tribute

i just watched this and cried. i miss this place. can we go back?

thanks aubs :)

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!

snapshots of uganda: 3

first day in Africa!

ok this isn't a post about an African, but about this amazing girl i was able to live with [in the same room] for 18 weeks.



Sarah Blackhurst.

at a clean water project in Namatala

i knew when i went to africa that i would meet many amazing people and i hoped that we would become friends. i was so blessed to live with Sarah for 18 weeks. right from the plane ride over she took me under her arm and adopted me as her "little sister" and accomplice. (disclaimer there are so very many people i could talk about and don't worry my friends, i will post about you too!)

sarah taught me so much while i was in uganda.

after the somehow sketchy boda tipped over

- how to ask good questions, and then really listen to the answers
- not to judge people by their appearances (abby taught me this too)
- how to stick with things even if its hard and people aren't helping you
- how to have fun even without money
- that it is so important to stay in tune with the spirit and read the scriptures daily
- what amazing music is played by escala, palladio, and bond
- to be patient with people who are different from you and try to see things from their perspective
- loyalty to your friends is number 1
- you can wake up at 8:45 and still look freaking hot by 9(ok only sarah could pull that off- i still can't do that)
- you can make any day special
- how to laugh when things go wrong

at Mbale Resort- don't worry about my hair. its freaky

miss sarah is getting married in january to mr. paul israelsen and i am so excited for both of them! i feel a little responsible for this love happening, but i don't really know why. ha ha. maybe its because i was of the only people who knew that they were "dating" while we were in africa! i win!







but no, Sarah is seriously amazing. she is hilarious. she can always make me laugh. she is completely honest with me. she is a good judge of character and i trust her opinion. oh did i mention she is so beautiful? she is really good at fixing things- from broken hearts, to broken beds.

fixing my broken bed

now for a picture overload.

making fried egg sandwiches for dinner

roommates for life!

sad that abby is leaving us

in the taxi going to torroro

where it all began- chicago airport

in front of Buckingham palace

sarah- you rock! love you girl!

snapshots of uganda: 2

this is Mercy. she lives in Namatala and goes to Child of Hope Primary School.

Namatala is the biggest slum in Mbale and one of the biggest slums in all of Uganda. Child of Hope serves only one section of the slum. They educate one child from each family in hopes of improving the overall education of that family. Child of Hope also teaches families (mothers especially) income generating activities (IGA's), as well as health care practices. i had the opportunity to work with Child of Hope many times this summer.

[back to Mercy]
whenever i went to Child of Hope, Mercy was one of the first children to run up and hug me [they all would run and pretty much tackle you]. she would play hand clapping games with me. she was always happy. she always had a smile on her face and was excited to see me. she made me feel so loved. on my last day in Namatala I went to Child of Hope and found that Mercy was not feeling well. I sincerely hope she recovered quickly and did not have malaria! she is a ray of sunshine in the midst of poverty. i have great hopes for her future! love you Mercy!

snapshots of uganda: 1

we met this little Somalian girls at Lion's Children's Park while we were running the Blood Drive. there is a horrific famine in Somalia right now, not to include political unrest, which has resulted in millions from Somalia seeking refuge in neighboring countries. since it was Ramadan (a Muslim holiday where they fast from sun up to sun down every day for a month or so) there were many Somalian Muslim's living in Mbale.

these cute girls came up and started dancing to the music we had going and pretty soon we joined in! (Somalians are different from Ugandans in that they are taller, skinnier and usually lighter skinned. the men, especially have defining features.) it was so fun dancing with these girls! they didn't speak any English and we didn't speak Somali. But that's the great thing about Africa- you don't need words to speak volumes.

what i remember from this experience is that these girls were so happy! they loved life. yet, they were refugees. they had no home. i fell in love with their smiles and enthusiasm. 

since being home and reading more about the famine and hard ships in Somalia, i wish i could go back right now. go to Somalia. and in some way relieve the poverty in some way. 

someday i will go.

until then i will never forget these happy, dancing refugees. 

snapshots of uganda

since we all know my heart is still in uganda, i have decided that periodically i will write a post about someone i met there- american, ugandan, etc.  by doing this i hope to keep the flame burning in me so that i don't forget why i did what i did there and the impact it had on my life. i also hope to maybe inspire others to go out and do something good- for anyone, anywhere.

one month

I have been home for one month. weird! it really seems like just yesterday that i was here:

with these lovely people:

how time flies! when i first got home i really hated it. i cried when i left Uganda and I cried almost every day for the first week i was back in utah. i'm more used to it now. i don't cry about africa. but i do miss it. there is one thing i do NOT want to do. i don't want to forget the experience! sometimes we have amazing experiences, and then we forget about them after a year or two. i promise i will not do that. going to Uganda changed me. mostly for the better. i am more confident. more headstrong. more humble. less judgmental. a better communicator. i understand development work- somewhat. i lived in a third world country for 18 weeks! at first it was really hard. but by the time i left, it was horrible leaving. i think part of my heart will always be in Africa. where do i want to go next? Somalia!

these little somalian refugees stole my heart!

(I also want to go to India, China and Thailand. so stay posted, my adventures are not over.)