Art, Lizards, and Lots and Lots of Kids (by Kate)

Yesterday was the first day our team really got to interact with the artists of Uganda. It just happened that most of those artists are children at a local youth outreach program. These children are so beautiful and have so much to offer the world--their talents and their hearts. They just need to be given an opportunity. One child I bonded with wants to be a lawyer to "put the wrong-doers in jail, and have them pay me money". Most kids have a keen sense of justice, and this girl wanted to put that to higher action. The children here have really captured my heart. Some were rappers, painters, and jewelry makers. The free-style rap artists all rapped in Lugandan for us. Their rhythm and words were flawless. The man in charge of the group said that one of the best rappers is 5 years old. So cool! :) All over the walls were inspirational messages about loving the work you do, using art to change the world, and doing the right thing. When I was leaving, one little girl with big smiling brown eyes threw her arms around my neck, gave me a big kiss on the cheek, and said "God bless you!" I left that little house feeling incredibly blessed, being able to come to such a wonderful place and meet so many sweet people. It's funny--Henry, our guide throughout Uganda told me after church today he was surprised I didn't run out with the kids to go to their service. Ha, I will have to go next week!

There have been difficult moments--today we are out of water in our rooms for the sink and toilet (but it will be back up tonight), the roads can get pretty difficult to travel, and I am pretty sunburned from the equator, haha. But there is a great sense of joy on our team. God has blessed us with A LOT of laughter and jokes, beautiful weather, and new friends. Joyful is really the only way to describe this trip so far. I would encourage you all reading this blog to look around and have joy today. As Americans we are incredibly blessed and have a lot to be joyful about. That is one lesson that I will definitely take back to the U.S.

Oh! While the bugs have been a lot better than I expected (think NJ mosquitoes and lake Michigan flies), lizards are everywhere! Haha, it's hysterical! I teased Elvina for being freaked out about them, but when one was on my wall I jumped pretty high. The other night, Kiley and I were working on the budget, and we heard the sound of the biggest cricket EVER. Both of us were like "Oh no, here comes the massive bug!" So, we called in our fearless man protector, Joe, to the rescue. By the time he arrived, the bug was gone. We just assumed it jumped out the window. The caretaker of the guest house we're staying at came by a few minutes later to find Joe. When she found out that us girls were afraid of a little bug, she laughed and laughed. Joe said her and her friend were still laughing when he saw them later. The next day we found out that this huge African cricket that scared us so much was just the room telephone connected to the front desk. The front desk was trying to call Kiley to get in touch with Joe. Haha, it's funny how your imagination can run away when your in a place so new!

I hope you're enjoying this blog! Uganda is so wonderful and God is doing great things on this trip! Keep us in prayer as next week we are working with a school in a slum area of the city. I am one of the team members who will be teaching--so think of us on Tuesday and Wednesday. I will post again soon! Thank you for reading! :)

~Kate