WHITE WATER RAFTING THE NILE!

HELLO!
finally! I hope my mom has been keeping you updated while i fell of the face of the planet for a week! i so missed updating and getting your encouraging comments. I felt so far away!

So here i am, in Jinja, Uganda at a cafe at the source of the Nile River! AWESOME! There is a cafe here called The Source Cafe, started by a bunch of Church of Christ people that are really cool. I love this little place.

Anyway, I have been writing down everything from the past week so i will do a mega post hopefully soon when our internet in Kampala is up again, but as for right now, i will just tell you about the past two days. Yesterday we got up reallyyy early and headed out to Jinja to raft the Nile. I have been having a hard time, with lonliness, especially lately without any contact with the outside world for the past week. I just miss having someone to talk to mainly. Hannah has Jarron and doesn't really need me as much as I feel like I need her, so it is easy to feel this way. I have just been struggling with it a lot and it has been increasingly hard on me. Yesterday, on our hour and 1/2 hour drive here, God took some serious divine control over the shuffle tool on my iPod. laugh all you want, but music and lyrics sometimes speak to me more clearly than anything else. I believe God knows this and uses it to romance my heart constantly :) Song after song after song reminded me of his love for me, his faitfulness and that he is right here with me. The song that really really meant so much to me is called "By Your Side" by 10th Avenue North. I LOVED this song already but it took on a whole new meaning yesterday. It goes like this:

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

I cried right there on the bus as I listened to what he had to say to me. I just cried and thanked God for his sacrifice that even gives me oppurtunity for that kind of relationship with Him. I was humbled, thankful, and full of joy. I felt a God-sized hug wrapping around me as he reminded me that He is by my side, here, and always. I amnot alone. I never have been. He just needed to nudge me and remind me that I don't need to look for something else or someone else. He is enough. And from here on out, I will run to no other. I got off that bus thanking God for my lonliness. It has been an incredible blessing to me.

After we got there, we suited up and headed out to the rafts. These were some CRAZY rapids! I have only done 3's and 4's in the states and these are almost all ranked 5. That is Olympic level. It was some seriosuly intense stuff. On one rapid we literally went over a waterfall, and our raft nose dived and we literally crunched together like an accordian. I gashed my knee, but we managed to stay afloat. We only flipped one time, but i feel like that may have been enough. We got flipped, and i was underwater just flipping and turning and i didn't know which way to swim up. i felt like i was underwater for WAY too long and in my head i really thought i was going to drown, but i remembered them telling me i would feel like that so i calmed myself and eventually came up. it was awesomely terrifying. we bought the DVD so you can check it out. I almost got a Ugandan boyfriend out on the river. One they call "Womanizer" in Swahili. Seemed like a real catch but i had to pass that one up. He told our guide "Prince Charles" that he wanted "that one." ummm. no thank you. There was a single know-it-all Canadian guy who went with us who we ALL wanted to hit with our WOODEN paddles. He was just completely ridiuclous, and such a goob. we have been quoting him all day today.

We got to the camp to spend the night and went to check in and found that we would all be sleeping in the same tiny bunk room. We decided it would be best for all the girls to be on the top bunks and boys below to make things a little more private. We all had our own MOS-QUEE-TO (thats how they say it!) nets and we laughed longggg into the night and had some pretty awesome pillow talk. although, living with people of the opposite sex is very strange, and i can understand why God intended it within the bonds of marriage. This morning we woke up and had an AMAZING breakfast on a porch overlooking the Nile. Overall these 2 days have been just the relaxing break we needed. We were supposed to catch an early train into town today but we all accidently overslept so we got a taxi instead. We have just been walking around town here today, and we will head back to Kampala tonight! Hope internet is up! Thank you for following me. I love you all so much!

For His Glory,
Heidi

today was a wonderful wonderful day!

it didn't start out quite so wonderful today though. i woke up sick from my malaria medicine and thought the terrible headache was a migraine. i took some excedrin migraine right when i got out of bed which made me very very nauseous, just like the first time i took it. Darla is switching me over to the daily kind so hopefully the side effects won't bother me as much. I have been pretty sick today with body aches and low fever and exhaustion. I have been working myself hard. Darla says unless i feel absolutely perfect tomorrow, i can't go to the Sanyu Babies Home, so please be praying that i recover completely and feel amazing! i reallllllllyyyy don't want to miss that.

