So much has happened in the last week here in Uganda! Every day brings a new day of adjusting to something different. Every day has its highs and lows in adjusting.
On Sunday we attended church on campus and ventured into Mukono town for the first time. We had our first day of classes, had dinner with our supervisors for field placement, I discovered how much I love the pineapple here, had our first week of placement, learned how to do laundry and made some new friends! (& I had some coffee so that was a big win).
I will be completing my senior placement with Compassion International’s Kingdom Child Development Center, here in Uganda and I am beyond excited. As an intern, I will be observing and learning from my supervisor and colleagues about social work practice in the Ugandan culture. I will be doing field work in assessing children in the Compassion sponsorship program as well as leading ministry days. To be working with children, doing social work AND ministry is everything I could have wanted for placement, and I am excited to learn about having appropriate boundaries when wrestling with a different culture, faith, and social work. In the first few days of placement, I have experienced some of the challenges in cross-culturally working such as not speaking the language and being unaware of cultural norms. I have had to wrestle with things happening at placement that may not be culturally appropriate to what I am used to but are beyond appropriate in this cultural context. I’ve had to readjust my thinking to realize that my way of doing things are not necessarily “right” it is just different. I have had to challenge insecurities that I have in not feeling equipped enough to be working full-time in a social work setting. Overall, I know placement is going to be a stretching experience and I am excited to gain so much knowledge from my supervisors and clients.
In so many little ways this past week, God has continued to reminded me of His faithfulness. Sunday at church we sang “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” We also sang, “God, You’re So Good,” which was a song I LOVED listening to so much this past semester as my church at school sang it often. I was reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of God through the challenges of adjusting. Also, on my first day of placement, I was sitting in the office with the other staff members when “Yes & Amen” randomly came on. The song started half way through but perfectly began with “Faithful You are, Faithful forever You will be,” but continued to cut in and out because of the connection. As I was sitting at placement my first day, I felt God’s presence and peace, reminding me that I was there for a reason.
Tomorrow we leave for our two-week homestays where we are placed with a family in Mukono to take part in Ugandan life for the next two weeks! We will be at home-stays, classes & placement. Please pray that we are able to go into the next few weeks with hearts ready to learn and be present with our host families, despite feelings of anxiety and discomfort that we may feel.