African rats, adventures, and memories!

It's official. I've officially been living in Uganda now for 1 week! And some of the relationships I have formed since getting here feel like they have been established for years! Praise God! My heart loves it here and it feels so much like HOME! 

Some few short highlights/stories from the last few days:

1) The creatures in my room: Every night is a surprise. My second night here, I innocently picked up my towel from the little towel rack in my room, and to my surprise, a furry brown African mouse/rat/shrew (whatever that is), was nestled right underneath it. My little housemates (the 1 yr old, 2 yr old, and 5 yr old) were already asleep in the other room- so I just ushered a little squeal rather than my initial reaction to scream, run away, and wrap myself up in my mosquito net. Janet (the kids’ mom) said “what is wrong!?” and I said- “there is a rat in my room! Should I do anything?” and she just casually said, “no” like if I had just asked her if she was tired (or some other normal question!). SO I managed to find a plastic container that I could trap it under- because, come on, after seeing a rat run around your room, would you be able to sleep?! OH, AND DID I MENTION- THE POWER was also out. So here I am with my headlamp on, plastic container in hand, praying as I lift up every towel/article of clothing on the floor. I didn’t find anything. Feeling quite defeated, I climbed into my bed and vowed to NEVER lose sight of a rat again, no matter how scared I may be upon my first seeing it, I need to stand my ground! Hahaa. I ended up not sleeping much that night because I kept hearing “crinkling” sounds coming from my Ziploc bags with all my clothes in it- no doubt from the rat crawling all over them! I consulted with a young American missionary who is also living in Uganda, and after describing what it looked like, she exclaimed that she also had one of those in her hut and the locals told her it was the best rat to have because it specifically WAS A CARNIVOROUS RAT that eats the other rats!! I then asked her, “so it won’t eat me?!” and she said… “hmm.. good question!” HAHAHA. All in all to say- watch out for those African rats! The next night, I thought I felt something run across my forehead- but I concluded that I was just freaking out… or it was my hair or something. HOWEVER, the next morning (don’t worry, it wasn’t the rat), I woke up to a gigantic spider sitting right next to my pillow. It sort of resembled an American daddy-long-leg, but it was much thicker! I wonder what I will encounter tonight! Hahaa I will keep you all posted!

2)  I introduced you to my housemate Stephen last time; this is his younger sister, Sarita. I love these children SO much. They really only speak Acholi and only know a few English words. But they give the best hugs and have the best smiles. AHHH I love them so much. They both call me Auntie “Em” but it sounds more like Auntie “Ohm” when they say it! Melts my heart every time!  

Is her smile not the absolute BEST!? I NEVER want to let her go!

3) Every morning, around 8-9 women come to the office/counseling center. These women are mostly Congolese women that have been sex trafficked here (you can read their individual stories on the link provided at the end of the blog). No matter what their history entails, they have all been sexually exploited through the effects of war. They come to be counseled and empowered and make beautiful jewelry- my friend Hailey and I are modeling some below! But when they get to the office every morning at 9 we start the day with prayer and worship. One of the women is chosen every day to lead worship (so she is in charge of playing the drum) and one of the Zion staff is in charge of bringing the word. This is one of my favorite parts of the entire day! These women only know Swahili, so we gather around under a tree, in the shade, in a circle, a drum is played, and these women sing from the bottom of their hearts! They get up and dance, clap, and shout! So much so that though a metal fence separates the next-door compound, we hear them clapping and singing along with us! Though I have NO idea what they are saying, the joy that emulates from them speaks louder than any word would! Then, the Word is given in either English (by an American staff member) or Swahili (a Ugandan staff member) and translated. The devotional is finished with a time of testimony and prayer requests from the women. We then lay hands over each other and pray in our native tongues! It is beautiful to hear Swahili (primarily from the Congolese women), Acholi (primarily from the Ugandan women- though they also know Swahili, Acholi is their native language), and English echo throughout the compound. Our God is HUGE. Though the women only speak Swahili, I sit outside as they are making their beads and whip out my Swahili phrasebook if someone isn’t around to translate. We laugh together as I try to say things! It is definitely hard not being able to communicate with them directly- and yet we go out and minister in the community together SIDE BY SIDE.

