Project Update

Alright guys, the rules have been finalized. They are as follows:

1. The individual must have been born, and still be, a man.

2. The guy must be between the ages of 20 and 29

3. The guy can not be married, engaged, or in any sort of serious relationship.

4. I can not have spent more than 3 hours of direct contact with the guy in my lifetime.

5. My safety can not be at risk by going out on the date (i.e the guy can't be a creeper)

6. The guy can not know about the book prior to the date.

Ironically enough, the first date happened to be this weekend. The guy searched my name at dinner and found my blog and I had to confess the whole thing. Awkward! You can read all about it when I release portions of the chapters online, or when the book is totally finished.

For now, I'm waiting for someone to hook up date #2. Let me know!

It's time to get serious,

Jenna

The Rules

So I finished my first week at my new job, which means I'm ready to start my next project.

If you don't know what project I'm talking, then you should scroll down and read all the details. If you don't feel like doing this, a quick summary:

I'm going on as many blind dates over the next few months as I can, and then I'm writing a book on my experiences.

And then, I'm going on Ellen (hopefully).

A project this big, with this many people involved, needs some rules. As humorous as I want my book to be, there are a few things I'm not willing to do. Here are the rules I've come up with up:

1. The person have been born and still be, a man.

2. The guy must be between 20 and 29 at the time of the date.

3. I can't have had more than 3 hours of direct interaction with the guy in my lifetime.

4. My safety can't be at risk by going on a date this the guy (i.e the guy can't be a creeper)

And now, a question for the 2 of you who read this:

Should I establish a rule number 5 that says that they guy can not know that I am setting out to write a book?

I see two sides to this:

1. A guy will be more himself if he doesn't know there's a possibility he will make an appearance in my best seller.

2. It seems a bit dishonest to go on a date with a guy without telling him the facts.

Regardless, I am planning on changing their names when I write about them, so their identity will never be known, but, I just can't decide which route would be better.

Awaiting your thoughts,

Jenna

First Day In London

Yesterday I arrived in London, got my bags, and waited for my mom and sister to come and get me from the airport. After dropping my bags off at the hotel, we went and got some food. Pizza and cheesecake was my first meal outside of Africa, and it was so good.

After dinner it started to rain, so we headed back to the hotel. I also got to take a real shower and bath for the first time in 2 months. It was excellent. I’m pretty sure I was about 5 shades lighter once I got all the dirt that has been caked on me for two months off.

This morning, we woke up early and headed out to explore the city. We looked at the St. Mary’s in the Fields church, and Trafalgar Square. We watched the changing of the guards at the Horse Guards. Also on our list of stops was Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abbey, the Jewel Tower. It involved a lot of walking and riding the subway, a lot of pictures, and a lot of tourists, but it was still really cool to see everything. In the evening we went and rode the London Eye and ate dinner at Harrod’s department store. The London Eye gave us some beautiful views of the city, and the potato skins and strawberry milkshake I had for dinner was fabulous.

Overall, it was a great day, but I still find myself missing Uganda a lot. I think it’s good that my mom and sister and London are here to distract me, because if I was just sitting at home, I would probably sink into some kind of depression. Whenever I see a clock, I immediately figure out what time it is in Uganda, and what I would be doing at that time.

I don’t want you to think that I don’t love being in London, because I do. It’s just that Uganda is always in the back of my mind.

I can’t wait to until I get to go back.

Looking forward to another day in London tomorrow,
Jenna

Leaving Uganda

I slept about 3 hours last night. I stayed up really late packing and hanging out with everyone and then I had to get up at 5 so that I could get to the airport on time. I got ready, finished up packing, and then left a note for everyone at the house.
At 6, it was time to leave. Normally, people usually ride with people who are leaving to the airport as a way to see them off, but since I was leaving so early, I didn’t really expect anyone to come.

Rita, Diana, Jayan, Rachel, and Amy all got up to say bye to me, and Heath and Brett both came with me. So did Rocky, our gate guard. Also, Felix came all the way from his house (about 45 minutes) to our house so that he could come too. I was really moved by the number of people that wanted to see me off, especially Heath, Brett, Felix, and Rocky.

I cried again saying goodbye to everyone at the house, just in case you’re wondering.

We had a great ride to the airport, just talking about our favorite memories from the summer, laughing about things that have happened and talking about the first things I am going to do when I get home. It really helped to take my mind off leaving, and I’m really glad the boys decided to come with me.

Once we got to the airport, the guys helped me carry my stuff to the security gate, and then we had to say bye. I held it together during the goodbyes, but I started crying again once I got inside.

I was loading my bags into the security check point with tears running down my face. I’m sure I looked like such an idiot.

I got on the plane without any problems and said goodbye to Uganda from the plane. I cried again. The girl next to me thought it was because I was afraid of flying.

I am usually not so emotional about things. I hate crying, especially in public, but I literally couldn’t hold it in.

I’ve never had something not physical physically hurt me so much, if that makes sense. It actually physically hurt me to leave Uganda, I think.

My friend, Kelsey, has spent a few semesters in London in the past, and I remember her telling me one time that her heart was still in London. It’s a statement that has always stuck with me, but I have never understood it until today.

I love my family and I love my friends and I love the life I have in Texas, but a part of me will always belong in Uganda.

God has taught me so much this summer and has given me so many memories and experiences that were literally once in a lifetime. I am so grateful for every minute of the experience. I wish I could do a better job of describing it to you.

I think I may start to suffer from separation anxiety, I’m hoping London will help to ease the pain.

Missing Uganda,
Jenna

Last Full Day In Uganda

Today was a bittersweet day. We woke up and had devotions and then spent some time praying and talking in small groups. I cried in my group when I told them about my sadness about leaving. It was the first of many tears.

After devotions, we went to the squatter’s neighborhood near Kambago to clean out their water hole. It was really dirty and gross, and we got really dirty and gross, but it looked so good afterwards! It felt really good to work my butt off for a few hours and then get such great results. We really made a difference in the lives of the people in that neighborhood.

After cleaning up, we came home and hung out at the house for a while. I took a shower and started working on getting things taken care of before I left. We also had some AIDS training, which basically consisted of learning the basics of AIDS, which I’ve gone over about 50 million times at school it seems like.

