Hi, Jerk

Sometimes Americans have trouble learning Ugandan words and Ugandans have trouble learning American words, specifically names.

Here's an example:

So yesterday we were shopping at a market. We met a man. He was very nice and asked us if we were Christians. When he found out we were, he was very excited. We exchanged numbers. Then I told him my name is Jake and that he could call me if he ever needed anything.

...So today i got a text from him and it read:

"Hi Jerk,
First off, i greet you in Jesus' name. Well, I've made up my mind to send you this message just to thank you for the good hospitality you had shown me as Christian friend in Christ, when i met up with you yesterday at italian supermarket. Please, I'd like to know when we gonna meet again and chat with you all. Please, send my greetings to all other friends of mine. May God bless you all! I'm looking forward to hear from you."

We all thought this was really funny, but very nice of him.
I've learned to spell my name when meeting people...

Settling Down

So we just got to Kampala. From what I've seen so far, I really like it. We've been training for the past 2 weeks in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was kind of tough because we never left the retreat center that we were training at. I learned a lot and I definitely made some good friends, who will be in South Africa, Malawi & Botswana. I miss you guys already. We flew into Uganda right when the sun was setting over Lake Victoria. It was amazing! I definitely took some pictures of that. It took us a while to get out of the airport, but everything went smoothly. When we got outside, some guys started shaking my hand. They were very nice. But then they insisted on pushing the luggage cart for me. I said "No thank you" a few times. He was very persistent. I didn't like the idea of someone running off with our luggage within the first 5 minutes of being in the country. One of the girls then informed me that this man was our driver. Haha. I felt kind of stupid. Anyways, we settled into our house. It's way more than i was expecting. Amazing. Shortly after getting here, we decided to go to the market to get some food. This is the best part. We turn on the radio in the car and you would never guess what was playing.... Tim McGraw - Where the green grass grows. YES! COUNTRY MUSIC IS PLAYED IN AFRICA. People actually listen to it. I felt very much at home. We got back with the food and made our first meal in Africa. We had pasta with alfredo sauce and bread! It was pretty good.

Germany

ok so we are in Frankfurt, Germany. We have been here for about 4 or 5 hours. i have completely lost track of time. When we got here, we were supposed to meet up with 2 others. We spent the last 4 hours looking for them, and finally found one of them. It is a little hard to adjust because of the language. We tried to speak spanish, but that didnt work either. Our plane doesnt leave for another 8 hours. But we just found a cool cafe with internet and drinks. Its a nice little spot. Its pretty quiet. We got really good service, especially from the older woman that served us. She kept blowing us kisses. It is kind of hard to type though because the z and y keys are switched. We are all really tired. No one really slept on the flight here. So I am trying to stay up until i get on the plane, to help my body adjust. Anyways, I am sure we will have a lot of fun.

Sorry to those of you that i told i would call when i got here. I expected that we would be able to get wifi at the airport so i could use skype.

Once we get to Jo´burg i wont be able to get on the internet. Adios.

3 days left!

3 days left! I have finally reached the point where i don't have much left to do. I can just relax and enjoy the few days i have left to spend with family and friends! It has been very stressful preparing for this trip for the past few months. Surprisingly, this week, I have felt very relieved. I am getting very excited! It has started to hit me lately that I am actually going to be in Africa next week. I know this is going to be an amazing trip! I have definitely spent a lot of time thinking about the things that I am going to miss. I have a lot to be thankful for.

For the next two weeks we will be training in Johannesburg, South Africa. We leave on Tuesday at 4pm. There is a group of about 5 of us on the same flight from Dallas to Frankfurt. Frankfurt is 7 hours ahead of us, so hopefully we will be able to sleep well on the plane. At the airport, we will hopefully run into the other Hands On people that will also be heading to Jo'burg. It will be really fun. We are stuck in the airport for about 12 hours, so it will be a good opportunity to meet my new best friends for the next semester. Later that night, we will fly from Frankfurt to South Africa. We will arrive on the 15th and begin our training.

Please be praying for all the Hands On people that are heading out this week to places all across the world. There is a lot of traveling and I'm sure a lot of worrying that is happening right now. Pray that training will go well, so that we will be well prepared for our work.