Here are some picture of Jinja town, and the market where we go to get fruits and veggies.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
More pictures
Photos are difficult to post on here...the wifi isn't very strong, so it takes awhile to get them loaded on here. But I will keep trying!
Here are some picture of Jinja town, and the market where we go to get fruits and veggies.
Here are some picture of Jinja town, and the market where we go to get fruits and veggies.
Photos!
I finally got photos to work on here! I will upload the few photos I have so far, for those of you who don't have access to my Facebook.
Me and some of my classmates, having a wifi party. The older gentleman in the back is our teacher for this week and next week.
Me and some of my classmates, having a wifi party. The older gentleman in the back is our teacher for this week and next week.
All the pathways around the base are beautiful.
The Discovery Center, which has a basketball court, soccer field, challenge course, and other areas. This is another department of YWAM that usually is geared towards youth ministry.
Looking towards the dorms and the grass roof hut where we each our meals
The view from where we come to use the wifi
The girls dorm room. We're pretty full! We have 12 girls living together here.
A group of us went to go swimming at a resort nearby, to celebrate two birthdays!
The birthday girls :)
Monday, August 25, 2014
Class starts
Hello everyone!
Sorry that I couldn't write for awhile. There was a storm yesterday that knocked out the power for about 24 hours. When the power goes out, we also lose the pump that make the water run..so it's been interesting. But now we are back up and running!
Today was the first day of class. Mostly we got to know each other, went over some guidelines, and were shown around the base.
There are such amazing people here for DTS. Maybe about 8 westerners, and 14-15 Africans. Countries represented include US, Canada, UK, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. Some of these folks have incredible stories. Some of them have suffered much hardship. I am humbled to be with them.
Class will be very busy. I won't be able to write too often. Our schedule is from 6am-5:30pm Monday through Friday. And we are to read ten chapters of scripture per night. Oh my! But I will do my best to update you on the weekends, maybe.
It is wonderful here, with so many nationalities. The westerners must learn to speak slowly, because some of our African friends have only spoken English for a few months or years. But we also have to ask them to repeat themselves often, because their African accent is strong. So it is a little odd on both ends, right now, until we get used to it.
Yesterday I went with some new friends to a place called Kingfisher. It's a resort where you can pay to use the pool. We celebrated the birthday of two girls. It was fun! But now the real work begins :)
I will try soon to figure out how to post photos on here..right now I'm not sure. But I'll try!
Sorry that I couldn't write for awhile. There was a storm yesterday that knocked out the power for about 24 hours. When the power goes out, we also lose the pump that make the water run..so it's been interesting. But now we are back up and running!
Today was the first day of class. Mostly we got to know each other, went over some guidelines, and were shown around the base.
There are such amazing people here for DTS. Maybe about 8 westerners, and 14-15 Africans. Countries represented include US, Canada, UK, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. Some of these folks have incredible stories. Some of them have suffered much hardship. I am humbled to be with them.
Class will be very busy. I won't be able to write too often. Our schedule is from 6am-5:30pm Monday through Friday. And we are to read ten chapters of scripture per night. Oh my! But I will do my best to update you on the weekends, maybe.
It is wonderful here, with so many nationalities. The westerners must learn to speak slowly, because some of our African friends have only spoken English for a few months or years. But we also have to ask them to repeat themselves often, because their African accent is strong. So it is a little odd on both ends, right now, until we get used to it.
Yesterday I went with some new friends to a place called Kingfisher. It's a resort where you can pay to use the pool. We celebrated the birthday of two girls. It was fun! But now the real work begins :)
I will try soon to figure out how to post photos on here..right now I'm not sure. But I'll try!
Friday, August 22, 2014
First update
Here is a copy of an email I sent to my church...now that the internet is working again I should be able to post more later..or tomorrow..
I made it safely and easily to my school in Uganda. Our internet has been down for a few days but is back up now. Everyone here is very friendly! Everyone speaks Lugandan, except to us Mzungus (white folk). Almost everyone knows at least some English. The folks on the base are very good at English, but the taxi drivers and others I've met aren't quite as fluent. I wish I knew some Lugandan, but so far I haven't picked up anything.
Things are simple here. Our water pump that gives us running water was broken for a few days, but now is back...so we can wash our hands and flush the toilets and take cold showers. They have treated water for drinking.
The dorms are simple too...bunk beds, mosquito nets, and a few bathroom and shower stalls.
The base is beautiful..it is very lush. There are many people here for a worship conference that ends tonight, so it's been busy. It's wonderful to be surrounded by Africans! But it's difficult to get used to their accent.
