an update in pictures

Heather and I with Kizito and Dan, our friends from Amazing Grace Church in Muyanga.

I had to chance to go to the children's Christmas Party at Amazing Grace. My job? Nothing less than "flying" Chapati for 4 hours in the sun! The children would come in and laugh because they had never seen a Mzungu flying chapati quite like me:) We made about 275 chapatis.

The church decked out with Christmas decorations and about 250 children.

This little girl was so precious. She was dressed in her Sunday best, and after a while warmed up to me and sat on my lap for a bit.

Kampala on December 23rd. The epitome of busy. Here you can see a boda and a mutatu taxi.

This guy was on the side of the street and at first I thought he was selling a scale. Nope! He was charging people to weigh themselves. I found it funny, but I am pretty sure the guy on the left caught me taking a picture:)

Michael waiting for the cows to cross the street, and yes I am on the back of his boda. Right of way here in Uganda is first cows and goats, cars, bodas, and then people. It is important to know where you stand in that group when trying to cross the road!

the best day ever

One of the women who works at Dawn is a single mother of two boys, Victor, who is 8, and Clever, who is 5. I have adopted them as my Ugandan family while I am here and over the holiday break I was itching to take to boys to do something fun. Earlier that week I was talking to Vanessa, the mother, and she told me that neither of the boys had ever been to a swimming pool. I showed up to their house, which was a one bedroom concrete structure with no power, and told the boys they were going to spend the day with me. I didn’t tell them we were going swimming, just that I had a surprise for them; which wasn’t the best idea since they did not know the meaning of the word surprise, so I then spent the next 10 minutes trying to explain what that meant.  First we went to the store because I needed to get the swimming stuff, like floaties and pool toys. We go buy them and I was sure that this would give away what my plans were but they had no idea what they were for! Then we get to the pool and their faces were expressing the most joy I have ever seen. They started jumping all around and saying “thank you, Auntie!” Like I said, they have never been swimming in deep water, so they cannot swim. We all changed into “bathing costumes,” they were floatied up and I was sun screened up, and then I gave them a quick rundown of- if you get in the water without your floatie…you will die.  I think it is safe to say that this day ranked among the tops of the best days ever for everyone.

Victor is the one on top, and Clever is the botton right.

After 4.5 hours of swimming- well I will call it swimming, but they were floating and I was carrying them, we were all exhausted. The boys did not want leave, but I convinced them it was time to go. I took them to a restaurant to eat dinner.  We sat and talked about all kinds of things while we waited for our food. Among the topics was school. Clever, the younger, was telling me how much he likes to learn and how one day he will go to University so that he can take care of his mother. The conversation warmed my heart as I remembered all of the struggles these boys face every day, but they still had such motivation to make something of themselves.  I really think that being able to spend the day with them was much more of a blessing to me than it was to them.

During dinner Victor accidentally spilled his soda and he kept saying how sorry he was for wasting my money, and how it's ok that he didn’t have anything to drink. I told him that he does not have to worry about money when he is with me, and he could order another soda. He was shocked and so appreciative. Our next conversation was centered on Christmas and the reason we celebrate. “Why do people give each other gifts on Christmas?” I ask them, fully expecting to be the one that explains this to them. “Because the real gift is Jesus.” Clever says, so confidently that I was caught off guard. The boys told me how they wished they could get their mother a gift, because they told me “she spends everything on us, so that we can eat and have clothes. We wish she could have some new clothes.” These boys are absolutely precious and so special. They were wide eyed and bushy tailed all day, and showered me with hugs and appreciative words. I was so happy to be blessed enough to get to take them to do something they had never done, but also just to have the opportunity to serve them, to serve their mother. 

All in all, this day was wonderful. Even though this swimming adventure was definitely different than any swimming trips I have been on- we were stared at all day, which I am used to for the most part but I am sure being a young white girl with two African boys caused a little more staring than usual, I even had people come up to me and thank me for adopting Ugandan children. At the pool I was the only person who knew how to swim, it was cute seeing all the adults with inflatable wings and tubes. A few people asked if they could just watch me swim across the pool. There was one thing that was the same though; I got a pretty good sunburn as a trophy for the day.

I left with much more than a sunburn though, I left with a renewed sense of purpose, an excitement for the days to come, and an embedded sense of joy that can only come from God. I know that is what God desires for me, and for everyone. That night the ideas of loving others and serving others filled my brain. Those concepts have no doubt been a big challenge throughout this entire time, and I finally felt like I had a deeper understanding of them. There are different people with different cultures, backgrounds, religions, and skin colors, on this Earth. But we all have something in common, we are all people. We are all people that were created by the same God, and all people whose only hope is Jesus. That is why I am not only here in Uganda, but why I am alive, and it’s why you are alive. I pray that God gives me more opportunities to simply serve, give, and love others and that I will do it with the understanding that we are no different from one another, no matter how different we are.

it's Christmas?

