Just a Glimpse

I was sitting in a taxi on the way back to Watoto Church Central on Sunday, after serving at one of the other celebration points, when I noticed two young girls weaving their way through the traffic. They were probably about 10 and 12 years old, and one of them saw me through the window and just came right up and put her hands on the glass and was waving at me. What did she want? I don't know. I waved back and our taxi kept moving, past so many people and places. So many stories. So much joy, so much heartbreak. Every day as I pass the same places and see different people going about their lives, I wish I could capture everything in a picture, but it's difficult to do from a moving vehicle. So on our way home last night, I had my phone out and my eyes peeled, and I took note of a bunch of different things I saw. I want to let you into my world a little, so here is the list...

Goats eating green grass on the edge of a hill by the road
A Blur of brown roofs and green trees against a blue sky
Worn posters on every flat surface
Building that are halfway finished
A group of children playing soccer on a dirt field
A man sitting under an umbrella with a pile of mangos in front of him
Worn Clothes hanging on lines all over
A woman balancing a large pile of folded clothes on her head as she walks along the road
Garbage spilling over the side of a hill
A gate around a house with barbed wire all along the top
A street lined with clothes, shoes, matoke, backpacks, potatoes, pineapple, hats, and all sorts of fruit and veggies
"Airtime" and  "mobile money" signs everywhere!
Makeshift umbrellas over roadside businesses to keep the sun off
Taxis stuffed as full as they can be with people
A boda boda with chickens hanging off ever side
Papyrus fields galore
A boda boda with an umbrella
A bright green Toyota car in the middle of poverty
A young boy carrying a box on his head and things around his neck to sell
A man working on shaping the head of a bed
Bed frames lining the road
The bed of a truck overflowing with pineapples
A man riding on top of a truck, filled with cows
Boda boda guys lined up, having a casual conversation
Random piles of bricks and rocks
Beautiful, elaborate metal doors for sale
A stork flying high in the sky
Two men washing a car with water from jerry cans and and sponges
A woman on a mat in the middle of her yard, just sitting
Coca cola banners above the entrance to a supermarket
"2,900 UG shillings for a liter of gas"
Sideless barns full of lumber
Shop after shop with the most random things for sale: lawn chairs, backpack, flower pots, shovels, mattresses
Purple and blue metal bunk bed frames
White manikins with African clothes
A line of cars slowing down because of the many speed bumps
Cars whizzing by "Stop, police check" signs
A man with a stack of 4 square (8 by 8) egg cartons balanced on his head
A pile of jeans, 5 feet high at least
Shops with bars at the entrance so no one can enter, just order from outside
Random hills that just seem to pop up everywhere
A boda boda driver with a winter coat on in HOT weather (over 80 degrees)
Men working in Small Gardens along the road
A single boy breakdancing in the middle of a soccer field
A cow tied to a rope eating grass
A field of lined up bricks
Clothes laying in the grass to dry in the sun
A goat nibbling on grass by a pile of bricks
Brick walls that look like they don't serve any purpose
A man with dress pants and a button up shirt, walking to the beat coming from his headphones

This is only a small glimpse of what I see every day. It is so different from home, but even in the midst of the drastic differences, GOD NEVER CHANGES. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, no matter where we go. This week He has been teaching me so much about His love for me, and my love for Him. He has shown me that literally, everything I do, I should do out of love for Him. He is overwhelming me with His love and joy, and it's truly amazing. I am learning so much about life and love and contentment and true joy. It's incredible. God is so good!