The 2 Days of Christmas
There are by no means 12 Days of Christmas in Uganda…the imagination is even being stretched to say there are a total of 2 Days of Christmas in Uganda. We know this to be true based on the fact that the most evident sign of the recently celebrated holiday season being upon us in Fort Portal was the sight of a canopy hoisted on four poles in front of the Stanbic Bank ATM – put in place just this week to protect the long holiday line of withdrawers of cash from the blazing sun…this is the Stanbic Bank at the major roundabout in Fort Portal, neither of which, bank nor roundabout, had any hint of Christmas “decking of the halls with boughs of holly.” So while the US and other countries are pushing the limits of the season, every year sneaking the Christmas items onto the shelves earlier and earlier, expanding the days to spend, shop and prepare, we experienced the condensed version of Christmas, cramming the season into 2 brief days of holiday cheer.
In all fairness to the Ugandans, there were a few other signs of the holidays that popped up periodically and took us by surprise. Christmas week, the local market expanded up the hill towards town – tiny artificial Christmas trees, maybe 2 feet tall, and long garlands of brightly colored tinsel – all appeared draped on the grassy hillside a few days before the 25th. Gardens, the local restaurant hangout, spent time in the 22nd to hang red and green fabric from their balcony to greet holiday diners… Andrew, the local grocer, stuck a tree in a corner of his store. And even Stanbic, who displayed no visible exterior sign of Christmas, followed suit and boasted a Charlie Brown tree hidden away in a remote corner of the bank.
Waiting on the local butcher to slash away at bloody, fly infested meat at the Smart Butchery Shop in preparation for our meal deliveries, we saw one lone, rather dirty and shabby Santa hat passing by perched on top of a workman covered from head to toe in dirt and dust. And speaking of the butcher and meat, one of my personal favorites of the season…the clusters of villagers everywhere we went, huddled around the carcass of a cow freshly slaughtered for serving holiday diners. Ken delivered a Christmas CD for the house and a cassette for the car – filled with new versions of old favorites. They saved our Christmas spirit from extinction…that and good planning…
We knew “strategic planning” would be a key to success for surviving the holidays away from home. We turned opted to turn down generous invitations to join both American and Ugandan families in sharing Christmas meals and even gift opening, actually wanting to navigate these days with the spirit that the Lord would bring to us…not with the schedule we had committed to. We wanted to know the heart of Christmas from a new perspective, one driven by a desire to know the presence of Christ in all we did. We wanted to be pleasantly surprised or deeply disappointed according to his purposes, not just our own. We wanted to be swept up in the season for all the right reasons and find ourselves spent, challenged, blessed, and touched by our experiences. With much prayer, we charted the course for “the 2 Days of Christmas” and asked God to be with us, guiding and directing our steps, changing plans if necessary and giving us the grace to adjust. We wanted to know Christmas in Uganda, not just our American version of Christmas in Uganda. We cranked up our lone CD and stepped into our 2 Days of Christmas.
We were surprised…by so many generous people who would have gladly opened their homes and huts to us and shared the privacy of their Christmas experience with us – almost total strangers… We were surprised…by Malike, the Indian manager of the hardware store where Bob and Ken purchase materials which turn into the walls and floors of Christ Aid Academy – as he scurried across the street and back, bearing a gift wrapped in sparkling silver, hiding a bottle of French wine recently arrived from Europe via a friend. How could he possibly know we drink wine…and most especially enjoy French wine? How could he know we haven’t had a sip of French wine since we set foot on Ugandan soil? How could he know his gift would be such a treasure to Americans he has barely met?
We were surprised…by Eryaza’s gift of bright orange carrots and a bunch of bananas, brought 7 kilometers into town from Kicuna in a burlap sack which Gladys emptied and immediately returned. As the local Anglican minister and President of the Parents’ Association at Christ Aid Academy, Eryaza lights our fire – we have been in his hut and know he has little to spare since he feeds many mouths…Surprised by an “encoco” (chicken), recently beheaded, plucked, cleaned and roasted for our visit to Innocent’s home. Two weeks earlier we had promised Innocent and his family that we would share g-nuts and tea in their humble hut on Christmas Eve Day. So as we handed off gifts of beef, rice, sugar, oil, bread, sweets and a carton of coke for their festive Christmas dinner, along with all the spare parts Innocent needed to repair his exhausted bicycle, we were treated to not only the promised g-nuts and hot tea, but a surprise of grilled, home-grown chicken. If only Amooti had known that the “surprise bowl” she proudly placed on the table would bring instant fear to Bob, who has sworn off what he believes to be all diseased Ugandan animals, cooked or not…well, she would have saved the tasty morsels of poultry for someone who could more enthusiastically appreciate their exquisite taste.
We were touched…by the gifts placed into our hands after we delivered Christmas food to huts in Kicuna. Our first stop was Amos, my mother’s Ahadi Kid, who lives in a home with 11 cousins and one grandmother whose children are all dead from AIDS. From the moment the “mukaaka” saw us with our moveable feast until the moment we left her hut, her Mukama Asiimwe (praise God) and Mukama Akulinde (God’s blessings) over us did not stop as she clutched my hands in praise and thanksgiving – the gift of faith pouring into my strong body from a weary woman who relies on her Provider more than on her banana plantation. Beatrice’s home was a flurry of activity when we arrived…millet flour being ground by strong, young arms, grandbabies running half-naked in the yard, young women smiling and laughing at our arrival. As we left the Christmas meal on her small table, Beatrice disappeared, quickly to return with 6 fresh eggs in a plastic bag – a giant-sized gift from her family of a dozen or so in response to the smallest of gifts from two Americans who can give more. And on arrival home, we discovered a tattered bag with an original Adolf sculpture inside – a sweet remembrance from the talent who created “Touchdown Jesus” on Christ Aid Academy.
