“Mukama yebasibwe! (Praise God)….

I’m leaving on Wednesday, so I’d like to thank God for allowing me to come here to Uganda, and to serve along side you all… attack of the tears its been such a joyful time! And I wanted to encourage you all to always continue to meet together worshipping God. I know I’ve come, not understanding a word each time. But when I come, I am ALWAYS encouraged… because I know that you guys are joining together for the purpose of knowing God more, and to worship Him whole heartedly!

I wanted to share one of my favorite Psalms… Psalm 116.

I love you all.”

As I sit here, 4 hours away from returning “home”, I can’t help myself from searching my mind, striving to cling on to all the memories I made. I know it’ll be nearly impossible for me to remember everything, I just don’t want them to go away! That farewell was given the night before I left, the night of my last bible study! tears were ever on the rims of my eyes that night, and whenever my mind would wander to the reality of my departure, those tears would silently stream down my face. A big portion of my heart now belongs to Uganda… and having to leave… the place, the culture, and the people broke my heart! –of course—

The funny thing is…

About 4 months ago, during my first nights of being in Africa, I was HORRIBLY homesick. I would survive throughout the day, and then right when I would close the door to my room, when I was in the private, lets just say there was MAJOR floodings! Hahaha! I wanted to go home so bad that I even started a weekly countdown on my computer. (currently @ 0/16! Hahaha). I was SO looking forward to this day that I’m experiencing now. Nevertheless, despite my longing, I still kept asking God to give me a love for the people, and the culture!

And things changed, I’m not sure when exactly… but my heart definitely changed. God gave me wonderful relationships with the girls my age, and with my “co-workers”! He also gave me such a joy, every day I would go to baby class. Its not the easiest thing teaching and caring for these young kids, and often times, I would get SO exhausted, yet I still had a joy! What an answer to prayer that was!

And the bible studies with the girls… I am so overwhelmed with thankfulness to God for allowing me to lead these precious girls! I know, that God was there every time I would sit down to share with them, it was obvious! They were always attentive, grasping onto every word I said! I just hope that through those times, they will have a new vigor in knowing more of who God is! And I was thinking about it, thinking of what I was gonna do when I would return. I devoted my time and myself to these girls… I want to do the same thing in the bay area… In fact, I want the rest of my life to be a selfless service to God and the people I’m with, whether I’m in Africa, America, or AUSTRALIA! “make my life a prayer to you, I want to do what you want me to!” –keith green. (man, I love his lyrics!).

The truth is, I’m not a SUPER CHRISTIAN just because I went to serve in Africa… I’m still a wretched, fearful, weak, sinner in need of His grace, EVERY single morning. And let me tell you, I don’t know HOW many times God had to remind me of this, because I would start to have an independent mind set. In Paul’s word’s, “not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”. I pray and hope that People will glorify Christ alone through hearing about my adventures… because it really wasn’t me at all!

On my last day in Africa, I was sitting next to one of the new muzungu girls that had come, grading and preparing books for all the kids (yes, teachers have to manually prepare all the bookwork!), chatting about everything possible as always… somehow getting to the subject of how we need to live our lives for God alone! And kk said something that specifically stuck out to me, “our lives need to be CONSUMED by Christ Jesus! We may lose special people in our lives… but that ultimately won’t

matter, because we have all we need in Him, and He is all we need!” man, I don’t know how many times I have had that preached to me, and it still doesn’t get old!

That prayer should be on my lips, in my mind and in my heart from the moment I wake to when I close my eyes in slumber.

Heres some lyrics to a song we sang in choir one time,

 “I believe you’re my healer, I believe you are all I need. I believe you’re my portion, I believe your more than enough for me… Jesus your all I need.”

So, FINALLY, after all that rambling, yes… I am sad about leaving Uganda, but I am looking forward to what God has for me in the future. And again, as Paul says, “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Amina! And thank you for joining me on my adventures to Africa.

Rats nests.

