uhhh, ya

prior to typing this, I first penned it at my home. while writing, i was eating an enormous amount of rice with soy sauce. the reason i was eating so much rice was because i am now on a football team. I went to practice for the first time on monday thinking it would be a leisure time with some underdeveloped soccer being played. i did not bring cleats (boots). prior to arriving at the pitch though, i met the coach who promptly gave me shin guards, socks, and boots. uh oh, what had i gotten into? my skepticism was confirmed when, upon arriving at the pitch, we went through a 60 minute warm up routine in resemblance of a professional club. after the warmup, we began playing a game of keep-away, no goals. two hours later we stopped. i was absolutely gassed and highly considered sticking my face directly under the borehole and pumping water into my mouth. this i thankfully did not do, but i was soar, thirsty, tired, and hungry. so now, i am eating a "hungry man" portion of rice.

the school term ended friday. the girls went home for a 3 week holiday. i guess i don't even know where to begin in reflecting on my first term as a ugandan teacher. maybe the best way is to say that God is amazing and i wish i had done more to help the girls. What an incredible blessing to walk into a classroom with 45 ugandan girls (that is an incredibly small class size for uganda) and hear them say, "good morning, sir", ah, it's beautiful and I don't deserve it. then, when all the girls went home, i though, what if, in 2 years, they go home the same way, and i have done nothing to serve them, or love them, or prepare them for a healthier future? In the Bible it talks about Jesus feeding 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. but before he fed them, he told the disciples to feed them. he must have known they could not do it themselves. I believe, and I read this somewhere, that JC wanted the disciples to go to a source beyond themselves, mainly, Him. I know I can not help these girls myself, the need is too great, and i am too weak, and yet i haven't been so good at going to the source beyond myself.

most mornings, i get up at 7am, sweep my house (the dust in apac is...thick and prevalent, especially since we haven't seen rain since the Bush administration (that is not a political preference or point of attack, just a simile)). I sweep only my house. most ugandans sweep also their compound, clearing away the leaves, dust, and debris., but i do not. I don't because either my neighbor, Dorkus, does it, or this old man (moozai) named john who is a Karimojong (warrior tribe in northern Uganda). John is pretty much money. "Hey moozai, kop ango?" "Ko pe" (hey old man, what news? No news).

i think i may go raft the nile river tomorrow with some other PC volunteers. the last time i was rafting was down an Oregon river with two brothers on an inflatable air mattress. the nile should probably be fairly similar.

word to your mother.