We were disappointed…by Christmas Eve dinner at Fort Motel, a local lodge built by an Irishman who has now sold to a Ugandan…who keeps a high standard of service and quality. We chose to go there out of sheer curiosity – I had eaten lunch previously with the expat wives and boasted of the beef. Whether he believed it or not, Bob was persuaded that this beef would be different than the meat at Smart Butchery Shop – so we ordered steak with the sauce of the evening and were anxious to give ourselves the gift of beef for Christmas. On arrival, all good expectations flew out the window as we were greeted with the news that the menu had changed under the direction of a visiting chef from South Africa, excited to share the newest and best of culinary delights, and many locals had been invited for a Christmas Eve tasting – surprise party for the Isbells! While our mouths were watering all day long for grilled steak, the chef was in her steamy kitchen, enthusiastically preparing Thai fish cakes and chicken satay with peanut sauce…we never let her see our disappointment.
But this abrupt change in plans also brought us another surprise – unexpected dinner company! As Peter escorted us to our choice of tables for the evening and we adjusted our palates to the change in menu, we spotted Edward in the crowd. In a sea of strange faces that we had suddenly been thrown together with to celebrate Christmas Eve, one lone friendly face stood out – the Chancellor of Mountains of the Moon University. We greeted him, then his wife Foebe, then more family home for the holidays from Norway and Kampala, and had a pleasant conversation. Suddenly, they were sitting at our table for four, the young folks off at a table for 30 with lively conversation, and the older quartet settled in for an evening of interesting conversation. How could they know that we were so blessed to have our attention diverted from the sadness of missing loved ones at home to lively conversation peppered with politics, travel, religion, tourism, economy, and of course, the holidays? Bob and I were entranced as Edward and Foebe held court at our table - a continuous stream of what we could only call the Fort Portal “yuppie crowd” filing past to pay homage to the elder statesman and his wife, each introduction only a brief interruption in our delightful evening. We continue to be puzzled as to why they left their family and guests to spend the evening with us – perhaps we were their escape from the high energy of youth. The night flew by in a blaze of conversation and introductions… Day 1 under our belts, touched, surprised, and thankfully exhausted.
We were challenged – as we woke to a Christmas Day in a foreign country, filled with foreign activity! Oddly enough, we were comforted to know that at the same moment we were eating Weetabix cereal with peanut butter (our cook was off for the day), sipping on instant coffee and enjoying our Christmas poinsettia tree, no one in the states was doing a thing – everyone was sound asleep, only dreaming about jumping out of bed for Christmas morning. So while we tearfully prayed for our family and friends and crunched away on our less than holiday-worthy breakfast, you were all asleep – and we congratulated ourselves that we weren’t really “missing” anything at the moment since you weren’t really “doing” anything at the moment.
Obviously we were disappointed…in our breakfast! Good grief, anyone would have been disappointed! When you are supposed to be indulging in all sorts of wonderful treats you may eat only once a year, it was a little sad to be munching a piece of Weetabix cardboard, even though it was topped with peanut butter. We were disappointed that we had not sung “Silent Night” as Christmas Eve candles flickered in our hands, that we would not be roasting a turkey or glazing a ham, that we would not be hugging and laughing with family. We were disappointed that there was no noise in our house…no patter of feet, no squeals of delight over opening presents, no hugs and pictures and more hugs and more pictures…no activity. Silence…
We were blessed… however…because for the first time in our lives, we had time on Christmas morning to ponder and reflect instead of shift into high-stress reflex mode to manage the explosion of morning activity. No distractions tempted us to break away from discussing “How Great is Our God”, a video we had watched Christmas Eve at church. We stood in awe of God who spoke and breathed all creation into existence, then planted himself right smack dab in the middle of the mess of humanity. We sat, we prayed, we gave thanks…for the sheer wonder of it all.
We were not disappointed…that Notre Dame won their bowl game! Especially since Linda had picked them to win in her bowl selections – unlike Bob who turned traitor and went with Hawaii.
We were blessed… to be in the right place…Christmas Day services in the village church in Kicuna. Packed to overflowing, little girls prancing in and out in taffeta and crinoline party dresses, little boys with lace-up shoes and ties, casting off those same shoes when they could stand them no more, beautiful young mothers with jeweled shawls and colorful dresses, grandmothers with heads bound in strips of local fabric of a 100 colors, elders in celebrative robes. Having been in a shepherd’s cave in Israel which could have been the birthplace of Christ, Bob and I knew we would never come closer to experiencing the surroundings of his birth than here in this church – cows mooing, chickens squawking, babies crying, the odor of cow dung and human sweat difficult to inhale. There were no Christmas carols, no beautiful accompaniment from fine-tuned instruments, no Christmas tree… no magnificence of any kind. Only a simple grandeur of peasant worshipers, gathered on frail wooden benches under wooden beams decorated with celebrative vines and flowers, giving a moment of their difficult lives filled with toil, fatigue and early death to honor their King. We arrived late to avoid causing the normal commotion which mzungus bring along with them…we left early to avoid the same. We were the privileged outsiders, allowed in the door for just a moment to partake of a true sense of worship of our King.
We were blessed… to be in the right place…right here in Fort Portal, wrapped in the loving arms of the missionary families whose solitary goal in life is to heed the call and serve God. Magic chefs and mysterious kitchens produced a buffet which was a feast for the eyes and the stomachs longing for a touch of home – pies of every sort – blueberry, chocolate, lemon, apple - cinnamon rolls with gooey icing, quesadillas with guacamole, sweet and sour meatballs, pickles (a rarity here). And from our own kitchen which was a food factory on Christmas Eve Day, 7 layer dip Ugandan style…translates to 4 layer dip which is all the ingredients you can get your hands on, along with chapatti chips. No convenient cans in this kitchen – Gladys makes refried beans, salsa and chapatti chips from scratch, so 7 layer dip takes about…7 hours to concoct! Cook the beans, flavor the beans, mash the beans, spread the beans - cook the tomatoes, add the peppers, onion, garlic and hot sauce - make the chapatti dough, cook the chapatti, cut the chapatti into triangles, fry the triangles, salt the triangles…yep, 7 hours at the very least.
