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