i am leaving for rwanda tomorrow, for over a week.
it is supposed to be very emotional, if you know anything about the genocide, we will see lots of post peace and memorials.
i love all of you.
please continue to pray for relationships to form that are godly, and for adjustment into this culture and place.
thanks all.
i will post pics as soon as i can!
love aimee
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
expectations vs. dreams
everyone knows the devastation of broken expectations.
and everyone tries to avoid setting themselves up for disappointments by not allowing themselves to expect anything.
but i would like to meet someone who has been successful at that.
it is impossible (at least for me) to go into a situation tabula rosa.
tv clips. conversations. pictures. classes. all these leave an imprint on your mind, even if you don't know it or want it there.
implicit and explicit expectations.
i tried my hardest not to have expectations, which wasn't entirely difficult on a specific basis (since i knew hardly anything about the trip), but i found that i had many.
you don't realize what expectations you had, until it is not met.
and in creeps the disappointment. failure feeling. and frustration.
we had a talk about these and i just wrote a paper about mine.
it was very helpful to identify them so that i can recognize that they may happen and God may have different plans. :)
also tonight my friend sarah talked about a "dream"
and that frame of mind is what i believe should be taken instead of creating an expectation of any situation (because who can honestly know what to expect!).
to have a dream is different than having an expectation.
because a dream is a hope or desire, that you wish to be fulfilled but are not counting on it or thinking it will complete your life.
an expectation on the other hand is something that you think will happen and assume that it will happen. so much so that when it doesn't you don't know how to feel or react.
it was a very enlightening though process for me.
as many of you know i can become very disappointed when an expected thing fails ot happen.
praise God!
explicit expectations for uganda:
to make friends with USP students
to grow in my relationship with God and concrete my faith
to know God's will for my life after this trip
i think now that those are dreams and hopes for my stay here.
but they cannot realistically be expectations because i have NO idea what God has me here for or what HE wants to do in me or through me.
implicit expectations (the ones you never knew existed until they are uncomfortable or different)
uganda (southern uganda to be specific) is not a destitute or hopeless country
kampala and mukono are not like the villages you see in Invisible Children
the people are not native, they are just like us in so many ways!
expectations can make or break anything, even my semester, so i am thankful that i have at least recognized the change in thought that needs to occur, and pray that i can APPLY this everyday so that i can have an open mind for what God has in store for me!
and everyone tries to avoid setting themselves up for disappointments by not allowing themselves to expect anything.
but i would like to meet someone who has been successful at that.
it is impossible (at least for me) to go into a situation tabula rosa.
tv clips. conversations. pictures. classes. all these leave an imprint on your mind, even if you don't know it or want it there.
implicit and explicit expectations.
i tried my hardest not to have expectations, which wasn't entirely difficult on a specific basis (since i knew hardly anything about the trip), but i found that i had many.
you don't realize what expectations you had, until it is not met.
and in creeps the disappointment. failure feeling. and frustration.
we had a talk about these and i just wrote a paper about mine.
it was very helpful to identify them so that i can recognize that they may happen and God may have different plans. :)
also tonight my friend sarah talked about a "dream"
and that frame of mind is what i believe should be taken instead of creating an expectation of any situation (because who can honestly know what to expect!).
to have a dream is different than having an expectation.
because a dream is a hope or desire, that you wish to be fulfilled but are not counting on it or thinking it will complete your life.
an expectation on the other hand is something that you think will happen and assume that it will happen. so much so that when it doesn't you don't know how to feel or react.
it was a very enlightening though process for me.
as many of you know i can become very disappointed when an expected thing fails ot happen.
praise God!
explicit expectations for uganda:
to make friends with USP students
to grow in my relationship with God and concrete my faith
to know God's will for my life after this trip
i think now that those are dreams and hopes for my stay here.
but they cannot realistically be expectations because i have NO idea what God has me here for or what HE wants to do in me or through me.
implicit expectations (the ones you never knew existed until they are uncomfortable or different)
uganda (southern uganda to be specific) is not a destitute or hopeless country
kampala and mukono are not like the villages you see in Invisible Children
the people are not native, they are just like us in so many ways!
expectations can make or break anything, even my semester, so i am thankful that i have at least recognized the change in thought that needs to occur, and pray that i can APPLY this everyday so that i can have an open mind for what God has in store for me!
