July 15-- Today I spent a good amount of time playing with the kids. I’m still living in this surreal land not really connecting fully to the fact that I’m in Ugandan and staying with a family who lives in a village without electricity. It has been a long time since I’ve used a pit latrine. When they are clean they really are not so bad. However, I’m discovering that they take practice to keep clean. Practice in the sense of learning how to use the latrine and practice in the sense of learning how to clean it.
Rita is so good with the kids. I love her philosophy. She is teaching the kids to take part in the community but she isn’t forcing them. She is giving them skills as they want it. And what I’ve seen is that some of the kids are wanting it!! Others are being content to just play and be kids. I loved hearing her talk about one of the new boys. After she had taught him how to clean the bathroom at the half way house he now was at their home telling his new siblings how to clean a bathroom properly. How cool it must be to see your teaching being passed on. The kids are so endearing to their parents and mentors. I’m sure they have their momens like any kid but I’m impressed by the love I see in this household.
I brought a jump rope with me and pulled it out today. The kids and I had so much fun. They wore me out! Ha. They have a ton of energy and could have jumped for hours. We laughed a ton.
In between play sessions with the kids today I took a nap. Jet lag…hate it. It was nice, however, to be able to escape to a bed for a couple of hours and get some rest. I needed it.
Tonight we went into town and Rita helped me get my bus ticket for tomorrow. I’m not sitting as much towards the front as I had hoped but I’ll have a window seat. The bus looks surprisingly nice. There are only two seats on each side! And I learned that there will be bathroom stops tomorrow. Caleb said that if I had to go in between stops, I could ask the driver to stop. That means I’d have to go on the side of the road. I guess that means I’m wearing a dress tomorrow!!
Rita asked that I make a point to telling the kids that I am leaving tomorrow. She didn’t want to have to be the one to answer all their questions. Wise! Her comment made me realize that it really isn’t fair that I’ve dropped into this family’s life only to leave 2 days later. I really saw this when I told the kids I was leaving in the morning. I hated it. They were already in their bedroom. All the girls were singing songs of praise and praying together. They invited me in and I sat on the bed and joined them for a while. Eventually I got the chance to tell them that I’d be taking a bus tomorrow to Rwanda. I was begged and begged not to go. My heart was heavy. This really wasn’t “fair” of me. Somehow I’ve got to see them again before I return to the USA. Hopefully I can work it out. I got lots of hugs. The older girls asked if they could sing for me. Of course! They sang some English songs. They asked me to sing a few songs. I did and then they asked if I’d sing some songs that my mother taught me. Umm…I do not remember what songs my mother taught me (sorry mom). I don’t remember songs very easily and as I sat in silence trying to remember they thought I didn’t want to sing for them. I was able to recapture a few more songs from the recesses of my early childhood memory. They were content and so was I. I felt sad to leave too soon but content that I had said goodbye to most of them.
Tomorrow is the day I’ve been talking about now for weeks. I am nervous but I’m going. We are planning on leaving at 7am.
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