Today was amazing. The kind of
amazing that is so amazing that it is hard to find words to describe it all.
But for you, my friends, I will try. We spent the whole day in Buloba and
taught a group of girls ages 12-20 about their bodies. At times it was embarrassing
but mostly it was fun. Esther, one of the women who work with ARM in Buloba,
said she was surprised the girls were smiling and asking questions and the
teachers were laughing. We also amazed ourselves that we had enough to say to
not only fill three hours but also to go over by 30 minutes. We talked about
hygiene, puberty, STD's, HIV, anatomy, and how to use/care for the AFRI-Pads
kits. A key point of the time was spent discussing how God made each of us to
be unique, just the way we are. I can officially say that we saw our vision
become a reality. Each of those girls left feeling very special! After sharing
drinks and snacks all the attendees left with a prayer card and of course a
pack of AFRI-Pads.
After a lunch full of local Ugandan
food at Pastor Eva's we went back to have one on one time with some of the
children in the sponsorship program. After that we spent some time thanking the
women who serve as interpreters. Bubbles, Frisbees, and beach balls helped ease
the shyness and helped relationships strengthen. It was such a joy to fill a
church with laughter! The only complaint of the day- it just wasn't long
enough! When we had to leave all of the kids ran out to wave goodbye!
Changing gears for a second, have you
ever been given a half-gift before? Like a toy without batteries? It looks so
cool and the box says it does all of these cool things- IF it just had
batteries. It is exciting and disappointing all at the same time! While meeting
with the AFRI-Pads staff yesterday we discovered that we were about to give a
lot of girls half of a gift. One of the most important things about AFRI-Pads
is that they have to be washed and dried correctly or they are not going to
work very well. That is when we discovered the “panty peg”. It is a ring with
clothes pins attached that you can use to hang panties (or AFRI-Pads) up on to
dry. It is small, practical, and costs exactly a dollar. We also discovered
that this cost was too much for most girls to have one at home. Thanks to your
generous donations friends we were able to solve that problem and give a full
gift today. We purchased some panty pegs to be given to the girls who needed
them. Now they can properly use their gift. There will not have to be
disappointment to go along with the excitement. And believe me there was lots
of excitement!
Tomorrow we will be going back to the same place we went
Monday. That once dark place that made me sing out praises. We cannot wait to
teach more and follow God's great plans for this team! In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from our trip.
On behalf of the team,
Jamie
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