Here's some pictures from rafting. We couldn't take cameras on the trip, so these are all from afterwards, but again, hopefully at some point there may be proof that I really was on a raft :-)

Dinner time....

Here are some more recent pictures of the kids at my home. The girl in the middle is a neighbor girl who comes over nearly every day to play with Stuart. She is 4 years old.
















This is Daisy serving the family's dinner. The big yellow blog in the middle is matoke. It's actually really growing on me. It's tasteless, but with good sauce, it's pretty decent.

And finally, this is my dinner. The purple sauce is ground nut sauce, which I love. Mom and Dad- my brother taught me how to make it, and told me I should take ground nuts home so I can make it for you and you can see how we eat here. So you may get to try it when I come home! :-) It's actually one of my favorites. The plate of food is matoke and rice, the two foods we have at EVERY meal. Some nights we also add potatoes to the list. My plate may not look that full to you, but keep in mind last night when I took the picture I said, "Daisy, I don't need as much tonight. I'm very full already." I normally have at least twice as much food. They feed me well, that's for sure.

So there you have it. This is what we eat. G-nut sauce is common because it's fairly inexpensive and it is DELICIOUS! Some nights we have beef in a flavored sauce that I'm not a big fan of. The meat here is very fatty, but usually pretty tasty. Last week we also ate cow INTESTINE. My dad asked how I liked it and it was the first time since I've been here that I had to say, "I'm not really a big fan." It's always interesting going home on Friday nights because I see a big raw slab of meet sitting on the kitchen table. It sits there all day Saturday and through Sunday afternoon. It's covered in flies and ants, and finally Sunday afternoon they take it to the kitchen and cook it for Sunday's dinner. It's good though, and hasn't harmed me yet, so I don't complain. I'm actually quite content with the food I eat here, though I'm sure I will be pretty excited to go back to America and start eating what I'm used to again. I don't think I'll ever be tired of rice and beans though, in fact, that's probably what I'll eat most of the summer at summer school in some form or another! :-) That's all I've got for now. . . it's raining outside and we're all very thankful because our water tanks are low at home. We can shower tonight because of the rain! Praise the Lord! Ok, off to do homework! Have a wonderful day!

Well, here it is..it's not a very good video, but it's the best we could do. Saturday was the most exhilarating, yet terrifying experience of my life! The day started with a bungee jump directly over the Nile River followed by 31 km (19 miles) of rafting through class 3-5 rapids. I think I can now say I know what it feels like to drown. More to come in an email...

To all who may be interested:

My weekend was pretty decent. I went to Kampala (the capital) on Saturday but didn't have time to do anything but eat lunch and leave. Sunday I helped with two other girls at a local school ministry. We talked in front of about 25 high schoolers about trust and worshipped with them. It was a great experience, and part of the 30 hours of community involvement that's required of us. It's during church time, though, so we probably won't do it every week because we like being in a church service as well. Sundays are always tough because I usually just sit in silence in front of the tv, but last night my brother took me to town to find a skirt and then once we got back I took pictures of the new kids at our house and talked with my brother for a couple of hours, so it was a bit better than normal. Oh- and the prayer service last Wednesday was pretty amazing. We stayed until about 1am. Everyone prayed in their own language outloud and it was wonderful. We listened to several speakers, including the Bishop, talk about witchcraft and preach against it. I was glad to have the opportunity to be a part of it! And as for the rafting trip, it has been postponed until March, but it will happen before I go home....it's a must! That's all I have for now...it's a busy week academically with four big papers and a group presentation, so I need to get back to work! Have a wonderful week!

Well my second weekend at home with my family was pretty long and uneventful. We did a LOT of watching tv. The Spanish soap we watch every night of the week replays the weeks' episodes on Saturday, so we watched all five of them again. To me this seems like a complete waste of my time, but to them it is basically their life. Saturday morning they let me help with the laundry for about 15 minutes, but then they said, "Nabachwa, you look very tired. I think you should stop and take a break." And that was the end of my laundry experience. I did get to learn how to make "duddeys," though. Basically, they are fried balls of dough that we eat with tea. They made the dough and I fried them. They seemed very excited that I was helping them cook and after tea time everyone said "Ofumbye nnyo nnyabo" or "Thanks for cooking." That was the extent of my involvement for the weekend, though. For the rest of the day I sat in front of the television with them as we watched tv or as I listened to them talk to one another in Luganda. Sunday we went to church where a pastor from Michigan here on a mission trip did the preaching. Services here last 2-2.5 hours, and as my brother pointed out to me, "These pews are made for five people each but we squeeze in eight. They are far too small." So while the service is usually amazing, I am usually thinking about the next time we'll get to stand and sing or when it will be over and I can get up and move around. I just continue to love the worship here, though. Everyone is always so genuine! For example, chapel here is twice a week, but it is not required for students. If chapel at Olivet was not required, I would imagine the majority of the students would not usually show up, but here the auditorium is packed and overflowing with students every time there's a service! I haven't noticed much spirituality at home with my family other than prayer before and after meals, but at school it is definitely obvious that these people love the Lord!

Well, that was pretty much just a bunch of scattered thoughts. I will probably write an email soon when I get a chance, but I thought I'd share a few details of the weekend as I wait for pictures to upload. Slowly by slowly things are getting better with my family. Weekdays are usually pretty good, as I'm only there after 7PM, but weekends when I am with them for the entire two days seems to be more challenging. I still feel so much like a guest and I wish they would let me help more around the house and become part of the family. Maybe someday...anyway, that's enough for now. Hope all of you are well! More to come later....