So it's my last full day in the village today. If you all were here with me now, there are a million things I'd try to tell you about - the things I've seen, the people I've met, the adventures I've had, and the foods I've eaten. But I'm a busy woman, you know, and I'd much rather tell you in person than to write them all down :)
So I'll just say this - I love this area of Uganda and I love these people. They have welcomed me and cared for me and worked so hard to help me accomplish what I came to accomplish. They've taught me how to worship, how to pray expectantly, how to have overflowing joy no matter the circumstance, and how to truly lean on the Lord as my Provider and Sustainer.
If the Lord wills, I desperately hope to come back to this village again and to spend a longer period of time here. As Angela and I were going way out into the bush to visit her village, someone was passing us and asked, "Is that woman your friend?" She laughed and said, "No, no. She is my sister!" And it's true, I've got a whole new African family over here just as big as my white family back home. So I'm looking forward to another reunion with my new family with the same excitement that I look forward to Hamilton family reunions!
So please be praying for me as I spend my last day and last hours here. Pray that the Lord would have mercy on my heart as I leave this place. Also pray that I would finish up the few last minute things I have to get done and that He would give me safe travels as I drive and fly.
See you guys soon!
Asio Cati
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
I'm still here!
Ahh! I don't even know when the last time I posted was, I'm sorry! I just know that the big group of 14 from The River has come and gone already. And so much has happened since then... I really enjoyed my time with all of them here. They were a lot of fun to be with, they were so open to listening to what the 6 of us had to say after being here for a month, and they jumped right into life in the bush. I didn't hear any complaining about the conditions and they seemed to get accustomed to Oditel much faster than I did on my first trip - walking down to the center with their new friends, riding or walking waaay out into the bush to eat mystery meats, and trying their best to learn some new Ateso words. I was very proud of them. Good work U2 :)
In case any of you didn't know, I decided to stay back for another week after all the rest of The River missionaries headed back to the US because I still had some work I needed to get done here. We tried to work it out so that someone else would be able to stay with me, but it just didn't happen. So I have trusted God to keep me safe here as a lone Mzungu - after all, if my dear friend Amelia can make it a year by herself, I should be able to make it a week :)
For those of you who have been praying for me these past few days, thank you, thank you, thank you! Your prayers have certainly been heard and answered! I was a little nervous at first because I had a rough start coming back to the village after dropping the big group off in Soroti. I took public transport back to Oditel - 4 hours in the back of something like a big pick up truck, piled with boxes and bags of supplies. Then people sit on top of those supplies, then more people sit around the outside edge of the truck, making a total of 40+ people in the back. The first 2 hours were ok but the last two I was really just miserable. I was crammed so tightly that I literally couldn't move to get inside my purse, move my legs at all, or even straighten my neck up. I don't know how Ugandans can travel like that!
Then once I finally reached the village, it had already gotten dark. Being a female Mzungu by myself, I really was a little nervous and pretty irritated. There were a few guys calling at me in Ateso after I got off and I wasn't really sure how to get them to take my bag down from the roof. And then I heard "Ayyy Asio!" (my Ateso name). I looked up and saw Andrew, a teenage boy who works/stays at the Catholic mission we stay at, walking down the road. Oooh eyalama Yesu for sending me that boy at that very moment! He helped me get my bag down and carried it all the way back to the mission for me. I also felt safe with him there even though the yelling didn't really stop. He laughed after someone yelled at him in Ateso "How much for that Mzungu?" I'm just glad he didn't name a price for the guy :)
So anyways, I've have been back at home in Oditel for 2 days now. And let me say that just like in America, I prefer being out in the country (or bush) instead of being in the city. I love the closeness and community here, there's always a familiar face nearby.
And for more answered prayers, I have felt completely safe, haven't felt lonely even a single time, and have stayed well fed :) One of the priests at the mission immediately invited me to eat every meal with them while I was here and Pastor Andrew has also offered me many meals.
As for fellowship, I've spent my days with the children, lots of time in the evening with the people from the mission - eating meals, even playing Scrabble with Father Opio, and then after church today, I spent the afternoon sitting at Pastor Andrew's store with a group of people from the church. I had such a good time with them, they were really funny, like they really had me cracking up! I didn't know Ugandans could be so silly. There was also some solid, profitable talks/discussions. After all of that, Pastor Andrew served me another delicious meal with the only meat that I really like to eat here, beef. Luckily, after struggling to ride a bike in my long skirt earlier in the day, I got someone to carry my back to the compound on their bike :)
So anyway, after a wonderful Sabbath day, I'll be back at it again tomorrow working on my remaining work here. Thank you again for praying for me and please keep praying for me - for continued protection, that I would get to meet up with all of the children and finish my work, and that the Lord would be preparing my heart to have to leave this place that I've come to love so very very much. Thank you again!
Amina eong yesi (love you guys!)
Asio Cati
In case any of you didn't know, I decided to stay back for another week after all the rest of The River missionaries headed back to the US because I still had some work I needed to get done here. We tried to work it out so that someone else would be able to stay with me, but it just didn't happen. So I have trusted God to keep me safe here as a lone Mzungu - after all, if my dear friend Amelia can make it a year by herself, I should be able to make it a week :)
For those of you who have been praying for me these past few days, thank you, thank you, thank you! Your prayers have certainly been heard and answered! I was a little nervous at first because I had a rough start coming back to the village after dropping the big group off in Soroti. I took public transport back to Oditel - 4 hours in the back of something like a big pick up truck, piled with boxes and bags of supplies. Then people sit on top of those supplies, then more people sit around the outside edge of the truck, making a total of 40+ people in the back. The first 2 hours were ok but the last two I was really just miserable. I was crammed so tightly that I literally couldn't move to get inside my purse, move my legs at all, or even straighten my neck up. I don't know how Ugandans can travel like that!
Then once I finally reached the village, it had already gotten dark. Being a female Mzungu by myself, I really was a little nervous and pretty irritated. There were a few guys calling at me in Ateso after I got off and I wasn't really sure how to get them to take my bag down from the roof. And then I heard "Ayyy Asio!" (my Ateso name). I looked up and saw Andrew, a teenage boy who works/stays at the Catholic mission we stay at, walking down the road. Oooh eyalama Yesu for sending me that boy at that very moment! He helped me get my bag down and carried it all the way back to the mission for me. I also felt safe with him there even though the yelling didn't really stop. He laughed after someone yelled at him in Ateso "How much for that Mzungu?" I'm just glad he didn't name a price for the guy :)
So anyways, I've have been back at home in Oditel for 2 days now. And let me say that just like in America, I prefer being out in the country (or bush) instead of being in the city. I love the closeness and community here, there's always a familiar face nearby.
And for more answered prayers, I have felt completely safe, haven't felt lonely even a single time, and have stayed well fed :) One of the priests at the mission immediately invited me to eat every meal with them while I was here and Pastor Andrew has also offered me many meals.
As for fellowship, I've spent my days with the children, lots of time in the evening with the people from the mission - eating meals, even playing Scrabble with Father Opio, and then after church today, I spent the afternoon sitting at Pastor Andrew's store with a group of people from the church. I had such a good time with them, they were really funny, like they really had me cracking up! I didn't know Ugandans could be so silly. There was also some solid, profitable talks/discussions. After all of that, Pastor Andrew served me another delicious meal with the only meat that I really like to eat here, beef. Luckily, after struggling to ride a bike in my long skirt earlier in the day, I got someone to carry my back to the compound on their bike :)
So anyway, after a wonderful Sabbath day, I'll be back at it again tomorrow working on my remaining work here. Thank you again for praying for me and please keep praying for me - for continued protection, that I would get to meet up with all of the children and finish my work, and that the Lord would be preparing my heart to have to leave this place that I've come to love so very very much. Thank you again!
Amina eong yesi (love you guys!)
Asio Cati
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Headed to bed, too tired to think of a title :)
Just a quick (hopefully if the internet cooperates :) update for you guys before I head to bed...
