Last Wednesday I stopped by to check on Nalubega on my way to the Community Hall, her boys have been taken to a babies home, and she has really been struggling with depression toppled over by her huge health problems. I knocked and knocked on her door, there was craziness going on all around, a 20 year old woman had died in the room above Nalubega's that morning, and no one could figure out what to do with her body, so people were just coming and gawking...3 different Mama's were shoving their VERY sick babies into my arms begging for help...finally Nalubega responded and we opened the door to find her literally half dead in her room. She weighs maybe 65 pounds. We rushed her to the clinic to get on an IV, and then took her to Mulago Hospital - the largest government run free hospital in Kampala.

Thus began my greatest reality check to date...Mulago Hospital. It is as big, maybe even bigger than any hospital we see in the states, and looks like it is straight out of a horror movie. It is falling apart even from the outside. Nalubega was put in the HIV/TB positive ward, which upon arrival to I found tons of dying people laying all over the floors because there are nowhere near enough beds. They were laying in their own urine, feces, and vomit because there was only 1 nurse on duty for the entire ward. I found Nalubega shoved in a corner, completely untouched, laying on a torn mattress covered in bugs, with her own poop smeared across the floor. The sickness in the air was almost too much to handle, even with a mask it was really scary to breath. 

All I could do was buy her and her neighbors some sheets and blankets and food, set her up and come back in hopes of finding a doctor the next morning. Leaving her there felt like abuse of some kind to be honest. I was back first thing in the morning and have been every day since. She is not good, blood randomly pours from her nose and wells in her eyes. They are starting her on the highest dosage of treatment, which only means the sickness is about to reach a whole new level. 

I went to visit her boys at the orphanage they were placed in, I am the first familiar face they have seen since they arrived, so they grabbed on tight and didn't let go until I had the two of them sleeping in my arms for the afternoon. 

Today after football I was working on medical...Dr Everest has been teaching me how to really clean a wound, so today I had a go at a really bad one on this boys shin. I have to admit, I got a little dizzy and thought I might throw up for a minute when puss started pouring out of an inch deep hole in his leg...but we got through it and I have to say it felt like a real success in the end :) 


I go home in two weeks and I am starting to have severe anxiety about it. I can't wait to see all of my people at home, and I am definitely looking forward to some R&R state side style...but the only thing that is keeping me from falling into a complete mental breakdown about it is that I know I will be back really soon. Kampala, Kisenyi, have become my hearts home...

Things have been a little crazy around here the last few weeks...you know how the longer you spend in one place, getting to know the people and the way things work, your perception and understanding changes, grows, and evolves inevitably. Money rules in Kisenyi, crazy cuz there isn’t any. There has been some moderate to severe drama brewing between a couple of the men I do, and/or have worked with in my time here, and regardless of my best efforts to jump in and help facilitate reconciliation, things got a little out of control this week!! I have this awesome friend named Alex, who I met outside of Kisenyi, but he has come to my aid, and is always willing to step in and help. (It doesn’t hurt that he is enormous - 6’4, and the most respectable, and peacemaking Ugandan I have met.)

 So...Wednesday we went down to the Community Hall as usual. I sat in my normal spot  to work on the medical needs, and one of the older boys comes over and pulls his pant leg up, showing me his completely exposed knee cap surrounded by serious infection. Obviously completely out of my range of abilities, I grabbed his arm and walked him over to the clinic. I called out for the doctor, and one of the guys said, “The doctor will be very busy for the next 30 minutes.” I said, “Busy doing what? DOCTORRRRR....” - and out comes the doc, closing the door to the room with the beds aggressively behind him, shirt half unbuttoned. “GROSS.” (I put that in quotations because I really did uncontrollably say that out loud.)  He tried to shake my hand - no thank you sir. Anyways, he checked out the boys knee, we made a deal on payment for the procedure, and John Joshua (my own personal security guard) and I headed back to the Community Hall. 

All of the sudden, about 30 big, angry, mostly Muslim, African men start mobbing the Community Hall. John Joshua immediately jumps in front of me to protect me...(I seriously have never with that kid.) Three of them surround me and say, “We know who you are, we aren’t going to hurt you, but if you go inside you will get hurt, and you will definitely get robbed.” Ummmm, okay...but Kara was still in there, and the boys...I called Alex, he has been the translator and peace keeper through this whole ordeal for weeks now, and he was on a boda and there in less than 5 minutes. In that time at least 10 more men showed up, the entire place was surrounded and the energy was INTENSE. Kara came out and we decided it was time to get out of there. 

The reality of where the Lord has put me, and the possibility for serious danger and unrest became very, very clear this week. Here is the crazy thing though, it makes me want to be there, and take care of those kids about a 1,000 times more than ever before. I am not afraid, I have our Creator on my side...if God is for us, than who can stand against us?? I hate that I can’t trust a single person in Kisenyi, but then I remember that He asks us for complete and total dependance, surrender, and trust. I do hope that God ultimately gives me a couple of really good people to do this work with down the line, but for now He is all that I need.

This is Alex.

5 against 1 arm-wrestling...

...turned into a serious arm-wrestling tournament!

A little post football group stretching.

The one and only John Joshua :)