Music, Clothes, and Braids

On Monday we watched the kids perform at their music competition. It was SOOOO cool!!! On top of it being cool, they won the whole thing! They are seriously talented. They performed two dance/drama pieces and a poem/skit. The competition was held in a classroom at a public school down the road from Lulwanda. I wish the internet was strong enough for me to post a video, but maybe I’ll be able to upload it another time. 

Yesterday was such an awesome day! First, we gave out the pillow case dresses and shorts from Monahans High School to all the children. They were SO excited. It’s funny because when I was in the class making those dresses and shorts during my senior year, I had absolutely no idea where they were going or who they were going to, and I got to personally hand them out to the children today. It’s crazy the way God works in our lives like that to put us exactly where we’re supposed to be exactly when we’re supposed to be there. If anyone from MHS reads this, please know the joy and excitement you brought to those kids today was worth any kind time, effort, or money you put into making those things 20 X over. Here are a few pictures to prove it!

Mom, I got Patricia the cutest one! :)

After lunch, I got my hair braided!!! The administrator of the children’s home’s wife, Prossy, who is a hair dresser, braided mine and Kenzie's (the girl I room with) hair. It took about 2 hours for her to do mine. I don’t have any pictures of it yet, but I will put some on my next blog post. It was so cool just being in their living room and having her braid our hair. All the mommas were joking with us saying we are no longer mzungus! They all thought it was pretty funny that we were interested in having our hair bradied African style.

Now when I talk about the “mommas”, I’m not talking about literal mothers, although some of them are. I’m talking about the ladies who work at the children’s home. They care for the children by cooking, cleaning, and mostly loving the kids. They are some very special ladies! Here’s a picture of myself with two of them, Momma Joy and Momma Jan Mary. 

Last night we ate dinner at the Palmer’s house. The Palmers are the missionary family with the young girl, Lilly, who we had a slumber party with last week. They are a really neat family that I have enjoyed getting to know. It was really insightful to see where they live and how they function on a daily basis.

I am so thankful that I’m able to interact with these awesome kids, teachers, and staff members on a daily basis. They are truly special people, and I’m no where near ready to leave them.

Wishing I Could Stop Time,

Amy

African Adventures

The sleepover with Lilly was a big success. I even got to watch the only movie I've seen in 3 weeks, Barbie Fairytopia (lucky me)! 

We are still working on the library, but making progress. Being in the library makes me think of my great aunt Ginger. :) I LOVE going through these books and seeing so many that I used to love such as: the Junie B. Jones series, Babysitters Club, Alice series, Madeline, Series of Unfortunate Events, and MANY more. I just love books and reading, and I think reading is one of the best things you can do for yourself; this has been a fun project for me. I saw a quote by Maya Angelou today that said "You can't use up creativity. The more you use it, the more you have." I think that pertains to reading and obtaining knowledge just the same. 

On Thursday, we went out to the Lulwanda farm. As we were getting out of the van, we were told to watch out for snakes - particularly cobras. COBRAS!!! First of all, snakes are my worst fear. Secondly, cobras in Africa sounds like just about the worst nightmare I could dream up. I'm glad I got to see the farm, but to say the least, I was paranoid. 

Saturday we took half the Lulwanda children on a field trip to the rainforest! Before we left, we handed out new tennis shoes to the children for our hike. They were SO happy and grateful. It was really sweet to see. The shoes were donated by Shoes For Orphan Soles. The rainforest was seriously beautiful, unique, and a great adventure. It provided a great opportunity to bond with many of the children. It was super fun just riding with them in the coaster and getting to know them better. They make everything so fun! It was hard to get good pictures in the rainforest because everything is just so big and close, but I tried!

We went to the Presbyterian church this morning and got to experience worship in an even different way. There was a makeshift soccer field beside the church that I thought you would want to see, Rexy! During the service, I looked out the window and saw a couple of young boys kicking around a small ball of rags as a soccer ball. After church, we went to the coolest coffee shop for lunch. Bo... you would LOVE it. It was like straight out of a Pinterest board. It had wonderful food and drinks too! I spent the rest of my afternoon reading by the pool. This was our first "day off" since we arrived in Uganda. 

Tomorrow, we will start our last week at Lulwanda. :( I miss my friends and family, but I am seriously not ready to leave this place and these kids. Honestly, I was expecting to be ready to go home at this point in the trip, but that's not the case. I'm going to try my very best to make this last week the best one yet. These kids have a tight grip on my heart, and I want nothing more than to see them happy. The children seriously think that because my skin is white, I can do anything. It's inspiring and heart breaking all at the same time. One boy seriously said to me yesterday, "Have you ever been to the moon?" He is 14 years old and thinks I have the capability to go to the moon. It's a very interesting thing to wrap your head around. 

Thankful,

Amy Rose