Last Day at School

The last day was a tough one. I had gotten sick on Saturday and the days following at the safari were a bit brutal. So when we got to the school on the last day, I tried to give my full effort, but not having anything in my system made it hard for me to actually participate in the activities for the day. However, one of the words of the week in our devotions was joy. So the last day I tried to find joy in one of the toughest days to come. Being sick and weak is obviously not joyful, but I found joy on the last day by just being able to sit back and see what was actually happening in the lives of the kids and the lives on the team. The day consisted of the swearing in of the prefects where the elected leaders of the school were sworn in, and the kids who were elected were so proud to be in front of there classmates and taking the role of a school leader. Then next, a DJ set up in the middle of the school and set up massive speakers all over the school, and started to blast music. Once the music came on, everyone started dancing. And when I say everyone I mean, EVERYONE. Not only the little kids, but the big kids, our kids, the teachers and even godwin, the director of the school. Next, Ivan announced that we would be having a massive feast and that we would be serving the kids. All of the kids had massive smiles walking up to the table to be served their food and the fact that they were getting served by mzungus is unheard of in their society. The kids actually believe that because they are black, impoverished, and young, that they have little to no value in the real world. The whole week, we continued to remind them how important they are not only in the lives of us, but how valued they are in gods eyes too. To round out one of the best weeks most of us had ever had, we attempted to have a water day in which the kids would rotate around to 3 stations. After about 2 seconds, that whole idea was put to shame and it turned to a massive water fight. Water balloons being thrown, buckets being dumped, everyone was getting soaked. Mrs Martin got hit, mr story got a good bucket to the back, and mr gray got a water fall over him every 2 seconds thanks to nick and spencer. At least everyone was laughing though. After the water fight, the goodbyes were said and this is easily the toughest part of the trip. The younger kids usually do not get that it's time for the mzungus to leave, but the older kids get more attached and you can see the distraught faces. When I was leaving, 2 kids came up to me and insisted that I take their pipe cleaner bracelets that they made during the week. At first I declined, but they grabbed my wrists and began to tie the bracelets to me and said, don't you ever forget us Joe. Then another kid came up to me and handed me a red pen full of ink and I told him that he needs to keep his pen, and he said the same thing about me not forgetting him. I opened the pen later that day and when I did, I had seen that he put a piece of paper in the cap that spelled out his name, "Brian". We all got on the bus, and the slow drive out of the village, seemed like the longest of the trip. 

This week, we were all impacted by the kids. Each day making us a better person through their smiles and laughs. We will never forget nations Changers and they will never forget this week, that we provided for them. 

-Joe 

Adventure time

These past two days have been amazing!! We were all surprised by Mr. Gray when he said we were leaving super early in the morning to go to a safari lodge and stay overnight. None of us had been on a safari before, and we were ecstatic about it but we had a 6 hour drive to get there. After waking up at 4:45 am, we piled into the bus and van and we drove for what felt like forever. But then we made it to the lodge in time for the safari on the Nile River. We went on a boat and saw tons of hippos, some elephants, giraffes, and other cool animals. After the boat ride we stayed at a super nice hotel at the lodge and ate a huge, yummy dinner -- probably one of our best yet. We went to bed early because we were all really tired and we had another early morning after-- we were going on a real safari in cars the next day. The national park is HUGE and the safari was AMAZING. We started it around sunrise and stayed out for a few hours; we saw tons of elephants, giraffes and buffalo up close!! I know it's the coolest thing I've ever done and I'm confident that others feel the same way. Now we are driving home, and even though all the traveling is brutal, it was all extremely worth it.

-Mikaela 

Day in Town

A holiday for the kiddos left us to an off day today. After breakfast we headed downtown to watch the high school girls team play in a game. It was an incredibly long game and the team lost but it was cool to see them play. We got to see some of the fields in the facility like field hockey and a massive cricket field and then ate a hefty meal of chapatti and sandwiches. After a stop at a coffee shop and a much needed cold smoothie, it was time to shop. We stopped at a market of about 15 shops and went to work. Personally I spent almost all of my money jerseys, shirts, bracelets and countless gifts for people back home. Bargaining definitely made things interesting and usually it was easy to bring down the price about 10,000. We then headed to prayer mountain where we had some time of reflection and prayer. Finally we made our way back for a night of dinner and card games and team bonding. 