4) Wednesday is community outreach day. So we went out into the neighboring huts and just approached random women/families and explained who we are as an organization, what we do, where we are located, and asked if we could pray for them and over them. It was beautiful to see these Congolese women praying over Acholi women in Swahili! Some allowed us to pray for them, and some didn’t. But no matter the outcomes, it was such an amazing experience to see the Lord MOVE within our community!!! I LOVE WEDNESDAYS. I love praying and hearing English, Swahili, and Acholi all understood by our HUGE God.

5) Witchcraft is really rampant here. This sign (shown below saying "National Traditional Healer") is located right down our street (maybe 200 meters away). A lot of people in the community are familiar with witchcraft… and what’s scary is that they wouldn’t keep going back if it wasn’t “working” in a sense… spiritual warfare is SO evident here. Be praying for Satan to flee!

6) We have been able to visit the girls at the rescue home a few times this week! They are such beautiful girls! There are 17 of them that live in a house all together with 2 “aunties” (Ugandan girls my age) that live there full time with all 17 girls (ranging from ages 7-15). All of these girls have been sexually exploited in the past (many have been raped or abused). We were able to go over and paint their nails, hang out, and have a meeting about this upcoming year with them (expected behaviors, consequences, etc. – things that need to be addressed when 17 little girls are all living together). Though their past has been BEYOND difficult- their love for the Lord is undeniable. You’d think, of ALL PEOPLE, they have the right to “be mad at God.” They were all taken advantage of at such a young age… and yet these girls LOVE the Lord… one of the girls showed me a song today that she had written about the Lord, and it was all about how “He will never leave her” and “the joy in her heart overflows.” That is nothing short of a DIVINE MAKEOVER of this young girl’s heart.  I will be spending much more time at the girls’ home this week getting to know them more and helping promote their health. Remember, these girls do not have moms to individually teach them simple life skills, hygiene tips, and the importance of exercise. This week I will be focusing on- completing life skill lessons with the girls, getting them EXERCISING and moving (I will be running fun games, obstacle courses around their home, and teaching them fun dances to music!), and helping them identify bible verses that correspond with the points we communicated to them in our meeting (ex. Why disciplining is actually us loving them, no grumbling, no gossiping, the importance of respect/love etc.) and helping them write these verses up and hang them around the house!

Those of you who know me know that I am AWFUL at painting nails- but the girls could CARE LESS! :)

7) Sweet moments to relax: Other than the Lord, these 2 girls (Brittany and Hailey) are my rocks here! Whether it is enjoying a relaxing dinner at our favorite place in town after work (Sankofa), exchanging favorite movie lines from a common favorite movie- “Pitch Perfect”, or chilling at one of our houses watching a quick TV episode at night- these girls are by my side no matter what! I couldn’t do it without them! Also, there is a missionary family here from Texas. They are an amazing couple that moved here 3 years ago with their four little girls. The husband actually pastors the Ugandan church I go to on Sundays! Tonight, the husband was out of town, so it was girls’ night! It was so great to go over to a house with little kids, a mom, and other American 20-something girls who did not know each other before coming to Uganda, who are all here for different reasons, but who are all here for one main purpose- to make Jesus’ name GREAT!

That is all I have time for in this update, but here is a quick summary:

-         Watch out for those African carnivorous rats, I LOVE being called “Auntie em,” Acholi/Swahili/English sound absolutely HEAVENLY when prayed simultaneously!

Here is the link to read about the histories of the girls/women before coming to Zion Project a few years ago- brace yourselves- they are HEAVY stories:

The girls- http://zionproject.pbworks.com/w/file/49131683/Zion%20Project%20Children%20Sponsorship%20Cards.pdf

The women-  http://www.imanilove.com/pages/artisans

Love, “Auntie em”

p.s. I cannot even begin to tell you how thankful I am for all of your support and encouragement! It is because of all of your prayers and financial support that I am able to be here!!! Thank you SO SO MUCH!