The past few weeks have been very interesting, to say the least! I had feared that the weeks leading up to Christmas would be rather boring because most of the children travel to their villages for the holidays, so they would not be at Dawn for the last few weeks of the year. For the first couple of days last week my suspicions were true, and the days were very slow at the Centre because we had about 3-4 kids on those days. I was kind of disappointed about that because I have been itching to be busy for a lot of reasons, but mostly because I was questioning the point of being here when there was no work to be done. I had let myself doubt the purpose, and much more doubt that I was even helping at all. I mean really, what do I have to offer that the next person does not? There is nothing special about me that gives me the qualifications and all to be the person to help Dawn. In all honesty this was a very difficult issue to work out because along with the doubting feelings came an overload of homesickness. I felt unneeded here, and then I would think of all the holiday fun I was missing and felt completely alone. For about a week I found myself unmotivated, sad, confused, and just plain in a sour mood. I had no idea what to do.

Fast forward to today and I feel the complete opposite. Over the past two weeks a lot has happened. The first thing that fostered an attitude change was when Heather and I visited a local church called Amazing Grace Church in Muyanga where we met the Pastor and his family. This was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I have never been encouraged by someone’s faithfulness and trust in the Lord. We sat there for about 2 hours as we listened to Pastor Fred tell us stories about his life. He told us how he went to Bible College in South Africa and led Bible studies in neighborhoods amidst gunfire fights. He told us how there are times when he has no way of feeding his family, much less funding the church, but he has faith that God is his provider. He encouraged us as well as inspired a fire in my own heart. He had numerous stories, every single one was amazing, and I wish I could have recorded them to share. We then shared dinner with his family and afterwards had a dance party with his children in their living room. I had been praying for something else, other than Dawn, to get involved in and God has answered that prayer very quickly! They invited me to help with their children’s ministry on Sunday’s and I am so excited! I anticipate the experiences I will have at Amazing Grace to be awesome. I am so thankful that God heard my prayers, and that before I even asked Him He had already began working.

The entire time I have been here the director of Dawn has been out of town. This has added greatly to some frustrations because I was never actually told what she wanted me to work on. For the past 7 weeks it has been a guessing game of some sorts. I have been craving some direction about what is really needed from me, and what they want me to work on. Florence finally returned to Kampala last week and I was able to meet with her and sort out my long list of questions. I left the meeting completely renewed, with a long list of tasks and projects (if you know me well, you know that makes me happy), and ready to go. Looking back, and knowing that God already knew that my frustrations would almost get the best of me, I think it was good Florence was gone for my first month here. It really allowed me to integrate myself as a member of the Center. I was able to build relationships with the staff and especially the children. I worked alongside everyone, playing with the children, bathing them, changing diapers, and feeding them. I was able to see how the Centre runs from day to day and I think that will really help me to understand the best ways to complete the projects I have now.

Being in 80+ degree weather in the middle of December definitely makes it feel like summer instead of only two week until Christmas! I have been a little bummed because so much of my holiday spirit comes from seeing lights, drinking warm Pumpkin Spiced Lattes, and the cold weather. I get none of that here, but this Saturday we got to go to the Children’s Cantata at Watoto Church. It was GREAT! It was a play filled with music and dancing and every person in it was a child from the church. I was SO impressed, and so happy to get a little dose of the holiday spiritJ

This weekend was also the Dawn staff Christmas party. The party has been planned since I got here to be at Sesse Beach in Entebbe. On Sunday we woke up to the coldest and rainiest weather that I have seen so far in Kampala. It was definitely not beach weather. Convinced the sun would start shining at some point, we dressed in our sundresses and head out to the beach. We had an hour van ride and then reached our destination. From what I gathered it was supposed to be a restraint, but it was pretty much just an abandoned, unfinished, and unfurnished house. I was a little shocked that this was where was chosen for our party. We were led upstairs to a patio that just had plastic chairs on it. I knew we were going to be eating fish, but I was informed that it would take 3 hours to prepare because they had to go catch the fish first. So what do you do in room with no furnishing, with a group of people who have a very difficult time communicating? You play games! Our German roommates brought different games, and just like at a child’s birthday party we played “balance and egg on a spoon” and “three legged race.” Sounds lame, right? Except it was a blast! And of course because we are in Uganda, the games were followed by a Dance party. If you went to this staff party at home you would be in shock, I think.  After that we all sat in a circle and had to introduce the person to our left. It was so great hearing people tell the group what their favorite thing about the person they were introduce…until the girl introducing me said that her favorite thing about me was that I am “very audible.”  Basically that’s the nicest way to say I am loud. HahaJ We had a Secret Santa exchange and it was so fun to be a part of such a happy and fun time with the staff.

Among the busyness, my roommate and fellow AIMer, Heather’s last week has snuck up on us. The friendship we have built is incredible, and I am going to miss her so much. I know that I have made a lifelong friend and I am so happy she was able to come, even for a short time. Even though I now get my own room and double the closet space, it is going to be a great challenge to be here “alone.”  It was such a blessing to have a partner, someone to talk to, and someone to do things with. I know that God offers the ultimate companionship and protection, and I am confident that all my needs will be met. Even so, the transition will be difficult so keep me in your prayers!

