ECE--Jaclyn.... Last week :(

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others—Coach Carter

So this is my last Saturday in Masaka… That is crazy to say, it feels like only yesterday that I got here. This whole experience has been an amazing roller coaster that I would not change for anything. There have been amazing moments, sad moments, and moments that were filled with so much emotion I didn’t know what to call them.  All the moments here have been life changing and will forever be etched into my soul and who I am. This trip has certainly been a moment of inspiration and a moment of realization that we are capable of so much more that we think we are. The people who I have met here have shown me such strength and confidence and showed their own ability to shine… 

As I prepare myself to leave this place and this part of me behind and take a new part of who I am onward, I wonder if I had come on this journey before now would this have affected me in the same way? Or would it have changed me in a completely different way? I am a firm believer in the say that everything happens for a reason, and that everything happens when it is supposed to. So I leave Africa, Uganda and Masaka knowing that I was meant to be here… there was a reason, there was a purpose.

I have immensely enjoyed my time here and the people that I have become close to, the children I was able to build relationships with and feel privileged to not only embrace that experience entirely but also to be able to share what I have felt, learned, and discovered while I was here with people in my life.

I fear that I am out of words and if this was a movie I would not queue the montage of my moments here in Masaka, but sadly not a movie. So I will leave you with some photos of moments, brief and fleeting but life changing moments.