Sarah's Story - Luganda Learning, Policy Planning, Sponsorship Support and Erratic Electricity!

Hello everyone!!! How is everyone? I hope you're all doing well! I'm doing great!!! But the last month has been busy!!!

I've been REALLY trying to learn some more Lugandan over the last month, as it will make such a difference if I can speak a bit more.... And it's going ok-ish. I'm not really gifted in learning languages(!), but I'm having fun because the girls are teaching me, and it's creating a lot of laughs round the dinner table (I'm trying to speak only Lugandan every evening during dinner, which is a bit of challenge with my limited vocabulary - so I just make most of it up!!!). Also, apparently, I keep on saying rude words by mistake, which always creates a lot of screaming laughter! - My pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired, it would appear!!! Ah well!!! At least I'm trying!!! When I go on the Hospital Ministry every Monday, I try out little bits now and again with the patients, and they seem to appreciate my efforts (as well as laughing at me, of course!). I'm also trying to learn to cook some Ugandan dishes, and the girls are my teachers again... so that's been fun too!

I've been very busy with the staff each week, developing some policies with them for the White Eagle Project, which has been interesting - I never thought I'd do anything managerial like this, and find it weird that I'm now doing this stuff!!! I'm learning a lot...

I've also spent a lot of time working on getting background information on very needy kids who live locally that we've identified as needing urgent help, so that we can try to get sponsors for them. So I've been doing lots of interviews, lots of typing, etc. to try to get all the important information down about them. (....So, if you'd like to sponsor anyone, let me know!!! There are a whole load of reeeeeeeally needy kids in difficult situations that we're looking for sponsorship for!!!).

The kids on the project are all doing really well at the moment, although some of them are working far too hard (in my opinion!!!) because they've got their exams (O-levels and A-levels) approaching. I can't believe the hours they do at school!!! Some of them leave for school at 6am, and don't return home until 7pm. It's crazy!!! I'm glad I didn't go to school in Uganda!!! But just to prove it's not all hard work, here's Kyesake as a puppet (for some reason...)

We had some visitors from America about a month ago, so we had fun when they came, and they took the kids to the local (and the only!) swimming pool, so some of the kids got a chance to relax and have a break from their studies that day at least.

All the usual stuff has continued, like the evening sessions with the kids, the youth group, church, prayer meetings, hospital ministry, staff meetings, etc, etc. So, life is full and interesting! ......And I'm still loving it here!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm very excited at the moment, because my Mum and Dad are coming to visit me next week!!! Yeahhhhh!!!! They're coming for a week, and I'm taking my week off while they're here so that I can spend all my time with them. I'm particularly looking forward to staying in a hotel for a whole week which has hot running water!!!! I'm going to have about a million hot baths, even if the weather's boiling outside, just to make the most of it!!!

We had over a week with virtually no electricity at all, a week or so ago (it would come on for a few minutes every couple of days, then go off right away again!!!). It was a bit frustrating, but also fun, because we had to make our own entertainment in the girls' home (due to the lack of a TV and adequate lighting), and so we played lots of silly games, and spent some evenings rolling about in hysterics!!! Kitibwa (the little toddler who lives in the girls' home) was terrified, though, every evening, because he found all the dancing shadows caused by the lanterns we used really scary, so he spent every evening clinging to anyone he could!!!

Anyway, I'll go now! Loads of love to everyone! Sarah