Curiosity continues to get me into big, fat rats nests. Let me cure your wonder and explain exactly what brings me to saying this statement. Most people that have known me, know that I’ve fantasized about getting dreadlocks for a good while now. When I came to Africa, I was educated about the fact that most girls here plait their hair on a normal basis (braiding extensions into their hair). This regular activity that they do intrigued me… in fact, it struck my curiosity nerve! I had to do it, to experience what they experience every few weeks. And plus, it’s so close to getting dreadlocks… without the permanent factor! ;) this excited me. So, from two months ago I planned to get my hair plaited right before I’d go, to surprise everyone back home! On Saturday, this plan took flight. I had the coffee brown (stuuuupid) extensions, and the pro plaiter lady ready to go. Six hours of pulling, and what felt like the ripping of my scalp, my braids were finished. I took my excited self to the bathroom to check out my cool, new dew. HAHA! When I reached the mirror, I wished I hadn’t. the regret flooded through my entire being as I stared at this foreign reflection. It was, to say the least, completely horrendous. Now, of course I couldn’t have a break down… I held myself together and tried to make what was a face in horror, one of surprise and glee as I thanked the lady who slaved away on my head for six hours straight. But, the truth was, I looked like a balding, pale monkey. Despite my feelings, I had to humble myself and continue with the days activities. I had to walk to church to meet with the kids! Each step of the way, I had to tell myself, that I just wasn’t used to it yet as each person I passed by stared at me like a purple elephant was standing before their eyes. I finally reached the church, self confidence still far below sea level. But when reaching, I had to find the truth from someone I could rely on to give it… because, after 4 months of living within this culture, I know better than to believe every compliment I received, saying how good it looked, and how “smart” I was! So, I went to someone who I trusted would be blunt and honest despite my feelings; a muzungu man, named Justin. I approached him with a devious smile, first thing he said was, “what did you do?”, that simple phrase told me a whole lot, but what really brought me over the edge was the rating he gave me… a 5! Oh goodness, I didn’t care at this point how long it took doing these braids, all I cared about was getting these babies out! So, with the help of the kids at Zana I started deplaiting my freshly plaited hair! This had to be one of the most painful experiences I’ve ever experienced. My scalp took the braiding pretty well, but THIS was almost unbearable… I just had to squeeze my eyes shut and bite my fingers holding back the screaming that was on my lips. It felt as if there were a multitude of birds attacking and pulling at my already raw head. After about an hour of this torture, the last extension slipped off my hair to the ground. My hair was a BIG, FAT rats nest now. But nothing could bother me at this point, my hair was exactly how it should always be; natural, extension-free, and blonde! Never have I been so thankful to have the hair I have now! God knew what He was doing in giving me this blonde color. It fits my skin perfectly, and it explains why I do such things like these. Hahaha.

Lets just say, I’m not too thrilled about getting dreadlocks now…

BACK TO SCHOOL

KI! (HI!)… After a full 3 weeks of holiday, in which I spent my time hopping from place to place in Uganda, and another week of rest trying to recover from my deadly disease that I caught… malaria! I survived. Clearly. Actually, I thank God because my case of malaria wasn’t bad at all. I got a fever on Monday, and that’s when they detected the malaria! I started taking the medicines to cure it, and the remainder of the week; I didn’t have any more symptoms! If you don’t count fatigue, of course.

So, this post is supposed to inform everyone (if you haven’t found out already by Facebook) that I am BACK and running… with more energy than ever! Back in full throttle… back on my normal schedule; school (Monday-Friday), with various ministries scattered throughout the weekdays. I’ve decided to have bible study with the high school girls every Tuesday and Thursday, and I’m planning to go through the attributes of God on Tuesday, and then on Thursday I’ll take them through a few chapters of my “Spiritual Disciplines” book with the couple weeks I have left! I regret not being this motivated to study earlier on. On Sunday, I’ve resumed the bible study with the kids that stay at Zana when school is in full swing. And, last of all, an addition to the ministries I’m doing, the Sunday school teachers have been asking me to assist them in teaching some Sundays… so, that’s what I’ve done these past two! The first Sunday I was with the kiddy kids, and today I was with the older, more comprehensive kids! I learned that I have a MUCH easier, more enjoyable time with these responsive children!

