Home Visits And How They Have Changed My Life

My first trip to Kenya was life-changing. It was four girls heading to Africa having a plan to spend the entire time at an orphanage delving into the lives of the kids. One of the team, Joy, was Kenyan and we would be joining her parents there to do ministry with them. This was the plan until the day before where we learned we could no longer to go the orphanage. Our entire trip changed and God took over the details. Because of this, we were able to visit a village in the middle of nowhere bringing food and other supplies to needy families in the bush. The above picture shows Mrs. Kaleli (Joy's mom and a woman who I also now call "mom"), Joy's cousin, Joy, me, Maria and Liz with one of the families we visited. It was my favorite experience there; tromping through the African bush to bring food to these families deep in poverty. There was nothing like seeing dirt covered children dressed in rags nervous of our white skin. Looks of hopelessness were already filling some of their eyes as they realized the difficulties of life at such a young age. I will never forget the look of gratitude in the eyes of the parents as they realized that they would have food for at least the next week to give to their children. As I’ve shared many times, that was the trip that God poured His love for the people of Africa in and through me. I knew that my life would change forever knowing that I couldn’t just go back to America and live a white picket fence life with a husband and 2.5 kids living the American dream. I couldn’t walk away from what I’d seen. I had to do something to help. My life would never be the same again and I knew it.

That was five years ago.

Such experiences years ago make home visits one of my favorite things about living here in Uganda. There’s much that I love that Hope Alive! does but the most incredible thing to see is the relationship between the mentor and their children. Children aren’t a number in our project but instead, each child has a mentor who visits their home at least twice a month to see how they are REALLY doing. They invest in their spiritual life as well as seeing that they’re taken care of physically. Each mentor has about 10 kids that they mentor and care for. It’s personal. And I love it. Though I’ve gone on numerous home visits in Kampala, I’d never been able to go at our other sites. That is, until this past week.

The three of us girls took a trip to Gulu this past week. Kate was starting a tutoring program for the kids and Kacie had a lot of nursing things to figure out and implement. I was along for the ride to help both of them in whatever they needed. The biggest enticement for me to come was that we would be able to do home visits, something I’d been dying to do in Gulu.
Though most of our kids were once close together in the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps, they are now spread out in the villages surrounding Gulu. Because they are so spread out, the Ugandans we traversed with were concerned that we would tire too quickly.

For the most part, all Ugandans think we’re crazy weak. This is mainly because we have a car and we drive places whereas they walk everywhere they do. Hence, they think we’re incapable of walking. Anywhere. Ever. They think we’ll tire too easily. Even when we tell them how many miles we run in the mornings, they just think we can’t do it. It’s become hilarious. Once we convinced them that we’d be able to walk without collapsing in exhaustion in the middle of nowhere, we were off.

Our first stop ended up being right near the feeding center that we have for our site. There we met this adorable elderly man who was caring for his four grandchildren, all who are sponsored through Hope Alive! He is nearly blind and is disabled making him unable to support these children. His son and daughter both died leaving him as the only caretaker for these children. He told us many times how much he appreciates what Hope Alive! is doing and how much it has made a difference in their life. His grandchildren get breakfast and dinner each day at our feeding center. I can’t even imagine where they would be or how they would be surviving without such help. There were many moments during our conversation with him that I had to hold back tears. He apologized numerous times that he had nothing to offer us as his guests. We insisted that being with him was all we needed. I know that, culturally, that had to be hard for him. In the midst of him sharing his heart, baby chicks were walking freely around the living room area while neighboring children occasionally looking through the door at all the visitors, especially those white ones. We left their house to visit more kids. Our Ugandan friends, Concy (mentor and asst. site manager) and two Michael’s (both mentors) tried to then encourage us to drive as far as we could to get to the next location as it was far. We again told them that there was no chance of us tiring and we went. Storm clouds were brewing in the distance so we picked up our pace. I couldn’t even tell you how far we walked. We went from the IDP camp to the main road and walked that for awhile. We branched off the main road onto a small dirt path taking us deep into the bush. As we walked, we passed many huts with naked children running around and mothers at work. Living in the crowded city of Kampala, I had desperately missed being in a place like this. It was refreshing!

