Saturday, June 30, 2012

yeah yeah yeah

It has been so fun hanging out with the people here.  Over the past few weeks I feel like I have become so close to these people.  At the beginning all the kids were on their best behavior but over time we have watched them become more and more comfortable around us.  Simon told me one day last week that Winnifred and him will miss me so much when I leave because I have basically become apart of their family which is definitely how I feel.
One day this past week Jerica and I went to pick the kids up from school and Sunday decided he wanted to walk there with us.  The weather was getting to be bad and Sunday kept telling us it was about to start pouring and we needed to go back before we got wet.  The Ugandans are very concerned about us being out in the rain and getting wet.  They also do not like when we get dirty.  We told Sunday we were fine and that we would be ok.  As soon as we picked Winnifred and the others up it started to rain.  All of us ran the whole way home.  Winnifred did not have shoes on so I let her get on my back and we ran back to her house in the rain.  Irene (Winnifreds cousin) was not home so we went to look for her and found her at Conseys.  After a little while we decided we should be going back home since it was raining so hard.  All the kids followed us.  We ended up playing in the streets of Uganda in the rain.  We danced, raced, sang and had so much fun!  I have not laughed that hard in a long time.  It felt so good to enjoy something so simple.  Though life here is so simple for these people, they make the most of it and enjoy every moment!
Tonny and Sunday have been telling Emma and I that we have to see the dam before we leave.  It is where the water comes from that flows into the stream behind the village and runs all the way into town and is their water source.  We agreed that before we left we would go.  Today was the day.  We have been asking them how long it would take to get there and the time has changed every time.  Once it was two hours, once it was 30 minutes, once it was an hour, so we just did not know.  Ugandans are not very good with time.  They say something is close but it is actually hours away.  When we told Consey we were going she looked at us like we were crazy and told us it was very very far.  But, we decided to go anyway.  Emma, Elizabeth, Tonny, Sunday, Barbra, a few other kids and I started off for this dam they have been talking about.  We had such a good time hanging out and walking together.  We were definitely experiencing Uganda.  I truly feel so content being here and have become best friends with so many of these people.  I feel like I have known them forever.  The dam ended up only being 30 minutes away.  It ended up being just a little pond but it was definitely pretty just like everything else here.  It was surrounded by a gate with a sign that prohibited anyone from entering.  Tonny and Sunday acted like they go in all the time and hang out but in reality they had never actually done it before.  They told us they would be right back and went to talk to the soldiers that were there to make sure no one entered.  They came back telling us we could go in but were not allowed to take pictures.  People here let mzungus get away with things.  After walking across the dam we decided we should leave.


Instead of going home Sunday wanted to show us his casava garden.  He told us it wasnt far at all.  Believing him we walked down a trail for a long, long time.  We saw many gardens where people were digging.  We finally got there and saw his garden.  He was proud of it thats for sure.  I took a picture of it because he was so so proud. 



Sunday filled his backpack full of casava and then we started on our way back home.  Tonny and Sunday kept telling Emma and I that we were weak mzungus and needed to become stronger.  By the time we got home we had been walking for 3 hours.  I would say it was worth it for sure! Im glad we went and got to see the dam and the garden and see more of Gulu.  Every minute we spend with Tonny and Sunday brings us closer to them and allows us to get to know them more.  They are so much fun to be around and I enjoy it so much! I love how every time we are together we always quote the scripture we have memorized together and although we are joking and playing around pretty much the whole time we are together, our conversations always come back down to Jesus and the gospel.



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