Yours truly, 

Michael Linguadoca 

Another day at School

Yesterday, we started our morning eating breakfast and then had a devotion by Sophia and Leah. The word we wanted to focus on today was "family" and how we should all treat each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. We headed out to the school and to our surprise, we took a different way. We later found out that the reason we took a longer route was so the we could ride Boda Boda's to the school. Lindsey and I got on the back of one and raced Nick and Joe (Lindsey and I won). It was so much fun!! After that, we played with the kids for their recess and then got started on our projects. The team working on paving finally finished and the other team kept painting the nursery classrooms. For lunch, we had PB&J sandwiches and we were surprised to each get our own Chapati which was sooo good!  Then, we separated into our group activities and our group was on the court. We played Red Light Green Light and Sharks and Minos. After that, we headed back to the hotel. Overall, it was a great day! 

--Skylar 

Wednesday at nations changers

After our devotion we headed to the school to start the day. During their recess we played with them a little before starting our jobs. We were surprised to get some street chapati after playing with the kids and it was amazing. After working for about an hour either painting the baby classroom or paving the sidewalks we got to see one of their chapels. They sang for us and played the drums and after that they all knelt down and prayed. It was amazing to see the amount of joy they had while worshiping and the passion for God  while praying that they shared and poured onto us. I can honestly say this was a highlight of the day for most of the team. After the chapel we all sat in the girls dorms and ate our lunch while blowing up about 300 balloons for one of the activities. Then each group started their rotations for that day. My group was art and we showed the kids how to make things with pipe cleaners, like glasses and bracelets and flowers, but in the end they just wanted us to make them. I made at least 70 pairs of glasses. After our activities we were all exhausted and we got on the bus and headed back to the hotel. Once we got back we ate dinner and watched the boys play against the universities girls basketball team on the hotel court. Lots of people were there and excited to watch the game...the boys won!!! We had a powerful team meeting in which we all opened up and it was a turning point on this trip for sure. We shared experiences from the day relating to our devotion topic of selflessness. After this we headed off to bed after a really amazing day! :)

-Lindsey Benisek

Project Day

Day 3

today we went to wakiso to work and create a Vbs for the kids. we got there and began to unload bricks for paving new roadways. The kids all ran over and helped us with unloading. The kids were something around 6-10 years old but carried more than half of our workers at SFC. it was a really cool sight to experience to witness because the kids gave up Their recess to help us out with our work. 

--nick Cable

Day at Nations Changers

We went to Nations Changers school today and got to play with kids. Godwin, who runs the school, gave us a tour of the school. The school has made a lot of progress since last year adding two new classrooms and a soccer field. Everyone enjoyed chasing, lifting, and laughing with the kids. The kids never run out of energy and the group was exhausted by the end of the day.

--jack Mcrosky 

First Day

This morning we woke up and saw uganda for the first time in daylight. We headed downstairs and enjoyed a breakfast of chapati, potatoes, sausage, and fresh fruit. We headed to lake Victoria where we did our first devotion as a team and talked about the days to come. We piled into the buses and went into town to celebrate Joe's birthday. After eating delicious vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake we started our drive to our second hotel. The bus allowed us to wittiness the beautiful African culture throughout our drive. Once we got to the African Village hotel we got a tour of the grounds. The hotel we are staying at has a two acre farm providing work for the local villagers. Before dinner we did team bonding and played the game fishbowl, which my team won! My friends and I decided to go on a walk and we ran into the boys playing basketball with some of the local Africans. Between talking to the staff and playing with the locals the whole team is already starting to connect with the different culture. At dinner we met Godwin and his family. Godwin is the man that started Nations Changers, the school we will be working at tomorrow. After we had a team meeting and then fell asleep to the beautiful sounds of the rainforest. We are all very excited to serve God and witness Him in new ways through this extraordinary culture and its people. 

