Creating Lasting Friendships

I just have to start out by saying that I absolutely LOVE being here in Uganda. Everyday is amazing. The people are amazing. And I am currently smiling a mile wide writing this because I am just so happy to be here. Today I must tell you all about my very dear friend, Jemima.

Jemima is our cook. She prepares dinner for us Monday through Thursday. She is also a member of the Mbale branch, so I get to see her on Sundays as well. From the very first night Jemima came and cooked at our house, I knew we were destined to be close friends; our relationship continues to grow the longer I'm here. I don't know how I'll ever be able to leave her!! 

She has such a beautiful personality and is so sweet. The other day when I was speaking with her she said, "Amanda, I do not know why I love you so much, but I do." Haha! I literally laughed out loud when she said this, but it honestly made my whole day!

Tonight I had the opportunity to go to dinner with her and her husband, Anthony, and man-oh-man it was so much fun! They have been married for two years and are the most genuine and amazing people. I made sure to take my camera tonight so I could take some photos of them! Haha miniature photo shoot say what?! I loved it!

My friends, Uganda is incredible. I have grown so much as a person since I've been here. The opportunity to see such a different culture, live in it, and serve in it is such a powerful blessing. I am so, so grateful for this opportunity. I love Jemima and Anthony and am thankful for the life-long friendship we have created. Although they will not always be in my presence, they will forever be in my heart!


Much love!


ALSO! Shout out to my youngest sister, Adeley! Today she turns 7! Happy birthday baby sis! Love and miss you!

UGANDA Update!

Hello my friends and my family!

I am sincerely sorry I have been slacking so, so bad at blogging. Africa is just too grand to waste time typing on the internet. Just kidding.. But really. This place is beyond beautiful. I don’t think I can find enough words to describe how great it is! Everyday I have to stop and give thanks for this opportunity. Since it’s been so long I’ll just do a little recap on the projects I’ve been doing.

BABIES HOME: I love working in the babies home. To clarify a lot of questions, it is not an orphanage. There are a couple babies there who have been abandoned so yes, they are orphans, but most of the babies are children who’s mothers died while giving birth and their fathers or other extended family members are not capable of taking care of them at such a young age so they go to the babies home where they live until they are three and then return with their families.  It is so much fun. The babies all have their own personality and are such a treat to spend time with!

FAMILY PHOTOS: This has been one of my favorite projects and I am so excited to be doing it in as many villages as possible. Anyway. Most families here have never and may possibly never have a picture of their family, or themselves for that matter so Taylor Moulton and I decided to take matters into our own hands and change that. It was so fun to see families and friends gather to get their pictures taken and it may have been even more fun watching their faces light up as we passed their pictures out to them. It was such a heart warming experience and I’m PUMPED to do it again!

FUTBOL CAMP: I have recently started a four-week soccer camp for girls in a nearby slum. Every Tuesday and Thursday we meet for two hours. At the beginning of the camp we give a twenty-minute female empowerment speech with a goal to raise self esteem and confidence and to help the girls realize what they’re worth. We then go on and do soccer drills and games. It is so much fun to see all the girls from different schools interacting and laughing. It’s also fun to watch members of the community stop and watch as they are passing by. We get quite a large crowd watching. I love working with these girls. We will be splitting the girls into eight different teams and holding an all day tournament on October 31^st.

ON FRIDAYS WE BUILD BRICKS: We have a friend/partner, Tom, who has been working on building his own bricks to use to build a school he runs in his community. So on Fridays we go and help him. It is SO. MUCH. FUN. Imagine immersing yourself into deep, thick mud and throwing it into a frame splashing mud all over your face, into your eyes and mouth. It’s great manual labor!

BE YOUR BEST SELF: For anyone who has ever been familiar with the Distinguished Young Women Scholarship Program this phrase rings a bell. Little side tangent: in high school I did Distinguished Young Women and as a project we went around to elementary schools in the community teaching them the five points of “Being Your Best Self” – Be Healthy, Be Involved, Be Responsible, Be Studious, Be Ambitious. SO. We have decided to implement this program here around high schools. We decided to start it at Sironko High School and it was a huge success. We split the students into their classes, Senior 1- Senior 4, and then rotated ourselves amongst them teaching them these five points. I loved this so much. The students were all so responsive and fun. It’s something I definitely am looking forward to in other schools.

I could go on and on about all the incredible projects we’re doing and all the amazing people we are meeting, but it would for real take all day. I am sorry once again for the long delay of a blog and hopefully I’ll do better! Keep commenting all your thoughts on Facebook I love it! I’m am again grateful for everyone’s love and support back home and I HIGHLY recommend each and every one of you to do something like this. It’s the bomb.

Much love!