So this is what it feels to turn 25!

 This post may sound more selfish because its about my Birthday! But here’s how the day of turning 25 went!!
I was greeted at 6:30am on a skype date with the Tetzlaffs (Thanks Rox and Aaron!), then an unexpected skype date with Maddie!! I went down for breakfast and the girls here had blown up balloons and painted signs that they put up on the table in the restaurant downstairs!! I was very surprised!! Someone made a joke to Fred, a worker at the Crystal, how he forgot the candle and sure enough a few minutes later he came with a tall candle in an ashtray! He lit it and they all sang Happy Birthday to me!

When I got to Smile the kids sang Happy Birthday to me and I was greeted with lots of hugs, which is not unusual. We left Smile a bit early and went to the Rock Classic Hotel to swim and have dinner there! I had brought brownie mix with me, so glad I did, and I borrowed an oven from a missionary’s house to bake them. We then had ice cream, and brownies for dessert back at the Crystal. To top off the day I had SO MANY amazing notes and birthday wishes through email and facebook!!

I think I'm going to like 25!! I had a WONDERFUL Birthday!!!  Below are a couple videos and photos of how the day went!

Life in Africa- JEN

The longer I’m here the more people I am getting to know. I love hearing their stories and getting to know them now. Here's the beginning to many life stories here!

JEN

 Jen grew up in Mbale and then her family (Dad, Mom and her) moved to Tororo. They were a hard working, poor family. Her dad worked for people in the community and her mom stayed home. When Jen was in P7 (similar to 7th grade) her dad passed away one month before her mom was due with a baby. The operation didn’t go well so after she had the baby she didn’t recover quickly and couldn’t work. So Jen wasn’t able to go back to school and continue on to P8 because they didn’t have the money to pay for school fees.
Jen started working for people washing clothes, cleaning, working in the field, or whatever she could to earn money to support their family. She did this for a few years and when she was around 18 she got married and had a baby boy, Simon. A couple years after they married her husband started moving on and marrying other women. Jen didn’t want to share her husband or think it was right to do so, so they got a divorce. 
Jen, in her early twenties, was a divorced and single parent to look after her son. She decided to give God control of her life and give her son to God to provide for them both. That God would continue to provide for them. She got a job working for a family as a house helper which earned her money to pay for rent, school fees, and some food.
Jen has been working at Smile Africa for about a year and her son is now 16 years old and currently on holiday for school. Jen’s job at Smile is to watch over the bathroom area. She makes sure the kids use the toilet properly and that they don’t damage the ground around it or the bathroom building. While she does that she is learning how to bead necklaces, make baskets, and weave mats.
Jen is someone I take time to chat with almost daily. She has such a precious heart, and fun loving spirit. She is a blessing to have around Smile Africa and I’m so grateful she is here!

All I want for Christmas is a new house please!

I’m sure you are wondering...a house in Uganda? What? Well this is what. Of course in coming to Africa there are TONS of questions and a couple of them being, what am I going to do there? Will it really help? Holly, Sarah, and I have really been praying about these and asking God to show us what work He wants us to do here.
In praying we have felt the Lord telling us to ‘plant roots’ in Tororo. We aren’t sure if that means at Smile Africa or within the city but we feel it is to rent a home that could potentially be a consistent AIM (Africa Inland Mission) home in Tororo. It would be a home where all Short Term Missionaries would stay, potentially a Long Term missionary or family.
Why do we want a home, besides God tell us to? We would love to be able to open up our home to the staff at Smile Africa and cook for them, like they do to us. It would be great to start small community groups that are held in our home, learn with the people in the city, live life here more like the Ugandans do, open it up to the kids that live at Smile; it would give them a chance to leave the campus some. Also, it would just give all and any AIM people to live in the country they serve, cooking, washing clothes, taking care of a home, etc. like the people do here.

So I am asking for YOUR help in prayer! That God would continue to move in this with all the logistics of finance, safety, location, etc. He would be moving in AIM and sending more people to Smile!!!

Thank you for your partnership!!

I survived the Nile!!