Monday, August 27, 2007
ucu.
i am now on the campus of UCU.
my roommate is ironically the same girl that i roomed with in kampala... kimberly. :)
she is awesome and thank you all so much for your prayers for putting me with a special one!
wow.
the campus is BEAUTIFUL!
there are rolling hils and flowers. and brick building!
it seems like a little town full of Christians because there is a church, 4 cafes, houses, etc.
i keep having to remind myself that i am in africa.
today however, was the first day that i finally felt like the MINORITY!
we went to the town of mukono on a scavenger hunt looking for the essentials...
toilet paper (BLUE!)
soap
gum boots (rain boots... yay for puddle stomping!)
and mmore.
everyone looked at us and some honked and waved and def stared.
my favorite part was when we went to the market behind the main roads
because it was exactly how i would have pictured africa.
i love the feeling... but again we were the minority
and there were funky things for sale, like raw meat or gizzards with flys... gross!! :)
rain comes suddenly and HARD!
we were having class in a tin roof classroom and had to leave the class because it was too loud to hear anything! :)
puddle jumping to come very soon!
the food.
breakfast: sweet potatoes and tea
lunch: rice and beans with a purple peanut sauce and today there was beef and corn malt meal stuff
and sometimes sweet potatos and cassava (which is a starchy root... i am eating a root! crazy! :) )
dinner: rice and beans wiht a purple peanut sauce
and tea time at least once a day, in the morning! it is awesome to just break to sit and talk!
and soda in glass bottles is a semi-staple!
i love the food.
good thing i like rice and beans a lot. :)
tonight four of us cut one girls hair really short.
kimberly my roomie did a really good job!
it was so funny because none of us knew what we were doing
we just held pieces up and chopped!!
"thankfully curly hair is forgiving!"
it was tons of fun and a really random, college dorm thing to do!
mosquito nets.
i feel like a princess. protected. secure.
but it is also weird because you feel like a mummy.
when i got up for the bathroom, i didn't let myself look around too much
in fear of finding a gecko or a bug near my bed!
eek!!
thankfully, i have not seen too many.
although, i did kill a cokroach! :)
we are going to rwanda on saturday, so i am not sure when i will write again.
but i am having tons of fun.
i love sarah my friend. i am excited to become better friends these four months! :)
love love love.
aimee
my roommate is ironically the same girl that i roomed with in kampala... kimberly. :)
she is awesome and thank you all so much for your prayers for putting me with a special one!
wow.
the campus is BEAUTIFUL!
there are rolling hils and flowers. and brick building!
it seems like a little town full of Christians because there is a church, 4 cafes, houses, etc.
i keep having to remind myself that i am in africa.
today however, was the first day that i finally felt like the MINORITY!
we went to the town of mukono on a scavenger hunt looking for the essentials...
toilet paper (BLUE!)
soap
gum boots (rain boots... yay for puddle stomping!)
and mmore.
everyone looked at us and some honked and waved and def stared.
my favorite part was when we went to the market behind the main roads
because it was exactly how i would have pictured africa.
i love the feeling... but again we were the minority
and there were funky things for sale, like raw meat or gizzards with flys... gross!! :)
rain comes suddenly and HARD!
we were having class in a tin roof classroom and had to leave the class because it was too loud to hear anything! :)
puddle jumping to come very soon!
the food.
breakfast: sweet potatoes and tea
lunch: rice and beans with a purple peanut sauce and today there was beef and corn malt meal stuff
and sometimes sweet potatos and cassava (which is a starchy root... i am eating a root! crazy! :) )
dinner: rice and beans wiht a purple peanut sauce
and tea time at least once a day, in the morning! it is awesome to just break to sit and talk!
and soda in glass bottles is a semi-staple!
i love the food.
good thing i like rice and beans a lot. :)
tonight four of us cut one girls hair really short.
kimberly my roomie did a really good job!
it was so funny because none of us knew what we were doing
we just held pieces up and chopped!!
"thankfully curly hair is forgiving!"
it was tons of fun and a really random, college dorm thing to do!
mosquito nets.
i feel like a princess. protected. secure.
but it is also weird because you feel like a mummy.
when i got up for the bathroom, i didn't let myself look around too much
in fear of finding a gecko or a bug near my bed!
eek!!
thankfully, i have not seen too many.
although, i did kill a cokroach! :)
we are going to rwanda on saturday, so i am not sure when i will write again.
but i am having tons of fun.
i love sarah my friend. i am excited to become better friends these four months! :)
love love love.
aimee
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