Potatoes and a new understanding of family

As I sit here in the kitchen of the place we've been calling home for the past 6 or 7 days; i reflect on what all took place today! as many of you have read we have been busy since the day we got here, which has been wonderful and exhausting at the same time! Today we had an "earlier" start which means that our hobbit hole (Amanda, Sue, Susan and myself) has actually rolled out of bed before 9 am! Phil and Susan took us to "see" the farm when in reality turned out to be more than just seeing! They wanted us to really see and "feel" the farm. After walking through the jungle like scene they referred to as a farm we wind up in a clearer part where there are ant mound resembling piles. It was there that we got our hands on lesson of what it takes to be a potato farmer. As we began to get our hands in the dirt, we began digging into these root infested mounds, many shouts of enjoyment arose as some found their first sign of a potato in the mound! As potatoes went flying and sounds of enjoyment kept coming as the crew began to find small and big potatoes; it was there that some of us found how hard the task really was. In the midst of the hot, sweaty, and dirty mess of things our crew was able to find amusement and began to try and find songs to sing as we worked.........needless to say the singing did not last long ha. I along with many others found that we are not meant to be potato farmers and should therefore keep our day jobs. And for the record it is much easier to use a stick to dig instead of bare hands.

We go from digging out potatoes and eating with the locals of the village, to heading to see our CHILDREN :) For many of you who have ever lead VBS you would know that it is really challenging to lead a group of excited kids. Well try leading a group of about 100+ kids who don't speak your language.....needless to say its not always the easiest thing! As we are excited to see our kids we go to see them only to find out many of them are still at school. One determined team in search for the kids head to school to get our kids! We tour the school to see the rooms with no doors and kids all crammed on a tiny bench all eager to learn.......well at least until the Muzungu's showed up! It was a quaint little place, and a school in which i would want to learn in! So we round up our precious children and head back to the boys house to try and get some VBS in :)

As these eager little kids are interested to see what we have for them today, they continuously jump around us and are ready to play! We settle our crew of crazy excited kids and begin our lesson for the day. We start with a lesson from Romans 5:8 then begin to roll into our bracelet making! What we thought might be a disaster ended up being a success. We helped them make a Witness Bracelet, to help them tell the story and something they could keep as a memory.

Though we began with a fun, potato filled morning, followed by bracelet making with the little kids; the thing that stood out the most was sitting with some of the girls as they sat there and talked before they went to bed. As Nicole and I sat out there and told them about our potato picking adventure they laughed as we demonstrated how hard it was to work in a skirt. It was in this moment that i realized how much we mean to these kids. To some of these kids we (sponsors) are the only family they have, many have either lost both parents or have been kicked to the streets by relatives that were supposed to care for them. We as a community serve an important role in these kids lives. They are so interested to know about us and what America is all about! They want to know about our home lives and how many people live in our home, they thirst for a knowledge and understanding of how we live. As i walked with my sweet girl Sylivia and some of her friends, I was asked the question, "Which is better? Here or America?" Eagerly I responded "Here!" As I got many confused looks I began to explain my reason being this......

Here they live what we would call simple lives. There aren't as many distractions to steer them away from the importance of family, friends, and community. They have a love and respect for one another that totally blows my mind. So while they may think that America is better because of all the stuff (don't get me wrong everything we have is definitely a blessing) in the end it is only stuff. But the thing that will last forever is relationships with one another and with our Creator. So as I look at the simple lives the people of Iganga live, they have shown me the importance of relationships and how a tighter and loving community is something to strive for. We are a family of the Creator and even though some may never have the opportunity to meet face to face with their sponsored child, they consider themselves part of your family and hope to be considered as family. Here to have a community and family that loves you means a lot. Even though these kids and people may live completely different lives than us and are separated by a 19 hour plane ride, an ocean, and a 6 hour car ride; these people are part of OUR community.

-Liz