4 more weeks

Before I get to far into this post, let me just say that it may seem all over the place. I plan to tell you about a few different things today, and they don't all connect or make since together, but I'm gonna do my best to make them flow.

So, to start with, there are only about 4 weeks left until we finish up here in Uganda, and to be honest, I don't exactly know how I feel about that. On one hand, I'm excited to get home and see my incredible family and friends, but at the same time, I can't image having to say goodbye to all of my students and my new friends. We've gotten so close to these children, that now when we arrive every morning, they want only to hug us, and play with us. At first they would do nothing but neal and shake our hands. But now, all I have to do is open my arms, and I am suddenly overwhelmed with a hundred big hugs.

I want to "introduce" you to some of the children. I wish i had a way to put my pictures of them on here, but i promise to do that as soon as I get home in America.

Prossy is a 10 year old girl, but she looks like she should really be 16. She's always smiling, and I absolutely LOVE her laugh. She used to always shake our hands, but now we hug all the time. Sometimes I like to run up behind her and give her, as my sister would call it, a "sneak attack" hug.  Looking at Prossy, you would never know the state of poverty she lives in everyday. She always comes to school clean, and she's incredibly smart. She's a P4 student, and Kelsey and I speak in her class nearly everyday, so we've really gotten to know her.

Beckah is a 6 year old girl, and I'm sure you remember me talking about her in my last post. Her smile is what I think of every morning as I'm getting ready, and her laugh is what I hear in my head as I fall asleep every night. I can't remember even one time that I've seen her unhappy. This girl, is precious, and absolutely adorable. I love her so much.

Moses is in P3, and he is one of the smartest kids I have met during his trip. He listens well, memorizes the bible verses, retains information almost perfectly, and he always pays attention to our lessons. He's always smiling, and he's very kind and polite. If you ever come to Uganda, you'd definitely wanna meet Moses.

Martha is in the Nursery school with Beckah, and although I don't know her exact age, I'm guessing she's about 6 as well. This energetic loving, huggable, adorable little girl has a smile that could light up the world. Kelsey calls her, and I quote, "The most adorable human being on the face of the planet!" She always smiles, and runs up to hug us every morning. She is absolutely beautiful.

Shakira is a P4 student, and is very smart. She always pays attention and is always excited to learn. Shakira is a beautiful, bright, fun loving, and funny 10 year old, and I feel so privileged to be one of her teachers.

Precious is a beautiful 8 year old girl in P2. This little ball of energy is always smiling, always playing, and loves attention. She has a beautiful smile, and an absolutely adorable laugh. She loves to run, and dance, and sing, and play. She is truly, "precious".

Today was definitely an incredible day. Our attempt to teach the children "heads up, 7 up" didn't go so well, but they love playing "red rover". Oh, and let me tell ya, in P3 bible class, I went crazy. Only 2 of the 4 students in our class today understood us really well, so when it came time to teach them the memory verse, and they all said it without reading it on the board, I was ecstatic! I started jumping up and down, and cheering, and handing out silly bandz all around!! I was yelling "Whoo hoo! P3 rocks! Jump, jump, jump!!" And the students joined in, and we all cheered for their success in understanding us and memorizing the verse. It truly was a break through moment, because that's been one of the hardest classes we've had, simply because they don't always understand us. But today, God gave me a boost of encouragement A BIG ONE! One of the girls that said the verse, can't read English very well, but she can somewhat understand it. But this morning, she simply couldn't understand us. That, or she wasn't responding. But then she really came out of her shell, and when she said that verse, I gave her a big high five, gave her a silly band, looked her right in the eyes, and said "I am SO proud of you." I'll never forget her smile when I said that.

Kelsey found a frog today.

