The "Queen of Mishap" Strikes Again

Being that it's the week of Thanksgiving (in America, of course, because Thanksgiving is not celebrated here), I figure it is a perfect time to share the story of my latest life experience and life lesson. As is typically the case with me, so it seems, what was supposed to be a fun experience turned in to another "Why does this always happen to you?" experience instead, and soon after, became another lesson from the Lord.

The past weekend was scheduled to be busy, but packed with fun events that I was excited about. Friday night I enjoyed time at a youth event with the kids from school. As usual, it's always enjoyable to spend time outside of class with students. Saturday morning we attended a local Christmas bazarre sale where we found some great bargains on souvenirs. Saturday afternoon I was able to call my grandparents, sister, and parents all at once, as they were all in Iowa celebrating my grandparents 60th anniversary. Saturday evening I set off spend the night with Sharon, the friend of mine from my semester here last year, who now lives with her Ugandan husband in a town about 40 minutes from here. She had asked me if I would run the Kampala 10k race with her, and I agreed. Early Sunday morning we arrived at the race ready to run. It was a fun experience overall, and quite hilarious to see some of the other 20,000 African runners participating in the race. You'd be amazed how many "runners" I saw in ballet slippers, or skirts, or jean shorts and flip flops. It was quite the sight.

We finished the race, waited around to watch some of the entertainment, and headed back to our car ready to head home and take a much needed nap. Unfortunately, when we reached the car we were in for an unexpected surprise. The locks had been broken and my bag had been stolen. Luckily, this exact scenario had gone through my mind the day before as I packed, so I had removed my camera, debit card, license, and extra money. I lost my backpack, my jeans, my Ohio State shirt (possibly the most disappointing thing of all :-) ), a book, my waterbottle, my classroom keys, my marathon kit which included a bag, a visor, and a water bottle (yea, all I have left from that race is the awful bright yellow mesh vest they made us run in) and somewhere between $40-50. Just like that, my things were gone. Disappointed, definitely. Just like that, the "queen of mishap" reputation had struck again.

The most disturbing part of the whole situation was the security guard who likely was in on the whole thing, or at least saw it happen. When we asked him if he saw anything, he smiled and said, "I was told to watch the first car, not the other cars behind it." Just another case of Ugandan police being, well, Ugandan police. Civilians will burn someone alive if they are caught stealing anything, no matter what it is, yet the police will stand and watch someone steal items from cars on the side of the road, and do nothing about it.

Last night at school we had a worship service. Several people sang and led worship for about 2 hours. It was an amazing experience, and very much needed, as we often don't get to participate in "normal" praise and worship during church services here. Music has always played a HUGE role in my life, and I know God often speaks to me most clearly through lyrics. I was thankful to be in the Lord's presence and being able to praise Him. We were singing "Blessed Be Your Name", and I thought back to an email I received about the line of the song "You give and take away, you give and take away, my heart will CHOOSE to say, Lord BLESSED BE YOUR NAME." Being joyful, and believing in God is a choice. It shouldn't depend on our circumstances. It shouldn't depend on what's going on in life. The choices is ours. We can choose to be thankful in all circumstances, or we can choose to let life's struggles get us down. Those words spoke to me last night.

Ok, so having those things stolen wasn't the greatest loss in the world. The scenario could have been much worse. I could have lost my camera, credit cards, or license, or we could have walked to the car during the robbery. It's disappointing, sure, and I wish I had my backpack back, and my Ohio State shirt, but I still have far more than the majority of people living in this country. I'm still blessed with health, an amazing home to live in, a wonderful (well, sometimes wonderful) job, and a support system back home praying for me and supporting me. I'm blessed beyond measure, even if I'm not backpack-less.

Needless to say, it really does seem to be the trend that "these things always happen to me." I guess these are the stories that make life "exciting," and without them, what would I have to write home about? I'm just thankful the positive experiences always seem to outweigh the negative ones, because honestly, I think I've had my fair share of negative experiences in this place!

So there you have it, another adventure in the life of Betsy. Two things learned: don't leave your bag in the car if at all possible, and always be joyful and thankful.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"I used to hate math so much, my knees hurt!"

Teacher Appreciation Week took place this week, and what a week it was! To the left is a picture of me trying to hold all of the gifts I received from students. Some of the items included a scarf, real and fake flowers, necklaces, tons of candy, a fancy wallet, three jars of peanut butter, and even a solar powered mosquito zapper :-) One day several students asked to go get water during class. Instead of coming back with water, they came back with random flowers picked from around the school, held them out, and happily said, "Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!" Today was a party-filled day in the math classroom. One student had a birthday, so her mom brought in a delicious cake and candy and chips during math class. Then, the secondary students planned a party for all of the teachers. They brought in homemade cakes, cookies, popcorn, and all sorts of goodies! Every day there's been some sort of chocolate goodness, in the form of a cake, or cookies, or candy, and I think I've had more cake than I can handle for awhile. It was a week full of surprises and fun. For me, the week provided much more than these tangible gifts...


After what has been somewhat of a discouraging start to the school year, this week provided much needed encouragement. On Monday, one student handed me possibly the sweetest note I have ever received. It said the following: "In the short time I've known you, you've taught me two things. The first is that it's ok to be quiet, even when everyone else is loud. The second is that it's important to laugh, even when you're having a terrible day. You always laugh, and always act happy. I love your smile, and I wish I could laugh like you." She continued with some other comments, and finished by saying, "You know, I used to HATE math! I hated it so much, my knees would hurt! Now I love it. Thanks for teaching me."

