Warning...A few pictures are a bit graphic.

Clinic Day. 

Today I spent most of my day in the clinic with Nurse Tom and Nurse Betty. It's in this room, during these times, that I really realize how much pain these children are in. It's so easy to forget that they have severe medical issues going on. During the day their bandages cover their wounds, their pant legs are pulled down, they are running around, and laughing. But inside that room.. the bandages come off, the smiles disappear, and the pain becomes real. Children have wounds where their bones are exposed, they have ulcers that take up their entire knees, they have burns down their whole legs, pins stuck in their legs holding bones together, legs amputated, stitches down their sides, club feet, bowed legs, knocked knees, etc.

Through their dressing changes for their wounds you can see the pain in their face. The stinging feeling of the alcohol cleaning their wounds, the forceps entering in their open wounds to clean the insides, the twisting of the fixators in order to clean around the wound. But you rarely hear a cry. You rarely hear a complaint. They do this without pain killers. Without any numbing. It is amazing how tough these kids are inside that dressing room. It makes me think about how I cry when I have to get a splinter taken out of my finger. These kids tough it out because they see how blessed they are.

We have literally seen the lame walk again. We have see horrendous wounds be healed. We have seen incredible molding of bones in order to correct club feet. God has definitely blessed Acheru with a team comprised of many gifts. We see his miracles daily in the lives of these kids. 

I am learning so much about the medical side of Acheru. Today I even got to help cast a child with club foot! I've helped the nurses clean up after wounds . I'm going to the surgery hospital at some point. It really amazes me everyday. I even sat with the caregivers and made home-made cotton balls (which…if any of you know how I feel about cotton balls…they give me the heebie-jeebies).

Soon I will probably begin working with the teacher more regularly. Right now the Irish family who is here for two weeks, the mother has been working with Juliette. During this time I was able to do more observing and see medically how Acheru works. I can definitely say with confidence that the medical side is not my gift and I respect Nurse Betty, Nurse Tom, and Johnson very much for what they do daily. 

                                                     A few smiling faces ready for school.

                               A new wound. This boy had osteomylitis (the infection of the bone that weakens bones). They had to open his leg, scrap the dead bone out. This thing on his leg is called a fixator. It helps keep the bones in place.

Tom working on Moses.

                                                                              Homemade Cotton Balls!

  This is Kevin. She was burned on her left leg. It caused a contracture in her knee. She could not bend her leg and it was causing one leg to be longer than the other. They placed this contractor on her leg to extend the leg so the bones may continue to grow.

If we are not serving others we can in turn not grow in ourselves.

My first week in Uganda is complete and it has been a week of many different emotions. When I first arrived to Uganda I was in Kampala attending orientation for Short Term Missions. I got time to spend with my roommates (Emmy and Aaron) and met the team that they had been with for the past six weeks. It was definitely good to have time to settle in and adjust to time, but I also found myself becoming very anxious and was just ready to be settled into my new home at Acheru.

Wednesday I arrived at Acheru late at night, after waiting four hours for our ride (Africa time indeed!). I set my stuff down and Emmy and Aaron brought me down to the center for greetings. The second they saw our mzungu faces (white faces), we were swarmed with hugs and welcomes. What a great way to feel right at home. I came back in and set my room up. 

                                                                                   The grounds at Acheru

Acheru is quite a different environment than what I have been used to. It's quiet. Here there are only about 20 or so kids here at the moment receiving various forms of treatment. A lot of the kids here are being treated for a recurring bone infection called Osteomyelitis. This infection causes the bone to deteriorate. If not caught in time the bone may actually begin to puncture the skin and begin growing out. The kids here have received surgery where they place what is called a "Fixator" on their bones.  This helps to refuse the bone and help the bone grow properly. Other kids are being treated for club feet, where they cast the children's feet to mold them back to proper form. Though these kids have fixators or cast on their legs/feet it definitely does not slow them down. I am amazed every day at what these kids are able to do. One child in particular came to Acheru and was wheel chaired bound. He had a severe case of Osteomyelitis. Two years later he is still at Acheru but is one of the most energetic and active kids here. He is also incredibly smart and passionate about worshipping. 

               

                                                              Colin, John, and Frances

                                              Frances, Resty, Joanne, Lillian, & Olivia at School

Painted Nails!

It is also different here because these kids come to Acheru with caregivers. So there are many more adults around than I have been used to. This is an area of relationship building I would like to improve. It has always been easy for me to build relationships with the children. Its my comfort zone and where I go to. I would love to be able to spend time with their caregivers and get to know what life has been like for them, and what they have had to struggle with. Today I was able to spend time with the mothers by painting their toes/fingers. They all were so excited and then we began a photoshoot with them and their children. 

Colin and his mama

Frances and his caregiver Harriet.

