It's only the beginning

Do you know what it is to meet people and feel as though you've known them and have been friends with them all your life? To feel totally content and happy to be with them for hours just because they are such great people? I met such people about 10 days ago in Kapchorwa, and we all agreed as we said goodbye that this was not the end but the beginning of long, maybe even lifelong friendships.

I really wasn't excited at all about my rural homestay, (it's never good when you're the only one out of 12 that they specifically tell to bring a sleeping bag and pillow!) but as soon as they dropped me off at the house, I felt completely at peace about everything. I stayed with Reverend Diana (in her mid thirties) and her cousin-sister Victoria (13). I couldn't believe it but that was the extent of the family living in the home - just 2! Rev. Diana has 2 biological sons Stephen (10) and Asa (8) but they are staying with their Grandparents now during the school year. They come to visit on weekends and they are so great...they absolutely loved my camera, and actually mastered it quite well!

Our house was actually surrounded by tourist resorts/camps because Sipi Falls was right next door! It's dry season up there in the mountains so they are closed for a few months, but usually there are tons of tourists around that area. Since it's their off-season, the people who manage the resorts were not very busy and I became such good friends with two in particular - Whinnie (21) and Michael (26). Since they deal with tourists all the time, I found it very easy to talk with them, and we had a lot of time throughout the week for good conversation.

For example, last monday Michael took me on a hike through the mountains to the first and second of the three waterfalls in Kapchorwa. I've never seen such natural beauty in my life...I felt so spoiled to be living in the midst of it for 10 days. After a day of hiking we came back to Whinnie's camp for lunch, and I had to wait over there all afternoon and evening until Rev. Diana returned from work. I had the best time talking with Whinnie for hours about all the differences between life in rural Uganda and America.

Rev. Diana is one of my new favorite people in the whole world - I loved having her as a mom! We just hit it off right away, and all our conversation just came so naturally. This lady works so hard - she already has her MDiv. and wants to go back for a PhD soon. She teaches 7, yes 7 classes at a secondary school in the village which is actually about a 20 minute hike from the house. Then, she has to come home and cook dinner and keep up the house...cooking dinner here is no easy task. We're talking several hours of preparation and cooking over a fire. I admire Rev. Diana so much!

Working out in the village is hard and never ending. I helped sweep the yard, do the dishes, walk the goats to some grassy areas, cook, fetch water, and even carried some matoke on my head from our plantation 20 minutes from our house! I carried one small bundle and thought I was going to die, while Rev. Diana was of course carrying two bundles stacked on top of each other on her head! One bundle weighs about 15 pounds - no easy task on rough terrain! What I can't understand is how the women carry these kinds of loads on their heads, with things in their hands, through the mountains that I could barely walk through without falling over!

Though I was in the home of a Reverend, I did not have to preach thankfully! I just introduced myself and gave a short testimony and they all loved it. The most interesting part of the service was actually the time at the end for tithes and offerings. Not only did people give money, some also gave eggs and there was even a live hen brought forward! At the end they sort of auction off these items to the congregation...so interesting.

I felt like I really got a sense of the friendliness of Uganda that I always hear about but never quite experience in Mukono. About 80% of Uganda is rural like Kapchorwa so Mukono is not really the norm. In Kapchorwa, everyone greets in the street as they pass, and really if they are not working, everyone goes around visiting each other. On Sunday afternoon we constantly had visitors in and out of our home - I really love that aspect of village life. I have never experienced such hospitality in my life. A visitor is always welcome no matter what and a visitor like me is always greatly anticipated. I wasn't Rev. Diana's visitor, I was the village's visitor. I really experienced this as our whole USP group came together for hiking at Sipi, and we passed some of the villagers working in the valley. Everyone was greeting one lady carrying something on her head saying, "hello" and as I passed I said "Takwenyo" (the local greeting) and the lady said, "Is it Sharon?" I didn't recognize her but there's a good chance she may have been in church on Sunday, and so I just asked her how she was doing, etc. So funny...it really caught me off guard!

Our homestays actually ended on Wednesday and then we met the other USP students in Soroti for a few days, about 3 hours away. Then we all returned to a camp right up the hill from Rev. Diana's house for camping and hiking and more debriefing, so I actually got to hike twice - once with Michael, and then with some of my USP friends. We had an amazing time just relaxing, star gazing, dancing when no one could see us (I think!), praising God under a waterfall, and having a worship service Sunday morning on the top of the mountain.

So when we returned to Kapchorwa from Soroti, I was able to visit my family for a few hours and it was wonderful. I arrived with Danielle and everyone was there wrapping presents for me and my Mukono family! I didn't realize what was going on, but thought it was strange that they had us sit outside for awhile. I thought they were having a party for someone because there were visitors there that I didn't recognize. So after Danielle and I had tea and shared more stories with Rev. Diana, Michael, and Whinnie, they started thanking me for being willing to stay with them and for coming to Sipi and gave me tons of gifts! I felt so honored but also like I should have been thanking all of them for their hospitality.

With less than two months left here in Uganda, I will definitely be making plans to go back and visit these friends in Kapchorwa, or maybe meet somewhere in Kampala or Jinja. This is truly just the beginning, not the end.

Prayer requests:
-Praise God, Rittah is back in school! I don't know the details of how the money came through but God provided.
-We can't seem to keep our house help for Enock...we've already been through 3 in the last few weeks and the one we have now is only temporary till we can find another one. He's just a really active kid and I guess people don't have the energy to keep up with him, but we are in serious need!