African Muzungu

What a whirlwind of a month! In anticipation of my move to Kamonkoli in January, I knew that I needed to be in Uganda these weeks, and boy have these weeks been full! Here’s some of the highlights of what I’ve been up too… Time in the office after coming back gave me the chance to brainstorm and plan out some of the media projects we will use in fundraising next year. Our school fundraising video for this year has done well. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it now! Andrew loved being a part of the video, and has come asking me several times this year if he’s going to be in the next one too! :) I will definitely be looking forward to introducing you to more of the kids that have stolen my heart, and I hope will steal yours too :) I’ve also had the joy of multiple deep, genuine conversations with several dear ones here. Each time one of them trusts me enough to be open with their pain, joys, and innermost thoughts I am amazed again. Ugandan culture as a whole is so guarded w...

Christmas in Africa is different. Bet you didn’t expect that. JK  But especially here in Mbale, you don’t see every store decked out in Christmas decorations with a new Santa product on every shelf. Lights don’t sparkle on the roofs of each house (or any house for that matter). There isn’t a culture battle over saying ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas.’ And since most families can’t buy every child and relative a Christmas present, clothes are actually considered a GREAT present (even by the kids)! You even might, if you’re lucky, see a tree decked out for Christmas, African style like this one:  Please note the cotton ball snow Oh wait, you need the full effect.....!! But the best part is that almost every family makes the effort to go to church on Christmas. You remember all of those awkward years when Christmas fell on a Sunday and you couldn’t decide how to handle it? Do we open presents really early? Do we wait until after church? Do w...

What does close to 1000 Ugandan kids gathered for a Christmas party look like? Well, if a picture says a thousand words, it’s still not enough, but here’s just a taste! Part of the crowd from above Watching the Jesus film The highlight of my Christmas: a Christmas skit put on by some of the sponsored kids. Seriously, there were no words for how funny and precious this was!! Cooking in the village for a crowd Washing hands before lunch (yes, all 1000 washed hands before eating!) Enjoying Pilau (beef mixed with rice) and beans All Smiles Cakes for 1000 takes a LOT of work!! Even if you do cut very small! Waiting in line for clothes and sweets It definitely was an incredible day of laughing, entertainment, teaching, eating, dancing, and the kids even received a piece of clothing, some candy and a balloon hat!  And if some video of a muzungu lady dancing who looks just like me shows up on youtube, ...