Big or Small it don't matter at all.

The baby room is where I have been helping the most the last few weeks because everything goes a bit smoother when there is 2 people, bathing, feeding and putting to sleep 8 babies. So when we arrive each morning we walk around the grounds of Smile to find the babies, or their siblings to tell them to bring their brother or sister to the baby room. We sit the kids outside and they eat their breakfast, porridge. While they eat we go fill up the jerry can with water from the showers or the well. When the kids are done eating we bath each one and Holly has been purchasing nappies (diapers) for the day babies which is so helpful because it would be even more chaotic if we didn’t have some type of diaper to use. Then they each get a clean piece of clothing to nap in and we put them to sleep. They all sleep on a grass woven mat on the concrete floor. They are usually so exhausted they fall right asleep.

This past Wednesday little miss Aluwa (Alouw) wasn’t not going to sleep so her and I had some good bonding time. I was sitting in front of her while she was laying down and she would put her feet up on top of mine and then I lifted my feet and she put hers to mine. Her small little feet to mine just touched my heart. She has two brothers John and Radio and they are like the three musketeers! So cute together, and her brothers take such good care of her.

I just loved that little act of her comparing our feet. She just smiled and so did I. True friendship. It was another precious moment I have had with these sweet little ones.

The Calendar Speaks.

My mother being the amazing gift giver that she is has sent a couple calendars. One has a different Psalm each month and the other is a Motivational Calendar. The one I’m telling you about is the Motivational one. We were reading through and this is what the relations between months and motivations are:
January-Perseverance
February- Journey
March- Growth
April- Believe
May-Success
June-Courage

These might not seem that special to you but when we read through I just thought, ‘Holy Crap, I’m buckling my seat belt folks’. I believe it fairly prophetic for our time in Africa. By prophetic I mean- God speaking to us through words of encouragement.
For instance January was ‘Perseverance’ and the correlating quote was, ‘What lies behind us and what lies before us are small compared to what lies within us.’- Ralph Waldo Emerson
January being our 3rd month and persevering through saying good bye to our last fellow teammate before it just being the three of us, then finishing the mural of the baby room, and lastly preparing to move into our house.

February is ‘Journey’- ‘The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.’ - Don Williams, Jr.  With February being about half way finished. I am feeling the journey, cheesy I know...that one’s for Ms. Lofgren! I believe God had us move into this house and adjust to living a couple miles out of town, on our own, and depending on others for transportation, etc. to distract us from feeling the half way point. Since February is halfway it is getting harder to be away from home, friends, and family, and I know God is working more in my heart this month than any other. So it is definitely a month of ‘Journey’. I will continue to let you know how the next months go! Be encouraged in your Journey this month

Speaking African

One thing I’ve learned living in a new culture is the communication. It sounds obvious but there’s really a lot more to it. Just like at home how we speak to each other is the language of english BUT there are SO many phrases, comments, unwritten rules, etc. that everyone knows and goes by. Correct? Well its the same all over.

Paying attention to this cultural way of communication is something we all need to do wherever we are, even in America because in our workplaces, churches, schools, there are many cultures involved. Some of the phrases I have learned are as follows:
-Saying, ‘I’m full, no thank you’  (means) I’m satisfied.
We are moving (moving house) (Imeans) We are shifting!
I’m going to walk around town (means) I am going to move
Telling the boda man or driver to turn (should be) Tell the boda man or driver to slope left or right
Those are a few for you to get what I mean. The girls laugh because I have been saying ‘Communication People’, but its SO TRUE. I believe the majority of arguments, or fade in relationship is because there is No communication. Not just talking with each other but engaging in conversations with each other. Making full effort to truly understand what they are saying. Many, many times people say something and the other one ‘assumes’ they know what they mean, and really they don’t. So why don’t we just ask, what do you mean when you say that? (I’m telling you it would solve a lot of problems).

Asking questions similar to that one has helped in learning to understand my fellow co-workers at Smile and understanding a new culture. So I’ll say it again....‘Communication People’.

