Wonderful Experiences

Well, I have now been at GSF for two weeks! I am very thankful that I have many more weeks to go :)

There is so much I'd like to share, so this is just going to be a mixture of different things!

First let me show you my house and tell you what a "normal" day looks like here!

My living room. I live with 3 other missionary women

Mine and Dayna's Room

Our bathroom...even with 4 min of hot water :)

The day starts out at 7am with rounds to each house. Luckily, Nurse Ruth and I have realized that she likes morning more than I do, so she normally does morning rounds and I do afternoon rounds. Doing rounds means going to each of the 6 houses and asking the children and their house moms if anyone is sick, giving morning medications, and rechecking on people who were sick before. I love doing this in the afternoon because it gives me time each and every day to see almost all the kids and talk with the house moms. I learn about peeling matoke (an unripe banana), making mats out of reeds, cooking all different kinds of foods, and such! If I'm not in a hurry its a great time to get to know everyone and the culture better! 

After morning rounds we eat a little breakfast then head down to the clinic. We pass out medicine to the house moms if there were any new sick children that day, we organize the clinic, read up on new information, see school children who are sick, or take groups of children to get immunizations or to special clinics. However it seems like its takes a very long time to accomplish things here… or things just don't go as planned!

For example: Wednesday, we needed to take some of the newer children to Buwikwe Hospital to get HIV tests, and other children to get their routine immunizations. Nurse Ruth and I took 8 children total, with six other helps! I was the oldest person to go and none of us were moms! Haha We got there around 940 and immunizations were suppose to start at 10. We all went and set on these outside covered benches. Most of the waiting area of the hospitals are outside, even the table to do immunizations- all covered though. We took some of the kids to get their HIV tests, only to find out the hospital was out of the necessary equipment. Then around 1040, we asked about the immunization nurse and were informed that they changed to schedule and we could only get immunizations on Thursdays…. so we just all loaded back up and when home… with nothing accomplished haha The Lord has been so great and blessing me with much patience and grace! I am learning that plans do not always have to work. I enjoyed getting to know the teenagers who helped out more, getting to play with the children outside of GSF, and seeing the hospital. I am learning to just enjoy the moment, and realize the blessings in each situation. 

The van of children and helpers...there are no such things as carseats or seat belts here

Waiting in the immunization area... we all become moms that day!

My little kiddos for the day! Elijah and Godfrey, our youngest at 7 weeks old

The evenings consist of afternoon rounds about 4-5, then feeding Elijah dinner. He is still on a special diet for a couple more weeks. After feeding him, I've tried to go and spend some time with the older girls. They are so much fun! I have learned to dance, chase monkeys, the ninja game, and to just enjoy being outside. They love to look at my pictures and ask me about America and a lot about my boyfriend haha I love the opportunity to talk with them about Godly relationships and what that looks like for their future. Corinne, one of the other missionaries, and I and planning on having some special sessions with the older girls to talk about anything and everything Christian teenage girls should know! So please be praying for that! 

Last Sunday I was able to experience the new church in the village. Church use to be held here at GSF, but then the Ugandans had a heart to start a church in the nearby village. There have only been two services there so far! So last Sunday I helped carry the toddlers to the church… this meant a 20 min walk through the forest with a toddler on my back, in a skirt, in the hot sun! Haha I definitely got a taste of village life! The church is very new so there is still a lot to figure out. I enjoyed the very festive worship! Watching the Ugandan worship reminds me that sometimes we, as Americans, forget to be excited about God! He has given us everything, loves us so much, provides everlasting hope! So we aren't we more excited? Don't get me wrong, sometimes we are…but is sometimes enough? We need to learn to celebrate more!! Hey, if you want to know more listen to the recent sermon on celebrating from the Paradox Church :)

On Sunday, I also had the amazing opportunity to teach the teenage sunday school… this was a last minute decision since Rob, who normally teaches it, left for Kenya a day early. I have never taught teenagers…or Sunday school! Haha luckily, God provides in times of need! We went over James 1 (a recent study in my own bible study lol) and talked about trials and temptations. I was humbled by their honesty and knowledge. Many of these teenagers that grew up here know their bible very well! We had a great discussion about the reality of temptation and how to keep it from turning into sin: 

Pray and read Gods word Matthew 26:41

Have memory verses to speak to yourself when faced with temptations Psalm 119:9-11, Romans 1:2, James 4:7

If that fails, remove yourself, run! 2 Tim 2:22


I feel like I have so much more to tell you all about, but I think I'll stop here for now :)

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."Romans 8:38-39

What a whirlwind!