I went to town today with some staff members. They taught me how to catch a Boda (motorcycle taxi). It's quite fun, but very dangerous by US standards. Hardly anyone wears a helmet, and the traffic laws here are minimal. A bus taxi is sometimes cheaper, but only goes to and from town, and stops a lot. Bodas are much more fun :)
So, things are going well! We don't start class until Monday, so I'm kind of just waiting out the time.
The poverty here is just like every picture I've seen. There are places where folks are doing okay, but there are many places where things are difficult. Small houses, sometimes only one or two rooms, made with cheap materials. I've seen people bathing and washing laundry in filthy streams. Children carrying water jugs. On the way here from the airport some street children begged from me in the open car window. In poorer areas, the children love to see white people, and it is true that they run up to me and want to hold my hand. They sure are adorable though! Despite their lack of goods, people seem generally in good spirits. The children play and the adults linger and chat like family.
The worship is amazing. The people are very spirited in their worship! It's amazing to hear and see and be a part of.
Thanks for all the prayers! The enemy is definitely trying to make me afraid to be here. Last night I spent more time praying that sleeping. I have never felt so attacked before. But luckily God is also very present here, and He helped me overcome! :)
Well, I must go now or I will miss dinner. Three meals a day are served for us, under a big grass roof. I have heard that we get meat about once a week...other than that, plenty of rice, beans, posho (which looks and slightly tastes like mashed potatoes, but is just corn meal)...I have heard we get watermelon sometimes, and we had pumpkin with lunch today...not sure what else we might get throughout our time here...and breakfast is simply toast and tea every day. So I will need to learn how to haggle in the market for some fruit to supplement my diet, I think!
Miss everyone!
Shelley
I made it safely and easily to my school in Uganda. Our internet has been down for a few days but is back up now. Everyone here is very friendly! Everyone speaks Lugandan, except to us Mzungus (white folk). Almost everyone knows at least some English. The folks on the base are very good at English, but the taxi drivers and others I've met aren't quite as fluent. I wish I knew some Lugandan, but so far I haven't picked up anything.
Things are simple here. Our water pump that gives us running water was broken for a few days, but now is back...so we can wash our hands and flush the toilets and take cold showers. They have treated water for drinking.
The dorms are simple too...bunk beds, mosquito nets, and a few bathroom and shower stalls.
The base is beautiful..it is very lush. There are many people here for a worship conference that ends tonight, so it's been busy. It's wonderful to be surrounded by Africans! But it's difficult to get used to their accent.
I went to town today with some staff members. They taught me how to catch a Boda (motorcycle taxi). It's quite fun, but very dangerous by US standards. Hardly anyone wears a helmet, and the traffic laws here are minimal. A bus taxi is sometimes cheaper, but only goes to and from town, and stops a lot. Bodas are much more fun :)
So, things are going well! We don't start class until Monday, so I'm kind of just waiting out the time.
The poverty here is just like every picture I've seen. There are places where folks are doing okay, but there are many places where things are difficult. Small houses, sometimes only one or two rooms, made with cheap materials. I've seen people bathing and washing laundry in filthy streams. Children carrying water jugs. On the way here from the airport some street children begged from me in the open car window. In poorer areas, the children love to see white people, and it is true that they run up to me and want to hold my hand. They sure are adorable though! Despite their lack of goods, people seem generally in good spirits. The children play and the adults linger and chat like family.
The worship is amazing. The people are very spirited in their worship! It's amazing to hear and see and be a part of.
Thanks for all the prayers! The enemy is definitely trying to make me afraid to be here. Last night I spent more time praying that sleeping. I have never felt so attacked before. But luckily God is also very present here, and He helped me overcome! :)
Well, I must go now or I will miss dinner. Three meals a day are served for us, under a big grass roof. I have heard that we get meat about once a week...other than that, plenty of rice, beans, posho (which looks and slightly tastes like mashed potatoes, but is just corn meal)...I have heard we get watermelon sometimes, and we had pumpkin with lunch today...not sure what else we might get throughout our time here...and breakfast is simply toast and tea every day. So I will need to learn how to haggle in the market for some fruit to supplement my diet, I think!
Miss everyone!
Shelley
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Here we go!
I'm currently sitting in the airport in Tucson. About 35 hours from now I'll be in Uganda!
I'm so excited! It kind of doesn't seem real...I think I just don't really understand what to expect. As much as I've read about and seen pictures of the problems in Africa, they are so far removed from American life that I can't even really process what it will be like. So for now I am just very excited for the adventure ahead of me :)
I'm so excited! It kind of doesn't seem real...I think I just don't really understand what to expect. As much as I've read about and seen pictures of the problems in Africa, they are so far removed from American life that I can't even really process what it will be like. So for now I am just very excited for the adventure ahead of me :)
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