1 Mzungu, 2 Mzungu, 12!

Last Wednesday Sarah and I did prison ministry with Pastor Amos. He picked us up from Smile and then we went to town and had to pick up another group of people and here they were “OTHER MZUNGUS”....haha. It is rare to see around here. We were dropping them off at a village church near the prison we were headed to. We chatted with them on the way and they were the ‘Expedition’ team with Adventures In Missions (AIM), the other AIM organization. Their team is 12 including 2 leaders and they are in Tororo for 3 weeks, 1 week in town, 1 in the bush, and 1  in Mlababa (town nearby). They will be traveling to Kenya, Tanzania, and then one unknown country.

While they were at the church Sarah and I went to the Men’s Prison and we shared the story of Joseph. Sarah did an amazing job of summarizing the whole story of Joseph and I focused on Genesis 39: 20-23:
‘But while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

It was intimidating to be two white women in front of all these African men prisoners. But God was definitely present and spoke to these men. They were so welcoming to us, we sang worship with them, and then Sarah and I shared. We left them with this scripture in hopes that it would give them Hope that even though they are in prison, God is with them and has purpose for them. That they should continue to seek God even in this trying time because prison is not the end of God’s plan for them.  They were so appreciative and it was a great time.

We picked up the other crew again and headed back to town. We invited them over for dinner the next evening and told them to bring chapati. They all arrived and had brought produce to make guacamole, and salsa! We had made the taco meat, thanks for sending seasoning friends and family! They were so surprised we had made actual ground beef meat!! It was so fun to host them, especially since they were leaving for the bush (middle of nowhere Uganda) the following day.

We spent time sharing stories about how God brought each of us to this place in Uganda. So encouraging to hear about God moving in everyone! Something we should all share more often!! We had a great evening of conversation and it turned out to be what we all needed, God knew. So thankful we had just moved into the house a week prior to host them! Loving the new house!!!!

Halfway

Can you believe this, 4 months down and only 4 left to go! Time really does fly the older you get, so Grandma and Grandpa have said, and I agree. Well let’s recap shall we? I left home October 10 and arrived in Africa October 14th! We have said hello to our good friend Nadine, and goodbye to Michelle, Marie, Anna, Meghann, and Rhonwen :(

We have gone rafting down the Nile River, seen the Source of the Nile, relaxed in Kampala, and have gotten to know Tororo well. I’ve conquered being gone for my birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s, sounds silly but its an accomplishment. We have completed the baby room mural, and are now working on a couple other projects, such as: helping with the structure of Smile’s education program, helping organize their sponsorship program, and creating a website!!  We have made good friend with Jigga, the supermarket owner, Fred from the Post Office, all the workers at the Crystal who are our first ‘Uganda family’, Beatrice from the internet store, Edith at the bank, Topista from the tupperware store, Harriet a seamstress along the street, Stella another seamstress on the street, Gabe our favorite boda man, and all the workers at Smile. Some days the saying from Cheers is true ‘where everyone knows your name”, Tororo feels a bit like home.

So now that we are at the halfway point I wouldn’t say its all down hill from here, as in an easy ride! But these are some things I am looking forward to. Helping Smile as much as we can before we leave, loving on these kids, building relationships with the staff, visiting AIM’s boarding school in the Riff Valley of Kajobi, Kenya, Mom and Dad coming to visit!!!!!!!!:) (I can’t type enough exclamations for that) and stopping through London to visit Holly (my current teammate, she is leaving a couple days earlier than Sarah and I) on our way home!

Uganda is known as the ‘Pearl of Africa’ which makes a lot of sense for me because God has sure been polishing the pearl, that is my heart. He is teaching me more and more about myself. It is hard to explain. He is teaching me to truly trust him with EVERYTHING, to not give him limits, believe in all His promises, and to believe in the gifts and talents He has blessed me with. I can really do ANYTHING with God. He is currently teaching me about ‘Rest’. Which has been frustrating because in my human mind it doesn’t make sense to travel across the world to help people and serve God but need rest. Yes, I understand that I need rest in order to help others but you know what I mean...right? I am slowly grasping this concept, resting in Him. I feel that he means we need to honestly and truly give ALL anxieties, worries, and concerns to Him. So we can ‘rest’ in His peace, daily, all day. Wow, that’s a tough one. Especially since I couldn’t get anymore anxious about grad school. God always has perfect timing.....ugh, I should know better! haha.