I know I totally just switched the topic, but I gotta tell you this story. So, i'm working with the P3 kids, and Kelsey calls me over to the door, whispering "IT'S  A FROG!!" I walk over, see the frog, and then walk back to the front of the class to continue teaching them the books of the bible. Beside my teaching, it was relatively quiet. Then... there was screaming from the P4 classroom. I quickly run over to their room, and see all of the girls huddled in a corner, all of the boys huddled around Kelsey, and Kelsey, was trying to catch the frog. I laugh, and then the frog hops towards me and the girls, and we all run out of the classroom screaming. Anyway, I return to my class, and start going over some stuff with the kids again, when Kelsey decides to bring the frog in to show our class. Finally, after a lot of girly screams, and a walk in the woods, the frog is set free, and everything returned to normal.

That story had nothing to do with anything I had previously said, but I just had to tell you about it because it was most definetly one of the highlights of my day. It was VERY entertaining, and i'm pretty sure we all needed that small break with laughter and a little bit of screaming. I mean, seriously, who doesn't these days?!?!

I can't imagine what it'll be like when we leave at the end of these last 4 weeks. The kids freak out when we leave at the end of the day, and we always have to remind them that we'll be back tomorrow. But there will come a day, all too soon, that they're gonna go crazy because we're leaving, and we won't be able to say "Don't worry, we'll be back tomorrow." I won't be able to say that for much longer, and that breaks my heart. But I know that this won't be goodbye. Goodbye is too... permanent.

I don't like "Goodbye"

You never let go

Today was a perfect example of why I love Uganda so much. We pulled up to the school at about 8 am, and our car was instantly surrounded by children!!! They we're screaming "teacher! teacher!" and trying to open the door to get to us. As soon as we got out, we were FLOODED with hugs from all of the children. Every single child wanted either to shake our hand, hug us, welcome us... or all of the above for that matter! We jumped right into music class with P1 and P2, where we continued to teach them "Jesus loves me" and "Jesus loves the little children". But their favorite... wait for it... the "tootie ta." The "tootie ta" is a silly kids dance that one of my old youth leaders taught us a while back. Anyways, the kids LOVE it!!! That's all they ever want to do! "Tootie Ta! Tootie Ta! Tootie Ta!" They can never get enough of it!

Today was really special for me, but NOT because of the tootie ta. It was really special for me, because of this little girl I've formed a bond with... Beckah. She's almost 6 years old, but she looks like she should be 3 or 4. She is adorable, totally lovable, and absolutely precious to me. From the first day I met her, I knew that I loved that little girl. She's one of the students that recieved her uniform on Wednesday, and she looks absolutely beautiful in it. Beckah loves to run, and play, and dance, and laugh... and she loves hugs. I probably held her in my lap for 15 minutes at one point today, just hugging onto her, and loving her, and kissing her beautiful, flawless little head. And we danced together while Kelsey played the guitar. And she loves it when I pick her up and spin her around!

Since today was Friday, Kelsey and I held a crafts class after lunch. But before we started, I sat in the shade underneath a big tree, with... you guessed right... with Beckah, my little buddy, sitting on my lap. Beckah is the type of kid that no matter what, CAN NOT sit still!!! She was constantly switching from knee to knee, from sitting to laying down... she could not stop moving. But at one point, she just relaxed, and let me hold her in my arms. I tickled her, kissed her, hugged her, and loved her. And then, something funny happened. She started pretending to slip off my lap, or lean foward pretending to fall. I looked at it like she was testing me. Testing me to see if I would catch her before she fell. And every time, I would catch her, hug her, she would laugh, and the cycle would repeat itself several times. But I remember one time she did it, where it was really emotional for me on the inside. She started to fall foward, and when I caught her, I said "I caught you, Beckah!" and then I whispered... "I will always catch you."

On the car ride home this afternoon, those words kept repeating in my head. "I will always catch you." And at one point, I realized something, that nearly brought me to tears. In 4 short weeks, i'll be leaving. And when I leave, i'll be leaving Beckah. I'll be leaving this precious little girl that I fell in love with on that first day. And when I leave, I won't be here to catch her everytime she falls. I wont be here to wipe away her tears when shes sad, or hug her everyday and tell her that she's loved. The point is... I won't be here with her. And when that thought came into my head, it was as if my heart had broken into a million little pieces, and there was nothing I could do about it.

