Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy Birthday America!

Sozo staff and kids have been around Americans long enough to know that July 4th is somehow a special day. Today they were all making jokes about wearing red, white, and blue and singing the Star-Spangled Banner to us. And telling us, "Happy Birthday America!" One of the Sozo houses even sang happy birthday and wore their USA colors. 

Quite possibly my favorite story of the day is about our hired taxi driver for the summer, Deo. He was driving Laura and Mason to the store today and was stopped by the traffic police at a checkpoint. The policeman asked Laura, "How do you communicate with him (referring to Deo)?" Without hesitation, Deo replied (in his Ugandan accent), "I am American!"

This story is pretty awesome because as Deo was driving for the interns all summer last year, he learned to speak English. Now, Deo is a part of the Sozo extended family. He joins us for devotion and dinner each night, you might find him helping kids with their homework, helping patch a mud hut in the village, or letting the little ones climb into the driver's seat of his van and pretend to "drive to America to see Auntie Suz!"

I thank God for the opportunity to love on everyone that He places in our paths, no matter their role. They can be Sozo children, staff, teachers, people in the village, our waitresses at the restaurants we frequent, shop owners, Safari guides, and our driver. God gives us these opportunities to show the world who He is. I pray I don't miss these opportunities and that I take the time to grow these relationships. 

We celebrated the 4th of July like any Anerican would do... Eating way too much! Laura, Mason, Rebecca, and I were preparing food throughout the day so we could enjoy a celebration at House 4 (intern/missionary house) tonight. Rebecca and I learned how to make chips from scratch. Started with flour, water, salt, and sugar and ended the process with a pot full of chips! Somewhere in there we had quite a bit of Ugandan help... 

We enjoyed a feast of pork, sautéed vegetables, chips and salsa, hummus, fresh fruit, avacado, and a delicious pan of brownies. 

And, of course, the celebration wouldn't have been complete without our favorite "American" friend, Deo!

Happy birthday America!

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