This is me with the source of the Nile in the background.

*Jinja: The Source of the Nile River*

Hello again! This one may be long...

We went to Jinja 2 weekends ago. We stayed at an actual RESORT called Kingfisher. It was so beautiful!! Lake Victoria was behind the resort. That Friday night we talked with some American missionaries who have been in Uganda since 1998. They are prison missionaries; they serve 3 prisons, 2 adult prisons and 1 youth prison. They shared with us some incredible stories of how God changed the hearts of those whom we would call “the worst of the worst.”

Later that night, our group went swimming in the pool! The pool was huge and went under a bridge, which led to another pool that had a slide coming from yet another pool! It was so much fun! It was our first time swimming while in Uganda. After swimming, one of the girls played the guitar and we just sat around the pool singing worship songs.

The next day we went to a cafe in Jinja called ‘The Source Cafe.’ As you may know, Jinja is the source of the Nile River. Water begins flowing north from Lake Victoria to start the Nile River! The water takes about 4 months to finally reach the Mediterranean Sea.

After having lunch, some other missionaries took us on a tour of Jinja which was really interesting! We walked to see the ‘source of the Nile’ (where the water starts to flow) below us.
Later that afternoon, we took a boat ride in Lake Victoria. We rode past the shore, where we saw an otter and a cobra!! The boat driver threw a water bottle at it and it rose up and flared its head out (best description I can give, sorry!). It was really cool! We then rode over to the island where the river flows around. We got out and climbed around on some big rocks...then we walked around the tiny island. We got back in the boat and rode back to Kingfisher!

While we still had some free time, some of us went swimming again! It was loads of fun :) We even made up a synchronized swimming routine which was hilarious! The other guests at the resort even stopped what they were doing and watched us. We also sang while doing it! One of the girls videotaped it, so I have it on my computer!
Later that night, we went to eat at this really cool outdoor restaurant called 2 Friends. It was in the jungle, and was lit by tiki lamps, lanterns, and candles. We had some of the best pizza ever! As well as garlic bread, garlic naam (flatbread), milkshakes, chocolate cake...

It was a great weekend :)

I'll post a pic on here (if i can) or facebook!

Some insight to HIV...

AIDS is real. And it is everywhere. I must be honest; when I thought of Africa (before coming here), I thought of poverty and disease, particularly AIDS. Upon arriving in Uganda, I seemed to forget the prevalence of AIDS around me, as I began to adjust to a new home, university, and culture. I never saw anyone who ‘looked
sick.’

After a couple of weeks, a neighbor in our village was visiting us one Sunday after church. She had brought her one-year-old daughter with her. After an hour or so of small talk and getting to know each other, she told me she was HIV positive. I was a bit shocked, although I am not sure why. I guess I had forgotten that HIV was ‘real’; two weeks had already passed and I had yet to meet anyone with AIDS. She told me how she was dealing with the virus and that she had been counseled during pregnancy to take precautionary measures to ensure that her unborn baby would not contract the virus. Today, her daughter is a happy and healthy baby!

When we visited TASO (The AIDS Support Organization) a couple of weeks ago, we met with many individuals who were affected by HIV. Surprisingly, most of them appeared quite healthy. They shared their personal stories of how and when they contracted the virus and how it has affected (and continues to affect) them emotionally and psychologically. Hearing their stories of how it felt to be made fun of and discriminated against grabbed my heart. Listening to their feelings from a first-hand account made me realize the reality of HIV.

Later that night I talked with my host mom about HIV/AIDS. I told her how I was surprised that I had only met one person with HIV (excluding the people at TASO) while here. She looked at me and slowly shook her head. She told me she could tell me the names of several people, whom I had met, who I did not know were affected by HIV. My mom then went on to list off people whom I had befriended in the village who have AIDS. Neighbors, shopkeepers, friends, families.

She proceeded to tell me about Lilly’s parents. At the beginning of the semester, Lilly, my mom’s niece, came to live with us and attend a nearby secondary school. I had believed Lilly was with us primarily to attend school, but that night I was told she came to live with us because both of her parents were dying with AIDS. All I could think about was if I were in Lilly’s shoes, in the place of a 15-year-old girl whose parents were dying. I was I was so overwhelmed with this; I could not help but to start crying right there in our living room.

Both of these situations have opened up the true reality to me that AIDS is real and it is here, all around us. Most of the people whom I learned have AIDS look healthy. I admit that I have been making assumptions of people based on their outward appearances, assuming everyone I met was healthy; it is only when we engage ourselves with people that we learn more about them and more of who they really are. Living and engaging with others is how and when we begin to share our hurts and struggles together.

"...when you helped the least of these, you also helped me."

It was 11:30 p.m. last Tuesday night when we heard a knock on the door. Wondering who could possibly want to visit at such a late time, my host mom opened the door, a bit frustrated. A lady holding a baby stood there. She came inside and sat down and began explaining her reason for coming. My host mom is a leader in the village council, so when people have problems, they come to her or another leader.
She went on to explain that she was walking to her home when she heard a baby crying. After following the sound, she found the baby alone in an abandoned house. Unsure of what to do or how to handle the situation, she came to our house. After explaining the situation, the lady gave the baby to my mom and left.

