Full House!

Last week was just another week in Paradise as usual. We got eight new volunteers for second wave last Sunday, including my friends Katie Liddiard and Jon Richards. It was so fun to see them again! There are now 24 of us living in our small three bedroom house. It's quite cozy and crowded, but the more the merrier, right?!

Work last week was pretty much the same as usual. I spent a couple mornings doing physical therapy with Grace at the hospital and am still really enjoying that. We visited the orphanage one afternoon and played with the children there--Duck Duck Goose, dancing and drums, tag... It's been fun to actually get to know these kids individually as we've gone to this same children's home a few times. I am in love with these two little boys Dan and Mark. They are seriously so cute I want to eat them up. I wish I could take them home with me.

Alex and I taught our back therapy lesson to the Musana Women's group again and to the hospital staff and both lessons went very well. Sometimes it's hard to read people's emotions here since their facial expressions and common phrases are so different from ours, but they were very active in participating and seemed genuinely interested in what we were teaching. One of the Musana women said that she wanted to help us teach our lesson to the women in more rural villages because what we were teaching was so important and they needed that education too. Wow! Things are getting pretty busy with projects and time running out here, so I don't know how much we'll be able to spread our lessons, but at least there's someone who cares and appreciates the knowledge we've shared and will be willing to pass on the things we've taught after we leave.



We stayed in town this weekend and hung out with our local friends from The Youth Outreach Mission, Wilson and Godfrey. They were our tour guides for the day and showed us all around town. We went to Sezziwa falls, some small waterfalls nearby that many Ugandans consider sacred. They worship the spirits of the trees and nature there with small offerings and reverence.

Then we went to the crazy city of Kampala, saw the national theater, the parliament building, and Garden City Mall. Getting lunch at the food court in the mall was one of the most stressful experiences ever, haha. We sat down at a table and within 10 seconds, waiters were swarming us and shoving menues in our faces. I would try to read one, but as soon as I got my eyes on it another one was shoved on top of it and then another, and another, and another, until I had 10 menues and 20 hands in my face and no clue what to order. I decided on Shwarma, a beef wrap sandwhich that we got all the time in Israel. Random for Africa, but it sounded like a nice change and I was too stressed to look at the menues any longer. Not a bad choice! I must say that I like food courts in America much more than Uganda. So much less pressure.

After lunch, we drove to Entebbe to see the zoo and Lake Victoria. That was the first time I've driven out to Entebbe since we first arrived at the airport, and it will probably be the last until we go home. I don't want to think about that last drive just yet. Time is flying by too fast. The zoo was so much fun! How can you go to the zoo and not have fun?! We got to feed monkeys (there were at least 20 running around the parking lot and stealing food out of our pockets and hands), ride camels, see zebras, giraffes, chimps, crocadiles, and rhinos, and even watch the lions play. That was Godfrey's first time going to the zoo and he's 23 years old. I never realized how spoiled I was to have gone to the zoo every summer as a child.

We stopped back in Kampala on our way home for some ice-cream and burgers (I do love ice-cream!) and then made it safely back home.



We went to church in Jinja again this Sunday. The branch here is so awesome. I'm going to miss the simpleness of church here and the love and unity that the small branch has. There has been a baptism almost every Sunday since we've gotten here. The church is growing so quickly! I wonder how long it will be until the church expands to Lugazi? I can't wait to see that day.



Well, I can't believe I'm on the downward slope. We've passed our half-way point and have less than a month left. It kind of makes me nervous. I'm scared to come home. Will I be able to be the person that I want to be and to apply all the things to my life that I've learned the past two months? Will I be able to finish up my projects in time and see a sustainable change in people's lives and accomplish all my goals? Time feels like it's slipping through my fingers faster than I can catch it. I hope I can make the most of every minute here. Life in Lugazi is great! Love you all tons!