Coming Home

My last week in Mbale has been spent tying up my time here as the ten weeks now come to an end. I visited the projects which I had been most involved in for the last time,  I ate my last African meal and I even had some African lounge trousers tailored to bring home. We celebrated my time in Mbale with a team meal,  where we ate together and laughed together for the last time (but who knows when I might be back?).

Although ten weeks (in the grand scheme of things) isn't a massive amount of time, I feel like I have really built a life here; I have friends and an African family who love me, I have mastered my 'Ugandan-English' voice (which regularly evokes ridicule from fellow volunteers), I've perfected riding on the back of those ridiculous motorbikes and I can even bargain a little at the local market to get a good deal on the mango's. However, coming home was always inevitable and being the 'home bird' that I am, I am looking forward to returning to the nest! Although I have been loved and accepted here, there are people back home, who have read my blog posts, browsed my photographs, prayed for me, supported me, consoled me, skyped me, mailed me and shown genuine interest in what I've been  doing, which I have been so grateful for and I can't wait to see you all!

When I came here I expected to change something in a massive way, but it turns out that it was me who was changed. These people and the love they have shown me has been an eye opener and a blessing, something  I won't forget in a hurry I hope. God has also taken me away from my busy, pre-planned life and provided the space for me to grow with Him, learn from Him and fall in love with Him in a way which I had never anticipated. I don't know what He has planned next, but as this season comes to an end, it has prepared me for the next one which at the moment is still a mystery. However, right now there are three things I know for sure; one - I'm getting on a plane tomorrow morning  to leave for the UK, two - whatever God has planned I'm going to enjoy it and three -  cliche (I know), but I really did fall in love with Africa.

For the last time - Han xxx

Out Of Town

The intensity of work continued as the second week with the team was spent painting a school. It was rewarding to have the opportunity to do something that was tangible, as relationships that are built are harder to record. However, the similar days merged together and in no time it was the end of the week and Lorna and I were heading off out of Mbale.

As we are are overlapping for four weeks, we decided that the activities which took place outside of Mbale would be done together (safety in numbers and all that). Our first stop was Kampala, which was the starting point of our safari trip up at Murchison Falls. The safari took place over three days and started with  a 'hike' (we managed in  flip flops) to the top of the falls. The following day we crossed the River Nile at sun rise (which was appropriately accompanied by one of our safari companions humming the 'Lion King'). We headed off on a four hour game drive that morning and saw just about every animal you'd expect in East Africa. Later we took a boat trip up the River Nile to the bottom of the falls, where we sipped on a Nile Special which we shared between us. It was a struggle to finish the beer, but we both felt it was worth it to say we  had drank a Nile on the Nile! The last day of our safari consisted of the rhino tracking, where we stood less than 30 metres away from  six of Uganda's rhinos (out of their total of twelve). The guide prepared us for the vicious nature of these creatures, but to be honest they were pretty lazy!

The next part of our trip took us to Jinja, where we took part in a five day retreat. The retreat centre was based at the edge of the River Nile in the most stunning gardens I have ever seen. This place was the closest thing to paradise that I had ever experienced. Our time there was such a blessing; God revealed Himself in new ways and also revealed aspects of my own character, which had never been brought to light before. After a busy few weeks, the slower pace and quiets times were gratefully welcomed! 

After the retreat, we travelled to another part of Jinja to take part in a day of white water rafting. At the beginning of the day, I was led to believe that we were in the lazy, 'chilled-out' raft, who only paddled when it was absolutely vital and encouraged the sun during the tanning opportunities between rapids. How very wrong I was. We were heading towards our second-last rapid and Lorna (and our friend Emma) were sitting at the front of the boat, while the rest of us took our weight to the back. As we closed in on the rapid, I soon realised that their positioning at the front of the boat was no longer particularly wise. The next thing I knew, I was under the water and the raft had capsized. Capsizing had never been an issue before, except this time we were heading towards a rather large rock, which could potentially cause complications. As we got closer, I was lifted from the water onto the top of the upside down raft. Clambering on, we tried to lift Lorna from the water but she slipped through our hands, which was followed by a distressed wail from myself, as I had failed to save my friend! Lorna paid that day with eight stitches in between her baby toes, but in her words "it was all worth it!" 