And of course the thoughts of what will life be like when I go home, what is next, and what is the purpose of me coming to Africa for 8 months for, continue to float in my mind from time to time. But I’m also slowly letting those go, God will show me in His time.  Thank you for all your support, reading my blog, and your prayers! God has overwhelmed me by the support I have been given.

Happy Happy Birthday!

In honor of our dear friend Rhonwen Hamer, Happy 20th Birthday!!!! Sorry you left us too soon! We shall meet again my friend!

While being in Uganda we have celebrated all of our birthdays! I got to celebrate my 25th birthday, along with Sarah, Meghann had her 23rd birthday when she was here (I don't have a photo from her celebration), and now Holly celebrated her ‘Golden’ 27th! Which I’m so glad we were here because she hadn’t heard about having a ‘Golden’ birthday! phew, we met her just in time!

We have had a great time celebrating Ugandan style! Thankfully we have had materials left here or happened to bring things such as balloons, construction paper, crayons etc, and cake or brownie mixes!!! mmmm.

We have had a great time celebrating by decorating the table at the restaurant here at the ‘Crystal Hotel’. The workers are very gracious to let us hang things up etc. Birthdays are not a big deal here at all so its interesting to see what they think of our all out decor etc. They are good sports!

Holly's Golden Breakfast!

Golden Dinner at the Rock Classic!

And the "Golden" Cake!

Sarah's 25th at the Prime!

My 25th!!

We've Shifted

Yay we are moving!!!

We were crammed into the Smile van on moving day! You can barely see Holly out the back window!

Packing!

Our New House!

 Remember this post? “All I Want for Christmas is a new house please?....Well, it’s past Christmas but we got a house!!! We had stopped praying for the house but God continued to answer our prayer. I love that God continues to answer us even when we stop.

Here’s what happened. About 3 weeks ago now, the founder of Hope4KidsInternational, Tom Eggum, was at Smile, because they partner with Smile, and we were chatting about how life is going in Tororo. He asked if we were still staying in town and I said yes. Somehow he mentioned this guesthouse at TrueVine. TrueVine is a boarding/day school, church and clinic right outside of Tororo. I told him we were interested in the guesthouse and that I would connect with him later. So a week later we heard back from him and connected with Bishop Wilbur who in charge at TrueVine. Pastor Ruth was very excited and eager to help us find a new, safe home in Tororo. She took us to see the guesthouse and we moved in a week later!

This home is such a blessing and luxury! We have 2 extra rooms to house guests such as other AIMers that are traveling through, Mom and Dad now have a place to stay as well! It is already fully furnished so we didn’t have to buy anything. The big excitement is that it has a WASHER, FRIDGE, and GAS STOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This house is a daily reminder of God’s faithfulness, and I am so Thankful and Blessed! I now have my own room and we are enjoying cooking our own food, etc.

We had our first guests this week! Bill and Laurie Stough are fellow missionaries with AIM. They have been serving Uganda for the past 13 years in Kampala. They are such a joy and blessing to us! We had a great time enjoying a meal and good conversation with them! 

We are so thankful to be able to be hospitable to others and we are hoping to invite the workers from Smile, and to have a movie night or two with the kids that live at Smile!!! It is so much fun to have the space to do these things!

Education. It's important.

Hello Followers! 

Meghann Greene who was formerly at Smile for 6 months has taken on the task of finding school sponsors for these children. I also would love to see them all continue on in school I am posting this and hope you jump on the chance to help out a child if you feel God is leading you in that direction.

We would love for all students to get sponsors but these are the most needed right now. 

When you are considering sponsorship please remember that these kids go from P4-S6 so potentially your commitment could be, 10 years. If you need to stop sponsorship for some reason it is ok, however; it is difficult to find new sponsors for the kids. Just keep this in mind. 

