One week!

4-6-2010

So I think I am going to start making an actual list of things I want to see at Love For the Sake of Love and Hope N Doors.  First of all, clean water will be available to volunteers and staff members.  We get clean water when we are at the babies home, but we have to buy it all other times.  I managed to fill up two water bottles the other day but drank one last night, leaving me only one bottle of water on my day off, probably not the best thing.  Looks like I will be spending the majority of my money on water and taxis.  So I was going to learn to walk to the babies’ home but we are not supposed to walk it alone the first time we walk it and the only girl here who walks it is leaving.  That makes me slightly upset.

We do have things pretty nice in the guest house.  We have electricity, running water (not drinkable), a nice view, and two meals cooked for us (although breakfast is bread . . . can’t lie, I would eat millipop/soft porridge just for the variety).  We eat a lot of carbs . . . bread, rice, potatoes, this mashed banana squash stuff.  First thing I eat when I get home is going to be a bacon burger. 

So speaking of electricity . . . It isn’t working right now.  It is weird, I am not quite sure what it is that I should do. 

I once heard a story about a missionary couple who went back to the states for a furlough.  After they had left one of the other missionaries turned to another and said “They won’t be back.”  When asked why, this missionary simply said “She never unpacked her bags.”  Sure enough, that missionary couple never returned. . .  Today, I unpacked my bags completely as to say “I’ll be back.”

April 8, 2010

I have been gone for a week.  I can’t tell if it feels long longer or about right.  I think long, but in a good way.  I feel like I have learned SOOOO MUCH.  Yesterday we had orientation and I learned a lot about Baby homes and how Uganda runs things.  I also learned how important it would be for me to specialize in pediatrics because of the lack of care for babies offered at the hospitals.  Oh man, and the director of Baby Watoto’s passion for the babies was astounding.  My passions were so stirred just listening to her.  Dude, and I learned about the Watoto Childcare ministries’ beginnings.  It is not easy stuff at all but they did it and if you look at what they have now . . . WOW!  I got so many tips from them and so many ideas.

Today we had a village tour that involved going to two different orphanage locations.  The first one was huge and we got to walk around it.  I have so many ideas and plans for what Hope N Doors should look like.  Then we went to Suubi (which means Hope in Lugandan) and got a small tour of that.  I loved it so much.  My little heart nearly exploded with ideas for Hope N Doors!  It is crazy.  I can’t wait til I get to go back there and take more notes. 

I have so much now to do for preparing for Hope N Doors.  In Uganda, I probably can start writing down basic ideas and the things I have observed.  Most of the research and stuff I need to do needs to be done online which I don’t have access to all the time (only my days off . . .aka Tuesday and Friday).  All this stuff I have learned has got me so excited.  We have so much more work to do in preparing.  It is NOT CHEAP to do any of this stuff.  

This week I have learned how much it cost to live here.  They have me in a guest house pretty far from main part of town (which means it is a tad bit safer . . .if you can consider anything safe).  Because of rules, we have to take taxis back and forth from the baby’s home and that is quite taxing.  It is crazy, I may hardly have enough to pay for these four months here and a plane ticket back.  I am going to have to get that plane ticket soon so I know about how much money I have to live off of.  I can tell you that it is definitely not going to be much.  God is faithful and He has me here for four months so I know He will provide.  I talked to the volunteer coordinator and we will see if they can move me to the volunteer apartments that in the middle of town (not as safe but I can walk everywhere and save money on transportation).  I now know that I have to do a significant amount of fundraising for Hope N Doors. 

I have got so much work ahead of me for when I get back to the states.  HEAPS AND HEAPS!  I think I want to design some cribs similar to the ones they have here, but just a tad bit different. 

Oh yea, and one of the other volunteers had her purse snatched off her shoulder the other day.  Yikes!  Luckily some guy chased after the purse snatcher and got it back for her!

Oh and this guy named Mark is teaching me some Lugandan while we fold laundry!  I can say “how are you” . . . so far that is it J

I am sorry that I write so much!  I cant help it!  I have learned so much