A short but busy month!

February came and went quickly. We had our first visitors of the year. A doctor who has been coming for eight years retuned for a month. She worked on interviewing nurses, doctors and administration in our new hospital that will open in April. She also worked to provide for other needs around campus. She was kind enough to invite me to dinner several times at her house as well as taking me to the resort, Chobee, that is about an hour away. Often teams will go there for a nice dinner or breakfast and a swim in the pool. It is such a nice retreat to rest and refill before returning to RG. She also hosted a Valentines Dinner for all the married couples at RG (four couples) and then she and I and two other single girls were the waitstaff for the event. It was really fun and a great way to spend Valentine’s Day. I also did some traveling this month, I took the bus down to Kampala (capital of Uganda) with a friend so she could get her Ugandan driving license. She is an American who has been working at RG for two years and she just took another volunteer job about an hour away from RG in Gulu. I love public transportation, it is just so different from America and cheap entertainment for the whole five hours down to Kampala. So to board the public bus you go to the “bus park” which consists of a dirt area with chickens for sale. When a bus comes by that you like, you hurry to try and get on, no time schedule, no clue what bus is coming, just wait for it and go. After loading the bus ( think rundown mega bus) you find a seat and settle in. There is a TV with music videos or you can just watch others. As you go the bus will stop periodically to let people on or off. The bus is then surrounded by people selling food and drinks. You can get anything from produce to meat on a stick from the people and then you’re off again. It was really entertaining and made the trip go quickly and the best part is instead of paying $40 for a personal car you only pay $5. I also traveled to Gulu a few times, once to take a team shopping in the main market, once to do my own shopping and once with my friend when she was house shopping before she moved. I like Gulu because it has more than Karuma (my town) but it is not as big as Kampala so it feels manageable on my own. The last trip I took I discovered a “supermarket” that sold ground beef and cereal!! Score!! It still takes a whole day of shopping to get everything you need but it is enjoyable and there is a bakery to get sweets so well worth the trip. I am still teaching high school English, which I am loving. I was not sure when I started but it has been a great way to get to know the big kids and hear what they want to do as they grow up. It has only been two months but I already cannot imagine when they graduate and leave RG. I don’t know how parents ever let their kids go to college.  I’m keeping mine with me forever! I also have been working on a lot of administrative things for the school. The lady who came hsd brought 42 iPads over the past eight years, they are used in classes as well as letting the kids take them home for the night to play academic games. I worked on making the system more efficient and reminding everyone of the rules since we often forget over time. This same lady brought 200 lbs of legos for a new “learning lab” that will have legos, magnetic tiles, and other manipulatives for the kids. We worked the whole time she was here on sorting the legos and preparing the space for the learning lab. We also hired someone to oversee this learning lab and I am now her supervisor. So I go in and work with her now but in time she will do it on her own and ill just go and check in with her. My days are busy but I also find time for some fun. The secondary kids have been invited to a soccer tournament against other high school teams all over Uganda. They have been practicing everyday and are really excited for the tournament. According to some of the workers our teams are really good so I am hopeful that they will do well. I am really excited because this gives our girls a chance to show their talent as well. The boys play all the time, against the workers and other school teams but not many schools have a girls team so our girls don’t get the same encouragement. We are so blessed to have a proper soccer field and goals with nets however I am still reminded its Africa when I see the kids out there playing in torn up cleats or just bare feet. No shoes no problem! I have played around with the kids, they love when I 'make a fool of myself’ and this is one place I can do that! Prayer Requests: -We will be having a lot of visitors over the next few months, pray that they will be helpful and encouraging and not disruptive to our daily life. Pray specifically that they will follow the rules we have in place. -Pray for the soccer tournament, first that we will get the financial support to buy the jersey and cleats but even more that this will be an opportunity to show Christ through our actions with other teams and even share the gospel with other schools

- Pray for our church and sound teaching. The church/culture lines can be blurred. Pray God’s Word is held in high standing compared to the local culture.