How To's and Hot Not To's

I've been in Uganda a little over a week now, and in just that short amount of time I have learned many of life's skills needed to survive here. Before coming to Africa, I thought the African people lived such a simple life, but now that I'm here I am realizing that life in Uganda isn't so simple. In fact, everyday life in the states is truly the simple life. Below I have listed some of the "how to's" and "how not to's" that I have learned thus far!

How To...

- How to wash your clothes with out a "machine"

          First you fill three basins with water. You put all your dirty clothes in one basin you begin to soap up one article of clothing at a time. Then after you finished soaping that piece of clothing, you take it to the next bin and scrub the living daylights out of it. After about 3 shirts, you hands begin to get rug burn! Then, you put the piece of clothing in the last bin to start rinsing. After all your clothes are washed, you empty the soaping and scrubbing bin and fill them with clean water. Next, you use those two bins to continue rinsing the soap off your clothes. Finally, you hang them on the line to dry. By the next day, they are ready to be taken off the line to iron. Ironing is a must because parasites may find their way onto your clothes and the heat kills them off. Also, Ugandan people value appearance, so going out in public with wrinkled clothes is a big no no!

 

- How to wash the dishes

          Washing dishes is done very similar to washing clothes. You need three water basins. The first one is used for soaping and the second 2 are used to rinsing.

 

- How to make the world's best chai tea

           First you get yourself a nice pot of milk, preferable fresh from the cow. Then you cook it over the charcoal stove until it starts to boil. Then you add your tea leaves and a few spices. Finally, you top it off by adding the sugar. It's a simple recipe, but I have never had chair tea like Ugandan chai tea in my life. It's wonderful.

 

- How to cook

           This is an overview on how my family typically cooks our meals. Everything is cooked over a charcoal or wood burning stove. Meats and fish are bought fresh from the market. Vegetables and fruit are all picked from the garden or plantation outside. Our eggs are collecting from our hens and our milk is gotten from the cows. Clean drinking water comes from boiling the rain water over the stove. To prepare an average meal, you will need at least 2 hours of cooking time.

 

- How to get to places without your own vehicle

            The simple answer to this is that you walk where ever you need to get to. If the distance of over an hour long, a taxi (or in Luganda "matatu") is your best bet. Boda Boadas (motorcycle taxis) are available but very dangerous. As an insight, I recently went to the capital city about two hours away and it only coast me roughly one American dollar.

 

 

How Not To...

- How not to drop your cell phone down the 40 foot hole where you go to the bathroom

           Don't take your cell phone to the bathroom with you.

 

- How not to step in goat poop

          Use your headlamp at night and scan the entire surface your about to walk on. Flip flops are also not the ideal shoe to wear when goat poop is around.

 

- How to eat matoke (cooked green bananas) without feeling like your going to gag

         When given a plate of sloppy vegetables, dip your matoke into the "sauce." It adds good flavor and takes away the bad flavor!

 

 

In general, I am having a great time. There are still moments I find myself imaging waking up in my own bed back home, or playing with my little sister, or spending the night laughing at the simple things with my friends as Messiah, but those thoughts and temptations aren't coming from God. God reminds me daily that I am where He wants me. I believe perseverance leads to breakthrough, so I promised myself that I am going to keep persevering through the hard times because at the end of this season, the breakthrough is going to be amazing. I find comfort in the arms of Christ and His love and joy continue to invade my life even when the enemy is telling me otherwise.

I have included a picture of my home. In that place, I am starting to find comfort and the true beauty of Ugandan culture. I've also begun to find lizards on the wall and spider friends in the corner, but all is good :) As always, I appreciate your prayers and encouragements. To my family and friends,  I love and miss you all tremendously. I am praying for you all daily. God bless!

Seven Second Version!
   Everyday life is not so simple. Be careful what you take to the bathroom and where you walk. Above is a pic of my home. Jesus is still good!



Mzungus, Boba Bodas and Matoke

I’m in Africa y'all! 

It’s been super rough, but I’m doing better..thanks to Jesus of course! I arrived here Thursday the 3rd super late at night. I spent the night in a hotel, woke up for breakfast at 8 and headed off to the town of Mukono, which is where I live with my host family and where my school is. I pulled up to the gate where my family lives, and 4 little kids came running out to great me and grab my stuff. I had to use all that was in me not to cry. The little boys were the cutest things in the world and the girls had the most precious smile.

Let me just interupt by saying that I cannot tell you every detail of what happened, but in only the four days I’ve been here, I am changed forever.

So anyways, I walk through the gate to my new home and right away im surrounded by children. There were so many precious faces! I believe my family (the Kitto family, pronounced "Cheeto") has 6 kids, but I’m not sure. There are many kids living in the house and all day long kids are coming in and out of the gate. All of the kids are wonderful and so energetic. The 6 kids are from youngest to oldest, Jonathan, Deborah, Ruth, Bengiman, Dickson and Ireene. Johnathan is 2 and all the does is rub my skin. I guess they don't see many "Mzungus," which is what white people are called here. Everywhere I go, all the children point and yell "MZUNGU!!!!"

So what exactly does my home in Africa look like? Let me tell you! I do have a room to myself, which makes me feel bad since all the children are crammed into only 2 bed rooms. have a room to I'm basically living out of my suitcase and a few nails are in the wall to hang some of my clothes. There’s electiricity some of the time and some of the time there isn’t. There are no toilets or showers. The if I need to use the bathroom, I use the latrines which are tiny rectangle holes in the ground. I bathe outside too..from a collection of rain water that I poor into a bucket. Dinner is served between 10 and 11 at night. Then we go to bed.  I’ve been eating the weirdest food. Some of it is good, and some I’m already sick of. The most interesting is called matoke. Everyone here has a “garden” of banana trees, so to make matoke, you cut down banannas and then cut down the bananna leaves. You take the banannas and lay them on the leaves. You then take bananna fibers that you peel from the leaves and tie the leaves around the banannas. You cook that over a stove for an hour and then you squeeze all the juice out. You cook it for another hours and squeeze the juice again. Then you eat it! It taste good, but I can’t eat too much of it.