I went to the clinic today and got to spend some time talking with the nurse there today. She's this sweet older woman who has no doctor to work with and only has a couple people to help her. She has to deal with many of the same frustrations that nurses in poor rural areas in the US have to deal with, only on a larger and more desperate scale. There are the "frequent fliers" who come in for the same thing over and over, ie - the boy we brought in who had chigger bites from his feet to his lower back. The medications and creams can only help him so much when his living environment is so infested with the bugs. There's also the people who can't afford treatment for malaria but that she gives the medication to anyways. And thennn, there's the people who are given the malaria medication and then stop taking it a few days later because they're feeling better, only to have it come back worse.
She's a hardworking woman who really does a great job considering her circumstances and she's been very grateful to us for the work we've been able to do here. So would you pray for our sweet sister? Pray that she would not grow weary of the work she is doing, but that she would press on even when she's feeling overwhelmed. Pray also for a strong anointing of healing upon her, that the patients she encounters would experience miraculous healing of their bodies, minds, and souls.
I also got to spend more time working on assessing the kids today. Because of exams and a few other reasons, we were only able to check out a few kids, which isn't necessarily a good thing, but it does mean I got to spend more time playing with my babies :)
Working at the care point each day, I've gotten to spend a lot of time with Angela and Joseph, the two disciplers - villagers who have been hired by HopeChest to work with the children each day, making sure they are getting fed, singing with them, sharing the Gospel with them, and nowww caring for their medical needs :) They are certainly two of the people I've gotten closest with here and they are such a joy to me! They work so hard and they really do love these children. They looove to laugh at the Mzungus as we dance and as I do my Ugandan yell (not to toot my own horn, but I'm prettyyy sure I've gotten as good as the women here... That's right Judy, I might be better than you now :) And my favorite part about them is that after I tell a joke, and then take 5 minutes to re-tell the joke so they can understand it, and then I completely explain the joke to them, they laugh really hard :) So eyalama Yesu, that these children can have adults in their lives who really love Jesus and who are willing to work hard for the good of the children. Please also pray for Joseph and Angela, that they would not grow weary of doing good work and that through them, many would come to know Jesus as their Savior.
My last update for tonight - a Bruno story, of course :) When we were little, I always remember being in my pajamas and climbing into my parents big bed before heading upstairs to sleep. And my dad always loved to play our "kettle drums" - lifting up our shirts just enough to expose our little bellies so he could tap a beat on them. So today, after Bruno performed his daily magic trip of cramming a giant bowl of posho and beans into his tiny little body, I saw that bulging belly and couldn't help but play his kettle drum while that sweet little man laughed and laugheddd :)
Love and miss you guys!
Asio Cati
I went to the clinic today and got to spend some time talking with the nurse there today. She's this sweet older woman who has no doctor to work with and only has a couple people to help her. She has to deal with many of the same frustrations that nurses in poor rural areas in the US have to deal with, only on a larger and more desperate scale. There are the "frequent fliers" who come in for the same thing over and over, ie - the boy we brought in who had chigger bites from his feet to his lower back. The medications and creams can only help him so much when his living environment is so infested with the bugs. There's also the people who can't afford treatment for malaria but that she gives the medication to anyways. And thennn, there's the people who are given the malaria medication and then stop taking it a few days later because they're feeling better, only to have it come back worse.
She's a hardworking woman who really does a great job considering her circumstances and she's been very grateful to us for the work we've been able to do here. So would you pray for our sweet sister? Pray that she would not grow weary of the work she is doing, but that she would press on even when she's feeling overwhelmed. Pray also for a strong anointing of healing upon her, that the patients she encounters would experience miraculous healing of their bodies, minds, and souls.
I also got to spend more time working on assessing the kids today. Because of exams and a few other reasons, we were only able to check out a few kids, which isn't necessarily a good thing, but it does mean I got to spend more time playing with my babies :)
Working at the care point each day, I've gotten to spend a lot of time with Angela and Joseph, the two disciplers - villagers who have been hired by HopeChest to work with the children each day, making sure they are getting fed, singing with them, sharing the Gospel with them, and nowww caring for their medical needs :) They are certainly two of the people I've gotten closest with here and they are such a joy to me! They work so hard and they really do love these children. They looove to laugh at the Mzungus as we dance and as I do my Ugandan yell (not to toot my own horn, but I'm prettyyy sure I've gotten as good as the women here... That's right Judy, I might be better than you now :) And my favorite part about them is that after I tell a joke, and then take 5 minutes to re-tell the joke so they can understand it, and then I completely explain the joke to them, they laugh really hard :) So eyalama Yesu, that these children can have adults in their lives who really love Jesus and who are willing to work hard for the good of the children. Please also pray for Joseph and Angela, that they would not grow weary of doing good work and that through them, many would come to know Jesus as their Savior.
My last update for tonight - a Bruno story, of course :) When we were little, I always remember being in my pajamas and climbing into my parents big bed before heading upstairs to sleep. And my dad always loved to play our "kettle drums" - lifting up our shirts just enough to expose our little bellies so he could tap a beat on them. So today, after Bruno performed his daily magic trip of cramming a giant bowl of posho and beans into his tiny little body, I saw that bulging belly and couldn't help but play his kettle drum while that sweet little man laughed and laugheddd :)
Love and miss you guys!
Asio Cati
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Grandma Ham
For those of you who get my email updates, I got my internet back and my pictures all sorted out :) It took an hour and a half to get it up with the internet issues, I got rained on, a massive spider landed on my head after getting dive bombed multiple times by a giant flying worm, and the cat brushed up against me in the dark giving me my fifth heart attack of the night, but TIA... So I hope you all enjoy :)
On Saturdays, the children here are at the carepoint for most of the day, so we decided to get to work on a big part of my work here, assessing and making health histories for all of our orphans. I'll just say that trying to assess 260 orphans in an unlit church hut in Africa is not something that was explicitely covered in nursing school :) It took us a while to get a system going, but we ended up getting 33 kids done in a little over 5 hours... It was a looong hot day, although luckily the rain came in and made our last couple hours a little more comfortable (and after Dustin hung up his video camera light on the straw ceiling, we could see pretty well despite the rain clouds :) So I guess I have my work cut out for me for the rest of this week!
Unfortunately, after my long day of work, I came back to the mission to find out that my sweet grandma had died earlier that day. She was 94 and my mom had told me about a week and a half ago that she hadn't been doing well. Even though it was pretty expected, it was still a veryyy sad day. My Grandma Ham (as we affectionately call her) was absolutely one of kindest and gentlest people I have ever known. It tears me up to not have been with her in her last days and to not be with my family now, but I spent my day today living the way Irene Betty Hamilton lived...
She referred to everyone as "dear," one of my favorite sweet grandmotherly things to call someone. She'd always say things like, "Love you, dear," "God bless you, dear," and "Thank you, dear..." So a lot of the children I played with today got called dear. Even if they can't understand me, I'm sure they knew I was calling them an affectionate name :)
Especially in her last few years, Grandma Ham wasn't the type of person who always needed to be entertained. She was completely content just to sit and enjoy someone's company. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that with her a few times in the weeks before I left, to just sit up in her room with her as I organized my medical supplies and wrote up lists for my trip. So today, on our leisurely day of rest, I decided to spend some time down at the bore hole (where everyone comes to pump their water). I took some pictures and played with the kids, but mostly I just watched what was going on around me and enjoyed the people as they came and went.
Unlike my first trip to Uganda, I haven't made a habit out of snatching up random babies whenever I laid my eyes on them. But one of my grandma's most favorite things in the whole world was getting to hold sweet little babies. So today in church, I rocked my little Bruno to sleep and just squeezed his cute little body. Then as I sat down at the bore hole, a little girl who was probably about 7 was carrying her baby sister. She let me hold that tiny baby and she cooed and stared wide-eyed up at the first Mzungu she'd probably ever laid her eyes on. It's certainly not hard to understand why my grandma loved to hold little ones soo much...
One of my favorite stories of Grandma Ham is from when my mom was a child... I don't remember all of the details, but I think my Aunt Mary somehow managed to break a whole collection of my grandma's fancy dinnerware. Mary was sure she would be in big trouble and that Irene would be terribly mad at her, but instead she took a breath and said, "It's ok dear, they're just things." So today as we sat in church, Bruno picked up my Bible and started flipping through the pages. As he tried to turn the pages individually, his fumbly little fingers ended up crinkling up the whole page and tearing part of it. I thought about taking it back from him and setting it back on the ground, but instead I smoothed the page back out, flipped to a different section, and helped him as he continued to flip the pages one-by-one, still putting folds in most of the pages. After all, it is just a "thing."
