I spent CHRISTmas down in Africa!

I don't have any deep insight or something really spiritual I want to process, but I wanted to share with you my African CHRISTmas experience!

The housemates and I (we are now only 3-our dear friend Kaylee left several days ago...) had a little sleepover in our living room and watched about 2 minutes of the movie CHRISTmas Story before we all fell asleep. It was actually chilly last night, a brisk 60 degrees ;) Woke early as we still had nursing rounds to do. After work and playing with the kids who were of course psyched about CHRISTmas (that is an international response, I think), headed to a missionary family's house for breakfast and some gifts. All the missionaries went in together for our gifts and bought us each manicures and pedicures. I've never been so excited for the prospect of clean feet.

Then off to church where we sang traditional American CHRISTmas carols, but also got to dance to African-style! I want to try to bring some of that into my Baptist church at home ;) It rained the whole time! Everyone was dressed up in their CHRISTmas best (although for some, like me, my best meant not already dirty), and everyone also got full of mud! After church, had delicious meal of roast beef (which we all watched get slaughtered 3 days prior), rice, matoke (steamed bananas) and "happy birthday Jesus" cake. The past several weeks we've all pitched in to create CHRISTmas bags for each of the kids with gifts just for them, and we got to hand them out. That was my favorite part of the day! My teammates and I each were surprised with a small gift bag too! I got a hat which is way too cool for me, a stuffed dog (more my pace), body wash (needed that!), lotion, and a piece of candy. Fun to watch the kids open their bags and play with the gifts we choose for them :)

Got to have some housemate-time and open gifts from one another. I got an African style dress made for me, along with jewelry! They are all beautiful and I cannot wait to try them out tomorrow at church! Also got lots of dark chocolate, which promptly went to the freezer for later use.

Finished the night up with a Cranium match between all the missionary families, which we just barely lost. Bummer. The Single-Ladies-Family just needs some more practice, then we'll be unstoppable! Now we're all on computers trying to get in touch with the outside world, listening to CHRISTmas music, just trying to make it last a little longer :)

It doesn't feel like CHRISTmas really, so although I miss my family, it feels like we're just faking CHRISTmas here. I think if there was just a little snow, I'd be homesick like crazy!

BLESSINGS to you as we celebrate the huge gift and sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us :) Love and very warm thoughts to you from Uganda :)

Processing the Tragedy

Over the past 5 days we've had difficulty with our internet connections, and I have not been able to process some pretty heavy things which have been happening here. I've been begging computers from my housemates so I could process a little bit via blog. So welcome to my mental madness :)

4 days ago I was caring for a routine injury in the clinic when I received word that a kid was at the gate with injuries, "bleeding everywhere." So, nurse I am, I got all excited to see something different! I accompanied a few other missionaries to the gate where we found a 10 year old boy from the village who was bleeding and crying, obviously very upset. My "excitement" for the event quickly died out. A beaten kid was not my idea of a thrilling, new experience.

This is the story as I was told by the young boy. His mother lives in Kampala. She came that day on a motorcycle, arrived at the home (the boy lives with his grandmother), grabbed a big stick and without a word, started beating this boy. He goes to school at GSF, and when his mother grabbed a panga (a machete), he ran to us. Our guard at the gate was the first to see him, and he told me later that he had blood dripping from his nose and mouth and was sobbing. His mom beat him and threatened him with a huge knife. His MOM.

I started with his head which was bleeding and moved down to make sure there was no injury to his spine. As I moved my hand down his back he cried out in pain. When I lifted his shirt to see his back, I found 8-EIGHT-beat marks all over his back. So, I had to assess the rest of his injuries. He had large marks from the beating with the stick on his head, across his left eye, on his right calf, both upper arms, left forearm, plus the 8 marks on his back.

He is the first kid I've cried over.

My housemate Kaylee and I walked him to the clinic to give him care. As we walked, we said to him "you are safe here." And he said back to us, "I know you will take care of me."

Following we had a long investigation-police report, warrant for the mother's arrest (who had already escaped and gone back to Kampala) and physical check up from a government doctor. A long process, filled with complications. The boy is still staying with his grandmother, and is improving with each day. Yesterday he came to my house just to say hi and the favorite, play games on my phone. I didn't know it the first day I met him, but he has a BEAUTIFUL smile :)

As if that isn't enough to process, yesterday we had another crisis. In the afternoon I heard a commotion outside our house. When I went out to investigate, a grown man was restraining one of the kids from GSF who is known as a trouble maker. The kid was screaming and thrashing around. Two other men came to restrain him because he was biting and kicking everyone within reach. Three grown, strong men had to hold this kid to keep him from hurting someone. We all watched this unfold for 15 minutes or so, standing by to assist as they needed it. Finally, they asked for a sedative. So Mere and I got an intra-muscular injection ready and I gave it to this kid. This hurting, 10 year old. He screamed and struggled for a while longer, and finally settled in 2 minutes.

There have been things that I've done in my very short medical career that I have not liked, but this was terrible. To hear this kid who I've grown to love, I've played soccer with, laughed and cared for-to hear him scream and writhe. It was terrible. I got my job done, but it shook me. I had to go for a run afterwards, just to release.

Things never slow down here! Even now I've got three girls around me-one asking for meds, another for a bandage, and another just wanting to chat. I've been trying to write this blog all day! So I better go-things are never go to slow down ;)