Our First Day in Country

Just so everyone knows, this is my second time flying anywhere, must less overseas..  My first experience with planes was that I did not like them...  at all.  It is too similar to roller coasters, which I like even less.  However, I must say that Emirates flies a nice plane or 2.  Even with turbulence, I hardly felt anything and often forgot I was even in a plane.  I watched plenty of movies, listened to music to fall asleep to, and played games, too!

Our afternoon was filled by our first site visit to Entebbe Full Gospel Church and School.  We arrived in our off-the-plane-outfits and felt only slightly under dressed for the wedding that was in full swing.  Although, I did get to watch a Ugandan wedding!  There was lots of music, dancing, and shouting (the happy kind).  We played our first game of duck, duck, chicken with some of the children hanging around.  Fun Fact 1: Goose had to be changed to chicken because, in most areas of Uganda, there aren't any geese..

Uganda definitely has a unique smell: wood burning, red dirt/clay, and something I can't quite explain, but I think I like it. :)

Here are mini bio's on each of my team members (using my whole perspective from the entirety of the trip):

Gail-  She is a prayer warrior, forreal!  Any time there was a need or the suggestion of a need presented, she was on it.  Gail is the type to watch, get her feet wet and then dive into conversations.  She was often emotionally moved by the spirit and, man, was it cool to watch!

Steve- He was another of the quiet type, but a strong servant.  He was very helpful when it came to fixing things and explaining the filters.  I liked watching him interacting with the leaders of the churches and schools, finding out more about them and such.  Steve has a very tender touch that made kids flock to him.

Linda- She is Steve's husband and such a sweet, loving person!  She was always there to offer a positive outlook for the present obstacle.  There really isn't a word to explain how bubbly and sweet she really is.  As the team photographer, I can say she did a splendid job capturing just about every moment we experienced while in UG.

Richard-  He was our team leader with a spunky, earthy vibe.  Richard has a unique ability to be a leader without really seeming like a leader, if that makes sense.  He is kind, level headed, and able to keep every detail in his view finder.  Seeing him reconnect with friends he's established relationships with and create new ones was really awesome!

Susan-  She has an energetic, motherly spirit that made her a perfect roommate!  This was her second trip to UG and was able to transfer some of her knowledge to us 1st timers.  I have two favorite moments of Susan.  The first was watching her tend to the boys' wounds in Kivulu.  She was kind, but firm and didn't take any crap from them.  The second was watching her shuffle (she was wearing a dress) around with a horde of children chasing her all over the school grounds.  She was delighted to be there and it showed.

Josh-  He is the off-spring of Steve and Linda.  Josh is goofy, very book smart and loving.  He could talk about math and statistics and all that jazz alllll day.  I know because I basically lived with him for two weeks. This did come in handy for installing water filters and talking about ways to increase sustainability.  Despite his stand-offish demeanor, Josh found a niche with children.  I watched him become increasingly more involved and comfortable running around with a million kids hanging from his arms.

Don-  He is another book smart guy, as he should be with a new degree in engineering.  Along with his smart factor, Don is also cheerful and caring, even when he's sick.  Don was our camera man, who had no previous experience in videography.  I have to say, he too, did a splendid job capturing priceless interactions during our trip.  Being among the two-whitest-people-on-our-trip, Don often found himself in the middle of a pack of kids poking his skin to watch it turn colors or petting the hair on his arms (Africans don't have air and their skin is so dark, it doesn't get whiter when you push it).

Lulu- She is definitely the funniest person I've met thus far in my life.  Lulu is tender, full of love, and still funny.  I'm fairly certain she was the first person to be attached at the hip with a gathering of children.  And boy, does she know how to worship!  One of my top 5 favorite moments on the trip was our impromptu worship jam sessions after our full day of pouring into others' lives.  This Zimbabwean  is one to keep, folks.

Kaylee- Although she started as THE quietest person on our team, Kaylee proved to be an excellent schedule/program keeper.  She is very encouraging and fun to be around.  I loved watching her true self come out as she got to know us.  Kaylee made an excellent partner-in-crime as a child wrangler!  She even got to be a skilled team wrangler, making sure everyone was ready to go and on the bus when we needed to leave.

