Day Three

Today we traveled back to Namyoyo to continue our work. We were greeted with the same enthusiasm today. So much more of the roof and house had been done since we left. It was amazing. Also, I saw the same boy I had held hands with all day yesterday as soon as we got there. I almost cried when I saw his cute little face light up with a smile. He's my favorite :)

Right away we got into the brick passing line to move supplies from the pile to the house site. I loved seeing everyone work together and socialize. The community members even taught us some simple phrases in their native language. After we worked hard in the sweltering sun for a few hours, we sat down to relax and have lunch. Again, the community offered us sugarcane, pineapple, and bananas as well as a warm treat they called pancakes. They are small patties made of mashed banana and flour cooked over a fire. Delicious!

During the relaxation time, we again got lots of time to interact and play with the children in the village. One of our team members, Kaitlin, brought bubbles and stickers for the kids. I brought little Dum Dum suckers (which my Gramma bought) for them. The kids were beyond ecstatic. It was heartbreaking to see how little these children have. It made me think of kids in the US and how simple things like stickers and bubbles lose their appeal within five minutes while these things in Uganda fill children with complete and utter joy. The looks on their faces were something I will never forget. Saying goodbye to all of them is kind of hard because you just want to stay and keep making the smile, but I am excited we are returning to Namyoyo on Sunday for service in the newly improved church. After all our work today, we returned to our house, showered up, and had dinner. I always enjoy dinner time because our whole team gets to gather and just relax and talk about the day.

So I've been in Uganda for a few days now, and I still don't have any money. I needed to exchange my US dollars. Ugandan currency is called shillings and about 1635 shillings equal one US dollar. Lee decided to take me into the city so I could get some money out of an ATM. We walked from our house to the main road and found a taxi ride. When there's a lot of traffic in Kampala it's hard to get around in a taxi bus called matutus. There are so many people walking around and the streets are narrow and it's not very organized. So the best way to get around is to take a bota bota. That is pretty much a motorcyle taxi ride. It's absolutely crazy. Since the bota botas are small they can weave around all the cars in the traffic and get around more efficiently. It's a little scary but totally fun. How many people can say they cruised down the streets of Kampala, Uganda on a bota bota? What a great day!