And my last grandma moment for the day... In her last few years, Grandma Ham was so appreciative of every little thing each day and always so pleased by what people would do. She would say things like, "that was the best meal I've ever had," "that's the best bonfire I've ever seen," and "this is the best Mother's Day ever." Even if it was something that no one else would be impressed with, she was just tickled with whatever she had. So today, the team decided to go for a walk before it started to get dark. As we were headed back in from being way out in the bush, we looked up and saw this... The best "almost-sunset" I've ever seen :)
Love and miss you all,
Caitlin
On Saturdays, the children here are at the carepoint for most of the day, so we decided to get to work on a big part of my work here, assessing and making health histories for all of our orphans. I'll just say that trying to assess 260 orphans in an unlit church hut in Africa is not something that was explicitely covered in nursing school :) It took us a while to get a system going, but we ended up getting 33 kids done in a little over 5 hours... It was a looong hot day, although luckily the rain came in and made our last couple hours a little more comfortable (and after Dustin hung up his video camera light on the straw ceiling, we could see pretty well despite the rain clouds :) So I guess I have my work cut out for me for the rest of this week!
Unfortunately, after my long day of work, I came back to the mission to find out that my sweet grandma had died earlier that day. She was 94 and my mom had told me about a week and a half ago that she hadn't been doing well. Even though it was pretty expected, it was still a veryyy sad day. My Grandma Ham (as we affectionately call her) was absolutely one of kindest and gentlest people I have ever known. It tears me up to not have been with her in her last days and to not be with my family now, but I spent my day today living the way Irene Betty Hamilton lived...
She referred to everyone as "dear," one of my favorite sweet grandmotherly things to call someone. She'd always say things like, "Love you, dear," "God bless you, dear," and "Thank you, dear..." So a lot of the children I played with today got called dear. Even if they can't understand me, I'm sure they knew I was calling them an affectionate name :)
Especially in her last few years, Grandma Ham wasn't the type of person who always needed to be entertained. She was completely content just to sit and enjoy someone's company. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that with her a few times in the weeks before I left, to just sit up in her room with her as I organized my medical supplies and wrote up lists for my trip. So today, on our leisurely day of rest, I decided to spend some time down at the bore hole (where everyone comes to pump their water). I took some pictures and played with the kids, but mostly I just watched what was going on around me and enjoyed the people as they came and went.
Unlike my first trip to Uganda, I haven't made a habit out of snatching up random babies whenever I laid my eyes on them. But one of my grandma's most favorite things in the whole world was getting to hold sweet little babies. So today in church, I rocked my little Bruno to sleep and just squeezed his cute little body. Then as I sat down at the bore hole, a little girl who was probably about 7 was carrying her baby sister. She let me hold that tiny baby and she cooed and stared wide-eyed up at the first Mzungu she'd probably ever laid her eyes on. It's certainly not hard to understand why my grandma loved to hold little ones soo much...
One of my favorite stories of Grandma Ham is from when my mom was a child... I don't remember all of the details, but I think my Aunt Mary somehow managed to break a whole collection of my grandma's fancy dinnerware. Mary was sure she would be in big trouble and that Irene would be terribly mad at her, but instead she took a breath and said, "It's ok dear, they're just things." So today as we sat in church, Bruno picked up my Bible and started flipping through the pages. As he tried to turn the pages individually, his fumbly little fingers ended up crinkling up the whole page and tearing part of it. I thought about taking it back from him and setting it back on the ground, but instead I smoothed the page back out, flipped to a different section, and helped him as he continued to flip the pages one-by-one, still putting folds in most of the pages. After all, it is just a "thing."
And my last grandma moment for the day... In her last few years, Grandma Ham was so appreciative of every little thing each day and always so pleased by what people would do. She would say things like, "that was the best meal I've ever had," "that's the best bonfire I've ever seen," and "this is the best Mother's Day ever." Even if it was something that no one else would be impressed with, she was just tickled with whatever she had. So today, the team decided to go for a walk before it started to get dark. As we were headed back in from being way out in the bush, we looked up and saw this... The best "almost-sunset" I've ever seen :)
Love and miss you all,
Caitlin
Saturday, August 7, 2010
it's a Miracle!
We've finally used some voodoo witch magic and got our internet to work, although who knows how long it will last for (just kidding about the voodoo, by the way...) Sorry I don't have time to write too much or post any pictures, but tomorrow I'm going to try my hardest to get something else up.
We're all doing well here though, right in the middle of all of our work, getting a lot of good stuff done :) And eyalama Yesu, we've all been able to stay pretty healthy besides Deb and me having a cold and Jaynie having some allergies. Idid have a little scare the other day at the breakfast table...
when we were sitting down at the table, my head was all clogged and apparently I wasn't thinking straight so I picked up our big canteen of hot water by its twist-on lid (instead of its actual handle). And when I did that, the lid came off and splashed burning hot water (like it was literally boiled and then poured straight into this canteen) all over my arms. Luckily, our shower is right behind our breakfast table, so I jumped up and got into the cold water for a while. I prayed while I was in there and laid my hands on my arms because I knew it could be a pretty nasty burn since the water was so hot. But 12 hours later, it pretty much just looked like a sunburn, although it does still hurt pretty bad to get touched. Then the next morning, my arms felt about 95%, still just barely sore but not red at all. So amazing :) And so thankful for the miraculous healing that Jesus can bring!
I've been doing my best to pick up as much Ateso as I can while I'm here and a few locals have tried to convince me that I could be fluent if I stayed another month :) I think they're just tickling my ears but maybe I'll have to come back for a 2 month trip to really find out :)
And last but not least, I have to give you an update on my sweet little man, Bruno. I cannot even begin to explain how much joy that boy brings me. He never leaves my side if we're in the same area, he sits patiently next to me at the carepoint as I work with other children (although he will occasionally pull my skirt, play with my hair, or make me jump by tickling me :) I rock him to sleep for a nap every chance I get and make him crack up by throwing him in the air or pretending to drop him. And then everyday when I have to go back to the mission, he criessss his sweet little eyes out. I promise you I would let him snuggle in my bed every night with me and that I'd pack him in my suit case to bring home if I thought I'd get away with it! I really can't even think how sad it will be to have for this Mzungu mama to leave her sweet little African baby...
Well I better not push my luck since my internet is still working right now, but hopefully I'll get another update out after church tomorrow!
Love and miss you all lots!
Asio Cati
(my new Ateso name, as dubbed by the priest at the mission we stay at :)
We're all doing well here though, right in the middle of all of our work, getting a lot of good stuff done :) And eyalama Yesu, we've all been able to stay pretty healthy besides Deb and me having a cold and Jaynie having some allergies. Idid have a little scare the other day at the breakfast table...
when we were sitting down at the table, my head was all clogged and apparently I wasn't thinking straight so I picked up our big canteen of hot water by its twist-on lid (instead of its actual handle). And when I did that, the lid came off and splashed burning hot water (like it was literally boiled and then poured straight into this canteen) all over my arms. Luckily, our shower is right behind our breakfast table, so I jumped up and got into the cold water for a while. I prayed while I was in there and laid my hands on my arms because I knew it could be a pretty nasty burn since the water was so hot. But 12 hours later, it pretty much just looked like a sunburn, although it does still hurt pretty bad to get touched. Then the next morning, my arms felt about 95%, still just barely sore but not red at all. So amazing :) And so thankful for the miraculous healing that Jesus can bring!
I've been doing my best to pick up as much Ateso as I can while I'm here and a few locals have tried to convince me that I could be fluent if I stayed another month :) I think they're just tickling my ears but maybe I'll have to come back for a 2 month trip to really find out :)
And last but not least, I have to give you an update on my sweet little man, Bruno. I cannot even begin to explain how much joy that boy brings me. He never leaves my side if we're in the same area, he sits patiently next to me at the carepoint as I work with other children (although he will occasionally pull my skirt, play with my hair, or make me jump by tickling me :) I rock him to sleep for a nap every chance I get and make him crack up by throwing him in the air or pretending to drop him. And then everyday when I have to go back to the mission, he criessss his sweet little eyes out. I promise you I would let him snuggle in my bed every night with me and that I'd pack him in my suit case to bring home if I thought I'd get away with it! I really can't even think how sad it will be to have for this Mzungu mama to leave her sweet little African baby...
