Just Simply Kristen: Dirty Hands & Full Hearts

One of the men of the village leading the project!

The Ranch (cont.)

On Friday, we went into one of the villages to help mud a nursery school! It was one of the most incredible days, at least for me, in Uganda. How this project came about is through the partnership with AHI, who assists the villages, but encourages them to come up with what their community needs, help with the labor, and seek partial funds. Once again, AHI is teaching the villages how to help themselves in a country that (according to Maggie) has developed an unhealthy dependence on foreign aid. They are so use to handouts, they see white people, and that is what they expect. AHI is trying to change this mentality.

Making Mud!

Several men from the village spearheaded the project, and were so patient in our learning! As the day went on, women from the village came to help, as well as small children! As the day began, the men plowed up a termite hill, which was mostly just dirt, as some of the girls pumped and brought back jugs of water to pour on the water to create mud. Then, they had us take off our shoes and stomp in the mud! (Just picture Lucy from I Love Lucy and her grape stomping.. it was quite similar.) And it was awesome! Then men then starting rolling huge balls of mud, which we would attempt to pick up without it all falling apart, and tote to the school, which was about twenty yards away. The Ugandans would take the mud and hold it in one hand high above their heads, never once getting their close dirty. I, on the other hand, used my stomach as a third hand, which seemed like a good method to me, but the Ugandans would just chuckle as I, and several other girls toted the mud in this manner. Once the mud was at the house we would fill in the structure, which they had already created from sticks, which were tied together with vines. We would then physically throw mud at the filled in structure and smooth it with our hands. By the end of the day it was hot, we were sunburnt (sorry Mom), and we were covered with both dry and fresh mud; but no one seemed to mind. The satisfaction of the completion of the school, as well as the joy we had received from the interactions with the people, particularly the children of the village, filled our hearts, and everyone seemed to be all smiles. The people of the village kept thanking us, as we in turned thanked them because there was no denying we had all be blessed.

The village kids helping build their school!

My favorite part of the day was playing and working alongside the children. The children of the village knew how to say “how are you?” and respond “fine,” but that was mostly it, because they spoke Lugandan. Still, we were able to connect with them by simply holding their hands or making a small ball of mud and tossing it with them. There was one boy who looked to be about six who started following me as I worked. I would pick up a ball of mud and he would pick one up, which was not too much smaller! He would then follow me and throw the mud where I threw it. Then he would grab my hand, mud hand in mud hand, as we walked back to the pile. It was hard to tell where the mud from my hand ended and his small brown hand began, but it was a beautiful sight! He kept smiling at me and seemed so content to be working alongside me, despite the labor and lack of words.

I kept thinking of this childlike joy in working alongside Jesus, where it becomes less about the work or the words and more about simply working together. Hand in hand, from task to task, mutually satisfied and full of joy. One of the girls on the team, Melissa, often prays about the opportunity to co-labor with God, and how privileged we are. I knew it before, but it became more real yesterday, seeing a physical representation. What a wonderful opportunity it truly is! I want to change my mentality from being one of completion, to a mentality of being satisfied during the process, in the working, in the waiting, in simply being with Jesus.