But at the same time, God kinda tapped me on the shoulder, and said "Taylor, I love Beckah. I love her even more than you do. And I will hold her in my hands, and when she falls, I will catch  her, and I will never let go of her. Do you trust me?" And at that moment, I knew that I trusted God. Because it's true. As much as I love Beckah, God loves her even more. He knew her before she was born, and he cares about her, and he loves her, and he will NEVER LET GO.

My dad also pointed something out to me while I was talking on the phone with him a little bit ago. Sometimes, God DOES let us fall. But when that happens, he picks us right back up. And I have no doubt, that God will pick Beckah up when she falls.

So in the middle of my heartbreak, God reminded me that his love is greater. That when I can't be here for Beckah, he is. He is ALWAYS there. And there's a point, where I need to just trust him with that, and let go, and let him take control. That was my lesson today.

GOD NEVER LETS GO.

You look "smart"

I am CONSTANTLY reminded of how amazing God is. Expecially here. Yesterday, we had been told that the price for the uniforms had gone down, dramatically, and the woman making them would start as soon as she got the materials. We expected to walk into school sometime next week and see all of the children in uniforms. Well guess what... we got a really cool surprise today.

Kelsey and I were in the middle of our physical education class with P3 and P4, when Michael (our native friend; pastor; man who started the school) came up to us, and said that the parents were here to get their children's uniforms.

Okay, freeze for a second. We just paid for the uniforms yesterday... how are some of them already done?!?! Then I remembered that some of them were already made, but no one could afford them. Well now that we had paid for them, they began to hand them out to the children. Not all of the children were given a uniform today, but they should be getting them soon.

Anyway, the children who were given their uniform today quickly changed, and ran outside to show off to their "mazoongoo teachers." And man... Kelsey and I were absolutely thrilled to see so many children already wearing their uniforms. Of course, they wanted their pictures taken. And then the parents wanted pictures with their kids. And then the teachers wanted pictures with us, and then with the kids. Lets just say that I now have over 100 pictures that i took today, and all because of those uniforms.

I won't ever be able to forget those faces, and how happy they were to finally be able to wear their schools green uniform. You'd think it was Christmas morning or something! But in reality, they act the same way when we give them a silly band, or some smarties, or a headband. Any little thing you give them, is such a huge gift. I'm still amazed at how they push and shove when they see us handing out pieces of paper! They're simple things that we take for granted, but they truly treasure them. They may never be able to afford what we bring them, but they're still grateful for what they do have.

I look back at this morning, and the reaction to the new uniforms, and I can't help but smile. And the one thing I remember most, is that the children look soooo "smart" in their uniforms. Now, when I say smart, i don't mean intellegent, or wise. "Smart" to these people means "You look good" or "You look nice".  And you know what...

Those kids, look VERY smart in those uniforms.

Heart break, open eyes, and Thanksgiving

Since I posted last night, SO much has happened! I know i've been posting almost everyday, but Uganda is constantly surprising me! Today I was reminded, of just how fortunate we all are. We have homes, kitchens, food, clean water, money, clothes, medicine... we have SO much. But until today, i didn't realize how ungrateful I had been for it all.

This morning, we were going over the price for the uniforms, which is actually double what we thought it would be. However, we ARE going to provide all of those students with a uniform. God will provide, as always. I was kind of discouraged by the fact that the price was so much higher than we had been told, but we do have enough.

After Kelsey and I finished our last class, we were relaxing in the office waiting for lunch, when Christine, a teacher at the school, asked us to help her escort the younger children home (the nursery children leave before lunch). So, Kelsey and I agreed to come with her. We had NO idea what we were about to see.

