as they did. And they also got a kick out of me telling them to speak English. They repeated that about 45 times. That was until I thought one of them was saying "behind" when they were saying "Baha'i." And I said to them, "What are you talking about? Behind? Like my behind? Is my behind dirty from me falling?" And again the laughter spilled out and they could not possibly stop saying the word "behind." Good day to say the least.

Oh yeah, and I also taught the kids, "Guess what? Chicken butt." The actually find it funny. This was in honor of my little brother.

So anyhow, there are a few random stories from the past week or so. I am missing home dearly at the moment, but am also really happy to be here. I've been bonding with all of the kids a lot lately which is really nice.

How about you just enjoy a few random photos now:

One of my students, Leonard.
He is number one in our class and is the biggest cheese-ball ever.

Joshua on his chair throne.

He said to me before climbing up, "there my chair!"

Joshua and Nicole getting some early practice for carrying babies on their backs.

Some of the girls in the NCFH posing with
Henry's birthday cake that they helped me decorate.

Only in Uganda would you let the girls "tattoo"
your legs with permanent markers.

An oldie from George and Sarah's wedding where
Taylor and I pretended that we were Pepsi models.

Miss, Vanesa in my P3 class.

Whenever I tell them to hold their pencils, she holds hers like this.

This little girl has a tight grip on my heart.

Joshua all wrapped up in a box and some paper.

He was enjoying this quite a lot.

Henry came to my bedroom door to show me his outfit.

This is typical Henry for ya.

I sometimes call my students "chicken nug"
so they let me "tattoo" it on them with markers.

Vanesa and I just taking some selfies of course.

There's never a dull moment when you're spending time with her.

Charles

Meet Charles.
Or shall I say, Kenshin Rurouni.

I honestly don't even really know how to describe Charles. I've been putting off writing about him for a long time, simply because he's a complicated little dude.

Charles is definitely strong willed, stubborn, the man of the house, but also a kid at heart. According to Henry, Charles is a "mechanic." I think he means engineer. Charles can fix pretty much anything. He has fixed my  flashlight on numerous accounts and is always helping fix random things around the house.

Along with being a "mechanic," Charles is pretty good at guitar. He picks it up quite quickly and has even been teaching me a thing or too. But here comes in some of his stubbornness. Charles does not understand music theory whatsoever. We have gotten into arguments about tempo one too many times. It usually ends in, "Ahh...forgive me, Auntie?" or "takeaway" or something of that matter.

And if Charles isn't already a "mechanic" and music genius, let's just throw in the fact that he's also quite good at soccer, or football as they call it here. And even though he's probably the best one in the house, I will never admit to him that he truly is better than me. Because as I said before, this boy is stubborn, and sometimes can be full of himself. We'll just keep him thinking that I am better.

Charles is going to go somewhere in his life. He is beyond smart, in fact he's at the top of his class, and is gifted in so many areas of hi life. If only we could get him to not just read scripture about food! Just kidding. But seriously, I feel like anything he reads to the NCFH out of the Bible is about food. But hey, he's a teenage boy.

And if he's not found playing football or guitar, then he's most likely somewhere causing mischief with Henry, his BFF, or in the kitchen doing some Avatar or Wolverine moves and voices. 

And at the end of the day, Charles is a gentle soul. He loves his aunties and uncles dearly and lets them know how much he truly does love and care about them.

Please pray that Charles will continue to do well in school and will start to become a leader in the house when it comes to following Christ. Please also pray that he will no longer choose to watch Avatar for movie nights, or talk the other children into watching it. The aunties don't like watching that cartoon! 

The Ten Commandments According to my P3 Class

On a Religious Education examination, my P3 students were asked to list four of the Ten Commandments and let's just say that I could not contain my laughter as I marked them. Perhaps this just means they have a little learning to do. Or maybe it's okay since they are only in P3. Who knows. Nonetheless, enjoy.

1. Thou shall not bite people
2. Thou shall not beat
3. Thou shall love your friends
4. Thou shall not sit
5. Thou shall respect mothers
6. Thou shall obey
7. Thou shall not det (No idea what this means...)
8. Thou shall love one another
9. Thou shall Jesus
10. Do not


"Oh, that one's bap."

Classroom Chaos

If there were an award for the craziest class in the world, P3 at New Creation Centre would most definitely take the prize. It is crazy wild and these kids have no concept of respect whatsoever. I am currently teaching them how to respect their teacher, their classmates, and their classroom.

When I walked into the classroom on Tuesday and saw the disaster state that it was in and recalled how disrespectful they had been, well my entire time here in Uganda, I decided it was time for a change.

Everything was taken off of our walls and then the kids deep cleaned the entire classroom.

After, the students sat in their desks and they made a list of expectations for the class. I wanted them to come up with the list, so that it was not me telling them what they needed to be doing, but themselves. Our theme for the classroom is a roller coaster, so just as on a roller coaster you have to follow the rules in order to have fun, in our class, we must follow the rules to have fun.

