Time of my life

I’ve been here for 2 weeks and I leave in 2 weeks. It’s so crazy to think about. Part of me feels like I’ve been here for years and could live here years more. There are some other things working in my heart right now that are so crazy and confusing and I would love some prayers for clarity, even if you don’t know the situation! J

Our days are filled with so many different things. From feeding kids in the morning to taking them around town, each moment spend with them is so wonderful! I never imagined I would fall in love with so many precious children in such a short time! I’m really thankful that I got the opportunity to come here—I’ve found my passion for children with disabilities again. This is why I got into the profession I’m in and I sort of lost sight of that this past year. Despite all of the health problems some of these children have and the things they’ve been through, Ekisa has brought them back to being happy and gives them a safe place to stay.

Earlier this week, we were able to take some kids swimming and watched bungee jumping and ate dinner with them away from the house. These particular boys were just so much fun and loved hanging out away from the craziness of Ekisa. It was nice for us too—I even got to skype my mom and she could see some of the boys J

Friday we went on a boat ride on the Nile River and then went to the source of the Nile. It was really beautiful. That’s one thing that I love about Uganda, the land is so beautiful. There are some parts that are obviously full of poverty and small shacks for houses, but driving around is wonderful…especially in the mornings!

Saturday we went bungee jumping over the Nile. It was one of the craziest and most amazing things I’ve ever done! I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of free falling! Plus, I had a beautiful view in the background. Lots of other tourists were there, so it was fun talking to them about what they’ve been doing here. I probably would have never done something like that in the states, so I’m really happy I sucked it up and went. Especially since we’re not going on a safari now, but I’ll be back J

The church I’ve been going to did VBS on Saturday afternoon and we were able to take some of the Ekisa kids. There was one moment that really made me tear up seeing our kids with disabilities interact with “normal” kids—we were playing duck, duck, goose and some of the kids didn’t really understand the concept to run after the person to try and chase them. One of our girls, Rachel, is unable to walk but oh, can she crawl! One of the young guys who was facilitating the game chose a different child to get up and chase him but didn’t understand. Rachel just started crawling really fast after him and tagged him. It was so beautiful to me, because even in the states people have a negative stigma about people with disabilities and don’t want them included. And here, in Uganda where there is little understanding behind disabilities, these kids were playing together with everyone. So wonderful.

There are so many things that are difficult to put into words--pictures just say it better! These aren't even half of the pictures I've taken but once I get home I promise I'll post more! They're also in a weird order...but you get the idea! Miss and love you all so much, even though I'm having the time of my life! :)

sweet jo jo!

monkeys!

before bungee jumping!

paul and jamile

princess debra!

bats in the daytime...no thanks!

boat ride to the source of the nile

source of the nile

no ties...just relax. haha

traditional african dancing

pool day with these fun guys!