Well I better not push my luck since my internet is still working right now, but hopefully I'll get another update out after church tomorrow!
Love and miss you all lots!
Asio Cati
(my new Ateso name, as dubbed by the priest at the mission we stay at :)
Friday, July 30, 2010
My girls!
Today we spent pretty much the entire day at a choir performance for all of the primary schools in the district. It was hot and crowded and looong and the chairs were terrible, and it was awesome :) Like Jaynie said today, "There's not a child in this country who's not pitch perfect with great rhythm." It was soo fun to see them sing and dance and be so animated! It was also pretty interesting when Pastor Sam would explain to us what was going on (most of it was in Ateso, the local language).
I haven't been to any elementary performance in the US in a while, but I remember all of mine being about baseball or princesses and fairy tales. Today, theirs were about HIV, government corruption, women being taken by rebel soldiers, and witch doctors kidnapping kids for child sacrifice - all real happenings in Uganda's recent history. It's just crazy... I cannot imagine understanding and thinking about any of that as a child or having to be a parent to a child who is exposed to those things and having no way to protect them... It's certainly a while different world over here.
My favorite parts of the day - Job, a boy who we met on our first trip who is also a neighbor to Amelia in her village, was one of the main characters for his school. He is so cute and so fun to watch - really animated and a great dancer :) Loved him!
Thennn, another school got up to perform and my Diana (the girl I met on my first trip who I'm sponsoring and have been hoping to find) was front and center! We made eye contact and both got the biggest smiles on our faces. THen she got the attention of Agnes (her best friend who's being sponsored by my best friend) and she got a huge smile on her face too! After they got done performing, they ran over to me and gave me huge hugs and said a quick hello.
After the choir performances, there were a few students who got up to do speeches. And my Diana was one of the kids talking... She was soo good and she was one of the few kids who actually talked loud enough to be heard over the crowd. I was like an excited mama about to burst with pride because of that sweet girl! She ran over to me again afterwards and we were able to talk for a little bit longer. She told me she would be at church on Sunday so we could talk again... I'm so thankful that the Lord brought us together when I really had no idea who I would find her! :) Eyalama Yesu!
Headed to bed now, I don't know why I'm alwaysss the last one up! Sorry there aren't any pictures again tonight :/ But I'll leave you with my favorite quote from the day...
After getting dressed this morning, Christine (our cook and super great caretaker) told me that I looked very smart today (which apparently means I looked cute :). So i was pretty excited that a Ugandan liked my outfit and was feeling pretty good about myself. Then, ten minutes later, Pastor Sam came to the compound to take us to watch the performances. As soon as I walked out of my room, he said, "You're ready to go? You look like a Jew..." Everyone started cracking up and I said, "What in the world does that mean?! Is that supposed to be a compliment??" He just responded by saying, "I like the Jews, the Hebrews are a nice people." Soo I still actually have no idea what he meant by his comment, but I guess I have no choice but to assume it's the nicest compliment you can give someone in Uganda ;)
Love you guys!
Caitlin
ps - Kati and Amy... Cecilia was also part of the performances today. She was the female lead in two or three of them actually! She got to wear some beauuutiful outfits and did a great job :) I'll try to post pictures for you guys another time!
I haven't been to any elementary performance in the US in a while, but I remember all of mine being about baseball or princesses and fairy tales. Today, theirs were about HIV, government corruption, women being taken by rebel soldiers, and witch doctors kidnapping kids for child sacrifice - all real happenings in Uganda's recent history. It's just crazy... I cannot imagine understanding and thinking about any of that as a child or having to be a parent to a child who is exposed to those things and having no way to protect them... It's certainly a while different world over here.
My favorite parts of the day - Job, a boy who we met on our first trip who is also a neighbor to Amelia in her village, was one of the main characters for his school. He is so cute and so fun to watch - really animated and a great dancer :) Loved him!
Thennn, another school got up to perform and my Diana (the girl I met on my first trip who I'm sponsoring and have been hoping to find) was front and center! We made eye contact and both got the biggest smiles on our faces. THen she got the attention of Agnes (her best friend who's being sponsored by my best friend) and she got a huge smile on her face too! After they got done performing, they ran over to me and gave me huge hugs and said a quick hello.
After the choir performances, there were a few students who got up to do speeches. And my Diana was one of the kids talking... She was soo good and she was one of the few kids who actually talked loud enough to be heard over the crowd. I was like an excited mama about to burst with pride because of that sweet girl! She ran over to me again afterwards and we were able to talk for a little bit longer. She told me she would be at church on Sunday so we could talk again... I'm so thankful that the Lord brought us together when I really had no idea who I would find her! :) Eyalama Yesu!
Headed to bed now, I don't know why I'm alwaysss the last one up! Sorry there aren't any pictures again tonight :/ But I'll leave you with my favorite quote from the day...
After getting dressed this morning, Christine (our cook and super great caretaker) told me that I looked very smart today (which apparently means I looked cute :). So i was pretty excited that a Ugandan liked my outfit and was feeling pretty good about myself. Then, ten minutes later, Pastor Sam came to the compound to take us to watch the performances. As soon as I walked out of my room, he said, "You're ready to go? You look like a Jew..." Everyone started cracking up and I said, "What in the world does that mean?! Is that supposed to be a compliment??" He just responded by saying, "I like the Jews, the Hebrews are a nice people." Soo I still actually have no idea what he meant by his comment, but I guess I have no choice but to assume it's the nicest compliment you can give someone in Uganda ;)
Love you guys!
Caitlin
ps - Kati and Amy... Cecilia was also part of the performances today. She was the female lead in two or three of them actually! She got to wear some beauuutiful outfits and did a great job :) I'll try to post pictures for you guys another time!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Just another day in Africa...
Seriously, when will I learn to not skip a day of blogging??
So last Saturday when we were in Soroti, three of us were in the car while the other three went into a store. Joseph (the native Ugandan who takes care of us) pointed at someone on the street and said, "Hey, another Mzungu!" I looked up and realized it was Amelia - a woman from the States who teaches English in a village 20 minutes north of our village who we had been tyring to connect with since we arrived. I jumped out of the van as quickly as I could and we got to chat with her for a little bit and exchange numbers.
So on Monday, she came to visit us in our village and stay the night with us. Amelia is an amazing source of wisdom and information on Uganda and its culture, not to mention a powerful woman of God. She sat in on our meeting with the pastors and leaders of the village and helped up communicate with them soo much more clearly than we would have by ourselves and also helped us to understand which ideas would work and which would not. Luckily, we were able to provide her with something too - we got to spend time praying and singing and fellowshipping together - something she has missed doing with other Americans for over a month now! She'll be back again tomorrow to spend the weekend with us and we're all so excited to get to see her again :)
So yesterday, we finally got to dive in to the a lot of our work. Heather and I went down to the care point to see all of our orphans getting fed and also to start providing first aid to the kids. Like our last trip, we were swamped with precious children who had all kinds of dirty, infected, uncared for wounds. One of my goals for the trip was to train the disciplers (the adults who look after the children as they're being fed) on providing first aid. Yesterday, they were busy at the beginning but came over to watch what we were doing later on in the hour. I had been a little concerned that they didn't seem very interested in learning and was also trying to figure out how I would get them to sit and listen to what we had to say! But when we were finished for the day, Joseph, one of the disciplers asked us, "So are you still going to teach us to do this soon?"
I was pretty excited that they were asking to learn - definitely an answer to prayers. So today, Heather and I did some demonstration for them and then they both got to work on their own and did a really good job! I'm so excited to see them learn more, care for the kids in this new way, and to take this over as their own thing :) Eyalama Yesu!
Brian and I (mostly Brian) also started working on starting up a soccer league to build community between the kids here. It turns out they've actually had a league before but it kind of feel apart because of a lack of organization and funding and resources. So there were eight teams in place, all with coaches and Pastor Sam was willing to be the point person in charge of all of it. Once again, it was definitely God going before us and making a path, preparing leaders before we got here - something we prayed over and over before we left. So eyalama Yesu - again!
