I Survived....

A peachy ride. In Uganda motorcycles are called peachies (not sure how they spell it). Peachy drivers sit at the corners where the roads intersect and wait for people needing a ride -- kinda like taxis in the States. One huge difference is that peachies have absolutely no traffic laws -- they weave in an out of traffic, drive on sidewalks, speed up, then slam on the brakes, you name it they do it. And women have to ride side-saddle because of their skirts. Needless to say I did not want to ride on one but after Ladies Bible Study tonight Keila needed to get home quickly and it is about a 30 minute walk from the church to their house so I consented to a 5 minute peachy ride. Keila told my driver to be careful because it was the first time I had ridden one in Uganda. She told me where to hang onto the seat so I would not fall off. After she got on her peachy, my driver tried to get me to hold him around his waist -- I said no -- and hung on to the seat with my free hand (we were taking home dinner). It was really different trying to keep yourself balanced sitting sidesaddle, holding on for dear life and trying not to drop your dinner. Anyway, I made it safely to Keila's house; not sure if I want to ride another peachy for a while though.

Chahi Christian School

Today I went with a few if the Tracht kids to a school that is just starting in the church in a village called Chahi (not sure ifspellingiscorrect). I was at this church 2 years ago with the Medical Team from Operation Renewed Hope. It was a blessing to see how much the church has grown and to be able to talk with the pastor again.

The school is just beginning and there were 100 kids ranging in ages and grades. They were split into two classrooms. Because they do not speak English, the Tracht's were asked to come in and teach the kids English. Today they were reviewing colors as well as a few songs that they had learned.

Sunday Prison Ministry

Every other Sunday Matt and Kelia and their kids go out to the prison in Mbarara and minister to the guards and their families outside the prison gates. This ministry started as a result of one of the guards getting saved and asking Matt to come and teach them. Since they have been going, six other people have gotten saved. Matt teaches the adults and Kelia teaches the children. There were about 25 kids and 10 adults this morning. There was also one woman who was saved after the service this morning.

Birthday Party and Fried Grasshoppers

Today I woke up (at 8 am) not feeling well -- migrane and upset stomach -- so I was not able to go soulwining this morning, as Keila sent me back to bed to rest. When I woke up about 11:30 I was feeling much better, just a slight headache.

We went to the Tracht's house (another missionary family) for a birthday party. When we got there, Mrs. Cheri Tracht said that Anete, PastorRobert's wife, had a surprise for me out on the veranda. I went out there to see what it was -- she had cooked fried grasshoppers just for me. She was taking off the legs and the wings so I could eat them. They did not taste as bad as I thought they would -- kinda like sunflower seeds. Anyway I did not have my camera with me but I wanted proof that I ate them so the Tracht's took pictures -- I am waiting for them to e-mail them to me and then I will post them.

Right now, Keila is making milkshakes for us, Matt is watching "Facing the Giants," and the kids are sleeping.

It has been a long, but good day :)

Today I spent most of the day getting settled in and playing with Marcus, Kirsten, and Kimberly (Kendra was sick and spent most of the day sleeping). At 3pm I walked to another missionary families home and went with them to one of the Ugandan schools. There they teach a Bible class to any student who wants to come. It was pretty interesting.

I will be going with them again on Monday, to a differenet school.

I took some video, but I could not get it to upload.

Roommates

This afternoon I moved over to Matt and Keila's guesthouse. It is nice -- I have my own room and bathroom, well I am supposed to have my own room and bathroom but I have a few roomates:

This tree frog was on the shower curtain when I went to take my shower before bed, I named him Kermet

and the second one was on the wall by the head of my bed when I woke up Thursday morning. I named him Ribbit. I accidently flushed the third tree frog down the toilet -- did not see him when I went to use it :)

There was also a tailless geko, named Lizzy running around the room, but I think I scared him/her off -- he/she hasn't come back.

Market

Today Mrs. Cheri, Alisha, and I went shopping at the Central Market.Its kinda like a Mall in the states with all kinds of shops and street venders. Some of the shops are similar so you can look around and get the best price. A fruit and vegetable market where the missionaries get their fruits and vegetables (if they do not grow their own), and a supermarket where they get coffee, sugar,cereal, eggs, and laundry soap.

Alisha and I also wanted a Ugandan dress so we went to several dress shops to look at the pre-made outfits. Both of our dresses needed to be altered, so the lady made the changes while we waited; it only took her about 15 minutes to alter both Alisha and my dress.

This is one of the dresses that I considered getting, but it was made out of linen so it was super expensive. It also did not fit quite right and it would have ruined the style of the dress to have it altered:

These are the dresses we ended up buying: