Halfway

I have been here over 6 months, which means that I am well over my halfway point. I have been here for 203 days and only have 140 days to go. I am amazed at how fast the time is flying and thankful to God for all the blessings I have seen and been able to be a part of here at GSF and in this area.

In 6 months I have seen 4 new children come to GSF, have been able to rearrange and reorganize the clinic and the children’s medical files. I have been able to keep up with all the medical problems that our children, staff, families of staff, school children, teachers, missionaries and local community have  had. I have worn many hats in this role, far more than I ever imagined. I have acted as a nurse, social worker, public health advisor, doctor, pharmacist, lab technician, cleaner, phlebotomist and administrator! I have attended multiple hospital visits and waited for many hours in clinics on hard wooden benches, more hours than I can even count (longest record so far 11 hours in one stretch!!). I have squeezed out maggots from a baby's back. I have been able to care and love on so many children and have seen many, far too many that need help but that we were just not able to nurse or provide care too as we sadly can’t help everyone. I have mastered the art of malaria testing and have studied more about medicine these last 6 months than I have in many years. I have argued (in a nice way!) with medical professionals to get the best care for our children, they have very few advocates so it has been a privilege to stand up and be their voice.

I have mastered public transport and riding on a boda boda which when I first came frightened the life out of me! When on boda's I have learnt when to close my mouth and stop talking so that I don’t get a mouth full of dust during the dry season! I have sat in a taxi with a stranger’s baby on my lap (and been wee’ed on more than times than I can count, no nappies here!), have had a chicken at my feet and seen dead animals thrown in the back of the vehicle too! I have seen snakes, cockroaches (many more than I would like in my house), strange little stingy caterpillars, big wasps and army ants. I have also been stung and have fallen over in the rough dirt roads.

I have eaten Posho, beans, cabbage, Matooke, goat, bamboo, grasshopper….. and drunk more soda than is good for me.

I have been fortunate to travel a little around this beautiful continent. I have been to visit some amazing waterfalls in East Uganda. I have been on holiday to Zanzibar and enjoyed idyllic white sands and turquoise seas. I have lost count on the number of times I have travelled to Kampala, and I still stare out the window in amazement at life that whizzes by. I have stood at the source of The Nile, I have quad biked along the River Nile. I have experienced the wet season with it’s amazing thunderstorms and rainbows and been in the long hard heat of the days of the dry season. I have spent hours staring into the beautiful night sky in awe of the hundreds of stars you can see up there.

I have learnt how to play new games – Dutch Blitz and Settlers being two of my favourite. I have experienced life with no water and no electricity and spent many an hour living by candlelight. I have enjoyed almost weekly packages and letters from friends and family back home. I have attended one wedding and one burial.

I have played for hours with beautiful children and chased, thrown water, been hugged and laughed during many fun hours living here with them. I have watched children’s faces light up on Christmas morning as they open their gifts and watched in wonder at the joy as they go to the movies for the first time. I have been privileged to give donations towards medical bills, which have transformed lives of those who would never have had the opportunity to get medical attention.

I have enjoyed my first Christmas away from home and experienced my first American Thanksgiving and Superbowl! I have been blessed by having 2 lots of visitors already and loved being able to show them what I am doing and where I am living.

I have been able to experience life with local villagers and get a glimpse of the tough things that they endure daily. I have collected water from the borehole and attempted (very badly) to carry it on my head. I have learnt to hand wash clothes. I have met people who have touched my heart and blessed my days such as auntie Betty my house helper, Jaja Mary my Ugandan grandmother, auntie Juliana the GSF matron, Amanda, the best housemate ever!, James who cares for all my many packages in the post office, Phillip who has endured so much sickness but still giggles away and loves to hold my hand. I have learnt about a totally different culture to mine, and the traditions and different beliefs it holds like that of witchcraft. I have tried and am still trying to master just a few words of a very difficult language!

I have worn a skirt nearly everyday that I have been here (that is a real achievement!).

So much has happened already in these 6 months and there was so much more but there are just too many experiences and wonderful memories to mention…and I still have so many things to look forward to!  After having welcomed so many visitors to GSF I am very much looking forward to having my mum, brother and friend Leah who are still to visit me in the coming months. I still have 5 months left of living life in this beautiful country where I never know what each day will bring.

I have done so many things and I guess they have changed me. Through these experiences God is molding me for the next things to come, whatever they may be. I am about to turn another year older and am amazed that in the last few months I have seen many more things than in many of my years put together. During my time here I have laughed, cried, been home sick, had so much fun, loved Africa & hated Africa, wanted to be anywhere else but here and not wanted to be anywhere but here! It’s so exciting for me moving into the last few months here with an expectation of the unknown in what may happen in my daily work and what may happen to me personally! I pray that I will be open to the opportunities before me, that I will wake up each day ready to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to give unconditionally and without hesitation. I have been fortunate enough to experience life where I can live simply and give much, thinking of others and in return being blessed with love. 

Romans 8 v 28 "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose".