"But I trust in your unfailing love"

Hello Again!

Just a quick update… the past 2 weeks have been busy!  I’ve been adjusting back into life on campus, going to hospice 3 days a week, attending my 2 am class at Messiah once a week, eating lots of rice and beans, and just overall enjoying the company of the people I’m surrounded by!

God has truly been blessing me through the gift of the people here.  We are a family and the relationships I’m building are enriching my life in ways I didn’t know were imaginable!  God truly is faithful.  One of my favorite psalms that I’ve been reminded of recently is Psalm 13.  At the beginning, the psalmist is questioning God about how long the suffering would last and begging and pleading with God for an end to the spiritually ‘dry’ period.  But, in verse 5-6, it says, “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.”  So, amidst the suffering and questions, the fullness of God’s love is realized, his salvation rejoiced in!  While I’m sure adjusting to a new culture and dealing with the unfamiliar is not even comparable to the struggles that the psalmist was going through, I am definitely dealing with questions… questions about my life, questions about the world, questions about God.  But, at the end of the day, all I can say is, “But I trust in your unfailing love.”  And the most powerful testimony to God’s unfailing love is the people he has placed around me to support me when I am far, far away from my regular support system!

As I sit and reflect on the past few weeks, I am excited for the future!  We are preparing to leave in just a few hours for Kapchorwa, Uganda which is in the eastern part of the country.  There we will be living in villages with host families for a week and then spending next weekend (the 24^th-26^th) on a debrief retreat together at Sipi Falls (don’t quote me on the spelling).  I am looking forward to the break from campus life and to the beauty and simplicity of a different way of life.  The only electronic item I’m bringing (aside from my cell phone for emergencies) is my camera, so I hope to share another corner of beautiful creation with you via some pictures when we get back!

I am so thankful for your prayers and continued support, I would love to hear about how you’re doing and what God is teaching you so feel free to comment or e-mail me! I’ll post again sometime after February 26^th… I believe according to my schedule that I owe you a post on birds (I know it sounds strange, but the birds here are pretty awesome)!

Be blessed my friends =)

Ruth

Hospice Africa Uganda among other things

Hello again faithful readers!

So this weekend I went to Jinja, a town on the shore of Lake Victoria, and the town is located right at the source of the NILE! It was beautiful and I had both a relaxing and exciting weekend with the other students… it was a great time to get to know everyone better and have some time away from campus!

Nile river

View from the bus on our way to the camp where we stayed

One of the monkey friends at our camp that jumped on our metal roof all night! At least they're cute, right? ;)

So that was one exciting weekend, and don't worry, I took a billion photos of the monkeys, not just one! Anyway, as you have all been anticipating (maybe?), the rest of this post is about my field placement at Hospice Africa Uganda. So, we’ll begin with a little introduction to hospice. Hospice is holistic care for those suffering from long-term illnesses. Hospice Africa Uganda generally serves those with cancer and provides palliative care for patients with AIDS; however, AIDS patients are generally in and out of care often as they tend to improve and then worsen as the cycle of AIDS goes. Some patients even have both AIDS and cancer. Generally, when I thought of hospice before working with the agency, I assumed that all patients would be near-death. However, many are stable but in need of pain and symptom management. Pain can be multi-faceted, and stems from physical pain to psychological, social,  or spiritual pain, so a part of hospice’s focus is on meeting the range of needs and relieving other types of pain, which is what makes their care holistic.

With that intro in mind, I have yet to have experienced a ‘typical day’ in hospice… this is Africa, of course! I typically leave campus around 7am, arrive at Hospice around 8:30, spend the day there or on home visits or doing other things, and leave between 4 and 5 and I’m back before 7! They’re long days, but I can only go 3 days per week due to my faith and action class. So while there, I generally see patients with a nurse or doctor and sometimes the social worker as well. Patients are seen in three ways: home visits for more critical patients, at the clinic, or at outreaches where many patients come to receive care and have their meds refilled. There is also a ‘day-care’ on Tuesdays at the clinic which patients are referred to if they have a higher level of social need. There patients can interact with each other and carers are given a break for time to themselves. I have been a part of the day care the past few weeks simply by interacting with patients and chatting with those that speak English (or using a volunteer as an interpreter for those that don’t!). I also have a few patients on my case load that I am working to find resources for or that have been counseled by others and need follow-up on the situations they were counseled on (ie, family matters, money concerns, etc.)… overall, though, my job is LEARNER! There’s so much to take in and understand about the illnesses and conditions of patients, family structures in Uganda, poverty, the role of social workers, the role of NGO’s, etc… and I’m doing my best to take it all in!

I’m also hoping to get involved with an advocacy project or fundraising project. Patients are not required to pay for services or meds, but are given the opportunity if they can afford it. Therefore, everything at hospice is supported by donors and there are Hospice Africa sites in the UK, Ireland and the USA that help with funding. Hospice was started by a woman from the UK in 1993… I’m currently reading her book so I’ll be able to tell you even more about her, her vision, and hospice in general once I’ve finished it!

On a somewhat unrelated note, lately, there’s been a ton running through my head about my future, as in what I’ll be doing the next few years (or at least just the next year!) as I prepare to graduate in May. God is teaching me so many things about people and the world and I’m doing my best to keep my mind and heart open. I ask that you pray with me as I also pray about and make decisions for the future!

Sorry this is a long post, but I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your support and interest in me! I would love to hear from you, too! Also, feel free to ask me more questions about Uganda and what I’m doing here if you have them, and please let me know if I can pray for you for anything =)

Be blessed =)

Ruth

Home stays have come and gone!

I interrupt my own list of anticipated post topics to bring you a host family post!

So, last Saturday morning (21 January), terrified and excited, we loaded into vans with a backpack, a sleeping bag, a mosquito net, and a plastic jug of about 10L of water to head to our host families’ homes for the next 2 weeks. We had been prepped on how we may need to take splash baths and use latrines outside, live without electricity, share a room with multiple people and eat lots of matoke. In just a few minutes, there I stood in front of a huge house with a few smiling faces to greet me and carry my stuff in. The family I’m with is so gracious and kind and honestly very American! They’ve travelled to America before for business affairs and they have family in Boston (I’ve never even been to Boston!). Both of my host parents work in the medical field for NGO’s at a hospital in Kampala, so they have about an hour commute everyday. In addition, the children all go to school in Kampala, they are 10, 8 and 5 (the older 2 are girls, youngest is a boy!). They are adorable, speak more polite English than I, and just finished their last week of holiday so they have been in relax mode until this week when they went back and switched into busy mode!

The first week with them was great, after I got home in the evenings I would hang out with the kids, either watching tv or playing, and then we usually ate dinner around 9:30 or 10, which is pretty common for Ugandans. This past weekend was a lot of fun too, we did some chores but mostly hung out, played with clay, made paper beads (see pic below) and hung out with family. Then this week got very busy as they went back to school. They leave at about 6 am, so they were leaving as I woke up! And everyone got home around 7 pm, including me. They have a maid who does the cooking and cleaning, and my host mother’s cousin, in her last year of high school, also lives with them to help with chores and with looking after the kiddos.

Paper beads!! Not finished though, they need to be dipped in varnish, but we didn't have any.

Angel! Age 10 =)

Jed, Age 5 (note the missing teeth, haha)

Bella, Age 8.... all 3 love to smile!

So, it’s a busy and lively household and I learned to make some fun food, play new card games, and I drank lots of tea! I’m excited to have a family close by to visit throughout the rest of my time here. Being in a home is definitely relaxing, God always provides us with what we need, and I was definitely in need of a family connection. I had been very worried about the experience before I met the family but I was quickly put at ease and I already miss them now that I’m back on campus!

This weekend I’ll be doing very fun things in Jinja that I will tell you all about on Monday, in addition to a post about my internship sometime this coming week as well! It’s bedtime here in Africa, so peace out dear friends!

Be blessed,

Ruth