We were grateful…that the squeals of delight we missed in the states from our own grandchildren were everywhere around us when the 16 missionary children opened the gifts they exchange. 5000ugx is the limit…but $2.50 goes a long way here – shorts, t-shirts, dresses, games – the room was a beehive of kids running to show and share and thank. Four hours of English conversation you can easily understand, four hours of feeling totally at home because the culture around you isn’t strange, four hours of sharing emotions that make sense to the person you are talking to, four hours of eating what you miss from home, and four hours of mutual encouragement as an Aaron to a Moses – each one of us hoping to be able to prop up someone else’s ministry with our words of faith, understanding and hope.
We were thankful…to do Skype with the grandkids, talk to our sons and daughter-in-law, family in Pennsylvania and Colorado. Our family celebreated the birth of our Savior in Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Denmark and Uganda. We used the phone to text and call, the computer to chat and Skype, and celebrated Christmas in four different time zones. We talked presents and menus, mass and music, grandbabies and nieces. We were almost there… hearing familiar voices, seeing loved faces, laughing, sharing, oohing and ahing over treasured presents so proudly held up in front of the webcam by little hands.
We were overwhelmed at God’s provision…just for the two of us, tucked in a remote corner of Uganda, in the big continent of Africa, away from all we hold dear, over the “2 Days of Christmas”. Amazed that we didn’t collapse into a puddle of tears or drag dreary spirits through the days. Encouraged that this life so far away from the land of familiar presented its own moments of holiday cheer and charm. Grateful that hearts are one even when celebrations are separated. Captivated by the goodness of our God…that He delivers his gift of salvation in Jesus Christ to every corner of the world and can find any one of us, no matter where we are, to bring us great joy. Our “2 Days of Christmas” surprised us, disappointed us, delighted us, challenged us, and swept us up in the arms of our Great God. We are still here, hearts strangely warmed and spirits focused on the New Year.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to all of you!
Our update and prayer requests come wrapped in our brief Christmas letter and attached photo of "Touchdown Jesus", recently painted on the side of Christ Aid Academy.
We can imagine how busy everyone is with travel, family and friend schedules, worship services, last minute shopping, and probably a day or two of skiing on great snow...so when you have time, enjoy what we've sent.
Prayer Requests:
1. A blessed Christmas season for all you/we know and love - especially in light of the effect the economic conditions will have on so many families. It is common here in Uganda to have very little in material possessions, if anything, for Christmas. Always a good reminder to keep our eyes focused on God, the provider.
2. Travel mercies for the Christ Aid January mission team - they depart the US on December 29th. Also, that through them, God would accomplish all His perfect will desires while they are here.
3. Hearts to serve...for anyone you want to pray for!
4. God's choice for a new teacher for Christ Aid Academy - still not selected
5. Always, always, always that loving God and loving his people, wherever and whoever they are, would be above all other personal desires.
6. Safety, efficiency and commitment for all the construction workers who are beginning on the pit latrine and soon on Building II at Christ Aid Academy.
7. God's blessings on so many who continue to support the school project in Kicuna in so many ways.
Merry Christmas - love to you all - thanks for your prayers which sustain us. Into the New Year!
Bob and Linda
Sleighbells ring, are you listenin', in the lane snow is glistenin'…
Everyone back home has snuggled in for the long winter, braced for the snow and ice, bought ski passes, lugged out the boots, blown out the pipes, and turned on the gas fireplaces…We can smell the buttery microwave popcorn, taste the steamy hot chocolate, and look over your shoulder at the list of bowl games you'll watch during the holidays. We can imagine the calendar marked with celebrative gatherings and hear Manheim Steamroller on your CD player. We can feel the nip at your nose as you tromp out in the forest to cut the perfect Christmas tree, listen to your family chatter as they gather to decorate, then watch you relax late in the evening as all your lights twinkle brightly on your tree as snow quietly falls outside… stockings hung by the chimney with care…holiday treats in the oven, the fragrance of cinnamon and nutmeg mixing with pine. We are there with you in spirit…
"A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland"…well, not exactly. Let us welcome you to Christmas, Uganda style! Snuggle is not a word that exists over here – not when it's a balmy 80 degrees every day. Dragging out the boots? It's a matter of what color of flip-flops you want to wear. Sipping hot chocolate? Ugandans sip on bottled coke with a straw to celebrate Christmas. Bowl games? We'll be checking NCAAsports.com. to see if Linda outwits Bob in her picks. Festive gatherings? The expat celebration is the happening place on Christmas afternoon at 3:00. Christmas tree? We have a blazing red poinsettia tree in our tropical back yard that will serve quite nicely as our Christmas tree this year. Decorations and all those cute twinkly lights? You wouldn't know it is Christmas if you didn't have a calendar.
So while we may be missing family, friends and just good ole' home this Christmas, there is one blessing we have this year which we have never had before…the opportunity to prove to ourselves that Christmas really is in the heart and not under the tree. Our Christmas is stripped down to its barest bones…so instead of being swept away with the festivities, the schedule, the shopping, the decorations, we are asking God to make good use of this Christmas to sweep us away with the Good News that God would care enough to become a baby and join us here on earth. We want to stand in awe before our Creator and simply marvel at his love, his generosity, and his yearning to bring us home through his Son, Jesus Christ…such deep yearning that through his Son, He chose to set aside his omnipotent power which called the vast galaxies into existence, and humbly take on our nature… so we could know His. And what we all share together, no matter where we are…
"Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King." Not let the USA or Uganda receive her King, but the earth…the entire earth. Let every person in every land bend a knee to receive Jesus Christ as King over all. You may be crunching through the snow…we may be flip-flopping through the dusty roads, but all of us will be celebrating the love God has shown for us in sending His Son to walk among us. You may be gathered together with family and friends…we may be sitting in a hut on a hillside in Kicuna, but all of us will be rejoicing that our Savior comes to make us new every day as he blesses us with the gift of eternal life in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Email, 12/05/08
An emotional week for us in many ways - end of Term 3 at Christ Aid Academy, beginning of that pesky month of December and Christmas holidays when we won't be with family, news that we needed to pray for a friend's endangered pregnancy, and all the normal that life brings at you wherever you live. We pray you have been well and celebrated a joyous Thanksgiving.
