Christmas Part 3: "The Homeless Boys"

Note:  There will be a lot over posts over the next week or so, because I want to catch up before the next few months get ahead of me! 

This is Christmas, backwards.

Christmas Sunset

When I was trying to figure out what I was doing for Christmas,  I discovered that the 2 guys I share an office with had no plans at all!  Slowly, over time, I discovered several other young men who had no where to go on Christmas.  To me, that is ridiculous.  So I made Christmas.  As I cooked on Christmas afternoon I had that weird song from The Nightmare before Christmas stuck in my head “Making Christmas, Making Christmas, Falala”

Having cooked the afternoon away, the boys (Javis and Denis) finally came to pick me up.  We piled food, a Christmas tree, lights, and random other things into their car and were off. We went to Wandegyre, where we met my friend Amani who didn’t have any Christmas plans.  Another guy, Isaac, met us in his car and we drove back to Javis and Denis’s place.  I had been there the week before, so I knew what kind of bachelor pad I was going into. 

Amani, Denis and I

Javis and Isaac

After scrapping together what random plates, cups, and silverware we could find, we ate and talked, listened to music, and danced.  I brought poppers which I occasionally set off.  The guys loved them, they had never seen them before. 

After dinner, Javis our DJ, had put on some slower music, which had a bit of a waltz beat.  So I told Javis I should teach him to waltz.  This turned into a general waltzing lesson for all 3 of the guys, which was great fun and a fantastic laugh.  They weren’t bad at all. 

Denis breaking out his moves

Waltz lessons!

Javis

Denis

Amani in motion

We played a small game of telephone Pictionary, which was sort of hard with 4 people.  But it still provided a few good laughs.  The guys were then ready to start the movie, but I had one last trick in my bag.  I gave each of them gifts.  Not anything big, just a personal card, mixed CD and some poppers for each of them, but they were all over the moon.  Denis told me, with a beautiful look on his face, that no friend of his had ever given a him a Christmas gift, he’d never gotten a gift on Christmas!  That sort of made up for the fact I didn’t get anything this year.  

The guys enjoying their gifts!

 After gifts we turned on Cowboys and Aliens, but were interrupted ½ an hour in by Counselor!  Counselor is one of my closest friends at Cornerstone, and was among the guys who told me he didn’t have anything to do on Christmas.  He came, and I gave him his gift and we talked for over an hour.  It was really good fun.

Then the guys wanted to take me back, because they didn’t want to be on the road late.  I was sad not to finish the movie, but knew it was for the best.

Counselor!!  Note:  In Uganda, holding hands is a sign of friendship, and is very common :)

The trip home was a terrible end to an ok Christmas.  Long story short… we spent an hour and a half with a police man, and it was not a pleasant experience.  The night did end with me driving for the first time in Uganda… Merry Christmas to me!  It was a sadly stressful way to part with the guys.  

Merry Christmas!

But my family is amazing.  We talked on Skype from 12:30 to 2 am (my time) and my dad and Hannah made me laugh a lot… I really love my family, and miss them a lot.