After our AIDS training, we went back to the squatter’s house to talk to people about AIDS. My group consisted of me, Brett, and David, a Ugandan. We went to two different houses and talked to people about the importance of getting tested for HIV/AIDS, and basic healthy practices that would help to prevent them from getting sick. We also prayed with them. We had to talk to them really quickly, because we didn’t have much time, but it was still nice to get to talk with them.

After the squatter’s neighborhood, a few of us went to the craft market so that I could get some last minute things before I headed home. I finally covered everyone on my list!

After the craft market I came home and hung out with everyone at the house for a while. I played Sorry, spoons, and speed with Jovan and Latisha, and then I had to tell them bye, which was really difficult. I really love those kids. I also spent some time talking with Helen, Tara, and Heath. Just hanging out at the house with everyone is something that I am going to really miss.

Towards the end of the night came the moment that I have been dreading for quite a while, my “goodbye circle”. Whenever someone leaves, everyone gets in a circle and says nice and encouraging things to the person, and then they pray for them.

Listening to people say nice things about you without saying anything back is extremely awkward, but it was still nice to listen to what everyone had to say. There were several times that I had to work really hard not to cry. Everyone talked about my sense of humor, and how cool it was that I did my therapy work on the kids, but some people also mentioned my leadership abilities, and my ability to motivate them, and how I made them feel welcome and was motherly towards them. Those last 3 were things that I didn’t expect at all. I loved finding out that you have an effect on people that you didn’t even realize was happening. It makes me want to be more conscious of the way I treat people all the time.

At the end of the goodbye circle, we always pray and then sing a song “We are family”. It’s not the song you’re thinking of, but it’s just as cheesy. I started crying during the prayer, kept going through the song, and was pretty much sobbing during a lot of the goodbye hugs. It was so embarrassing. I hate public crying.

I spent the rest of the night hanging out the Andrew, Heath, Diana, Jayan, and Rita. I spent most of it packing. There is no scale at the house, so poor Heath had to keep lifting my bags and guessing if my bags were under 50 pounds or not. Heath, if you read this, both were less than 50 pounds. Thanks for your help!

Tomorrow is the day I have been dreading for a while. I really don’t want to leave Africa, but I am excited to spend some time in London with my mom and Ally and to see everyone back home again. It’s really just a bittersweet moment with so many mixed emotions.

Confused and not looking forward to tomorrow,
Jenna

Last Day At Sanyu

This morning was one of the most difficult mornings of my life. We woke up and went to Sanyu to spend the morning there. I brought along my treatment plans that I had written up for each of my therapy kids, and this morning I taught them all to Elias, the “therapist” working there. I did the best I could to explain everything to him so that he can continue to do good work on my kids when I leave.

It took pretty much the entire time for me to teach the exercises and treatment plans to Elias and Felix, but it was nice to get to see each kid one last time. Esther was also sick this morning, so I got to sit and hold her for a little bit while we waited for the nurse.

Also, a really nice lady came in while I was working with Francis from England. She told me that she would be here for a few weeks, and that she had made Francis her personal project. I showed her everything that I do with her, and explained to her the importance of Francis being placed in his chair often. She told me that she would ensure that he was well taken care of, so it was a real comfort and blessing. I felt a little better about leaving him knowing that he was in good hands.

After I finished teaching Elias all the treatment plans, I sat and talked to him a little while. He went on and on about what a blessing I have been to him and the kids this summer. He also gave me quite an honor. He explained to me that each different part of the baby’s home has a sponsor. Being a sponsor involves having your name on a plaque outside the area, being recognized at board meetings and such, and helping to ensure that the needs of the area are met. Currently, the kitchen, play area, and each classroom have a sponsor and Barbara recently decided that the therapy room needs one as well. She told Elias that he could pick a person, and today he asked me if I would be the therapy room sponsor. I was overwhelmed by what he had to say. It actually almost made me cry. I didn’t realize I had such a large effect on him. I felt really nice to have my work this summer recognized, no matter how small it is.

I ended therapy a little early so that I could say bye to all of my favorite kids before I left. I got a bunch of big hugs and slobbery kisses. It was wonderful.

Then, it was time to actually leave. I’ll be honest; I cried the entire way home. Not just eyes watery cry, but tears down the face, bottom lip quivering, nose running, super ugly cry. It was awful leaving those kids. I have developed such a love for them over the summer; it literally tore me apart to leave them.

After getting home and calming down, we had a quick lunch and then I finished organizing my paper and went and got it bound. It took a long time to do, because they actually hand bind the paper here, but after about an hour, it was finally finished!

It feels so good to be done!

After I got back I started working on getting things taken care of before I have to leave. Then, we had team bonding time. It involved practicing songs, giving each other uplifting comments, and answering random questions about ourselves. Even though it sounds lame, it was actually a lot of fun.

After team bonding time, I worked on my presentations some.

I also spent some time on the driveway with Heath just playing with the neighborhood kids. I’m really going to miss moments like that.

Tonight we are just hanging out at the house. We are probably going to watch School of Rock later.

My mom and sister are leaving in the next hour or so for London, so pray for a safe flight for them.

Sad that tomorrow is my last day in Uganda,
Jenna

My Last Sunday

This morning I went to my last church service while in Uganda. We went to Kampala Community Church, which is the church Tara goes to when she is here in Uganda. The choir was really good, and we also got to see the children’s choir perform, which was really entertaining. The message was pretty good as well. After the service was over, the pastor and his wife gave us some sodas and took us on a small tour of the church. Everyone here is always so welcoming!

After church we came home and had a quick lunch. Then, Jovan and LaTisha came over and I took them swimming at a swimming pool nearby. I have been promising to take them swimming for forever, and today was the last day that we would have been able to go.

Swimming was a lot of fun, even though the water was freezing! We only lasted about an hour because we started getting too cold.

On the way home, we stopped by the supermarket and the fruit market to get some supplies for our cooking lesson. Jovan and LaTisha promised a long time ago to teach me how to make traditional Ugandan foods.

Once we got home, I washed some underwear and bras (hand washed, my mom would be so proud!) and sorted through the rest of my clothes to figure out what Sarah needs to wash for me before I go to London. After I finished, Irish Amy, Abby, and I went to Jovan and LaTisha’s house to learn to make the food.

We had such a blast! Jovan’s mom and aunt, Jovan, LaTisha and the three of us made Ugandan pancakes, chapatti, and rolexes. They also gave me the recipes for a bunch of other things. I am excited to come home and make everything for you guys. I am a little nervous it won’t turn out exactly right though. Ugandans don’t use measurements at all when they are making food. It’s all estimates! I’m a little nervous about it.