-Sophia Zummo  

Travel Day

After a long bus ride to LAX, we checked our bags and boarded. 5 hours later, we landed in D.C and I was honestly shocked to find out this was the shortest flight. After we got off, we grabbed food and sprinted to our next flight. The next 7 hours wasn't too bad because the plane wasn't full, so we had extra seats to sleep on. Right when I was about to fall asleep for the first time since 2:45 am, Mr. Gray woke me up to take my malaria pill, so I didn't sleep at all. Once we got off, we went to the bathroom and brushed our teeth and washed our faces as it was now Saturday morning. The waffles in the Brussels airport were fabulous. After a 3 hour layover, we boarded our last plane full of exhaustion and excitement. I personally fell asleep for the first time in 22 hours before we even took off. Once we landed, we went through customs, grabbed our bags, and met Steve, Muky, and Gabi Gonzales. We piled the luggage on top of the vans and drove to our first hotel. We had potatoes, chicken, rice, and chapati for dinner. The chapati is actually so good. After 30 hours of travel, we are finally here and beyond excited to start our journey through Uganda!!
-Leah Salvagio

Safe and Sound in UGANDA

WE are all safe and sound in Uganda. Travel was easy, all our bags showed up, and we are eating dinner at our first hotel. Team is in great spirits and excited for a good trip. Will get more details on our travels in the morning. Kids are hungry and want a shower and need to get to bed. 

Landed in Brussels

we have landed In Brussels and getting the obligatory waffles before we head out. Two flights down and one to go. 

Headed to Brussels

we are on the plane in DC and headed to Brussels. Things are good. 

Off we go

great start to our team travels. Praying with parents and team members Delma Uganda and Rwanda. Adventure has started.

Safe in Hong Kong

Safe and sound in Hong Kong. A little hang out time and then onto our last flight and headed home. Thanks for following us and see you soon. 

Back to Teaching

Thursday, February 23

The day started an hour later as we got to sleep in a bit more, missing the first class of the day. After breakfast and a quick devotion we climbed on the bus to head to Grace Home. We taught two classes in the morning- each bring very successful as we have now learned the names of our students and have formed relationships with them. We had an early lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (which I'm not sure I can eat any more of...) and then prepared for another afternoon of teaching. At 2pm we traveled to a nearby park with the girls from Grace Home. Games of volley ball, soccer, badminton, jump rope, and dodgeball were happening all over. We played a huge game of sheep and tiger, as well as a name game called Matthew/Mark. I don't think I've ever had so much fun at a park. It was a blessing to be able to run around with the girls on such a beautiful day. 3 hours later we headed back to Grace Home for a fantastic dinner made by Annie (which of course includes chicken nuggets). With our day being a little shorter we went back to the hotel at 6pm to have our last reflection meeting. We discussed what we thought of India and our overall impression of our experience. Towards 9 we were back in our rooms, packing, thinking about our last day here, and how we will be ALL IN.  

Taj Majal

Yesterday we got the chance to go to the Taj Mahal! In the morning we found out that a very large group of grace home kids were coming with us, and some of them had never seen the Taj before. We loaded up on the bus and started our 4 hour drive to the Taj. Along the way we got to see a very different side of India, the country side. Instead of towering apartment buildings and crowded streets, we saw green fields and farms. When we finally reached the Taj and walked up to see it, everyone on our team was amazed at its beauty and immensity. We took pictures on pictures and even got to go inside. We learned about the history of the Taj and the story of the king and his wife who are buried there. We learned about the intricate marble carvings that are used to decorate the Taj and the time consuming job it is to create these beautiful masterpieces. We then had the chance to see first hand how they make these marble carvings. After all of this we started our long drive home and ended the night with a delicious dinner at McDonald's. 

Tuesday

Today was another wonderful day in India! First, we taught our different lessons, which taught us more about the difficulties of teaching with a language barrier. Thus, it was such an impactful experience being able to open our hearts to make an impact on all the kids we encountered. After our lessons, we hosted a VBS to the local street kids! This was one of the experiences that I will bring back, the opportunity to show God's everlasting love to kids who don't have the opportunities to experience that everyday!! So far, I have learned so much and I am so excited for more opportunities to impact everyone we encounter! 

