A Day in My Shoes

So I decided to show you all what a day in my life looks like. I hope it sheds a little more light on my life here, or at least on my Tuesday :)

6:45 am: Wake Up

6:45-7:15 am: Catch up on life in America

Remember how you all are going about a large chunk of your day while I sleep. So I usually wake up to lots of updates on facebook, during Blackhawks season I woke up to the results of the game, and some times even major news

7:15-8:15: Get ready, eat breakfast, have some time with God, and somethings that only go with life in Africa (by the way I also realizing that not getting ready til 7:15 in the morning is a perk of life here... and living where you work!)

Almost every morning I have to get up and check how my water filtering is going

Breakfast (my bagels are yummy and homemade in Mbarara- breakfast Tuesday was a special treat!)

A few mornings a week I coat my house in insect killer... this brand was only effective on the baby cockroaches :(

By the way... please keep praying about the cockroach problem.... my neighbors moved out and I guess they did not realize how "Bad" their problem was until they moved out.... well as they moved many cockroaches moved to my house :(

8:30 am: I officially start working

The rule is all teachers are suppose to be signed in my 8:30am to not be considered late

8:30-9:30ish am: First student of the day - Sumaya

Sumaya is doing amazingly well!!! She can now walk with her walker (and an adult) around the school compound two times. This is a huge accomplishment for a girl whose whole life she has only walked with assistance from her wheelchair to the bathroom and back. Ignore the bandage on her head... she had an accident in her wheelchair earlier that morning.

9:30 - 10:00 am: Daglous

Daglous comes to therapy to work on writing... we have not quite mastered any letters (largely due to lack of repeition between sessions) but he can at least now consistently name a few letters! The new OT could not get here soon enough - handwriting does not fall under PT.

10:00 - 10:30 am: Clare - Seeing Clare at this time happens everyday

Clare walking to the dining hall- Everyday I put Clare's leg braces on at this time and we head to the dining hall. Praise the Lord she is also finally improving.... At the beginning of the term it was taking us 30 to 40 minutes to get from class to the dining hall. Now we are down to about 15 minutes!!! 

Taking a rest halfway to the dining hall (no it is not that far... but for Clare it is)

10:30-11:00(ish) am: Tea Time

The large kettles for just the teachers... Africans LOVE their tea

11:00 - 12:00 pm: Hope

This day Hope was working on a fine motor art project and her sitting balance

12:00 - 1:00 pm: Kato

Kato stretching out his back on the ball... he absolutely LOVES this!

1:00 - 2:30 pm: Lunch time

Sorry I failed to get any lunch pictures.... so what do I do with an hour and half for lunch (I rest!) I have come to find that most days I need a little down time by then so i enjoy it. I may take a short nap, catch up on paperwork, work on my blog, do the dishes, do some work in the office, but I always eat with the teachers when lunch is ready. Lunch is always posho or rice with beans.

Showing you my day would not be complete without including the window peepers...... which happens C.O.N.S.T.A.N.T.L.Y!!!

Cyrus at the door to the sick bay where I work

Ethero looking into my house

2:30-3:00 pm: Nakku

Sorry I also failed to take pictures of her

3:30: School day (and my "official" schedule) ends

My weekly schedule... While this is very hard to follow in this context, it really helps me be accountable to try to make sure I see all the students I need to each week.

3:30 - 6:00 pm: Relationship time

What happens after school varies each day. Sometimes I am super behind on paperwork, while other days I play games or color with the students and teachers kids. Sometimes I make a trip to the market with one of the teachers and some days and go sit at the local stores and visit with the owners who have become my friends. On Tuesday, I went to town to have coffee with a friend from AIM and then went grocery shopping on my way home.

Sitting at the coffee shop with Bobbie Howley 

Riding home on the boda with my bag of groceries. I am so thankful Katie Hogerty gave me this bag a few Christmases ago. I do not know how I would easily get my groceries on a boda without it!!! My friends can actually recognize me on a boda when they see my pink bag go by!

First thing that has to be done here when returning from the grocery store or market... all produce gets washed

6:00 - 10:30 pm: Everything Else

I usually try to be home by 6 or shortly after every day otherwise there would never be any separation from working and being at home. That being said, many nights (including Tuesday) that doesn't happen. During this time I usually make dinner, clean up from dinner (far more difficult when your kitchen is outside.. and you are fighting bugs), shower, skype, catch up on life in America, and anything else that needs to be done. 

Tuesday night I got sidetracked talking with Esther and her mom when I got home. This is a horrible picture, but I love that is shows Esther using my boda helmet as a chair. (and her new shoes)

Just to show you what bathing involves here..... if I want hot water I have to heat it up first. Since my bathroom is true to the name "water closet" my toilet paper is contained in the tupperware and the "squeezer" in the back is necessary to getting the water off my bathroom floor.

Last cockroach defense of the night which I just discovered this week: chalk... I now put it generously under my door every night. (Too bad my neighbors moved before I found it :( )

And other News:

The other day Esther decided she wanted to be at my house first thing in the morning... she joined me for breakfast - and yes it was actually cold here!