After cooking lessons I came home and played Sorry! with Jovan, LaTisha, and Abby. We also had a small birthday celebration for Emily from Alaska. She turned 17 today! If you thought sending me to Africa was hard, imagine sending your 16 year old daughter!

Tonight, I also printed out my paper! It is completely finished. Tomorrow I am taking it to a nearby stationary store to have it bound, and then all I have left to do is the presentation, which shouldn’t take long at all.

It has been such a great day!

Enjoying my last few days here,
Jenna

A Traditional African Wedding

Today was Sarah’s big day! We woke up and did our hair and got all ready to go, only to sit around for about an hour waiting to leave. Once we did finally leave, we drove close to 2 hours (with a stop for some lunch) until we arrived at Sarah’s parent’s house in Jinja.

Once we got to the house, we had to wait for women from Sarah’s tribe to tie up our dresses. Not to be conceited, but we looked pretty good. It took a while for everyone to get there and get ready. It also took a while for everyone to get organized.

The ceremony was supposed to start at 2, I think it actually started at 4. T.I.A.

Our part in the ceremony was relatively simple. We walked in, kneeled on mats in front of the future in-laws, and then recited some Luganda we had memorized.

By memorized I mean that most everyone else had memorized, but I suck at languages in general and definitely at Luganda, so I just moved my mouth like I knew what we were saying.

After our part, we sat down under some tents with the rest of the bride’s family and friends. Originally, I was excited about seeing a traditional African ceremony, but, the entire thing was in Luganda, without any translations, so it got old after about 10 minutes.

It lasted about 4 hours.

In general, the ceremony involved different members of the bridal party looking for the groom in the crowd and being unable to find him. Then, one of the groom’s aunts comes in and actually does find him, and brings him to Sarah.

Then, they try to negotiate a dowry. The family doesn’t accept and they do the whole search for the groom thing again. Then they negotiate. Then they accept, and then the groom’s family brings in the dowry.

It’s all fake, as the dowry has already been discussed and agreed upon, so it all seemed a bit silly to me.

The dowry involved a bunch of goats and cows, couches, and about a hundred baskets full of food. Sarah’s brother was also presented with a blank check. Diana told me that culturally, he will put in a decent amount, but that it is more symbolism for the fact that Sarah means more to him than any amount of money. That’s kind of cute, but I’m not all about the whole dowry thing.

Now that’s its all said and done, Sarah and her husband are married by African standards, but they are not married by the church’s standards. They are getting married in the church in December. It is up for debate on whether or not they can live together and act like husband and wife before their ceremony in December. Some of the Ugandans have told me that they can’t, and some of the Ugandan have told me that they can. I guess we will just wait and see.

After that, we got to eat the usual Ugandan food, makoote, rice, potatoes, beef, chicken, etc. It was good.

We left pretty soon after that.

On a side note, I also woke up this morning and finished my paper. It feels so good to finally be done with it! I am waiting for my mom to proof read it and send it back so that I can print it out and get it bound. Tomorrow I start on the presentation part, but that part should be relatively easy. What a relief!

Tomorrow is my last time at church in Africa. I am also going to take Jovan and LaTisha swimming. It should be a really fun day.

Loved Being A Part of Traditional Africa,
Jenna

Sweeping Mud

This morning we woke up and had a really quick devotion before heading to school to do breakfast ministries. My group went to Wankulukuku again. I really love that school and the kids there. This morning, I found out that most of the kids at the school have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. When we got there, part of our group started making porridge, while the rest of our group did a program. I ended up leading games, which ended up being quite a difficult task because the porridge took longer than expected to prepare and we had go to buy cups because the kids had nothing to eat the porridge out of.

I literally had to bring out every Ugandan game I could think of. I pulled out Cat and Rat, Mengo, I Want, I Want, Making Melodies and the Ugandan version of tug of war. I also had to pull out some American games, Red Light, Green Light, Hokie Pokey, Father Abraham. Game time literally lasted over an hour. I also had to help with worship a little bit because the girl leading worship has just started leading and had some trouble coming up with songs.

I could help but think of my first day here. I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t know any of the songs. I felt so awkward and uncomfortable and out of place. Today I led an over 2 hour program. Even Colin, one of the Ugandans commented on how comfortable I looked and acted. It’s crazy to think about how much I have changed since I have been here. Scared and awkward to comfortable and leading. Uganda actually feels like a second home to me now. It’s funny how quickly that happened. It took me close to a year to feel comfortable in San Marcos.

After games and songs, Vanessa told a quick story, and then we served porridge to all the kids who didn’t bring a lunch to school. They never eat anything at school, in case you’re wondering, so it felt good to give them something, at least for today.

While we were playing with the kids today, a little girl came up to me and started cleaning my feet with her fingers. I tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn’t. The humbleness of the people here always blows my mind.

After the school we went home and had a really quick lunch and then Emily, Felix (who is finally back from his internship) and I went to the post office. Emily had a package to pick up, and I am still waiting on a few packages to come in. My packages still weren’t there, which was disappointing, but I am going back to check again on Monday or Tuesday, so keep your fingers crossed.

Emily and I also picked up some Bible for people. The guy tried to rip us off because we were white, so we didn’t end up getting everything we wanted.

Our trip ended up taking so long that we had to take a taxi and a boda boda to Good Choice Primary school. If you are an avid blog reader, you remember that Good Choice is the school that I went to when I had literally been in Uganda less than 10 hours. We went back to clean again and play with the kids.

I had a blast playing with the kids, and Heath, Rachel and I had a good time cleaning up a classroom. We literally swept and mopped (with rags, not mops) mud out of a classroom. We also cleaned the porch. Afterwards, there were lots of puddles of water in a walkway in front of the doors, so Benon literally had us sweep mud. We had a lot of fun making fun of it.

We also got really dirty. That was close to 3 hours ago, and I have yet to shower. My hygiene habits here in Africa have really gone down hill. I don’t shower or wash my hair everyday, and I have been sleeping on sheets with dirt stains on them for close to 2 weeks now. I’m also not washing any clothes until it’s time for me to pick out outfits for London. In short, I’m gross.

I promise not bring my hygiene habits home with me.

Hopefully, anyways.