Honestly the heart of the people here is beautiful. They have nothing compared to the lives we have. The children have been wearing the same clothes since I got here. But every night we pray, and spend at least 20 minutes thanking God for all the blessings in our lives. The Kitto family is always smiling. Despite their “poor” life, these people are extremely rich with qualities of life that Americans don’t have. My first night with my family, I cried myself to sleep. The first time I called and heard my moms voice I cried like a little baby. I’m not really sure why I keep cried so much though. Part of me thinks it’s because I miss home, part of me thinks it’s because I know this is where God wants me, part of me thinks it’s because I’m seeing how blessed I am, even by the simple things.

Overall, I’m having a great time and as always, Jesus rocks. On my flight here, I felt Jesus telling me that during my time here, I’m really going to be seeking deeper levels of the his heart, so I’m excited to chase after that!

As always, I appreciate all your prayers, and likewise I am praying for you all daily. God bless!

Here’s some quick fun stuff!
There are monkeys on my campus
 I woke up to a HUGE beatle being eaten by ants next to my bed. YUK!
The tea is delicious! It's made with the cows milk owned by my family.
 I have a 15-20 minute walk to school..all up hill
Boda bodas are motorcycle type things..they’re scary and everywhere!
Cows are like deer are in the states..they’re dang everywhere!
Church here is AMAZING! So much dancing and singing :)

 

 

 

Seven Second Version..

I'm in Africa! My first night sucked. But now I'm happy and am surrounded by beauty. Yay!

Hello all my wonderful family and friends! 

As you all know (or will soon figure out!) I am going to be studying in Uganda for the next four months. To be more specific, I am going with a program called Uganda Studies Program, which is run by Best Semester, and I will be attending school at Uganda Christian University in Mukono, Uganda. I leave January 3^rd and return home May 1^st. I am in an Inner Cultures and Missionary Program where I will be staying with a host family in the village of Mukono and learning about missions and culture throughout Uganda (super exciting!).  I have told some of you that I am going to try my best to keep you all updated on my time there, so I’ve created this: my clever-titled blog! Our great God has a lot in store for me during this season of my life, and I hope you all can find some inspiration and enjoyment through my updates. Meanwhile, here is my quick background story on how the heck I ended up going to Africa!

I love Jesus. I love spending time with him. I love following his word and learning his plan for my life. For a long while now, I have been struggling as to where He wants me and where I could live out my fullest potential in him. Do I really want to be a school teacher? Or do I want to be a disciple of the nations? Can I do it all at the same time? When is my time? ..Kinds of struggles like that. So one day, just a few months ago, I heard him tell me to study abroad in Uganda. This was the first time studying abroad in Africa had ever crossed my mind, and quite frankly, I thought the idea was whack and impossible.  Don’t get me wrong, Africa has ALWAYS been a place of interest for me. I knew I would one day find myself there, but didn’t realize it would be so soon! Anyways, I listened and found out the application was due exactly five days from the day I felt led to study there. I prayed like I’ve never prayed before, trusting in what I felt the Lord was telling me, and I told him that if he did not want me in Africa at this time then he better find a way to stop me. Well, to make a longer story a bit shorter, God opened doors that I didn’t ever realize were closed. Financially I have been blessed beyond belief! Classes became available at the university for the first time ever…classes that I NEEDED to take in order to graduate on time. And most of all, my PARENTS GAVE ME THE OK! It was a tough tackle, but I never once heard a “NO!” (Thanks Mom and Dad! You da best!) The application was handed in on time, and here I am now, just hours before my flight takes off declaring the faithfulness and love of our Father!! I’m going to Africa!

So how am I feeling about all this? Being away from family and friends for four months? With no “western facilities” (cough, Mom!)? With knowing not a single person? With being thrown into a completely different world where heavy diseases are present and culture being unlike anything I’ve ever experienced? I’m feeling absolutely fantastic! Not a single worried, nervous or anxious bone in my body! Why, you ask? Jesus, that’s why! Jesus tells us not to worry (Philippians 4:6). Jesus tells us he is our healer (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus knows me when no one else does, and knowing him is all I need (John 10:14-15). How can I be anxious, nervous, scared, etc., when I know Uganda is the place where he is calling me to be? I'm simply stepping into my destiny. The atmosphere God has prepared for his children is one of joy, peace, love and comfort. I’ll be darned if I chose not to live in such a place. In the book of John, it is written that “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” I am God’s beloved. He loves me more that I can comprehend. His love is nothing less than perfect, so I have not one thing to fear. 

As I continue down this amazing path Jesus has prepared for me, I will be praying for you all and hoping that you, too, will be living in the atmosphere freely given to us by the most astonishing creator. Mom and Dad, especially, I love you, but you do not have to worry about me. The Big Guy upstairs got my back! To all, I sincerely appreciate all your encouraging words and prayers. It means more than you know. I wish you all the best New Year, and too all my friends, the best semester! Continue representing the King!

I will update you all again as soon as I hang up the phone with Mom and Dad and get a chance!

PS. Sorry this was so long. Just wanted to give you the background story! I’m new at this blogging thing, so don’t expect me to go all Perez Hilton on you! Also, sorry to all you grammar police! I grew up in Schuylkill County. We ain’t always the most intelligent ;)

SEVEN SECOND VERSION!!

I’m going to Uganda. Jesus rocks. Y’all rock. I’ll keep you posted as much as possible!





Later Gators!