Dancing queen

This week I learned some Acholi, African dance!!!! I've been asking women to dance in their tribal dance style since I've been here and they say they will, but never actually do. However, this past Wednesday, they did a farewell dance for one of the girls that was leaving and they wanted us all to be there to watch (glorious!!). One of Mama Santa's daughters, Joyce, showed me a few steps before they performed. They do a lot of foot, hip and head movements. They dance to the sound of their own feet stomping, a drum, a whistle, and banging on half gourds. Eventually, after about 30 min., they dragged us in to dance with them, of course I was eager to jump in to join with the beat and laughter. I was so ready to dance and especially to dance Acholi style. They adorn you in necklaces and hip wraps and you take off your shoes and dance in the dirt in the village. I cannot tell you how free it was to be dancing with these women I've been praying over for so long. I had a great moment of just soaking in the reality of where I was and what I was doing. My heart felt revived and as if God was pouring down his joy right into my heart through each of these women of Suubi and the village of Walukaba. Everyone was sweating, but we were laughing and smiling and hugging each other in between dances. Laughter and dance transcended any language barrier or social awkwardness that would have been present otherwise, it was a beautiful thing to experience.

Also, this week we visited an Aids orphanage to help serve lunch, wash dishes and clothes, and hang out with the children. It was so fun to serve and have the normal volunteers and staff be able to take a chair and relax. I learned to wash clothes with my hands, which doesn't sound too challenging but the dirt here is red and stubborn so you have to scrub the dickens out of the clothes before they are clean from dirt and smell. I'm so impressed with the strength of the workers here because they do hard work like this all day long and still have energy to be joyful and interactive.
A lot of the children had the chicken pox and were covered head to toe in calimine lotion (literally). It was so neat to see how they were joyful amidst their illness and being covered in white lotion or having some other ailment to endure. The orphanage pays for their education, meals, medication, and everyday living. These kids are being given a chance to live well under their circumstances and they are flourishing in the orphanage, it's beautiful!

I've been in conflict lately because being here makes it really hard to imagine going home to do Real Estate. My heart feels like I am finally fulfilling what God has made me to fulfill and all I want to do is continue doing things like this, like being in Africa building relationships, serving, and helping the people in the villages. What a weird thought it is for me to go back to the business world of Real Estate, that's not me....is it? Since the 6th grade I felt a burning passion for Africa, why can't I follow that for the remainder of my years, whether it be here or in the states, but connected somehow and doing all that I possilby can.
As a group, the volunteer house has started to read a book called, "The Irresistable Revolution," and I'm only two chapters in but it's doing crazy things with my heart that I believe God started even before this trip. I'm excited to see where He is taking my heart.