Breakthroughs

I have a lot of great news to report!
First, the programs with the ladies have finally started yesterday, and so far they have been really encouraging.  Yes, I am weak, but He is strong.  I thought I was going to fail miserably, but God has totally come through.  We are reading a book called "Living in Love with Jesus" and it is by two women, one of which was my mom's favorite singer Kathy Troccoli.  My testimony has a lot to do with the loss of my mother, and the fact Kathy was involved in the writing of this book is a blessing to me.  Right now my plan is to have Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays about the book and Tuesdays and Thursdays teaching Math and English.  Yesterday we used the book, and it was incredible.  The first chapter was all about how we are the Beloved of God and we are his betrothed.  He is preparing a wedding and wedding feast for us, and when He comes back for us we will be able to walk down the "aisle" to meet him.  After sharing my story, and the story of the Gospel, two of the girls decided this was a wedding they wanted to be apart of!!! Today, I bought them rings to symbolize their "engagement" to Christ.  I am really excited to present to give them to the ladies tomorrow. 

Today, the ladies and I did an English and Math study.  We talked about likes/dislikes, wants, how to ask for help, and what to say when they do not understand/if they would like me to repeat myself.  This way, I know that they will stop me if I am going too fast or using words they do not know.  I gave them a little less than 50 math problems to do in order to see where they were at.  I will be teaching the addition and subtraction of fractions next week.

Also, today, I learned how to wash clothes by hand.  At the beginning everyone was laughing at me, and I knew why, I looked ridiculous.  The watchman, Conrad, asked me "It looks like you have never done this before, how do you wash clothes in your country?"  Sadly, I had to answer, "Machines." But as time went on I got better at it, and it began to really connect me with the women.  I want to do the things they do, I do not want to just be a guest in this home, I want to be a part of the normal, everyday stuff.  (I hope this is making sense... I only have a little bit of time to complete this blog so I feel like I am rushing through it.) Later I told Ruth (one of the young women that live here)  "Hey, this is actually fun!" and she said, "Yes, it is funny!" hahahaha, I didn't say it was funny, but she certainly thought it was.  I hope to continue to wash clothes with them, it seemed like they enjoyed the time spent together... I know I certainly did.  While we were washing they asked me the English word for the things we were cleaning, so it was cool to connect teaching something and just hanging out with them.


I have started to feel more at home lately.  I was holding Afusa, one of the cutest little girls I have ever encountered, while watching the boys play soccer and thought to myself, "I do not wish I was any place else."  I am really enjoying the slower pace, focused ministry, and just living life with these INCREDIBLE people.  I love being at the house when the boys come home from school.  They greet me by shaking my hand and saying, "Good evening, auntie" and I say, "Good evening, (with their name).  What did you learn at school today?"  I will never get tired of their responses: "Today I learned how to write a letter" "Today I learned why drinking alcohol is bad" (lol) "Today I learned about ethnicity" "Today I learned about the population of Uganda" and so on. I will never grow tired of the girls asking me "Auntie, how do you say (insert word or gesture towards an object) in English?"  I will never grow tired of the devotional time, the time we take during the day to sit in the presence of God and simply THANK Him for the good things He has done.  I challenge those reading this blog today (because it is early in the Western hemisphere) to do this at your dinner tables tonight or wherever you are with the people you love.

Currently reading: Jeremiah, Mark, The Screwtape Letters, and Living in Love with Jesus