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