Let me warn you... this is going to be a long post :)
I'm going to talk about my exciting, crazy, adventurous, scary, filled week since arriving at GSF.

First, let me tell you what a wonderful place Good Shepherd's Fold is! It is a orphanage that houses 83 children at this time from birth to 18. There are 6 houses for all the children, split by ages and gender. There are also house moms in each house that take care of the children. on GSF property there is a primary (preschool-7th grade) school as well that children come to from the local villages. That means that GSF is very busy during the week! I only have one picture from GSF right now since I have been gone most of the time since arriving there (I will explain below!). I will do a later blog about each house and what my living situation looks like! I live in a house with Dayna and two other missionaries. They are all wonderful!

View of my house (right) and the GSF kitchen (left)

So Dayna and I arrived at GSF on Wednesday night/Thursday morning at 230 am. The orphanage is about 2 hours from Kampala. Thursday was a wonderful learning day with orientation at GSF and a trip into Jinja, a large town about 30 min from GSF. Later that night, Corinne, another missionary at GSF, updated me on two little boys health conditions. One boy, Elijah, has had problems with constipation and rectal prolapse. He had a surgery done in Jinja to put a stitch in his rectum to help with the prolapse. However, this caused him not to be able to pass stool and he was is a lot of pain! The second boy, Richard, has sickle cell. He had been in and out of different clinics in Jinja and Kampala for almost 3 weeks, never getting the right treatment. Corinne and I decided that both boys really needed to go into Kampala to SAS clinic, where there is the best medical care.

Richard, almost 3, on the was to SAS clinic 

So Friday morning, we load up the van with the two boys and get dropped off two hours away at the SAS clinic. On the way there Richard was quiet but didn't seem in much pain. However, I believe God was closely watching over us and gave us the perfect timing for helping this poor. Just during the two hour ride he began to show a little bit of pain, and by the time we made it to the clinic he was crying and screaming in pain. Let me explain if you don't know much about sickle cell: the go into crisis sometimes that causes severe severe pain, breathing problems, heart problems, stomach problems, kidney problems, and more. We were seen quickly at the clinic and Richard was given a shot for pain. Blood was drawn and an IV started with fluids. We quickly got results back showing that Richard needed a blood transfusion and we would need to stay the night in-patient at the clinic. Richard has relief from his pain medicine, but still looked very very ill. We were not prepared at all to stay the night, but knew we had no other choice! So here I am during my first week in Uganda, in charge of Richard not only for his medical care, but playing mom as well for what ended up being 3 (!!!!) nights at a clinic. I am SO thankful that Corinne, who knows the healthcare system and culture in Uganda much better was there as well. I want to share some differences I have learned about staying in-patient here that I different than the states:
-The do not provide food or drinks for the patient or the family
- As far as I saw, the idea of something being an emergency did not exist at this clinic
- The family members/care takers provide a lot more care to the patient than required in the states

Things I am thankful for that happened while staying in the hospital:
- We met a wonderful nurse named Finoa who only took care of us the first day, but checked on us every day! We prayed together and laughed a lot when we could. We talked about differences in culture and truly made a Ugandan friend.
- Most doctors that saw Richard would talk about how they were praying for him, how he was covered in the blood of Jesus, or such. It was very uplifting!

