Wednesday, July 04, 2007

John

Today on my way to dinner one of the little guys, John, came running up yelling, “Auntie Faith, Auntie Faith” and jumped into my arms. I was quite surprised, and did not expect to have him run at me. That was fun; he’s quite a cute guy. He then gave me the honors of putting on his jacket after dinner and giving him a goodnight kiss.

Independence Day

As my time here is winding down, I continue to keep busy. Today was a very rainy 4th of July! My understanding is that this is odd. Oh and get this, I was cold! Put that in the books! Oh and another thing to put in the books, I was so cold that I drank a cup of coffee!

I am spending my mornings tutoring with five kindergarten girls in penmanship. Their behavior is somewhat like high-schoolers, let’s see where our limits are. LOL! I have enjoyed working with them, they are quite good—I have not had the problems the other people here have had. My girls come in and do as asked, usually on the first request. I work with them for 30 minutes on penmanship, and then read to them for 30 minutes.

This afternoon I scrubbed bad sealant off of the floor in the dining hall. I had plenty of time to think and pray during that hour in a half.

Net Ball

I have been officially introduced to the game of netball. Must say, it was a blast! I played with Momma Alice, Momma Anna, Auntie Claire, Auntie Cindy, and about five or six of the girls. My knees are nice and scratched up, as Auntie Claire and I play a hard game with each other. I am sure she enjoys having me on the opposite team, as when she came up to join the game she said, “What team is Auntie Faith on? I will be on the opposite team!” =) This is always a good choice; we both play tough games and enjoy fighting for the ball.

Net ball is a cross between our basketball and soccer in my observations. I laughed and ran hard, and can honestly say that I have not had as much fun as I had playing against Claire as I have had in quite a while. Some good ol’ competition always feels nice. Seriously, I had dived for the ball, as I was not going to get it otherwise. Later on in the game, both Claire and I took a run and then dive for the same ball…I landed right in between her legs, with the ball. =) We were both laughing so hard, it was great!

Monday, July 02, 2007

Dancing in School!

On my last day at the JSS (Junior Secondary School), during study hall, the girls and I read, sang out of the hymnal, and they attempted to teach me to dance their native Ugandan dance—for those of you who do not know, FCD—Faith Can’t Dance, and that is no joke! I will only have dancing at my wedding if my husband to be desires this act as part of his wedding. I will have live music, that’s for sure! No…there is no young man prominently placed in my life right now.

I really enjoyed singing with the girls, as they sang some of my favorite hymns—Oh Sacred Head Now Wounded, There is a Fountain, Be Thou Oh My Vision, All Creatures of Our God and King, and many more. Oh and I am borrowing a keyboard from the library, which is great fun for me here. I can push my headphones in and be in my own world for a while.

Back to the dancing, they tied a sweater around my back, so that it looked like I had a bigger bottom. They were then trying to teach me how to swing my hips. Clearly, I do not do it right. They just laughed and laughed and laughed at me. One girl would show me, and then the next, continuing to laugh the entire time. I felt kind of odd, constantly being laughed at, but I know how bad I am and oh well. The girls decided that when I go home, I must show my Mom my new Ugandan dancing skills. Really mom, my skills are awful! =)

It was my last day seeing those girls and one of them wrote me a nice little letter/note. I will post the letter when I have my memory card for the camera with me. I enjoyed my last day with the older girls and I will miss them, they were quite joyful and a whole lot of fun!






Painting and Scrubbing








For the past week I have had the opportunity to take a wire brush and scrub the floors in the dining hall and to paint fascia board around the homes, here in the Rafiki Village. I like to do this, as I enjoy working with my hands, and when I am busy, I am not left bored with little to do. The floor was sealed with some kind of sealant, quite a few years back, which it should not have been sealed with. This special sealant attracts dirt, so as we are taking the sealant off, the tiles are becoming much cleaner, thus the room so much brighter. What an amazing concept!

I enjoy painting, it allows me to listen to my IPOD, and spend some time in thought and prayer. The children are surprised to see a female paint, as painting is a man’s job. I find it interesting that my painting opens the possibilities and the minds of these young children that feel certain jobs are “man” jobs and other jobs are “woman” jobs. I am not feminist by any means, but do not see a problem with me as a female painting—I am here to help in any way possible, albeit painting, scrubbing the floor, or playing with the kids. Did you hear that Mom? It’s a man’s job, guess my mother’s in real trouble, she has been remodeling my bedroom, including painting it. =)