Tonight we did some stuff to prepare for Sarah’s introduction ceremony. It is the African version of an engagement party, but here in Africa, it’s bigger than the wedding. The parents, in-laws, and bride and groom all meet and the families also discuss dowries, which are still down here in Africa. We had to iron our traditional wedding clothes, and Abby played with my hair some. I think I am actually going to do my hair and make up and feel like a girl for the first time in a while!

I also think I am going to be able to finish my paper before we leave tomorrow. The end is near!

Later tonight, we are having another share time around the bonfire. The last one was really good, so I am really excited about it.

Going to finally finish my paper,
Jenna

My Last Favorite Day of the Week

This morning was another great day. I woke up early and did some work on my paper. I am so close to being finished! After everyone else had woken up, we headed to Sanyu. It was my second to last day there, which made me really sad, but I still had another great morning with the kids.

Francis’ chair is still not correct. I had made a marking for where I wanted his head piece to go and they placed it under the line instead of above (after I told them to place it above about 50 times), which I didn’t notice until I put him in it this morning. It was disappointing to still not see it done, but Douglas, one of the Ugandans says he can fix it quite quickly and easily for me tomorrow. I can’t wait to finally see it done and Francis sitting properly in it on Monday.

I did therapy on all the usual kids this morning and I realized how much I am really really really going to miss them. I have a really bad feeling I am going to cry when we leave on Monday.

That feeling is confirmed by the fact that I just teared up a little bit thinking about it.

On a more positive note, my friend Emily followed me around all morning. It was a little awkward to do therapy with someone taking pictures, but it was well worth it. The pictures came out BEAUTIFULLY. Seriously, I can’t wait to show them to you guys. Every time I look at pictures that Emily takes I can’t get over how talented she is. My walls are literally going to be covered with her photographs when I get home.

After Sanyu we came home and had a quick lunch before going to Remand. The kids went nuts during worship again. I get so happy and teary eyed every time. The energy and love and passion for Jesus that is in the room is just so awesomely indescribable. I’ll show you a video of it when I get home, but I have a feeling it won’t do it justice. Tara had the kids do a skit contest on family, which the kids really seemed to enjoy, and Heath gave another great message. That guy is going to be a great preacher one day I think.

Francis and I also talked to the warden and Moses again today. They have started working on his paperwork and Francis is going to go and talk to Moses’ parents when he goes back to Luwero on Saturday. Francis thinks he should be able to go home not this Saturday, but the next. He should also be able to go back to school this next term. I am going to help pay for his school fees as well.

I’m not really sure where the money for this is coming from, but it’s something that I have prayed about, so I am sure God will provide somehow.

Saying goodbye to Moses was really hard today. I cried to be honest. I have made such strong bonds and connections here, and I have a feeling that the goodbyes are only going to get harder. I left him a card and a picture of us, and Francis and I told him about his opportunity to go back to school and going home. He was super excited. Seeing the joy on his face was worth any pain I felt in saying goodbye. I love knowing that I am making a difference in his life.

On a completely unspiritual side note, on Saturday I gave Moses some body wash and today the boys were asking me how you use it. They had been using it like lotion and were complaining to me that it kept on making their skin sticky and dry. I couldn’t help but laugh. I have never had to explain to someone how to use soap before!

After Remand home, instead of going home with everyone, Francis and I went to a local market nearby. I wanted to go and get some stuff for Emily, Jessie, and my sponsor children. The market was literally like a giant garage sale. I’m pretty sure that everything in the market was at one time or another owned by an American. Everything was secondhand. We walked around for a bit and we able to find some really great deals. I got four pairs of shoes for $30, 3 dresses for $15, pants and a shirt for Jovan for $5, 4 mosquito nets for $10, and 4 backpacks for $13. Uganda is so cheap!

I also got some picture frames to put the pictures Emily and I printed in, and I am giving Francis money to buy Jovan’s family a mattress. I wish I could be there to see all the kids get the stuff.

Tonight I copied all the songs and Luganda words into my spiral so that I can remember them when I get home. It took a while, but it was well worth it. I can’t wait to teach you guys some Luganda and some African songs!

Dreading 5 days from now,
Jenna

This morning I woke up really early and got a lot of work done on my paper. Then, after devotions we went to Katawalma. It was my last time there, which was extremely depressing. I dropped off Francis’ chair so that they could make adjustments, and then I went to the therapy room. Karen wasn’t there this morning, so I worked with another therapist named Olive.

The first boy we worked with was named Edward. He was one of the happiest kids I have ever met. He couldn’t talk, but he laughed and smiled at everything. He has cerebral palsy and today we helped him learn to walk with a walker for the first time. He picked it up so quickly! This is the second time this summer that I have had the opportunity to watch a child take their first steps. It is truly an incredible experience, and I am so thankful to God for giving me the opportunity.

After working with Edward, I spent the rest of the time with Sansom. He was out of pain pills again and just cried and cried the entire time. It was really awful. I am also really sad that I can’t stay longer to help him and his family more. I actually kind of feel guilty about it. I know that’s a silly feeling to have, because there isn’t really much I can do for them anyways, but I can’t shake it.

After Katawalma we went home and had some lunch. We had some problems with the vans so we didn’t end of going to Clive. We went to a school called City Side. This made me extremely nervous. It took me 3 weeks to build up enough confidence to speak at Clive because I was comfortable with it.

Then, on the way there, we realized that we had no one to lead worship, and that Brett and I were the only none new people that actually knew the words to songs. This meant that we would be leading worship. Needless to say, I was super nervous.

When we got there, the students led most of the songs. They only asked us to do one song, and I think Brett and I pulled it off really well. After singing, Benon told me that I only had 5 minutes to share, so I went through my message from Luke 5 super fast. I told the story of the men lifting their paralyzed men through the roof to meet Jesus. I also spoke on the importance of sharing Jesus with our friends. It went well considering the amount of time I had.

After I finished, Benon find out that I actually had 15 minutes left. It was a little disappointing, but it did give us a chance to talk to the kids for a bit.

After Scripture Unions we came home for a bit before heading to play Bethany College in a basketball game. We got killed, I actually played for about 30 seconds, and Edith, Lynn, and I spent the rest of the time making up stupid cheers. It was a blast.