So this is the story...
Friday:
We got admitted and went to our room. It was almost 5 o'clock and we needed food, supplies, etc for the night. Elijah still needed to be seen by the surgeon who was running late. Corinne stayed at SAS, and I ventured out for the first time by myself in Uganda! I caught 3 different bodas all by myself, went to two different places to buy food and supplies like soap (which is not provided!) and such. God was totally watching over me! That doctors that night said Richard was going into failure... He looked like death... I don't know another way to describe it. He grunted when he breathed and he screamed in pain a lot. Corinne and I cried a lot that night praying that God would heal and protect Richard. I am use to being a nurse, I am use to taking care of very sick kids...however I am not use to being their main caretakers, their mom, the one who holds them when they cry... That night we tried to sleep a little, myself in bed with Richard and Corinne on a bed/chair with Elijah.

In-patient at SAS clinic

View from Corinne's "bed" in the in-patient room to show the door to our bathroom

Saturday:
After his transfusion and pain medicine he seemed only slight better. I was happy he made it through the night. I read Psalm 27 to him and myself a few times...
"I believe that I shall look upon fthe goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"
His kidneys were failing, his breathing was horrible,  and his abdomen continues to grow in size. Again, we prayed and prayed and prayed... 
Finally after medicine for his kidneys, abdomen, a blood transfusion, and LOTS of IV fluids, Richard began to improve. 

Sunday:
Richard smiled!! He laughed! He wasn't great but he was getting better! We were so thankful! Corinne and I continued to learn to navigate Kampala, taking turns to go to church, go eat, go escape for a little bit. I was able to go to Watoto Centeal and LOVED the worship. I was an amazing reminder of God's greatness throughout EVERY nation... I worshiped with hundreds of Ugandans excitedly praising God's goodness. Again, Corinne and I both really this boost! The preacher also said something that stuck with me
"As Christians, when we go through the fire we will not get burned, we will only get refined."
What a wonderful reminder, one that I really needed through this time! 

Richard and I when he was finally able to sit up!

Monday:
We finally we able to go back to GSF!! After many more boca rides throughout Kampala looking for many types of medicine that Richard will need to stay on, some forever, I feel like I have become a boda expert :)  

During this time Corinne and I survived on two pairs of clothes, which we slept in a washed in the bathroom sick with a bar of soap. We had someone from GSF bring us some supplies on Saturday but had no idea we would be there 3 nights! We made friends with Nelson, who worked in a local restaurant and helped bring us drinks and food. I am learning that people are so much more relational here. He checked on Richard every day, as did many others. I feel like people take time out of their lives here to really stop and care for others... even though we were just customers or patients. 

God taught me many things during this time... I had to trust in His goodness despite the circumstances. I became better at turning to him with my worries, frustration, praises, and everything really! I became dependent because I had nothing else to depend on! Because Corinne and I had to be mom over these 4 days, I also learned about my selfish desires! When I became responsible for feeding and taking care of these children every second of the day I realized how much sometimes I just wanted to sleep instead of play, or didn't want to get up at 4 am to give medicine... However with MUCH prayer God provided me with continued patience, grace, and peace. Parents- I have a new respect for you!! Hahaha

Please contine to pray:
- Richard's health. It will be a battle for his entire life to stay in good health. He must now be on many daily medicines to prevent such a severe crisis again. Richard could use another sponsor to help pay for life saving medicine, so if you feel it on your heart that you would like to help please email me and I will connect you with the sponsorship program! JulieMatthews8@yahoo.com
- Rest for Corinne and myself as we catch up from 4 days away from GSF
-Elijah's health as he has another small operation to help correct his bowel problems 
- The aunties at the toddler house- that they would be able to provide the much needed care to these two boys 

Closing note, which of course I read this morning in my devotional... God has amazing timing :)

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and  hope does not put us to shame, because God's love ihas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Romans 5: 3-5

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TIA (This is Africa!)

I don't know how I have only been here about 72 hours... I guess when every single part of the day is new and different it makes it seem much longer! In a good way of course! 

Let me catch you up to speed on the last 3 days. 

