Katonda Bulungi

Life here has become pretty normal. We've got a routine down. We know our roles. But every once in a while I have a moment when I stop and think, “Holy goodness, I'm in Africa!” One of those moments happened this morning. Caitlin was in the classroom teaching subtraction, Erin was in the office preparing a lesson, and I was sitting on the step outside just watching people live life. A woman hanging clothes on a line outside her mud hut, chickens wandering around freely, a couple of kids chasing each other down the bumpy, red, dirt road, the sun turning my skin pink. In that moment, I had a thought. “I could live here.” The thought startled me and I'm still not sure where it came from, but is made me smile. I'm in Africa.

Saturday was a good day. The three of us visited a family in Budumbuli and I think we all fell in love with them. We already knew the boy from our class. He's lanky with an adorable shy smile. He's one of our brightest students, though no one is quite sure whether he's 9 or 10. He lives with his mom, his brother, and his cousin who is an orphan. His dad died less than a year ago. This family has nothing and yet they have everything. (Isn't that in 2 Corinthians somewhere?) The mother only knows a few words in English because her father didn’t value education. Now she works so hard going from village to village selling clothes to make sure her boys go to school. She knows how to spell the word “Jesus” and she is so grateful that she wrote His name on the walls of her house. Their house, by the way, is a two-room mud hut with a leaky roof and only one bed. But they appreciate it so much. She thanks God for a place to live where the rent is cheep. When we asked if there was anything we could pray for, they didn't ask for stuff. The mother asked for us to pray for peace and her 9 (or 10) year-old son asked us to pray for God to give him wisdom. This family gets it. I want to be more like them.

The older students are now on holiday so we have a new schedule of teaching the young ones on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and teaching the older ones on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We've gotten to know the younger ones so well. I'm really going to miss them when we leave. But let's not think about that.

I have so many stories I wish I could share with you, but time is running out. We have to get back to Kate before she starts to worry. It's cool how she's like a mom and a friend to us at the same time.

P.S. Katonda bulungi means "God is good." We've been saying it a lot lately.