Language is different here as well. At GSF everyone spoke english. Here people are coming from all over Uganda. There are people who speak Luganda (the language of central uganda) and people who speak achuele (spell check..?) which is a language from the northern areas, or Lau (spell check again..) which is another language from the north. Some but not every speak English. So naturally this makes it harder to build relationships with the caregivers. 

The staff here at acheru are another group I really want to build relationships with. They are the constant here. Kids are being discharged here and there, and kids are arriving here and there. The staff stays. They are my neighbors here. My first week I have been observing what each staff members does in order to get a holistic idea of what Acheru does. There are nurses, physical therapist, a teacher, a casting doctor, administration, a cook, security guards, a tailor, and other various jobs. I continue to pray for the building of these relationships. Some of these staff members I will be able to visit their home churches which will be a good time to get to know them!

Lastly, my job here in Uganda has changed a bit since arriving. Acheru is a very well established place. Really they don't need us mzungus here but they appreciate the help and welcome us with loving arms. Emmy, Aaron, and I have decided that we would like to travel around Uganda with our field leader Julie. Julie travels around Uganda assessing villages, providing trainings, and making home visits for places with children with special needs. I am excited to be able to be more of a hands on part of her ministry. Julie pretty much does it all on her own. Acheru will be our home base and we will spend most of our time here. 

With all this said, I have enjoyed my first week here and I am excited to see what will happen in the next seven months. I"m excited to see what relationships will come to be and what my role here in Uganda will be.

Prayer Points:

1. To continually leave my comfort zone and spend time with the caregivers. Building relationships there.

2. My relationships with the staff here at Acheru.

3. Upcoming travels- On august 13 we will be traveling to Kampala for some home visits. On the 16th I will head back to GSF for a few days! I am so excited about this trip! After that we will visit the village of our tailor here (James) and do assessments in his village. Later in september will we travel to western uganda and later we will travel up north to the Karamjoa people.

Made it to Uganda..

42.5 hours later, I have made it safely to Uganda…well not without a few hiccups. The morning leaving Dubai I got all the way to the airport when I realized I had left my laptop at the hotel. I scurried back through traffic and hopped back onto the shuttle before it took off again and headed back to the hotel. Luckily they had my laptop where I had left and I just barely made it back in time for the shuttle back to the airport. All I can say is …. God is good. 

I arrived into Uganda at about 1:00 and sat in line for my visa till about 2:00 but everything went smoothly. My luggage arrived, I found my taxi driver, and I got 2 hours of sleeping/settling in to the hotel before the team arrived. 

It was nice to see some familiar faces from the team that has been here since early June and to meet my future roommates. At this point I am really exhausted, missing home a bit, missing Neil, but excited to get to my new "home" and settled in there.

26 days..

Officially down to counting the weeks before I leave for Uganda. 26 days…that is all I have left here in the states before I venture off to Uganda for 7/8 months. July 28th I will step down back into the Entebbe airport.Thank you all to everyone who has supported me in your own way through my journey. It's crazy to believe it is has almost been a full year since I started this trek. This time last year I was getting ready to prepare to come back to the states and wondering if I would ever make it back to Uganda.  

I still have so much left to do to prepare for my trip. My mind is constantly racking with what I need to pack, documents I need to turn it, what I need to make photocopies of and how I am going to pack up my Greensboro life. I'm trying not to let it take over me. I still have 26 days left here to embrace friends and family. I still have  6 days left here in Mississippi to spend with Neil. It has been a good month here down in Mississippi. We were able to travel around Tennessee to see my extended family and see some of his friends from college. It was nice to get away for a bit. 

I'm anxious, nervous, excited, scared, and ecstatic all the time. It has been a real comfort to me to see pictures from those who are already over at Acheru. Seeing their photos reminds me of why I can't wait to be there…but at the same time I'm a nervous wreck with preparing to leave. 

Prayer points:

1. That I would remain confident in what the Lord has placed before me. Especially as the goodbye's begin. 

2. That my goodbye's will go smoothly. That I will feel okay with saying goodbye. Especially to family and to Neil. 

3. For Acheru. For the staff/family/children that are there now. For the Aafyo team that is there now serving amongst the Acheru staff. For Emmy and Aaron Brakhane (the couple that is at Acheru now and who will be living with me for 6 months). 

I was reading Emmy's blog the other day and I was reminded of a major point in being a missionary. Our reason for being there is not to "fix" a problem. Acheru has been and will be a self-functionary organization before, during and after my time there. I am not there to change anything…but instead I am there to be the hands and feet of God. I am there to learn and love.

This is what the grounds of Acheru looks like.

My family went rafting while in Tennessee. Quite the adventure!

Neil and I were able to visit friends in Nashville

My entire Family.

At the site of the 1996 Olympics for rafting.

A mix of emotions..