Day 1) Dayna and I arrived in Enteebe, which is about 30 min south of Kampala. We took a private hire taxi (you will understand the difference later!) to the Matoke Inn. The Inn is run by AIM missionaries and in the same compound as the AIM office. Our way to the inn was full of new sights and sounds including 3 monkeys on a fence right as we left the airport, and plenty of other animals running around along the sides of the roads! The inn is a beautiful very homey place where multiple missionaries and friends/family stay when they arrive or on off days. 

Sunday morning we went to Watoto church on Sunday morning which was fabulous! It is a very large english speaking church with multiple campuses throughout Kampala. It was started my a Canadian couple, but the campus we attended was run by all Ugandans. It was beautiful worship, not much different from home actually. The series the church is doing this month is 'A Blessed Family'. I enjoyed the very biblical message about marriage!

Today (Monday) was a very exciting day! It was our first day to actually go into Kampala, verses being on the outskirts. Words will not be able to describe all that I saw and experienced! It was amazing! There are three primary forms of public transportation here: Boda boda, taxi, and private hire taxi. A boda boda is a motorbike with a driver and you get on the back. I'm so sad I forgot to take a picture! There are thousands of them all around and they zip in and out of the CRAZY traffic here. Scary but so much fun! A picture will come later...

Taxis operate more like buses, but are large vans. There are no designated stops, you must know where you are going and let the driver know when you would like off. The best part about the taxis is the taxi part in downtown Kampala! Its where all the taxis hangout until they are full. I thought the driving and roads all around Kampala were busy, the taxi park is a huge maze of vans! Also, pedestrians have no right away, its taxis then bodas then people. This causes crossing the street to be a death trap! We got more comfortable with every cross though haha 

 Taxi Park

Inside the taxi- they fit ~14 people

I was so thankful for our wonderful guide Rhona who works at the AIM office. She explained everything but didn't baby us one bit haha. We stopped for some yummy ice cream during one of our long walks around the city. She is an amazing woman with a beautiful testimony showing how it doesn't matter what you've done or or what you are currently seeking in life, God can call you to himself and transform you! It was very encouraging that she was so honest about God's work in her life. It reminded me that I should never be ashamed to truthfully tell where I was before I knew God, and everything He has transformed!! 

Rhona and Dayna the other nurse that will serving at GSF 

Overall the last few days have been full of learning and more learning. Sometimes it has felt overwhelming, sometimes I feel like I will never catch on. However, at all times I remind myself that God is very real and present here, and I am not expected to be an expert at anything! God's purpose is able to be accomplished even through my weaknesses :) 

Becoming one of my favorite verses:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

(2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)

Thank you for reading! Please see my updated prayer list to the top right!

In God's Love,

Julie

What a send off!

This past weekend was an amazing reminder of all the wonderful people in my life. My parents drove all the way up from Houston to help me put all my stuff in storage. (its a strange feeling that all my worldly possessions fit in a 5X10 storage unit...) Justin and Michael sacrificed their time and arms to help move all the heavy stuff! Paradox, my church, showed their love and support by commissioning me off with an amazing prayer (see pics below!). My friends Katie and Laura threw me a fabulous send off party where I got to see so many wonderful faces! Thank you all for the amazing send off.  It actually made it harder to leave though since I was reminded how many wonderful people I would be missing! You should all just come visit Uganda :)

Well, I have at least made it out of the country! I'm sitting here in the Qatar airport 24 hours into traveling and only 12 more to go. Woo hoo! I have met up with the other nurse Dayna, who will be starting at Good Shepherd's Fold with me. Its so nice to have someone to do this all with!

It is finally feeling real as I sit here in a foreign country knowing that in 12 hours I will finally be in Uganda. I am so excited to meet all the people I have had contact with and have heard so much about!  I am nervous about what to expect and I wonder if I have forgotten anything... However I am remembering my purpose for all of this: to serve God! I am excited for this opportunity, even though sometimes I'm not sure what I'm doing haha I'm sure that will just add to the adventure though :)

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 
Joshua 1:9