After tweaking plans slightly, which included Lorna travelling to Kampala to find an adequate surgery to mend her up, we finally made it back to Mbale. After a week of travels, I will be spending my last week here in Mbale before flying back to the UK on Sunday. 

Love Han xxx

Off My Feet

After seven weeks of missing home, a piece of it finally came to join me. My friend Lorna is also here volunteering with Jenga (for eight weeks), which means we'll be overlapping for four. It was quite serial seeing her as everything before now has been new and unfamiliar. I look forward to showing here this place which has become my home and sharing with her the little wisdom which I have picked up while being a volunteer in Uganda.

Now that I'm not the most clueless person here in Mbale, I have been given some responsibility of the team, so on Tuesday I took the group to visit the CRO children. As we  stepped into the CRO compound, I was surrounded by children calling my name. It reinforced to me, the precious time which I have spent here and the impact I have made, but it also reminded me of the little time I have left.

Nothing is every simple here; as we walked to our normal playing field we could see that the place was occupied with youths, who had come for their school sports. One of the Jenga interns was convinced that there was another space we could use not too far away. After being here for a while, I know that the words "not too far" and "not too long" can be used very lightly, but I had no other choice but to believe that "up the road" was indeed "up the road". In total, it took us close to an hour to find an empty space, but 'this is Africa'. However the time we spent with the children was well worth it, and they were thrilled that the number of muzungu's had multiplied by eleven!

This week we also visited the Namatala slum, were we went to Grace's house, who had (after walking around the office for two extra weeks) just had her baby girl. We then did house visits around the area, praying for people's homes and the sickness' they were suffering. God has really blessed me with a new confidence in him this week, which has been constantly in my prayers recently.

With the team here, food disappears at a faster rate so I have been sent off to the market and  shops on several occasions. I brought Lorna with me (along with Ronald, one of the interns), which was a great way for her to experience some more African culture. On our hunt for green beans there was a massive confusion between us and a number of sellers, but a man who knew what we were after took us straight to his father. We ended up getting everything we needed from him, and he even threw in two cucumbers for good measure (or maybe to seal a lasting friendship between consumer and supplier?).

This week has been far the most intense, as the Canterbury team are only here for two weeks they have to pack everything in. Trips to CRO, time in the slums, visiting primary schools, several (stressful) market visits, hospital ministry and being the guests of honour at the Musoto water opening, I have been some what 'off my feet'. However, I have enjoyed the busy week, but will have to prepare myself for the intensity of next.

We're (over) Half Way There

I honestly can't believe how fast this time is going, and I know that my remaining weeks are going to disappear quicker than the ones that came before them. As this was the week before the team from Canterbury arrived, there was a lot of preparation for their arrival taking place, a lot of meal planning, and a lot of food shopping! 

This was another difficult week in terms of missing home because it was my brother Andrew's 21st birthday and my Mum's birthday on the Thursday. It was sad not to be there for the celebrations and be apart of it, but I was able to skype them on the day of their birthday and it gives us an excuse to celebrate it all over again. I also skyped my home church house group, which was so encouraging and uplifting but at the same time, it made me realise just how much I miss them.

I was able to visit the hospital again this week to do ministry with the patients there. I went with Betty (a Jenga intern) to pray for the ladies and babies in the maternity ward. People here are so open to prayer and are always so thankful. Even if they don't believe in God or follow another religion, they will almost never decline your request. We then bought butter, sugar and bread for a few patients that we felt were in really need. The girl we gave the food to was so unbelieveably thankful, you would have thought we had given more that we actually did.