 We (Sarah, Marie, Anna and I) had heard of a place called Adrift in Jinja where they offer white water rafting, bungee jumping, and a jet boat ride. When we arrived at Adrift we checked in and walked around the grounds and found our Safari Tents. The restaurant/bar overlooks the Nile, its a beautiful view! It was rainy and windy when we were there so we sat and played cards in the restaurant. There was a tour group there also stopping by to raft and bungee. The group was from all over, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland.
We headed out for rafting on Friday around 9 am. We were given a small breakfast right before we went in the water. Our raft was Team America, Canada, and Ireland. So we headed down the Nile! There were about 7 rapids we went through total during the day. They were all 4 and 5 level rapids. There was a rapid that was level 6 so we got out and walked around the first half because it is too dangerous to go through. It was beautiful! We stopped for lunch half way through and then got back in the water for the last half of rapids.
We had a great time it was quite thrilling! I was surprised that the river wasn’t more constant rapids but that’s quite alright. We went through a rapid, had some down time, and so on. On the very last rapid we went through it just fine, and then our guide said we should go through it again. As we entered the rapid the second time, we went towards it as if we were surfing a wave, and then very quickly we flipped the raft. When I fell in the water I didn’t know what direction I was facing or where exactly I was going but when I came up out of the water I was next to Sarah and then I just floated down the  river quite quickly by the power of the rapid. Our guide had flipped the raft right side up and then we all got back in and finished our travel up the Nile.
After rafting we went back to Adrift and relaxed for the evening. We played some more games at the restaurant and went to bed early. Saturday we went back into town to do a few last minute shopping stops. When we got to the taxi park to head home we found an almost full bus so we only waited for about 20 minutes before we left!! We had a really nice ride home, the best taxi bus ride I've had so far and no chickens!

Team America, Ireland, and Canada

This is our crew tipping over...I'm the one in the middle closest to the water!

Adrift

Our Safari Tents!

The Bungee Jump!

Nile River

Yes a chicken under my seat and a Cheeseburger Thanksgiving

The chicken's head is on the floor, my foot is above and the red part is my seat!

Well we headed to Jinja on Thanksgiving! We had planned this weekend away to celebrate our American holiday and get a few days off from Smile. We went to the taxi park in the morning and only had to wait for an hour and 20 minutes before we left! As the last people got in the taxi I kept hearing this little chirp and I looked down and sure enough a chicken was sitting next/under my seat. Thank God it’s feet were tied together but at one point it got excited and started flapping its wings and trying to move around. It laid back down but I kept checking my feet to see if it had gotten any closer to me or perhaps laid an egg...you never know in Africa! But then there were 2! Yes 2 chickens were under my seat all along. Oh the things that only happen in Africa. I’m just glad it wasn’t raw fish someone was bringing to Jinja!

Thanksgiving dinner at 'Ozzie's'

We arrived in Jinja and headed to a restaurant called ‘Ozzie’s’ where I had a delicious cheeseburger, salad, and fries (Africa calls them chips) with a fanta! It really was a delicious cheeseburger, tasted homemade! I then proceeded for dessert across the street to ‘The Source’. I had delicious french press coffee and a piece of chocolate cake.
Not the usually turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, etc. that we usually have on Thanksgiving but it definitely was a treat to have a western meal!

Thanksgiving dessert at 'The Source'

I was so thankful we had planned this weekend away because it makes being gone for these holidays a lot easier. While I drank my coffee I decided to make a list of things I’m thankful for (because I wasn’t feeling very thankful at all missing my family). So here is a list of things I’ve come to be really thankful for that I have here and at home in the states:
-Family!!!!
-Old Friends and New Friends
-Technology especially Skype!
Consistent Water
Consistent Electricity
Washer and Dryer-(I’m doing my best with hand washing)
Dependable Transportation
God saving my life
Different cultures
Being able to serve in Africa
Meeting people from all over the world
Clean cities
A good home
The many things I learn daily in Africa- (it’s SUPER humbling)
Not seeing snakes

What happened to the water?

 I’ve  been told that the water will turn off here for about 24 hours and then come back on. So far, it hadn’t shut off at all and then on Saturday it shut off. It came back on Tuesday for an hour, luckily I was home to take a shower. I went to eat supper and the water shut off again. It was off through out the week until Saturday. So there wasn’t water for about a week!
I guess there was a pipe that had broke within the water line of the city. Since this happened I decided to conserve some tap water in big water bottles to use for boiling water in my hot pot for tea. I also boil water with my hot pot and then put it into our larger water bottles to use for brushing my teeth. Once the water is boiled it kills all the bacteria that will make us sick. Because we are at the hotel we don't have to go get water at a well or anything. And when the water is off for a good amount of time the hotel will fill up big jugs so we can flush our toilets or use it to take a bucket bath. I am so thankful for never having to worry about this at home!

We have a similar issue with electricity. I guess its not really an issue but more just the way it is. The power is on every other day, usually. Luckily at the Crystal Hotel, we are very spoiled, we have a generator so when the power goes out in the evening they use that to keep things going. If the power goes out during the day the hotel doesn't turn on the generator so then we are out too. It's really not that bad.