More to come. I have two weeks off as Dawn is closed for the holidays. I am looking forward to catching up on emails and my blog! Blessings to you all during this time as you remember Him!

a day in the life

Over the past couple of weeks one of the best parts of this experience has been the staff. Getting to know them and becoming friends with all of them is so fun.  It makes me take a step back sometimes when I come back to the realization of how different their life is to mine. There is such a long list of differences from how they wash clothes, to never having a real shower or bath tub, to living in a society where the police are corrupt and being afraid of a rebellion after the upcoming election. They think grasshoppers are the best snack ever and they eat the same meal every day. All of these things are some that I have never even thought about until now. Every day I feel like I am comparing “their” way of life to my own. And then I catch myself. Life is not about comparing your lot against another’s, nor is it to pick whose life is more valuable and rich. The truth is, every Ugandan that I have met has contentment in their lives that would be considered almost silly at home. They are content because they have what they need, a roof, a few meals a day, and couple changes of clothes. Can you imagine if this is all you had? Would I be content, would I still believe that God was my Provider if that is all He had provided me with? I have found myself wanting to tell my Ugandan friends about all they are missing out on in life like movies, internet (facebook), Dr. Pepper, AIR CONDITIONING… ugh, I can be so ignorant sometimes! I am absolutely not preaching against the conveniences of my life, and I am honestly eager to have them againJ But I am thankful for the hearts of the people here, and even more for what they have taught me: No matter how many diamonds you sport, or what kind of car you are driving, or how expensive the wine you are drinking is- there is something that will always matter more. What matters is people, because that is what matters to God.

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A funny thing happened yesterday, and I thought everyone would enjoy this story:

Vanessa, she is the cook and is 27, asked Heather and I if we wanted to attend the circumcision ceremony for her little brother. That is a weird question, I thought, but this is Africa…so yes, I do want to go because that sounds interesting. She was explaining that in her tribe the circumcision ceremony is a big deal, and she really wanted us to go. Here, it is not weird for a 27 year old to have a sibling who is 20 years younger because most men have numerous children with numerous women. (Ok, that might have been some cultural criticism). Heather began telling us that she had been to one of the Jewish ceremonies for a baby a long time ago, and wondered if it was the same.

“Do you watch it? Because we did,” she asks.

“Oh yes! Of course you watch it.” Apparently Vanessa thought this was a silly question.

“It made me sad to watch the baby cry though, it seemed so cruel.”

Vanessa says, “Oh no, he won’t cry.”

“Why not?” We both ask.

“Because he is sixteen.”

Uuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmm. We won’t be going to the ceremony. By the grace of God, we have some people coming in from the Orphanage for the weekend so we have plans. Thank you, Jesus.

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 I think I have really been desensitized already. Like, today just felt like a pretty normal day when really almost every part of it was not at all. I wake up and get ready in 20 minutes and ride a boda to work. Along the way the town people are going nuts because the rain brought a huge influx of grasshoppers. People are EVERYWHERE with bags catching them. I spend all day in a building with no water or electricity and eat mushy bananas and beans for lunch. I spent my afternoon cuddling with a precious baby who is blind.  After work we went to super market with the simple task of getting materials for crafts, like yarn and coloring books. It was an epic failure because even the biggest store here has nothing of the sort.  On the drive home (on a boda of course) we pass massive poverty, people urinating on the street and children bathing outside in a small bin. We stop at a stand on the side of the road to get rolex, which is a chapatte rolled like a burrito with eggs, tomatoes, and cabbage. The guy at the stand keeps telling us how he loves us, and thinks we are so beautiful. Then he asks me if I can talk to the American Embassy so he can get a work visa in the states. Ummm, I don’t think so. Then it’s time to head home, turn on the water heater and hop in my 4 min warm strategically planned shower. Yep, sounds like just another day to me!  

as of late.... in pictures

The cows that like to hang outside of our gate. Look at those horns!



Joel. He loved the sound my camera made when I took a picture. So I took the opportunity to get some shots of him actually smiling!



Craft time at Dawn! As you can tell from my leg, I am working real hard by sitting on the balloon chair:)



Our Nile Excursion. I am on the top in front of the girl with the long sleeved shirt on. This is the rapid called "Big Brother." Our boat tipped over and sent most of us on a "long swim" down the river!

My favorite day so far. I found DP in a store. I bought the entire stock. OK, I didn't but now I regret that.

Snuggle time with the Drool Monkey. This boy has my heart in the palm of his hands!

Our neighbor Natalie, one of our Thanksgiving guests! Notice the candles in the background, this was before the power came back on.

We had quite the feast! It doesn't look so good in the picture, but it was delish:)

Us trying to explain what everything on the table is! This was the first time they have tried American food. The Creamed Corn and Stuffing were a hit!

Two of my three roommates, Vera and Heather.

The Nile River and A Dark Thanksgiving

I actually have time to write today because I am home sick from Dawn, the day after Thanksgiving. The power is currently off, so there is no hot water to take a shower, and our fridge is stuffed with leftovers that I am not able to heat up! Welcome to UgandaJ

I must say that rafting the Nile was the coolest experience I have ever had. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE! If you are ever in Uganda, or even close you must do it. I have never rafted before, so I was unsure what to expect. From what I heard from those who had done it before, “prepare to fall out of the raft.” I was really nervous about this because I have seen the movies. Don’t you know that the Nile River is infested with flesh eating piranhas, crocodiles, and one really big anaconda? When we got to enter point on the river our guide explained to us that we would be rafting 4 class 5 waves and then proceeded to explain that most toured rafting trip hardly even go over class 4 waves. YIKES! Needless to say, I almost lost my life countless times. The class 5 waves were so intense, and one even had a 10 ft. drop. Like promised, our boat flipped over a couple of time, and people were thrown off even more times. It felt like a really scary water ride that you don’t have a seatbelt on, and it’s not  a ride, you are really dropping down a waterfall on the Nile River. I did make it out alive, thankfully so! It was so cool being on the Nile River, it was so beautiful. It really did look a lot like the movies (minus the deadly animals). So all in all, the excursion was a huge success.

