January Recap

Wow, my first month has already come to a close! It feels like just yesterday I was boarding the plane. I made it safely to Uganda on Jan 11, met Johnson, my driver, and away we went. First, We went and got lunch at a nice Muzungu place (muzungus are white people). Afterwards we went to the bank and then to the grocery store to get some food to start me off. We also went to the phone store and I now am totally Ugandan, no American number anymore!

Friday morning Johnson and I set off for the airport to get the pallets, after fighting Kampala traffic for two hours we arrived to the airport to be told that my pallets were actually five minutes from where I had stayed the night before. So back through the city we went and found the DHL office. I was feeling good until the nice lady at DHL informed me that because I was an unknown shipper it would be two weeks until I could pick up my stuff. So defeated Johnson and I went back to the car and we were discussing what I should do when he offered that he knew someone that may be able to help. So we drove over to her office and waited for her to return, we talked and she said to give her two hours and then meet her at DHL to pick up my boxes. So we drove back to DHL and waited while she worked her magic, when everything was done and money was exchanged, we drove around to put the boxes in the car only to realize that the muzungu (that’s me) did know what she was saying when she said it wouldn’t fit in the car. We then drove across town, picked up a guy, drove to another guys house, traded vehicles and the first guy took the first car somewhere. At this point it had just began raining (in the middle of dry season) so we raced back to get the boxes and off to Karuma we finally went. The five hour drive was quick and easy, mostly because I had peace of mind that, I had the boxes and I was going to my new home!!

Settling in has been as smooth as can be expected. I was having trouble when I first arrived balancing my food and malaria medicine but it has evened out. I am living in one half of a duplex. I have a front sitting room and bedroom/bathroom downstairs and upstairs both sides of the duplex share a kitchen and another sitting room. I had purchased some furniture from missionaries leaving so I have all that I need and am now just decorating with the few knick knacks I brought.

I am teaching high school English until the full time teacher gets back. I am really enjoying it because I am getting to know the big kids much better than I have in the past. My classes are from 8:30-10:30 Monday through Wednesday and then Thursday I have class from 8:30-12. Friday is the light day, I only have one class from 11-12. After I finish classes I come back to my house and prepare for the following day’s classes. It usually takes me about two hours to plan for my main two classes. After I finish preparing I have lunch and then I am running around campus doing different things. One of my favorite jobs is going to the baby house. All of our homes, with the exception of baby home, have one house mama who is there all the time. Because caring for eight babies is more work we have four house mamas there. Two that stay through the night and two who are day workers. We have eight babies currently but two are about to transition into other houses because they are walking and talking and terrorizing the other babies. I go by the house everyday to make sure that the mamas are keeping the schedule we set up and to model how to play with the babies. In Uganda they do not play or read with the babies so we are trying to implement that so we can give these babies the best start! They have books and toys but keep them locked in a separate room so the babies don’t “spoil” them...That’s the whole idea, let the baby chew on the toy....let the babies flip the pages themselves.

When the kids get out of school I walk over and chat and play until it is time for them to go home and then I come home, make dinner, and read or do a puzzle until bedtime. I have no problem going to bed at 8:30pm, its dark and I’m tired!

I had the chance to go to the “Big” city, Gulu, it is the second largest city in Uganda. They have a HUGE market that is held daily in a three story building, you can get everything from tomatoes to fabric to furniture there. It can be overwhelming because there are many people selling the same things and every price is negotiable. I love bartering and have begun to pick up on some Luwo (language spoken here) which always helps my bartering skills. This time I went with our CFO and one other girl, the next step is to take the bus by myself!

It is amazing what God has done in just a month, I am exhausted every night when I go to bed and I love it! I get a great nights sleep and am ready to exhaust myself the next day. It is just an amazing feeling knowing there are sixty people in America praying for RG and for my ministry. It is humbling to know that God has chosen to use me and I pray daily that I will continue listening to His voice and follow it even when other voices are louder telling me something else.

Aheri,

Jessica

Praises:

-They added a solar panel to my house so I now have a mini fridge that runs all the time!! That means I can buy a little cheese and have cold water!!!

- I am settling in well, I have everything unpacked and I am starting to have a schedule

-I have been able to continue building relationships with some of the kids that I have known on past trips, looking forward to going deeper with them

Prayer Requests:

-I am still trying to learn names and where the kids live, pray for extra memory to be able to remember names

- Pray that our teachers will have a learner mentality and want to improve their skills, in the same token pray that I and others can speak to them in such a way that they know they are valued and supported

-Pray for our short term teams that will begin coming, pray that they will support the ministry of RG and follow our policies. We have a lot of people that come and decide to do things their way for a week and then we have to deal with the consequences of their actions.

-Pray for all of the long term missionaries here, its a hard but rewarding job to have, pray that we can all support each other and be there when someone is struggling.