The Crazy Adventures of an American Mzungu

I may have a problem. I am falling in love! I started the fall the moment I heard a voice on the other line of my phone say, “Mary, we want you to be apart of Redeemer House.” But every day, I find myself more in love than the day before. How did I ever find contentment in what I was doing before? In my New Testament Doctrine class at Boise Bible College, we memorized a definition of love that always struck my beautiful as I thought of how Christs loves us. It states, “An overwhelming concern for the well being of another with no regard to what you receive in return” (I believe Dr. Beckman deserves credit for this definition). However, since coming to Uganda, I am beginning to appreciate this definition as I love the children I work with. I look less and less to my needs, and turn that attention to the beautiful faces that surround me on a daily basis. This love overwhelms me. I will give anything for the well being of these kids. I love to teach. It has always been apart of m...

Ok. It is time for a dose of honesty. But before that honest, I must explain culture shock. You see, most people think culture shock is simply the feeling you get when you first arrive to a developing country (third world). You go numb as you watch people live in complete poverty, and your heart is broken. However, that is only part. It is actually the smallest fraction of the large scale culture shock. There are actually five stages. First, the honeymoon stage. You are wrapped up in the new culture, and in love with all the new... good stage. I enjoyed it. Second, disenchantment. All the things that you once found amusing drive you absolutely crazy! Things do not work like you KNOW they should because that is how you always did them. People don't think like you and you are just frustrated. Third, fatigue. You are simply exhausted! Fourth,.... well for some reason, I cannot think of the fourth (Sorry Mr. Harrod if you ever read this... I promise I paid attention in all your class...

Here is a Luganda lesson. In fact, this was one of the first words I learned (first in the few that I know...). Emboko. Emboko means 'beautiful'. So many times, the children will be going around saying, “You are emboko!” And then they will go to each person, and state that they are “Emboko”. Talk about a confidence boost! Not only is it encouraging, but they say it with all sincerity! Over the past few days, we had a large team of Americans here at Redeemer House. I will be honest... I was nervous at first to have so many adults around. I have a tendency to shut down in large crowds of adults. I am so much better with large groups of kids. But these guys bonded with the kids quickly! And I felt like my personality fit in some way with all of theirs, making it easy to stay connected. Friendships were made, and relationships were established. I believe they will last a lifetime. One night, we were waiting for the team to come and join us in prayer. The kids kept coming to me,...

Wow! I cannot believe it has been one month since I left everything I have ever known to embark on the amazing adventure God has called me to. I am still waiting to wake up to my alarm clock screaming at me, as I look out my window to see if I need to defrost my car, and crawl out of my bed in my tiny apartment. But this is real. I am in Uganda. Wow! This month has been amazing. I have grown so much, and fallen more in love with this country. I have opened my heart to some beautiful children, and my life will never be the same. I have embraced the "honeymoon" stage of culture shock, as I am fascinated with everything that surrounds me. I love the different encounters I have around here. It cracks me up when people ask me where I am from. When I say, "Idaho" they give me the craziest look. They do not believe Idaho is apart of America (Sorry guys. Looks like it is apart of Asia after all... *ehem* New Heart). I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked if I...