Although the Nile trip and Thanksgiving were about three weeks apart, I am going to write about both in one blog since I have Thanksgiving fresh on my mind. My roommate Heather, our friend Ashley, and I are the only Americans that we know in Kampala. We were all trying to figure out what we should do for Thanksgiving, because not celebrating it was just not an option! We decided to take on the task of cooking an American dinner for some of our friends here. Well that plan turned into a much bigger ordeal then we thought!

First, we had to try and find ingredients that would make American food with no oven. All we have in a propane stove top. It took us all wee to get down a menu that was feasible to try and make. Our menu was: Roasted Chicken from a roadside shop, Obama Chapate (in place of rolls), mashed Irish potatoes, mashed (white) sweet potatoes with a caramelized pecan crust, stuffing, gravy, creamed corn, and German meatballs.

The day of Tgiving Heather and I left Dawn early to go home and prepare the meal, because we had invited people over around 7:30 that night. We didn’t really know how many people to expect because whether we like it or not, this is Africa and Africa does not run on Dunkin, it runs on African time. This means that even though people said they were coming, it would be surprising if they were less than an hour late, if they even came at all.

When we got home our power and water was out. This isn’t too shocking, and the two usually turn on after an hour or two. We think we have plenty of time to get other things ready that do not need power or water. Well, we were wrong. Our power was off, and the power company said not to expect it until 7:30 that night! Ummmm, how are we supposed to cook without lights? But, we did what we had to do and we cooked the entire Tgiving dinner in the dark with just a few candles. You should see our kitchen this morning- a complete disaster! While one of us was monopolizing the stove the other had to prepare the food outside because it had more light than what we were getting from our candles. I mashed all the potatoes outside our front door using a glass jar. It was very comical. We had finally come to terms that the whole night would be without power so we set up candles around the flat and lit them. It was actually beautiful. The table was set with food and the living room was dimly lit. And then something crazy happened. PEOPLE CAME! Yes! We have 20 people show up. Our whole Ugandan staff from Dawn was there, some of our neighbors, and our boda driver! We also had some of our German friends show up. It was awesome (even though it was dark, and you couldn’t tell who you were talking toJ ) Heather and I decided that we were going to give everyone the history of Tgiving, and we wanted to go around the room and have everyone share what they were thankful for (a Morgan tradition). Right as Heather started to say that God provided for the Pilgrims the power came on. The house lit up and the humming sounds of the appliances make my heart literally jump! We were so happy, and the rest of the evening was awesome. We heard what everyone was thankful for, shared laughs, hugs, and life stories. It was a night I will never forget. I missed home like crazy, but this T-giving made what I was thankful for that much better.

After being in Uganda for a whole month without reliable power or a shower that is warm the whole time I am thankful not that I have those things at home. I am thankful for the relationships I have at home, my family and friends. I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given like earning a degree. But most of all I am so thankful to God for who He is, and what He has done in my life. He has never once given up on me. I am thankful for my time here and the relationships he is helping to form. I am thankful that I finally understand that it’s not about what I do, but it is about what He has done, is doing, and will do.

Thinking about how to help the Dawn Centre???

I have received a lot of inquiries about how to donate to Special Needs Day Care I am working at in Kampala. I have been working feverishly on creating programs for people at home to get involved with that will aid in making Dawn self sufficient. If you have any further questions or would like to donate please email me at carolinabrooksm@gmail.com. God Bless!
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What is the Dawn Centre, and why should I donate?


The Dawn Special Needs Children’s Centre is the only organization of its kind in Kampala, Uganda. Dawn offers day care and many different types of therapy for physically and mentally disabled children. Because most of the children’s families cannot afford the fees, Dawn in currently caring for them for free. As a result, the Centre cannot support itself on its own. These donation programs will help Dawn increase the great work it is doing for the Kampala communities, allow the Centre to accept more children in need of Dawn’s services, and continue to provide disabled children with the therapy, education, meals, and care they need.

There are two problems that disabled children face in Uganda. For one, the poverty of most families does not allow for specialized education and care. Families view help for their disabled child a low priority behind basic needs for the entire family.


Another issue for children with special needs is that the culture views disabilities as a curse for the parents, an omen representing some type of punishment. Because of this widespread perspective, the children’s needs are highly neglected.


By donating to the Dawn Special Children’s Centre you are aiding with the two biggest problems that face disabled children in Uganda. Children who would not be able to receive the services of Dawn will be granted that, and also the importance of caring and loving for every single child, disabled or not, will resound because of your heart in giving.



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Donation Programs:


Sponsor a Child Program

The cost of therapy, day care, and two meals is $10 per day. Most children’s families cannot afford this and do not bring their children back to The Centre. This is one of the biggest problems facing Dawn. The sponsorship of a child would change the child’s life by providing meals that they may not get outside the Centre, as well as much needed therapy and loving care from the Dawn staff. There are many different ways to sponsor a child other than the flat $10 per day. Options include sponsoring a child’s therapy or their day care fees. Please contact Carolina foradditional information as well as an individual profile on each child available for sponsorship.




