Well, I am finally feeling really comfortable here in Uganda. I have adjusted to the culture, and my home sickness has lessened. I am still teaching at the school/orphanage here, and Eric is doing outreaches in villages.
I got to go on an outreach with him the other day in a small village about 20 miles from our town. It is always so humbling going into the villages. The poverty is evident where we live, but it is nothing compared to that of the villages. People live in huts made of sticks and mud, and their clothes look like they haven't been washed in months, if ever. Most of the children are wearing only a shirt or pants, they do not have both. When I first see the children, my heart always breaks. That part never gets easier. I see them sitting in the dirt with no shoes and holes in their clothes. I see their bare legs that are about the size of my forearm. I just wish I had brought food, or that I had brought clothes to give them. I get angry at myself for not thinking ahead, and for forgetting what the villages are like.
The smallest children are usually scared of us at first, because we are white. Most of them have never seen a white person (Mzungu as they say) before, but have only heard stories. I try to sit and talk with them, but most of them just stare. Some actually run away or just cry. I want so badly to give them a hug, but very few will allow me to get that close. Then something amazing happens. Music starts to play, and praise and worship begins. When these kids hear music, they completely change. They can't help but to dance and laugh at the white girl dancing next to them. All of a sudden we have a connection. We both want to praise our Lord, and the color of my skin disappears. I am no longer a mythical person only heard about in stories, but I am a sister in Christ. So we dance, and listen to men and women who barely have clothes on their body sing at the top of their lungs. They thank the Lord and savior for the blessing he has given them. I see these children that are so happy to hear music, and to see their parents dancing and singing. They are so happy just to be in the presence of God, that they cant help but dance.
