Hi everyone! This is Monica, updating on behalf of Mallory. She hasn't had as much access to the internet as she thought she would, so she asked me to put an update on here so her loyal followers would not be disappointed! Here are a couple of noteworthy things:

-She arrived in Entebbe, Uganda approximately 24 hours after her scheduled arrival time. She and the two friends that were also on the later flight were picked up in Entebbe and driven to Kampala, where they will be staying for the remainder of the trip! She got in at about 8:30pm local time and ended up going to bed (under a mosquito net, of course) at around 11:00pm.

-She had to wake up on Monday morning and go straight to work at the Kibuye School... not the best situation, but she's been managing. She said there were two funny things about the school. 1) There is a giant picture of Barack Obama and "Yes we can!" outside the front gates, and 2) there is a giant picture of a black Jesus hanging on the cross. She said she took pictures of both. I told her that I guess Jesus was closer to black than he was to white, so maybe they aren't any more far off than we are! haha

The Kibuye School has been "a piece of Heaven" for Mal in Kampala, as she says that she really feels that her presence there is needed and appreciated. The kids just stare at her because she's white, and today they thought she was the coolest thing ever because she taught them how to play hang-man. HA! She's teaching 7th graders (how's that, Meredith!?) and has gotten feedback from her superiors at the school that the kids are really learning and enjoying what she's doing.

-Something else that's really cool is that one of the teachers was talking to Mal about how they have some African children in the village who are blind and who have been unable to go to school... he asked Mallory what children in America do if they are impaired, and she explained to him about Braille and about special education courses and things. He told her that he had heard of Braille but that no one in the community knew it, so the kids could not learn it. GOOD THING MALLORY KNOWS BRAILLE! She told him that she could teach them, and the man was so excited. It is so funny how Mallory just felt this random calling to learn braille a couple of months ago, and now here she has a chance to use it. God works in mysterious, awesome ways!

Here's a chart of braille letters and symbols for your reading enjoyment... Actually, Mal wanted me to put it on here so she could access it for a refresher. But you can look at it too; it's pretty interesting.

Okay, so I got one of those on there twice and I'm not sure how to get it off. Oops.

-Mal has been struggling a little bit with getting organized, getting used to the living arrangements, and (as expected) getting used to the food. She would like your prayers for these things, and also that the other students over there will be supportive of her in some of her "neuroses" (her words) such as her anxieties, her food issues, her sleep things, etc. Overall, she is enjoying her experience at the school, and it is the other "living" things that have been kind of challenging and getting her down. So, prayers are greatly encouraged!

That's all for now. I will update more if and/or when Mallory wants me to!