At last, we arrived at Josca’s hut. Josca takes care of four of her own children but also seven (yes, SEVEN) children of her brother’s and sister’s who have all died. If I remember right, four of them are sponsored by Hope Alive! She alone cares for eleven children in her small hut. ELEVEN, people. Can you even imagine!? When I heard that, my first thought was, “Oh, this would just never happen in America”. One woman caring for 11 children? The woman would have her own dang show on TLC. It’s truly unbelievable. What was more surprising was the state of her little mud hut. Everything was in its place. Space was used creatively and efficiently. It was extremely tidy. This is truly a remarkable woman. Her eyes displayed her intelligence as well as her kindness. I was drawn to her and kept asking her questions about how she does what she does. While we were there, her mother came from a couple huts over to greet us. Daffine, the one in blue, is one of our sponsored kids as well as the one next to her who I forget her name. We were about to leave but she said that she had already started a meal for us. Her hospitality was overwhelming and humbling. Concy asked if it we were able to stay and we left it up to Concy. Concy had plans so we sadly had to leave and tell them we would be back another time for dinner. Since she could not give us a meal, she handed us a bag full of sesame seeds (called “sim sim” here). I left full of joy, admiration and…humility.

We went on more home visits the next day after spending the day at Saturday Club with all of the kids at the Gulu site. But really, this is long enough. I’ll stop with those two families but each family had their own story.

Being where I am and doing what I’m doing, I hear lots of stories. Everyone has been though such heart wrenching times in their life that it is overwhelming. Sometimes, the reality of the situation doesn’t hit me completely. Spending time with these two families, it struck me so deep. It helps me to go to their homes because I see how they LIVE. It’s not just a picture showing the poverty of the situation. It’s not just words on paper. I’m seeing their life and how they live day to day. It’s overwhelming. It’s heartbreaking. It’s…amazing. Seeing life change like this is…indescribable.

When I was in Kenya, I wanted to make a difference. I knew that a bag of flour would not make a long term difference and I wanted to be a part of something that would. God heard my prayers and visiting those homes showed me how He had answered me. I could clearly see the difference in their lives! I was seeing the effect of the family of God in the most beautiful way. There are times that I feel so undeserving to be a part of this. Why me, God? Why do I get to see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears how You’re working? I’m so honored. Often people ask me with how I could live here or say things like, “you’re so good” or “good for you”. Many times it’s in that “Oh heck, I could NEVER live in Africa so good on you for doing that” (which is seriously how I used to be). Oh, how little all of this is about me! That’s right, none of it is. I’ve said it a million times but…I’m the lucky one. I absolutely LOVE being here and being a part of God’s work here! There are times that His work just smacks me in the face as this trip did.

This trip was also monumental in another way. This was my absolutely first roach free Gulu trip!! Do I even need to tell you how exciting that is!?!? Every time I opened the door to my hotel room, I expected to see the scattered movement but it never happened. What a relief! I did have this fear that one would have gotten into my luggage just as a bit of torture for my life and appear here at the house. Kind of like, “you didn’t see us there but mwahaha, we came home with you!”. And then they’d twitch their nasty antennae, spread their wings and fly to divebomb my face. Because that’s just so what would happen. Did I mention that I have an active imagination, especially when it comes to insects? I swear I know their secret conversations and plans to ruin my life. But, no roach hid in my duffel bag and I was freeeee!

Now, how to get rid of that mouse in our kitchen…

Cute Moments

Since I work with kids, there's many moments that are just cute. They're usually hard to explain unless you know the child but I thought you'd appreciate them.

We have a Bible time with the different age groups during Saturday Club. A few Saturday's ago, I sat in with the lower primary kids. It was a rainy day which made everyone all the more antsy and distracted. In the midst of one of those extra distracted moments, I caught Agnes' eye. Agnes is one of our tiniest kids. She's not one of the youngest but she's just little! Her nickname by many of the kids is "Baby". She's also downright adorable, as you can see. The picture above was taken at our Fun Day after I painted her face. Cutest little kitten you've ever seen, right? With our eyes caught, I blew a kiss at her. She immediately clasped her hand on her cheek to show where the kiss had landed. I about melted to the floor.