Tonight I stole/Emily let me have a bunch of beautiful pictures that she has taken while in Uganda. She does photography on the side and she is extremely talented. I can guarantee that some of her pictures will end up as artwork on my wall, and I can’t wait to show them to you guys.

Tonight I worked on my paper and watched The Pursuit of Happyness with everyone. Tomorrow is my last day at Remand home with Moses. Leaving is going to be so sad.

Tomorrow (tonight your time) I am getting up early to try and talk to my family again. Cross your fingers the internet is working. I should be on skype at around 9 or 930 if you want to talk to me too.

Looking forward to chatting with my pops,
Jenna

Tomorrow The One Week Countdown Begins

This morning Heath gave a great devotional time. It was really inspiring, I’m pretty sure that kid is gonna be a great preacher one day.

After devotional we went back to Modern Primary School. I really love the kids at that school. They are always so excited to see us. We had the same group this time, we sang some songs, played some games, and Brett told the story of Jonah and the whale. The rest of us acted it out in the background. I hate to toot my own horn, but I played a pretty mean whale. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Academy gives me a nod come Oscar time.

After Modern we came home and said bye to Leah. Leah was an absolutely wonderful girl whose passion for the Lord really inspired me. It was really sad to see her go, and the house definitely isn’t going to be the same without her.

After lunch and goodbyes, we went to Clive for a Scripture Union meeting. This time, the students led it, so we sang some songs and then split up into groups and had some discussion questions about what it means to do ministry. It was really great to just sit and talk with the kids. Tomorrow I am speaking for the first time at Clive. I am nervous and excited about it. Pray for me please, speaking isn’t really my strong point!

After Clive we came home for a bit and I took the new people to the bank and the market. It’s weird that I am now so experienced that I take the new people around. Now that Jen and Leah left today, I have been here the longest besides the people that live here. It is nuts.

This evening we went back to the squatter’s house to play with the kids that we visited with last week. They sang us songs and we passed out toys and played with them. We also did a bunch of jump roping. They remembered my name after only a few hours together last time. The effect we have on kids always surprises me. I had a blast.

Today when I said bye to them, I realized we probably won’t be going back there before I leave. It was my last time to see them. Then I realized that tomorrow is the one week countdown. That means that everywhere we go for the rest of the week will be my last time there. Leaving is going to be so depressing.

After we squatter’s we came home and said bye to Jen, ate some dinner, and Heath, Rita, and I went to the market. We also played a bunch of card games tonight.

Admittedly, I didn’t do much work on my paper.

I promise to be better tomorrow,
Jenna

Getting Close To The End

This morning we woke up and went to Sanyu babies home. We were supposed to take Francis back to Katawalma but his case worker lied about him not having an appointment because she was too lazy to take him. She actually flat out refused to take him, and the director of the baby’s home wasn’t there to say anything. It made me really upset. I took some measurements of Francis and his chair myself and I am hoping they will work when I take the chair back on Wednesday.

The rest of the morning I did therapy on the usual kids. I also filled out some paper work on them. The “therapist” that comes to the baby’s home literally does nothing there anymore, I have completely taken over. I’m a little nervous about leaving him with all the kids next week.

After the baby’s home we came home and had some lunch and a planning meeting. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon looking at pictures with the people who were leaving. Kevin, Jen, Jessie, and I also made Kevin and Jessie’s last trip to Chicken Express.

After working on my paper a little bit, Kevin, Jessie, the Emilys, and I left with Ivan and Edith to say goodbye to Kevin, Jessie, and Emily at the airport. It was really really sad to see them go. I actually almost cried at the airport. Leaving next week is going to be so hard.

We also picked up 4 new people at the airport. I haven’t really had a chance to get to know them yet, but they seem nice.

Tomorrow we are going back to Modern Primary School. It should be a great day!

Looking forward to tomorrow,
Jenna

Harry Potter Day!!!!!

Today was a relatively uneventful day. We woke up and went to church at St. Kakuba chapel. We had been there before, and it was pretty much just like being in a typical American church again; however, this time they had a woman guest preacher, and she was a tad bit more entertaining.

After church Kevin, Jen, and I went to chicken express for lunch. Kevin leaves Monday and Jen leaves Tuesday so it was good to talk and hang out with them before they leave. After lunch, I worked on my paper a little bit and then we went to see Harry Potter (hooray!) at Garden City. Heath, Kevin, Tony the Stalker, Emily, Jessie, Amy, Jovan, LaTisha, and I all went and enjoyed the summer movie I have most been looking forward to. Overall, I really like it, although I was a bit disappointed about some of the stuff they cut out from the book. We got some ice cream before we headed home. It was another great outing.

After we got back, Kevin, Heath, Emily, and I weren’t big fans of dinner, so we went to Chili’s to get something to eat. We ended up having a great conversation about girls and guys and relationships. It was one of my favorite meals so far in Uganda.

I am spending the rest of the night working on my paper. I am slowly but surely making progress. My goal is to finish by Friday, so cross your fingers.

Tomorrow, Jessie, Ty, Natalie, Kevin, and Emily leave. 5 new people are coming, but I am really going to miss the people that are going.

Tomorrow is gonna be a sad day,
Jenna

Second Luwero Trip

This morning things got off to a rough start. Emily and I woke up early and went to the super market to get some food and candy for our sponsor kids and their families. I also got some underwear and hygiene stuff for Moses to take home with him. The first super market we went to was closed, so we had to walk down to one further down the street. I also wanted to get Moses some clothes so he wouldn’t have to wear the Remand uniform home, but unfortunately, only the first supermarket has clothes.

As it turns out, it didn’t end up mattering.

Once Francis, Emily, and I got to Remand home, we found Moses dressed and ready to go and super excited about going home. I have never seen him smile bigger. We went to talk to the head warden about him leaving and she said that she needed to talk to the warden that we talked to on Thursday. She called him, and when she called, the man totally changed his story.

He said that Moses couldn’t leave because his case requires “resettling” which means that the Magistrate in charge of his case requires that paperwork be filled out and signed by the chairman of his village and turned back into him before he leaves. It is the government’s way of ensuring that the kids are going home to a decent environment.

They haven’t yet taken care of his paperwork.

So then, I asked for the paperwork and offered to find the chairman today and get him to sign the papers so that Moses could go home once I turned the papers back in.

They haven’t even started filling out his paperwork.

So then I said we could wait for them to fill the paperwork out and I didn’t really care how long it took.