The girls were ready early today (a first) so we went on to the BLRC to meet Peter. After a while they said to just go on without the boys. We went to the Nursery School, and all on the way Peter kept telling me that the reason we left the boys was because they got in a wreck with Mark and Jamie on the way to the BLRC. Peter likes to get a rise out of me and so i told him he was lying and that wasn't funny. Turns out he wasn't kidding. They got in a wreck, and it wasn't too bad. A truck hit the side of their car and scratched it all down the side and took off their gas tank door. kind of scary considering that i was starting to believe driving here was safe even though it looked dangerous and chaotic. Everyone is ok though, so thats definitely a blessing. 

PS: ty, today someone asked me where i got my awesome bracelet, and i was so excited to say that my wonderful boyfriend made it for me :)

Peter took the girls to this nursery school and all the kids were PRECIOUS. i wanted all of them. We went into one room and played with the littlest kids and sang songs with them like "If You Love Jesus" and "The Lord's Army." It was so fun to dance around and play and love on them. They taught us a song that went 

Jesus is Wonderful

Jesus is Wonderful

Jesus is Wonderful

All the time!

One!: He loves me

Two!: He knows me

Three!: He cares for me

Jesus my Lord!

It was precious and it spoke to my heart so much. One little girl named Julie attached herself to me as soon as i walked in the door, and i couldn't let her go. She just smiled so big and wanted to hold my hand and not let go. i loved her so much immediately. It was so much fun and gave so much joy to my soul. I also go to love on this little boy who was mentally handicapped. The purity of his smile and and joy rocked me completely. 

After that we went back to the BLRC and had some Ugandan lunch and hung out for a while. Peter gave us all names. Mandy is the serious one, Hannah is the baby, and I am the fun one. i took that as a very high compliment. He started out by saying i am the funny one, and when i said "no one has ever said that before!" he said, "you're right. you're the fun one." hahaha sort of backhanded, but definitely a compliment.

After lunch Darla split us up and sent Hannah, Jake, and Mandy to a house visit. Jarron, Tommy, and I went with Peter to a school called Coronation Primary School, so we got to go hang out with elementary age kids. The school was pretty run down, but the liveliness of the kids made it colorful. We visited each grade level and the kids sang us a different "Welcome Visitors!" song in each room. It touched my heart to hear third graders singing "We want to see Jesus lifted high!"It amazing how special these people make you feel. As soon as i walked onto the school, a little girl named Layla grabbed my hand and didn't let go. She walked with me into every room and would just smile up at me with an adorable shy smile. They then assembled the whole school into one room and put Jarron, Tommy, and I in three chairs in the front of everyone. The headmaster said, now our visitors will talk to us about World Bible School. We exchanged concerned faces because we don't actually know anything about World Bible School. Peter just laughed and walked out of the room and Tommy stood up and started making stuff up. It was hilarious. Then Jarron and I did the same, and just laughed because we had no idea what we were even talking about in front of a huge room of students. Then they all stood up and sang a song for us. We went outside, and kids waited in crowds to shake our hands. It was the craziest thing, but i loved getting to interact with them, all the while Layla was by my side holding my hand. Such a little treasure from heaven. We could barely get out of there, because the kids didn't want to let us go. 

