African Muzungu

July 30. It was the best day of the year. And that’s saying something! There were multiple red-letter days this year such as the day Michelle arrived in Uganda, my first safari in Africa, and the day I fed a lion with my best friend (read about it here !). But this particular one was my favorite. The whole year had really been leading up to it, and it was highly anticipated by more than just myself! At the beginning of the school year, I gave my kids in grades 3, 4, and 5 a challenge: memorize and recite 16 answers together with supporting verses to these 4 different questions (which some of you might recognize these from AWANA’s T&T book 1): Who is God? Who is the Lord Jesus? How does God want me to live my life? Why did God give us the Bible? They had a total of 36 verses to memorize and recite word-perfectly by the end of July. The reward they were promised was an ice-cream party for all those who successfully finished every last verse, and for those who were able ...

Just to make your day awesome... a video of our AWANA kids singing one of their favorite songs, Talemwa. Translated, it means: Our God will not fail: He grabs Satan and shakes him and shakes him all around, then kicks him and he falls down to hell. And this is just one reason my life in Africa is so awesome. Potholes, cockroaches, delays, language barriers, confusion, and difficulties. None of them outweigh the joy even one of these little ones brings! And in the end, they're right. My God will NEVER fail!

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, ...