-storypause-

on Friday, the head of the middle school Sunday school class asked if I could fill in for her Sunday… so, of course I readily agreed! My impression of this Sunday school class was that only 5 or 6 kids attended every week. I had visited the class a couple times before, and that was the number that always showed up! I had a lesson planned in advance, not knowing that I would be teaching, but God knew! On Sunday, as I walked towards the classroom, I quickly found out  (from the flock of kids walking along side me) that THIS Sunday, a LOT more decided to show up… in a few minutes I was standing in front of a whole herd of children, counting maybe 40-45. I was to say the least SURPRISED, and feeling quite incapable to do this job, all of a sudden getting KIINDA stage fright as all the kids blankly stared at me. BUT, I had to pause for a second, this was a temptation to get fearful, and give a rushed message in this wonderful opportunity to share VERY important news to these kids that have been graciously entrusted to me, by God Himself! And Hey, why was I here in the first place?! As I prayed silently, and went ahead to teach these kids about God’s omnipotence, I found words flowing out of my mouth like rushing water! It was amazing! Just like when He promised Moses that He would be speaking the words the whole time, God spoke through me! Even afterwards, a Sudanese girl (maybe 13 or 14, but ridiculously tall—all Sudanese are--) was walking back to church with me, and was telling me that she wants to learn more about God, and she would like me to teach her!! What a gift! So, I plan on spending time with this girl (Sarah), pray for her!

-resuming-

You must be wondering, why am I just now getting so active? Well, the realization that I’m leaving in 2.5 weeks is hitting me, and I want to be able to serve God here with as much UMPH as I got left!

Besides my various ministries, I also have a personal ministry that continues to challenge me! The ministry I’m talking about is with my friends that I’ve grown so close with! I mean, I did not imagine I would become such good friends with these three girls! When I think about leaving, it makes my heart so sad, knowing I’ll be leaving my girls… without knowing when I’ll see them again! It’s the same horrid situation every time someone leaves for good. Because of this, I’ve been trying to encourage them as much as I can… using these last days to be beneficial times! And I hope that through our practice of getting together and reading the word, and talking about God, they will continue the practice even when I go… I hope with all my heart that this would happen! I love them, and I want to see them have a passion for God! So they can go and minister to the same young girls I have been spending time with! My hope is the same for the younger girls as well… ACTUALLY, all the girlies! HAHAHA!

Alright, until next time… Won’t be long before I see all of you in flesh and blood as well, Lord willing! ;)

<3 always, Teacher sahra

lions, and tigers, and bears (OH MY!)

On Tuesday (april, 24), the group (Brenda, Irene, Rebecca, Richard, Joel, and I) went to the zoo! We were planning on going to this amusement park at first, but it happened to be closed that exact day! So, Joel had the idea of going to the zoo… and let me tell you, AFRICAN ZOO’S ARE MUCH MORE EXCITING THAN AMERICAN ONES! Hahaha, in fact at first when he said that, I was like…….. uuugh.. This is going to be boring. I was wrong. It proved to be one of the most exciting days I’ve had in Africa yet!

First of all, it started raining as we rode the taxi all the way to Entebbe; we got off the taxi and had to walk a ways down to the actual zoo (and it was still raining). I was in a strange mood that morning, because I had some sort of allergy attack, and the result was a very itchy face, so I took allergy medicine (aka DROWSY DROPLETS), which did help a little bit… or at least I thought it did because I was too distracted by my sleepiness. When your so drowsy like that, and having to move from place to place, it gets exhausting really fast… and I was moody: P we walked and walked (it was just us girls at first. the boys were to meet us later on), and finally reached the zoo… but as we were entering, we were not INFORMED that there were free-range monkey’s that are attracted to grocery bags (we brought our own food), and they will do anything for food. At first we pointed and commented on how cute they were as they peered at us through the tree’s, little did we know that they were planning they’re attack method. HAHAHA. Brenda is a fearful person; things easily scare her… so she was the only one that was on the defensive side as we walked by the monkeys. Well, soon enough, the monkeys started jumping towards us, and I thought they’d be scared of humans, HECK NO. They’re AFRICAN MONKEYS. They came closer, closer, and of course went right up to the one scared person in the group, Brenda… until the monkey was trying to grab the bag from her…. SHE SCREAAAMED… I was LAUUUGHING. It was so hilarious. Those monkeys were actually pretty scary… if you tried to scare them off and act big, they would just fight back. We didn’t intimidate them a bit—there focus was solely on our food. We got in the park, with a trail of monkeys following us, beginning to reconsider our choice of place.

