Day three in Africa....Amazing!

Today started off with a little souvenir shopping for friends and family! We went to the ATM twice! Our USA money hasn't gone as far as expected, but i think its because I get carried away with shopping for people! Josh would say I got carried away A LOT..... but he bought 8 dvd movies for $2.50 each. We had to run a few errands after that, had lunch at the house (rice, beans, beef, and avocados) and then we headed back to Rays of Hope for children's worship/devotion they have every Wednesday. This was one of the most amazing experiences of the week..... and once we arrived in Uganda Sunday night they informed Josh that we would be giving a quick 10 min message to the kids on Wednesday. So he has spent some time each morning & night preparing. He was a little nervous at first not knowing what to expect but once we arrived we were welcomed and the kids were so excited by that point he was happy & ready! Let me remind you that this school is in the middle of the slums..... dirt roads (with trash, dead animals, sewage, etc running down it) most houses are one room sheds with holes in the roofs; beyond description of America poverty. So we go into a classroom for the service with 200 kids. The kids worship team line up front and start singing...... They started to sing AMERICAN worship songs (Lord I lift your name on high, My redeemer, I will exalt thee, trading my sorrows.....all in English); songs we sing back home at Highlands..... AMAZING. There were 3 boys on African drums and the kids had more energy and excitement to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! It was greater than any worship service I have ever witnessed and these praises to our God were coming from kids who were ages 6-12..... WOW. These are children that have basically NOTHING but still can find joy in their hearts to worship. It seems backwards..... they have tons of things that come from this world that could leave them saddened, bitter, or angry but yet they can CHOOSE to sing PRAISES in the midst of their circumstances. In the midst of nothing, they give thanks, in the midst of nothing, they continue to smile, in the midst of nothing, they are hopeful, in the midst of nothing, they reach out and hug strangers, in the midst of nothing, they still know and hold on to the fact that they are CHILDREN of the everlasting God and that truth is what provides them with such amazing JOY! After singing and dancing for a while Joel, the director, put me on the spot to introduce myself and speak.....wasnt prepared (like Josh) nor expecting that. Public speaking isnt my most favorite thing. I basically stood up and introduced myself and thanked them for having us and spoke some about the music and how we sing the same songs back home..... I wanted to let them know that witnessing their worship was a humbling experience and I was honored. Then it was Josh's turn to speak...... He chose to speak on God's unfailing, unconditional, and unstoppable Love. He did such a WONDERFUL job and the kids enjoyed his message and words of encouragement. I have some of the worship songs with the kids and Josh's message on video.... I dont think that my words could describe it well enough. I think Josh would agree with me that this by far has been the highlight of the week to be united and worship with fellow believers across the world.

I need to back up to earlier in the day when we were running errands to explain the next little adventure...... On Monday I saw a little boy named Eddie who had a lazy eye and I told Joel that I would find or make a patch to bring back today. I can cover his strongest eye with the patch to force him to use the weaker eye so it can hopefully get stronger! I didnt think it would be that HARD to find either a patch at a pharmacy or something make shift such as a bandana. Well after asking around and searching many stores I came across nursing pads, I know that may sound weird but they are the PERFECT size!!! Kinda funny but it worked, well that is with some super glue, tape and a shoes string :) In Africa sometimes you have to be a little creative to get what you want! The supplies may sound silly but we made a patch..... thankfully the team coming next week will bring a real patch from the states!!! We made sure to explain to Eddie what we were doing and how to wear it and his teachers and sister will help him. It broke my heart to leave this group today because with our schedule we will not be able to make it back..... Josh and I have been blessed by these kids!

Once we left the slums it was close to dark so we headed back to Garden City to watch the U.S.A play Algeria in the World Cup..... as you probably know soccer is called football here and is a pretty big deal. Jay was sporting his U.S.A. jersey and we (Josh, Carrie, Allen, Jay, Tori, Kathryn, Mason, Maureen, David, and Joel) sat around at a place called Alleygators (not a typo) to watch the game. Im not sure if anyone back home watched it but USA won 1-0 in the last 2 minutes of the game!!! It was very exciting, especially since we were playing an African team. Never thought I could get into soccer that much!!!! Proud to be an American :)

Next adventure was BOWLING, thats why the restaurant is called ALLEYGATORS because there is a bowling alley in the back. We split up in teams (Josh and I played terrible & of course this didnt make Mr.Competitive very happy!!) But he accepted the defeat. I ended up in last place, it was actually David's 1st time to ever play and he beat me :( I usually play decent but not tonight! After bowling we all, SEVEN of us, piled into the car. Not such a good idea because the traffic police pulled us over for having too many people in the car. We thought we were going to be in BIG trouble like Uganda jail kinda trouble. Thankfully we just got a ticket, but a very pricey one 80,000 shillings = $40 USD. We all split the cost to help David get it paid and his license back..... we are thankful to be home safe and sound!

Another funny thing to mention as Im typing this blog, David (our driver) walked back into the house and gave me my wallet which had fallen out in the car. We have some amazing and trustworthy people helping us out this week and who will always be our friends!!!!