Take a look...

I could take a hundred pictures a day if I took out my camera at Smile! As soon as one comes out the kids all run to you and say 'Mzungu, take my photo'. So here are some precious faces I get to see daily!
 The children (motos in swahili) here are so entertaining. Part of me was thinking man what am I going to blog about for 8 MONTHS. Not only trying to keep readers entertained but decent material to make my blogging worthwhile. Anyways, as the weeks keep going by there is something new everyday or I see something different that I didn’t see the day before. Which is good and keeps me on my toes.

These are a few little ones that I LOVE to see everyday!!! Its so cute to watch the young ones play with each other, you can tell which ones are definitely best friends!!

 Enjoy!!!

Me and sleeping Logose!

Lanette and I

Me holding sleeping Simon with Peter!

I can't remember her name but she is always so cute!

Moses and I

Brenda :)

Jose- My Favorite!

Eva

:)

Simon and Logose- BFF

Fiona and Brenda!

JiNjA

Anna and Marie-they are leaving in 3 weeks :(

We took our first adventure outside of Tororo on Saturday! We left around 7:45 am to go grab a taxi bus to JINJA!!! It’s about 2.5 hours away, towards Kampala...no one uses directions here. Anyways as we were walking towards the taxi park there was one leaving and how you get a taxi here is.....if they are driving by they shout out where they are going which is what happened so Meghan yelled ‘Jinja, Jinja’ and they stopped and picked us up.
We were the first ones on the taxi bus and it took us about 2.75 ours to get to Jinja. We picked up and dropped off people along the way. We at one point had 21 people in our 14 passenger taxi...let’s just say we all got close, haha! It is quite the experience to use public transportation here.

Sarah and I

When we got to Jinja we got on bodas and went to a coffee shop called, The Source. it was a pretty Western Coffee Shop with great Coffee!!! (I miss good coffee!) I know coffee is grown here and chocolate is made here but I can’t find out where they are!!! Instant coffee is sufficing for now. Ok i’m done with my coffee rant. Anyways we stopped at a movie store and bought some films for real cheap! We then walked up and down this street and looked at all the shops, which are called ‘ducas’ here.
There is so much to look at in these shops.
I went to one shop and they had this painting which was pretty awesome and I asked them to paint me a smaller one! I will be back there over Thanksgiving so I will post the amazing story about this painting when I get it!!! Get excited!

I'm a Mzungu! haha

It was a great day of relaxing, coffee, good food, and fun time with my new friends. Now for getting home. We walked back to the taxi park in Jinja. This is where all the taxi buses park and you walk around saying the where you want to go and the drivers point you in the right direction. So we finally found a taxi bus and waited about an hour before we started to head out of town. As we started leaving they made us stop and switch taxis....only in Africa. It is always a good idea to have the attitude that you are going to have to wait a LONG time before you start your journey home. We made it home no problem. Not that there weren’t any close calls but God is definitely protecting our group!!

Marie, Anna, Sarah, and I at The Source!

Pay, Pay, Pay ah ha....Pay Attention...

 So the daily schedule at Smile Africa goes something like this:
9- class
10- porridge
11- shower
12- class
1- lunch
2:30- class
4- Time to go home

One of the many sweet smiles we see daily!

Sylvia- one of the teachers at Smile

 During the 9 &12 o’clock classes there is a nursery class. It consists of all kids that are not yet in P1 (Similar to 1st grade) so roughly 6 and under.

Nursery School time is fun and exhausting. They sing, learn numbers, learn the alphabet, and learn new songs. The class takes place outside in the shed, with a black board that hangs from one side. I am pretty impressed that they are all so comfortable there, because I’m pretty positive U.S. kids would have a tough time sitting there. All the age differences within the nursery class makes it difficult to teach but, I am so impressed by the Smile teachers that keep the kids in line. They have a bunch of fun little songs that grab the kids’ attention for when class is to start. One of the main tasks is getting the kids to come to the shed from playing out in the field or on the playground equipment.

I am learning a lot everyday in the nursery class. I thought I had gotten a grasp of crowd control while working at TreeHouse but, I have been humbled once again. The kids are pretty good about helping me learn the songs, games, and language. But to be honest, it’s tough to always have to ask ‘what does that mean?’, ‘how do I say that?’. Despite these challenges, I am starting to feel somewhat connected.

Teacher Budesta during Nursery Class!!  (This is where I usually help out)

Bugoya Surprise!