First of all, many of these children walk for MILES just to come to school. As Christine led us up and down the red dirt streets, i was heart broken by some of the things I saw. Families living in houses the size of a typical american pantry, children running in the streets(some not fully clothed), sick parents, and some of those parents are home alone with 2 or 3 sick children as well. Kelsey and I were introduced to a mother caring for her son, who had fallen ill with Malaria (VERY serious disease, for those of you who don't know). Not only was she caring for her son, but she has 3 other children that she is currently putting through school (i saw no father, which is not uncommon in Uganda). As we walked upto her home, she was giving her son a bath, in what seemed like water, also with some kind of green leaves (For the record, i have absolutely no idea what was in that water). Christine asked me to take a picture of the mother and her son, so the mother quickly dressed her son, who was still covered in the green leaves, and I took the picture. And before we turned to leave, i went to the mother, and said "I pray that your son is healed, soon." She smiled, thanked us for blessing her home, and we left.

As we were walking down the street, I asked Christine how many children in that are were sick. She said that there were about 15 children who were currently ill... and all of them, with Malaria.

My heart is still breaking. I can't get those images out of my head. Children on the side of the road, alone. Girls in uniforms, walking with big jugs of water (for their school). Mothers caring for their sick children, while they are probably sick themselves!!! This is so hard for me to write about, and i'm crying right now. But, I guess you could say that's how i know this is real. And one thing that makes me cheer up a little (and hopefully it'll brighten your day), is that even through sickness, and poverty, and not knowing where their next meal is coming from (if they even have one)... these people have HOPE! And let me tell you, these people know hope. They LIVE, and BREATHE, and fight to make it through the day, because of HOPE. And it's the best kind of hope. It's hope, in Jesus. They have hope, and FAITH, that he will provide, and he will heal, and he will deliver them from their pain and suffering. And you know why they have so much hope and faith? Because the hope and faith that they have in our God, is the only thing they have!

I'm sitting here now, writing this. And i'm reminded of how blessed I am. When i come home everyday, i know that i'll have food to eat for dinner. I know, that i'll be able to shower, and sleep in a nice warm bed. I know, that i'll be able to have clean, cold water to drink. But you know what... the people I met today, can't always say that. When I go home after these last 5 1/2 weeks end, I'll be coming home to Thanksgiving. And let me tell you, I now know how much I really have to be THANKFUL for. Clothes, food, a house, a bed, clean water, medicine, cars, air conditioning... But let me tell you this. I'm also going to come back with a deaper understanding of how these people live. I thought i knew how they lived, because i had some memories of my last trip. But God brought me here again, to open my eyes, to what is really happening outside my own little world. And to be honest... the view from outside my little world... is amazing me more and more everyday. Sometimes, you have to have heart break, to have your eyes opened.

I never want to close my eyes again.

How great is our god!!!

One thing that I find absolutely amazing, is that God works in ways that I never would've thought possible. When I was raising the funds needed to come on this trip, people kept donating more andymore, to the point where I was almost $1000 dollars over what I needed. And i thought to myself, "why on earth is God giving me so much extra money?" But you know what... it was, in no way, extra money.

A few days back, Kelsey and I were sitting on the front steps of the church, talking with some of the school children, when Prossy, a 10 year old girl, asked me if I would buy her a uniform. You see, uniforms here are a luxury, in which most families can't afford. My heart broke as i told that young girl that i couldnt buy her a uniform. What I didn't know, is that God had a plan... as always.

