Final Days at UCU

Sometimes the end of those seasons simply stink. It’s Saturday morning and I am sitting in Agatha’s room while she studies for an exam she has this afternoon (yes, they have exams on Saturdays). I don’t really want to leave her side, Yet in an hour and a half I will be leaving for a wedding my family invited me to, a Ugandan princess marrying a Norwegian man. It should be interesting.

On Wednesday I finished my last exam. History of East Africa. I can honestly say my hand has never been so sore than after 2.5 hours of writing everything I know about the history of a region. I had a presentation on Thursday about my practicum, and we spent the night there. We got to experience the first ever, Off-Tu’s Got Talent. It was such a joy to watch those kids do their thing and shake their booties. Yesterday, we had two elective classes on Simply Living and Calling. Now I am officially done with my junior year. I cannot believe I only have one more year left of college. Now that is sad. Even more than that, however, I cannot believe I will be leaving UCU in just 5 days. In these next five days, I will be spending one more night with my family, making chapatis and brownies, hiking in some forest nearby, packing up my stuff and hopefully bringing home less than I came with, and spending as much time as possible with Agatha and Innocent and the rest of my friends here in Uganda.

I cannot believe the time is coming to an end. I don’t know where the time has gone, but I can tell you I will be a different person coming home than I was when I left. But not totally. This has been an incredible experience. I have learned so much about people, myself, and my God. I have so many things going through me head, trying to make sense of it all, but these next five days, I am going to simply soak it in. I am going to simply live. I am excited for what God still has to teach me in these next five days. Sometimes I wonder if loving people fully is worth it, because there is always a goodbye in the future. But I’ve decided that even with the goodbye looming over our heads, I am going to love as best I can for the time I have left. Because it’s worth it. Jesus is worth it. I don’t want to waste another moment.

Here is my schedule for the next month and a half before I officially get home:

April 16-20: Uganda Christian University

April 21-29: Rwanda

April 30-May 3: Debrief in Entebbe

May 4-12: Rest in Ireland with Kyle and Kels (do a lot of thinking, debriefing, reflecting)

May 13-29: Traveling with my siblings (Kyle, Kelsey, Kory, Ali, Krissa) to Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and back to Ireland

May 29: HOME! I arrive in Chicago at 6:35 pm to Midway.

This has been quite an experience. While I miss home so much, I can’t believe I have to say goodbye.

Pray that time would be sweet these next few days. I am also praying for you. That you would love well, embrace each day, and live faithfully to Jesus.

I love you and miss you!