3 months

3 months ago today i stepped off a plane bringing me back from uganda, and the best 18 weeks of my life. i have had some time to reflect on this experience. ok that just sounded good. really i began to forget about it- about the people, the love there, the beautiful landscape, etc. school just got busy. i got distracted with worries of money, the future, and having a social life.

then last sunday i took a look at my pictures and the videos from my time there. i was filled with such gratitude for the chance i had to go to Uganda, meet the people i met, and learn from their way of life. here is what i wrote about the experience in a letter to my brother on sunday:


While I was in Africa I found that there are so very many things that I take for granted that I didn’t have over there. When I first got home I would stand in the shower forever because I hadn’t had a hot shower in 4 months! Hot water is so wonderful and we take it for granted, or complain it isn’t hot enough. I also realized that I am blessed with a great knowledge of things that many people don’t even know about. As a “little” 21-year-old, I was teaching adults and even respected people in their villages about hand washing, nutrition, first aid—things that I have known pretty much my whole life. Those people were beyond grateful for everything we taught them—I can’t even tell you how many times they thanked us, wrote us notes, or brought us food.  They were so grateful and yet we had only shared something that they had never had the chance to learn! I realized there that education, and the opportunity to receive it, is a great blessing and something that I need to be more grateful for. 


at this time of year for thanksgiving and remembering christ's birth, i am so grateful for the small things- warm water, electricity, good roads, healthy food, a job, the opportunity to learn, the opportunity to help others. no, i will not forget Uganda, or the people of Mbale. that would be a travesty. but i will take what i learned and use it to make myself a better person and to make the world a better place!