It's a pretty interesting experience to be a female Mzungu over here. Women here are not honored and respected in the way that they should be, but Mzungus are honored and idolized in a way that they should not be. It seems like the men and older boys don't really know how to treat me.
As I would sit with the group of elders or teach the soccer coaches first aid, they were attentive and respectful and seemed very appreciative of the work I want to do. But as I was providing first aid for some of the soccer boys yesterday after a game, I had a crowd of about twenty boys and men surrounding me and watching me (talk about pressureee). I could tell they were talking about me several times and I don't think they were complimenting my excellent nursing skills - I would hear a sentence with "Mzungu" in it and then all of them would start laughing. It was a pretty awkward and intimidating situation and I really had no idea how to react to what was going on - from one extreme to the other.
I definitely haven't processed what all of that means yet or how I should behave and interact with the men here. But I know the men and boys of this village need prayer - that they would be men rooted in the Word of God, leaders who honor women, care for their wives and children, work hard, and protect the most vulnerable around them. So would you join me in praying for them?
Thanks guys, miss you and love you all!
Sorry, no pictures today but I'll try to get some good ones for tomorrow :)
Keep praying,
Caitlin
So last Saturday when we were in Soroti, three of us were in the car while the other three went into a store. Joseph (the native Ugandan who takes care of us) pointed at someone on the street and said, "Hey, another Mzungu!" I looked up and realized it was Amelia - a woman from the States who teaches English in a village 20 minutes north of our village who we had been tyring to connect with since we arrived. I jumped out of the van as quickly as I could and we got to chat with her for a little bit and exchange numbers.
So on Monday, she came to visit us in our village and stay the night with us. Amelia is an amazing source of wisdom and information on Uganda and its culture, not to mention a powerful woman of God. She sat in on our meeting with the pastors and leaders of the village and helped up communicate with them soo much more clearly than we would have by ourselves and also helped us to understand which ideas would work and which would not. Luckily, we were able to provide her with something too - we got to spend time praying and singing and fellowshipping together - something she has missed doing with other Americans for over a month now! She'll be back again tomorrow to spend the weekend with us and we're all so excited to get to see her again :)
So yesterday, we finally got to dive in to the a lot of our work. Heather and I went down to the care point to see all of our orphans getting fed and also to start providing first aid to the kids. Like our last trip, we were swamped with precious children who had all kinds of dirty, infected, uncared for wounds. One of my goals for the trip was to train the disciplers (the adults who look after the children as they're being fed) on providing first aid. Yesterday, they were busy at the beginning but came over to watch what we were doing later on in the hour. I had been a little concerned that they didn't seem very interested in learning and was also trying to figure out how I would get them to sit and listen to what we had to say! But when we were finished for the day, Joseph, one of the disciplers asked us, "So are you still going to teach us to do this soon?"
I was pretty excited that they were asking to learn - definitely an answer to prayers. So today, Heather and I did some demonstration for them and then they both got to work on their own and did a really good job! I'm so excited to see them learn more, care for the kids in this new way, and to take this over as their own thing :) Eyalama Yesu!
Brian and I (mostly Brian) also started working on starting up a soccer league to build community between the kids here. It turns out they've actually had a league before but it kind of feel apart because of a lack of organization and funding and resources. So there were eight teams in place, all with coaches and Pastor Sam was willing to be the point person in charge of all of it. Once again, it was definitely God going before us and making a path, preparing leaders before we got here - something we prayed over and over before we left. So eyalama Yesu - again!
It's a pretty interesting experience to be a female Mzungu over here. Women here are not honored and respected in the way that they should be, but Mzungus are honored and idolized in a way that they should not be. It seems like the men and older boys don't really know how to treat me.
As I would sit with the group of elders or teach the soccer coaches first aid, they were attentive and respectful and seemed very appreciative of the work I want to do. But as I was providing first aid for some of the soccer boys yesterday after a game, I had a crowd of about twenty boys and men surrounding me and watching me (talk about pressureee). I could tell they were talking about me several times and I don't think they were complimenting my excellent nursing skills - I would hear a sentence with "Mzungu" in it and then all of them would start laughing. It was a pretty awkward and intimidating situation and I really had no idea how to react to what was going on - from one extreme to the other.
I definitely haven't processed what all of that means yet or how I should behave and interact with the men here. But I know the men and boys of this village need prayer - that they would be men rooted in the Word of God, leaders who honor women, care for their wives and children, work hard, and protect the most vulnerable around them. So would you join me in praying for them?
Thanks guys, miss you and love you all!
Sorry, no pictures today but I'll try to get some good ones for tomorrow :)
Keep praying,
Caitlin
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Long day!
Sorry for my lack of updates and stories, friends! It's been a looong day and my first one without any length of a nap - so rough, especially for a Hamilton :) But we got a lot of good work done today, the most we have so far, so eyalama Yesu :)
Sunburned and wiped out... I'll try to write more tomorrow!
Keep praying, we are still so in need of your prayer!
Caitlin
Sunburned and wiped out... I'll try to write more tomorrow!
Keep praying, we are still so in need of your prayer!
Caitlin
Monday, July 26, 2010
He Reigns!
So remember how I asked you all to pray for rain yesterday? The Lord was faithful to answer our prayers :)
Just before I went to send my email, the six of us sat and prayed for a while - for a steady, life-giving rain. Deb, Heather, and Dustin went to bed while Jaynie and Brian waited for me to finish my blog. About ten minutes later, we realized it was pitch black outside when it had been pretty well lit from the almost full moon and clear skies. The clouds had already moved in!
As I was trying to send out my email, it started to sprinkle and Jaynie said to me, "Uhh Caitlin, do you think you could speed it up a little bit?? Jesus is trying to tell you he's gonna answer our prayers but he's trying to be considerate of the computer!!" :)
So the three of us went inside and Brian played his guitar as we sang. After we sang all the songs that Brian had music for, we sang any songs we could think of that had the words rain or water in them and after we exhausted THOSE songs, we started making up new lyrics about rain to other songs (it's kinda been our favorite past time since we've been here to make new lyrics :)
So after all of this, we realized it was about 2:30 in the morning, but as we listened to the wind and the sprinkling, we weren't ready to go to sleep. We kept praying and petitioning and praising until we decided we needed to go outside and do a rain dance (a dance for Jesus, not to be confused with a pagan rain dance :) So we jumped and ran and danced as quietly as we could, but it was hard to contain our excitement as the rain kept coming harder and harder. We finally went inside when we started getting soaking wet but it was pretty hard to go to bed when we were so happy, even if it was 3:30 in the morning.
I know that it's never as exciting to hear a story second hand and there's always doubt that starts to creep in, saying that this was a coincidence and it just happened to rain on this night. But I can stand firm and know that Jesus heard our cries and took joy as we praised and sang and danced before Him.
So eyalama Yesu, thank you Jesus for the millionth time and certainly not the last. God is so faithful to answer our prayers. "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" - James 5:16. Not that we are righteous because of something we have done - "None is righteous, no, not one"... but we receive "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." - Romans 3:10,22
I'm so grateful to receive the righteousness of Jesus, to be able to come straight to the Father and to be able to call out to Him. And then to have our prayers heard and answered - how blessed we really are and how great is the love of the Father!
So keep praying my precious prayer warriors. God is hearing us and our prayers are working. Pray for a life-giving rain here, the perfect balance of rain where the crops are sustained, but the roads are not washed away!
A couple more pictures for you guys :)
(Sorry about the picture mix up yesterday, by the way... Again, in a rush because of the rain:)
A picture of the rain from last night...
I really wanted to workout today so I got to go for a two mile run and do a little ab workout. Sweating was gooood for my soul, but after the rain, the paths were a littleee muddy. I might have wiped out :)
Love to you all :)
Caitlin
Just before I went to send my email, the six of us sat and prayed for a while - for a steady, life-giving rain. Deb, Heather, and Dustin went to bed while Jaynie and Brian waited for me to finish my blog. About ten minutes later, we realized it was pitch black outside when it had been pretty well lit from the almost full moon and clear skies. The clouds had already moved in!
