Sincere hearts

So the thing that is taking up my time/thoughts is the health clinic. We have launched our health clinic fundraiser. Its on Indiegogo and it is really important to me. Its only going to be up for 2 weeks so it’s a little crunch time to make sure that we get the money needed to get the health clinic through its crisis time. In case you didn’t hear, the funding we had for the health clinic fell through and so the health clinic is going into more and more debt each week that it operates. Sam and I have a long term sustainability plan, but it will not bring in money until January so we have to find a quick solution for the rest of the year. Which is all explained in the Indiegogo site so if you want to learn more about it click here.

Doesn't she have a contagious smile!

Today I was also at the clinic getting videos to post on the Indiegogo site asking the staff why they chose the medical profession and why they chose to work at Zion Medical Community Clinic. It was so awesome to hear their responses. I don’t think I ever really thought about asking them that question before. Their answers were so sweet! I remember Bilah one of the nurses in station 4 told me that she got into medicine because she wanted to be able to help people. She would see so much poverty and low quality healthcare that she wanted to be able to do something about it and that is why she decided she wanted to be a nurse. Being able to give the care needed was something that was so important to her. The crazy thing is it was like she was echoing my thoughts. I mean I have always known that I wanted to help people but it wasn’t until I was here in Uganda last year that the inability to provide actual treatment began to drive me nuts. So to fix this frustration I recently decided to go back to school and get my nursing degree. And the more I think about it I realized that it is for the exact same reasons! Which makes me so happy. I love these people. They have such genuine hearts! They have been working so hard since February and they have only been paid 2 times. That’s what I call dedication.

I am going to put together a video of the interviews with the staff on the Indiegogo site so check it out here.

If you could share the link with your friends that would be very much appreciated too. We have worked so hard to make this health clinic serve the people of Bunabuyoka, any little bit helps!!!!

Street Kids and Rain....

So yesterday we fed the street kids. and it was GREAT! the kids were so organized and we were able to give out 70 bags of food. meaning we fed 70 kids. And i had at least 10 or 20 of the kids come up to me afterwards and thank me for the food and asked for God to bless me. I think this was what hit me the most. Little children that live on the streets, with hardly enough food to stay alive. are asking God to bless me. They want Him to take care of me. Shouldn't i be asking God to bless them? Thats how great the people here are. Even the children have a faith in God under the worst of circumstances. I love it!

And also, As many of you know i sometimes get really wrapped up in helping people and i take on too much and am not able to fulfill on my own what is required of me. And always when i getting overwhelmed someone steps in to help and it works out even better if i had tried to do it myself.

Well,  we have a guard named David who is one of the greatest people i know. I would trust him with my life (o wait i already do every night)

Anyways, He and our cook Sam have been helping me with feeding the street kids and i just took it for granted. until yesterday, i realized just how important their help is. Because feeding the kids is quite a lengthy process let me give you an insight. First we buy around 5 kilos of beans. and 9 kilos of rice. You then sort through the beans because when you buy them they often have rocks and sticks in them. which can take about 20 minutes to sort through. And then, since i tend to forget to buy the beans throughout the week i have to buy the dried beans and they take about 6 hours to cook. then you have to time it right to make the rice to be done when the beans are done. and there is also a onion, tomatoe, and greenpepper sauce that you make to put in the beans once they are finished.

David and Sam packing the bags with rice and beans

So if i want to be on top of things i try to get the beans soaking before i go to church. Now, this hardly actually happens and what ends up happening is that David has already planned, without telling me, to wake up and get the beans ready and on the stove and get the rice all prepared and buy the time i get home from church he is already chopping the vegetables to prepare for the sauce. And everything needs to be prepared in plenty of time to finish by 7 when we go and feed the kids.
So i end up wander into the kitchen a few times and say, David, is there anything that i need to do? and he laughs at me and says, nope, got it taken care of. And then around 3 our cook Sam shows up, and although it is not written anywhere in his job description he helps David to cook the beans and prepare the rice. Now, it wasn't until yesterday that it hit me why they were putting so much time and effort into helping me. i realized, it wasn't that they were actually Helping me... they were helping the street kids. They wanted them to have food that night just as much, or maybe even more, than i did. And they had the knowledge and skills to make sure it happened. I just provided the opportunity for them to do it.