During that same Bible session, there was another irresistibly cute moment. Meet Andrew. This picture was also taken on Fun Day after he got his face painted making him look more like a girl and taking away from the absolute cuteness that is Andrew. Just know, he's one of the sweetest and cutest boys ever. For real. Right after I regained my composure after Agnes' cuteness, I caught eyes with Andrew and winked at him. Most kids don't know how to wink here but it's been my determination that I WILL teach them all how to wink, cross their eyes and make a fish face. True essentials for life, I tell you. To my absolute surprise and enjoyment, Andrew winked right back! Two ridiculously cute moments in the span of five minutes was almost too much for me. It was all I could do to hide my reactions and not be even more of a distraction.

There's many times that I can't get over the adorableness (that's totally a word) of watching the kids worship God. They get so into it by clapping and dancing. Where so many are too self-conscious to do it (um, that'd be me), they dance with all their little hearts. Or when we pull up to Saturday Club and they all surround the vehicle pining to be the first that gets a hug. This usually ends up in a mass group hug.

For so many, I look at them in awe. I know their stories and backgrounds. And yet, they come with wide smiles and huge hugs. Through all that they've gone through, you see the incredible weight of responsibility that they carry. Kids here generally have a lot of responsibility in ways that we would never even think of doing in America. But, kids are still kids. It's moments like these that remind me of that.

I know that I'm forgetting about 5000 other cute moments but I'm tired and we're about to watch a movie and since it's Women's Day, I win. :) I'll try to keep this as a running topic though so I can share with you the other incredibly irresistible cute moments that I'm lucky enough to experience. Perhaps you'll fall in love with these kids just like I have.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

While I could list for you quite a few of my favorite things (the pumpkin pancakes I made this morning would be hitting near the top of the list), there's parts of my life here that truly amaze me. One of my favorite parts of my job (my official admin. asst. job, that is) is seeing the relationship that is developed between sponsors and their kids. For many, it's just a $35 check that they write each month. For others, it's a chance to develop a relationship with a child in Uganda and truly be a part of changing their life. Part of my job has me going through the packages that sponsors send to their kids. I crazy love it. I love that they even care enough to send a package full of goodies that they want to give their child. I love that they write letters to them, pray for them and LOVE them. Even better, I love reading the letters that the kids write back to them. Many of the kids refer to their sponsors as "mum and dad" because for many of them, it's the only mom and dad they've ever really known. Gets me all teary.

An example of this amazing relationship came into my Inbox this week. One of our sponsors sent Christmas gifts to her three children back in December. The box was returned to her since the post office here never notified us of it and they sent it back. She went to her local post office and the below happened. Her story warmed my heart and with her permission, I share it with you now in hopes that you're also amazed at how the love of Christ can pour through so many:

After struggling as to why God would not allow this package to be delivered to our sponsored kids in the first place, He answered that question yesterday in a unique way as He allowed me to do a little "advertising" for Hope Alive at the post office yesterday. After being there at noon and getting the full explanation as to why the package was returned and what it would cost me to send it again, (I had to pay for the postage of it being sent back as well as the postage to send it again.), I returned and asked to speak with the postmaster who was in on the noon conversation. When she came around the corner and I told her I had decided to resend the package, she looked at me and said, " You realize you have to pay $38.81 to get it back plus $56 to send it again?" "Yes, I realize that." "You are willing to pay nearly $100 to resend this package with no guarantees that it will arrive and not be delivered? Why? Why would you do that?" I then pulled the three pictures of our kids out of my purse and put them on the counter. " Here are the three reasons why. How can I not send it again? They are waiting for their Christmas presents from us". With tears in her eyes, she turned and gave instructions to the postal clerk. I then gave her a DVD of our trip to Uganda 2 years ago as to which she replied, " I will make sure everyone in this office sees this." Who knows...maybe another sponsorship or two will come of this. At least I got my answer as to why the kids didn't get the package the first time sent. Dunlap post office needed to see the ministry of Hope Alive!

