Year One in Uganda

Hello family and friends,

The end of July marks one year since I moved to Uganda! I'm so thankful for the part you all have played in supporting me financially, through prayer, and continued messages of encouragement. I am truly grateful for this opportunity to serve with Amazima. It has been the most stretching, challenging, and growing season of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Thank you for your faithful support that has allowed me this opportunity!

I'm sorry that it has taken me a while to write an update. Term 2 has been very long and hard, and it's difficult to write an update when you're physically and emotionally exhausted. Thankfully, we have a two week break before the final fourteen weeks of school and I'm able to sit and reflect on all the challenges, successes, and growth over the past term. Even though it's been so overwhelming, I can see God's faithfulness so evidently.

June:

-Delaney moved out at the beginning of June to live with the Amazima's medical director, Michelle. It's been sad to not have her across the hall for our late night chats and prayer sessions, but thankfully she's still over at our house all the time .

-There were a series of break-ins throughout Jinja (one resulting in physical harm to a friend). One of my friends, Amy, was staying on her compound alone the week before she was planning to move. The day after moving Delaney out, I woke up to a phone call from Amy that her compound had been broken into. Delaney and I spent the day packing her up and moving her into my house temporarily until her new house was ready. We're so thankful she wasn't injured, but it was scary to think about her there alone while people were breaking into the house and stealing valuables in the front room of the house. Needless to say, we 've evaluated and updated our security. 

-We moved our new roommate, Aubrey, into our house the same week as moving Delaney and Amy. It was a busy week, but Ana and I are so thankful to have her as a roommate (and we're thankful for her dog Joy who serves as an added alert system, too😉).

July:

-Clubs started at The Amazima School - Primary for the first time. I am now in charge of the Science Club that meets from 2:45-4:00 on Thursday afternoons. It's been fun to work with some of the younger students at TAS-P and do some more "elementary" types of activities. We do a lot of fun activities, but the goal is to use the scientific method to teach the students how to think critically as they question, observe, experiment, and reason.

-The Amazima School - Primary held it's first ever concert on July 21. My students were so nervous to perform publicly. We encouraged, practiced, and worked with them so they would be comfortable and confident on stage. We saw so much growth in their abilities, but the day before the concert, over half of them told me they would not come. They were adamant that they would not walk out on stage in front of hundreds of people (all Amazima parents and staff) to embarrass themselves. However, on the day of the event they all showed up! They were so quiet and scared the whole morning until they went on stage. After their performance, you could see how relieved each student was. The picture on the left is my student Richard taking a selfie with Godfrey on my phone because he wanted to "photo the day" so they wouldn't forget it. 

-We decided to host Girl's Night at our home with the female staff from TAS-P. I'm so thankful for a safe, comfortable home where we can regularly host our coworkers. It's been really helpful in growing unity amongst our staff. We're from such different cultures and its important to be intentional at building relationships.

-The team that moved here together gathered to celebrate one year in Uganda. So thankful for each one of these wonderful ladies.

August:

-I don't ever want exams to be the sole markers of success for my students, but I am thankful that Term 2 Finals showed so much growth from each student. There have been questions as to how the Accelerated Education Program (AEP - for the older students at primary) should be run and what is best for the students and Brittany and I have prayed about and worked so hard to make AEP successful. I am thankful that beyond the growth I've had the opportunity to witness in each student, the tests also reflect growth in my students. We are far from achieving all of our goals for our program, but I am so thankful to see undeniable evidence of progress. 

-Last week I came home to find a chicken pecking the mirror in my bedroom. We had someone come that day to help with cleaning our house and we think a neighboring chicken snuck in while she wasn't paying attention. By the time we came home (6hrs later) it had left droppings in every room in our house. It was the first (and hopefully only) time I'd said, "Guys, there's a chicken in my bedroom, can you help me get it out?" 😆

Thank you for continued prayers, support, and encouragement this past year. Here goes year two!

💜 Jaci

*This Armor of God Bible Study has been so powerful over the past couple of months. I highly recommend this Bible study!