January 2014 Update 4
Yay!! The kids arrive today!! Unfortunately I woke up feeling even
worse today. I am super bummed because I know I won’t have the energy
I need to do camp the way I usually do. Allan asked me yesterday if I
wouldn’t put him on a team so that he can work alongside me. Today I
am so thankful for his leadership and desire to step into a little
more leadership. He has been doing camp with me since 2010, so I know
he understands how I run camp and my expectations. The Lord is always
challenging me to invite more people into the work I am doing.
Sometimes it is easier to do it myself than to teach someone else, but
it is so cool when I allow others to grow and learn. Thank you Lord
for continuing to shape and grow me.
The weather is crazy! I have never really been cold here and last
night it got chilly. This morning it is overcast and still cool for
here. Weird! At least it isn’t raining again. First we had
breakfast. The staple for breakfast is bread with butter, a banana
and a hard boiled egg. After breakfast, we had some cleaning to do
before the kids arrived. It seems that the facilities haven’t been
cleaned since school was out in November. Lovely!! We then got
everything set up for the campers to arrive. We provide some basic
things for the kids, toiletries, notebooks and pens, water bottles and
a bandana which denotes their team. I was actually able to lay down
and rest for a bit, which was nice. I just feel so lethargic. While
I’m lying down though, my mind starts spinning with things that need
to be done. This is why I fall asleep at night to music. My brain
seems to work more when I am horizontal.
The kids were due to arrive by 11, so I came up around 1045. No one
had arrived yet. Okay, ugandan time and it is New Year’s Day. Many
were probably up late and may still be in bed. We’ll just be patient.
Plus it is giving more time for our American team to build
relationships with my Ugandan team. The girls were given Ugandan names
last night. Gloria is Mukisa which means blessing, Lauren is
Nakapanchu which means loved one and Tarah is Nabirye which means
princess. It will take them a bit to respond to their names, but by
the end of the week I’m sure they will naturally.
Our first group of campers finally arrived around 1145. We welcomed
them and got them ‘registered’, we wrote down their names and gave
them their supplies. We did a brief orientation knowing that the
other group is still on their way and then allowed the kids to go and
select their beds. If you have ever been to camp, you know this is a
big deal. You have to get the right bed next to your friend, some
close to the door others a window. The girls are split in 2 rooms, so
we made them separate a bit so they will be mixed with those from the
other group. The boys are all in one dorm, so it doesn’t matter.
They returned to the main hall and had some free time. We had soccer
balls out and some just hung out with friends. Our other group
arrived in 2 shifts, the second coming just before lunch, so we
settled them with their things and went for lunch.
Meals are always interesting. These kids can put away some food.
Sometimes their plates are literally bigger than their heads. I
generally joke around with the kids about how their plate is going to
eat them or something, but when I realize that they pile it on because
most of them don’t have a consistent diet, so they eat as much as they
can when they are able, I am saddened. It is really cool to see later
in the week that the kids take smaller portions because they know
there will be more food to come.
After everyone has had their full, we get the rest of the kids settled
with beds. This was actually a challenge because we had some extra
kids show up, so Kimi actually had to send her driver into town to buy
more mattresses. Not a bad problem to have. I still don’t quite have
a final tally, but I think we have 80-83 kids. Awesome!! There are a
few familiar faces among them, which is fun!
This afternoon we are having to wing it a bit because we are missing
some of our supplies. They will hopefully be coming with Madi!! So
we are doing rotations through futbol (soccer), crafts and game time.
We will have an ongoing futbol tournament through the week. It
generally gets pretty intense. Usually we are doing tie dye, but
today we are starting with our totes bags for craft time. During the
games, the teams will be getting to know each other, learning names
and developing their team name and cheers.
The rotation thing is a bit more complicated for 5 teams than
4…whoops! But everyone manages to get thru all 3 stations before we
are headed to CPR. This is our holistic health education program,
Creating Positive Relationships, not medical CPR, which is what my
team members thought we’d be doing when they saw it on the schedule 🙂
Another thing we are missing is our projector, so we are having to be
very flexible in our teaching times too. Right as we were getting
ready to begin CPR, the power went out. Good thing Allan had me grab
a couple lanterns in town, so we did class by flashlight 🙂
Dinner!!! Yes more food!! I feel like we eat all the time here 🙂
After dinner we have our first session of worship and I begin sharing
the Gospel story. It is fun watching my team join into the local
worship. Many of the songs are in luganda, so clapping is all we can
really do and the songs that are in english can be tough to
understand, but they are in there trying!! Gloria is pretty shy
naturally, but she is even coming out of her shell some. Sweet!!
This evening we decided to do a quick game to get the kids to bed a
little early, so they can recover from New Years. I actually skipped
out and went to bed after I finished sharing because I was just wiped
out! Allan led the kids in a game of Chubby Bunny!! So fun! This is
a total jr high youth group game with marshmallows. It is doubly fun
because the kids have never even seen a marshmallow before.
It has been a day of changes and flexibility, but God has brought
everyone here that He wants and I am so thankful!! Thank you for your
prayers for the campers. We do have one girl that was sick when she
arrived and they took her to the clinic and she has malaria. Please
pray for quick healing for her. Please pray for protection from the
evil one, good health and rest for everyone. Madi is enroute, so
please contue to pray for her and for Emma and Gloria as they travel
to get her. Thank you!!