As I was trying to send out my email, it started to sprinkle and Jaynie said to me, "Uhh Caitlin, do you think you could speed it up a little bit?? Jesus is trying to tell you he's gonna answer our prayers but he's trying to be considerate of the computer!!" :)
So the three of us went inside and Brian played his guitar as we sang. After we sang all the songs that Brian had music for, we sang any songs we could think of that had the words rain or water in them and after we exhausted THOSE songs, we started making up new lyrics about rain to other songs (it's kinda been our favorite past time since we've been here to make new lyrics :)
So after all of this, we realized it was about 2:30 in the morning, but as we listened to the wind and the sprinkling, we weren't ready to go to sleep. We kept praying and petitioning and praising until we decided we needed to go outside and do a rain dance (a dance for Jesus, not to be confused with a pagan rain dance :) So we jumped and ran and danced as quietly as we could, but it was hard to contain our excitement as the rain kept coming harder and harder. We finally went inside when we started getting soaking wet but it was pretty hard to go to bed when we were so happy, even if it was 3:30 in the morning.
I know that it's never as exciting to hear a story second hand and there's always doubt that starts to creep in, saying that this was a coincidence and it just happened to rain on this night. But I can stand firm and know that Jesus heard our cries and took joy as we praised and sang and danced before Him.
So eyalama Yesu, thank you Jesus for the millionth time and certainly not the last. God is so faithful to answer our prayers. "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working" - James 5:16. Not that we are righteous because of something we have done - "None is righteous, no, not one"... but we receive "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." - Romans 3:10,22
I'm so grateful to receive the righteousness of Jesus, to be able to come straight to the Father and to be able to call out to Him. And then to have our prayers heard and answered - how blessed we really are and how great is the love of the Father!
So keep praying my precious prayer warriors. God is hearing us and our prayers are working. Pray for a life-giving rain here, the perfect balance of rain where the crops are sustained, but the roads are not washed away!
A couple more pictures for you guys :)
(Sorry about the picture mix up yesterday, by the way... Again, in a rush because of the rain:)
A picture of the rain from last night...
I really wanted to workout today so I got to go for a two mile run and do a little ab workout. Sweating was gooood for my soul, but after the rain, the paths were a littleee muddy. I might have wiped out :)
Love to you all :)
Caitlin
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wel-a-come, wel-a-come to O-dee-tel, in da name of da Lawd :)
I should have never gone a day without blogging... Now there's just too much that happened! I'll try to keep in concise :)
We got to the village yesterday and as soon as I stepped out of the van, I almost stepped right onto Max's little boy from our first trip - Bruno, or Mzungu as he's known to all the other kids. Mzungu is actually what they call white people, but they call him that because he loves white people so much :) He's about 3 years old and the cutest little peanut, he hasn't left my side since we got here. But Max must have spoiled him on our first trip - he'll push and hit and whine until he gets next to me and he's constantly grabbing my camera to try to use it! Thanks Max :)
I also found Grace yesterday, one of the kids my family is sponsoring. She's pretty shy, but when I got a translator to tell her today that my family was sponsoring her, I wish you could have seen the look on her face. She dove at me for a hug and it was all I could do to not burst into tears. Grace is also in the girls' choir that performs every Sunday at church and boyyy can that girl worship. She sings and dances and keeps up with girls who are twice as old as her... Makes me burst with pride!! :)
Church today was wonderful... I love the River and I love our worship, but when that congregation starts clapping and dancing, my inner ghetto-Kalamazoo-Central-gurrrl is just dying to get out! I practiced the moves that I learned today in front of the Mission 6 and there's a pretty good chance I will be joining in on the dancing on an upcoming Sunday :) Don't expect any evidence though... I WILL be hiding every camera before the service!! Also, they kept the service short for us, just under 2 1/2 hours :) We only had three people speak (Brian being one of them), and they cut out the other two people who were going to speak, because as Bishop John Charles said, "Westerners start checking their watches after 30 minutes of preaching" :)
Besides a bout of homesickness today, I feel like Uganda really does suit me well - precious children all around, flowy skirts, simple living, and minimal bathing ;) I think we're all excited to finally get to work and start getting after all those goals we set! :)
Prayer requests - eyalama Yesu, they're almost all praises :)
-My tummy has been doing much better than I expected. I really haven't had any problems, something I was pretty worried about after our last trip. Apparently, doxycycline suits me much better than malarone!
-My tooth is feeling better day-by-day, although the neurotic side of me will be happy when I can chew with both sides of my mouth and be symmetrical again :)
-Our team has had great unity and fellowship with one another and we've all been completely healthy - such a relief after all the trials we had before our trip!
-The village has not had rain in about 3 weeks and things are getting a little dry again. I know your prayers are powerful when it comes to the rain here, and Jaynie mighttt have promised a priest that we would make it rain within the next week... So let's make that happen :)
-Would you also pray for continued team unity/health, that we would be diligent workers, that the Lord would bless the work of our hands, and that above all else, His will would be done?
Some pictures for you guys...
Bruno, that sweet little boy, cracking me up as he plays the drums :)
My sweet little Gracie :)
One of the many pets in our compound - Dingo the antelope, not to be confused with a gazelle!
Thank you for your prayers - we can literally feel them surrounding us! Please feel free to comment or email me, I love hearing from you guys! Love and miss you all dearly :)
Cait
We got to the village yesterday and as soon as I stepped out of the van, I almost stepped right onto Max's little boy from our first trip - Bruno, or Mzungu as he's known to all the other kids. Mzungu is actually what they call white people, but they call him that because he loves white people so much :) He's about 3 years old and the cutest little peanut, he hasn't left my side since we got here. But Max must have spoiled him on our first trip - he'll push and hit and whine until he gets next to me and he's constantly grabbing my camera to try to use it! Thanks Max :)
I also found Grace yesterday, one of the kids my family is sponsoring. She's pretty shy, but when I got a translator to tell her today that my family was sponsoring her, I wish you could have seen the look on her face. She dove at me for a hug and it was all I could do to not burst into tears. Grace is also in the girls' choir that performs every Sunday at church and boyyy can that girl worship. She sings and dances and keeps up with girls who are twice as old as her... Makes me burst with pride!! :)
Church today was wonderful... I love the River and I love our worship, but when that congregation starts clapping and dancing, my inner ghetto-Kalamazoo-Central-gurrrl is just dying to get out! I practiced the moves that I learned today in front of the Mission 6 and there's a pretty good chance I will be joining in on the dancing on an upcoming Sunday :) Don't expect any evidence though... I WILL be hiding every camera before the service!! Also, they kept the service short for us, just under 2 1/2 hours :) We only had three people speak (Brian being one of them), and they cut out the other two people who were going to speak, because as Bishop John Charles said, "Westerners start checking their watches after 30 minutes of preaching" :)
Besides a bout of homesickness today, I feel like Uganda really does suit me well - precious children all around, flowy skirts, simple living, and minimal bathing ;) I think we're all excited to finally get to work and start getting after all those goals we set! :)
Prayer requests - eyalama Yesu, they're almost all praises :)
-My tummy has been doing much better than I expected. I really haven't had any problems, something I was pretty worried about after our last trip. Apparently, doxycycline suits me much better than malarone!
-My tooth is feeling better day-by-day, although the neurotic side of me will be happy when I can chew with both sides of my mouth and be symmetrical again :)
-Our team has had great unity and fellowship with one another and we've all been completely healthy - such a relief after all the trials we had before our trip!
-The village has not had rain in about 3 weeks and things are getting a little dry again. I know your prayers are powerful when it comes to the rain here, and Jaynie mighttt have promised a priest that we would make it rain within the next week... So let's make that happen :)
-Would you also pray for continued team unity/health, that we would be diligent workers, that the Lord would bless the work of our hands, and that above all else, His will would be done?
Some pictures for you guys...
Bruno, that sweet little boy, cracking me up as he plays the drums :)
My sweet little Gracie :)
One of the many pets in our compound - Dingo the antelope, not to be confused with a gazelle!
Thank you for your prayers - we can literally feel them surrounding us! Please feel free to comment or email me, I love hearing from you guys! Love and miss you all dearly :)
Cait
Friday, July 23, 2010
My cup overflows
Eyalama Yesu! Thank you Jesus! My cup has been overflowing with joy the past couple of days. All of the worries and stresses from before we got here have completely melted away...
