Thanksgiving Week

Happy Thanksgiving Week!  I am thankful this week for all of my friends and family in Uganda AND in the U.S.  I am so blessed to be able to serve at Cornerstone for the time God has me here. 

I wish all of my American peeps a great Thanksgiving holiday!  I will be thinking of everyone as we have our chicken (or possibly turkey!), rolls, and pumpkin pie in Budaka, with a few fellow Peace Corp friends  :)

Here's one person I am thankful for at Cornerstone: David, whose about 9 years old, is one of our leaders.  He has a great personality, funny sense of humor, and tells it like he sees it.  I love this boy!

Funny Events

A few funny things to share:

1)   Moses was upset with Aunt Monicah (the “mom” of the orphans) the other morning because she made him do something he didn’t want to do (how mean of her, right).  After she walked away, he was crying and saying, “Mommy, I’m going to report you to Mommy!”  Hehe.

2)  We gave some of the younger kids charts for their daily routines.  They have to make their beds, get dressed, etc., and each day that they do all the tasks without being reminded, they get a sticker for that day.  So on the first day we started using the charts, I had all the little children running up to me to tell me that they had gotten dressed or tied their shoes or washed their hands.  I was surprised I didn’t hear about each time they went and peed, too.  So funny!

3)   I’m sitting on my day off and watching a truck stuck in the mud.  Watching 5 men struggle to lift the front end of the truck up.  Then watching them do this 4 times because they forgot to put something under the tire for traction the first 3 times…

There’s a little bit of my week in a nutshell.  Kids are well and it’s been another great week.  Until next time, bye!

Great Developments

Here are some of the wonderful things that have been going on here at Cornerstone: 

     The kids have been learning about responsibility on Wednesday nights.  We just reached the end of a 5-week study on that subject, and there are already some encouraging changes in behavior.  All of the children were given new mosquito nets last week, and when I went into their rooms this weekend, every child in every room said : “Look, Teacher Abby, my net doesn’t have any holes!” 

I’m so proud at the effort they are putting in towards becoming more responsible…and I’m guessing the candy and little prizes they are earning has something to do with the change, lol.

     Lately, I am seeing several of the older children (who are part of the leadership team) growing in huge ways.  Hellen, whose about 10, had been bickering with the other girls in her room daily and generally being a bossy adolescent.  During this last month, Hellen has turned a corner and is being one of the best examples on the leadership team.  She is cheerful towards others and is extremely helpful with the little girls in her room.  Praise God for His work in her! 

          Another child I’m encouraged with is Emma (a boy’s name here).  Emma is one of the quieter children, and he had a lot of behavior problems when he first came to Cornerstone in 2010.  But as he has matured, he has shown what a gentle spirit is inside him, and he has made a wonderful leader.  We recently moved another young child, Isaac (about 5 years old), into Emma’s room, because Isaac was (and is still) needing extra attention.  Emma is assigned to be the one to care for Isaac and to help him learn to do chores (like washing clothes and polishing shoes).  Although Isaac is really good at pushing people’s buttons, we have watched Emma stay calm and collected, and come and ask for help with Isaac whenever he needs it.  Even though other children might’ve lost their cool by this point, Emma is still quietly patient but firm with Isaac.  Yeah Emma!    

That’s about all I have for now.  Thanks for visiting my blog!!

-Abby

More Swimming Time!

Today, Ellen and I had the pleasure of taking two more Cornerstone kids for swimming.  Beatrice, who's about 7 years old, and 4 year-old Doreen, went with us to Mbale today.  After playing around in the water, they got to go on the swings, merry-go-round, and teeter-totter the hotel has to offer.  So much fun!  Here are some pics from the day.  Woo-hoo!

Good Times with Good Friends

This last week has been a special one at Cornerstone.  Ann, Glenn, Kevin, Emily and Caley, who are all from Evergreen Christian Center, have been visiting us in Budaka.  It has been a great seven days with friends, and getting to share the passion of Cornerstone Ministries.  The team has taught the kids softball, played Simon Says, and just loved on the kids in more individual ways.  I always struggle with the fact that I am only one person, and that reaching 30 kids is impossible.  But having a group like thi come creates opportunities for the kids to have so more concentrated love and affection, which is wonderful to watch.  The team already knows the names of most of the children, and every time they come into the orphanage, the kids run and give them hugs.
Here's a picture of the kids lined up to play baseball with the team.  The girl trying not to smile is Sarah, one of our oldest girls, as she waits her turn to bat.

Another great thing for me this week was to celebrate my birthday on Monday.  I couldn't think of a better way to start the day than by waking up at 5:15am, drinking a cup of tea during my quiet time, and then going down to see the Cornerstone kids for breakfast.  Then as a treat, my mom and I went by ourselves into Mbale town and had nature burgers (they call them "chicken" burgers, but there's no meat in them!).  It was a nice, quiet lunch with a little nap as I dozed on the way back to Budaka.  In the evening, I shared my birthday cake (it was a delicious carrot cake variety) with my mom, the kids, staff, and American team at the orphanage.  Each of the kids shared what their favorite thing is about me, and it was cool to hear what they said.  Mostly the children answered, "She brings movies for us to watch," or "She plays hide-n-seek with us."  As we munched on carrot cake, we also had tropical punch to drink, and the kids loved it.  Many children came up afterwards to thank my mom and I for celebrating with them.  Oh, how I love these kids!

Here is a picture from the party with Ann, Emily and Caley in the background.  It was a fun celebration!