This week I was given another opportunity to visit Grace and Vinnie for dinner, which is an invitation you would never decline. For starters, thick fluffy American pancakes with maple syrup - not you traditional African dish but absolutely delicious!

The team arrived late on the Saturday night after their bus broke down, so we ate at a time not normally associated with dinner. However they were shortly forgiven when they presented me with a gift bag from my good friend Anne, who had enclosed various luxuary items which I had been missing since being here. The bag mainly contained cereal because apparently I'm a real sucker for it, but sadly it was a bit difficult to send over some decent milk too!

On the Sunday I was preaching again, but this time it was at Victory church which is a branch off of the main Bethel church in Mbale. I preached a similar thing as before, because the whole subject of endurance in the faith has really been on my heart and seemed very relevant. It will be the last Sunday that I will be preaching at, but I have been so grateful for the experience, the opportunity and the words and peace that God has provided.

Much love Han xxx

The British Are Coming

After being in the office for a few weeks as the only Muzungu, it was nice to have some more join me as Robby returned from his trip to Rwanda and Tiff (who is in charge of volunteers) returned from the UK. While they settled back into Mbale, I continued on with my typical routine and my weekly visit to CRO. This week I even introduced a new game to the kids, which was impressive considering I have only picked up about three words since being here (a poor effort I know!).


Tiff arrived with her friend Ruth, who drove her to Mbale as she lives in Kampala which isn't too far from Entebbe airport. That evening we shared in a 'welcome home' meal, and it wasn't until after the meal that we figured out that Ruth was the sister of my student pastor in my church in Edinburgh - could this world be any smaller?

On the Saturday I headed to the pool to see my friend Erin, before she flew back to the states. Another opportunity to get a tan and prove that I had actually been in Africa, and another opportunity to be arrogant with the sun and earn myself a burn which landed me with the nick name 'Lobby' for the next few days (which I completely deserved). 

In the evening we celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, as there were now enough British people in the house to justify a party. The evening included a number of Union Jack decorations, a few burnt mini-Victoria sponges, Pimms and your traditional British pasta bake! It was a great evening as we took the house back from the Americans and put a British flag in just about everything we could find!

I headed back to Bethel Baptist Church with Tiff, which is the church she regularly attends here in Mbale. As the weeks have progressed I have got to know the people in the church, and as the service ended (which was over three hours long) I was surprised by how many people I knew and had become friends with. After only being here for five weeks, it makes you realise what a friendly and welcoming culture this is and  how much love they have to give.

That evening I skyped my home church during their evening service. It was great to hear some familiar cheers and share with them what I had been up to, and it had to be the perfect way to round off the week and start a new one.

Will be posting soon - love Han xxx

109

Now that I've seen the projects I'd like to be involved with, I used this week to focus on those programmes and also found projects outwith Jenga to visit in my spare time. So on Monday I took the day to visit St. Kazito's baby home where my friend Lexy volunteers. When I arrived I was hit straight away by the reek coming from piles of unwashed baby clothes. Threes hours at the home, and I never got use to the smell. However, the smell didn't put a dampner on my morning there as I spent my time playing with them, feeding them, bathing them , changing them and dressing them. Even holding these babies was enough, they just need someone to love them.

On Tuesday I was able to revisit CRO, where the children have started to recognise me (though I'm not exactly hard to pick out from a crowd). Some of the interns from the CRO even joined us we played an intense game of netball. They interns even outshone me in their competitive sides, which is really something (especially coming from a Craib).

Exercise here is difficult to do in regular hours of the day, as the sight of a Muzungu  running in shorts is a rare sight here. However I gave in and have now joined Nat in here early morning runs, which consist of waking up at 6.15am, before the sun comes up and the streets get busy, and avoid an absurd amount of potholes!  However, the gentle sounds of the morning and misty views are very different from regular runs, so are well worth the early wake up.