They don’t even have a copy of the required paperwork in the office.

At this point, I got really upset. Moses got released the Thursday before we went to Luwero. That’s close to a month ago. I told the woman that in America keeping someone in prison a month after their release date is very much against the law. She told me that it was because the van has been broken down.

I kindly informed her that the van has nothing to do with the paperwork. She promised it would be done on Monday. I told her I would be checking in on Thursday when I came. Francis said that when white people take an interest in the case, it usually helps. I’m hoping that this, added in with how clearly upset I was will help.

Then came the worst part came when we had to tell Moses that he wasn’t going home. Francis was speaking to him in Luganda, but you could tell that whatever Moses was saying, he was really upset. Francis told me later that he was begging to go home. He also promised to behave and go to school everyday if we would take him home. He said all he wanted to do was sleep in his bed and hug his parents. He also started crying. Which made me start crying. Francis explained to him that it wasn’t in our control and that we were going to keep doing whatever it took to get him home and I gave him the stuff I had bought for him, but I don’t think it made him feel better.

I think it probably takes an awful lot to make a 17 year old boy who has spent the last 5 months in prison cry.

Watching Moses cry made me feel like the worst person in the world. I have never felt so bad about disappointing someone. His face and the sadness and urgency and pleading in his voice broke my heart. It was awful.

After leaving Remand home we went to the taxi park and caught a taxi to Luwero. It was about and hour and a half drive and I slept and read the whole way. Once we arrived at the primary school, we talked to the headmistress for a while, and then rode boda bodas to Emily’s sponsor kid’s (Lydia) house. Emily gave her a cute stuffed animal, some candy, a Bible and some food. We talked with her family for a bit, took a tour of their house, and prayed for them. It was really a lot of fun.

After Lydia’s house we went back to the school and got the headmistress and she came with us to Jovan’s house. Visiting Jovan’s house was so awesome! The second we got there his mom started hugging us and telling us thank you and being so nice and friendly. I gave Jovan a soccer ball and a Bible, and his family rice and beans and some candy. We talked for a while, took a tour of the house, met Jovan’s dog, Fix, and prayed for the family. As we were leaving they gave us about 20 pieces of maze and some special Ugandan food that looks and tastes like bitter grapes. It was such a wonderful experience.

When we were taking a tour of Jovan’s house, we realized that Jovan, his 8 brothers and sisters, and his mom and dad all share 2 mattresses on the floor of a room that might be 8 feet by 8 feet. They also don’t have any mosquito nets. This week Francis and I are going to go buy his family a new mattress, a mosquito net, and a new set of clothes and shoes for Jovan. The shoes he his now have bottoms that are almost completely detached!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to meet Rosemary’s family. Rosemary’s family lives in a village about 20 minutes away. Her home life is also so bad that she has been living with the headmistress (who is a family friend) at the school for about a month now. I did get to play with her and give her a doll and a Bible. I am also going to get her a new dress and some shoes. Rosemary doesn’t have any shoes at all, and today she was wearing the exact same dress that she was wearing when I first met her. As it turns out, it’s the only one she owns.

After hanging out with Rosemary we went and walked to one of the family’s homes that we built the goat sheds for. Brett had bought them a Bible, so we went to deliver it.

After that, we headed back to Kampala.

On a side note, we saw Sirius again, and he totally remembered me and again followed me every where while we were at the school. It made me smile.

Once we got back to Kampala Francis had to go to band practice because he drums for his church. We got to meet his pastor and talk to him for a little while (he LOVES to talk!) we also got to hear the church band play, which was cool.

We then headed back to the house. I ate some dinner and spent the rest of the night working on my paper.

Tomorrow after church we are going to see Harry Potter!!!! I am SO excited!!!

Hooray for Harry!
Jenna

Luwero is Tomorrow

This morning we woke up really early and went to Kyambogo Primary School. We spilt up into 2 groups and sang songs and presented a message. My group was with the younger kids. We sang a bunch of songs and Rachel told the story of David and Goliath. I’ll don’t think I’ll ever get tired of how cute the kids look in uniforms, or how much more behaved they are when compared to American kids.

After the school we went to Kids In Need. We were supposed to be repainting all of their walls and fences so the vans dropped us off at Kids In Need and then we waited for a few of the Ugandans to go and pick up paint and brushes. And we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. For close to 3 hours.

As it turns out, the van broke down on the way to get paint. So we spent most of the morning playing with kids. I played a lot of card games with them, and I even learned the African version of checkers and how to play an African card game.

By the time the paint arrived, it was time to eat lunch. We painted a little and didn’t get very much done, so I am hoping that we go back next week to finish. I hate telling someone we are going to do something and then not following through.

After we painted for a while, we presented a program to the kids. While everyone else was doing the program, Emily, Francis, Brett and I finished up the painting and then Helen, Shawna, and I did some more face painting. Today I painted a boy (who we nicknamed Sneaky Pete) with a tiger face and then I let Helen paint my face to match. It itched, but it did make for some cute pictures.

After kids in need we went and played basketball game against a secondary school. We got creamed, Emily, Diana, Edith, Amy, and I just sat and cheered the whole time. It was relatively boring.

After the game we came home and cleaned up and headed downtown to celebrate Emily’s last night with everyone (Brett, Andrew, and Katie are leaving for safari tomorrow). We went to a place called Steers and had some really good burgers and ice cream.

Unfortunately, the evening was kind of ruined. While we were on our way out, a street child was hit by a car. The car then drove away. The child was killed. We watched it happen. Then we watched as everyone just stood and stared while a doctor tried to help her.

It was like they were putting on some kind of show for everyone.

Everyone just walked by and stared and made snide comments like it was nothing. Children are literally expendable here, and street children even more so. No one even cared.

It made me sick to my stomach.

I tried not to cry the whole way home. I had to read all the letters and cards and notes that you guys gave me to make me feel better.

Needless to say, this event put me in a damper mood. I spent the rest of the evening reading in my Bible and writing e-mails.

In other, happier news, my foot is looking much better, and tomorrow we are going to Luwero! I’m really excited about tomorrow.

Hoping things are looking up tomorrow,
Jenna

Marshmallow Fun

This morning I woke up really early and talked to my family on Skype for a while. It took a while to get the internet to work, but once I did we got to talk for about 30 minutes. It was really nice to catch up with them and now that we have figured out how to work it and I am getting up early to work on my paper we plan on talking a bit more often. Good thing we figured it all out when I only have 2 weeks left.

