bug legs:)

Here in africa you say "Mulembay!" except you have to be real good at it because the first time practicing to see if i got the lingo, a little boy said to me in such a matter of fact voice "We understand english".... haha! "I mean.."  it cracked me up!

Africa has been amazing! I'm used to being here so things are more normal and aren't as crazy as I thought it was when we first got here!  We got 10 new people yesterday so we're showing them the ways of how to live here!

but I have a confession...

So.. our guard David cooks white ants.  They look like crickets and are about a half an inch long.  They look kinda like big earwigs (i think that's what they're called in our cherry tree)

So we were having a meeting and welcoming the newbies.  I decided I had this GREAT idea.  The word "innitiation" rang in my head.  So we grab a bowl of insects and I say "We ALL had to do this when we got here, so if you want to live in this house, you have to eat a bug!" haha i was dead serious when I was saying this cuz secretly there is no way in heck I would've eaten one of those!

haha so poor little things... some of the girls were crying, some of the guys were shaking, some other girls screaming.  and I would just brush it off all pridefully by saying "they just taste like butter and salt, it's not a big deal!" (deep down starting to feel the guilt)

One of the team members caught on to my plot and he said "pay me 5,000 shillings or i'm gonna rat you out!"

NOTE: 5,000 shillings is roughly $2... but that's like 5 taxi rides! no way in heck would i make the deal!

Finally, my guilty face gave it away and I had to confess. So they held the bowl in front of my face and chanted "Aubrey, Aubrey!"  and were all in a circle around me waiting til I chewed every last leg! 

I wanted to cry.

Finally i just bucked up and plopped one in my mouth, but then I thought of it's legs so i spit it out...

second try was a success tho, not to worry! I made it! it wasn't as bad as I thought, but i still felt bad I was making everyone eat it for "innitiation".  I was so sly tho!


That was the main event yesterday.  We've been working on all of our projects!  We taught at a hospital yesterday to mother's who have babies with spinibiphida and encephalitis. THey all like to hear about dental care because it's not a super common thing here in uganda.

I'm working on a "smile camp" where I found a dentist who is willing to check 300 little kids teeth, so i'm working on getting supplies and getting classes ready to have a full day of dental work.  It's gonna be a little crazy.  At a normal dentist you see 24 people a day TOPS, so for one day packed with 300 check ups...it's gonna be quite the event! I'm working on dental awareness so that when I leave they can continue the classes and raise awareness and knowledge about keeping their mouths and teeth healthy.  I'm stoked. this is my dream.

We also have been working on a "sanitation outreach" where we built hand washing stations, and are teaching kids how to wash their hands. They are the cutest little things ever! We love to go play with them all the time because they're so fun.  We sing and play games.  Some of the kids have parents, but most of them are orphans so they live at the school.

From the beginning I have felt the Lord's hand constantly watching over me.  Whether it be when I have worms, or when i'm on a boda boda, or when I am walking through an orphanage and my heart is broken.  He's always here. I've come to realize that the hardest part of this trip is realizing how much i CAN'T do.  I can't say this is the easiest thing I've ever done, it's definitely up there. But when you look at a little kid with hardly any clothes and barefeet...and they flash you a smile and tell you they love you... it's worth every second.  I know sometimes I complain, but I don't know how i'll be able to say goodbye to these people.  I love them.