Our camera is broken...so pictures will come when we have had an opportunity to use someone else's camera, download here and then send. But we have attached a journal entry from this week's end of term at Christ Aid Academy...enjoy.
Prayer Requests...
1. we interview next week for teachers for CAA - new teacher
2. Mission Team from Denver who arrives this month - much planning and coordination of effort
3. protection over students for the next 2 months as we are apart
4. God's provision for all needs for Christ Aid Academy
5. God's provision for all who are needy
6. Thanksgiving for so many who are helping the school through fundraisers, Christmas gifts, personal support. We're off to a dinner at Calvary Chapel where members share what God is doing in their lives - we're anticipating great accounts!
God bless,
Bob and Linda
Our camera is broken...so pictures will come when we have had an opportunity to use someone else's camera, download here and then send. But we have attached a journal entry from this week's end of term at Christ Aid Academy...enjoy.
Prayer Requests...
1. we interview next week for teachers for CAA - new teacher
2. Mission Team from Denver who arrives this month - much planning and coordination of effort
3. protection over students for the next 2 months as we are apart
4. God's provision for all needs for Christ Aid Academy
5. God's provision for all who are needy
6. Thanksgiving for so many who are helping the school through fundraisers, Christmas gifts, personal support. We're off to a dinner at Calvary Chapel where members share what God is doing in their lives - we're anticipating great accounts!
God bless,
Bob and Linda
Friday, November 28, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
We have already pounded on turkey and dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie with all the other expats - a wild and crazy dinner with forty of us gathered around 3 tables set with mammoth bowls overflowing with way too much of everything.
It was a bit strange to be looking out at tea plantations, which is the setting for the home we were in. And talk revolved around American football and trips into Congo to mediate between two tribes - a little difficult to emotionally land in one spot with American meal, Ugandan setting, mission talk and American football...don't know if we have enough tracks in our brain to handle it all.
Anyway...we are praying a blessed Thanksgiving for all of you as you celebrate with family and friends. Our hearts are full of thoughts about what it means to be thankful to God for all we have, especially in the midst of constant reminders of meager provisions. We were in a grandma's hut this morning, sharing the experience with some friends from Seattle who are serving in Kampala with Sports Outreach. We went from mud and sticks and a floor covered in cow dung to our Thanksgiving feast - we are American and have privileges. We can only be grateful, and then ask, "How can we help?"
Love to all of you,
Bob and Linda
We have already pounded on turkey and dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie with all the other expats - a wild and crazy dinner with forty of us gathered around 3 tables set with mammoth bowls overflowing with way too much of everything.
It was a bit strange to be looking out at tea plantations, which is the setting for the home we were in. And talk revolved around American football and trips into Congo to mediate between two tribes - a little difficult to emotionally land in one spot with American meal, Ugandan setting, mission talk and American football...don't know if we have enough tracks in our brain to handle it all.
Anyway...we are praying a blessed Thanksgiving for all of you as you celebrate with family and friends. Our hearts are full of thoughts about what it means to be thankful to God for all we have, especially in the midst of constant reminders of meager provisions. We were in a grandma's hut this morning, sharing the experience with some friends from Seattle who are serving in Kampala with Sports Outreach. We went from mud and sticks and a floor covered in cow dung to our Thanksgiving feast - we are American and have privileges. We can only be grateful, and then ask, "How can we help?"
Love to all of you,
Bob and Linda
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Christ Aid Academy Building I- Complete!
We inspected the building today, made the final payment (have one little gutter issue we will resolve tomorrow) and Christ Aid Academy Building I is completed (except for the painting work the mission team will do in January).
Well, anyway, it is really finished except for the finishing touches and everyone is very excited...especially Mighty Construction since they received their final payment today. Many thanks for all you have done to give us the opportunity to be here to help the village of Kicuna and Christ Aid Academy get to this point - upward and onward with Building II, pit latrine, offices, soccer field!!!
We are truly giving thanks today...and this week for God's great hand of provision for our country which makes it possible to share with others in need.
Mukama Akuhe Omugiisa
Bob and Linda
Friday, November 14, 2008
Email November 5, 2008
Sorry this is late getting up... I have had super sick kids for the last couple weeks! tyne
Well, big day in the US. We jumped up this AM, turned on the computer and got the news about Obama. Went straight to my prayer journal and wrote a prayer for the country and the president-elect. We tried to explain to a Ugandan today that while the Americans who voted for Obama would be rejoicing, even people who wanted McCain in office would continue to pray for Barack Obama as our leader.
Our contractor for the project said that the CNN from Europe was focusing on how surprised the world is that America would actually elect an African-American as president. We told him how surprised we were that the world thought that racial issues would ultimately decide the election - that Americans look for the best candidate, and despite the fact that racism is unfortunately alive and well, the majority of Americans are not basing their vote on race. So in whatever spirits this finds you on post-election day, we are all called to lift up our future leader in prayer. As we live away from all the press and the hype and emotion of our election, and in the midst of a small African nation struggling to embrace and fulfill the promise of democracy, we are simply grateful that we are American.
We have attached a photo from our Christ Aid Academy chapel today - so incredibly uplifting that I wish we had made a video recording of Moses playing his guitar and the kids rocking out to "Jesus lives". We most often attend Calvary Chapel where Moses is the P and W leader. We asked him to come do a music chapel for us - and was he ever a hit! Most of the students had never seen a guitar...just take that one in and digest. But as soon as they caught on to what he was doing, they were clapping and dancing to beat the band. He explained to them how he made his first guitar when he was a small village boy - and the kids were captivated, watching every detail of his explanation as he showed them a gerry can, how he cut a hole in it, then attached a stick and some wires for strings and started playing. we can only imagine that the huts of Kicuna will be ringing with homemade guitar music tonight and in the near future. We wonder what little seeds he planted for future musicians????
