You are most welcome, in Uganda: you are most welcome, in prison

Today was pretty awesome. This morning I woke up and decided to get off my lazy butt and get some exercise in for the first time since I've arrived. Some of you will be proud that I lasted 6 days with no gym or running or biking, while my dad is probably wondering what i could have been doing this whole time that would keep me away from working out. Anyways... I threw on my running shoes and thought I'd go exploring, not the smartest idea. After a few minutes of jogging I found myself winding through the village next to New Hope, something I did not expect when I followed a narrow dirt path through the jungle. But that's actually all the village is, is one narrow path after another leading through the dense green foliage of the bush to small clearings that have just enough space for a small mud hut with a straw or tin roof and an outhouse. Some have a cornfield growing next to them or a few animals such as goats or long-horned cows, which are extremely terrifying as they greet you running by. After encountering a number of these little huts, each at the end of their own dirt paths, I found that I couldn't remember which path I needed to take to get back to New Hope. I took a few turns here and there thinking I could figure it out and found that I was always returning to the same place, or what looked like the same place since each tree and bush looked the same to me. Thankfully, praise God, there was this girl who came out of her hut right at the time I was frantically running by and shouted out "Aunt Terra!" Which I was shocked that someone in this crazy jungle area knew my name, but it turned out to be a girl who had recognized me from the school. I asked her directions to get back and she, after laughing a bit at me, told me to go left at the second corner while making motions towards the right with her hands. I ended up following her hand motions and found New Hope in the end. It wasn't what I had expected when I set out, but it was exactly what I wanted when I got back, to be able to explore and figure things out here by seeing people in their everyday lives.
After that I went to church and then went with a medical group that's travelling here from Alaska to a prison that is 45 minutes away. That was also an adventure. There were two vehicles that were taking people to the prison, both Ugandans and the Alaskan team, one was a bus and the other was an open bed truck with metal railings on each side. I, fortunately, got there late and was put on the truck. At first I thought this was going to be great fun as everyone is standing in the truck bed and holding onto the railings on the side. Little did I know that the truck was going to go barreling down this dirt road filled with holes and cause dust to fly up everywhere. We would hit a hole and everyone in the bed would fly up into the air, holding onto the railings for dear life. In the beginning it was fun, but after 45 minutes the fun turned to terror and then to exhaustion. By the time we got there I was covered in dirt and had sores on my hands and arms, good times. We then went into a small chapel at the prison where we held a service for the inmates and then tested them for malaria. Thank God, no one tested positive, but there were many who showed signs of illness that the team didn't have the medication for. Most of them received some kind of tylenol or ibuprofen and were sent on their way. The prison here is interesting in itself. There is a small dirt area enclosed by a barbed wire fence with a two-story building on one side which served as the sleeping areas. There is no kitchen as no food is provided by the country. The only way for inmates to get food is for their families to bring it to them. They also are not provided bedding or anything else, their family is required to provide for them or else they die in the prison. pretty intense, huh? after testing the inmates i actually had a little extra time and was able to meet some kids who were hearding long-horned cattle through the field next to the prison. These kids were no more than 8 years old and were walking with sticks to prod the cattle and control them, so crazy. They didn't understand any English, but we were able to play some games together that didn't require any language, such as down by the banks and paddy cake, pretty awesome. I learned afterward that those were the kids of the inmates and they lived in the huts on the same compound as the prison. Life is so different here.
Intense day, but amazing. Looking forward to learning more about Uganda...