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.