Beauty from Within

I have wanted to get my hair braided since I met Sister Rosemary in November and today we got it done! One of the trades that is taught here on campus is hairdressing. So we decided to let the ladies practice on our hair today!

Here in Uganda, a majority of the woman have little to no hair. I am unsure why this is the case … but as I was sitting there watching the ladies braid our hair, I thought about how much hair means to us in the United States. We spend so much time fixing our hair every day, making sure it looks good as we walk out the door. Hair is one of the many things that we let define us in the States. I feel like we, as women, think that hair is what makes us beautiful. But as I sit here and watch these women that are almost bald; I see what real beauty is.

Beauty is the giggles that they give each other as they try to manage our crazy, long hair. Beauty is the smiles that spread across their face when you make eye contact with them in the mirror. Beauty is their excitement when they see how much you love what they did. Beauty comes from the heart and it overflows out of these young women. This inner beauty that they have is captivating! The world has brainwashed us into thinking that outward beauty is all that matters … but I am here to tell you that the outside doesn’t mean anything compared to the inside. These girls understand that there is more to a person than what they look like. I hope that one day my giggles, my smiles, and my heart will be as beautiful as these ladies are to me.   

I’m not saying to go shave all your hair off because I’m definitely not going to do that. I just want to encourage you to spend time fixing your heart as well as your hair every morning. Because when it is all said and done I would rather be known for my joy and love for the Lord than to be known for my hair.

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On a different note, I want to take a little bit of time and talk about the weather and food! I noticed that I hadn’t talked about those yet and some people have been asking.

Weather: We have been very blessed to not have too many hot days. May through August, I believe, is what they call the rainy season. This means that it could rain randomly ANYTIME! And it has. But I am not complaining! The Sisters keep telling us that we would have died from the heat during the months of December, January, and February. So I have made a mental note to not travel to Uganda during those three months! As for temperatures I would say that we are in the high 80s to high 90s every day. Most evenings, Mishana and I will wear a light jacket (partly for the breeze and partly as a mosquito stopper).

Food: The ‘fillers’ at every meal are either rice or pasta. And beans or ‘greens’ are the accompanying dishes. Mishana and I definitely are rice and beans fans! We also eat a lot of potatoes. Mishana has been in the kitchen most of the mornings, so she is beginning to get a feel for how they cook here. When we get back to Oklahoma, you need to ask her to cook for you! At breakfast, we typically have bread and mango marmalade. I’m not going to lie … I love the mango marmalade! But I don’t think that customs would be okay with me bringing it back to Oklahoma. We also have tortilla-ish things with some of our meals. They are basically tortillas yet they are very, very oily. But I think that Mishana is having more and more influence in the kitchen because each day they get a little less oily. As for fruit, we eat a lot of pineapple, mango, and bananas. All are delicious and taste much better than anything you can get in the grocery store in the United States! Everything here is 100% natural; I can’t tell a difference in taste, but I know that I feel healthier.

That about sums it up for the weather and food … Please message me if I have skipped over something that you want to know more about! As the days continue to have the same routine it becomes harder for me to come up with different topics to write about.

Current Prayer Requests:

- Mishana and the ladies in the kitchen! God is at work; please pray that she will find the right words in every situation.

- I woke up not feeling well and today has been a struggle. I am hoping that I am just tired and not getting sick. Please pray that I will bounce back quickly.