A Week In The Village

"I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it's like to be a leader, in on Christ's sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here's my concern: that you care for God's flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way."

-1 Peter 5:1-3

These past few weeks Empower A Child has really been looking to me for leadership. I am one of the main communicators of our team. Everyday, the Ugandan staff approaches me with their announcements and I am the one who delivers them to the team. The announcements range from super important ones to something as simple as telling the team that dinner is ready to be eaten. I am thankful for the leadership that I have been given. When I was planning my trip, I knew wanted to come back to Uganda. I knew that I wanted to come back with EAC as well. But mostly, I knew that I wanted to have a role with some type of leadership. I am so blessed to now know that EAC has put their trust in me. They trust me to fully communicate the ways of the organization to the team. Just yesterday I even lead an orientation meeting all by myself. Knowing that the organization has put their faith and trust in me is a wonderful feeling. 


Last week I was the leader for the team that went out into the village. This summer, we are beginning the building of the Training Center for Empower A Child. The organization has bought land in a village called Zirobwe that is located about 45 mins away from Kampala. They hope to build a school, a church, a medical clinic, and one day a type of trade school or university. So here in Uganda we have been focussing on making that happen. Each week we split our group of volunteers ( which has grown to about 25 people ) one group stays here in Kampala and the other goes out to the village for a week. We are trying to create a good relationship between Empower A Child and the people of the village.Then we all come together on the weekends to share our stories from the week. 


Last week was probably the hardest week for me. The village life is MUCH different from the life here in the city. When you spend the week in the village, you spend it sleeping in a tent, not showering, and working hard. 


Our first night in the village was an interesting one. Our team consisted of 6 American girls, 1 English girl, 2 American boys, and about 5 Ugandans. All of our tents were close together so there is almost no privacy at all. Our first day in the village consisted of us simply setting up our tents and getting settled in the village. We did a small amount of evangelizing to some of the families in the area, then headed back to our campsite to head to bed. In the village, with no electricity.... you go to bed when the sun goes down. 


Each day in the village we would wake up, then head to the water wells for cleaning. We were able to finish the cleaning of one well in just a few hours of our first day of work. These wells that we cleaned out were more like huge mud holes. The wells that we worked on cleaning out had not been touched in 10 - 30 years. So they were overgrown and for a lack of better words - just plain nasty. So we took our slashers ( the African lawn mowers ) and cut the tall grass and weeds back. We dug all of the thick mud out, and cleared out the hole. At the end of 3 days of work, we had cleaned  not one ..... but TWO water wells for the community of Zirobwe. 


In the evenings we spent our time with the children of the community. We did our Empower A Child program with them, which consist of signing songs, playing games, and sharing bible stories, and doing crafts with the children. The children in the village are so amazing to be around. They are so loving and so great. The children in the village have next to nothing. They have no shoes, some have no clothes, and they are just so so dirty. But they are so filled with love it is amazing. They get such much joy out of simply holding our hands or being carried and loved by us. It is such a blessing to be able to spread God's love to them.


The week in the village made me appreciate all that I have. I was completely humbled. It was such a hard week for me, but every time I felt myself getting ready to complain I had to remind myself that this was one week out of my life. This is everyday life for the people of Zirobwe. I struggled greatly with the fact that I was so dirty and did not have even a speck of make-up on my face. I am very insecure about  not having make-up on ,therefore week in the village really challenged me. I was forced to not wear make-up obviously because there were no mirrors and no access to showers.To even get water you had to walk 1/4 mile to get to the closest water well. We used baby wipes to keep ourselves clean. Every time that I was thinking to myself about how dirty I was , I immediately felt guilty. I was not there that week for me. I was there for GOD'S PURPOSE. 


The week in the village really helped me grow. I had to not only focus myself and keep myself from getting tried or complaining, I also had to focus on being a leader. I had to make sure that I was also encouraging my team, keeping a smile on my face, and not outwardly complaining so that others would be lifted up. I was thankful for my role as a leader for the village team because it helped me stay on track. I was constantly reminded of how I was there for God's purpose and not mine. I was able to encourage others through the strength that was given to me from God himself. 


Next week I will be headed back to the village. So hopefully God will use me in some huge ways :-) 

The children with their craft ( a cross made out of popsicle sticks)

Our team after our day of working on the wells.

Gabe, Jamie, Hilary, Mallory, Me, Kelsey, Megan, Cody

Bogare ! Our special helper :-) 

Cleaning the well ! 

Katy, Me, Jamie, Hilary, Kelsey, Mallory

Gabe teaching the children about Jesus walking on water.

Hilary pumping water form the water well !

Working hard ! 

Me holding a village child :-)

Bungee Jumping Over The Nile River !!

That is right.... I bungee jumped over the Nile River. 8 of my fellow volunteers here at Empower A Child and I leaped off a 150 foot ledge into the Nile River. 


From working on the adventure staff at NorthBay I was confident about the equipment. I for sure thought that I would be able to do it. Somehow I ended up being the last one to jump. One by one everyone made it look so easy. I for sure thought that I would be fine. I even was encouraging the two who went before me that they would be fine. 


