TREES = LOVE

So I'm pretty tired from an action-packed weekend in Budondo (a.k.a. land of the trees) but I just wanted to quickly give a tree update. This past week has been so exciting, because our group has completed two trainings: on Thursday we (and by we I mean the group) planted 110 trees (well, not all 110 have been planted quite yet, but most of them have!)and on Sunday we constructed a full-out nursery bed and planted mango, passion fruit, and papaya seeds that will now start to grow!!!! Somehow that doesn't all sound as exciting in writing as it is in reality, but trust me, it has been SO SO SO SO SO exciting to watch it all unfold. Seriously, these women are so strongly motivated to plant these trees and it is the most -- dare I say it -- heart-warming and inspiring thing in the world to see them out there in the sun, in the dirt, barefoot, digging the earth from which their trees will grow. And yesterday, oh my goodness, it blew my mind to see this flat barren plot of land turn into a nursery bed where little baby trees are germinating right now as I write this! Yesterday was a long day -- for the women especially, many of whom are older ladies -- and even without lunch, we all stuck around from the morning until 5 in the evening to lay that nursery bed and let me tell you, I have never been prouder of anyone than I was of the women who worked tirelessly all day and completed that training and laid that bed. One of the things I've been noticing is that while Patrick and his buddy Kabi are absolutely extraordinary and humble leaders for the group, the women themselves (who form 97% of the group's membership) aren't in big leadership roles the majority of the time. So after completing this really intensive training, the women are going to serve as the trainers for the big group nursery training this week. They are so devoted to this, and it's going to be really imperative to cultivate their leadership within the project in order for our whole initiative to succeed. Anyway, it meant so much to be able to hug them at the end of the day yesterday and know that they were IN this with me FOR REAL. We are in this crazy tree thing together now, and I am ecstatic at how it's going. On a more personal level, I have felt this incredible convergence of openness and energy and love this past week as I've been doing all this tree stuff with my group. It struck me that when I was actually excited to wake up on a Saturday and Sunday morning and bike for two hours in the sun to go do this work, that means this really is good work. I'm realizing that when your work is good and fills you up and sparks something in you, you are so much more motivated to actually DO it. I even finished my draft for my grant proposal now, so we'll be in good shape to proceed (that is if the grant is granted... yikes...). Haha now if only I could feel this good about writing papers for school!

Alright, good night! Stay tuned for more updates, and for pictures when I get ahold of a darn camera cord. Lots and lots of love.