We spent all day yesterday with Joseph and have got to spend the morning with David today. They are SUCH a blessing to us and make my heart so glad... Every time I hear David say "shoo-ah" (sure) and "Kalamazooooo," I can't help but smile! And my favorite part about them is that they are such powerful and dedicated men of God, men who believe the Bible and who are diligent to do His work. So good to see them again...
This morning we got to sit and pray with each other and enjoy breakfast. Then the storm clouds came in and poured down rain for almost an hour. The Lord has continued to provide rain for Uganda and David said that the rain they have been getting has been a very good amount for the crops. So keep praying for rain here, your prayers are being heard!! Today we'll spend some time resting and then going to Soroti to buy some of our supplies for the village. And then tomorrow we will finally head out to meet up with our people!! I'm sooo very excited to see all of my babies that I met last time and the ones that are being sponsored by my family :)
Here's a couple pictures for you guys...
Brian getting fancy with his new lens in the rain :)
And here is the sneaky little kitty cat who somehow manages to always get into the house... After luring him out of the house four times by pretending that I like him, he apparently thinks we're friends and this is him jumping up on the window behind me just to hang out. Actually, as I'm writing this, he got into the house AGAIN and rubbed his dirty little kitty body all over my legs!
One request for you guys - my tooth has been doing pretty well, it's not aching at all and the sensitivity is gone. I was told to only chew on the right side of my mouth, which I've been doing, but sometimes when I bite down the teeth on the left side of my mouth hit together and it does NOT feel good... So praise that I have not had complications, but would you pray that all of the pain would be gone and that I would have no more issues with biting down?? Thank you! :)
Love you guys, wish you were here with us!
Caitlin
We spent all day yesterday with Joseph and have got to spend the morning with David today. They are SUCH a blessing to us and make my heart so glad... Every time I hear David say "shoo-ah" (sure) and "Kalamazooooo," I can't help but smile! And my favorite part about them is that they are such powerful and dedicated men of God, men who believe the Bible and who are diligent to do His work. So good to see them again...
This morning we got to sit and pray with each other and enjoy breakfast. Then the storm clouds came in and poured down rain for almost an hour. The Lord has continued to provide rain for Uganda and David said that the rain they have been getting has been a very good amount for the crops. So keep praying for rain here, your prayers are being heard!! Today we'll spend some time resting and then going to Soroti to buy some of our supplies for the village. And then tomorrow we will finally head out to meet up with our people!! I'm sooo very excited to see all of my babies that I met last time and the ones that are being sponsored by my family :)
Here's a couple pictures for you guys...
Brian getting fancy with his new lens in the rain :)
And here is the sneaky little kitty cat who somehow manages to always get into the house... After luring him out of the house four times by pretending that I like him, he apparently thinks we're friends and this is him jumping up on the window behind me just to hang out. Actually, as I'm writing this, he got into the house AGAIN and rubbed his dirty little kitty body all over my legs!
One request for you guys - my tooth has been doing pretty well, it's not aching at all and the sensitivity is gone. I was told to only chew on the right side of my mouth, which I've been doing, but sometimes when I bite down the teeth on the left side of my mouth hit together and it does NOT feel good... So praise that I have not had complications, but would you pray that all of the pain would be gone and that I would have no more issues with biting down?? Thank you! :)
Love you guys, wish you were here with us!
Caitlin
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Good thing I showered BEFORE my appointment :)
After getting a cavity filled last week, something didn't seem quite right and I decided I should go back in to have it checked out - which turned out to be a good idea. Unfortunately, the only open appointment was Tuesday at 9 am, three hours before we were supposed to leave for Africa. So Monday night, I stayed up really late, got everything ready that I could, and hoped for a quick fix.
Ten minutes after my hygienist took an x-ray, she came back in to tell me I was going to need an emergency root canal and they were going to send me right over to the endodontist. Between my lack of sleep, anxiety about my trip, and horror stories about root canals, I might have accidentally had a minor melt down as I drove from one office to the next. I pulled it together enough to tell my team what was going on and put some powerful prayer warriors to work before I got called back.
My endodontist and his hygienist turned out to be great... I told him about my trip and he told me we were of the "same accord" - he goes on dental mission trips a couple times a year to Honduras. He wished me well on my trip and promised to get me out of there quickly and without too much pain. He managed to keep both of those promises :)
As I write this now, flying safely over the ocean, I can see a million stars outmy window and the sun coming up out of windows on the other side of the plane... I'm full of peace and my hindsight is 20/20. It seems pretty silly to have worried at all... To paraphrase my eloquent and sympathetic friend, Adam, "See? What did worrying do for you anyways?" :)
But it's true - I do believe that God works all things for good, that we are never out of reach of His sovereign hand, that by worrying we will not add a day to our life, and that if God has called you to something, He will go before you and make a way.
Knowing how things work in Uganda,I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities where the rubber will hit the road, to show that I really did learn from my little slip-up, to not just be a hearer of the Word, but a doer. I just pray that the Lord would fill me with peace that transcends understanding, joy despite circumstance, and trust in His plan. And I pray all these things for you, my sweet friends!
I'm sorry if this all seemslike incoherent ramblings - I'll blame it on my tylenol/codeine kicking in :) Love you all and I'll update as soon as I can after we land!!
In His grip,
Caitlin
Ten minutes after my hygienist took an x-ray, she came back in to tell me I was going to need an emergency root canal and they were going to send me right over to the endodontist. Between my lack of sleep, anxiety about my trip, and horror stories about root canals, I might have accidentally had a minor melt down as I drove from one office to the next. I pulled it together enough to tell my team what was going on and put some powerful prayer warriors to work before I got called back.
My endodontist and his hygienist turned out to be great... I told him about my trip and he told me we were of the "same accord" - he goes on dental mission trips a couple times a year to Honduras. He wished me well on my trip and promised to get me out of there quickly and without too much pain. He managed to keep both of those promises :)
As I write this now, flying safely over the ocean, I can see a million stars outmy window and the sun coming up out of windows on the other side of the plane... I'm full of peace and my hindsight is 20/20. It seems pretty silly to have worried at all... To paraphrase my eloquent and sympathetic friend, Adam, "See? What did worrying do for you anyways?" :)
But it's true - I do believe that God works all things for good, that we are never out of reach of His sovereign hand, that by worrying we will not add a day to our life, and that if God has called you to something, He will go before you and make a way.
Knowing how things work in Uganda,I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities where the rubber will hit the road, to show that I really did learn from my little slip-up, to not just be a hearer of the Word, but a doer. I just pray that the Lord would fill me with peace that transcends understanding, joy despite circumstance, and trust in His plan. And I pray all these things for you, my sweet friends!
I'm sorry if this all seemslike incoherent ramblings - I'll blame it on my tylenol/codeine kicking in :) Love you all and I'll update as soon as I can after we land!!
In His grip,
Caitlin
Friday, July 16, 2010
Crunch time!
I can’t believe there’s only four days left until we leave! Fortunately, when it comes down to the wire, that’s when I do my best work :) So here we go, here’s my last ditch effort, my plea for help! My fundraising has gone well so far and I am so so very grateful and blessed and amazed to see how generous people have been in donating to my trip. Unfortunately, I’m still about $900 short of my goal right now. A good chunk of that money is needed to buy supplies for the work that I’ll be doing, both for nursing and for the soccer league. The rest of the money will go towards things like food, lodging, travel expenses, and insurance. Would you consider making just a small donation, $10 or $20 to help me purchase my supplies? Here’s an estimated breakdown of the things I still need –
Gloves – 10 boxes x $5 each
Gauze - $20
Tape - $20
Bandages – 5 boxes x $5 each
Children’s blood pressure cuff - $30
Stethoscope - $40
Thermometer - $10
Scale - $15
Soccer balls – 5 x $15 each
Pinnies – 2 sets x $15
Ball pump - $10
Total - ~$325
If you’re able to give, the best ways to donate now are to either use my PayPal “Donate” button on the right side of this screen or to give me your check/cash in person. Thank you again for your support of me on my trip, I have been blessed beyond what I ever imagined by you guys!!
