Nyero (laughter)

So until now I have only really been sharing what has been occurring while I have been in Uganda. I have not really sat down and shared the personal affect it is having on my life and I think it is something some of you might be interested in.

This trip has meant the world to me. To be able to see, meet, play, and spend time with the kids I work so hard for. To see the smile on their faces, to see the beauty in their eyes. I love observing them play from afar when they don’t quite realize I am watching. I am able to observe their innocence; I am able to see them actually be children. A child running up to hold my hand has never meant more to me than it has since I have been here. I can just be walking and next thing I know I have 10 children surrounding me trying to just hug. Obviously, not all of these kids our DMP kids, or even non-program kids for that matter, they are just kids who think its weird to have some fair skinned, blonde hair, blue eyes girl in their village.

I have never witnessed and observed so much love for life as I have here in Gulu. Many of these people have experience and witnessed more in life than I can ever imagine. Yet, they smile real smiles, genuine smiles more often than most people I have met in my life. I see men and women walking down the street, wounded from war and they greet me with beautiful smiles and genuine eyes. I met a landmine victim today, he could not have been over the age of 25, and he had lost both legs. When I was introduced to him he shook my hand firmly, with pride, and the most beautiful smile I had seen. I hope that if I can bring anything back with me from my experience here in Uganda it will be a further love for life.

These kids, all the kids that I am around regularly both DMP kids and non-program kids continue to amaze me on a daily basis. They get enjoyment out of the small things in life, and it is something I am really appreciate. I am doing more for these kids than just helping pay their school fees or provide art supplies for them, I am becoming a friend. Someone that they can trust and count on and it is perhaps the most amazing feeling in the entire world. I didn’t realize what impact this trip would have on me, but the impact is astronomical. I am seeing that there are many universal things in this world and one of them is kids. We were walking back from a school yesterday and kids were racing down a hill, running as fast as they could, some without shoes on with the biggest grins on their faces you could ever see. I remember doing that as a kid, feeling the wind on your face and the grass between your toes. The most important thing I have really seen while I have been here is the power of laughter. Nothing feels better than laughing, it is probably the best feeling in the world and the most beautiful sound you could hear. Childrens laughter especially brings a special smile to my face. I love to laugh with these kids, and they love to make me laugh and most importantly they love to laugh at me. They love to laugh at my scrapped up leg because I don’t know how to walk, or my attempts at trying to learn Luo. But I love that I can make these kids laugh, because it helps them be kids, if only for a minute. And what is best, is I am laughing all the time, at myself most of the time but it is the best feeling in the world. The best it has ever felt to laugh in recent memory.

That is a bit of what I am feeling and experiencing while I am here in Uganda. So remember to love life, watch kids be kids, and most importantly laugh. Lead with your heart and follow closely behind with your head. (yes I know Aunt Trish, it is opposite of what you always tell me, but it seems to be working good since I have been here)