Oh, sorry, do you need a tissue? Because I might. I LOVE her love for these kids. Please join me in praying that these packages will AT LAST get to her kids but that above all, these kids will see the immense love of Christ that is flowing through their sponsor.

Life change is something that's easily seen here. This child's life was once like this but NOW it's like THIS. This child hadn't gone to school in years because of lack of money but NOW they're back in school. This child never knew anyone loved them but NOW they know about a God who loved them so much He would die for them, plus they have a mentor who is involved in their life and BONUS: they have a sponsor who, though thousands of miles away, loves them as well. Sponsors shrink the distance between them and the children of Uganda by being a part of this awesome life change. And I, the lucky one, get to see it. I encourage you all to sponsor a child. I wish words could do justice for the difference that you will make in a child's life. In this way, I wish you could see what I see. Pray about it. Seek His face. And change the world for Christ, one child at a time.

Gulu: Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

Ahh, it’s been a MONTH since I’ve written. I’m totally kicking myself over this. I had been doing so well too! Blaaaast.

For this particular post, you’re going to need to do a couple things to really feel like you’re experiencing it. First, put Mat Kearney on your iTunes. Particularly the entire City of Black and White album but putting “All I Need” and “Fire and Rain” on repeat would be perfect and doing what I did for the entire trip. Now, put on three pairs of heavy socks, thermal underwear (top and bottom, please), three long sleeve t-shirts, a sweatshirt (or two, if you can fit it), sweatpants (snow pants would be a bonus), hat, gloves and a scarf. Or you could just turn the temperature in your house up to 95 degrees because that was the temperature of our hotel room in Gulu. Literally. Once you are covered in sweat from your head to your toes, start feeling the sweat drip down your body and wonder if you have the beginnings of heat stroke, you may proceed to the rest of the blog.

I had wanted to go back up to Gulu ever since we first went in August. At last, the chance came up again. The big difference is that we went in dry season. Not sure what dry season is like? Let’s go back to that whole 95 degrees in my hotel room deal. There’s no winter, spring, summer and fall here. It’s just rainy and dry season. Dry season is HOT, really really HOT. Also opposite from the States, the north here is hotter than the south.

Quick Uganda geography lesson for you: Kampala is south of Gulu. (See? You learn somethin’ new eveeery day)

Gulu is in the north. All that to say, it had been ridiculously hot in Kampala before we headed up to Gulu. I was nervous as to what Gulu would be like.

And for good reason.

We (Kate, Catharine, Al, Richard and I) piled into the Prado early Wednesday morning to head up north. The ride up was filled with naps (for me, at least), counting speed bumps, talking and games of “Would You Rather”. We reached Gulu around noon and the heat was stifling. We stopped first at our feeding center and greeted Shem (or as I call him, Shem Diddy Shem. He’s secretly ghetto, like me), our assistant site manager. Our feeding center is located in one of the IDP (Internally Displaced Peoples) camps around Gulu. Since the war is over, it’s emptied out considerably. There’s still half naked children that yell “Mzungu!” and run alongside your car with huge smiles when you drive through, but not near as many as there used to be. I even noticed a difference from when we came in August. We then drove to the church to greet Alfred, our site manager.

If you hadn’t noted, greeting is a big deal here. When anyone enters a room full of people, you go around and shake hands with each person and ask how they’re doing. Quite different than the American “hello” that encompasses the entire room and takes some getting used to.

Our trip to Gulu was not one filled with cute kids but instead, meetings. While I’m not a fan of meetings, especially all day ones, they were much needed. As stated, the situation in Gulu has changed considerably over the years. Whereas before, all of the kids were together in the IDP camp, they have now all scattered into various far reaching villages. In ways, this is great! There is at last peace and the children are free and safe to be in the villages. However, it makes what we do as Hope Alive! more difficult. One of my favorite things about Hope Alive! is the active involvement in the child’s life. Each child has a mentor that visits their home, gets to know their life and helps them spiritually. With the kids so far out, it makes it difficult for the mentors to visit them. There’s also not as good of schools far out in the village. We had come to discover that one in a fun way. Shem had gone to visit a school one day and discovered that only one teacher had decided to show up that day. He visited a different school another day only to find out that they had only taught one math lesson the entire year. Seriously, can you even imagine!? Clearly, we needed to change some things around with what schools our kids attend and how to reach them best.