There’s an organization called ‘Hope 4 Kids’ from the USA that supports several different organizations here in Africa. They work mostly with children in need, and also have areas that help women in Africa. They have brought a couple groups here in the last few weeks. They have come to help feed lunch to the kids and spend some time playing with them.

The second group that was here brought Bugoyas (Bananas)!! Each child received a banana with their daily rice and LOVED it!!! It is such a treat for the kids here!

What does lunch time look like? (I’ll try to post a better photo) There is a large shed (looks more like a picnic shelter) and the younger kids sit in rows while the older kids bring the plates of rice out and hand them to each one. It is quite a crazy time because they all want to eat and always love lunch time...who doesn’t?

It was a blessing to receive the bugoyas from Hope 4 Kids!!

On Top of the World...sort of

LtoR: Job (his eyes are closed), Anna, Holly, Sarah, Marie, Dawson

 Bright and early Saturday morning, we had the day off, Dawson (staff at Smile) guided us on our hike up Tororo Rock! I’m sure a few of you are wondering how big it is etc. Well, here are the fun facts! Tororo Rock is 4,865 feet high and the elevation of Tororo is  3,888 feet so, the rock sits 977 feet above the city.

Pretty cute flowers that are on bushes all over!

We left Crystal hotel at around 7:45am. The crew included Sarah, Holly, Marie, Anna, Job (Teacher at Smile), Dawson and me. It took about 25 minutes just to get to where we were going to START climbing. We left early so we’d beat the extreme heat of the day but when we got to this point I was already tired. We had to bargain with the guards and pay them to let us go up the rock. So we headed up the rock. The path up was a lot of loose gravel and rocky spots. We stopped several times on the way up for breaks and the view was GORGEOUS! (my photos don’t do justice) At a few points they have cemented (thanks to Tororo Cement Factory here) in ladders for you to climb up!! I was so thankful for those ladders, it would have been a lot tougher climb.

View on top of the rock overlooking the golf course! 

When we finally reached the top we sat on the corner overlooking Tororo. It was so fun to see the hotel (home sweet home), Smile Africa, the main round about (which is a staple point for directions here) and the market etc. We saw several monkeys swinging and hopping along a nearby rock! It’s still funny to have monkeys, and baboons be a normal thing here!

Climbing on the lovely ladders!

We went to the opposite side of the rock to look out over the rest of the area and we could see the Algon Mountain, Kenya, Tororo Golf Course, and the beauty that is Africa. What I saw from up there is what I’ve pictured Africa to be like. From movies, shows, safari pictures, is what I have pictured in my mind of Africa. It is a good wake up to live in an actual African city where from above it looks great, structured, and beautiful but then to live there you see all the details and needs that are really there. (Just like anywhere in the world)

Beautiful!

Tororo City!

Algon Mountain

Beautiful!

On Top of the World!

The climbing crew

There she be!

Just for you Dad! Get excited!!

We had a great climb and no one got hurt! I got stung 3 times by a wasp, but that was the worst of our injuries!! Praise God.

Dream come true.

This is where I was when these thoughts came...(it's edited) and it doesn't do justice to the sunset!

While I sat on our balcony reading I looked up and noticed the sunset and how BEAUTIFUL it was! As I decided to just sit and soak it up my ipod starting playing How He Loves- Kim Walker. I just sat and listened and was overwhelmed with the comfort, peace, joy, and love of our God. Here are the lyrics of the song:

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane I am a tree
bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy

When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions
eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful you
are and how great your affections are for me

Oh how he loves us so, Oh how he loves us
Oh how he loves us so

So we are his portion and he is our prize
drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes
if grace is an ocean then we’re all sinking

So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way

He loves us!!! Oh how he loves us!!


And then it hit me....I’m in AFRICA. I know it sounds silly but if you look at the globe I am literally about half way around the world from my ND home. How in the world did this happen? How could a small town rural ND girl get to Africa to help these unwanted children? The only answer....Jesus.

This made me realize in a deeper way how much God really Loves ME! I told him that I’d like to go to Africa someday and thought it would be a fun place to be. To experience the world, to help, and learn. God made my dream come true!!

So just imagine your dreams...no really do it. Write them down, pray about them, ask God to help you fulfill them. If you are walking with Him and following his guidance in your life, He Will fulfill your dreams!! I’ve experienced it first hand.  Was it easy? No. I said I wanted to go, not realizing what I would need to sacrifice til I got here. Am I glad I did? Yes. Will it be hard? Yes. But God is comforting me daily through his word and these children.