Dubai Excursion

While traveling 22 hrs over the Atlantic Ocean and a bunch of land, we took a pit-stop in Dubai for a night.  We wandered the streets admiring the cleanliness and wealth of the city (probably the cleanest place I've ever been).  We made it (almost) to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.  It puts to shame the Empire State Building, which is only a third of its height.  The Burj was designed after a flower and so has many tiers and three "petals."  Directly below, we watched the fountain show, while taking in the spectacular view.  Needless to say, we had a great mini tour of the city and a restful sleep in a horizontal bed.  I was very grateful for that and a warm shower.

View of the Burj Khalifa from the bottom.

View of the city from the top; We started at an entrance in the mall, which is the circle and the building attached.

The fountain show was so cool!

Last day in UG

We are now in Jinja! We finished our last site visit this afternoon at a school and orphanage in the forest.  It was very secluded, but so beautiful.  We spent much more time there than planned, so our boat ride on the Nile river has been postponed until tomorrow when we also get to do a little shopping.  After playing a few rounds of Ninja, we are all taking advantage of the free wifi.  That's a big deal since none of us have been able to get on simultaneously since we left the states.

I've decided that when I get back, I want to go back to the beginning and document every detail from my journals and add in pictures where they should be.  It's amazing how it feels like no time has passed since arriving here, yet it seems like the end of my senior year of college was years ago.  A large part of my heart will stay in Uganda, especially in Kivulu with the uncles and boys and at Windgate guest house/Ugandan Water Project's staff here in Uganda. So many new and amazing friends who have a huge genuine heart for Christ.  I'm seriously going to miss this place, but I already know I'll be back :).  (Surprise!!)

Pictures to come!

Kivulu

We spent the previous two days in the slums of Kivulu.  "Uncles" take care of the orphan boys on the streets, who are a few years removed from being in that exact same place.   They are doing amazing work and the boys were so much fun!  Many of us had a very hard time leaving them after spending two days with them.  We played different games, sang, held a clinic, and played football (soccer).  They are SO good at football and even made it to the semi finals in a recent tournament.  Today we had three site visits: 2 schools and a church.  At the last visit of the day, we were caught in the middle of an African rain storm!  Everything turned to mud/mostly clay.  But it was the first rain going into the tank there, which was awesome to be able to experience that.  :)  Our team has turned into a family and I love them so much!!

Misc. UG photos

Okay, since the internet is soooo unreliable, I'm going to get a few pictures up quick before it goes.

In Uganda!

Hello everyone!  I am in Uganda!  We had several obstacles getting here, but we made it.  Our flight out of Rochester was cancelled, so we rented a van to drive to Buffalo.  In Buffalo, we took a VERY delayed flight to JFK where we barely made it onto our flight to Dubai.  Dubai is a crazzyy city!  It is apparently the wealthiest city in the world and is very clean!  We went to the top of the Burj Khalifa, which was inspired by a type of flower.  Slept in nice comfy horizontal beds (so much better than sitting up).

Our first two days in Uganda have been amazing!  When we first got here, we were greeted by MANY friendly people from the Ugandan branch of the water project.  We went straight to our first site, which was a tank that Gail's church sponsored.  Gail is one of my team members who is in her 50s and has a huge heart for prayer.  That was a really special moment for her and everyone was absolutely amazed by the filter demonstration.  They no longer have to boil their water to get out all the "bad stuff".  I got to play with the kids there.  Linda, another team member, started a game of duck duck chicken because we were under the impression that Ugandans did not know what a goose is....  well they do so we can play duck duck goose now :D

I've tried a lot of new foods that are delicious!  Seeee Mom and Dad, I DO try new things!  haha  Everything is so different here... smells, plants, people, but it is all so wonderful!!


Here is a picture of our team leader, Richard, human leap frogging over Josh, another team member!!  Shanigans in the Dubai airport....  :)

Take Off

Well, Folks...  THIS. IS. IT.  I leave tomorrow afternoon at 2:45!  There are 10 of us going and each one of them is an amazing person!  I am so unbelievably stoked to go!  I am all packed and ready for this new experience.  Thanks again for all the great love and support.  I'll have to figure out if I can post pictures while I'm over there...