It was fun seeing this logistics side of things, especially hearing Alfred and Shem brainstorm over the best possibilities. The longer I’m here, the more I realize how little I know. With two trips to Kenya under my belt, I came to Uganda thinking that I had at least a small grasp on the culture. Oh, how wrong and naive I was. I had always heard about cultural layers but didn’t truly understand it until now. I’ve only been here for seven months and feel like I still know nothing in comparison to the vast amount of cultural knowledge that there is. Sitting listening to the wisdom of Alfred and Shem showed me how much cultural understanding makes such a difference. Part of my job also has me sitting in on the Hope Alive! Advisory Board meetings. The board is full of people from a variety of backgrounds that understand the culture in such deep ways that help us know how to do what we do best. I can’t imagine doing anything here without Ugandans. That may seem obvious but obviously many try to separate themselves. I am so lucky that we get to work with the amazing people that we do. I am especially lucky that these people have let me into their lives, are ok with me asking lots of questions, not understanding things and doing lots of things wrong (especially their traditional dance. I do that really really wrong).

We got a lot of things worked out in Gulu and I can’t wait to see how it makes a difference in the lives of the kids. Though we had meetings during the day, we had fun at night. I had wanted to go up to Gulu with Richard at some point since he’s from the North and it would just be so much more fun. We watched Shem play basketball at nights. Kate joined in one night while I opted to read (“Shake Hands With The Devil”. Amazing) AND cheer at the same time. I’m a woman of many talents. Clearly. Nights were also a time of much prayer. Every night when I went to bed, I prayed (begged?) that God would keep the electricity on so that the fan in my room would keep going. Even with the fan, I woke up numerous times each night swimming in pools of sweat. The last night, God decided to show me why He chose hell to be hot instead of cold. I’ve thought in depth about this. If you’re too cold, you die. If you’re too hot, you SUFFER. I get it, God. I do. Really. But, I apparently hadn’t REALLY gotten it. That last night, the electricity went off at 2:30am and never turned back on. I was awake when it happened and was then awake the rest of the night…sweating…profusely…tossing…turning…begging. My little battery powered fan helped some but couldn’t do the work that was needed. Are you still wearing those heavy layers of clothes? It’d really help me if I knew you were suffering like we did. J

Pray for Gulu. Pray for the leadership there, from the site directors to the mentors; that they would honor God in ALL they do and lead with integrity. Pray that God would fill their hearts with love for the children. Pray for the kids that they would desire to honor God in ALL they do, including their studies. Pray that they would not just see what’s happening in their life now but would look to the future and see how the choices that they are making now will effect the rest of their lives. Pray that I would continue to work through the layers of this culture and in turn, love the people even more.

Peeling Onions

I love onions. They add such a great flavor to every dish (even if my roommate doesn't believe it). Chopping them, however, is my least favorite thing. My eyes start to sting to the point that I can no longer keep them open. I squeeze my eyes in pain while tears form. Is it worth it? I give it a resounding "YES!"

I've been in Uganda now for almost seven months. As I've mentioned before, there is a community culture here, not individualistic. Relationships mean more than anything. But, as with every relationship, it deepens when you go through the layers. I feel as though I'm finally at the point in many relationships here that the layers have been peeled away and a true relationship exists. Seriously, there's this love in my heart that just wants to gush out! God put His love in my heart for the people of Africa 5 years ago. Now, I can look to specific people and friendships and have this overwhelming God-love for them. With every relationship, you start surfacey. The "how are you" and "what have you been up to" type questions. With some, there comes a point where deeper questions begin. There's a genuine care and love. There's a relationship being formed. There's also specific situations that melt my heart. Let me give you some examples.

I look at the friendships that God has provided me here. There are so many incredible God-serving people here that challenge the MESS out of me. I see them as they serve our King and I'm just amazed. As I've gotten to know so many better, I've been able to go deeper with them. Layer by layer.

