Back from the Bush...and Jungle

I ended up going on my rural home stay, just 2 days late. I went to the Dr. last Monday morning and after a very intimidating time (he is a British doctor who thinks he is always right) he diagnosed me with a strained diaphragm...hmm, what does that mean? I had blood drawn, which consisted of a few tears since I hate needles and I had to do it all alone. As soon as we got back to school I was off.

I traveled to Soroti, a warm bush climate to meet my family. My father met us on the road and took us back to the house. He owned 11 acres and had all kinds of different crops including maize, ripes (bananas), oranges, pumpkin, mangos, paw paw (papaya), beans etc. He, his brothers and a neighbor were in a coop to try to harvest the perfect fruits. I told them how my family had a cocktail tree when I was growing up and they were excited to try that with their new seedlings. We also had 40 chickens, 20 turkeys, 20 goats and of course many spiders and cockroaches and massive rats. Their coop had also tried to breed the perfect animals; we had one dwarf goat and one giant goat as a result of their experiments.

My father was a very intelligent man, a head master; however, he was very stuck in the gender roles of many Africans. He told me that the first day I was a guest but after that I was to cook for him and be in the kitchen because that is where women belong. He also took me around to all of the brothers and neighbors to "show me off." He would introduce me to everyone as "his mzungu." After about the 10th house we went to I asked to go home because I couldn't take it anymore, I was more of a prize or show and tell than a person. I felt very subjected by him and by my skin color, more by him than by almost anyone else since I've been here.

On the other hand, I adored my host mom. She was a gorgeous, mother of 8, grandmother of 2 and the sweetest lady every. Many of the neighbor girls would come over with their babies and ask for advice about parenting or how to run their houses. It was a sweet picture to see the young neighbors with their babies, and my old mom with her grand daughter on her lap. She was so kind and tender and had the sweetest smile and laugh. I cannot wait to show you all pictures, she was amazing!

Three daughters lived with them; I shared a mud hut with two of them. Their son Dan, who was about 10 also lived there, he was very smart and spoke great English. Two of the grandkids from 2 of their daughters lived with them also while their parents were working near the Congo border. My favorites were the two grandkids, Tony and Tina; they were the cutest kids I have seen in Africa. Absolutely beautiful, just like their grandmother!

After the home stay, which for me only lasted 2 days, we stayed in Soroti town for 2 days as a whole group. It was a great time of relaxing, playing games, fellowship, laughing and making new friends.

We left Soroti town for Sipi Falls for three days. It was absolutely breathtaking. We stayed at a rest camp in mud houses again but it faced a cliff with a 200 ft. waterfall. On Saturday we got to hike from the very top to the very bottom. At the bottom the mist from the fall was so intense I was drenched for the 2-hour hike back up. I was literally blown away standing looking into the vastness of the waterfall. It was absolutely incredible. I don't know if I have ever been somewhere so beautiful. Again, I can't wait to show you pictures. That evening Grace and I took some time to go out and look up at the stars. There is no power so no city lights. The vastness of the stars took my breath away; it reminded me of this summer with my dad looking at the stars in Ouray, Colorado. We talked about the promise to Abraham that God would make his descendants greater than the number of the stars. It was incredible for me to think that I had seen so many stars this summer but they are completely different than the ones I saw this weekend since I am in the Southern hemisphere. I may feel very small and insignificant but God seemed really really big this weekend.

Please be praying for me over the next 6 weeks, I have 45 days till I come home but it feels very hard right now. Our director asked if it all feels down hill from here but to me it feels all uphill with home being way up a mountain. In talking with my parents I started crying, which I haven't done for over a week, realizing how heavy my heart is. So many hard things have happened here and there is no support from the staff here, no one to process with or to talk things through with. I told my parents, I see starving kids every where, this morning on my way to school 3 men asked me to marry them, a girl yesterday got a very disturbing email from a Ugandan students, and another had one show up to her house, I have felt subjected for 3 months for being a woman and white and have never had someone to come along side me and be there for me. I can't wait to come home but still really want to not waste my last time here.

Please also be praying for Uganda and the Congo, if you have not heard in the midst of election chaos, the rebels have advanced and Goma, the Congo border city to Gisenyi, Uganda. Many Americans have been evacuated and the situation is tense, we are fine here but the situation with the rebels is constantly.

Lastly, if any of you want really cute cards for Christmas or anything, google Cards From Africa. It is a British guy in Rwanda who has employed victims of Rwandan genocide. They are mostly kids who have to support their families. Read the description on their website, they are all hand made and beautiful. Pricey but worth it! Love and miss you all!