Then it was my turn..... 


When I got to the ledge I chickened out. I was standing there with my toes over the edge with the director supporting me. I begged him to let me down. I told him that there was no way I could do it. He would begin to count down 3......2.... then I would quickly say NO! Finally after about 4 minutes, I thought that I could do it myself..... but of course again I chickened out. But then, all of a sudden I was flying through the air. The director had given me a little shove . As I was flying down, he yelled down to me "Please don't hate me!" Of course I didn't hate the man. I was thankful. I could not have done it without the push. 


As I was flying down I soon was dipped head first into the Nile River. Then safely taken off the bungee onto a raft , then taken back to land. 


I am so happy to have had the experience to bungee jump over the Nile River. It was SO beautiful and so amazing :-) 




"I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me"
- Philipians 4:13

The Rat Attack

On a hot summer night in Uganda. I was tucked fast asleep in my bed, wrapped in my mosquito net enjoying my sleep. My roommate was away in the village, so I was all alone in my dark Ugandan room. My roommate, Jayan, had told me that I could keep food in a bag high up on a hook and if it was high off the ground, the rats will not find it. So I had put my pringles in a bag, and hung it on the hook above my bed.

As I began to fall asleep, I heard a few sounds that could have been a rat, but tried my hardest to fall asleep anyways. Deep in my slumber at 4am is when the horror began.

THE RAT crawled on my face, over my head... and then flew up my mosquito net. I quickly grabbed my head lamp, RAN out of the room and screamed. When I was able to calm myself down a bit, I went back to my room, flung open the door and switched on the lights.

To my surprise, the rat was still hovering on the ledge above where my net was hanging. I would not enter my room. I stood at my door holding the door open partaking in a staring contest with the rat.

SIDE NOTE - Let me explain..... this rat was legitimately 6 inches long, then about 8 inches long with his tale. He was fat and scary.

Ok back to my story.

So there I was 4am, head lamp on head, having a starting contest with the rat. I began to think about waking up the girls in the room next to me. One because I was scared and needed comfort, and two because no one would believe me without another witness. So I began to straddle the hallway so that I could have the starting contest with the rat to make sure he didn't move, and swing open the girls door to begin to try to wake one of them up. I didn't want to wake them all up... so I whispered loudly to them. FINALLY, after about 10 minutes, Hillary came to my rescue.

Hillary was my rat attack hero. I could not have made it through the night without her. Fearlessly she walking into my room to get a better look at him. I stayed outside watching her as she attempted to figure out how to catch him. She fearlessly took a laundry basket and caught him. Sadly, he was a super flying rat... and flew out of the basket and under my bed before she could put the lid on it.

Still freaking out, I quickly ran onto my bed to garb my hippo and my pillow and get out of there as quick as possible. As I was on my bed, the rat ran from my bed across the room to Jayan's shelf. Then TWO rats ran into my closet. At that point I was dunzo. Hillary and I screamed, then I quickly took an empty bed  in Hillary's room of on of the girls who is away at the village. It took a long time for me to fall back asleep. But thankfully I finally did.

So I learned my lesson the hard way. I will no longer EVER have food in my room. Pringles are never going to be worth the feel of a rat on my face.

I will end this post with nothing more than T.I.A. ( This Is Africa) 

Summer Is Here :-)

Two bear feet on the dashboard
Young love and an old Ford

Cheap shades and a tattoo

And a Yoo-Hoo bottle rollin' on the floorboard

Perfect song on the radio

Sing along 'cause it's one we know

It's a smile, it's a kiss

It's a sip of wine, it's summertime

Sweet summertime

- Kenny Chesney - Summertime 

For as long as I can remember. Summertime to me is time spent with my friends. It is spent going to the beach for a week or more, walking on the boardwalk, eating ice cream, fireworks, bearfeet, windows down, sunglasses, late nights having fun, no worries, BBQs, and just a lot of fun with my close friends. For the past 3 summers, I have also spent my summer working for TEAMeffort. So that means hot days working in the sun, staying happy all the time, and the usual TEAMeffort worries such as do I have to shower today? Can I really make these high school kids believe that I am the one who knows how to build this roof? When can I sleep? 


But now- I am here in Uganda this summer. And I will be here for the whole summer. Last summer I had the chance to go home and still spend time at the beach, and still have those summer memories. But this summer I am here in Africa where it has been hot since the second I got off the plane. I am experiencing the weather or summer but it will not the the summer I am so used to. I will not be spending my nights at the beach. I can go bearfoot although it is not recommend. The windows are always down... but that is because you will boil in your car if not. I wear sunglasses only when I am on a boda boda ( motorcycle taxi) to prevent the dirt from getting in my eyes. 


This will be a different summer for sure. Yet, I think it might be one of the best summers I will have had in a long time. It quite possibly will be the best summer of my life. I am here in Uganda waking up every day ready to serve. I have already been presented with millions of chances to further the Kingdom of God since I have been here. I get to walk outside at any point to the day and receive huge hugs from my neighborhood friends. As much as I have loved my lazy days of summer in the past - I am more than excited to live out my summer this year in Uganda.




