On Thursdays we go to a joint care group/Bible study with our hostel and the Golf Course Hostel next door. I have to confess that I don't always look forward to this care group simply because it starts at 9:30 (by African time, that means people are usually there by 10), and it usually doesn't wrap up until 11:30 or later. It's a fun group of girls, but I'm kind of an old person and I get tired when I stay up that late. I know, it's sad. I also don't feel as comfortable around these girls because the majority of them live next door so I only see them once a week. So I enjoy it, but I definitely enjoy our hostel Bible study more because I know those girls better and feel completely comfortable around them.
Tonight was the last care group before the girls go home for Christmas so we had a gift exchange. As we were getting started, Florence, who is one of the funniest people I've ever met, was talking about how tonight was going to be a special change for this care group. I naively sat there and figured she was talking about the gift exchange because we hadn't done that before and it was new. But then to my surprise, this was the next sentence out of her mouth. "Yes, it's a change tonight because Betsy is going to be leading our praise and worship this evening." Picture my jaw on the floor and a serious case of the red face. I immediately stuttered through some excuse about how we didn't know the same songs, blah blah blah. For those of you who don't know, I love to sing, but I don't exactly love my voice. I just wasn't blessed with the gift of a beautiful singing voice, and I can sometimes be a tad self-conscious about this. I also hate to be the focus and center of attention. So basically this wasn't shaping up to be my favorite Ugandan experience so far.
Long story short, it turned out ok. Desarae is a good friend, and after composing herself and getting some control of her hysterical laughter at the announcement that I was the worship leader, she helped me think of a few songs, and we plowed through it together. So I conquered a small fear of singing in front of others, went way outside my comfort zone, was completely caught off guard, learned the lesson AGAIN to never assume anything here, and I think I pulled it all off without my face turning too bright red. It was a success.
The gift exchange was also a success. I was really thankful to have drawn my friend Rachel's name. She is probably our closest friend here, and I knew exactly what I wanted to give her. She is a huge Christian music fan, so I burnt her a cd of some of my favorite songs. Her face lit up when I gave it to her, and I could tell she was ready to get out of there and go listen to it. It's amazing how such a small gift can mean the world to our friends here. It makes me excited for Christmas.
The girls here have what they call an "escort ministry," that takes place after care group. Basically it's just a funny name for walking each other back to the hostel and making sure they get home safely. Our church here just received 1,000 Bibles from a group in Ft. Worth, and when I made the announcement that anyone could come to our room for a new Bible, the escorting ministry became much more popular. In fact, every single girl who was at care group escorted us home. They all loved getting to see our apartment, and they really loved getting a new Bible.
Tonight was a great night. There were several moments of just laughing at the hilarious things that I'm experiencing daily mixed in with continual amazement at the people that I'm building relationships with. I could go on and on about the testimonies shared tonight, but I feel like this has gotten long enough. I'll leave you with a picture of me with all the girls and their new Bibles. Florence, the crazy one who spontaneously decided I would lead worship, is the one striking a pose in the front. I told you she was funny.
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