Saturday, July 3rd - If you could become anything in the world...

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." - Mother Teresa

Today we went to 6:30 am mass and then interviewed all of the primary students who do not have sponsors. We did not tell the children why we were interviewing them because they are very self-conscious about not having a sponsor. There are 48 primary and secondary students combined that do not have sponsors. We sat at a table in the dining hall and had one of the teachers help us. A few of the younger children have a hard time understanding our accents. They are also just learning English too. We asked the students everything from their favorite color to what they want to be when they grow up to what their home (if there is one) is like that they go to on holidays. I was particularly struck by the range of answers we received when they were confidently telling us about what they want to be when they grow up (nurses, teachers, bank managers, pilots, doctors, priests, sisters, carpenters). I am still trying to figure out this question for myself. Also, not one of them from Class 1 to Class 8 knew their birthday or their age. Most births are not registered with the country. Many people end up celebrating their birthday on their Saint's feast day.

Another question we asked was "If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?" Almost every single answer was to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A few of the youngest children responded that they would go for a trip into town! When I thought about this question, I thought about how up until this point my response would be Africa. I am so happy and grateful that this dream of mine has come true. For those that go home for a few weeks on holidays, they all explaining that they help out by carrying water from the nearby stream. Other chores include washing, fetching firewood etc. Only one of the girls said that her home has electricity since almost everyone lives in mud huts.

After dinner, we showed them the movie "Narnia" which they all loved! It was a real treat for them which they earned after a week of hard work. Since Sister Mary brought a projector with her about a month ago, the students have really enjoyed watching a movie once a week. We showed this to both age groups as we squeezed into the dining hall. The students were cheering and on the edge of their seats the entire movie. Even the sisters in the convent next door could hear their laughter during the movie. Hopefully, this movie's moral symbols will be discussed in their theology classes this week. The dining hall is used as a class room, a chapel for daily mass, a movie theatre on Saturdays, a dance floor for entertainment, and a study spot in the evenings. Once the movie was over, two of the older boys walked Julia and I back to our house on their way to their rooms which are across the road from ours. All of the students thanked us immensely for facilitating the night of fun.

Once I got back to my bed, I finished my fifth book of the trip called "They Come Singing" by Gary Smith. He is a Jesuit who wrote about his 6 year experience of working with the Sudanese refugees trying to survive in refugee camps in Northern Uganda.