 I figured out that I had to pay 10 thousand more shillings then the rest of the group, (so unfair) just because I’m white. So, I paid 15 thousand. L … We paid for the boys ahead of time, so they could just walk in. as we waited for the guys, we decided to eat our lunch… so, with MUCH caution of the killer monkeys, we found an eating area, where (for some reason) there were NO monkeys! After the boys finally came, we started our foot safari, up a dirt hill. Then onto more rural path… and then onto an even more rural path, and walked, and walked… soon figuring out that this probably was not a path tourists are supposed to go on… and soon figuring out (to my horror), that this path was infested with MASSIVE black spiders. You could walk and ALL OF A SUDDEN, to your surprise there’s a spider your about to walk into. We finally got out of that horrid situation… and proceeded on a much more civil path. We saw leopards, rhino’s, lions (tigers and bears. Oh my!), hyena’s, different types of birds, chimpanzee’s, peacocks, warthogs, zebra’s, buffalo, antelope, lots of different types of monkeys… aaaand the snakes. This was a pretty exciting part of the trip, we happened to come to the snake exhibit just as they were relocating the 30 year old python to another room. But, instead of just relocating this snake, they decided to take it outside on the grass for us to touch. This python was HUGE!! I mean this thing, could eat a grown man… so, the girls (and Richard) were really freaked out. After this, we went to beach. (There were no more animals to see) so we were just enjoying nature at this point. There was a looong dock that we ran onto, and let the wind blow through our hair (my hair.. hahaha), it was seriously so beautiful there.

But we couldn’t leave just yet, we figured out that when we paid ahead of time for the guys, when THEY came they paid there way as well (it was really our bad, because we didn’t inform them), but we went to try and get a refund… which proved to be a harder task then we thought. Eventually we got the money back, and the boys decided they wanted to go back in to get our REAL money’s worth. The boys went off on their own, while us girls went to the park next to the lake. It felt like I was a young child again. We created obstacle courses and raced each other… hung upside down on the monkey bars (TAUGHT them how to hang upside down.. Brenda and Rebecca were both deathly afraid, and it involved a lot of screaming on there part! Haha) but it was so fun! When the boys waltzed down to the park, we decided it was time to go, when something caught our gaze and stopped us in our tracks… golf carts… and idea’s struck. It was only 5 thousand for a 30 min ride. And BABY. It’s AFRICA. They don’t give you no drivers, you drive it yourself! HAHAHA.. I showed him my CALIFORNIA license! HAHA.. And he handed over the cart… in which we managed to fit all 6 of us on. We each took turns driving around the whole park, (some of us, definitely NOT READY for the simple task of steering a golf cart. nearly died at one point, because Richard was going down a hill, at a pretty good speed, and instead of continuing straight, turned sharply to the left, flinging both Joel and Rebecca out of the cart rolling. SCARY!) ß But other than that, we got the cart back to the owner, in one piece… with huge smiles on all our faces! And with that, we exited the zoo… starting our trek home; looking like hobos at this point I’m sure. Muddy, exhausted, and me with my sandal only partially on my foot due to it breaking multiple times on our “foot safari”.

the only picture i have from this trip... sadly. HEY.. but its with a zebra!

Jinja adventures avec the ebisodde (the beasts AKA irene, naki, brenda, and sahra)

April 30^th.

