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