Ok, here goes. so. we had somewhere to be at 5, and not a lot of time to get there. Peter took us on the bodas all the way across town through very dense rush hour traffic. it was awesome and terrifying. i love the bodas but they are so dangerous. I was riding side saddle on a motorcycle for 20 minutes weaving through traffic. Jarron and Peter got separated from us and so it was just Tommy and I (loved getting to hang out and talk to him today! such a cool guy). At one point we high fived from our respective motorcycles. During some of the worst parts i had 8 other boda bodas within reaching distance. The scariest part though, was when Tommy and i got separated. I was thinking that this man, who looked to be about my age, could have easily taken me away, or dropped me off somewhere and i would have no phone and no way to get back to the BLRC. i was basically freaking out a little, but then we found Tommy and i was ok. God was my faithful Protector! Darla found out about the rule breaking and Peter was basically a dead man, so that won't be happening again! 

so now i am back, and feeling very sick, so please please pray that i feel 100% by tomorrow so i can go to the Sanyu Babies Home! Prayer is powerful and i need a bit of a miracle! Thank you for your support, prayer, and encouragement. You are such a blessing to me! all my love!

For His Glory,

heidi alise

i'm a librarian!

not much to report on today, folks.

it was a much needed relaxed day. i didn't realize just how exhausted i was. we slept in a little bit today, until the dogs woke us up right outside our window. Major is Darla's German Shepherd and Leyo is Mark and Jamie's Lab/German Shepherd mix. Since Leyo just moved into Major's territory, there is a good amount of dog fighting and snarls and barking. 

When we woke up we had breakfast and hung out around the house for a little bit and then headed to the BLRC with Jamie. Frances (another one of the church leaders) took 3 people out to the slum surrounding the BLRC. Since some of us went last time when we went to Owino Market, we decided to let Jake and Mandy go this time. Tommy joined in as their third person and they went out to evangelize. They ended up in an orphanage which is pretty cool. We haven't gotten to work with the kids as much as i would like yet. I worked all afternoon with Jamie organizing books in the library and shelving them. it was a super hot day and there is really no air anywhere. i will not be used to the AC when i get back the states but im pretty sure i'll love it! 

We got back and Darla was at a movie with Dusty so Mandy, Hannah and I had the house to ourselves for dinner. We had a fun little girl's dinner then started Steel Magnolias. The boys weren't too thrilled about that movie selection so when they came over, we took it out and started The Green Mile. It was fun to hang out, all the interns together. We have fun. The house is always really dark to save power and make sure it stays cooler. I walked around the corner to get some water from the kitchen and Jarron jumped out at me from the dark, and i screamed so loud and ran to the other room. sometimes when i get overwhelmed by loud noises or things that catch me off guard i do this weird laughing with tears streaming down my face thing (for example: the first time i played ERS). so thats what happened, and they all got a big kick out of me huddled on the couch. guess i am not as brave as i thought yesterday!

so now i am laying on my bed trying to stay cool, and talking to my mom on facebook chat. i hate to say it, but whenever i think about the fact that i have been here only a week and have 5 more to go, i get a tiny bit homesick. i miss my family. be praying for me, because i know i have so much left to do here and so many people to meet and love and i don't want to take a single moment of it for granted. I am also missing ty a whole lot. even though i am so proud of him and the awesome work he is doing in Honduras, i can't help but miss him. Just be praying that i live every moment i have here to the fullest and don't let myself get too distracted by the people i love back home. God has me here for a reason and i intend to explore and adventure through every single corner of this experience. Me and God, we are on an adventure together, and i am loving every single second of getting to know Him better. Thank you for all the love and prayer and support. Your comments and messages and everything just overwhelm me. I feel so blessed to have such a strong support system in my life. I am completely shocked when so many people tell me they have been reading this to keep up with me. so thank you very much! i love you all.

For His Glory,

heidi alise

today, oh wow what an adventure!

Today Peter, Arora, and Fred came and picked us up and took us to the African Market. I got SOME of my shopping done, but we will definitely have to make another trip. I got some cool stuff though! i am pretty excited about giving the surprises when i get home.

