#Village Life

After being here for a week Em and I decided we had to adjust to the culture more. So Friday morning we woke up and rode into town to get our hair braided like a regular Ugandan.  So now you cant even tell the difference between the locals and us.  Then to wrap up our first week here, we spent the weekend with our new friends and family joining them in their festivities!  Friday afternoon we got invited to go to a small village outside of town that one of the guys that works with the soldiers of Christ ministry lives at. It is about a half hour drive from town.  We were able to spend the evening fellowshipping with his incredible family. Mom brought some seeds for their garden and toys and candy for the kids. It was such an awesome time seeing what village life is like in Uganda. They all live in tiny little huts with no electricity or running water. The immediate family all lives in one hut until the older boys grow up and start their families and then they build their own huts next to their parents. And that is how most of these villages get started.

Saturday we got to do something kind of similar. We got to visit another village of one of our friends, Francis. (I will tell you more of his story later.) But as we arrived in his village we were greeted with a huge group of kids who were all singing and doing traditional African dances.  They escorted us into the village dancing; it was like we were living in a movie. The rest of the day was then packed with introductions, speeches, dances, and of course, gardening! Again my mom was able to bless this village with an abundant amount of seed that we brought from home. They were so grateful. I wish everyone could see the smiles on their faces when the receive things that we think are so simple.

The people in the village wanted to bless us in return, which they did by providing a huge feast for us. Which included there freshly slaughtered goat and chickens. It is so humbling going into these villages and seeing how these people live. They have almost nothing but they are more than willing to sacrifice what they have to serve us. I can’t even imagine living life in that mind set.

So today is Sunday. Remember the last time I wrote we asked for prayer for mom as she preached in church? Well let me tell ya. She brought it! Like a boss! She did incredible! She got up to that podium and preached like there was no tomorrow! She did so well and it was a huge answer to prayer for her.

After church we were able to walk over to the garden we planted at the high school and saw all the little seeds germinating. Another huge answer to prayer!

Thank you all again for standing behind us and supporting us in our journey.  We only have two weeks left here in Gulu, before we leave to see our sponsored child in another part of Uganda.  We have so much to do in this short amount of time. Pray for continued strength for our team and that we would make an impact on the people around us.

 - Katie 

For some reason our pictures could not upload. We will post more next time.