By the time we had finished talking it too late to go back to bed so I worked on my paper for a while before heading to Sanyu. I was really excited to go over there and see Francis in his chair. Unfortunately, he was still a little sick from last week and cried almost the entire time, so he didn’t spend very long in it. It is also in need of some adjustments, so Amanda and I are going to take him back to Katawalma on Monday.

I did the usual therapy stuff on Anita, Francis, Moses, Godwin, John, and Esther. I also changed some sheets, sorted beans, and helped the nurses dressed the kids for the day. It was a pretty uneventful day with the exception of one encounter with a woman from Canada.

I had just finished therapy with Francis and a nurse had just brought me John so I could start therapy on him, and Francis had missed snack time, so the Canadian woman was bringing him his bottle. I asked her if she would mind feeding Francis so that I could start therapy on John to which she responded,

“I don’t want to deal with that.” In case you’re wondering, the “that” she was referring to was Francis. She also looked at him like he had some sort of contagious disease.

She made me sick to my stomach.

After Sanyu I came home and ate some lunch and took a much needed nap before we went over to Remand home. At Remand home we did the usual. Nathan did a really good job of sharing and the worship was absolutely incredible. The kids got so into it, it was nuts in there, and I loved it.

I also have some really really great news! Today I talked to Moses about why he was still at Remand, because he was supposed to get out 2 weeks ago. He told me that it was because no one has come to get him and he has no money to get home. Colin said that sometimes the parents don’t know that their kids have been released, or they don’t care. I’m sure you’re wondering why this is great news, so let me tell you the next part: Moses lives in Luwero!

Which is where we are going on Saturday to visit my sponsor kids.

What a God thing that my sponsor kids are from there and that we are going there this Saturday. God is so smart!

Anyways, after making this discovery, Colin and I talked to the warden and got the clearance for me to take Moses home when Francis, Emily and I go to Luwero to visit the sponsor kids on Saturday. I am so excited that I am going to be able to do this for him!

Colin also said that this will be good because if his parents haven’t come to get him because they are still upset with him, we can help to talk with them and mediate the situation. I also plan on getting him some clothes and basic hygiene things to take home with him. Saturday is going to be a great day!

Once we got home I helped John with dinner and went to the market. After dinner I went to Edith’s house and milked her family’s cow.

It was an interesting experience. I am really bad at it. It was hard to get milk to come out, and most of it got on my hands when I did get some out, but it was still fun.

After I worked on my paper some, Emily and I went and got some great popcorn so that we could have something to enjoy during share time.

Tonight we made a campfire and just shared testimonies and what God has been showing us while we have been here. A lot of people are leaving on Monday and Tuesday so we really wanted to have an opportunity to sit around and talk. A bunch of people shared and it was really interesting and moving to here everyone’s stories and figure out more of where they are coming from.

After campfire time, Kevin and I played a really intense game of “throw the marshmallow into Jenna’s mouth”. We almost broke an ironing board, I might have gotten a black eye from a marshmallow, and I ate some really dirty marshmallows, but other than I had a blast.

Tonight was just a really great night of fellow shipping with everyone and I am really thankful to God that I got the chance to experience it.

Probably going to get polio from the black marshmallows I ingested,
Jenna

P.S. My mom told me a lot of you guys have been concerned about my foot. Today the green is almost gone, the redness and swelling is going down, and the hole in my foot has really gone down in size. Thank you guys for all the prayers!

Cheesy Christian Comment Day

Today marks my 2 week countdown day. It is really very sad. I can’t believe that my time here is going so fast!

This morning my foot continued to look the same, but it’s a bit less painful, so I think that’s a good sign.

We went back to Katawalma today and I got to meet a lot of the other therapists at the hospital. Karen was also there, and today when we were talking we discovered that we arrived on the same day, and are leaving on the same day, but we don’t have any of the same flights, which is disappointing, because I really like her.

I spent the first part of the morning trying to comfort a little girl named Veronica who didn’t like being touched or talked to by any of the therapists or doctors. This was understandably so, as she had just had both legs amputated 3 weeks ago and was now in the process of learning to use her prosthesis. I would probably not want people who had been involved in removing my legs touching me either.

After Veronica, I worked with Samson again. His chair was still not ready, but he was able to use his hand some. Unfortunately, he was out of pain pills so he spent most of the session crying. Listening to Samson cry is one of the most awful things I have ever had to listen to. It literally breaks my heart every time. I am pretty sure part of Hell involves listening to Samson cry out in pain.

After Samson, I went and checked on Francis’ chair, which was still not done, so I stayed in the room and helped Fred finish up. We still didn’t completely finish, because we needed Francis for it, and I ended up making part of the group late in leaving, but I got the chair, and it looks pretty good. I am excited to see Francis in it tomorrow.

Afterwards, we came home and rested for a bit and then went back to Clive College to do our usual thing. Jen led worship, Tara gave a great lesson and then we spent the rest of the time just talking with the kids, which is one of my favorite things to do. I’m sad next week will be my last week with them.

After Clive we came home for a little while, Kevin and I went and checked out some soccer jerseys, and then we went to the Uganda School of the Deaf, which is literally a 5 minute walk from our house.

It was so much fun! We made bracelets and passed out stickers and played duck, duck, goose and soccer. It was also really fun to use the little sign language I know to communicate with them. It made the kids really happy to have someone besides their classmates to talk to. I really hope we go back again before I leave because I loved it.

Tonight we watched some movies and I worked on my paper. I’m moving along slowly but surely on it.

I also got a package in the mail today! My friend Laura sent me some sunscreen, headbands, eye drops, and bobby pins in the mail a while back (June 11th to be exact) and it finally came today. It was so awesome to get something from home. Thanks for being such an awesome friend Laura!

In other news, Cheesy Christian Comment Day was excellent. We are probably going to do it another day before I leave.

In honor of Cheesy Christian Comment Day:

I’m not writing this blog, it’s the Holy Spirit writing this blog through me,
Jenna

God Taught Me a Lesson Today, And A Cool One At That

This morning we woke up and went to a primary school called Modern school. It was one of the nicer schools we have been too. It had 3 stories and a canteen that students could purchase food from. Our entire group went to the school, but then we spilt into our 3 groups and went to different classes. My group did the primary 1-3 kids, so they were around 6 to 8 years old. Kevin and I led worship, we played some games, I read the story of Daniel and the lion’s den and then we passed out pencils, erasers, and sharpeners. The kids listened relatively well and I think they had a good time so it was a successful morning.

In other news this morning I woke up to find my foot to be redder and more painful than yesterday, so Jessie and I decided I should go to the doctor. After eating lunch and saying goodbye to Gabby who left today, Rita and I headed to The Surgery Clinic to get it looked at while everyone else went to Scripture Unions.

It was definitely an interesting experience. The doctor asked me a few questions, poked around at my wound (without gloves or washing his hands) and confirmed that my wound was in fact infected. I’m sure glad he went to medical for that.

Afterwards he recommended that I take an antibiotic and I informed him that I am allergic to penicillin to which he responded, “Oh, well it’s probably not that important that you take them.” I then proceeded to insist that I did, in fact, need an antibiotic and to inform him that there are types of antibiotics that do not have penicillin in them to which he responded, “Oh, I know, but they are in the room next door.” I volunteered to go and get them if needed, so then he went next door and got the necessary medication. He then sent me upstairs to have the nurses clean my foot.

The nurse squeezed and drained it similar to the way Jessie did yesterday, only today it was much more painful. She also rinsed my wound with water (tap water) and then put some gauze on it and told me not to change the bandage for a week so as “not to disrupt the healing”. All of her cleaning was also done without gloves or hand washing.

I’m supposed to go back in 2 days if it’s not looking better. In case you’re wondering, this was an international clinic and is supposed to be one of the best medical places Kampala has to offer. Awesome.

After the clinic I came home and waited for everyone to come home from the secondary school that I missed. We hung out at the house for a little while and then we went to a nearby squatter’s neighborhood to do some door to door evangelism.

You know how sometimes you like to think you know every thing and then God makes you realize that you don’t? That happened to me at the squatter’s neighborhood. When we arrived, we realized that we had about 20 white people and only 2 Ugandans, so being the super positive person I am, I immediately assumed that our adventure wasn’t going to work and was going to be a huge failure.

We spilt up into 2 groups of 10 people and went to different parts of the neighborhood. Then, at every house half of our group would go into the house and the other half would stay outside. The first house we went to, British Amy (as opposed to the other Amy, Irish Amy), Heath, Steph, and I waited outside. While we were waiting, I had a slightly inappropriate slip of the tongue that I can’t post on here but I’ll tell you about if you ask.

I don’t really know what went on in the house, but everyone who went inside said it went really great. Also, Nathan made the kids balloon animals and they loved it.

The second house is when God really taught me a lesson. Heath, Amy, Steph, Colin and I met a Muslim man who had 3 wives. We thought we were originally just going to talk to him for a little while and he just randomly came out and told us that he loved that we were coming by and encouraging him. He also mentioned that he had never been visited by Muslims, but that in the last couple of weeks he had been visited by Christians twice. After talking with him about Jesus and Christianity for a while, he told us he was ready to give his life to Christ!

We prayed with him right there and gave him some contact information for a local church. It was such an incredible experience and I was so happy God let me be a part of it! I love when God teaches me lessons.

After we visited one more house (the other group went in) we had to head home. After dinner and a trip to the market for some ice cream, we just sat around outside and talked because the electricity was out. I had a great time talking with Emily and Heath. We spent a lot of time making fun of cheesy Christians and my slip up from earlier in the day. We also decided that tomorrow would be Cheesy Christian day, which is a day involving saying tons of Cheesy Christian things.

It started off well tonight with Emily making a reference to me showering being similar to me being washed in the Living Water.

I was supposed to online video chat with my parents and Ally tomorrow morning but the electricity being out means no internet.

In other news, my foot looks about the same, but it hasn’t gotten any worse, so that’s a good sign.

Enjoying Another Day,
Jenna

Just Another Day In Paradise

This morning I woke up and went to Nsambia. Today is Tommy’s last day in Uganda and he wanted to go to Nsambia and he needed at least 8 people that wanted to go before the ministry would let him use a van. I sacrificed my love of Sanyu to go there for the day, especially since I hadn’t seen it yet.

Nsambia lets you play with and hold the kids more than at Sanyu, so we started off the morning playing with the little kids. After playing for a little while I went to the ICU. There were 2 babies in there. One was a little 5 month old girl who had HIV and some terrible wounds that weren’t healing. She just cried and cried and cried the entire morning until Amy came in a little while later and held her. It broke my heart.

The other little baby is why I went in there. Diana had told me about a 10 month old baby named Scholastica who couldn’t yet sit up and seemed a lot like Francis. Unfortunately, she wasn’t. I couldn’t ever really figure out what was wrong with the little girl. She cried a really painful sounding cry, constantly had tremors, and had really tight muscles whenever she was upset or moved. It almost seemed like she was having mini seizures every 30 minutes or so. I had Jessie and Amy come look at her as well but there wasn’t anything we could come up with. The nurses also didn’t speak enough English to tell us anything about her. I finally just sang to her and held her to comfort her because there wasn’t anything I could do for her.

We played with the kids for a little while before we left and then we came back home. While we were waiting for lunch to get ready, Brett and a new boy named Heath and I went to the market to exchange money and get a snack. I also tried to get some first aid stuff for my foot. I found out that first aid stuff doesn’t really exist in Uganda.

After lunch we had a planning meeting and song practice and then I spent some time working on my paper. Jessie also did some work on my foot. She drained it, and squeezed it, and pulled out some of the infection with tweezers. It hurt, but not as much as I expected it to. The infection is much deeper than I thought. I probably have a pit about a 1/4th of an inch deep in my foot. We also marked the red area with a pen. If the redness spreads any, or if any of the green comes back, I’m going to go to the doctor tomorrow. Jessie says that if worst comes to worse, the doctor will cut out the infection and stitch up the hole it makes. I’m not a big fan of this idea, so your prayers would be appreciated.

After having pancakes for dinner, Kevin, Tommy, Jen, Diana, and I went to take Tommy to the airport to go home. It was a good ride. We finally called the “Get Magic” number we have seen on signs around town. As it turns out, its a rip off. How surprising. It was, however, really sad to see Tommy go.

Once we got back I worked on my paper. I’m still not anywhere close to be done, but I am much closer than I was yesterday!

Being a good student,
Jenna