Our only prayer request this week from all of you is for the other Americans who live in Fort Portal and do ministry here. The journal entry is a slice of their lives and a look at sacrifice and reward in the mission field. Truly these people have been especially equipped by God - so when you think to pray for us and the CAA project, please remember them, as well: Bob and Jennifer Chedester - World Harvest, Hope Primary School, Bundibugyo MissionCheryl and Jeff Cash - New Testament Church of Christ, Fort Portal and soon to be DRC missionaries via the airAmy and Andrew Martin - New Testament Church of ChristIsaac and Clea Wooten, Connie- Calvary Chapel Bible SchoolDoug and Destiny Calhoun - Calvary ChapelBrandi and Lew Johnson - Baptist World MissionsCarol Adams - private orphanage and sponsorship for school fees. There are a few others - but mostly on very short-term basis for 3-9 months.
Tyne Evans White is keeping our blog updated at http://www.isbellinuganda.blogspot.com/ - many thanks to her!
Mukama Abahe Omugiisa
Bob and Linda
Journal Entry- You Did Not Choose Me
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. “
John 15: 16
Bob and I walk in the back door of Brandi and Lew’s home in Boma, the hill which originally was home to the British as they colonized Fortportal Town, and still is home to many mzungus living here. Bob is bearing the gift of lunch, fish and chips, and I am bearing a simple gift – all to celebrate Brandi’s departure to Nairobi. She and Lew are expecting their second child and she will deliver in Aga Khan Hospital, the medical facility which presently boasts the best reputation in East Africa. She will spend the next two weeks to a month – December 6 her delivery date – in a guesthouse/hotel, sharing a living/dining/kitchen facility with other Baptist missionaries, and sharing her own bed with her 18 month old daughter, Elizabeth. Lew will go only so far as the Entebbe airport, kiss his wife and daughter goodbye, put them on the 540 plane to Kenya and pray the appropriate entourage is at the Nairobi Airport to escort Brandi and Elizabeth to the guesthouse. He will follow in the car along the 15 hours of road to Nairobi on November 20th, 2 weeks later. We will do our best to keep Lew occupied during his family’s absence – he and Bob take weekly hikes into the back country around Fort Portal and we can always share a meal.
Brandi’s mother and father wait at home in the states for news of the new grandchild. They are camp parents at a Christian camp in Arkansas and have no extra funds to spend on the $5000 trip to Nairobi. At lunch today, Brandi receives gifts of lotions and soaps to help her feel pampered, but as she opens she is reminded that with Elizabeth’s delivery, her mother was with her, rubbing her feet, her back, braiding her long dark hair, and tending to the needs of a woman nearing delivery. This time, Brandi will need to be tending to the needs of Elizabeth as she scurries around the small quarters, with no help from Lew and no way to leave the compound for fear of going into an early labor. She has already been sequestered at her home in Fort Portal, patiently passing the days cooking, cleaning and playing with Elizabeth. But in Nairobi, nothing and no one except her physician will be familiar and each day will pass slowly with few distractions. Certainly she will find time to pray for Lew who will be home ministering to the boda boda drivers and the Baptist ministers in the area whom he is discipling. As we leave today she hands us small items we may be able to use in her absence so they do not go to waste – no one wastes anything here.
Destiny shares the latest dilemma that she and Doug are facing…which is not to say that this is their first. Not only are they in the throws of registering Calvary Chapel as a legitimate NGO in Fort Portal and fighting the continuous battles with the authorities, nor are they simply faced with the threat of going to court to battle the father of a young girl who ran in front of Doug’s car on the road to Kampala and had to have stitches. Doug is innocent of any negligence, many witnesses attest, but the father continues to use every deception he can to get money out of the Calhouns for his own benefit, not for any medical treatments for his daughter which Doug and Destiny have already paid. The stories of both issues are long, twisted and difficult to explain, but now, on top of these issues, they are working through how to best minister to their cook and nanny who is unmarried and pregnant. Compassion, mercy, grace, integrity, trust, truth, forgiveness, repentance, restoration – they all march before them as they work to sort out all their challenges in their ministry to the people of Fort Portal.
Bob and I leave the Johnson’s home, filled with food, laughter, encouraging conversation and sweet prayer time for Brandi and the new baby, run Destiny home and head to the Wootens. We have promised Connie that we will check on her as she babysits her 4 grandchildren while Isaac and Clea are in Kampala hunting for a new stove (we all hunt for new stoves on occasion). Connie is a youthful 62, full of energy and passion for life. She is somewhat of a free spirit, embracing new experiences like an eager child. Her role in the Wooten household is not only loving grandmother to her daughter’s children, but homeschool teacher to all four of them. Connie and I have committed to Friday afternoon tea as an opportunity for her to weekly reclaim her 62 year old self that she willingly sacrifices all week long for her family. We spend 2 solid hours sipping dark African coffee, letting the rains fall beyond the shelter of the Mountains of the Moon verandah, and chatting about adult topics of faith and politics.
The Wootens have recently moved here from Kenya where they helped run a school. Connie has other state-side children, but committed to help Isaac and Clea in their ministry in Africa as long as they needed her loving arms and educated mind. Isaac grew up in Israel where his parents were missionaries in the shadow of the temple mount in Jerusalem. If he goes back to Israel, he will be called into the military to serve as he is a citizen by birth. His parents now live in Kenya, having taken over the work that Isaac and Clea just left. He understands missions, and despite the fact that he has just completed his doctorate in engineering and could earn a 6 figure salary in the states, he, Clea and their four children ages 4 and under have landed in Fort Portal, Uganda to serve God.