Trying to digest what had just been presented to her, my mom knew she needed to meet his immediate needs before taking any further action. She boiled some milk and made milk to for him to drink. He looked very malnourished, dirty, and acted very hungry; he had probably not been fed in a couple of days. She then bathed him. My mom cared for this complete stranger as if he were her own child.
In both the Faith and Action and African Traditional Religions classes, we have discussed the strong sense of African community. I have experienced this to be true many times during my Mukono and Kapchorwa homestays, but this was different. This specific experience made an impression on me like none of the others. The little baby was not a part of her immediate community, neither did she know him from anywhere. Many people may have thought of this situation as nothing extraordinary, but it struck me as a different type of community I had not yet experienced here.

He slept with mom in her bed; he got up and cried throughout the night as all hungry babies do!! Needless to say, none of us got any sleep Monday night. But it was totally worth it. On Tuesday, Mom called the police to report him, but the police didn’t help. At all. Luckily, the lady who brought him Monday night found some relatives of the baby. They came and got him Tuesday night! I was sad to see the little guy leave, but I knew he was going to family members who would care for him.

This expression of community was meeting the needs of a stranger who could not care for himself. He had been abandoned and was alone, hungry, and dirty with no one to help him. Watching how my host mom reacted to the situation was wonderful; she did not shy away from this filthy stranger; she lovingly took him in with embrace. I felt as if I were watching Jesus reach out to those the world had abandoned. At that moment I realized that my community is not just the village I live in with people I know. My community can be anyone whom I meet who is in need.

Are You a Musawo??

I started volunteering last Wednesday at the local hospital, Mukono Health Centre. I’ll be in different wards every two weeks...last week and this week I’ve been in the maternity ward! I’ve really enjoyed it! I even have an official scrub outfit, which includes a nice green dress with a collar, and it buttons up the front. The midwives wear white, they told me green shows I’m still a student :) I have been assisting the midwives with prenatal checkups; I have learned how to palpate the stomach to determine how far along the expectant mother is, then I get to use the fetoscope to hear the baby’s heartbeat. In addition to that, I take the mothers’ blood pressures and medical histories before their exams. The most incredible aspect of volunteering so far happened last Thursday...

I witnessed the birth of a baby!! I even helped pour an antiseptic-something on the cotton balls the midwives used :)

This is us under one of the waterfalls!!!

*Sipi Falls*

To end our time in Kapchorwa, all the USP students stayed in cabins on the side of the mountain. It was called Crows Nest. From our cabin, we saw the largest waterfall that comprises part of Sipi Falls. That Saturday, we went on a 6 hour hike to all 3 waterfalls! It was an incredibly fun and an amazingly beautiful hike! After a few hours, we stopped to eat lunch in a cave-like structure behind one of the waterfalls; then we played in the waterfall! We got completely drenched and we loved it.

After eating and playing, we continued hiking. We climbed down a ladder made of sticks; it was the same ladder that I saw in the first CCCU magazine that had first advertized the Uganda Studies Program! So that was pretty cool :)

*Kapchorwa- the land of a friend*

After riding in a small crowded van over bumps and potholes for 5 hours, we finally arrived in Kapchorwa, Uganda, where we would spend the next 9 days for our rural homestays. Most students were alone with their families, but I stayed with another USP student, Shanley. Our family was incredible!! Our host dad, Moses, was a reverend and stayed home during the day. Our mom, Justine, was a 3rd grade teacher. Our little sister, Isabella, was a little devil!! She was extremely ornery...but she was cute when she slept! haha! Our house was made of sticks and mud.

I don't have enough room to tell everything we did that week...but I'll tell some of the highlights! We helped fetch water from the well every day. It was a 10 min. walk downhill to the well, then a 15 min. hike back uphill, which wasn't very fun. Shanley and I felt like such weaklings compared to the other women, esp. our host mom! We struggled carrying one bucket of water each while out mother carried one on her head and 2 buckets with her hands, while being 8 months pregnant! wow...

While there, I slaughtered my first chicken :) I stepped on its wings, held its head with my right hand, then sawed its neck with my left hand. Descriptive enough?? We then poured boiling water over the chicken; this helps remove the feathers. We then cut the guts out, then cut the chicken into pieces (wing, leg, thigh, etc.) After cooking for a couple of hours, we had chicken that night with our supper! I killed another chicken later in the week...same process.

One day we went with our mom and dad to the prenatal check-up. The nurses tested them again for HIV. The nurse showed me how to perform the HIV test, then how to read the results. That was really neat!

2 days while we were there, our dad took us hiking. We hiked to the top of a cliff, overlooking one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. We could see so far into the distance, where the land and sky blended together in a beautiful blue color. I'll post pics on Facebook!!

Our family didn't have electricity,either, of course, so we spent the evenings talking by the light of the lantern. We absolutely loved our time with our Kapchorwa family.

There's so much more to tell, but I'll wait til I get home to share all the stories!!

My Gomiss was "tailor-made for me"

Hello again!! First and foremost, thanks to everyone for the concerns about me regarding the child sacrifices and mudslides here in Uganda...I am ok!!
A few weeks ago, I attended my first Ugandan wedding! Earlier that week, my host mom took me to a local tailor to get measurements for my gomiss, the traditional Ugandan dress!! We picked up the gomiss on Friday, and I wore it to the wedding that Saturday! It is pretty awesome :) The wedding and reception were a total of NINE hours...wow! But it was a lot of fun!

I'll load a pic of me in my gomiss on facebook. feel free to laugh. :)