Adopt-a-Meal Program

Dawn Centre provides two meals a day for each child as well as all of the workers and volunteers. The food is a large expense. To sponsor a meal or even an ingredient would allow the Centre to use income on other very important things for the children.

Different things to Adopt:

Rice for a week- $5

Sugar for a week- $4

Beans for a week- $1

Porridge for a week- $1

Sponsor an entire meal- $10

Sponsor meals for an entire day- $20

Sponsor meals for an entire week- $45


Chicken Coop Program

Dawn is looking to build and maintain a chicken coop on- site. To start, this will cost 2,000,000 shillings, which amounts to $1200. The startup cost includes the chickens and materials to build the coop. The purpose of this program is to:

1) Provide sustainable meals for the children and staff

2) Provide a form constant stream of income for the Centre

3) Teach the children lessons of responsibility



Supplies for Dawn

A donation in support of Supplies for Dawn will help ensure The Centre is able to obtain the following items:


Leap Frog system, with games for 3-10 years

Small Dry Erase Boards

Specialized Chairs

Standing Frame

Toys for Therapy

Resources for Therapists

Children’s DVD’s

Wipes

Cleaning Supplies

Copy Paper

Kitchen Supplies

Beads

Coloring Books

Puzzles



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Contact Carolina Morgan for information about how to donate at

carolinabrooksm@gmail.com
PAYPAL ACCEPTED

building my ark.

Hello EverybodyJ I was thinking I hadn’t really been able to update my blog, so I decided to throw something together real quick. It has been a week since my last post, so I have a lot to tell!

Everyday someone asks me (in different ways) if I am dealing with culture shock. A couple of days ago, I would have said that I wasn’t and that I was adjusting pretty well, thank you very much! But after this weekend I can really say with full confidence that culture shock is a real thing. It is funny because I learned the text book process that is culture shock in a few of my college classes and I thought it was a little far- fetched. Culture shock is not only real, but it is emotionally draining as well! I go from thinking everything about the culture here is wonderful and great to thinking how weird and different it is from my own. This roller coaster of loving and disliking it all at the same time is quite a trip! If what I learned is true, these feelings won’t last forever, so thank goodness for that. 

A quick view of the city while we were lost.

So what induced my culture shock coma? Getting lost. Getting lost in UGANDA.  My roommate and I had received a map of where we were supposed to go for an AIM meeting on Saturday. We called our trusty Boda driver Michael and showed him the map. Of course we have absolutely no idea how to get to this house, but pray that Michael might have a clue. Looking at the map I thought, this looks pretty easy. It was just a few turns here and a few there, no big deal. Nowhere in Uganda is a few turns here, and a few turns there. Most of that is because there are no street signs. Poor Michael had to calm our nerves down while he tried to get us to a place he had never been. After 2 hours on the back of a boda, turning around 4 times, asking 8 different people for directions, and having to hike up the steepest dirt road, we finally made it. If you know me well at all you are thinking what I was. “This is hell on Earth.” (the being lost in a way that I have no control) I was so frustrated and emotional by the time we actually arrived, 2 hours late, that I had a headache and was on the verge of crying at just the simple “hello” from the host of the house.  No wonder AIM told us to prepare to get lost….

                                                  This is Michael. Serioulsy he is our Gaurdian Angel! (the fact that we have only gotten lost a few times is a testament to that!)

Then we got lost going to church. Repeat of the story above. Two days in a row.

Enter Culture Shock.

Ok, Moving on. J This Sunday we went to church at the downtown Calvary Chapel. It was really good! It was Western enough for me to feel comfortable yet had a lot of Ugandan influence that spoke to the mostly national congregation. Worship was great, and when they sang a Hillsong worship song tears just flooded down my face. I think it was because I could sing along and praise God in language I understood, but also because of the frustration of being lost the past few days had really bothered me. As I was singing all I could hear was “You are not lost, you are right where you are supposed to be.”

I spend most of my time at Dawn, or thinking about Dawn. It is a little overwhelming all that they need. Because of the cultural perspective that disabled children are unimportant to society, even the educated staff members are not educated specifically on how to teach and care for these children. Aside from the small resource library they have that consists of a few teaching DVDs and a few books, the teachers and therapist are basically going off better judgment about what to do. The need for a professional Special Education teacher is huge, but just material and research would help the staff so much. Then there are the basic needs of the Centre like wipes and diapers, soap, food, toys, and movies. The list of needs is too big to even put on one page. The overwhelming feelings lead quickly to frustration because my desire to help and my ability to help are two different things. 

I have been reading a book that highlighted how faithful and obedient Noah was. He spent over 100 years building a boat in a dessert that had not seen any rain before because God told him to.  Noah knew how crazy it sounded that he would need a boat, but he was first obedient to God and then trusted Him that what He said was true.  I feel kind of the same in that I know God has called me to be here. He specifically wants me in Kampala, Uganda working at the Dawn Centre. I don’t know why nor do I feel even remotely qualified to do what needs to be done for Dawn.  I have doubts and frustration in my own abilities, but I do not doubt in what God can do. And that is something to  be very excited for.

 I spend a lot of time trying to find ways to get all of these needs met, and I really need to sit back and prioritize which to tackle first. I will have to take on certain things one at a time. I really feel like there are solutions to all of the problems that face Dawn and that if I spend time in prayer (first) and then really thinking creatively about them I can offer some good help. 