VBS Day

Today was quite a day. After a full day of teaching, we had over a hundred kids from the neighboring slums come into Grace Home for a VBS. Going down the lines of kiddos and giving out high fives was extremely bittersweet. All of the slum children were so excited and full of joy, yet they were coming from such hard backgrounds. During our time with them, we stuck out our tongues and lost our voices as we sang to songs like Father Abraham and and Making Melodies. I think I can speak on behalf of the team when I say that although being with all the adorable, smiling faces was incredible, it was heartbreaking to see them leave. A lot of us were struck with the harsh reality that is the poverty of India today, but were encouraged by the continual hope and love that comes from Grace Home. We finished our day there with some volleyball and dance parties, singing to songs in both English and Hindi. Dinner was at a nice Indian restaurant and we loved trying delicious new dishes (and very spicy peppers). 

First Day of Work

Today's word was bold and I think our our group did just that. After eating breakfast we went off to Grace Home for the day. Once there we got straight to teaching. Today I taught middles with Sami. The first three classes of the day I taught a lesson on primary, secondary, and complementary colors. I was surprised how fun and exciting it was to teach the kids. They were so excited to learn and hangout with us. At the end of three classes we had a tea break and got to try Pastor John's chai tea while preparing for the next three classes. Sami than taught a lesson on similes and metaphors before lunch. Next we preformed three VBS skits and led the kids in the worship song My Lighthouse. We ended our time at Grace Home today by having time to time to play with the boys and girls. I learned while I may have been a good teacher I do not have a future in jump roping. I can not wait to see what God has for me these next days and to be bold in all I do by stepping out in faith.

- Gemma Luther

Teaching

Today was a great day! It was the first day of teaching for all of us. I taught the "littles" and they were all very cute. I was partnered with Annabelle and Lauren to teach that day. We prepared 3 lessons( made folders, drew pictures for the 1st grade kids at SFC, sang songs,). Hours later, we all shared our VBS stories to the students and sang "my light house". At the end of the day, we all hung out with kids: played volleyball, made bracelets, jump rope. Around 6:30 we went back to the hotel and ate McDonald's for dinner!

Church Day

There was one moment during church when all the Indian people were singing "hallelujah" and all their voices were so perfectly harmonized and it was so beautiful. I was nearly moved to tears.
After a really yummy lunch we played with the boys upstairs and it took a while to get everyone out of their shells but we played ninja and marbles and it was very fun.
The most fun part of the day, though, was going to the park and playing soccer/volleyball with the boys. Not only did it feel amazing to actually get some exercise, but the air of childlike peace and joy that enveloped all of us was refreshing as well. 

Shopping Day / Dance Part

Yesterday was a full day.  The first real event was the boys being late for breakfast.  This meant that I was super tired in the morning because Joey woke me up without warning and I fell out of my bed.  After our breakfast (which was quite good) we hopped in the Grace Home van and drove to the market place to do our shopping.  I enjoyed bartering with the shop owners and picked out some cool gifts and other things for myself.  After the market, we headed to Grace Home for the first time.  As we walked in, we were showered with flowers and the kids sang a song to us.  It was a unique and beautiful moment.  We proceeded to meet all the kids, and play a variety of different games with them, like ninja and the ABC game. We left Grace Home after a couple of hours of hanging out with the kids, and went straight to our friend Vikram's house for some great homemade Indian cuisine and a dance party that made our school dances look silly.  Today, our group got just a taste of the wonderful experiences that lay ahead of us.

Travel Day

We are officially safe and sound in India! Traveling was a long adventure but it was so much fun! I saw so many new things and it was so exciting to see another part of the world! It was incredibly long but we have so many fun and different adventures ahead of us that it made traveling that much more memorable! In the Hong Kong airport, all of us Americans were walking forward on the right side, and we were oblivious of the huge crowd walking in the other direction so we defiantly stood out! All and all it was a smooth but tiresome traveling day! I look forward to all these adventures that await us in India!!

Safe and sound in India. Travel was long but easy. Made it through customs no problem and found pastor John with ease. Drove to our hotel and everyone is in rooms hopefully sleeping. Made it to hotel at 3:30 am. Not bad. 

Will hopefully get some kids to share about traveling in the morning. Let's hope for some sleep. 

We are safe and sound in Hong Kong. Long flight and feels great to get off and stretch our legs. Getting some food and probably a walk before we head to INDIA. 

Team is doing great and excited to be together. 

We ARE LEAVING SOON

We are headed to India very soon. We need everyone at SFC at 3:30 am. That's right. 3:30 am. Please don't be late. We need to leave very soon after that. And can't be waiting around.

See you Bright and Early....or just early.