Today marked the beginning of our 4-day Jinja adventures with the ebisodde! And to start it off with a bang, I poisoned myself by drinking bad milk. But, despite my unsettled stomach, I am an EKISODDE (a beast); I grabbed my bags, picked up my feet and walked straight out the door. We boarded our first taxi to town to catch the connecting bus that would take us all the way to Jinja. No matter how much I wanted to rest my eyes and sleep due to the constant, lulling shutter of the bus, I had to keep my eyes open, to take notice of all my surroundings as we traveled along Jinja road. After an hour passed, we were dropped off like orphans on the side of the road, in the middle of this unknown Jinja town. In a minute we were on boda’s heading to the designated area we were to be pick up by our keeper. As we waited at the café, I realized just how beautiful and simple this town was. I watched as the town people walked by minding their own business… (I’m so used to MZUNGU attention now, its odd when people aren’t staring.). The thing is, Jinja is a tourist town, so they get a constant stream of whites, they’re used to the sight! There were some old men relaxing at the table next to ours, probably chatting about how the troublemaker in town got put in jail overnight for drunk driving. .. haha! Kathy Bisset, the one we were supposed to stay with sent her gardener to pick us up from the café. What’s funny was, she told him to look for 4 mzungu girls, but our group was actually made up of 2 natives and one mzungu (moi). So, it turned out he was standing next to us for 10 minutes before realizing that we were the ones! We finally, reached our final destination, lugging all our luggage. I was in awe! The house was surrounded by exotic plants and flowers! I felt as if we were going to a resort where we would spend our days relaxing in meditation within nature.  We were greeted by two massive dogs, which didn’t settle well with Brenda and Irene (Africans aren’t used to having pet dogs!). Approaching the home, the mother and mastermind of this beautiful sanctuary, came out to greet us warmly with her tight hugs. Instantly I felt at home, almost as if I was going to visit my grandparents. Our room was all set up, waiting for its expected occupants. Inside the house, it was even more beautiful, with the many African inspired decorations. And my personal favorite, the window seat that gave you a wonderful view of the lush garden. The house was built back in the 50’s, when the British still controlled Uganda, so the architecture was much different than most of the African homes. After we settled in a bit, with the direction of our “mother” we went exploring around Jinja, sticking close to home… but in the first PARTIAL day we got to visit an orphanage, we checked out the lake (lake victoria), and we hit main street (theeee place to beee)… before we finally reached home, to find roast beef sandwiches waiting for us. And with that, the first ½ day of our Jinja adventures was over. Yet it hadn’t even begun.

the Bisset's house

their garden... absolutely Gorgeous place to wake up in.

AND.. the woooonderful couple that took us in!

May 1st. 

My whole body burns and stings with the intense heat of fire. I’m quite positive if an egg were to be broken on my skin right now, it’d fry. It’s the result of a full day under the African sun and my daily dosage of malaria meds… the medicine makes your skin burn at a fast rate, as if my skin isn’t sensitive enough. Within 5 years I will most likely have skin cancer. Today, was a very lovely day though… the couple we’re staying with are pampering us like we’re they’re own grandchildren. We woke up to French toast frying on the stove, and hot coffee in a pot!! (I confess, I was extremely excited about the coffee!), I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s dosage. After we ate our 5 star meal, we had a little devotion time together, to start the day off right. One passage that encouraged me and reminded me of how great God is, was Psalm 8… “How majestic is your name in all the earth…” He created the vast skies, and yet he still see’s and cares for me! Once we ate from our Father’s feast, we packed up our things and began our day long adventure; first stop, kingfisher resort, and it wasn’t the first time I’d been there… but since the last time I’d been there was 8 years back, my 9 year old mind gave me recollections of HUGE pools, yet in reality, the pools were quite small. There was a group of Germans that were staying at the resort; actually they were part of a big medical team. And thanks to Irene’s outgoing personality, we got to talking with one of them and found out she is a born again, which was encouraging! It felt so good immersing my body in those divine pools… letting my head slip under the surface into the kingdom below! I attempted to coax Irene and Brenda out to the deep side, but this move was apparently too beasty for thee ebisodde! Once we had our fill of the high life, we got on boda’s to visit “St. Moses’ children center”, to check out the way they run things… and compare it to the other one we had visited! Turns out there was a volunteer team from England staying there and I noticed the ever-strong sun already tainted their pale skin. The kids were super shy there. And on we went; next stop was Main Street to chill actually, our real goal in this stop was the attraction of Rolex’s (chapati’s with eggs, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, and sausage… all rolled up). As we relaxed on Main Street, I couldn’t help but practice my people watching skills! Haha.. It’s entertaining watching the different mzungu’s pass by, wondering where they’re coming from. After we scarfed down our Rolex’s, we headed off by foot down to the lake, to catch a boat ride to the source of the Nile. Brenda had the opportunity of facing her fears of going on water, and she overcame it! We boarded the small, wooden motorboat to the source of the Nile. The ride was beautiful… because it happened to be the perfect time of day, right when the sun was dropping down to shine through the African trees, creating a shimmer on the surface of the water. We stopped and got off onto an island for a brief time. Now I can say, that I’ve drank a coke on the source of the Nile! I feel so accomplished. All this for the price of a full body burn, it was worth it… plus, when we reached home I was given actual aloe vera to soothe my stinging body, and for dinner there was mac’n’cheese (homemade baby!). I’m so thankful for all that’s happened so far, but the Jinja adventure is still in full swing… until next time.