Ann is one of the therapists. She is with L-R Josiah, Fafad, and Esther

After my first full week at Dawn the biggest need was that Dawn is on a downward spiral in the financial department. Enter my first task. It became very apparent that to get the Centre on its feet and able to solve its own dilemmas it needed some outside help.  I spent this weekend and the past few days putting together a sponsorship and donation program for the Centre. I have been getting so much positive feedback from people at home saying they wanted to help Dawn. Here is your chanceJ I will post information about the different ways to help Dawn, and we can solve some of these problems together!  I am very excited about the potential of these programs because I see every day the faces of the children it will help.  If you need any inspiration about giving just email me, and I will gladly send you some pictures and stories of the precious little ones. +

Pool Time! We take the kids outside and play with water and they LOVE it!

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This weekend I am going to raft the Nile River. I cannot wait! I am a little nervous, but have heard it's the trip of a lifetime. So if I am not eaten alive by piranhas, I will let you know how it goes:)

I am with you always

Matthew 28:20 Lo, I am with you always
I have now spent a few days in the Dawn Special Needs Centre. It is located in Bukoto, Kampala. Within one day I was absolutely sure that I was where I was supposed to be, but more than that I could see the overwhelming need that the centre. My first couple of days I spent observing, then after that Florence met with me to explain what they wanted me to do while I was here. I will be working with Rhoda, the administrative assistant, organizing their database, and going through their publications, computer files, and hopefully putting some systems in place that will make the centre run more smoothly and easily on a day to day basis. But all of that isn’t as interesting or fun to hear about as the kids, so I am going to tell you about themJ

The day was really good. I fall so much more in love with the kids everyday. I can already tell that leaving them will be really hard. They are all SO precious, and I am doing a lot better with the special needs than I thought I would. I was scared to interact with the really disabled kids because I was nervous I would do something wrong. But now I feel comfortable playing with them and moving them, and I even feel comfortable feeding them. I am not sure if you want to know, but I am going to give you a list of most of the kids so I can talk about them and you have an idea who they are.

ok here we go.

Esther- one of my favorites. She is four and is the size of a two year old, well everything except for her head. She has what they call water head. Her head is twice the size of what it should be. From what I gather, she has too much water in her brain, so recently she had brain surgery to insert a channel that takes the excess water to her urinary tract. Because of that she has to pee (tsu tsu) all the time. She is so cute because she speaks really well, and she uses proper English. She sounds like an on English woman. One of her favorite lines when she is taking a bath is “oh no, I am naked!”

Tutu- he is 8 and a quadriplegic. He cannot walk or sit up on his own. He has such a happy personality and already knows my name. You cant really understand what he says, but you can tell that he recognizes you and knows your name. He is really hard to feed because he has really bad congestions problems and has a hard time holding his head up, so swallowing is quite the task.

Fafhad- he is close to being the cutest. He doesn’t look disabled, and I am not sure exactly what his problem is. He is probably 4 and he cannot stand or walk on his own, his legs and arms do not work very well. I call him the “drool monkey.” The amount of saliva he produces in inhuman. but he is a happy kid, and loves to cuddle.

This is Joel.

Joel and Cynthia are very autistic, so they can function physically normal, but have a very hard times in social settings. I would say Cynthia and Josiah (who is the only downs kids) are the hardest kids in the center. For some reason, Joel tugs on my heart strings. He literally does not respond to anything you say.. it’s like it’s a blank wall in his head. But he came up out of no where yesterday and wanted a hug. Then today he fell asleep on me. It was great.

Abdullah is literally as skinny as you see in the commercials for starving children. He is 10 years old, has a disability that make his legs and arms deformed and he cant talk, and he wears the size of a 1 year old. Yes he is ten, and as skinny as a baby. It is the saddest thing I have ever seen. He is severely neglected too. He cannot talk or move for the most part and his family leaves him in a small dark room, where he falls off the bed all the time and they leave him there. He has scars ALL over his body. The government, as well as the culture, does not put any value into the disabled because they think they will never be able to give back to society. In turn the attitude about the disabled is that of shame. So sad.

There are more, but I haven’t gotten to know all of them as well.

