Greetings! The Lord has been so gracious in allowing me to get finished walking through all the homes in Suubi 1 and Suubi 2. To give you an idea of the way the homes are set up...in Suubi 1 there are 12 clusters, which consists of 9 homes in each cluster or circle. In Suubi 2 there are 8 clusters with 9 homes. So I've already completed a full evaluation of approximately 230 homes in a week and a half. Today Tom and I began walking through the teacher apartments and are about 3/4th of the way finished with those. Next, we will complete the schools and then move on to the next village, which is Bbira Village. Then we will begin hosting meetings with the house mother's and begin the education component. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love the Ugandan people! The house mothers are the most welcoming individuals one could ever meet. You feel like part of the family when you enter into their home. Needless to say, I've been fed pretty good when I'm walking through the homes. They take good care of you! There is one house mother very close to my age named Blessing. Blessing is 29 years old and has 8 children in her home. There was just a kindred spirit between us and we formed a friendship immediately. We exchanged pictures of our family and talked for awhile about life, our family, friends, and how amazing our Lord is! She has truly captured my heart and now everyday when I'm out in the village I have to stop and say hello. And when we part she just hugs me and holds on, it's the sweetest thing. She truly lives up to her name, she's truly a blessing to my spirit!
Last weekend I spent with a white family (which are few and far between here...ha) from the US who are working with Watoto also. Wayne and Tarah are their names and they have two girls and one boy. Tarah is 34 and we formed a friendship as well. Her and her family invited me to go to what they call the ARA here, which is a recreation center. They have tennis courts, a swimming pool, work out area, and food. We all played tennis and she shared with me the vision she believes the Lord has placed on her heart. She told me she believes the Lord is leading her to begin a mentorship/Big Sister Program with the teenage girls in the villages. I told her this was such a passion of mine as well. I thrive on discipleship and pouring into individuals lives. The goal of this is simply to pour into these girls and offer ourselves to them to field questions and just provide them someone to talk to about issues they may not normally feel comfortable discussing openly. We will possibly work it out where we can be in the villages hosting Bible studies, having worship services, or just hanging out spending time with each other at least once a week, if not more. We will discuss items such as knowing our identity and who we are in Christ, dating according to God's Word, image and body issues, modesty, homosexuality, sexual purity, and any other topics that effect teenage girls. I shared with her ideas from previous ministries I've been a part of, Heart for Women Ministries, P3 events, and I gave her copies of related Bible studies I've taught the youth or when I've taught devotions on such topics. Please pray that the Lord leads us and allows us to begin this ministry. They already have something of this nature already set up in the villages, however, it's not very organized at this point.
I'm also trying to get plugged into their worship ministry and into what they call a cell group, which is like a small group so I'm able to utilize my spiritual gifts and meet other people! I met two young ladies who assist in children's ministry today in Bbira village. They needed a ride back to Suubi so we got to talk. We were discussing music and they asked if I played any instruments. I told them I played acoustic guitar and djembe and they said it would be wonderful if I could come teach the children guitar and also come and possibly lead worship. This may be an avenue as well. I'm just continuing to pray that the Lord leads me to where He would have me serve in the church.
I absolutely love it here! I'm currently staying at a Watoto guesthouse and will hopefully soon be moving into a house with my friend Barbara. Please pray we are able to find a nice, reasonable house to rent. Eventually I will have to purchase a car here, but until then I have rides arranged to take me where I need to go each day. The Lord has truly taken good care of me by providing me with amazing friends.
The children bless my heart so much! I traveled to Bbira village today and all the kids swarmed to our car as we pulled in. Some ran beside our car as we drove in, waving and smiling! If you're a Mosoongo aka "white person" you almost feel like a celebrity. The children flock to you and they love you so much! As soon as Tom and I got out of the car, the children flocked around me and kept hanging on me, giving me hugs, ect...they make you feel so loved!
Thank you everyone for praying! I love you all! Will post more soon! If you have any questions please comment below or message me on Facebook!
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