Today was so much harder than I
anticipated. I guess it didn't really hit me until today that I would
actually be leaving. I have been dreading going home. It's not that I will hate
America, it's that I won't like that I am no longer in Africa. Life is so
simple here. I have worn the same clothes for 3 months. It takes me 15 minutes
to roll out of bed and get ready. Everyone is so kind and loving and they don't
care what you wear, look like, or smell like. They just love. REALLY love you
and accept you just the way you are.The thought of taking an hour to get ready
seems so foreign and unnecessary . It felt like it was just
another day, going to lunch at Kapkwata's (our favorite
little restaurant) Going to Mbale Shoppers (our favorite grocery
store) but as the day progressed, I realized more that this is not just
another day, it is my last in Uganda. I may or may not
have had a breakdown in Mbale Shoppers...... don't judge. Then we went to
Namatala and I bought a necklace from sweet Martha. The children
surrounded me saying "Safe journey, Safe Journey" I
stopped by and said goodbye to my little friend Deborah, as she hung on my arm
and said "Let me go with you, let me go with you!" my heart was
breaking! I teared up looking around Namatala from the back of a boda,
listening to the children saying " Muzungu Muzungu" and waving for
the last time. This place has changed me so much in ways that are hard to
describe. As I watched the town pass me by on the way back I tried to soak
it in and take a mental picture of the moment. Then we came back and I had my
last meal made by Sam. And then of course had to say goodbye to him as he left.
With every goodbye of the day, my heart got a little heavier and it hit me that
I am really leaving. I am a different person than I was when I came. I
can't explain it. I just hope that I will not fall back in to the old me when I
get home and forget what I have learned and experienced here. I would like
to thank the makers of cadbury chocolate for giving me chocolate hope for
the long days, Pringles for giving me a taste of home, and of baby wipes for
providing me with a small version of a shower when I didn't have time or energy
for one.The people I have met, the things I have seen and experienced here have
changed my life. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to have
this experience getting to serve His children, even in small ways. I feel
selfish, because I have definitely gotten much more from the people of
Uganda than I ever could have given them. This is not goodbye
(I hate that word!) it is see you later. As much as I am looking forward to
having cereal and my other favorite foods back in my life, I can't wait to come
back to Uganda someday, see my friends, and maybe do some
more volunteer work. God be with you till we meet again
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