My one last request – that you would be praying for me and my team members. We have all been feeling under attack over the past couple weeks with multiple illnesses, obstacles, and frustrations. So please be praying that we would be strong, well, and protected. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Love you all!
Caitlin
Gloves – 10 boxes x $5 each
Gauze - $20
Tape - $20
Bandages – 5 boxes x $5 each
Children’s blood pressure cuff - $30
Stethoscope - $40
Thermometer - $10
Scale - $15
Soccer balls – 5 x $15 each
Pinnies – 2 sets x $15
Ball pump - $10
Total - ~$325
If you’re able to give, the best ways to donate now are to either use my PayPal “Donate” button on the right side of this screen or to give me your check/cash in person. Thank you again for your support of me on my trip, I have been blessed beyond what I ever imagined by you guys!!
My one last request – that you would be praying for me and my team members. We have all been feeling under attack over the past couple weeks with multiple illnesses, obstacles, and frustrations. So please be praying that we would be strong, well, and protected. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Love you all!
Caitlin
Monday, July 12, 2010
My yoke is easy and My burden is light
Let me give you a little preface before you start reading my innermost thoughts :) I’m not a writer, writing is actually one of the most difficult things for me to do (just ask my sweet sister who patiently coached me through writing my support letter :) I really am capable of forming logical, coherent thoughts, but if I have to put them on to paper, it becomes a painful ordeal involving a lot of procrastination. That being said, I really am going to try to post here regularly, even if my mom and Katherine and Kati are the only people who are actually interested in what I have to say :) So here it is!
Now that our trip is quickly approaching, my anxiety and worry has started to go up. I’m worried about getting all my work done that needs to get done before I leave, about not forgetting anything when I pack, about accomplishing all my goals while I’m in Uganda, anddd about how I will eat the same meal twice a day for a month straight :)
When I have anxiety in my life - when there’s work to be done, or something that needs to be fixed - my tendency is to start striving – making endless to-do lists , putting pressure on myself to get it all done, and to do it all just right. I wind myself up so tightly thinking about all that needs to be done, I get to the point where I’m completely overwhelmed and paralyzed to actually do any of it. This always culminates in me crying out to Jesus, usually literally crying all the way through worship on a Sunday morning.
I think to myself, “I can’t do this. It’s too much work. I’ll never get it done and if I do, it won’t be done right.” Fortunately, the Lord is patient and gracious and time and time again He says to me, “Caitlin, why are you navel-gazing? Why do you look to yourself? You’re right, you can’t do it. It’s too much work for you. Why do you think your striving and worrying will accomplish anything for My kingdom? You have to lean on Me, trust Me, seek Me. You know that My yoke is easy and My burden is light…”
So that’s where I’m at now – giving up the fight against myself and giving it over to Jesus. It makes me think of a line from one of my most favorite hymns, In Christ Alone –
“What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease,
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand”
I don’t think I’ll ever understand it, but I’m always amazed at how one of these mini-revelations, this little shift in my way of thinking can totally alter my work. I got home from church yesterday and I had the motivation to really get things done, to do research, get things organized, send out emails, make phone calls, to actually accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, and all with a quiet and peaceful spirit. So eyalama Yesu – thank you Jesus – for giving rest to my weary soul!
Caitlin
Now that our trip is quickly approaching, my anxiety and worry has started to go up. I’m worried about getting all my work done that needs to get done before I leave, about not forgetting anything when I pack, about accomplishing all my goals while I’m in Uganda, anddd about how I will eat the same meal twice a day for a month straight :)
When I have anxiety in my life - when there’s work to be done, or something that needs to be fixed - my tendency is to start striving – making endless to-do lists , putting pressure on myself to get it all done, and to do it all just right. I wind myself up so tightly thinking about all that needs to be done, I get to the point where I’m completely overwhelmed and paralyzed to actually do any of it. This always culminates in me crying out to Jesus, usually literally crying all the way through worship on a Sunday morning.
I think to myself, “I can’t do this. It’s too much work. I’ll never get it done and if I do, it won’t be done right.” Fortunately, the Lord is patient and gracious and time and time again He says to me, “Caitlin, why are you navel-gazing? Why do you look to yourself? You’re right, you can’t do it. It’s too much work for you. Why do you think your striving and worrying will accomplish anything for My kingdom? You have to lean on Me, trust Me, seek Me. You know that My yoke is easy and My burden is light…”
So that’s where I’m at now – giving up the fight against myself and giving it over to Jesus. It makes me think of a line from one of my most favorite hymns, In Christ Alone –
“What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease,
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand”
I don’t think I’ll ever understand it, but I’m always amazed at how one of these mini-revelations, this little shift in my way of thinking can totally alter my work. I got home from church yesterday and I had the motivation to really get things done, to do research, get things organized, send out emails, make phone calls, to actually accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, and all with a quiet and peaceful spirit. So eyalama Yesu – thank you Jesus – for giving rest to my weary soul!
Caitlin
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
My very first blog :)
In September 2009, my church, The River, adopted the village of Kapelebyong, Uganda for the next five years. I was blessed to be one of 19 people that went on the first trip to visit our village and was impacted in a more powerful way than I could have ever imagined. After being in the country for about a week, I wrote in my journal, “I had never planned on coming back here after this trip, but now I have such a strong desire to, I’m not sure I could stay away!” God certainly used that trip to minister to me and I’m blessed and excited to return there in July. Six of us from that trip are returning for a month of service this summer, from July 20 to August 20.
Since my church has chosen to adopt this village, we have created a five year plan that will guide our work and time. Our overall goal is to lead and support the people of Kapelebyong to become self-sustaining; so that they will reach out and support other villages. There are many different ways we will work at this goal, mainly through equipping specific leaders in different areas and building community within the village. Two men from our church spent the month of May working on a 6-acre community garden; the villagers took pride and ownership in the garden, working diligently on this garden and their own gardens. We hope to see this same kind of success and excitement in other future projects including teaching income-generating activities, starting a soccer league for the kids, and creating small groups where villagers can pray for each other and bear each other’s burdens.
On my January trip, we would frequently have people come to us and ask us to pray for them or their children. One woman brought us a tiny little 10 pound baby (pictured above) – she had been caring for her sweet niece since her sister had died. “Little Peanut” (our nickname for her) would rarely eat food and when she did, it would make her sick. As I held this precious life in my arms, I could not stop crying. She looked so lifeless and sick, all I could do was hold her and pray that the Lord would heal her. We found out later that this baby was actually a toddler – 2 ½ years old and weighing only TEN pounds.
Later in the week, our group took a donation from the extra spending money we brought with us. We collected almost $700 between us to provide medical care for some of the orphans in the village. When our Little Peanut was taken to the health clinic, they found that she had a vitamin deficiency that was preventing her from absorbing food properly. We paid for her visit and TEN DOLLARS worth of vitamins – that was all it took to correct her problem and help her to start gaining weight. Uganda is a place of great need but also of great opportunity – it takes so little to significantly change their lives.
The six of us returning in July have each chosen a specific area to serve. I graduated in May with my nursing degree, and am happy to use my education for these people I have come to love. While I am there, much of my role will be health-care oriented. I’ll be evaluating the biggest medical needs of the community – the preventable diseases they have, the need for shoes to protect from injury, antibiotics, accessing the nearest health clinic, etc – and then finding ways to work at those needs. One of the things I am most excited about doing is setting up a system for assessing the health of our church’s sponsored orphans as they receive their food each day. Our goal will be to get treatment for those children who are in need and to document each child’s medical history in order to ensure that their health is improving.
As I prepare to leave next month, there are a few ways I’m asking for your involvement.
1. My biggest request is that you would pray for me. Please pray that my heart, body, and mind would be prepared for the work God has for me.
2. Please consider supporting one day of my trip there for $120.00. My total cost will be $3,500.00, going toward my plane ticket, lodging, food, and medical supplies for the community. If you cannot give this amount, know that any size donation will make a difference.
3. You are invited to come to our commissioning on July 18th at 10am at the River: 302 Academy Street on Bronson Park in Kalamazoo.
4. You can write me notes or emails of encouragement to take along with me. I will also be able to check my email a few times while I am gone, and will be updating this blog periodically.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Please feel free to contact with me with any questions you might have, I would love to tell you more!
Caitlin
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