I think it’s amazing to realize where you came from to where you are. Think about your own life. You may have started not finishing high school and now own a growing company. You may have gone to school to be a nurse and are running a non-profit. Its funny to me where God takes us in our lives. How he uses all of our life experiences to create the skills we need for the work he wants us to do in the future.

With that being said I don’t know what is next for me after these 8 months. I am hoping for Grad School, but I don’t know if that door will open or if there is more in store for me as a missionary. God only knows. But I’m willing to walk with him. I hope you are to because it sure is fun and exciting!!!

Sweet Voices!

I was sitting with the kids against the wall of the classroom building and four of them started to sing 'Jesus Loves Me' with actions and it was so precious. There sweet high pitched voices was so beautiful to hear and definitely gave me a boost of encouragement and energy! So I ran to get my camera because I wanted to share it with you. However, they were very interested in the camera which kind of took away from their song but they did sing!

First African Meal

Pastor Ruth and Esther

Our second Sunday here Pastor Ruth invited us over for dinner! I was so excited to have my first African meal! The girls had told us to stay away from street food for the first week just to get used to the food here. So I did and I haven’t been sick:)
A friend of Pastor Ruth’s came and picked us all up at Crystal Hotel and when we arrived at her home she had a table full of many different kinds of food! It smelled delicious and she had been cooking all day for us! We were so grateful!
The Menu:
Rice- so good, she had amazing flavor to it!
Samosa-(kind of like a triangular egg roll) breaded and filled with meat or vegetables!
Chipati- a thicker tortilla, fried in oil
Fried Chicken:)
Fresh Pineapple
Boiled potatoes

It was all SO GOOD!!!  Thank you Pastor Ruth for such a great meal!!

The AIM team with Pastor Ruth! (L to R) Sarah, Holly, Me, Pastor Ruth, Anna, Marie, Meghan, and Michelle!!!

Team Time! (for you TH folk)

There are 6 of us ‘Muzungus’ working at Smile. Meghan, USA, has been here since July and has been working as a nurse and now a teacher. Holly, UK, has been here since September and will be here until June, she is helping in the baby room. Sarah, USA, arrived with me and is helping in the field with kids but hoping to teach some and will be here until June as well. Marie, USA, arrived with me and is here until mid December, she is working in the clinic prepping to go to med school. Anna, USA, also arrived with me and is here until mid December, she is also working in the baby room. 

(L to R) Sarah, Marie, and Anna

It has been so amazing to hear everyones story on how they got to Africa and how the idea came about coming here. God works in mysterious ways! Marie and Anna are staying with another missionary family in Tororo and on Thursdays we are free to use their home to cook dinner!!

So our first meal was spaghetti!! We bought noodles, sauce (in a jar even), beef sausages and our dinner was delicious!!! The next week’s meal we made was a vegetable mix:) We went to the market and bought bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, and potatoes. We cooked them all together in a pan with beef sausage and it was also delicious! Africans don’t eat raw vegetables, that I’ve noticed so far, so I’m really missing my vegetables!

(L to R) Anna, Me, and Sarah

Beef Sausages!

We had a great time thinking about what to cook, cooking, eating, chatting, playing Skip Bo, which has become a new favorite game for Marie, Nerts, Phase 10, and getting to just be together as a team. It is so wonderful having a group of people going through the same thing and being able to talk our feelings out in a place that is so unfamiliar to us all.

Activities around SMILE!

Everyday at Smile is somewhat different. I feel like I’m seeing new kids everyday (which isn’t that surprising). To get a better look into Smile and what the kids here like to do I thought I’d show you some pictures of the activities that go on around Smile Africa grounds.

Kicking this ball around, made of plastic bags and rope

!

Everyone always wants their photo taken when we bring out the camera!

They love FUTBOL!! So any chance they get, and have a futbol, they definitely play futbol. They also love this hopscotch game, where you throw the rock and have to pick it up on your way back. There are a couple rubber  tires  that they love to run around with and push with a stick. They love the playground equipment, especially the merry-go-rounds, and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot of new games and songs as time goes on.

Kids pushing the tire around!

Little Simon having lunch! It's Rice!

The day I was helping in the baby room during bath time I all of a sudden heard the girls screaming and yelling. This continued for several minutes so I went to see what was going on and here I found that the boys had found a medium sized lizard, black and orange, and were throwing it into the girls section of the showers! (Only in Africa) I told the boys to stop and he threw the lizard far into the grass in the opposite direction. As I walked back to the baby room, he went and got it and continued. I decided to not intervene anymore because I really didn’t want to get hit by the lizard. Poor little guy definitely didn’t make it through that game:(

Older girls washing dishes!

Hopscotch in action!