Goodbye Uganda....Hello Ohio

I cannot believe it is the end of the semester already! I will be in Ohio in less than a week...wow! As I have been reflecting over this semester, I have realized that living faithfully is most important. It is not about vocation or effectiveness.
We are leaving campus on Sunday to do some debrief and reentry. We fly out on Wednesday early in the morning. If all goes as planned, I will arrive in Ohio on Wednesday evening.
Thanks so much for reading this blog, supporting me, and praying for me too. I cannot thank you enough. I praise God for the experiences and situations He brought in my life to show me more about Himself. I want to thank God first and foremost for the sacrifice of His one and only son Jesus Christ to allow me to have the hope of Heaven. For that, I am forever thankful.
My hope and prayer coming back home is that I would be faithful to the call that Christ has placed on my life: the call to go and spread the Good News. Overall I am more confused about what the future holds for me but I know that God is faithful. I am leaving with more questions than answers, which will push me to continue to seek out the truth.
I would love to talk more about any and all of my experiences here in Africa. Feel free to contact me via facebook or email @ gracewinner22@gmail.com


I want to give a shout out to my family and friends who have supported me in this opportunity. I could not have done it without you.

December...already?

I cannot believe that classes are almost over; I only have one final exam left! This semester is flying by! It’s hard to believe that I will be back in Ohio is less than two weeks.
Thanksgiving was so much fun, even though I had classes. After class though, we played an American football game and had a huge feast. It was delicious American food! All of us, from the USP group, were in charge of making the desserts. The USP staff and the Americans in the surrounding area made supper. It was very different but very good at the same time.
I completed my junior internship for social work at Salama this past week. They had their Christmas production on November 30. They are now on a two month break for Christmas. It was so hard to say goodbye. I am going to miss my kids like crazy!

I have spent some time in the last week reflecting upon the semester as a whole. I have learned so much! It is hard to put all of my experiences and lessons learned into words though. I learned a lot about Christianity as a whole. It looks so different in other cultures, this experience has opened up my eyes to a more complete understanding of Christianity. This semester has also taught me how much I do not know and understand about this world as a whole. I am so thankful for all of the experiences that I have had and just for the opportunity to study in Uganda for a semester.

Safari? Yes Please!

Our group in the safari van!

We left for our safari on Thursday night and traveled to Kampala. We went through a company named Red Chilli. We spent a night in Kampala and then we left for the camp at Murchison Falls National Park, which is the largest national park in Uganda, on Friday morning. It took us about seven hours including our stop for lunch. We arrived in the evening and settled in. We stayed in safari tents with animals roaming around. We had a hippo outside of our tent! We woke up early on Saturday morning and left for our game drive at 6:30a. It was a four hour drive. We were able to see elephants, hippopotamus, giraffes, baboons, deer, and several other animals. It was incredible! I really cannot put it into words, I will never do it justice. We spent most of the drive sitting on the top of our safari van. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was amazing! We went back to the camp for lunch and then left for our boat tour, on the Nile River, at 2p. We were on the water until about 6p. We saw a ton of hippos, some crocodiles, and a few elephants along with their babies. We hung out on Saturday and had a ton of fun just talking and playing games. On Sunday we went for a hike to see the falls and walk around the cliff. It was a breathtaking view! The beauty of creation screams the name of our Creator. It was phenomenal standing and watching the falls. Overall, it was a spectacular weekend full of fun! Thinking back to the weekend I sometimes still think it was a dream! It was wicked sweet!!!

Campus Life

The beautiful sunset (I can see from my dorm room)!

Some of our group (before we headed to the market).

The concession stand at the UCU basketball game.

We only have four weeks of class left! I cannot believe how fast this semester is flying by! My classes are going well! I am taking three classes: African Traditional Religions (which I posted a bit about previously when we took our field trip to Mbale), East African Politics since Independence, and Faith in Action. Besides my classes I am doing my junior social work internship at Salama, The School for the Blind. Things are starting to wind down there too. The students leave for break on November 30th, which will obviously be my last day. Our last day of classes is December 3. Finals week is December 6-10. Then we will go to Entebbe for debrief of the semester and reentry to life in the U.S.

Other than classes and my internship, when we have free time we go to Mukono or we head to Kampala. Kampala is about an hour from the university by taxi. We have also been to a few markets and university basketball games.
Life is always interesting here, there is never a dull moment! The opportunities are unending. For example, we were able to visit the World Vision office and have a meeting with the top administrator in the Mukono office. The possibilities to learn are so numerous here; it is so much fun as we continue to discover more and take in each experience and situation. I am so thankful for the time I have to spend in Africa, it is truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Soroti Rural Home Stay

My host parents, Moses and Christine, along with the baby, Michelle.

The kids!

The beautiful view at Soroti during hiking on Saturday.

