Off Again

"And she's off!"

I had a fun and relaxing weekend, and now I'm off again on another project.  Tomorrow (Monday) morning, 5 of us from the EMI East Africa office, plus 3 volunteers from the US, will start on a week-long project at Uganda Christian University in Mukono (just east of Kampala).  We will be working on drainage, landscaping, and pedestrian/vehicular circulation for the large college campus.

It's been a little overwhelming going straight from one project to another, so I've mostly spent the last few days trying to recharge and process and let my mind rest before making it run at full speed in a new direction.  I think I also just needed a few days to get used to being in Kampala again, going about daily life, instead of being in a fun, "summer camp-esque" environment with my awesome Kijabe project team. I was really looking forward to returning to Kijabe to get to follow up on the work I had done in February, and to get to see a few friends from my last trip.  But this upcoming trip is a big unknown, and I'm a little worried about the technical work itself, since I'm not at all familiar with drainage or hydrology concepts.  But I know that God will be with us during this project, so I really shouldn't worry.  I'm sure I will also bond a lot with this new project team, even though it will be completely different with only 8 people instead of 24!  I AM looking forward to being on a team that is based out of my office.  I will get to continue to work with and debrief and process with most of the team in the office afterwards, instead of, as with the Kijabe project, being the only one from not only my office, but from the continent.  I've seen all the other interns go on project trips and return back more bonded with the interns and staff on their teams, so I am looking forward to that experience.  And I think it will be fun to be part of putting together a whole project report in our office.  I just need to trust that God will be at work in this project just as much as in the last one.

On a different note, I can't believe that I've now been in Uganda for almost 5 months!  In some ways, it's amazing to think it's been that long, but in other ways it does feel like I've been here for a long time.  It does feel like "home" in many ways.  If I was leaving when I originally was supposed to, it would be only 5 weeks from today!  Instead, I have 6 months left, which is also pretty hard to fathom.  But even though I sometimes wish I could be back in the US, or at least see all the people I miss, I still do feel a peace about being here, and I know that God will carry me through each step of the journey.