The next morning, with the help of Izzi, I came in to the start the class anew. Izzi and I had gathered new posters for the classroom, wrote the expectations out on paper, created and art wall, created jobs for the students to rotate through, as well as pull cards. The students were very excited about the change but were concerned about the other students in the school not respecting their classroom.

Sooo...I took competition practice as a good opportunity to talk to the entire school. I shared a few verses with them about respect and setting a good example. I told them that P3 was learning about respect and that we would appreciate everyone else respecting our classroom. I then went on to talk about how we are called to respect others if we respect God. And how we are the light of the world, and are called to be a good example.

So with that said, here are some photos of our new and improved classroom.

Our expectations above the window and a few of our new posters.

It's most important that we follow our rules in order to have fun in our class!

Our pull cards and jobs.

Our art wall which currently holds paper hats decorated by the students.

We made paper hats in honor of my dad who used to make them for me when I was little.

We even have new name tags to match our roller coaster theme.

A view of the front of the room all cleaned up.

We made sure to keep the adorable aids above the blackboard that Teacher Shannon made.

Isaac, Leonard, and Allan's pull cards and jobs.

Each photo drawn represents them.

Emma, Vero, and Esther's pull cards and jobs.

Patricia, Richard, and Vanesa's pull cards and jobs.

Yes, Vanesa has yellow. She was writing on her new name-tag which she knows she's not supposed to do from when Teacher Taylor was still here.

I am really hoping that this new classroom helps. We are also doing Fizz Awards; Izzi's idea. I will choose one student each week who displays the best behavior to receive a certificate and a soda. As for the pull cards, at the end of each day, whoever has a green card gets a sweetie and sticker, yellow gets a sticker, and red gets nothing. It's already working quite well thankfully!

Anyhow, I started a reading the book of James with the kids, so I am off to do that!

Ann Grace

Meet Ann Grace.

Ann Grace the is the newest child in the New Creation Family Home and is also the youngest. She is also the quirkiest. Let me just tell you that I had a really difficult time finding decent photos of her for this posting, because she covers her face in every photo. She is such a crack up.

Ann Grace is full of spunk, energy, and love. She is definitely the little sister of the family, but holds the fort down. If anyone is disturbing the two little kids of some of the mamas, Joshua and Nicole, Anna Grace makes sure to put an end to it right away.

She may appear to be small and cuddly, but I'd have to say that she is a pretty scrappy young gal. She loves playing football with the boys, because she is able to keep up with them somehow. I've told her on numerous occasions that she is the MVP. No one can score a goal with her playing keeper.

Ann Grace is a fun little girl and full of spunk. Pray that she continues to do well in her P2 class, where she is the only student. And also pray that she will grow in her relationship with Christ.

Warp Speed in an Ice Storm

I was going to be attending church alone and wasn't really wanting to do that, so I decided to take Margret Mae with me. Church was nice, although we got out at 11:30am and the other kids would not be home until 2pm so we had some time to kill since we would not be able to get into the house without a key.

Thankfully Sherry was there and invited Margret Mae and I over to her place to have lunch with her. So Sherry caught a boda home and Margret Mae and I decided to walk since it was close. We arrived to the house before Sherry since she was praying for some boda drivers, one who accepted Christ!

While waiting, Margret Mae and I talked with a little girl called Anna, who lives across the street and attends the school that I teach at. Sherry shortly arrived and we went inside to help her make hamburgers for lunch. It was such a nice time spent with Sherry and wonderful getting to spend some one-on-one time with Margret Mae.

We noted how it looked like it was going to rain and talked about how it would most likely be raining a lot after the next seven days. Being that I was moving all my belongings back into my parents house the weekend before coming here to Uganda, I didn't pack anything to wear for the rain. Sherry graciously gave me a poncho to use.

Margret Mae and I called Benard, our boda driver and asked him to come pick us up. Little did we know, we would be spending our whole ride home in the pouring rain. It was sunny when we pulled away from the house and as we reached the main road, the rain began to pour. We quickly pulled over and stood in font of a shop for a bit to wait for the rain to stop. During this time I stuck the poncho on Margret Mae.

The rain slowed and we decided to continue our journey home, only to be met by a torrential downpour and hail.

We are in Africa and it is raining cats and dogs and ice is hitting our faces. Africa. Africa my friends.

Stuck in an ice storm on a boda in Africa.

I have never heard Margret Mae laugh so hard before. We both could not handle how funny it was that we were out, riding a boda, in this craziness. Every time she turned around and looked at me she just started laughing harder.

"Auntie doesn't need to bathe!"
"We look like we went swimming!"

It was probably one of the craziest experiences in my life and one of the most memorable moments of being here in Uganda. I will never forget how it felt to be hit in the face with ice pellets while going warp speed on a boda.