Lucky has been struggling with wanting to do therapy to strengthen her hands... so lately I have been getting more creative. Last Friday we mixed ingredients so I could make pumpkin donuts while I was away. (I dont have an oven at my house)

I am really sad that my neighbors and wonderful friends moved :( Thankfully Christine is not living too far, but Berinah went back to school in Arua and I will not see her again before I leave :(

Please be praying for us. The chicken pox has officially come to Kireka. By God's hand there have only been 3 kids with it since one boy came home from school with it. Please just pray that no more get it.

Questions ?????

 Let me know if you or your kids have any questions that I can answer next week! (Angie this might be all o you, so have the girls get really creative!)

Thats all for this week. As always thank you so much for your prayers, love, and support!!

Through the Eyes of a Student

Last Friday turned into friendship bracelet making day. The nurses that I share the same working space with have been quite bored and looking for things to do. I remembered that I had brought some string from home and taught them how to make friendship bracelets. Well that turned into all the student teachers wanting to make them, and I even let one of my students Lucky make one as part of her therapy time (For the record, I can justify that as a fine motor activity!)

The bracelets Lucky made for herself and her friend Sumaya

Teddy working on her bracelet! i was so impressed that she could do it basically without the use of one hand!

Well all of this led to Lucky spending most of her day in the sick bay (the building I share with the nurses) and with Lucky "borrowing" my camera. This was the result.....

Sumaya and I 

Nurse Joanne ironing her clothes and our collection of walkers in the background

I thought this picture was funny simply because the shoes being there indicate when the nurse is around. The two nurses live in this room in the sick bay and sometimes it is hard to know if they are around... so we always look for their shoes outside their door

If I stick around the sick bay long enough after school, it becomes the local hang out - with Desire

Auntie Aisha (boys house mother) and Ayati

One of the girls dormitories. They sleep 18 students to one house mother

I also found this picture funny. This is the nurses medicine cabinet, but it is also my storage for my keys, water bottle,  phone, coffee, and hand sanitizer every day.

Every afternoon some of the older students sort beans for the next day's meals

The dining hall (the other hang out after school because there is a TV)

Another view of the dining hall and Kato

Bless working on a mat. Bless always needs to be busy making something (which he does well) or else he is getting into trouble

Some of the students dishes... each student is responsible for their own dish each meal, and they  each know which one is theirs (I have absolutely no idea how!) 

I hope you all enjoyed a few pictures that I normally would not have taken and that maybe it gave you a little better picture of our school. I apologize that there is not a picture of Lucky... while she likes to take my camera, she hates to have her photo taken.

A few other pictures for you

Clare and I ventured to Katalemwa to order some knee and ankle braces for her and to pick up a wheelchair for  Kato that was being repaired. The people at Katalemwa know me far too well now. If we buy any equipment or assistive devices it usually comes from there,

HAWKS WIN THE STANLEY CUP! I watched the 3rd period of the game and the celebrations after via skype with my parents!

As always, thank you so much for your love and support! And for those of you wondering I will officially be back in Illinois on Sept 10th!

A Very Hairy Weekend

Alright.. any guesses what this post is about..............????????

Well... here is a BIG hint!

Yes... that is right you guessed correctly, I got my hair braided.... and all of that fake hair (except one package) is now attached to my head! Here are a few pictures... don't make too much fun of me!

Getting my hair braided my Auntie Rose - Margret and her son Matthew came to visit me!

Hair Down

Hair braided.... yes that is a HUGE braid!

It doesn't look too bad when pulled back

We are hair triplets! Christine, Desire and I all have braids!

The house mothers and the teachers at the school have really been encouraging me to get my hair done, and I would have never imagined how great of a ministry opportunity it became. It took over 10 hours, so I had lots of time to talk with the house mother that did my hair about her life, her faith, and the children in her dorm. It was a great time to be able to share our struggles with some of the children, and to try to encourage her to pray for patience and love for each and every child! Also, everyone here feels as if I am now a true African!!! I think it has really encouraged everyone here... even the kids. Some of the kids that are non-verbal will point to my hair and give me a big thumbs up :)

Other Things that Happened Last Week Week:

Guitar Lessons

One of the nurses pulled me aside last week and asked if I could come play the guitar for them. I quickly informed her that I had absolutely no idea how to play the guitar. She was quite disappointed as she had taken the guitar from the headmaster of the school by assuring him that I knew how to play. I told her that after school we would try to teach ourselves off of the internet.  Well, we tried to learn the chords G, A, and D somewhat successfully... We laughed so hard as we tried. We did learn that you can play "Old McDonald" with just those three chords, and the kids laughed hysterically! If anyone would like to teach us how to play guitar over Skype.... or if you could help tune a guitar over Skype, please let me know :)

Musau (nurse) Josephine practicing her guitar skills - with Komba watching and laughing hysterically

Two Two-Year-Olds

One day this week these two little sweeties followed me home and wanted to come in and play. Lets just say I prefer the one to one ratio of adults to small children! Our time ended with a ball stuck in the sticky trap for mice/cockroaches.... last week it was my foot... this week the ball... still nothing that it is intended to catch though!

How could I not love these two sweet faces! Jeremiah and Esther

Did you really think I would forget to mention the Blackhawks this week???

Sumaya

Lucky

Shimri

Moses

Miriam

Sorry this post was so late this week.... what can you do when there is no internet :(  Thanks so much for your love and support!

Love,