July 27th….my departure date for Uganda. With a set date here, I find myself with such mixed emotions. On the one hand I am so ecstatic about leaving. Returning to a place where I have felt such freedom and joy. A place where I know there are so many smiling faces that I can't wait to surround in massive loving hugs. A place that for a short period of my life I call home. On the other hand, I find myself becoming scared of leaving my home. 

Its been a hard week emotionally for me. I have had to prepare myself for goodbyes all week at work. Saying good bye to the kids I have invested four years of my life into. The co workers who have been there from the very beginning of my teaching career. It's always hard to say goodbye for summer, but this time it's for so much longer…possibly forever. I'm having to pack up my classroom and my house all at the same time. 

I called my mother and she instantly knew something was wrong. I've never been one that was a good at hiding when I've been crying. As she always does, she let me cry on the phone and comforted me in my sadness. Reminding me that though this is a scary transition (and no one can say its not), I know that I am following what I feel God has placed on my heart and these are the times where its imperative that we trust in Him.  That's really all I can do. I know these next two months are going to be one big whirlwind of emotions. I am anticipating many more nights where I call my mom freaking out, but I ultimately will calm myself down knowing that I am not alone in this. Not only do I have the support of so many people here, but I know God is right beside me giving me the strength I lack. 

Psalms 16: 8-10 " I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave."

The kindergarten class I worked in this year. What a crazy year we had, but I love each and everyone of these sweet faces.

Transitions and trust

22 days….22 days left until I am no longer a teacher at Lawsonville Avenue. When I started this journey to Uganda this date seemed so far away. Now it’s only 22 days until my first big transition: Unemployment. What a scary word! Unemployed?? For the past four years my work has pretty much consumed my life. It’s such a frightening word, but a freeing one at that. Unemployed….but not useless.  

Uganda has been on my mind a lot lately (haha..Who am I kidding? It’s always on my mind!). With so much to do and money to raise I find myself becoming more worried about the details of what NEEDS to get done and HOW I am going to do it, that I forget that I’m not the one in control of this. Yes, I have things like paperwork that I have to get done, but the ultimate end of how things will be completed is not in my hands. It’s during all of this that I realize how fully I have to trust in Him to lead me to my next step.

I keep thinking about my first day back in Uganda this summer. I stepped off the plane and said to myself “I am back home”. Everything was so familiar; the Entebbe airport the long ride to Good Shepherd’s, the red dirt roads lined by the green tea farms and sugar cane fields, the big white smiles of the children as they ran down the road screaming “MZUNGU!”, and the random (but not so random) sightings of couches tied up to bicycles traveling down the road. I can’t wait to get back to this place. I still have a long ways to go, and trusting that it will be come through is so hard. I have to remind myself every day that He knows the plans He has for me and I just have to remember I am working within His plan, not mine.

Prayer Points:

1. Acheru: for the families that are there right now, the children who are there receiving their treatments, for the staff who dedicate their lives to serve there.

2. Support. Financially and prayerfully.

Transitions. Within the next few months I will be transitioning out of school and out of working with my two clients. I will be moving away from the home and community I have lived in for the past 4 years.

Solomon.

Silas Frank

Baby Ben

Baby Leticia. She was about 9lbs when she came to GSF. From updated pictures she has gained so much weight!

School!

 

One of those kind of weeks..

Not a day goes by when I don't think of my time in Uganda. Some weeks are harder then others. This has been one of those harder weeks. Every night I find myself looking at my photos and missing these precious kids even more. Missing my daily trip to house 4a and hearing the squeals of those little boys as I walk into their house to say good morning. Missing my morning routine of sitting with Tom on the veranda as he pulls apart the grass, not knowing why he does but trusting that in this he finds joy. Missing the walk to school with Mark talking about what his morning was like and what we expect school to be like. Missing the afternoons spent on the vernada talking with the aunties and Joseph. Missing Moses following us around telling us to sit "here" and "here" and "here". 

I look forward to that day in August when my feet touch the Uganda soil again. I look forward to the day when I will see the red dirt roads ahead and the green of the sugar cane fields to the side, and hear either "mzungu" or "Auntie Emioooly" coming from the children who are running full speed ahead into my arms. 

I wait patiently with my arms wide open. Waiting to see where the Lord will lead me. Hoping that this path leads me back into this land where joy is found in the most unlikely places. Hoping that this path leads me into my home away from home. 

Everyday when I come home from work, I am reminded of how blessed I am. How blessed I am to be supported by such loving people. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who is and has been supporting me through prayer or financially for the last two years.

If you would like to know more about my trip and would like to support please email me at ebwatkin2@gmail.com for more information. 

Moses and Joseph

Mark and Kenny 

My hosue 4a boys on my Solomon's birthday.

My morning buddy, Tom

Birthday love from Auntie Marjorie

Two of my three boys. Solomon and Emma. My heart.