Siita's Nest

Hello!

it's been a little bit since i've written, but a lot has changed. my fourth of july was celebrated on july 3 among Canadians, Tongans, Philippenos, Nigerians, Ugandans, and one other American. We roasted a pig the Tongan way, skewered through and rotiseried for 4 hours by hand. It was really good though. I stayed at Hopeland until this past Tuesday, when i moved to an orphanage called Siita's Nest. It's located in a village outside of Jinja called Bugembay. Most of the children are at boarding school, so it's not very crowded now. The children are gone from morning until around 5pm, so i spend my time with some of the older members of the family who are on holiday from their universities. I share a room with a girl named Anna, who is very sweet and a bit shy.

I'll be here until late next week. I think i'll be helping paint a new water tank that they made from Monday to about Wednesday. I'm struggling a bit lately because I'm unsure of what God really wants me to do here. I want to build friendships with the people here, but part of the challenge is language. about 90% of the time they speak Lugandan, so it's tough to join in.

I am really excited for this coming Saturday. My friend Immaculate is getting married and I'm taking photos for them. It's my first African wedding, and i can't wait. It'll be really good to see my friends from Hopeland, the YWAM base that i've been staying at. I've met some incredible people there and God has blessed me with great friends.

I hoping to learn more about a program called "Women of Hope" which is a program that helps former prostitutes earn a living and heal from their pasts. Many of the children that I worked with at preschool are children of these women.

I'm still searching for what God wants me to do at the orphanage. Pray that He direct me and show me what He wants me to do. Pray that I would have an open heart, and that I could build friendships with the workers and children of Siita's Nest. It's a wonderful place and very loving. Pray also for continued safety, God has been so good, i have been kept safe in all my travels adn also been kept healthy. I'm so thankful for that.

well, i'd better go. thank you for your prayers and support.

Blessings,
~Amanda

Gulu, Kitgum, and Jinja

well, i've been here over two weeks and it's beginning to feel like home. praise God! last week was a hard one. immaculate and went up north to gulu and kitgum to visit some of the IDP camps. we visited four total. basically what we did was ask permission from the chief of the village, and then just went around and talked to people, listening to their stories and asking questions. there were soo many children there, and all of them are so beautiful. many of them just had rags and almost no one had shoes. most of the ppl in the camps have gone home, but the ones that we talked with are mainly widows, orphans, and disabled people. most have no money at all to travel back to their villages, and even if they did, their families have been killed and they ahve no one to help construct a hut to live in. it's heartbreaking to hear their stories, so much suffering has happened to countless people, yet they continue on. i cannot wait to combine their photos with their stories and share what i've learned with you. what these ppl need now is someone to come and teach them how to start a small business, simple skills, so that htey can support tehmselves. but, the little money that they do have, goes into buying food for their children. many of these women are taking care of orphans and relativess chidren. one woman is selling all seh has to buy food for her daughter, sandy. HIV is a huge problem here as well.

I've looked into the eyes of women who have lost everything, who have seen their husbands, parents, and children killed by the rebels, and who themselves have been left. I've heard teh stories of a young man who was captured by the rebels and lived in the bush, only alive to day because he managed a risky escape. i've held a naked child whose mother has no way of providing food for her. I've seen the effects of HIV as it progresses and it's heartbreaking to watch as these peopel suffer with little hope.

But I've also seen God work. He has protected me in every step. He's provided in everyway. and he has given me new friends who I am so blessed by. God is sovereign. I'm still trying to understand his will for me in this summer and trying to process through all i've seen. i'm wondering how to help and what to do with all i've seen. There's so much pain, but we serve a Good God.

that's all for now. thank you for your prayers.

blessings,
amanda

i also am having trouble accessing my email. so thats really frustrating. i dotn know if its just this internet connecton or if it will be a problem for a long time. i had written a whole other blog before, and then it got lost, so it's kinda frustrating.

there's so much to tell, but i have to keep this short. the ride from entebbe to jinja took about 2.5-3 hrs, so it was a long trip from america. the ywam base is so nice. i even have my own room currently and my own bathroom too. i ate breakfast wit5h immaculate and we got to talk some. she is so wonderful. i dotn know what i would do without her!

friday we will be going up njotht. pray that i would be able to meet ppl and hear their stories and that i could ask good questions and they would want to speak. pray that we would be safe traveling. i am realizing how deeply i need the Lord in new ways. He is awesome! above all, pray that i could be a blessng to whoever i meet and wherever i go and that i could love with the love from Jesus. alright gotta go,

lvoe amanda

i made it!

i made it! i arrived at the ywam base around midnight last night. it is now wed. i only have a bit of time. but all is well. i love it already. immaculte is great and i am so thankful for her!

One week

I leave in about 7 days. It's crazy to think that in 8 I'll be in a whole different world. As much as I am trying to prepare, I know there's no way I can really be ready, so I just have to jump in. I am kind of excited about that part, life is getting a little too predictable, I need some adventure and something to keep me realizing that I am not in control.

God is so good. He's provided the tools and supplies that I need through the generosity of my family and friends. I am humbled by the gifts and the hearts of people who have joined with this mission. It's a daily reminder of how much we, the Church, need each other-for encouragement, support, accountability, wisdom, and most of all, love. My greatest fear while watching this idea take shape and be molded into what it has become-two months in Uganda, and an experience that will rock me to my foundations-was of being alone; Life outside and far removed from the people who hold me together and make me grow. But as the day I leave gets closer, I'm realizing that I am never alone. The God who put those people in my life, the God who we worship together, is the reason any of this life is good-and He is not going anywhere. So I take comfort in this, and dare to be excited for the challenges ahead. I'm excited to meet the believers there as well.

Most of all, this summer, this life- is not about me. We were created to serve using our gifts and our abilities,

and it is not about us.

It's official...I have a ticket.

In 15 days, I'll be on a plane headed to Uganda for 10 weeks. It seems crazy to me, but slowly it's starting to sink in. 

But since I'm not there yet, I'll keep this simple. I'll be working as a photographer and journalist under an organization called WE International. (weinternational.org) I'll be traveling alone for the first 8 weeks, and then the last 2 I'll be with a team from Madison WI. While there, I'll be in Jinja at the YWAM base, traveling up north to see the IDP (internally displaced people) camps, staying at Siita's Nest, an orphanage in Jinja, and then moving out to the Buvuma Islands. 

I'll have pretty limited internet access, actually, pretty minimal electricity, but I'll update this whenever I can. (I'm still getting used to the idea that I have officially become a "blogger" ugh...)

I just need to say though, that God is good. He is sovereign, and He has provided in ways that I could never imagine or dream up. Thank you to all the people who have supported me, whether it's financially, through prayer, and with words of affirmation and encouragement. You have been the hands and feet of Christ in my life, Thank you! 

Prayer requests at this point are:

1. God would be glorified in this trip, it is His, may He do with it and with me what He desires

2. Safety, I am traveling alone and then meeting up with YWAM staff and Uganda hosts, but just that it would go smoothly and I wouldn't get sick.

3. That I could be a vessel through which Jesus' love would pour through into whoever I meet.

4. That the photos I take, the words I write, and that the book that hopefully results would be a tool to raise awareness, support, and a better understanding of the global community that we do live in.

Peace and Blessings,

~Amanda