"The One with the Beginning of the End"

Annita, Me, and Allen at Off Tu

Off Tu Water Field Day!

Shakira and I on our last day of school

Today was our last full day in Mukono, Uganda. Honestly, I hate writing this blog because it means the end is a reality. A reality that I do not think I am ready to face. It is not that my study abroad was absolutely amazing every single day or that it was completely 360 degrees life changing, but it is some place that is deeply rooted in my heart.

Naturally, the last week at UCU is filled with bittersweet feelings, the beginning of the good byes, and the awkward in between of knowing we are leaving but still have a few weeks left.

Over the past 4 months I have worked at an organization called Off Tu Missions in Mukono, Uganda.  I have blogged about my practicum a little, but I could write a whole book about my practicum.  Anyways, Off Tu means "Open Doors" in German.  The organization was established by Mutti and Fatti Johan and comes along side orphan and vulnerable children in the Mukono, Kampala, Jinja area.  It is also involved with street ministry at Retrak Refugee Center (a drop in for street boys) and a juvenile prison.  Off Tu also has an a school Off Tu Academy for nursery - primary seven.  I officially finished my practicum after 160 hours last week with our huge production of "Off Tu's Got Talent" based off of America's Got Talent. It was incredible and an amazing way to end my four months there.  The 12 kids in the residential, the staff, Nicole and I (swk interns), and others performed skits & many other talents. Some of the talents included brick making, mat making, cooking, fire dance, cultural dance, funny stretching routine, Bible memory verses, and many others.  It was a beautiful display of the kids talents and our hope was to show that your past does not matter. Where your from or your situation does not mean that you do not have something to offer. It was beautiful. We ended the show with a movie of our time there and it was just precious as one of the girls, Allen, sat on my lap and watched photos pop up on the projector.  I slept over at Off Tu that night and it was just really touching and special. It was hard to say bye to the kids; especially because some of them are young and did not really understand.  The kids left to walk to school, and in that moment I realized how hard it will be to send my own child to kindergarden that first time. Vincent picked us up and we drove by my beautiful Off Tu kids in their green uniforms walking down the dirt road. I stuck my head and hands out the window and was filled with joy as I saw their faces light up as they saw crazy Aunty Mary'sBirth with her head out yelling!

Our last physical education class at Off Tu was a blast. Nicole and I organized a field day for P1 & P2. We had water balloon toss, relay races, three legged races, and other fun games. It was wonderful. The kids have never experienced something like that. It was awesome to see them just having fun and it was special to be able to give them that opportunity.  Can you imagine growing up without the memories of gym class, field days, mile fun run, 3 legged races, potato sack races, or the big colorful parachute?

Our final day in the school also went so well. We had a meeting with the teachers and just thanked them for everything and encouraged them. I was always so impressed by their day in and day out commitment to Off Tu. It is easy to go in for 2 days and be filled with energy and love, but it is much harder to do it every day. They then said wonderful things about us and told us that Nicole and I were a truly special pair. I hated leaving my Primary One class. I never knew that I loved that age group so much. I will never forget singing the Funky Chicken with them or Shakira and Gift and the faces of those precious P1ers.  My time at Off Tu came full circle when at the last Bible Study for the school Shakira, Gifte, and Ruth sat on my lap and held my hands as Nicole shared a message....these were the three girls that I first bonded with four months ago. It was really hard to say bye to Teacher Edith, the P1 teacher, who I highly respect and love.

I could go on and on about Off Tu and everything I have learned. I just feel so blessed to have been able to do this social work practicum in Uganda. Though it was extremely hard to leave, I am so thankful that I did engage in my site. In our last practicum class, Gwyn said that though it always seems you leave when you finally feel most comfortable, it is better to leave when you are settled then when you are still in the early stages because then you can learn from your experiences, stay connected with those you met, and just be open to how the Lord will use that wonderful experience.

Okay, the worst good bye by far will be with my Ugandan family. If you have not got the point from all my previous posts, I am in love with them. I have never felt this connection with people before and I am in awe of how lucky and blessed I was to be in this family.  During the past two weeks I have pretty much spent every moment at home just soaking up all that I could.  A perfect example of how wonderful my family is is the farewell dinner. Last night we had our farewell dinner at our director's house. My whole family came and it was beautiful. My Mama had a traditional Ugandan dress made for me (which is a huge deal...money wise, family relationship wise, etc.). She woke me up Saturday morning, as I slept at home pretty much every day these past few weeks, and said Kysache (my name meaning "His Grace") wake up, you are my daughter and we need to go get you a dress.  I told her she was too kind and that she did not have to and she replied, no you are my daughter that is what a Mama does for the children she loves. So I went to the farewell dinner in this fabulous looking traditional Ugandan dress.  At the dinner I represented USE with a speech and told a story about making 35 chapati with my family. I had tons of fun just being there with them.  AFter the dinner, I walked home and slept over at my home. Unfortunately, I got really sick at night. Irene, my sister, decided to sleep in my bed with me for my last night at home, and luckily she did. Sidenote if you have to go to the bathroom during the night you need to go in the blue bucket inside the house because it is not "safe" to go to the latrine outside. BUT  I was sick and did not feel good at all. So Irene and I pretty much spent from 12am-6:30am in the latrine as I pucked and what not. Though it was disgusting, I would not have wanted to be any where else...in the latrine with my sister and one of my best friends. My family took care of me as they did this whole semester and taught me so much.

It is going to be so hard to leave them and I got a preview of that today as it was my last full day with them. We leave for Rwanda today at 5 am for 10 days and then we will be back at UCU for a night then go to Entebbe for debrief then fly home.  I will get to see them that morning before the airport, but it was already so emotional tonight. Though I am leaving Patience, Mama, Patu, Gerald, Irene, Andy, and Jen they will never leave my heart.