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| Benji and Emma |
Today we went to church. It took two taxis and two hours to get there, but we went. Once we were there sitting down, our dear friend Emma informed us that he had spoken with the bishop and Benji and I would both be bearing our testimonies. Yay, more attention! :)
It was a youth Sunday in that ward, so several of the youth gave short talks/testimonies based off of topics from For the Strength of Youth. After several of the youth had shared their testimonies, a few women from the congregation started going up and bearing their testimonies. They weren't on the program and it wasn't a Fast Sunday. They just felt like it. We found that amusing.
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| This man served with Benji's cousin 10+ years ago in Kenya. He recognized the Lambson name. |
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| This is their monthly goal |
One of the young men was giving this long, loud testimony/talk about debt. Some of his words were difficult for me to understand, but I already knew you should avoid "single debts" as he said. I was a little confused what he meant by group debts, but I thought maybe it was a Ugandan thing. Then I couldn't figure out why the congregation found personal finances so humorous. Finally it hit me: he was saying DATE not DEBT. African English does not sound quite the same to my American ears. :)
A cute family sat In front of us and they had a baby, which was totally the reason I chose to sit there. There are babies and children all over Uganda and I LOVE THEM. What is it about African babies?!
No one called us Muzungu at church. SO NICE. Its not a derogatory term, but I'm still a little wary of it. It is so important not to label people and to treat everyone with equality. Also, I think half the adults at church came and shook our hands and welcomed us. They called me "Sister Bethany" and I was even invited to speak next Sunday with the Relief Society. I politely informed them we will likely attend a ward closer to home.
There are four missionary companionships serving in that one ward. One of the sister missionaries was originally called to and served half of her mission in Sierra Leone before the Ebola evacuation. It was so fun to hear her and Benji chat back and forth about the members and the areas. She said she
called back at Christmas and many of the people she served with had died.
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| Sister Kipowla |
The woman teaching relief society said she really wanted us to learn to love ourselves. Then she wrote the steps to a successful life on the board:
Just remember. Love yoself.
After church Emma took us to lunch hosted by his friends Douglas and Yerus Kagame. Such faithful, lovely people. Their home was one small room, maybe ten feet by ten feet, with a bedroom attached. They fed us rice and beef and mangoes with orange soda. There was a beautiful picture of them smiling at their wedding and another of Yerus wearing a cap and gown. I asked her what she studied and she said nursing! We talked about nurse stuff for a while and I loved her. Then their baby woke up and I got to hold another African baby today. Success.
Riding the taxis home took extra long because the school term begins tomorrow and all the mothers were taking their children to school. Most Ugandan children attend boarding school, and some start as young as three years old, most at five. The children all have their heads shorn, even the girls. One young girl sat in front of me in the taxi. She snuck a peek at the white lady behind her and found me smiling, so she turned the rest of the way around and grinned. I seriously love girls. Girls rule the world.
The weather is getting hotter but life is getting easier. We are adjusting.
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| Boda Bodas |
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| The back view of the taxis |
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| Dang it. |
Love these! keep em comin!
ReplyDeleteSo entertaining and interesting!
ReplyDelete