Connie shows us through the house, filled with the scent of onion and garlic, so commonly used in most dishes here. They arrived with no furniture, so the brightly colored floral chairs and sofa in the living area are small gifts the generous landlord left for them to use. The dining room is filled with plastic table and chairs normally used for outdoor dining, but here, the obvious inexpensive choice for a family of 7. The kitchen is bright and cheery, painted a pale yellow and white. An enormous window above the narrow countertops looks out to the back yard. The familiar 2-burner butane stove sits atop the counter, firing up the pressure cooker of vegetable soup, the heavenly source of the onion and garlic which greeted us at the front door. A small sink and an office-sized refrigerator complete the necessary equipment to produce daily meals. There is no laundry room, which most mzungu homes have recently acquired. Susan and Fred, the help who came with the Wootens from Kenya, wash everything by hand. Even with 11 people on the compound, we’re sure there is not much laundry.
Each of the 4 bedrooms in the house is reminiscent of a convent or monastery – a bed to hold the room’s occupants and a small side table with no lamp. Thin drapes cover the windows and blow in the gentle breeze that the afternoon rain has brought. There are no screens on the windows and no mosquito nets over the beds. One of the bedrooms also serves as the “one house school room” where Connie spends part of the day teaching reading, math, science and social studies to Nehemiah, Elijah, Ezekiel and Hosannah. She doesn’t brag on them in vain, as Nehemiah reads off the story of the moths that make baskets from twigs they gather. So while we look through their house in awe of how little they have in material possessions and consider what they could have in the United States, we pray for God to doubly bless them in any way possible for the choices they make to serve God overseas.
Add to these three families the young Andrew and Amy with their 15 month old daughter and a son on the way in January, a family of 6 who hale from Texas and Oregon, and a family of 7 who have adopted 2 American and 3 Ugandan children. Each one has humorous and not so humorous tales to tell of the mountains of trouble they have climbed to minister here – angry and corrupt Ugandans, people yelling in their faces that they should go back to the United States, threats of physical harm, church members who turn their backs on years of ministry and walk away to follow other gods. The list of what could undo any one of us on an average day is endless – and they take it all in stride, pray for God’s guidance and discernment, and keep their faces pointed to the prize ahead. They rejoice over the relationships which are blessed and pray over the relationships which struggle. When they hit walls, they go to God in desperate prayer to find the answer – and here are some of the results…
-Brandi and Lew are investing money in printing a book of the Bible in stories – a simple way to minister to the uneducated or minimally educated who are not able to read sophisticated English. It may be 2 months before they are home from Kenya due to how the hospitals issue birth certificates, but on their return we will all rejoice with them in the birth of a new little Johnson, and they will pick up where they have left off and begin to distribute the booklets.
-Jeff and Cheryl are waiting for a container and a mechanic – the container bringing over a dismantled airplane hangar and the mechanic coming to fix the small Cessna which no longer lifts off the ground. Their goal? Continue their ministry here in Fort Portal at New Testament Church of Christ, but begin an airborne ministry into the hazardous jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo just across the Rwenzoris. Roads are frequently impassable there and to reach the tribes buried underneath the canopy of trees of the eastern DRC, a plane is the best tool. Their eyes light up when they talk about their new challenge of crossing into Congo to bring much needed physical aid and the grace, mercy and love of Jesus Christ.
-Destiny and Doug have committed to at least 5 more years here. Why? Because Doug is teaching through the Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, to a group of 30-40 Ugandans who attend Calvary Chapel. Most people who attend church here are not very familiar with the Bible – more familiar with a culturally adapted form of worship which incorporates scripture reading, but no actual teaching of the historical background which gave foundation to the writings or in-depth study of the expanded meanings of the scripture.
-The Wootens have arrived to begin a Bible School at Calvary Chapel. So instead of using his engineering skills to build great bridges (and Clea is an engineer, as well), Isaac is building a tree house for his children that looks out on the beauty of Uganda…and building lives of faith based on the truth of God’s word for those who attend his school. Everything is the Lord’s, is their motto – children, home, health. Their trust in God’s sovereignty is a witness to us all. Connie feels blessed to be with her family, sleeping in her small bed, on a foam mattress, in an unscreened room off a tiny hallway with no carpet under her feet. Bob and I watch her offerings of tender mercies to her grandchildren and miss our own, so very far away.
So while our days are filled with our own personal adventures in helping to bring Christ-centered education to Kicuna through Christ Aid Academy, we are also privileged to spend our days learning from and sharing with a group of dedicated Americans who come from incredibly diverse backgrounds, bring an interesting list of talents and abilities to their work, and have different understandings of God’s word from denominational backgrounds. For some reason we have all landed here on the planet at this moment in time, signed, sealed and delivered by God to Fort Portal, chosen by Him alone to accomplish His purposes. Families with young children to be an encouragement to each other, young mothers sharing teething stories and recipes, young men in ministry able to overcome denominational differences and pool their resources, children to be playmates to each other, and the gray heads of grandparents to try to keep up the pace and to love and nurture them all.
John 15: 16
Bob and I walk in the back door of Brandi and Lew’s home in Boma, the hill which originally was home to the British as they colonized Fortportal Town, and still is home to many mzungus living here. Bob is bearing the gift of lunch, fish and chips, and I am bearing a simple gift – all to celebrate Brandi’s departure to Nairobi. She and Lew are expecting their second child and she will deliver in Aga Khan Hospital, the medical facility which presently boasts the best reputation in East Africa. She will spend the next two weeks to a month – December 6 her delivery date – in a guesthouse/hotel, sharing a living/dining/kitchen facility with other Baptist missionaries, and sharing her own bed with her 18 month old daughter, Elizabeth. Lew will go only so far as the Entebbe airport, kiss his wife and daughter goodbye, put them on the 540 plane to Kenya and pray the appropriate entourage is at the Nairobi Airport to escort Brandi and Elizabeth to the guesthouse. He will follow in the car along the 15 hours of road to Nairobi on November 20th, 2 weeks later. We will do our best to keep Lew occupied during his family’s absence – he and Bob take weekly hikes into the back country around Fort Portal and we can always share a meal.
