1 Month Down

   It was an early morning yesterday. I woke up at 5am to be at Watoto Church at 7:30am for their early morning service. It was a great service and it was just 1 hour...lovely. Then after my short service I packed my bag and headed for the taxi. I knew that it was going to be a long journey, 5 hours to be exact. So I was mentally preparing for the crowded taxi once again! Turns out, nothing could have prepared me for what was about to go down.
 
   They crammed me in the taxi and I looked behind me and there was a girl about 8 years old also jammed between 2 grown men. I smiled at her, but she did not look happy. Then she started to cry, in the little amount of Swahili that I know I asked her if her parents were on the taxi and she said no. Then I got concerned. Another gentleman overheard my conversation with the girl and he got worried. He told the driver that he was a lawyer and he wanted this young girl to get out of the taxi because she did not want to be there. The driver refused to remove the young girl. The lawyer then accused the drive of kidnapping this girl! I could not believe my ears.

   The young girl looked scared and confused at all the yelling that was going on. We waited in the taxi for a good 45 minutes to make sure that this girl was not being kidnapped. I just smiled at her and tried to distract her from the madness that was going on. Finally everyone came to a conclusion that she was not being kidnapped, but she was going to be with her father. So we left and headed for Tororo. After many stops we finally arrived safely in Tororo. I was excited to get out of that taxi and stretch my legs. This taxi was more crowded then the last one!

   I went to Pastor Ruth's house and she was so excited to see me! She made lunch for me and wanted to talk to me about how the weekend went. It was nice to finally be home. Once I got back to the hotel, I unpacked my bag and decided to go for a run. It was so wonderful! I ran and ran...and ran. I thought about how 1 month has already past! Time has really flown by. I thought about all the great things that God has already done in just 1 month. I am so excited to see what God will do with the other 3 months that I have remaining here.

   Toward the end of my run, it started to pour rain! It was so perfect. For those of you who don't know me very well, I LOVE RAIN! It is my favorite weather. When everyone else is inside trying to stay dry, I am out in the middle of the pouring rain. I have always been that way. I then went inside and decided to do some laundry. This is becoming so normal, a routine that I'm getting used to. Washing my clothes in a bucket...no big deal ;)

"Thank you Jesus for allowing me a weekend to be refreshed! Thank you for getting me home safely. Thank you God for giving me a strong heart. A heart that will stand in the rain, while everyone else hides. Thank you for making my first month here a successful one! Thank you God for choosing me! I love you! Amen"