Meghann's Post:

I pray that God will lead 10 individuals, families, couples, or even groups of employees to sponsor these children that I grew so close to during my time in Uganda.  I pray that these children will get the education they deserve.  I pray that more education will give them a chance they might not otherwise have.

With God working through Smile Africa Ministries, I know this is possible for these children.

Munama Dan. The quietest, most well-behaved boy in class. Very smart, and a very hard worker.



Mabonga Peter. As a perfectionist, Mabonga is very hard on himself. It was a challenge, but I quickly remembered how that was ME when I was in school. I loved figuring out ways to boost his confidence and help him to see how smart he really is.



Kirya James "Jimmy".  Jimmy had perfect attendence the entire two months I taught at Smile. That is HUGE. He always made me laugh. He gave 100% every single day.

Ogillo Amos. I'll be honest...I struggled with this boy at the beginning. But once I really got to know him, and his family (his mother works at Smile), I grew to love him very much. He progressed SO much academically just in the two months I was working in the classroom.

Amoo Anna (Ogillo Amos' sister). Anna was the only girl in my class...and the boys definitely let her know that. Props to this girl for all she had to put up with. Yet throughout, she was always trying her hardest, and doing great at that.



Ojiambo Isaac. (Many of you might remember my post on Isaac and Ben a while back...if you forgot, you should take a look.) Isaac was by far the smartest boy in class...academically much further along than what I was teaching the other students. I always tried to do something a little special for Isaac to still challenge and teach him. I see a lot in Isaac's future...he just needs someone to give him a chance.



Sanya Ben (Isaac's brother). Sanya is such a sweet boy, and he actually was supposed to be in P2 rather than P3. Because his older brother was in my class, and after working with Sanya, I knew I wanted him in my class. Sanya gets very anxious very easily, and he needs a lot of one on one help. I wanted to be that one to do so. His English was not great, but he always tried so hard. And his math skills....awesome.



Teko Isako. Isako was the student I got to know the least, because of him not being able to come most of the time. But whenever he was around, I could always count on him being on the of the first students in my classroom.





Yusefu. Oh how Clark and I loved this boy. Yusef was also supposed to be in P2, but he constantly asked me if he could come join my class. Once Clark arrived, I let him, because I had more help in the classroom. I so wish I would have let him come sooner. Yusef gives everything 110% and is SUCH a kind boy. We taught this boy to read many basic words in less than two weeks, and he caught on so fast. Yusef can go very far in life...I know it.

Robert Okedi- 16 and has finished P5 and needs a sponsor to continue on in P6! He loves to play futbol, spend time with friends, listen to music, and he someday hopes to become a Doctor!

I know I can find a way to send all of them to school, and give them a chance to go so far in life.

So please pray about it.

Go with your heart.

Many of these children have lost parents to disease, have parents run out on them, face the temptation of alcohol at a young age, and have no food at home. All have seen things that no child should witness. Yet ALL have so much joy and such a craving to learn.

Around $80 will get the child supplies needed to start (uniform, school bag, shoes, mosquito net, and a mattress).

After that, it is $25 every 3 months.
And if the start-up fee is a little much, talk to me...and we can work something out. Like I said...I feel like these are my own children.

Starfish story by Loren Eisley...

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.
The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…
"I made a difference for that one.”

Email me if you have questions: megh.greene@gmail.com

How to leave a Comment..101

This post is LONG overdue but, better now than never.

I'd love to hear feedback on the posts I am putting up. If you would like to leave a comment on my blog here's how:
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2. In the orange box, where it says to check Funny, Interesting, or Cool, above this it says 0 comments (or whatever the number of comments is) click this.
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You may think I'm strong....

  Being here has made me very grateful for so many countless things. From comforts of just being at home, to food, to friends, and the list goes on. For this realization of what I have been blessed with, I am once again grateful.
Being here with my teammates Sarah, Holly, and our honorary teammate Nadine (she’s our German friend that works at a different boarding school here in town) we have spent quite a bit of time discussing how things are going here, how we are doing personally, etc. Which is much needed for the change in culture and in ourselves.