Those Bible study girls. Gosh, I love them. Seriously. I look at them and love fills my heart. The more we are together, the more I realize how NO ONE else has attempted this before. No one else has tried to speak truth into their lives. No one else has tried to answer their questions. No one else has cared enough to...which is just baffling. These are GREAT girls. I see how God put these girls on Shammah and my heart. I see His timing. I see His incredible love for these girls. I see their life situations and my heart is broken. However, I see their potential and I cannot WAIT to see how God's going to revolutionize their lives. God has filled me with a love for these girls that I can't even describe. As we've discussed everything from our own personal lives to family to friends (and this Wednesday, boooys!), their questions have gotten deeper and deeper opening us into their lives more. I have seriously been amazed by their questions. I love that they feel free enough to ask. It's even led to some huge openings; deep and honest conversations. It's is my absolute honor to even be involved in these girls lives. Layer by layer.

And then there's those heartbreaking situations. I've truly held back on this blog on many things mainly because I don't want to exploit these kids or manipulate you as my readers. It's a hard line for me. However, I know that you pray for these wonderful children and such details help you to pray for them.

With my job, I get to know every circumstance of every child. There's no words to describe this. Reading these often makes me want to sob. Knowing that we're able to make such a difference in their lives is an honor. We recently had three new kids join our site here in Kampala. Their first day at Saturday club, I almost wept. Literally. For Saturday Club, I always wear my most casual clothes since we play games and run around with the kids. A lot of the kids dress up to come as it's a special thing for them to come to. The newer ones especially do this. These particular new ones came for our Fun Day. There I met Lawrence. He stood out as he was clearly wearing the absolute best clothes that he owned: a tattered button down shirt that was once white, navy dress pants that had been worn to threads and black dress shoes. Amidst the water balloon games and tug of war, he proudly wore his best. This was such a big deal for him. He knew his life was going to change drastically and he dressed accordingly. His timid smile revealed how nervous he was. I wanted to sit down and weep at the site of him. I knew what him and his sister had been through.

The third new one has a particularly heartbreaking story. Her parents have both died from AIDS and knowing her age, she had to have watched them die a terrible death. She was then sent to one of her uncles who sexually abused her. An aunt then took her in to spare her the constant abuse only to add her own. How we came to hear about her was because the aunt came by the office to give her to us. She no longer wanted to "deal" with her. After realizing that we provide sponsorship but don't house the children, she decided to keep her knowing that the child's school fees and more would be paid for. The girl is 14 years old. Can you even imagine what her self-esteem is after this? I've seen her thrive in these past weeks. She's gotten involved in Hope Alive! as well as the church. She is one that I always make sure to talk to every time; hugging her, letting her know how happy I am to see her and telling her that she is beautiful. She IS so beautiful. Reading her information sheet made me tear up. Such a sweet precious girl with loads of talent and a beaming smile.

Peeling an onion layer by layer can be like relationships. Sometimes it's painful and it stings. Each layer leads us to the core and though painful and difficult, it is WORTH it. I have been so honored to not only be here but to be allowed deeper into the layers of many people here. The more layers, the deeper the love. They each add such flavor to my life.

Right now, I hate that I have a time limit here. Though I have a year and a half left, it doesn't seem like long enough. I don't ever want to leave this place or these people. How did I get to be so lucky to be here doing what I love? Ah, can't wait to see what more God has in store...

Leadership Corps Worship

For some reason, our internet here does NOT like to upload videos to facebook. I have all these great videos to show from my time here but error messages abound and it doesn't like to work. I was hoping it would work on HERE. So, let's try this out. :)

This video is from August!...or September. SO LONG AGO. Each site at Hope Alive! has a Leadership Corps made up of those at that site that are, well, leaders. They get extra leadership training and are seriously amazing. In August (or September...I really need to check), we had them ALL come to Kampala for a Leadership Corps conference. It was SO great to meet all of the kids, see them interact as they discovered cultural differences and see how God is working in their lives. Their last night here, we all met at the head office for dinner and a end of the conference meeting. It started to DOWNPOUR like I've never seen here before. Instead of being bummed that they were all stuck inside, they started to worship God. This is one of those "this would so never happen in America" moments. These are all high school kids who are dancing, cheering and praising God.

