Greetings from "The Pearl of Africa"

I've only been in Uganda for a few days but I've experienced and learned so much. Uganda is beautiful and it's people are even more beautiful. We arrived here late because our flight to London got canceled and put with a later flight which made us miss our flight to Uganda. We didn't complain because that meant we got to stay the night in a hotel in London, I only wish we could have stayed longer! We arrived in Uganda late the next night. Michael picked us up from the airport. He is a native Ugandan who has been working for the volunteer program for 3 years. I've been so grateful for him and all of his help. We spent the night in a hotel in Entebbe because it was too late to travel to Iganga. The next morning we drove to Iganga, the streets are just buzzing with activity. We drove past Lake Victoria, through the forrest, through sugar cane plantations, through tea plantations, and over the Nile to get to Iganga. This place is truly stunning!

Our host family is so great, they have made us so welcome and comfortable. Idi and Elen are the parents of 4 children: 11 year old twin girls, 5 year old boy and 1 year old girl. Neighbor kids are over often to play and their nieces and nephew spend all there time here. Simon is a volunteer from Canada who has been here since October. He is doing microfinance in Jinja but he lives with us. He has been very helpful.

I went to church yesterday in Jinja. The members were so welcoming. I got to help in Primary, the children are sooooooo adorable. I'm excited to be working with the sister missionaries and getting to know the members.

I went to the hospital for the first time today. They have a male ward, female ward, maternity ward, prenatal ward, pediatric ward, outpatient and other clinics and laboratories. Today we palpated bellies of pregnant women to estimate the length of pregnancy, we check for Candida, edema, and anemia. I got to feel twins in one woman. The nurses are so kind, they are teaching me so much.

The official language of Uganda is English but the people in this region speak Lusoga to each other. Children learn English in school when they are 5 years old. My host family has been teaching me some words. I tried them out today and got some good reactions. I wave and say "Yambo" to the children on the street and they laugh and return "Yambo" I learned to say Wasiotia Mucano. (good morning friend) The chilren call us Muzugu (white person) and they come up to touch our skin. I love it!

We live on very little but I am comfortable and so happy here. I'm learning the African way of life and I can always find so much to be grateful for. It's going to be difficult to leave this place.