After that we took public transportation to Entebbe to go to the zoo. This sounds like it would be a fun, laid back relaxing tourist day, but that was not the case. First, we got there and didn't have enough money to get in. They raised the price by a lot, and we just didn't have enough money. As the treasurer, i felt pretty bad about it, but Fred took care of us and somehow got the price from about 170,000 shillings to 30,000 shillings which was awesome. So we went into the zoo and they took us over to where they feed the employees. The cook said that she didn't have enough food for us, and that we should come back later. We went to look at about half of the zoo, which included zebras, lions, monkeys, and the very weird bird that looked like it was part dinosaur. We looked at the animals and then went back over to eat. We had some more Ugandan food including Pocho (solid cornmeal mush), Matoke (similar to mashed potatoes, but made out of mashed bananas), rice, beef soup, and yams with G nut sauce. They only had sodas to drink so i just didnt have any, which made me VERY thirsty! After lunch, Fred asked us if we would like to go on a jungle walk. everyone was pretty excited about it, so off we went, into the Ugandan jungle. We start our walk and Fred and Jake were leading the way. Hannah and Jarron were behind them, then me by myself, then Mandy, Arora, and Tasha behind me. This jungle walk became treacherous, and we were ducking under things and walking through the dense forest. I see Hannah start to get majorly freaked out ahead of me and I start to wonder whats going on. Then, behind me, i hear Mandy literally start to hyperventilate. I was still confused until i heard Tasha tell Mandy to not look at the spiders, just try to focus on where she was walking. I look over my head to see dozens of spider webs over my head, each was a home to a spider the size of my palm or bigger. They the biggest spiders i have ever seen. Once i notice the spiders, i start to laugh. uncontrollably. i am a terrible teammate. Here, my roommates Hannah and Mandy are totally flipping out and all i can do is laugh about it. Mandy started sobbing which is completely out of character for her, and Tasha tried to console her. She was afraid they would come down out of their webs on top of her. i thought about this and tried to be scared, but i just wasn't. i just continued on in the jungle trek, laughing. The girls were both a little shaken up from the spiders and so when we came to a place in our walk where we had to proceed though thick grass that was over our heads, they were not too excited. There wasn't really a path, and there was poison ivy and burrs all throughout. Fred started down the path, with me following closely behind. I was feeling adventurous today i suppose. Jarron yelled out "Fred! I don't think there is a path there!" to which Fred responded with a smile and a wave beckoning he and Hannah to follow us onward. Jarron, being the protective boyfriend he is stood there with Hannah, and then finally came along once the rest of the group arrived to the entrance of the non-trail. We walked through and i laughed more, as i watched everyone freak out as we walked though a blanket of "lake bugs" (kinda like big gnats). You literally inhaled them in your mouth and nose with every breath. Hannah wore an absolutely beautiful white lace skirt today that was basically like velcro for hundreds and hundreds or little burrs sticking all over her. i got out first and waited and captured all of these facial expressions on camera, as i laughed very hard. this was probably not a good reaction as Hannah had a mental breakdown upon exit, and my laughter and photography didn't exactly help the situation. After we regained our composure, we finished up the zoo. I climbed a HUGE tree that looks like the one at Animal Kingdom and had a blast with Arora and Tasha. 

We caught public transportation back, and ate Thai food that Jamie cooked for us tonight. it was really good, and we all sat around and laughed so hard we cried about all of our experiences today on our "fun and relaxing day off" which turned out to be one of the most traumatic. And they are all happy now that i have pictures of them coming out of the brush. and even as i type this, i am laughing so hard about everyone freaking out. 

sula bulungi! (sleep good in Lugandan! one of the like 10 phrases i know!)

For His Glory,

heidi alise

the day of the boda bodas

so today we went to our very first African church service. It was AMAZING! The worship was incredibly moving. I loved singing the words YES LORD, YES LORD, YES YES LORD! with so much singing and dancing and clapping! the passion was incredible. i was so uplifted and i could barely keep still! it was awesome. These people are seriously so precious to me. Peter came a got me and said they needed help in the nursery. i was SO excited since i haven't gotten to work with the kids much yet. i went into the little baby room and we sang a song that went "things are better already when jesus is on my side!" it was so cute. i loved hugging on them and playing with them today. they are so much fun and so sweet.

Tommy got really sick today and he has some bad virus. He has been throwing up all day and resting and he didn't get to go with us this afternoon, so keep him in your prayers. Jake started feeling bad too, so we are hoping he doesn't have it too. Pray that it doesn't spread to all of us and that Tommy and Jake start feeling better soon.