In a meeting with Florence today, she was telling me how they cannot support themselves because many of the parents cannot afford to pay what the real rate should be, if they can afford to pay anything at all. If they don’t think of something to generate income and fix the problem, then the center will close. It closing is not an option because it is the ONLY thing of its kind in all of Kampala, which is just crazy. I am going to start brainstorming about ways to generate funds for the center. maybe set up an “adopt a child” thing for people at home. It costs about $10 a day for each kid to get two meals, day care, and the PT and OT, and some times other kinds of therapy. I am sure some way people would be willing to sponsor like 1 week a month, or even 1 kid a month… I don’t know…. ok that was me just thinking out loud.
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We just got done with dinner. I helped Vera make rice, gnut sauce (which is this disgusting looking brownish/purplish peanut sauce from Uganda, but it tastes good), and beans with some veggies. It was a very Ugandan meal. The food here is not that bad…but not that good at the same time. Today was my day to help the cook, Vanessa, in the kitchen at Dawn. She showed me how to make porridge and we served that and bread/butter for breakfast. Then I made juice from scratch with passion fruit, oranges (they are green here, it is silly they are called oranges), mango, carrots, sugar, and water. It’s really not that good, but it tasted like the way she made yesterday, so I think I did a good job. Then we made potatoes, meat, cabbage, and spaghetti noodles plain. It is a little disturbing to watch her cook the meat. She adds all the bones and fat into the pot, and then you get that on your plate. Then you eat it and you get bits of bone…yuck. Actually, with a lot of the food you get hard particle of dirt or bone.
****************************************************************************************Tomorrow I will have been here a week. Honestly, I feel as if I have been here for much longer. God has blessed me so much in this with my roommates. I really don’t know how I would be handling this all if I was alone, or even with other people. He really knew what he was doing when He sent me hereJ When we get home at night its so comforting to be around them and we have a lot of fun.
Oh, I am also working on organizing ways for people at home to help the Dawn Centre. I am going to get a list of supplies they are in dire need of, and hopefully I can get some stuff sent over here for them. The centre also needs money to build a hen house. One ways that they are going to generate income is by keeping chickens. That will allow the children a great learning experience, provide food, and also income if they decide to sell them. Florence asked me to pray about organizing that. So, all in all, if you are interested in helping out, let me know. J I will keep you updated on final plans for whatever program I set up!
Sending love from half way across the world. Go with God!


Matthew 28:20 Lo, I am with you always

a few pics.....

Here are a few London Pictures. Nothing you have not seen in post cards... I guess you havn't seen this one. It was SO cold on top of the bus!

Proof that I was in London.

Getting a Ugandan pedicure complete with a Coca Cola, a portable foot bath, and a lot of bubbles.

Vera and her "Obama Chapate" wrapper. Chapate is a type of breadlike tortilla, crepe thing. Very good. An Obama Chapate is a different type. They are big fans of the Obama here, so they name all kinds of things after him.

This was at the Cultural Center where we saw all the traditional African dances. Let me tell you, these girls can shake their tail feathers.

Sophia, Heather, and I enjoying the entertainment.

great start

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday! the other morning at breakfast I was trying to describe to my German roommates (Vera and Sophia) what Halloween was. They were so confused at why we celebrated something when we didn’t really know how the holiday originated. They thought our answer of “it’s just fun,” was not legitimate enough for the whole country to celebrate a holidayJ

It is my third night here in Kampala, and the amount of learning I have done in the past three days is incredible. It was nice coming in on a weekend because it gave me time to settle in, explore a little, before my schedule and work gets a little more demanding. Tomorrow is my first day at Dawn, the day care for special needs children, and I couldn’t be more excited. I am sure God is going to stretch me in everyway possible, and I just pray that I can be of some help to the workers, and especially the children. I will keep you updated on that once I know exactly what I will be doing and such. Keep Dawn Center in your prayers though. A center like this is very unique here because special needs kids are more likely to be neglected by family than helped, or sent somewhere they can receive treatment.

I am still struggling a little bit with some jet lag. I did not sleep at all last night!! I thought since I slept so long on Friday night that I would be ok. Well I was wrong, and jet lag seriously sucks. I laid awake all night, tired, but couldn’t sleep. So I read, and thought, and prayed. It was pretty miserable, well not the praying partJ I made an effort to pray for anyone but myself, so I spent a lot of time praying for people at home. It 11:17 pm here, and I am exhausted. Hopefully I can get a full nights rest, and be done with this!
　
Today was a good day. Heather and I met Florance (the lady that started Dawn) for church. She has taken us under her wing and is so wonderful. We call her Mama Duck because we all just follow her in a little line wherever we go. We went to Calvary Chapel Kampala in Kololo. I was expecting this totally cultural experience, but it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. First of all “African time” is a little different than American time. No one is on time, ever. We get to church and its ALL mzungus (white people). I was thinking ok I cant be here and go to a church with all people who aren’t even Ugandan. But then about 20 minutes after the service started the place filled up with nationals. By the end the nationals outnumbered the mzungus. But it was an American Calvary Chapel so the pastor is a white guy and the service held nothing out of my comfort zone, or anything too different than what it is like at home. I think we will go there again, but I also want to try a more local church to experience that as well.

After church we met up with Sophia and Vera (Germans) and we all went and got pedicures. Its crazy, in town it looks so run down. you see signs for all kinds of shops, salons, restaurants, but because of how they look on the outside you cant imagine them being bigger than 6x6 on the inside, and not nice at all. So we walk into “the vine salon” and its actually fairly nice, I was surprised. Heather (roommate, and also with AIM) and I were kind of freaking about this. We are weary to get them in the clean salons in the states, how could this be sanitary here?? But not to worry, I am alive after experience, and I got to see the guy sanitize the equipment. we each got a pedicure for about 7$ but it took us about 3.5 hours, and believe my I was ready to get out of there.

Then Florance took us all to the cultural center tonight. They have a cultural show every night where they show off all the local dances and music. It was a great show. At the end the MC went through the crowd to see where everyone was from. There were people from the UK, Germany, Holland, Austria, Canada, Panama, Spain, Mali, Denmark… and more. I would say some were there for a visit, but most were there helping in some way. Then the MC thanked us all for coming to Uganda to help them, and that they appreciated it so much. Then he had all the foreigners come down to the stage and line up. There were about 150 of us. He then told all the Ugandans to get out of their seats and to come shake our hands. They did, formed this huge line and individually welcomed and thanked us. It was really cool!

