Friday, July 18, 2008
NEW BLOG!!
Hi everyone!! We are soo sorry it has taken us ages to blog, but it seems that every time we go to use the internet the power goes out - so then its time to pull out the candles and not time to use the computer :(
Today we are having great luck though, and we are so excited to tell you what we have been doing! And to show you what we have been SEEING - with PICTURES!! yes, thats right. pictures!
So lets see... where to begin...
We have made a lot of progress in Ssenge (the village we are building a new African Hearts house in) We have sanded and painted many walls, shoveled mounds of dirt, scrubbed floors, and cleared the bush with machetes! It has been very rainy lately and when it rains, the older street kids take the shelter from the younger ones, so this house is well on its way to housing many young street boys who are in need of a loving home!
We have also been living at the house with the boys, and we absolutely love it! It is the most joyful home you could imagine. Our meals are quite carb-filled as some breakfasts consist of bread, jam, and water and most dinners/lunches consist of rice, beans, "posho" (corn meal, potatoes and MORE potatoes on any given day. But the boys cook the food and we love sharing meals with them. The boys also make tea or "chai", and that is our favorite!! At night simply just hanging out the house is amazing and rewarding. Some nights we help them with their homework, but on most nights we spend our time jammin' on guitar and singing for hours or having silly competitions or playing Twister! or having incredible heart to heart conversations or just laughing with them because they are hysterical. We also have Bible studies each night, and it is amazing to hear the hearts of these boys and their devotion to the Lord.
It has definitely been interesting not being able to always understand what is being said. The boys will start speaking Luganda and we are totally lost! We often ask "what are you talkin about??" But they are so helpful in teaching us words and they speak great English majority of the time.
Last Sunday we made french toast and pancakes for the entire house and some other visitors. Think about cooking enough pancakes for thirty people over an open fire at six in the morning. hahaha it was definitely something we will never forget!
Last night we had the opportunity to take a few boys to the movies. It was all of their first times ever going to a cinema. We saw Journey to the Center of the Earth and they loved it. It is heartbreaking to think that we will be leaving these wonderful boys in less than a week.
Kampala is quite happening, to say the least! When we walk through the city there are tons of people everywhere!! Its almost like New York City - except no flashing lights... and no paved roads... and A LOT more trash! But it is beautiful and the people are lovely. Our main transportation is still boda bodas (motorcycles) - even though Coreen got burned! (she is doing fine :) ) and matatus (taxi-vans), and of course, foot!
Tomorrow we are going to raft the Nile river!!! We are sooooo excited, and we can't believe we are actually getting the opportunity to go!
Webale nyo (Thank you so much) for your prayers, encouragement, comments, and support! We appreciate it so much, and we are thinking of you all back in the states!!
Love love love,
Coreen and Hannah
Today we are having great luck though, and we are so excited to tell you what we have been doing! And to show you what we have been SEEING - with PICTURES!! yes, thats right. pictures!
So lets see... where to begin...
We have made a lot of progress in Ssenge (the village we are building a new African Hearts house in) We have sanded and painted many walls, shoveled mounds of dirt, scrubbed floors, and cleared the bush with machetes! It has been very rainy lately and when it rains, the older street kids take the shelter from the younger ones, so this house is well on its way to housing many young street boys who are in need of a loving home!
We have also been living at the house with the boys, and we absolutely love it! It is the most joyful home you could imagine. Our meals are quite carb-filled as some breakfasts consist of bread, jam, and water and most dinners/lunches consist of rice, beans, "posho" (corn meal, potatoes and MORE potatoes on any given day. But the boys cook the food and we love sharing meals with them. The boys also make tea or "chai", and that is our favorite!! At night simply just hanging out the house is amazing and rewarding. Some nights we help them with their homework, but on most nights we spend our time jammin' on guitar and singing for hours or having silly competitions or playing Twister! or having incredible heart to heart conversations or just laughing with them because they are hysterical. We also have Bible studies each night, and it is amazing to hear the hearts of these boys and their devotion to the Lord.
It has definitely been interesting not being able to always understand what is being said. The boys will start speaking Luganda and we are totally lost! We often ask "what are you talkin about??" But they are so helpful in teaching us words and they speak great English majority of the time.
Last Sunday we made french toast and pancakes for the entire house and some other visitors. Think about cooking enough pancakes for thirty people over an open fire at six in the morning. hahaha it was definitely something we will never forget!
Last night we had the opportunity to take a few boys to the movies. It was all of their first times ever going to a cinema. We saw Journey to the Center of the Earth and they loved it. It is heartbreaking to think that we will be leaving these wonderful boys in less than a week.
Kampala is quite happening, to say the least! When we walk through the city there are tons of people everywhere!! Its almost like New York City - except no flashing lights... and no paved roads... and A LOT more trash! But it is beautiful and the people are lovely. Our main transportation is still boda bodas (motorcycles) - even though Coreen got burned! (she is doing fine :) ) and matatus (taxi-vans), and of course, foot!
Tomorrow we are going to raft the Nile river!!! We are sooooo excited, and we can't believe we are actually getting the opportunity to go!
Webale nyo (Thank you so much) for your prayers, encouragement, comments, and support! We appreciate it so much, and we are thinking of you all back in the states!!
Love love love,
Coreen and Hannah
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Hi everyone! sorry we haven't had time to update anything, we have been very busy. The flight was very long from phx. to houston to dubai to ethiopia to entebbe and then we drove to kampala (where we are staying). We have definitely been submerged in the ugandan culture as we have tried "real african food" ( they always ask us - "are you sure your stomach can handle it?") Our favorite form of transportation are boda bodas, which are motorcycles and you hop on the back and they quickly take you through the city. They call us "mazungus" (white people), and everyone constantly shouts "MAZUNGU!" as we are walking through the market, the village, and riding on boda bodas. The boys who are in African Hearts are the neatest boys you will ever meet. Everyone has a story. They also have big plans for the future. Many want to be politicians, engineers, and journalists so that they can do their part in making Uganda an even better place. We will have more soon. It is difficult to update frequently because we are always packing our days tight. Tomorrow we are planting trees in a SWAMP (rain boots are imperative). Welaba!! (Goodbye).
Coreen and Hannah
Coreen and Hannah
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