coffee and french toast :)

kingfisher resort.

one of the friendly kids @ st. moses children centre.

source of the nile!! WOOOH

macaroni and cheese for dinner!

 May 2nd.

Today started off with a pleasant surprise… turns out Rebecca was coming to join our Ebisodde group! She adds quite the flavor, another crazy spice to the whole group… which probably balances me out a bit! Before she arrived though, I set out, by myself to see if I could find Katy Davis. If you haven’t heard of her , she’s a single girl of 22 years ( I think) who has adopted 13 kids. I haven’t read her book yet, but I got to read a few of her blog posts, and her passion for what she does and whom she’s living for is obvious. She’s a fellow soldier of the most high God! But, unfortunately, when I got to her house she was too busy (makes sense right?!)… I at least got to talk to some of her kids as they were doing their school outside. When I returned from her house, all us FOUR girls headed to the great Itande falls on boda boda’s (motorcycle transport), which turned out to be much father than we expected (about a 40 min. drive)! But once reaching, we knew all that butt and back pain was worth it! The falls were MAGNIFICENT! The force of the water flowing was absolutely humbling. The sun was also beating down on us at the time, so I couldn’t resist from dipping my body into a shallow, calm side pool. I actually went all the way under, it was too tempting! And it was my preparation for the long, hot, and dusty ride home. The ride back was to say the least dusty… when I finally got to a mirror, I had aged a good 20 years. And now I’m finally back at home, the day still not fully used… and I definitely do not intend on spending the rest of it sitting on this window seat, although it is pleasant. Maybe I’ll spend the afternoon in Australia… or India… choices, choices.  Eeeeh, I think I’ll opt to swim at a pool in Jinja… yeaaaah… hahaa! J

Btw. I’m a professional at “bush peeing” now.

Got back from the pool. We decided to take an afternoon swim, which happened to be kinda cold! But, I enjoyed the time nevertheless. And upon our return, the smell of homemade pizza welcomed us back.

at itande falls!

PIZZA!

the whole group on our last night...

 May 3rd. 

Well, today is our final day in Jinja and it saddens me to know I have to leave this quaint town, and the ever-caring “parents”. But, it was time this morning, we ate cereal, which definitely reminded me of home (Cali), which in result made me miss my family. But despite those depressing thoughts, breakfast around the table, surrounded by my good friends distracted my wandering thoughts and brought me back to the present. Most of the morning we spent laying around, relaxing and soaking in our last moments in this beautiful paradise before having to leave it forever. We got to have one last devotion time together as girls.. which prepared me for the day ahead. And with that we got all our luggage and started our trek back home (Zana). J

And THAT is the end of our great Jinja Adventures avec the ebisodde!

Thank you, thank you.

last breakfast... CEREAL! at last.

on the bus heading home...

there was a chicken in front of us... haha :)