After church we came home and a a little lunch and took a quick nap. Then we decided to head back to the BLRC to meet up with Peter. It was the first time the interns took public transportation and made it to the BLRC without a Ugandan or a past intern named Dusty. I was DEFINITELY nervous about that, because the entire process takes about 50 minutes. We walk down the hill from our house, get on a van packed with strangers, and basically hope it takes you to the taxi park. You get out at the taxi park and walk for another 20 minutes through crowds of people and major traffic before finally getting to the BLRC. i am still not used to them driving of the right side of the road! I was really proud of us for making it there on our own though. 

Once we got to the BLRC, we dropped Mandy off and met up with Peter and Jemir. Jake and Jarron wanted to play soccer with some Ugandans and Hannah and i decided to tag along. we walked a lot of the way, but then it became necessary to take the boda bodas again. I was pretty excited because they are SO much fun! plus, Hannah and i shared one so it was really great to experience it together. The boys played soccer and Hannah and i watched which was fun, and then we jumped on another boda boda and headed back to the BLRC for bible study.

Once we got there, we had group bible study. We sang songs together and Seth was our leader. He is the most contagiously joyful person i have ever seen. he laughs out loud before every sentence and he smiles nonstop. He is one of my favorite people i have met. He's wonderful. We sang and had an awesome discussion about some passages in Mark and in Joshua, and i was so challenged by what they had to say. This one guy, Steve, says some really awesome stuff and i have been so blessed in hearing what he has to say. I wasn't as shy today, and i was able to make a few comments which was better than yesterday for sure. We had some great chai tea and break and then we prayed together and held hands as we sang "Bind Us Together, Lord." (its one of their favorites!). It was so amazing to me to see both of my white hands holding onto the dark brown hands of my wonderful new friends on either side of me. God's  love already binds us together in an extremely deep way. i already can't imagine leaving them. They have been such a light to me.

After bible study we hopped back on public transportation and then took bodas back to the house. we watched a movie with darla, and had some sugar G nuts, one of my favorites here :) now i am off to sleep, and getting ready for a great day tomorrow! i LOVE kampala!

For His Glory,

heidi alise

BLRC saturdays

saturdays are known for being very busy around here. We woke up this morning and went to the BLRC for some Lugandan language lessons with Peter. We learned a TON of new words, i definitely wont be able to memorize them all, but i am starting to get the spelling down, and the greetings are coming to me easier. Its just funny that i can speak an African tribal language. 

After that, the boys went into town with Peter, and us girls went to the women's Life Care small group. Singing "Amazing Grace" with 6 African women is something everyone should experience. It rocked me to my core. I can't even describe it, but i had chills all over. We studied 2 John and that was interesting. It was very cool to see what the women contributed to the study. Many of them are challenging and thought provoking in their ideas. After this we took prayer requests. It was REALLY eye opening and it touched me very deeply. These women didn't pray for themselves. Not at all. They prayed for their country, for the children in the boarding schools who are at risk for sexual violence,  and things like that. I think about how often i pray for me. Dear God, help me with this, Dear God, please give me safe travels, Dear God, please take care of me. Its always all about me. Hearing these women pray is completely different. I was very convicted by their prayers that see a much bigger picture than i do. There was a woman sitting next to me holding a baby probably about a year old. She couldn't have been much older than i am. I shared my Bible and song book with her since she came in late. Her sweet baby looked at me, and i was just dying to hold onto him when he fell asleep. When it came time for prayer requests, this woman spoke up. She told us that she is a refugee from Rwanda and her little boy is all she has. She lives behind a refugee project and her and her son sleep outside every night. She prayed for their safety as they are very in danger of sexual abuse living out on the street like they were. When the women asked her name again, she told them and they all smiled. Turns out that her name means God is Here and God is Real in this Place. This is when i started tearing up. I looked across the room to see Hannah's expression matching mine exactly. I wept through the prayer as Darla was saying that this woman and her baby are children of God who are precious and valuable in His sight. It was very hard to not want to promise her the world and offer her a home, but i am starting to learn that praying for these people can be the very best i can do sometimes.