We listened to a sermon a couple weeks ago called ‘Making Sense of Your Life’ by Francis Chan, former pastor of Cornerstone church in CA. He spoke on Matthew 7:21-23
 ‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name, ad do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

With this scripture he talks about how we need our lives to ‘Make Sense’. Whatever we believe in our heart needs to match up with our daily actions. So, whether you believe in the Bible, live your life so it makes sense. If you believe in Jesus then stick to it. Don’t believe on Sunday and pretend Monday through Saturday. Daily ask God to help you make it through the day, that you lay your selfishness aside and follow God’s way for you.

This was really convicting because even though I’ve come to Africa because God has called me here, it is still a daily task to lay my self aside and follow what God wants me to do. You would think it might be easier because I have been removed from everything that normally distracts me from doing what God wants me to do, but it is still a daily task. The exciting news, from my experience, is that God’s plan is ALWAYS bigger and BETTER than we can ever imagine. What we think we desire, God knows and has a better way of fulfilling that than we can imagine. Again, I’m in Africa and who would have thought!

With all of this, I so much appreciated everyone’s encouragement and support in my step of FAITH to come to Africa. Through God’s strength and courage given to me I was able to overcome some weakness and take this step. But being removed from everything I know into a totally different world. Being here shown me my weaknesses and I am re-learning to live life. Learning the language, how to live when the power is off for many hours at a time, when the water is shut off, learning a new culture completely different from the one I knew, and so many other adjustments. God has taken my weakness to the top of the list and is helping me breakthrough them into strengths.

Nursery Update!

 While we were in Jinja for New Year's we stopped by Surjios' wife's orphanage. We got some good inspiration from them; to paint a mural in the baby room! We talked with Pastor Ruth and she gave us the Ok! So we headed to town and bought some paint and supplies.
Holly is our artist out of the bunch so she painted the animals and Sarah and I did a lot of details! We spent the first day painting the grassy hills and sky. Day 2: we painted animals, trees, and other details. Day 3 & 4 We painted extra details in the room.
We wanted to change this space because the 12 children that live at Smile all live in this room and we wanted to give them some fun pictures to look at.  We wanted it to be a place where they can also learn. We added the alphabet within the hills on the wall and the monkey hanging down has dropped his 10 bananas, which will help them to learn how to count to 10 and recognize the numbers. Hopefully it will spark their imagination and make them smile!
We knew this was going to be a blessing to Smile but I was thinking that the kids would like it the most. Right and wrong. I was blown away by the appreciation we received from the staff and how in aw the kids were! They would stand by the doorway and in the windows everyday we painted to look in at what we were doing. So precious! This also made me realize how much the little things we do are such a blessing to them! What an affirmation and confirmation as to why I am here.

I had a sweet moment with my buddy Jose. When it was all finished I brought him into the room and said 'Look at all the animals Jose, what do you think?' He looked at me with big eyes and a HUGE smile on his face. He had never seen ANYTHING like this before! We walked around to each animal making their noises and saying their names. So precious. It brought tears to my eyes.  This made me realize that these kids are missing something (not that growing up in Africa is worse than other parts of the world). But to not have this stimulation for their imagination. It is so hard to explain so I hope you are understanding what I mean. (Maybe you just need to experience it and see what I mean) But they are SO THANKFUL for what we did and the truth is; I think it was more of a blessing for us to do this act of kindness than for them to receive it.

Day 1: Sarah painting the sky

Day 1: Pre painted wall

Day 1: Pre-Painted walls

Finished Main wall!!!

Makeshift map of the world!

Learning the Alphabet in the hills!

Day 3: Dennis helped trace this for us!

Day 4: Finished, Learning numbers with Monkey and a goodnight prayer!

I remember this from my childhood, thanks mom and dad!

Day 4: Finished wall with Mr. Lion

Day 4: Sunshine and children on the hill, this is above the alphabet!