At the end, they turned on us...HA! I think they were wanting to put us on some shoulders like they did with those mentors. I think I disappeared upstairs for a bit after that to avoid that... :)

It was my honor to be there and witness this. I hope you can get a glimpse at the love for God that these kids have.

Killer Death Ants and Me: Worst Combo Ever

First, come on, blogging three days in a row!? Is this a record? My New Year’s resolution is starting off AWESOME. Let’s hope I can keep this up. J

We all know those people that things just happen to them. Crazy situations abound and the only answer is, “well of course, this stuff only happens to YOU!”

Hi. I’m one of those. Jill Walker, you’ll also especially appreciate this since you’re one of those as well. For all those others who are one of “those”, I hope you also appreciate this.

As blogged previously, I climbed Mt. Sabinyo last Monday. The most memorable part of the climb was not on the way up but, in fact, on the way down. We had almost reached the bottom of the mountain when our armed guard guy stopped to point something out to us.

“Here, you see the mobile insect. It is very very dangerous.”

(Mobile is pronounced like a mobile phone, not Mobile, Alabama. That’s for all you Southerners out there. J)

I had never heard of such an insect. My mind pictured some grossly large insect that he would point out at a distance that, knowing my luck, would probably dive bomb my face. When I got up to where he was, he pointed down to the ground where I saw a line of what I thought were ants.

Me: “These don’t look thaat bad-ooooh, I see.”

They looked like normal ants until one got a closer look to see the scorpion like pinchers on their head.

“Ah, yeah, I can see how those would hurt. Let’s keep going, shall we?”

We continued to walk on until…

“Um, OW!”

The sharp stinging pain on my thigh told me that something was amiss.

*shriek* “Ooww!”

Then came my knee.

Then the back of my thigh.

A quick look into my pants revealed my worst nightmare. The mobiles (aka. Safari ants) had made their way up INTO MY PANTS.

Let me set this scene for you real quick. I’m in the middle of nowhere Uganda on a mountain. I am with three men: the armed guard guy, the porter, and my fellow missionary Al. I have killer pinching stinging ants all up in my pants.

As the stings continued throughout my body, all I wanted to do was to scream and strip off all of my clothing to rid myself of each one of these torturous insects. Let’s go back to that whole being with three males thing. No can do. Every time that I thought I had gotten rid of them and we kept walking, another would strike. Every new look would reveal more that were climbing, stinging and pinching their way up my body. Though they were mainly on my legs, they stung their way through my stomach, arm and more. I would literally have to rip them off my body as their pinchers had sunk in to my flesh. The further we went, the more I began to wonder about the guard’s “very very dangerous” comment.

“Um, so exactly how dangerous are these things? Like, are they poisonous?”

Translation: Am I going to die!?

Armed guard guy (I somehow never got his name) was vague on exactly how they were dangerous. If the “only” danger was the extreme stinging pain that was crossing my body, then I could deal. If I was about to die in the middle of a mountain from venomous scorpion ants, I wanted to be prepared for that…not that I could really prepare but it would have been nice to know if death were near.

At one point, my porter walked me off the trail and said something to the point of, “check yourself”. He spoke little English making moments like that funny…only I wasn’t quite at the laughing stage. The guys were off somewhere and I took that moment to quickly search if any remaining torture agents remained. I didn’t see any but wanted to wait until I was in serious privacy before an extensive search happened. I could just see, after all that, some other random hiking group happening upon me as I “checked” myself.

I couldn’t find a picture of “my” kind of death ant. The one below will give you an idea. Mine were smaller, brown and had a more defined scorpion look. When I’ve asked my Ugandan friends about this, they all express concern about the danger of the ants and the pain. Apparently the kind that attacked me are the ones that they are more familiar with. You can also read wikipedia’s article on them which, at one point, states that “there have been reported cases of people—usually the young, infirm, or otherwise debilitated who could not escape—being killed and eventually consumed by them, often dying of asphyxiation” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari_ants). Encouraging, right!?

So whenever you’re feeling down about your life and wondering why things can’t be better, hey, at least you don’t have thousands of death ants wanting to consume you. And, at least, you’re not the lone female in a group of men getting attacked my killer death ants. Your day is totally already better. Trust me.