I welcome any and all communication with all of you! Please be in touch. I love to hear and see updates of what’s going on with y’all in the motherland. I do have a Ugandan telephone number, so if you receive any fishy texts or calls from a 12 digit phone number beginning with the country code “256”, don’t report the number — it’s just me! My parents have that number, so if you would like to have it, contact them. You are also free to email me and ask for it.

There are several smart phone/Internet applications that are free downloads that are very cheap and best for me to use. Feel free to use any of these to contact me (some of them you need my phone number and others you do not).

1. Facbook messenger – messaging/texting

2. Facebook – friend me to follow brief updates and pictures

3. Whatsapp – used for calling and texting

4. Voxer – used for texting and “walkie talkie” type communication; essentially voicemails without the call

5. Instagram – pictures, pictures and more pictures!

6. iMessage – for iPhones only; texting

All kinds of new and cool life experiences lately. The kids are still on holiday break, so they are showing me the ropes of what it’s like to grow up as a Ugandan child. I’m a little bit behind on my labor skills. These kids are such hard workers and impressively tough. The three year olds do laundry, mop the floors, clean their shoes, and help prepare the meals. I, on the other hand, am still mastering the art of cooking eggs in a foreign kitchen. The other morning the kids took me to harvest sweet potatoes from their fields. I was spent after hoeing for approximately 10 minutes…thank goodness I didn’t have to also carry the pounds and pounds of potatoes back to the house. The next afternoon, the kids told me that we had to go shell the maize. LIke any good American, I thought to myself, “Finally, something I know how to do and will be good at!” Let’s just say, my definition of shelling maize is a little bit different than theirs. I assumed we would just be shucking the corn husks off the ears, when in reality, we took thousands of ears of corn and picked each kernel off. Talk about actually working to put food on the table. The Ugandan agriculturalist told me they are hoping to one day be able to get a machine to do this for them. The Lord will never be done humbling me.

Today’s adventure was one that I can only tell now, because my mother knows I am safe and sound 🙂 I began a trek to a neighboring town called Lira to visit some American friends. The RG fisherman needed to take his mother to Lira to visit the doctor. As a favor, the doctor took care of his mom, in return for him getting me safely to Lira. This journey began with a wooden canoe trip across the Nile. A thirteen year old boy steering and paddling, an experienced fisherman standing in the boat to keep our balance, and me using a bowl to dish out water to keep us from sinking. We only saw one croc along our way! The next leg consisted of a boda boda ride (motorcycle taxi). While driving down the road, the driver’s phone kept ringing, so eventually, I became the secretary when he asked me to get his phone out of his pocket and answer it. Naturally, the man on the other end spoke no English, so I was then tasked with holding the phone to the driver’s ear for him to talk, while trying not to drop the phone or fall off the boda. Successfully made it to Kamdini where we picked up a taxi. The fisherman told me to get in the car and said he’d be back in just a minute. FORTY minutes later, he came back and we stuffed 9 people plus luggage in a 5 passenger car. An hour or so later, after several random stops, we arrived in Lira. After an eventful day, the chocolate chip cookies, brownies, grilled cheese, ice cubes, and pizza delivered to our door step for dinner were more than welcomed. Grateful for the wonderful hospitality and friendship!

Praises and Prayers

+ Great fellowship and community with fellow Americans and Ugandans alike.

– Frustrations with communications and clarity of purpose

–  & + Barriers preventing the progression of relationships with some of the children, and walls being taken down with others

+ Constant safety and good health

Thanks and love,

Auntie Kelsey/Bananas

P.S. “Call Me, Maybe?” = American pop culture reference. The Ugandan music is a couple years behind 🙂