I had another chance to visit Nat's children's home, so myself, Nat and Sarah headed out to Luwanda.The children were at nursery/school while we were there, so we only got to play with them during their intervals. Instead, myself and Sarah spent the whole day arranging 109 sponsor photos of the children to be hung up on the wall. The number 109 is no simple number, and if you don't believe me then try it yourself and you too will find yourself sitting for 7 hours looking for some sort of combination!  However it was the ideal chance to get to know Sarah better, and we weren't short of any time to do that.

Later on in the week I stayed over with my American friends; Erin and Megan. Sadly being a volunteer here means other volunteers come and go, so after a short but enjoyable time with them, I had to say good bye to Megan as she headed home for her sisters wedding in the states.

While in Mbale I was offered to stay with an African family, and I was eager to accept. I was staying with Grace and Vinnie up in the village with three of their children for an evening. Vinnie is the pastor of Bethel church, and both are heavily involved with the work of Jenga. I soon discovered that it was the couples 16th wedding anniversary and their daughters 8th birthday, which gave me a great desire to bake a cake (which is somewhat daring, considering the flakey oven and unfamiliar measurements in the American recipe book ). It was a great evening to stay as they had their closest friends over to celebrate their special day, and they were great at making me feel apart of it. I was even able to contribute a (only slightly burnt) cake, which was added to the celebration feast!

Love Hannah xxx

Reflection

I have now had a third week here in Uganda, and Robby is out on a trip to Rwanda, so right now I am the only Muzungu in the office, and I have continued to investigate the various projects that are happening here in Mbale .

I finally found the time to go up the mountain to visit the goats project, where they tend them and then distribute them out into the community. I wouldn't have said this particular project broke my heart, but it was a fun trip and had a stunning view, looking out over Mbale and the surrounding areas.

In the middle of this week I was able to visit more of Uganda, as myself and three American friends went on a tour of Sipi Falls which is approximately an hour away. Our tour guide Joel who was a local man who took us hiking to visit all the main falls of the area, and he even took us close enough to be drenched by the spray. However it didn't make much difference, as 15 minutes later we threw ourselves into the river at the bottom of one of the more minor falls. Joel then took us to the coffee farm which his parents owned and he showed us the process of making it and then finished off with some samples. Unfortunately, no fridge meant no milk, but I guess it was pretty good for being a black coffee which scolded your mouth!

Later that week I visited the local hospital with a team from the Jenga offices. We began by doing prayer ministry and then headed over to the nutrition ward, which is where Jenga's main involvement lies within the hospital department. There we helped serve up food to the malnourished babies and their families.

This week our house occupancy has increased, as Sarah a 21 year old Texan has joined us. She is Nat's volunteer, so on Saturday we headed over to Luwanda which is the children's home which Nat works at. It was a well spent afternoon playing with the children, pushing round abouts and playing games!  Though it didn't quite take my mind off home, as I knew that this was the day that my church would be competing in the annual baptist church sports day (most competitive day of the year without a doubt). Really proud of their 2nd place position - we'll get Kirkie next year!

Early on in the week I had been asked by Aaron, a member of Jenga and also a pastor, to preach at his church on Sunday. I was warned in advance that I may be asked to preach, but the surprise was being asked 3 weeks into my trip! I tried to back track out of the situation, and hopefully buy myself a few more weeks, but it was very clear that squirming would not stop his persistence. So as the week went on I grew worried, and seeked advice from Pastor John (Dad) and a friend who had preached previously when working with Jenga. However when the time came God really showed up and gave me the words and the peace of mind which I so desperately needed. I spoke about endurance in the faith when going through hardships and trials, and reflected on Romans 5 v 1-5, which has been very relevant to me in the past. However, I think God used the words I spoke to remind me of his faithfulness and love, right at this moment in my life (funny how he does that). Later that day we headed down to the local river where we watched 60 people coming to faith and being baptised - really makes you think; what's missing in Scotland?

Love Hannah xxx