Week One

I only just got internet so sorry about the lack of update so far. I have been here a week so I think it’s time to share about what has happened so far.

I am in great health. The only things wrong with me are cuts on my feet, blisters on my feet, and swollen feet. All of this will heal in a week or two so no worries. I also have a horrible time sleeping, but that will get better as well. 

We made it to Entebee Uganda at 10 pm their time (2 pm my time). Everyone stayed in the dorms the first two nights. We had orientation and learned a little bit more about the culture and what classes are going to be like. We also got our cell phones. I have decided that I will NOT be calling anyone because it costs money and even though it would not cost me anything to receive calls, it would cost people to call me. So you are going to have to be alright with e-mail, Facebook, and hopefully Skype soon.

I eventually got settled into my host family’s house on Sunday. I have a Mama and a Tata (Father) named Margret and William. Margret works in a shop that sells sugars and spices and other goodies. William used to work for an electric company, but now he is retired and is a farmer. He is currently working on a farm right now so I have yet to meet him. They have a son named Jonah who is at university right now so I have not met him either. They have three daughters: Avah who is 24. She just graduated from university and does not live with the family because she works in a supermarket on the other side of town, but she visits on Sundays. Rita-Martha is 18 and she is on holiday right now from boarding school. Once she goes back to school I will not see her until school lets out in May. The youngest daughter is 8 and her name is Jemi. She is a very bright little girl and I enjoy spending a lot of time with her. I have a little bit of electricity, my shower is a bucket, and my toilet is a hole in the ground. I also only have to walk 10 minutes to get to school, so that’s pretty nice.  We also have a house helper named Alan who has been with the family for 20 years and he is somehow related to the family. He does a lot of the chores so I feel as though there is not much for me to do, at least not now.

Classes are going well for the first week. I feel as though I am going to be the most overwhelmed with the class work. This is because I feel as though there is a lot to do and I need to do it all at school because I do not want to do it at home because when I am at home, I want to spend time with my family. So prayers about balancing time and no procrastination would be much appreciated.

My class schedule is:

Monday:

Faith and Action at 8-9:30 am and then 10-11 am

Luganda (language) at 2-4 pm

Tuesday:

Religions in Uganda 11-12

Wednesday:

Religions in Uganda 11-1

Cross Cultural Practium (internship) 2-4

Luganda 4-6

Thursday:

East African Politics 8:30-12 with a ½ hour break in between there.

Luganda 4-6

Friday:

Faith and Action: TBA (There are two separate classes; I have yet to check which class I am in).

So I believe that if you would like to Skype Tuesdays would probably work best because I can get to school by 7:30-8:00ish and that’s about 11:30 –midnight (Mondays) back home.

I have been to one church service and one chapel service on campus so far. The theme of the worship services this semester is “Being the Church/Community of Christ”. I have been very blessed by both services because they discussed issues that people have about the church and what Christians should be doing in order to be contributing to the Church. It will be awesome to see what God does with this theme while my stay in Uganda.

A few things about Ugandan culture. Everything is pretty cheap compared to the States. Everyone is really friendly and easy to talk to. Ugandans are really trusting people. They LOVE American music. They think that everyone in the States is super rich and that all American women are very loose. This is because they watch a lot of American media. This just goes to show you that our media does not only influence our culture, but other countries’ perspective of us as well. In fact, the first American song I heard was “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. I was upset because I was hoping to avoid her. Later that night I heard “Party Rock Anthem” so that made up for it. They tend to go with the flow when it comes to time and they don’t really plan for things. When I say that, this is what I mean. I have to walk by a prison on my way to and from school (please do not freak out because I feel very safe). The gate on the prison is open and the only thing keeping the inmates separated from me is barbed wire that anyone could jump over. I just figured they were heavily watched over. I told a friend here who is a Ugandan about this and he asked, “Did you actually see any police officers?” I admitted that I did not and he said that there probably wasn’t any officers. So I asked, “How do the inmates stay in?” My friend replied, “We haven’t gotten that far. You Americans plan for everything and we don’t here.” This is very true. Americans like things to be planned out and made sure that nothing could go wrong, whereas in Uganda they don’t. In my mind I think that they haven’t planned to keep the inmates in because the inmates haven’t planned an escape. I feel like there is so much more I could say, but I’ll keep you informed on more Ugandan culture as I experience it.

The first night I was at my home stay two men came by the house. My Mama practically raised them as her own sons and she even introduced them to me as her sons. They are training to become pastors and I had a great conversation with one of the men, Collins. We were talking about the church in America and the church in Uganda. Collins tells me that many Ugandans are hungry for the Word of God and much is happening. They want to know more about Christ because they want to go to heaven. Now, I don’t believe one should become a believer just so they could go to heaven because that should not be the end goal. We should want to become believers because God is God and we desire to have relationship with our Creator and to be conformed to be more like Christ. I was encouraged by something Collins said though. “While you are here, do not just sit around. Go out and reach out to people and share the Gospel with them because there is so much hunger here for the Truth.” I really needed to hear this because a desire of mine while being here is to see what God is doing. So please be praying for opportunities to share the Gospel with people I encountered.

So far, I feel comfortable being here. I have not felt culture shock but maybe that will happen later. I almost feel as though I should be feeling uncomfortable and scared because it’s a totally new and different place than the States. But I don’t. The minute I stepped foot into my house I felt at home. I was talking with God about this and wondering if this is how I should be feeling or not. I’m still not sure yet. But I have not had a break down and I hope I won’t have one. So far everything is going well. I am happy I came and am looking forward to the rest of the semester.

So Prayer Requests:

Good health and safety

Good relationships with my family

Cohesiveness among the group

Develop deep relationships with some of the group members

Opportunities to share the Gospel

Better sleeping habits

To stay up to date on class assignments and not procrastinate

Be Blessed!