I appreciate all of the prayers and support more than you know. To know you are right where God wants you is the most amazing peace I have ever experienced in my life, and so many people are apart of that because so many people have supported me in one way or another. So thank you again. I am not sure what God has in store for me, but this is only the beginning

i am the most tired person alive.....

below is an email I sent my Mom after I arrived in Kampala, instead of rewriting it I just decided to post the email to post a quick update of my last couple of days. I am finally in Kampala in my new home. It is very nice, full bathroom, running water, kitchen, and everything I need. Thank God for that! I also got to swing by the day care I will be working at (Dawn Mukisa Center). Right now I am about to go to bed and hopefully catch the 9 hours I lost during travel! Updates/Pictures coming soon!

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Hello! I have made it to the guest house in Entebbe. The flight was long, but i took some meds and slept most of the way. i sat next to this guy from baton rouge who was going to uganda to make a video of all the orphanages and schools he has started, so it was cool talking to him. he was excited to hear what i was doing, and continued to preach to me about trusting and believing in God, and taught me all (i mean all) the Bible stories that go along with that. It was very sweet, but i was really tired so i had to throw in some hints about how tired i was. he finally let me sleep, and i did for about 6 hours. I am still really tired though, but i guess i will be for a few days. jet lag is no fun. i really feel like i am in a twilight zone, especially because i am in a whole different day than you!

when i got to the airport it was really rainy outside and about 70 degrees. it is really pretty weather, not too humid, and not too hot. which is nice, i hope it stays like this. the country of course is beautiful. so lush and green. right outside of the airport a monkey was playing on a tree! and nobody even cared, like it was a squirrel or something. then i had to wait for the driver for about 30 minutes. it was kinda funny because i had my huge cart of luggage, and so did everyone else. but let me tell you, they do not value personal space here. this one lady pulled her 2 carts of luggage literally touching mine and blocked me in against a wall. i am thinking "hello, what part about this is ok?" hahah she didnt care, obvioulsy.

we have about a 40 minute drive to matoke inn, so it was cool looking out the windows. i guess it looks a lot like the bad parts of mexico, but worse. when i got the airport it smelled like mexico, you know that smell? its rainy and muddy everywhere and i sure that makes things more difficult. there are people everywhere walking and talking. and most of them are just standing there. i was wondering what were they all waiting for? the driving is insane. our driver was pretty good, but scared me a few times. then half way there he gets out his super thick glasses and drove even worse. the cars literally bump eachother, its like adult bumper cars.

i am not sure what the plan is for today. i am pretty sure i am still about an hour from kampala. from what i gather someone will come get me and take me there, i am just not sure when. but they have internet at the inn so i am happy for that! it is sooo weird being so far from instant communication. i store up all these things in my head that i want to tell you, but i usually can tell you right away so i feel like i am forgetting some things!!

oh, i forgot to tell you what happened to me in london. we got off the plane and i realized that i left my makeup bag on the plane. i had so much stuff with me, so i think it actually fell out of my bag. but i was freaking out when i realized it because i had put the cash, $950 worth, that AIM gave me for my first two months here. i go to the front desk not even 5 minutes after i had gotten off the plane and told them. they brought in 2 hours later. looked in it and $500 was missing. i was so upset, and they told me i could file a police report an d so on, but i didnt. i wasnt too worried about the money though, i brought enough cash to cover that. i emailed aim and told them and Rae said not to worry about it and they would credit my account. so thats good. i guess something had to go wrong somewhere....

hmmm, what else. i am stinky and gross. i have not taken a shower since wed morning, and have traveled the whole time since them. yuck. you dont even want to know what i look like!! 

and so it begins

I am currently sitting in the guest house at Africa Inland Mission (AIM) headquarters in Pearl River, NY.I have two days of orientation and then I leave on Wednesday evening for Kampala, Uganda for a four month mission trip. I am so excited to be able to have to opportunity to blog about my time in Kampala, and I hope you enjoy reading about it.

I was trying to think of how I got to where I am exactly.....and it seems as though this has all happened so quickly. But to be honest, God has been reaching out to my heart specifically about a mission trip for over four years now. I would get so inspired hearing stories of missionaries and the places they served and the people they met. And everytime I could hear a whisper on my heart, telling me to put myself in their shoes, to consider going myself. I pushed those whispers and thoughts so far out of my head for two reasons. First, I was scared. I was scared of leaving my family, and being alone in an unknown place, and most of all I think I was scared of all the change God would do in my life. Second, I knew that I had a choice. I could choose to obey God, put myself out there, or I could choose to disobey and continue living the life I always had.

After four years of back and forth I finally said yes. This summer I began the application process with AIM, and in under 6 months I am now 2 days away from this trip. I could no longer choose to disobey, and with that God showed me how His plans are always the best for me. He has showed me that He will always provide. Most importantly He has showed me that He has specific plans for my life. He knows exactly who He wants ME to be, and what He wants ME to do. I thank God that now, at this point in my life, I know what that is.

I have no idea what my life will hold after this trip. I literally left my job and apartment. It's all wide open spaces for me. But my God has a plan, and a purpose for my life. People have been asking me how I feel about the upcoming trip. Nervous? Sad? Excited? Happy? Yes, to all of those.

But most of all, I feel hopefull.


Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and to not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.