So, with that being said.Summer season is here and with that comes busy days. We have been busy here in Uganda working together and going strong on our outreach programs. We now have about 20 people staying in our house so there is never a dull or quiet moment around here. Summer is a great time here in the EAC house because you are never bored. There is always someone to talk with and there is always a child to play with outside the gate. We sure have been keeping busy. 

With the new volunteers arriving, I have been put in a role of leadership. I am one of the go to people when a volunteer has a question or concern about something. I have also been a leader for different outreaches that we attend. So I am the one in charge of my group of muzungus ( white people ) at times.


Last week we spent a lot of our time in the village. There was a home that was not yet finished. Our team was blessed with the opportunity to go into the village and help by mixing cement to make floors as well as putting up more brick to creat more stable walls for the home. While in the village I was the leader of the water group. Now that would seem like an easy task in the States...... but in Africa - NOPE!  My team of about 5 girls were given the task of walking to the well with our empty jerry cans, filling them with the well water, then bringing them back up the hill completely filled....and repeteing that task all day. Now, this well was a ten minute walk down the hill then more like a fifteen - twenty minute walk back up the hill with the heavy jerry can. Doing this task always reminds me how what I take for granted in my life. So many people here in Uganda do not have the luxury of turning a faucet to find water. They have to walk to the well every time they want to drink, cook, clean , or bath. For us, we just walk to the refigorator, the kitchen, the laudry room, or the bathroom and turn the faucet. So by walking back and forth to the well, I believe that my team was able to understand just how much we take for granted in our daily lives. 


Later in the week I was given the chance to share at the Remand Home. The Remand Home is the juvenile home that we visit on Thursday afternoons. I was able to speak to them about the woman at the well. I was excited to have actually walked to a well to know how to explain the story better. I explained about how we have different things in our lives that we thirst for. Just like the woman at the well, we all are thirsting for different things. The woman in the story was thirsting for acceptance in the husbands that she had. I shared about how each of us thirsts for many things and we keep retuning to those things over and over again to be filled with joy. In the end, we are always thirsting. We are never fully satisfied. We constantly are turning to things for acceptance, satisfaction, and fulfillment in our everyday lives. For the kids at the Remand Home, they are thirsting for money, so they tend to steal. Or acceptance, and they turn to bullying. But just like the woman at the well, we are left still thirsting. But Jesus showed her grace , love, and forgiveness .... and he will do the same for us every day. I ended my time of sharing with a visual aide that I have seen many times with Young Life. I did the filling of our cup demonstration. If you do not know what that is - let me explain :-) ..... You take one plastic cup and you poke a hole in the bottom of it. Then you pour water into the cup as you explain all of the things that we "thirst for". As you are explaining them, obviously the water is falling out of the bottom of the cup and never fully being filled. Then you explain how all of those thirsts go away when you have Jesus in your life. You then take a new cup, with no holes in it, and place it over the one with the hole. Then when you pour water into that cup..... it becomes filled and could even overflow. 


Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."
- John 4:13-14


The young adults at the Remand Home were very attentive the whole time. My interpreter, Douglas was very energetic for me as well. When we broke into small group discussions, the teens really showed that they understood what I was talking about. Some kids explained that they thirsted for stealing when they were on the streets and knew that it did not fill them with joy because it did nothing but lead them there to the Remand home. Some other kids said that they wanted to trust Jesus like the woman in the story because when we believe in him and trust in him, our lives will be better. It felt amazing to see that the kids not only listened to me, but understood as well. 


This week, we are slpitting our team into two groups. One group will be going to Zirobwe. Zirobwe is the village that we are going to be building the training center. So we have one team heading out there to start construction as well as participate in outreach programs in the community. 
The other half of our group will be staying here in Kampala doing our minitries that we do in the city. I will be in Kampala this week keeping busy with our outreaches here. I am excited to get the chance to reach out to more children in this city this week ! 
We will be switching groups each week. So next week I will be living in a tent in the village :-) 


Thanks so much for all of the prayers and kind thoughts that you have all been sending my way. I appreciate all of them and you are truely helping me stay strong over here in Uganda ! 


Miss you ALL ! 




Prayer Requests:
- Zirobwe and the huge things that are happening in that village through Empower A Child
- The team in Kampala to stay strong at all of the projects that they will be setting out to do this week. ( 8 schools, 1 babies home, 1 disability hospital, and 1 juvenile home)
- My health - I am currently coming down with a super soar throat and a bit of a cold. It is becoming hard to speak at times. So please pray for me to be healed so that I can speak to these children here in Uganda. 
- My fellow volunteer Craig. For the past month 1/2 he has been violently ill. He has been here for 10 months serving with Empower A Child. He is trying hard to stay strong and not let his sickness bother him. But it seems as though every time he turns around he has a new illness whether is it pink eye, or stomach problems, or body pains. So please lift him up in your prayers so that he can finish his year of service here in Uganda happily and healthy :-)
- And as always, the children and people of Uganda :-)