Sure, they're loud and they don't always do what I tell them to do. They don't always turn in their homework. They don't always ask questions when they don't understand. They throw bottle caps across the room and draw on the desks. They eat my candy and are sometimes just completely out of control. But when they say things like that, and genuinely mean them, every annoyance and frustration just disappears. It's all worth it. My favorite teachers growing up were the ones who invested their time in my life, the ones who taught me more about life than about any subject matter, and the ones who genuinely cared for students, not just for teaching. If I can impact even one student in the way those teachers impacted me, it will be worth it.


To the left are the 7th and 8th grade girls, minus Ruby. I have been so blessed to be able to begin building relationships with all of the secondary students. We laugh together and share stories, and just enjoy building relationships.

One note from a student, one hug from another. One class of 10 students ALL earning an A on their most recent test. One "thank you for teaching," and one "I don't understand it. I can't even stand myself, but you, you are patient and kind and you put up with me!" makes it all worth it! Sure, that same student announced in front of the whole high school that I'm the most gullible teacher (in a good way) he's ever had, but still :-) I'm working at a great school, with great kids, and an amazing and supportive faculty, and I am being blessed with some AMAZING relationships. Yes, there are still challenges. Yes, some days I still dread teaching and wish I had chosen another profession. Yes, some days I wonder what on earth I'm doing here. But on those days, I can remind myself of weeks like this, and I can say with confidence that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Popcorn, anyone?

Friday night Heritage had its annual Rain Festival, or in other words the "Christian Halloween festival." The theme this year was "At the Movies" and we were all supposed to dress up as anything having to do with the movies. The first thought that probably comes to your mind is probably to dress up as a movie character or movie star. I thought of that, too, but then I realized I really don't know anything about the movies. So what came to my mind? Concessions! Who doesn't want to buy a giant box of popcorn when they go to the movies? So what did I do in class on Friday? I had students help me color red stripes on a white poster board and created a giant popcorn box. Clearly, as you can see from the above picture, I really was a giant box of popcorn.



From left to right: Teresa as Timon from Lion King, me as the popcorn, Shanna as an m&m, Brent as Napolean, and Lisa Mayo as someone from "Singing in the Rain." These people are all wonderful, and I'm thankful to be friends with them!



This picture is of the high school girls who all dressed up as movie stars, or just fancy "Hollywood" ladies. They were all absolutely beautiful, and then there was me, the popcorn :-)

Following the rain festival, the 7-12th grade girls headed to the Girls Night Out (overnight lock-in basically). We went to one of the students' houses. This family owns the Rwenzori water company here in Kampala (one of the main bottled water companies), so the house was AMAZING! I have to say I was already exhausted from a long week at school, and wasn't all that excited about having to stay up all night with the girls, but it turned out to be so much fun! We just hung out, watched movies, and talked, and I really enjoyed it! I always really enjoy hanging out with the students when they are not in class. They're great kids, and they're tons of fun. If only they liked math....

We stayed up until about 4am, at which point we attempted to sleep for a few hours, but because of several interruptions, only managed to sleep peacefully for roughly 2 hours. Now that I'm back at home, you'd think I'd be sleeping, but I discovered that sleep would be nearly impossible since there is a man on our roof pounding away, trying to fix a leak. So I'll do laundry, update photos, and write this blog in hopes that he'll soon be done and I'll be able to enjoy some peace and quiet.

If you'd like to see more pictures from last night, they should be available in the link at the top right side of this page. Enjoy :)

New Every Morning

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are NEW EVERY MORNING; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Ok, so that isn't the sunrise I woke up to this morning, but let me tell you, the sky was full or oranges and pinks and yellows and it was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. As I looked at the sky in amazement and wonder, the Lord reminded me that it was a new day, full of new experiences, and that His mercies are new every morning. Each morning my alarm goes off at 6:03am. I never want to wake up that early, and it's earlier than I really need to wake up, but it is the perfect time to open my window and look out in awe.

Yesterday was a rough day. In fact, in all honesty, it's been a really rough week. With grades being due and parent teacher conferences being today, it's been a bit of a stressful week. Yesterday my frustrations must have shown in class, because students started to ask, "What's wrong?" or "Miss Betsy, can I make you laugh? You look a bit sad." I absolutely love these students....when they're not in class. They're great kids, and I love working with them. It's the teaching I'm not so sure about. Anyway, after a rough day yesterday, and lots of worship music and prayer last night, waking up to a gorgeous sunrise was just the reminder I needed that God brought me here for a reason, and He will be faithful. Even when teaching isn't so wonderful, He is with me. When I wanted to run out of the class yesterday and never teach again, He was there. He's faithful and He's with me, no matter what.

Waking up at 6:03 (yes, 6:03, not 6:00, not 6:05, but 6:03. Why, because 3 is a prime number. For some reason, for as long as I can remember, I've set my alarm so that the last digit is always prime) may not always be my favorite thing to do, but looking at out God's beautiful creating was all it took to remind me this morning that it was a new day, yesterday was over, and today could be completely different. And it was. God is faithful, and His creation is amazing!

All that to say: I'm glad the week is over, and I'm perfectly ok with the fact that conferences only happen once a year!

Laughter: The best medicine of all!

It's late and I don't have time to update much, but I thought I'd share some pictures from my weekend vacation to Jinja. After a rough week of being sick and being busy with school, a weekend full of ridiculous laughter and fun-filled moments was exactly what I needed. It was relaxing, and it was the perfect end to a rough week. I'm so thankful for the friendships God has provided in just the two and a half months I've been here. These ladies (and others) are such a blessing to me! Here are a few pictures. For more, see the link at the bottom of the post.




This week is busy as grades are due and parent teacher conferences take place. We'll see how they go...

More to come later, but for now, time for some sleep!

If you'd like to view more photos, here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057955&id=69601420&l=123aed2f10