Brandi’s mother and father wait at home in the states for news of the new grandchild. They are camp parents at a Christian camp in Arkansas and have no extra funds to spend on the $5000 trip to Nairobi. At lunch today, Brandi receives gifts of lotions and soaps to help her feel pampered, but as she opens she is reminded that with Elizabeth’s delivery, her mother was with her, rubbing her feet, her back, braiding her long dark hair, and tending to the needs of a woman nearing delivery. This time, Brandi will need to be tending to the needs of Elizabeth as she scurries around the small quarters, with no help from Lew and no way to leave the compound for fear of going into an early labor. She has already been sequestered at her home in Fort Portal, patiently passing the days cooking, cleaning and playing with Elizabeth. But in Nairobi, nothing and no one except her physician will be familiar and each day will pass slowly with few distractions. Certainly she will find time to pray for Lew who will be home ministering to the boda boda drivers and the Baptist ministers in the area whom he is discipling. As we leave today she hands us small items we may be able to use in her absence so they do not go to waste – no one wastes anything here.
Destiny shares the latest dilemma that she and Doug are facing…which is not to say that this is their first. Not only are they in the throws of registering Calvary Chapel as a legitimate NGO in Fort Portal and fighting the continuous battles with the authorities, nor are they simply faced with the threat of going to court to battle the father of a young girl who ran in front of Doug’s car on the road to Kampala and had to have stitches. Doug is innocent of any negligence, many witnesses attest, but the father continues to use every deception he can to get money out of the Calhouns for his own benefit, not for any medical treatments for his daughter which Doug and Destiny have already paid. The stories of both issues are long, twisted and difficult to explain, but now, on top of these issues, they are working through how to best minister to their cook and nanny who is unmarried and pregnant. Compassion, mercy, grace, integrity, trust, truth, forgiveness, repentance, restoration – they all march before them as they work to sort out all their challenges in their ministry to the people of Fort Portal.
Bob and I leave the Johnson’s home, filled with food, laughter, encouraging conversation and sweet prayer time for Brandi and the new baby, run Destiny home and head to the Wootens. We have promised Connie that we will check on her as she babysits her 4 grandchildren while Isaac and Clea are in Kampala hunting for a new stove (we all hunt for new stoves on occasion). Connie is a youthful 62, full of energy and passion for life. She is somewhat of a free spirit, embracing new experiences like an eager child. Her role in the Wooten household is not only loving grandmother to her daughter’s children, but homeschool teacher to all four of them. Connie and I have committed to Friday afternoon tea as an opportunity for her to weekly reclaim her 62 year old self that she willingly sacrifices all week long for her family. We spend 2 solid hours sipping dark African coffee, letting the rains fall beyond the shelter of the Mountains of the Moon verandah, and chatting about adult topics of faith and politics.
The Wootens have recently moved here from Kenya where they helped run a school. Connie has other state-side children, but committed to help Isaac and Clea in their ministry in Africa as long as they needed her loving arms and educated mind. Isaac grew up in Israel where his parents were missionaries in the shadow of the temple mount in Jerusalem. If he goes back to Israel, he will be called into the military to serve as he is a citizen by birth. His parents now live in Kenya, having taken over the work that Isaac and Clea just left. He understands missions, and despite the fact that he has just completed his doctorate in engineering and could earn a 6 figure salary in the states, he, Clea and their four children ages 4 and under have landed in Fort Portal, Uganda to serve God.
Connie shows us through the house, filled with the scent of onion and garlic, so commonly used in most dishes here. They arrived with no furniture, so the brightly colored floral chairs and sofa in the living area are small gifts the generous landlord left for them to use. The dining room is filled with plastic table and chairs normally used for outdoor dining, but here, the obvious inexpensive choice for a family of 7. The kitchen is bright and cheery, painted a pale yellow and white. An enormous window above the narrow countertops looks out to the back yard. The familiar 2-burner butane stove sits atop the counter, firing up the pressure cooker of vegetable soup, the heavenly source of the onion and garlic which greeted us at the front door. A small sink and an office-sized refrigerator complete the necessary equipment to produce daily meals. There is no laundry room, which most mzungu homes have recently acquired. Susan and Fred, the help who came with the Wootens from Kenya, wash everything by hand. Even with 11 people on the compound, we’re sure there is not much laundry.
Each of the 4 bedrooms in the house is reminiscent of a convent or monastery – a bed to hold the room’s occupants and a small side table with no lamp. Thin drapes cover the windows and blow in the gentle breeze that the afternoon rain has brought. There are no screens on the windows and no mosquito nets over the beds. One of the bedrooms also serves as the “one house school room” where Connie spends part of the day teaching reading, math, science and social studies to Nehemiah, Elijah, Ezekiel and Hosannah. She doesn’t brag on them in vain, as Nehemiah reads off the story of the moths that make baskets from twigs they gather. So while we look through their house in awe of how little they have in material possessions and consider what they could have in the United States, we pray for God to doubly bless them in any way possible for the choices they make to serve God overseas.
Add to these three families the young Andrew and Amy with their 15 month old daughter and a son on the way in January, a family of 6 who hale from Texas and Oregon, and a family of 7 who have adopted 2 American and 3 Ugandan children. Each one has humorous and not so humorous tales to tell of the mountains of trouble they have climbed to minister here – angry and corrupt Ugandans, people yelling in their faces that they should go back to the United States, threats of physical harm, church members who turn their backs on years of ministry and walk away to follow other gods. The list of what could undo any one of us on an average day is endless – and they take it all in stride, pray for God’s guidance and discernment, and keep their faces pointed to the prize ahead. They rejoice over the relationships which are blessed and pray over the relationships which struggle. When they hit walls, they go to God in desperate prayer to find the answer – and here are some of the results…
-Brandi and Lew are investing money in printing a book of the Bible in stories – a simple way to minister to the uneducated or minimally educated who are not able to read sophisticated English. It may be 2 months before they are home from Kenya due to how the hospitals issue birth certificates, but on their return we will all rejoice with them in the birth of a new little Johnson, and they will pick up where they have left off and begin to distribute the booklets.
