Well the second week started much the same as the first. It was raining. However, the rest of the weeks we are doing camp require that we camp at the school. So, Sunday morning we had all our camping stuff packed and waiting for the bus to come and load up before it picked up the boys and dropped them off with us at Calvary for church. As me and Ryan were getting the drums out of the container the skies really opened up and there was no way to stay dry. As you may remember, the roads are mainly dirt. Therefore not only is it hard to travel, but most of the transportation stops. Ryan and I had to make the 25 minute walk from the house to the road in the pouring rain instead of being able to get a ride. Once we got to the church my clothes were useless. I was dripping water everywhere. Of course it happened to be a cold day and the wind was blowing. So, sitting near the window during church was awful. I froze the whole service. After the service the Americans and the boys all caught taxis to the boat landing where we would catch a ride over to Mpata. The skies were very threatening. Almost as threatening as the wood boats we ride in. Each one I have ever been in has its own bucket for bailing water. Sometimes you can even watch it come in through the bottom. The john boat engine used to get them across the water can speed you at maybe 15 to 20 miles an hour before overheating. This was the first time that several of the boys had ever been in a boat. That actually made it quite funny. There was a lot of yelling back and forth between boats, giggling, smiling, and a few looks of terror as we got started. Watching them grab everything that was floating in the water and showing it to the other boat was great, but my favorite moment came when we landed. They just run the boats up on the shore and since they are not used to riding in boats none of them knew there was about to be an abrupt stop. As soon as we hit the sand everyone one of them fell out of their seats and into the bottom of the boat filled with water. The good thing was they got up and just laughed. We grabbed bodas for everyone because the bus had gotten stuck on the way and could not meet us to carry us to the school. I was actually happy about this because this is my favorite ride I ever get to take. The dirt road is fairly smooth and the drivers enjoy going fast. The scenery is awesome, so I just love it. I was excited for everyone to see the school because I was the only one who had ever visited. I had warned them that they would love it. I was right. There were a lot of wows at the scenery and how nice it was going to be.
After the head mistress had given us a tour we decided to go to see the well. It was a little ways off down a path into the bush. At this point I didn’t realize that I would be making this walk to get water every day. When we got there I saw another path going farther into the bush so I decided to take it. It wondered into more of a forested area. After I waited awhile some of the boys joined me and we followed the path. We saw monkeys and a ton of butterflies. I was loving it. Here we were 5 minutes walk from the school and feeling like we were in the middle of the jungle. The path led us back to the road and right up to the school. When I got back some of the kids who live beside the school had made their way over as everyone laid around and waited for the bus to arrive with our stuff. I was in the mood for exploring. Katie, Fahad, and Michael joined me on a walk up the road in the other direction because I wanted to see the villages. It was a wonderful walk. Not just the scenery, the people we talked to, or the weather, but it was a great chance for Katie and I to talk with the two boys. We spoke to almost every person who was outside their houses. At this point I have been here long enough that I don’t notice too much about the conditions people live in. Mostly people live in a mud brick house that is very simple. When we reached about the 10th house a mother was outside with her two children. I immediately noticed that the girl had special needs. She waddled over to touch the white people like her mother told her. We told her about camp at the school and she said that students and made fun of her daughter there. We assured her that it wouldn’t happen this week if she brought her, and she agreed to see us the next day. I was so excited to possibly have a child with special needs coming. Yeah it’s mostly due to Camp Barnabas and working with Lucy and Moses in Sierra Leone. As we walked on it was funny to see peoples reaction to us, since not as many people in the villages have seen white people. Yes we scarred our far share of babies. It always makes me feel bad when they look at us and are terrified and start to cry, but it is also quite funny and I find myself laughing with the other members of the family. We did run into a child with a disease that I can’t pronounce or spell and since Katie is not right here to tell me I will leave it at that. I will say it was the first time Katie had seen it and I had not seen it since Sierra Leone but not this severe. He didn’t have long to live. We also saw several other medical problems that seemed to be more prominent in the village. Still it was a great walk. When we got back, the bus had arrived and everything was being unpacked. The boys laid out the rooms and hung up the mosquito nets.
That evening as we were waiting for dinner to finish, I paused and looked around. In the field some of the boys were playing. Mallory was lying under a tree having a conversation with a couple of the NLH boys. Katie was playing her guitar and worshipping. Ryan was playing with some local kids or at least chasing them. I was getting the chance to watch the sunset and enjoy watching Gods world at peace. It was a great way to close out and unbelievable afternoon. It was probably the best 7 hour stretch I have had since being in Uganda. As I watched everything and enjoyed Gods presence I thought about how so many people in the US would be so jealous of where we were and what we were doing. It really is like living in a story book. As we went in to the lantern lit classroom that had become our cafeteria, we said goodbye to our dusty, torn clothed, smiling friends for the night. Dinner was awesome and considering the majority of meals after that would be beans and posha, I was thankful. Days like this are hard to describe to people. You feel God’s presence in everything around you and you know he is there. Sometimes it’s so thick you feel you need a cloth to wipe it from your face. Yet it wasn’t the only time this week to feel that way. Thus ends day one.
Day two began nice and early. I can’t tell you what time it was cuz I don’t have a watch, but I think most of the boys get moving by 6. I wasn’t ready to get up, but those guys are loud. I learned that water needed to be fetched so I joined some in getting it. They of course made their surprised high pitched noise that I would do any work. Side Note – Ugandans have this sense that Americans can’t do any manual labor of any sort and are surprised anytime we go about doing something. While carrying the water back I figured out why Ugandans shoulders are so built and why their abs are so tight. I usually don’t see them doing anything to get these chiseled bodies, but I learned that carrying water is a workout! Sunday, when I was talking to the head mistress, I got the feeling that the kids had not been told about camp and we wouldn’t have anybody show up. When 9 came I found out I was right. We had talked about this the previous night so we were ready. At 10 we all headed out on the path that we had walked the day before to stop and invite every kid to come at 2 for camp. It was great watching the boys engage everyone in conversations and invite them. After we reached our quota the boys wanted to know if they could just evangelize to everyone. That is a question you don’t get in the US –Can we please talked to them about God? We gave them permission to do as they felt. It is s great watching them fearlessly share their faith. After lunch we got ready for camp. We had about 60 show up including the mother of the child with special needs. I walked out to take her from her but she wouldn’t leave her. So I asked if I could see her and the girl really wanted to so her Mom put her down. She has trouble walking but is really doing quite well. Unfortunatley since they don’t understand special needs she just thinks her child is dumb and that is what some of the other mothers said as we were there. It is simply heartbreaking. I chose to focus on the girl though. I grabbed her hands and started leading her in walking. She loved it. We wore a path out on the sidewalk. I got tired long before she did. It was hard to give her back because it was clear that if someone worked with her that she would probably walk fine, but instead they don’t understand. Her mother kept asking her if she was tired and as soon as I finished she picked her up and wrapped her on her back. I believe her mother was very appreciative of the time I spent with the daughter. She smiled and thanked me as I handed her back. It was the last time I would see the girl that week, as her mom never brought her back, but I did see the mother several times while I was walking around and she smiled each time. When we finished around 20 of the children remained to play. We threw out the soccer ball for the guys and had a pretty intense game going. Worship was going on the side by Katie and Mustafa, and of course Ryan was having his beard pulled. I love the afternoons here.
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