Where to begin…. It was definitely an adventure adjusting to this culture for the first week or so but we are all coming around to the ways of Tororo. There are so many languages in this town so that is still our biggest challenge, but we are learning little by little. Its pretty exciting to see how open the people are to us, and everywhere we go we meet more people so we are becoming known in our little town. The only people who aren’t the greatest are some of the boda boda drivers. They try to overcharge us all the time and they don’t realize that we are smarter than they think so we never back down on the price. At one point I had to pull out some of my attitude and I got off the boda and said “fine you want to over charge…go ahead NO money for you, we will walk” and I think they got the memo that I meant business, and we walked until we found a decent driver who was willing to give us the correct price.
There are some funny differences in the people around here, if you ask them a question and they raise their eyebrows at you, that means yes. If they say a noise similar to “eahhh” that means “oh wow” I could go on forever but its hard to type noises but they are so funny because they have a noise for everything and now the team has started picking up on some of the noises so we find ourselves laughing when we realized we sound like them. But the best thing they say ALL the time is (during a normal conversation) “and so I went to the market and I did what…….? I bought fruit, and after I went to the market I went to town and I had to stop at the store to get what……….? Fabric…..” They tell their sentences with questions all the time. I love listening to them talk I am always entertained.
I have set up a schedule where Frances and I attend the Woman’s Smile Center every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The woman’s center is a place where young girls come that Pastor Ruth has asked to come and they learn trades such as sewing, bead making, knitting, basket weaving and a few other trades. It’s a great place for them to be and once the girls complete the program they are set to open their own business, or they can help teach until they get enough money to open their own shop. Most of them have come because they had been abused, involved in prostitution or things like that so this is a turning point for them. It is always a great place for them because they are instructed on how to save money because most African’s “live for today” they don’t understand the concept of setting some money or food aside for tomorrow. I love going there to work because anything I make, they can sell, and will in return help their business flourish. My teammates and I are their biggest clients right now because we got tailor made skirts for Christmas and we buy their necklaces because they are absolutely amazing. Its kind of crazy because when I was a young girl my grandma taught me how to make these beads, and here I am today watching these woman make a living off of them. If I could I would buy all the beads because I am in love with jewelry but I won’t be greedy ☺
As for my babies at Smile Orphanage…they are beautiful. At times it can be overwhelming because it seems as though there is no order and kids are just running around everywhere but then I have to stop and remind myself that them being at the orphanage is a lot better than them running around the streets eating rotten foods. They don’t sleep at the orphanage, it is only a day program, but it is every day 365 days of the year. We get there at 9:00am and the children are just arriving, and at 10:00 we serve posho which is like a hot porridge. Its good to fill their stomachs, but for the small babies it is too much for their stomachs so most of the babies have big bellies because it is hard to digest. At 11:00 we begin to bathe the children, they all undress so that the teachers can wash their clothing and the “older” children who are around age 6 or 7 wash all the younger children. It’s crazy to see these babies being mothers to their younger siblings. After they wash, most of the children walk around naked or in under clothes while their clothing are getting washed and at first it was crazy to think they walk around naked but then I had to realize that it’s a blessing we are able to wash their clothing. The outfit they come in is all they have, so for them to walk around in underclothes for a few hours is better than walking around in dirty clothing. After the bathing is finished we play and at 1:00 we serve the children rice for lunch. When they have finished eating they take their plates off to the side and one or two of us will go over and help the teenaged girls wash the dishes in a bucket/basin of water and then they get put on a rack to dry. Once lunch is finished we all continue to play and we have begun teaching them the Christmas story. Ashley (on our team) is quite the artist and she has drawn out all the characters for us to use as examples when we teach. Once the day hits 3:30 all the kids clear off the pavilion and 3 children get the brooms and they pour water on the cement and use the brooms to sweep it clean and by the time this process is finished it is 4:00 and it is time for the children to go home. I wish I could say confidently that they do go home, but I don’t actually know. Some of them stay with relatives but I know that some of them are truly homeless and it breaks my heart to know that. Smile is in the process of building to accommodate some of the cooks, and the homeless children will get to stay with them but for the time being they sleep where they can.
I am sitting here writing about everything that goes on at Smile and it seems normal because I see it every day but then I sit back and realize that these things would never happen in America. It seems like they need so much but the truth is the children are happy and they don’t know any different. The biggest way we can help is showing them love and I am so glad that our team was selected to be here because we just love loving on the children. One girl has touched my heart, Kasifa. She asked if she could be my friend and of course I said yes and she wrote me a letter she was so happy. It was sad for me because she told me that both her parents have passed away, but I wrote back saying that I will always be her friend and she has a Father in Jesus. I’m glad that she and I have bonded and I’m excited to grow closer to her and find out more about her life story. All I know as of right now is that she is 13 and lives with her grandparents but I want to learn more about her. At times I say to myself I can just give them some money and they will be better off, or I can just go buy them more clothing but that solves nothing. Their care-taker would most likely sell the clothing for money. The best thing we can do is train the children love and train the adults the meaning of finances along with love. We need to teach them how to care for themselves so that they rely on no one for food or financial stability. I want them to have a pride for their accomplishments and that is my prayer for Tororo.
The past few days has been exciting because I got the chance to follow the AIM missionary Evelyn around taking photos of her. She asked if I could join her classes because when she goes home to America she never has any photos to show what she is doing over here so it was fun for me to be out doing what I love to do best. The first village I went to with her was in Busia which is right on the border of Kenya so I got to see Kenya but I wasn’t able to go there because I don’t have a Kenyan visa, and then today I traveled to the village of Pajwenda and watcher her teach adults how to teach children Sunday school. I loved seeing their enthusiasm to learn and it’s amazing to know that I am half way around the world and we are serving the same God. It’s a good feeling. A last thought for the day is Psalm 89: 4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. I like this verse because I may not be accomplishing a great deal of things at the moment, other than showing the children love, but I know that God is planting seeds by us being here. Thank you for reading my blog and I will be back soon!
