I haven’t been terribly clear on what daily life has been like here so I figured that I should give a weekly schedule of sorts. Let me preface this with that no day has been the same since I’ve arrived and often times the plan for the day has been thrown out the window.

Mondays: Boones work Saturdays so they take Monday off instead. They have “family day” so usually they spend the time together or go on a family outing. I usually take a half-day, mornings are spent doing admin type stuff, then the afternoon is mine. Usually I’ll spend time in town trying to catch up with friends or I grab coffee somewhere. I’ll likely start doing some language learning on these days.

Tuesdays: Workout early in the morning, Quiet time and prayer with Jeremy between 8-9. At 9am I go into Masese and pray (for the people, the ministry, that God will be glorified and known, etc), at 10am there is a group of 30 women that meet with Tamara (Jeremy’s wife) and another woman, they lead them in the Word and then speak with them about the beaded necklaces they’ve made and then purchase them from the women to sell the necklaces in the states. This has provided these women with jobs and an income (which allows them to support their large families). All these women have come out of terribly hard situations like prostitution, alcohol/drug addiction, or only able to provide for their family by picking through trash, etc. But now they have bank accounts, savings, and are completely able provide for their families. It has been great to be able to slowly get to know these women and I’m looking forward to more involvement with them.

Why am I attending the all women’s group? Great question! Well our hope is to have these women transfer into Ugandan based employment. We are not entirely sure what it will look like, but we’d like them to either find other jobs or with their savings start their own business, since US-based necklace sales might not be sustainable. So I’m to begin researching possibilities and then meeting with them in order to hopefully help them develop and determine long-term job possibilities.

Wednesdays: Mornings tend to vary after working out and Quiet time/prayer. The afternoon is filled up with a Community Health Group meeting. The Community Health Group is a group between 5-15 people during a given meeting, they are all volunteers (in that they are not receiving anything or getting paid to come and they want to develop their community for the better). We meet in the late afternoon and Jeremy usual leads them in the Word, and then tries to direct them in vision casting for the future or with some health teaching/initiative.
Wednesday evenings there is a Bible Study that I go to with about 8-10 others around my age and it has been a great blessing to spend time with others in the Word and encourage each other in prayer.

Thursdays: After working out and Quiet time/prayer, Thursdays tend to be a catch up day. Anything that was put of during the week I try to get done, or I try to prepare for anything in the up-coming week, like research, prep work, or meetings. At 5:30 pm there’s basketball and a great group of guys get together to play till about 7pm.

Fridays: After our usual morning routine, I’m going to start leaving the rest of the morning, 10am-lunch, open for language learning. I’ll be learning Lugandan (which seems to be the predominate language spoken around this area), but I’m also hoping to learn Karimojong (which is a large population of Masese), but that’s a little farther down the line. Friday afternoons are similar to Wednesdays where we have the Community Health Group meet and there is a similar agenda. This last Friday I was asked by Jeremy to lead, in preparation for something that will be taking place this coming Wednesday.

Saturdays: Are usually a lot more laid back. I take a half-day and get admin stuff done in the mornings and then usually take the afternoons off. Since getting here I’ve liked to use this time to see other ministries that are taking place around the area.

Sundays: Are wonderful! Church in the mornings and then usually a nap or book in the afternoon and a movie or something fun at night.

Like I mentioned at the beginning, this is really just a rough estimate of my days. There hasn’t been a single day that has been the same, but I really like the flexibility. It’s been wonderful to be learning as I go and to get more plugged in as time passes. Over the last month I’ve really tried to be a learner, and just develop relationships. Yesterday (Saturday), I had a wonderful time with Elijah (a guy around my age), who I think is going to be a future leader in Masese (I think he already is one actually). It was really great to spend time with him and hear his heart for his community. He also had a really encouraging word from God for me, which only strengthened my belief that this is where I am called to be.

Prayer requests/praises:
-Mariko is doing incredibly. It truly was a work of God in his life. And he knows it. It’s a very long story but God has done an amazing work of healing in his life, and we are praying for more. Thank you for your prayers! Continue praying for the family though as they still have been dealing with some incredibly hard circumstances with other family members.
-Fundraising: I’m praying that I can return by August, but in reality I am not sure when it will happen. It is currently a very big  ?  All in God’s timing and I can rest in the knowledge that he has it under control.
-I’ve been heading up the planning for a short-term team to come into Masese and do a health/jigger removal outreach. We’ll be doing it on Wednesday. And we need prayers that it will go smoothly and that God will be glorified in it. There are a lot of intricacies in dealing with Masese, and we really don’t want to do anything that is harming in the long run. So please pray.