this blog post's title comes from one of the games we play in the preschool class here at the James Place. one child says, "news! news!" and we all reply, "tell us news!" then the child continues with a story - and the rest of the class has to decide if it's good news or bad news.
this post is definitely good news! i do apologize it's only words and no pictures. i've been so engulfed in the activities of the day that i completely fail to whip out my camera and take photos! another excuse is that in most of the areas outside of the compound, it's risky to carry any belongings with you, so most of the time i don't have my camera with me.
life of an intern here with HEAL is a busy one - but i am loving every minute of it! really happy i am spending three months in Jinja...i am finding it somewhat difficult to connect with people here, so having a lot of time will give me a better chance to build some strong friendships. the staff here at the James Place is nothing less than incredible. so much of their time and energy is spent serving these children and women, and they do it with huge smiles on their faces. i have fallen in love with the class - they are the sweetest kids! my favorite part of teaching them (so far) is hearing their little voices singing "Jesus songs"...one song in particular just melts my heart! i will try to upload a video of it soon.
saturday we had kids' club at the James Place, which was a blast! we had over 150 kids show up, all smiling and ready to play! the front yard was covered with little brown bodies running everywhere, countless soccer balls being kicked around, frisbees flying in the air and lots of laughs! i had a group of kids surrounding me the whole three hours, all holding my fingers and touching my hair. i think at one point, i was kicking and throwing eight soccer balls all at the same time - in a few weeks, i will have mastered the art of multitasking! after an hour or so, we all gathered into a gigantic circle and sang a bunch of praise songs. after that, we separated the kids into four age groups - i sat with the youngsters and listened to Aisha (a staff member/teacher) read them the Bible story about Moses parting the Red Sea. we sang some more songs and then they had boiled eggs for snacks. my white t-shirt was not the best choice to wear that day - it was completely covered in dirt! i cannot wait for next saturday's kids' club!!! definitely a highlight of last week!
i've visited several other ministries in Jinja, close to the James Place...
yesterday i and the other intern (Jill) went to Canaan's Children Home, where we led a Bible study for about fifteen of the older girls living there. at first, it was hard connecting with them - just because of the language barrier, and it was almost as if they weren't taking us seriously. but the longer we were there, the more they opened up. i'm excited to get to know these girls and hear their stories. most of them have family, who they go to stay with during the holidays twice a year (for Christmas and Thanksgiving) and then come back. we were told that once these kids hit adult age (18 years), they can no longer stay at Canaan. i'd really like to see more organizations like HEAL, that teaches sewing classes, English lessons, agricultural classes, etc. so that these adults can make a living and support themselves and their children.
we went to a crisis pregnancy center in town - this was definitely a place of hope and healing. the girls i met are my age and younger; most of them were taken advantage of and left pregnant, to take care of their babies all by themselves. this ministry holds classes on different subjects - for example, today, we sat and listened to the instructor teach all about different kinds of parasites and worms and how to prevent catching and treating them. another teacher spoke on the importance of using your gifts for yourself and for others. a few weeks ago, a young volunteer who went to cosmetology school came to the pregnancy center and showed the girls how to apply make-up professionally. two of the girls in today's classes were all-dolled-up with their eye shadow and mascara, looking beautiful! i love this organization because it reaches these girls on so many levels that are all important.
in a different part of Jinja is Masese - the poorer, slums living area. it reminds me a lot of Korah (in Ethiopia), the poverty here is extreme. we were told that Masese is a more dangerous part of Uganda - especially at night. one girl told us she cannot walk home in the evenings because she fears she will be raped. from what i understand, Masese is split up into four sections - in one of these parts, Jill and I, along with two of HEAL Ministries' staff members, Regina and Rebecca, all drove into the center of the slums and held a Bible study under a large tree. children gathered around and quite a few women as well, as we began to sing. then we played some games with the kids and did a Bible study in Genesis 22 with the women. when they stood and sang Ugandan worship songs, the Holy Spirit flooded that place. i couldn't understand a single word, but that didn't matter - we were all praising the same God. i really loved being in Masese today...looking forward to going back this week!
i know i've said this before, but i am so thankful and blessed to be here - and i thank each and every one of you for supporting me financially and through all your prayers!!!
pictures to follow...