I think my favorite thing is that i often hear David talking to Sam saying, "No Sam, we have to make the beans as if we were making it for ourselves. I want to eat what we are feeding the kids. They should get the best" Thats when i realized, I have the greatest people around me. People who share my same desires! And are just wanting to help people. They are the greatest!

oh... and we got stuck in a massive downpour of rain on the way home from FHE. That was pretty entertaining .. i think my skirt got about 2 inches added to it by the rain :)

i kinda just look super sweaty....

David was wet with us, but he changed SUPER fast

Sam was so scared we were going to get him wet....

Letters from Esther

So, Last week as we were finding a new place to live, and helping one of our volunteers to get healthy so she could go back to America, i was feeling a little bit stressed :) ok a lot bit stressed. It seemed that all the things i was trying to do weren't helping and i didn't know if I had to energy to keep going. Not to sound dramatic, i was just tired, emotionally and physically. But like everyone does, you just pick yourself back up and keep walking.  And as i thought about the things that happened and the stresses in my life i looked at the incredible people around me. And thought about the things that they go through on a DAILY basis.

I was talking to a woman that I get my pictures printed off at almost every week, I walked in and we did the usual hello, how are you? I'm ok how are you? but this time instead of saying im fine i said " life is ok, really stressful but it will be ok." to which she asked the details and i told her. Not thinking that i was trying to throw a pity party but it kinda started sounding that way and i was given the proper sympathy. When i asked her how she was she said. I'm ok, i prodded her to find out why she was just ok, and not fine. to which she casually mentioned the two of her brothers got into accidents and are in intensive care in Kampala.... i obviously felt horrible for talking about my problems and yet  the way she told me about her struggles it was so matter of fact. with no need for sympathy. It was just a fact of life. I realized just how much struggles a typical Ugandan goes through and once again was humbled by the strength of the people here. I sit and complain to anyone that will listen about my petty struggles and frustrations, while the people here who are really struggling keep quiet, and work hard to provide for their families. They have such an inner courage that amazes me and they don't even realize it!

Such a cute model :) 

Sweet Simon, i caught him making his own kite.
 He is such an incredibly happy kid,
who can always put a smile on your face and heart!

I was in church on sunday and an 18 year old girl wrote this letter in my notebook. She was one of the few that didn't know all of my stresses and frustrations, but i think somehow she knew... it goes like this.

Beyond the horizon, you hear a horn calling from a far awaking you to a new sense of responsibility. Sincerely you feel your bones are too weak to stand and as you continue thinking a few words cross your mind from an old song once sung. 

"Set your heart towards danger, Set your mind towards victory. 

Step follows Step

Courage follows Courage "

And then a new strength awakes you and there you are cammy, the Journey does not matter it is the first step that is the hardest.

One of the MANY non finished homes in Mbale

How does an 18 year old have such wise words? This instantly calmed my heart and it has been something that i think about each day when i start to feel overwhelmed. This wonderful girl Esther knows about trials, knows about struggles, and most importantly, knows how to keep going. That is one of the precious gems about the people here. No matter the struggles, not matter the stress, or fear, or heartache, They know how to keep going. and that gives them the strength they need. So I am going to try and keep the same code. To keep going, not matter the trials, no matter how hard the road. it will turn out all right in the end. 

Laundry Day

He wanted to make sure he was in the picture. Such a sweet kid!!

Only source of water for the Bunabuyoka Village

Reunited and it feels so good!!!

As I was sitting on the plane from Amsterdam to Uganda I was in a somewhat awake state. Thinking about what it will be like to be back, how I'll feel, with questions like, will they remember me. Will I be able to be a leader with the new team when they don't even know me?  And then I hear a man behind me speaking about God and how you need to listen to him and preaching to this guy that doesn't know how to handle him because everything he says is contradicted by the preacher .
And the only thing I could think of after that.
Man it's good to be back. :) I couldn't get the grin off my face from that time forward  because it didn't matter at that moment how it was gonna go, what people were gonna think, because I was coming back and I knew my heart could be at peace again.

So it was a long trip back to Mbale ad I was crazy tired from lack of sleep but too excited and full of adrenaline to actually go to sleep. Met my awesome team. And had a few meetings about the health clinic, stayed awake long enough to eats Sams food an then crashed and woke up 12 hours later. We have a million of meetings today and getting connected(yes Em I jut said that) up with my friends again. So I'll keep ya updated but the best news is......

I'm back and life feels balanced again... At least for the moment. :)