Shafiga

Meet Shafiga. 

Sassy-mic-frassy should be this little lady's middle name. Tonight, Taylor, Izzi, and I were sitting at the back table and all of the girls started filing out of the hallway and into the kitchen in a line. It was extremely awkward, and no one even looked at us or said a word. But then there was Shafiga who stops to strike a pose for us. 

I don't think I have ever been able to get Shafiga to sit still. I had to bribe her one time to stand still so I could get a photo of her feet. But that's what I love about Shafiga. How stubborn and outgoing she is. Her smile is as radiant as the sun and she has the heart of a mother. In fact, she will most definitely make a wonderful mother one day.

There are two twins who live down the road from us, and one of Shafiga's favorite things to do is take a walk down to their house so that she can hold them and take care of them. She changes their clothes, bathes them, and just carries them around. 

If the camera is out, Shafiga is also likely to be near by asking you to take a photo of her, striking poses. I love Shafiga's energy and big heart and am excited to see her became a leader in her future years.

Pray that Shafiga will use the leader in her to share the love of God with those she encounters. Pray that she does well in school and stays on a path that leads her down a road into the loving arms of Christ.

Words and phrases that will make me look stupid back in America

Best: "What is your best color?" "What is your best subject?" "My best food is popcorn."

Fearing: "I am fearing your leg hair." "I fear the dark."

Paining: "Teacher, my head is paining me." "My knee is paining me."

Smart: "Auntie, you look smart." "Your outfit is smart" "So smart, Vanesa!" (Beautiful)

Susu: "I need to go susu." "Joshua, do you need to susu?" (Pee Pee)

Wound: "He has a wound on his leg."

Balance: "Bring me the balance when you are done." "Do you have a balance?" (Leftovers)

Give me: " Give me the pen." "Give me your book." "Give me."

Opama: "Opama!" "Opama water." "I need to opama." (Defecate)

Rubber: "Teacher, I need a rubber." "Teacher, do you have a rubber?" (Eraser)

Duster: "Leonard, can you find a duster so I can rub the blackboard?"

Rub: "I'll rub the blackboard when you're done copying the notes down."

I'm fine: Me: "Hello" Ugandan: "I'm fine."
              Me: "How are you?" Ugandan: "I'm fine."

It's okay: Basically means yes.

Yes please: "Yes please?"

Wange: "Wange?" (yes please?)

Mzungu: "Mzungu!" "My name is not mzungu." (White person)

Well done: "Well done." (Good job)

You are welcome: "You are welcome." (Welcome)

Takes it: "She takes porridge at home." "She takes chai." "She takes juice."

Not so: "You're going to school, not so?" "You like popcorn, not so?"

Take away: "Ahh, take away!" "Agh, take away, Auntie."

Gassing: "Auntie, don't come in here, I gassed."

Over Thinking

I think it would be bloody wrong of me to tell you that being here in Uganda is all flowers and butterflies. Or shall I say pineapples and sunshine. Let's just be honest, it's been quite cloudy and rainy the past few days. Figuratively and literally.

I can honestly say that I am the most worn out that I've been in a really long time. Caring for a little boy who needs 24/7 care is exhausting. Caring for a boy who misses his mom and dad and wants nothing more than to be with them is heartbreaking. I spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday caring for George which posed to be a great amount of work with the frequent leakage of his colostomy bag and simply entertaining him all day.

It is physically and emotionally exhausting. Especially seeing him so unhappy. And then Thursday and Friday I went back to school to teach since that's what I came here to do, and returned home after a tiring day at school, to care for George once again. And don't get me wrong, I love being able to help. But the fact is that I can't do it alone. And the fact is, I can't do it with Izzi, or Myranda, or Taylor. We can't do it together even. The load is large and this little boy wants his mom.

I have struggled with not being able to make things better for George, but have recalled something my mom said to me when I drove home from school one night last year, when Andrew died. I was broken to pieces feeling like I couldn't make things better for Andrew's roommates. I wanted nothing more than to fix the problem. But my mom was blunt with me and told me I couldn't fix things and that I couldn't make things better. I can be there supporting, but it's up to them and time for things to become better. And it's the same with George. He will be happy with time. He will be happy in the presence of his mother and father. I know he knows that we love and care for him, but that alone does not just make things better.

I love and care for George to death. But I miss being able to spend time with the children in the house. I hate feeling like I am ignoring George when I hang out with the other kids, while he just sits in his chair. I miss messing around with Henry or getting hugs for Margret. I miss being able to sit down to read my Bible and write in my journal. And I especially miss playing my guitar. Every moment of the day is being devoted to George, and the fact is, we each need time to ourselves. We are each going downhill quickly. As much as I hate to say that and admit any of this.

So for now I shall try and find rest in the night, for tomorrow may still not be the day that we find joy in the morning.

Please keep George as well as all the aunties and mamas in your prayers. we need it desperately.