This past week I lived with a Ugandan family in the village of Soroti with the Ateso people, which is about seven hours from Mukono (which is where Uganda Christian University is located). We traveled on Friday and stayed with a staff member from the university that night. On Saturday we were dropped off at each of our homes. I stayed at the home of Moses and Christine. I learned so much! I was able to see a true glimpse of what life is really like in the village.
I was able to garden and plant cassava, which is a staple food here. We cut down the plants, cut them into pieces, and planted them. I helped and learned how to cook. I milked a cow and slaughtered a chicken. I also met and talked with a lot of people in the village. I learned a lot about their culture and lifestyle throughout the week. I tried “bush” porridge, ate lots of potatoes and millet bread. I had papaya, jack-fruit, and oranges too.
I am so thankful for my host family. I could see so evidently how the body of Christ is one across cultures, societies, and lifestyles. Throughout the week I only saw one other American, she was a student who lived close. Our paths crossed, but only once for a few minutes. Overall, I had an amazing experience living in rural Uganda for a week. God’s provisions and lessons were challenging but so rewarding. During the week God continued to bring Jeremy Camp’s song Give Me Jesus, which says (in summary):
 In the morning when I rise/Give me Jesus/You can have all this world /But give me Jesus/When I am alone/Give me Jesus/You can have all this world/Just give me Jesus/When I come to die/Give me Jesus/You can have all this world /Just give me Jesus
This song is my prayer. No matter where I am in the world or in my life, I want Jesus to be the center of my entire life.
This past weekend, after we were picked up on Friday, we headed to Kapchurwa to debrief and be reunited with our group. We stayed at Sipi Fall. It was so good to be with everyone again. We had debrief on Friday night and hiked all day on Saturday. It was incredible to hike up Mount Elgon and see the beauty of nature. It reminded me how gorgeous God’s creation truly is, though I take it for granted most of the time. After being reminded of how big God really is made me turn to Job 38.

Cultural Experience: A Field Trip to Mbale

Gathering around the circle where the ceremony took place. 

The young men escorting the boy to the circle.

The boy in the middle of the circle getting circumcised.

This past weekend we went on a field trip with our Africa Traditional Religions class. We traveled a few hours to Mbale, which is in the East part of Uganda, early Saturday morning. We went to attend a cultural circumcision ceremony.  We took a bus and a van. We were driving up Mount Elgon (where the Bugisu people live). This is where the actually ceremony would take place. It had rained so much that vehicles could not drive because it was too muddy. We hiked for over an hour through the mud. Once we arrived, we were met with excitement. This ceremony among the Bugisu people, is when a boy becomes a man. It is a ceremony for all to attend, it is such a huge turning point in a young male’s life. Circumcision in the Bugisu world is not an option, in order for a boy to become a man he must be circumcised.
The boy was brought up in a parade of young men waving sticks, beating the sticks together, and dancing. The father and surgeon were in the middle along with the boy. After the ceremony the boy was a man. This ritual is taken so seriously that once a boy is circumcised if he is called a boy, he may be so offended that he would kill the person who had insulted him. After the ceremony, we made the trek back to the vehicles and spent the night in Mbale. We traveled back to campus Early Sunday morning.

Salama, The School for the Blind

Here are the two school buildings (behind this picture is the cafeteria). The left building has five classrooms (P1-5, which is grades 1-5) and the right building has two classrooms (P6-7) and the office.

The students eating in the cafeteria.

A few students and I posing for the camera.

The students love reading, a few gathered to look at the book Giraffes Can't Dance.

The students performing at a conference in Kampala (last weekend). The Bible Society hosted a conference to raise awareness and money for blind students. There were two other schools there besides Salama; each performed a few songs during the conference.

The school motto is: Where all things are possible with God. I am doing my junior social work internship at Salama. I have fallen in love with all of the students! I have been able to observe in various areas within the school and also after school hours. I go three days a week. The students all have impaired vision, which varies from complete blindness to minor vision impairment. It is a boarding school with just over fifty students. They have students from ages six to eighteen, along with grades P1-P7 (which is first through seventh grade). Even though I am supposed to be teaching and helping the students, I think they have already taught me more than I could ever teach them. They have taught me that if you truly believe in God, that He is the Creator and He sent His son Jesus as the Savior of this world, nothing is impossible. For example, as I was talking to a few students they were expressing to me their dreams. One wants to be a lawyer, the other a doctor, and the last one a teacher, and they will not let anything stop them! They love to teach me braille too! They are so inquisitive about the United States also. They ask so many good questions! Like I said, I have fallen in love with these students. I look forward to going to hang out with them each week.  Life is not easy for them, the staff and students, but they continue to trust in God and give Him the glory when He fulfills their needs. It is amazing and I thank God for the opportunity to be able to do my social work internship at Salama.