Jack

People back home constantly ask me if I am lonely. I usually explain I have over 50 children to keep me company (and sing songs at 7:00 in the morning right outside my window). However, the kids are going back to school after their month break and so I am glad that I met Jack, a local. He’s a good listener and, wouldn’t you know it, understands my Canadian accent. He’s also good for a laugh. The other day someone came by when Jack and I were having a cup of coffee and asked me if I was going to eat him. Who knew cannibalism was common in Uganda! Anyways, Jack and I are discussing him coming back with me in August. I guess he has a cousin or something that lives in L.A.

Odds & Ends

I couldn’t find a theme for this week’s blog entry so I hope the title ties things together. I have included some topics that you, the readers, have been asking about and some things that are new.


Time. Some of you have asked me what I am spending my time doing. Recently, I have been spending a lot of time looking at the desk above. I seem to be teaching almost every day of the week here and on topics that I have to make up the material for. I don’t mind it, though, as I am learning a great deal while preparing. What am I teaching? Well, I meet with three (soon to be four) pastors 1-2 times a week. All of their studies seem to have a different focus and I am even helping one of them with schooling. On top if this, I am teaching at the church in town on Thursday nights, meeting at house groups on Mondays and Tuesdays, and, beginning next week, addressing a group of students at the local college. Did I mention that they are asking me to speak on struggles youth are having, mainly on success as well as, I quote, “fornication”. I am also preparing for a leaders session next weekend that I am a both excited and a bit anxious about.

Doom. When the team came, having read about the ant “issue” I was having, they stocked up on this stuff. Just dump some of the powder when the ants come in and they won’t go near it. There hasn’t been an ant in sight of the kitchen in the past two weeks. However, the little terrors are getting a bit more ingenious as I noticed them beginning to come in through the laundry line and down the shower in the bathroom.

It began with a visit to the boys home to say goodnight. They were sitting around, bored, and simply were excited when I read out English words from their textbooks. So, after a couple nights that, out of recesses of my mind I remembered some games I played when I was their age (I seem to be digging up all of my old tricks as of late). Tick-Tack-Toe, Checkers, some random Dot-Box Game, they all began to come back to me. Anyways, this has turned into a nightly ritual and the boys ask me constantly what game I am going to show them “tonight”. The problem is that I’m running out of games. Help? Please, if you remember things like paper football from grade school please leave some ideas in the comments!



Everyone on the team was pushing me buy a drum to have while I am here. My response was, “What am I supposed to do with an African drum?” Well, for fun, I decided to ask one of the locals to teach me and, lo and behold, I am beginning lessons. The best part about it is that I am using an old drum from the Church until I get good enough to ruin my own.

Jeff, Shannon, & their kids, as I have mentioned, have been such a help to me here. However, in my discussion of them I failed to mention something exciting in their lives. They just adopted a few month old baby from an orphanage in Kampala. This child had been left on the side of the road and taken to the orphanage. The story of how she ended up with them is amazing and the Dycks should tell it…actually, its here(scroll down). Her name is Mazi and although she was fearful of me at the beginning she has warmed up to this “Mzungu”.

Well, that’s enough random topics for now. Thanks for all the emails. They have been so encouraging. Also, keep sending questions as I realize I have tended to forget some things. Oh, and I cut my hair off (with the support of the vote, of course).



more to come...

Here and Gone

The team from Peace Portal Alliance Church left today. It has been a whirlwind week and this is the first time I have been able to sit down and type. It was a week of firsts as I drove for the first time on the left side of the road, visited the equator for the first time, did a first day of care and compassion, visited the Dycks place for the first time in Rakai and met the baby they just adopted, Mazi.

Having the team here (5 people + the Dycks) was great. Everyone jumped right in with the church and the kids and it made for a brilliant time. I got to know Nigel much better and it was good to see the Dickies. Having three mothers around also helped with preparing good food and having a clean place. It was also funny because they had read about my ant dilemma on my blog before they came. They made sure we had all sorts of insect killing chemicals around at all times!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for your emails. They have been a glimpse of home.
As promised, I have added some pics of the kids with descriptions. It is hard to put my experience with them into words and, as usual, simply thought I would comment on the photos and mention a couple of stories at the end.