After women's group we had lunch and when the boys got back, we got to see Arora, and Peter again, and we got to meet this precious little fireball of a Ugandan girl named Tasha. She is 20, and her and Peter are dating. I hung out with her most of the day and she taught me so much. She is the sweetest thing in the world and i  absolutely loved spending the day with her. We all hung out until it was time for the Life Care Group for youths. It was really cool to get to have a small group time with our awesome new friends, as  well as meeting others. We had some really good discussion time and Hannah, Jarron, Jake, and Tommy had a lot of great things to contribute to the conversation. It was very difficult for me, however. I just felt like a deer in the headlights when we were talking about money and whether or not it was a snare for us spiritually. I just really couldn't think of what i wanted to say,  so i didn't say anything. The rest of my group did so well though. I was very proud of them, and our Ugandan friends were listening very intently. We took prayer requests again and Jameel, the leader of the group, asked me to pray for Tasha in my spare time. It was a really cool way to do things, and I am so thrilled to get to be thinking of and praying for my great new friend. 

After group, we went walking around Kampala again with Peter, Arora, Tasha, Fred, and another new friend Tazo. It was a blast and we went and had juice. I am LOVING passion fruit juice and watermelon juice! I walked all over the city with Tasha and learned so much about her life, and what it is like to be a girl my age living here. I felt so comfortable asking her questions and i just feel really blessed to have met her today. She was such a blessing, and i am looking forward to becoming facebook friends :) 

We came back and had an awesome dinner, all 9 of us together. Then we sat around talking about our rafting experience coming up in a week or so. We laughed so hard we cried, and i looked around the table and felt so blessed to have these people in my life. It has been amazing so far, and i can't wait to wake up to another amazing day tomorrow! my first african church experience! YAY!

For His Glory,

heidi alise

touristy

today we had a bit of a tourist day. we went to the Kasabi Tombs and saw where 4 of the past kings were buried. Fred, Peter, Isaac, and the missionaries took  us there and we went on a tour. it was interesting. After that we went and had lunch at the BLRC which was much better today because i knew what foods to ask for, plus i have gotten a little better at my math skills! all the practice has helped.

after that we went to the Uganda museum and learned about all the different tribes and history of Uganda. This probably would have been very interesting if we would have been able to understand our tour guide. Basically everything i learned came from reading the displays. However, it was REALLY fun to get to hang out with the KCC (kampala  church of christ) guys. They are really wonderful people, and they have been taking such good care if us. 

When we finished there, Darla and Jamie dropped us off at the BLRC and went home. We stayed out there and watched Slumdog Millionaire. It was a fundraiser movie night and it was really cool to meet and hang out with more people. We got popcorn and i had the best chai tea i have ever had! it was great. Watching that movie in this place was really very different than the first time i saw it. I now know what a slum actually looks like. it was so hard to see that movie and attach names and faces to that kind of life story. It was definitely an eye opener.

When the movie was over, it was dark outside. Unlike many African cities, Kampala stays up late. Peter and Fred took us walking through the city to the taxi park so we could catch a taxi to our house. It was just like yesterday, scary, except now we were in the dark too. People all around and traffic flying by. Hannah almost got hit by a taxi van. it was literally blowing by her. No one has any respect for traffic laws here. There are no such thing as lanes and the pedestrian never has the right of way. Hannah and I concluded that it is not the driver's responsibility not to hit you, it is your responsibility not to be hit. Once we got on our taxi, we started heading to our house. The taxi only takes you so far, and it is a very far walk up the hill to our house. About a mile uphill. There are these motorcycles that drive through the city and weave in and out of traffic, and they work like taxis. They are called boda bodas and for 1000 shillings you can ride one. We are not allowed to ride them in the city because they can be VERY dangerous, because of their assertiveness. We are however, allowed to ride them up the hill to our house, so each of us boarded our very own boda boda and rode up to the house. Since the women wear skirts, you have to ride these things side saddle. it was SO much fun! a little bit scary but we all loved it. today was a great day! I love it here!

For His Glory, 

heidi alise