So Much To Say...

Where to start... So much has happened this past week.

Wednesday:
Last Wednesday we went on an outreach with the Chairman to Buikwe, a district of small, rural villages near by. I think he dragged us around with him mostly to boost his popularity and help his campaign, but we still had a good time. We went on a long, bumpy taxi ride, but the scenery was incredible! We visited a few rural villages where we listened to the chairman give some speeches in Luganda, but after the speeches we got to assist the nurses in screening the people. I got to be a pharmacist in the back of a taxi for a couple hours. I filled perscriptions for the nurse as she assessed a long line of villages and helped them with their medical needs.

Thursday:
We volunteered at the hospital with Grace again and talked to the nurses about starting a back pain rehab group. They seemed really excited about it, so I hope we can get it organized and up and running. We want to hold weekly meetings with them to do core strengthening exercises and stretches and teach them about how to propperly protect and take care of your back.

That afternoon was awesome. Katelynn, Alex, and I finally visited an orphanage! It is called Hope Children's Home and was started by a couple in the United States. There are about 50 children there from infants to 15 years old. They were so cute! We were there just as they got back from school and they all seemed to be the best of friends. We sang songs with them, played the drums, danced, and played soccer. I hope to go back there regularly in the afternoons to tutor them in their homework and plan activities with them. I was thrilled to see that the orphanage seemed like a happy place. The children were well taken care of and despite their hardships seemed truely happy.

Friday:
We spent another morning volunteering with the Physical Therapist Grace. We watched her literally saw a cast off a kids arm. Thank goodness she has a steady hand! She helped us to develop a curriculum to teach to the nurses about talking care of your back and taught us a bunch of exercises.

We were so excited to go dancing this evening. All of our local friends had planned a party and were going to take us. But then the bug came and infected our group. The first bout of sickness hit. Poor Ashley and Alex got so sick. So we spent the night playing mom and nurse and trying to take care of them as best as we could. Wow, can I just say that mom's are amazing! Thank you mom for always taking such good care of me!