The picture from the top of the post from left to right is Cc (Cee-Say), Sam, and Martin. Cc is a beautiful girl and granddaughter of one of the elder men in the church (more on him in another post). Here smile makes everyone melt. Sam is also a smiler and is missing a bunch of teeth. He is a bit shy but has warmed up to me. Martin is the cook’s son and a terror. That blanket he has I try to avoid at all costs as he wipes his constant runny nose all over it.



I have begun to pull out all the funny tricks, gimmicks, and games that I learned as a child. Here the kids are trying to move the proper finder that I point to. It is hard as they have their arms twisted around. It’s a left brain/right brain trick but to the younger ones it is simply amazing.




Here are the kids playing tick-tack-toe after I taught it to them. Job is on the left and is simply a really kind kid whose English is pretty good.


Tobogganing in Africa


Wasawa Brian. He is a quiet kid but I have found him to be very pure hearted. He is wasawa because he is a twin but his brother died a few years ago. Last week, when one of the kids hurt themselves playing soccer I glanced over and saw him praying for his friend.




Laurence. What can I say? He is a leader here and I use him to communicate with many of the other kids. He looks out for the younger ones and, on top of everything, he is a good soccer player.


Lavonne, this one is for you.

Here I am with Wycleff and Immaculate (CC’s older sister). All the kids sure love the camera and these two are no exception.

A couple of stories.

The third night the group was here we went by the three homes and said goodnight to the kids. Well, when we went by the girls house they proceeded to put on a 20 song show for us, dancing included! The sound of their powerful voices and their smiles is something I will never forget. (A funny side note: We went by to do the same thing a couple of nights later and they performed a skit that had something to do with not eating food that has flies on it to avoid cholera?! Too Funny.)

Going from living in the guest house by myself to having a dozen people here is a big change. I snuck away a few times to read, write, and pray. One of these times, one of the orphan girls came and sat beside me. She didn’t say anything for 20 minutes but was just content to sit there and watch me. I eventually drew a couple of sketches of things that were sitting around us but what amazed me was her contentment in simply sitting and watching. I am beginning to understand Jeff and Shannon’s comment that if the only thing I do is live here, it is enough.

More to come…

Place

Although my time here has been short, I have come to really enjoy the area I am living. The 10 acres is pretty secluded from town and, being on top of a hill, overlooks the whole area. I was finally able to catch a sunrise and it was better than advertised. The coffee wasn’t too bad either!

The property here consists of 3 children’s homes, a church, a medical clinic, a bath house, a guest house, food shelter, 52 orphans, 3 “moms”, a pastor and his family, 5 goats, 3 pigs, a bunch of chickens, a soccer pitch, and a partridge in a pear tree. The pictures here are a glimpse of what the property looks like. I actually walked around and took them when the kids were off getting their haircuts so, unfortunately, there is no one in the pictures. I also knew that if I tried to get the kids to take a few that it would lead to massive confusion! However, the Dycks have returned for the week and the team arrived yesterday. They have already taken some images that I will try to procure.

Greenery & Food Shelter


Guest House

Church & Medical Clinic


Regulation Goal


A couple of quick stories and then I will be off. I went on Friday to the airport to pick Nigel, a team member from the church, up. I haven’t gotten used to driving on the other side of the road yet so I also hired a driver. While getting ready to go he had mentioned just how bad the drivers and roads were here. I was surprised somewhat and mentioned that I hadn’t seen anything too horrible. He told me it was just a matter of time. Sure enough, as we were heading to the airport, we not only nearly ran over a jaywalker who wasn’t paying attention, we also saw a huge truck clip a bicycle overloaded with massive leaves, sending the bike and cyclist flying. He seemed to be pretty shaken up but otherwise alright.


As those who have been here know, most everyone walks or travels by boda (motorcycle). A boda can get you into town and back for a couple of bucks and, depending on the driver, a sore back or a conversation about whether there is AIDS in Canada. The bodas also are used to transport material. Well, while the team is here this week we are doing a care and compassion day. I was asked to pick up mattresses from town so that we could give them out. I asked about transport and Jeff said to get the bodas to bring them up, adding that I would need only one. Sure enough, the driver brought up all six on one trip and when I asked how many he could carry if he had to he said that, on one occasion, he took nearly a dozen! Did I mention that I saw an axel break on a truck a couple of days ago because it was overloaded?

More to come…..