Village!

I don't really know what to blog... it's sometimes hard to know what to write, because SO much happens and so much of it is just... normal. So sometimes it seems like maybe what I write will be boring, or sometimes there's just so much I don't know where to start in my writing. But each week, I have to write for school, so I can get my 3 credits for this adventure. So, here's what I wrote for school this week, I hope you find it interesting. I want to write another update about what I'm learning spiritually, but maybe I can do that this weekend or something. We'll see.

Last Saturday, my team and I transferred from Gulu town to the Village of Hope land, which is located in the Masindi district, two hours south of Gulu district. We were all very ready to start fresh and have a change of scenery!

When we arrived, I sat down with Mike and Janelle, the career missionaries who live at VOH and oversee everything that is going on here. We talked for a long time about what life is like for them, what their job is with VOH, struggles and challenges they have, and also what me and my team can focus on while we’re here. We discussed my team member Suzie working with the nurse at VOH because Suzie is going to school to become a nurse. We discussed Leilah working with the social worker at VOH and learning how counseling works here, as well as setting up a system to keep records and a history of each kid’s counseling sessions. Tom will get involved with the construction crew because he is strong and wants to do some physical labor. Erin, our graphic designer and all around artist, will paint the VOH logo on the main office building and teach guitar lessons to a few interested kids. Collin will help Janelle with much-needed computer help and also do sound with me, of course. And when I need to film and edit, there will be ample time for that. As a team, we will teach English to each class at the VOH Primary School on Mondays and Tuesdays. We will also have reading time to work on comprehension with the kids here. Meeting with them and talking about what the next three months will look like was very exciting and affirming for me.

First, it affirmed me as leader of the team and trip. By meeting with me individually before talking with the team, Mike and Janelle affirmed my leadership and allowed me to process things before presenting it to the team. When I did tell the team about each separate project, they were so excited, and I encouraged them to take their ideas and run with them, while working with their respective Ugandan staff partners. Today, Leilah met with Ronance, the social worker, and they came up with a counseling form for the kids. Suzie met with Maureen, the nurse, and learned about all her equipment and how to say it in Acholi. Each team member truly is opening up and getting excited about how they can use their individual passions while being here in Uganda, and as a leader, that’s so great to see!

I feel like my life dreams are definitely developing and deepening. This is now the third time I’ve been in Africa— my first trip was to South Africa for four weeks, and my second was to Uganda for five weeks. Now, I’m four weeks in to a four-month-long trip, and it’s amazing. I can’t imagine being ready to leave in one week. I hope that one day I could potentially live in Africa long-term, and I’m getting a good sense of what that might look like. Granted, I still have three months to go, so who knows how I’ll feel in another four weeks… but I’m ready for it. I’m healthy, happy, and feel right at home. I think I could see myself doing this type of work forever. I don’t think my life and career will be what a typical young woman my age envisions… and I’m okay with that.

God is good. Thanks for reading, all.