Later that same day, Kelsey asked Joshua, the headmaster, how much the uniforms actually cost. And to our surprise, it was 15,000 shillings for the girls, and 18,000 shillings for the boys. 15,000 is equal to roughly 6 american dollars, and 18,000 shillings is equal to roughly 8 american dollars. That is nothing to us, but to these families, theres a very small chance of them being able to afford it. But Kelsey was DETERMINED to buy some of those kids uniforms... let me rephrase that... she wanted to buy ALL of the kids uniforms! Honestly, i didnt think it could be done. But we counted the number of students, and we were shocked to find that there werent nearly as many children as we thought. So we added up the total amount, and as the final numbers came up on my calculator, i thought to myself, "i must be doing the math wrong." I mean, it didnt seem possible that we could afford to buy uniforms for all the students from P1 to P4, for just over $200!!!! We quickly ran into the living room to have my paps double check my math, and it wasnt wrong! For just over $200, we could buy about 38 students uniforms,that they otherwise couldn't have. And that's not even counting the little kids! I am seriously amazed by this!

As I was getting ready for bed last night, i was looking in the mirror, almost in tears at the idea that Kelsey and I are gonna show up at that school in a few weeks, and see all of those children wearing their school's uniforms. And then i realized something, that literally made me say "how great is our God!" I realized, that this wasnt my doing, or Kelsey's doing, or even my Grandparents doing! This is all God. This is all his plan. He knew from the very begining that our money was going to go towards helping those kids!

I want to thank each and everyone of you who donated. Not only did it help get me here, but you have helped provide uniforms for over 60 children! You really have helped a lot! Please keep those prayer coming! And don't forget... Our God, works in AMAZING ways!

God bless you all! - Taylor Fletcher

1 week down, 6 to go!

Well, finally made it through our first week of teaching the children. I'm not gonna lie, it's challenging. The language barrier is probably the hardest part. Even though they speak english, its hard for them to understand us. We try to ask them a question, and they simply repeat whatever we said. But even though we face challenges on this trip, i'm just so thankful to be here. And the children seem to really enjoy having us here. Every morning when we arive at the school, they start screaming "Mzoongoo! Mzoongoo!" or sometimes "Teacher! Teacher!" And as soon as we get out of the car, they run to us, wanting to carry our stuff for us. These children never cease to amaze me! They will follow us everywhere, and they like to touch us to see if our white skin will rub off, and they go crazy when we give them treats! But more than anything, they love learning about Jesus. We've tought them the lyrics to "Jesus loves me" and "Jesus loves the little children", and they love it! They want to sing it all the time. And when we hand out the bible story books we brought, they just love to flip through it and look at the colorful pictures! It really does amaze them!

Its really hard for me to believe the first week has already come and gone. I guess that's just what happens when you're having fun. Before i know it, we'll be getting on a plane to head back to Kentucky! Even though 6 weeks seems like a long time now, it'll go by so fast. I'm just so grateful for this opportunity to return to Uganda, and spread the word of God to these people. They are in my heart, and always on my mind, and still will be even after these 6 weeks come to an end.

Greetings from Uganda

Right now, i'm sitting in Jinja Uganda. The window is open, which allows the cool air to blow in and make me feel nice and cozy. We've been here for about 1 week now, and things are going really well. Tuesday was an absolutely wonderful day! As soon as we arrived at the school, we jumped right into playing with the kids. They love the beach ball we brought (unfortunetly a little boy bit a hole in it, so we're gonna try and find a new one). They love to hit it around, and throw it to their friends. And they love jump rope too!

Yesterday as we we're doing a physical education class with some of the kids, i saw a girl standing by a near by tree. She doesnt understand much English, she doesnt go to school, but she loves to play. She played monkey in the middle with us, and she jumped rope with some of the other girls. I eventually learned her name, but i dont remember it. I was hoping she would've showed up again today, but she didn't. I wish i could've given her a piece of candy, or a bracelet, or something... but i trust God, and I know he will have his way in that young girls life.

I'm going outta my mind right now, and it feels good. I like the fact that these children challenge me. Even though im tired at the end of the day, and even though many things are different, i wouldn't have it any other way.

If theres one thing i want to do on this trip, i want the children to know true love. I want them to know Jesus.

Love is Patient. Love is Kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, It is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS.
- 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8