-Jeff and Cheryl are waiting for a container and a mechanic – the container bringing over a dismantled airplane hangar and the mechanic coming to fix the small Cessna which no longer lifts off the ground. Their goal? Continue their ministry here in Fort Portal at New Testament Church of Christ, but begin an airborne ministry into the hazardous jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo just across the Rwenzoris. Roads are frequently impassable there and to reach the tribes buried underneath the canopy of trees of the eastern DRC, a plane is the best tool. Their eyes light up when they talk about their new challenge of crossing into Congo to bring much needed physical aid and the grace, mercy and love of Jesus Christ.
-Destiny and Doug have committed to at least 5 more years here. Why? Because Doug is teaching through the Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, to a group of 30-40 Ugandans who attend Calvary Chapel. Most people who attend church here are not very familiar with the Bible – more familiar with a culturally adapted form of worship which incorporates scripture reading, but no actual teaching of the historical background which gave foundation to the writings or in-depth study of the expanded meanings of the scripture.
-The Wootens have arrived to begin a Bible School at Calvary Chapel. So instead of using his engineering skills to build great bridges (and Clea is an engineer, as well), Isaac is building a tree house for his children that looks out on the beauty of Uganda…and building lives of faith based on the truth of God’s word for those who attend his school. Everything is the Lord’s, is their motto – children, home, health. Their trust in God’s sovereignty is a witness to us all. Connie feels blessed to be with her family, sleeping in her small bed, on a foam mattress, in an unscreened room off a tiny hallway with no carpet under her feet. Bob and I watch her offerings of tender mercies to her grandchildren and miss our own, so very far away.
So while our days are filled with our own personal adventures in helping to bring Christ-centered education to Kicuna through Christ Aid Academy, we are also privileged to spend our days learning from and sharing with a group of dedicated Americans who come from incredibly diverse backgrounds, bring an interesting list of talents and abilities to their work, and have different understandings of God’s word from denominational backgrounds. For some reason we have all landed here on the planet at this moment in time, signed, sealed and delivered by God to Fort Portal, chosen by Him alone to accomplish His purposes. Families with young children to be an encouragement to each other, young mothers sharing teething stories and recipes, young men in ministry able to overcome denominational differences and pool their resources, children to be playmates to each other, and the gray heads of grandparents to try to keep up the pace and to love and nurture them all.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Keeping up with the Joneses
Keeping up with the Joneses takes on a whole new meaning here in Fort Portal. While that philosophy of living has never particularly attracted us, especially coming from the Vail Valley where it is nearly impossible for anyone to keep pace with their neighbors, we can’t help but put our new life in the context of how other Americans live so far from home.
The expat community here is a great mix – lived here a short time, just moved here, lived here five years, been here the entire time we’ve been married, young children, high school age children, home schoolers, pregnant and soon to deliver, two grandmoms and one granddad, live in town, live up country, Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic, Church of Christ, Calvary Chapel, Presbyterian, Anglican. You can find just about any personality type, any part of the US represented, any color hair and any interest – we are athletic, academic, deeply spiritual, committed, called, kind, witty, talented, generous and intelligent. No one would dare expose a dark side – we all need the light of mutual encouragement too much. In our short time here, we know that this group will become like family to us – whether we are sharing a glass of wine or babysitting someone’s children, studying Beth Moore together or talking about football.
So as I recount the humor I find in comparing “keeping up with the Joneses, US style” to “keeping up with the Joneses, Uganda style” please know that we are already growing to dearly love these families who have brought a new and sustaining richness to our lives in Fort Portal. They have shared with us their wisdom, knowledge, advice, experience and humor.
Brandi and Lou hale from the south – Brandi from Mississippi and Lou from South Carolina. However, a strong bond was immediately formed when we discovered they had done their seminary training in Ft. Worth and we could talk Texas with them. Brandi and Lou live at one of the most beautiful corners in all of Fort Portal – they are high on Boma hill (where the British settled on their arrival to take advantage of views of the Rwenzoris), across the street from the nicest hotel in town with beautiful gardens, and under the towering eucalyptus trees that occasionally line the streets. We can’t match their location – they have it all. Nor can we match their butane burners…and I think Bob has BB envy. They have recently purchased a gas oven which looks like it could be in a home in Vail, but the secret to their cooking efficiently is the enormous waist-high butane tank which they connect to the stove when needed. As if that is not enough to envy – both stove and butane tank, they have butane lanterns scattered throughout their house which are just a bit more efficient than the 2 cent candles Bob and I prop up in cups to help us get through the night. Of course, Brandi is 7 months pregnant and needs some creature comforts.
Doug and Destiny are from northern California and run Calvary Chapel. Destiny married Doug after he was already living in Kampala, so she went into this adventure with eyes wide open, even knowing she would have to leave the big city behind and head west to tiny Fort Portal. While Bob and I shudder at the thought of spending $130 on gas to go to Kampala to run errands and spend hours discussing how to forego the trip, Doug and Destiny have a baby who has to get to the doctor for immunizations. They have no choice but to budget for the required travel for Audrey’s shots. We have “Kampala trip” envy because they have an verifiable excuse to go…of course they also have a 7 month old baby and a 3 year old son, a situation I not only do not envy, but am over the moon in my admiration for their courage.
At the first expat dinner we attended at Doug and Destiny’s home, we met Bob and Jennifer – who have lived here 14 years and wear that fact like a badge of courage. This dinner happened to be during our “lost in space wire” episode, so we were wearing our concern on our sleeves and everyone knew what was going on. Bob regaled us with 14 years of stories of stolen money, lost funds, missing donations, and corrupt Ugandans. We don’t think we will ever catch up with his list of how many times he’s been cheated, swindled and deceived, even though we are already working on a rather healthy list of our own.
Our internet and email situation brings up so much emotion that I could write at least a chapter and probably an entire book on the difficulties, the frustrations, and the adjustments we continue to make in trying to find a system that keeps us in touch with home and allows us to share the mission and vision of Christ Aid Academy with friends and donors. So after a trip to UTL with Lou, who generously took time to introduce Bob to Bruno, the friend who babysits Lou’s system, Bob walked away with deep disappointment when Bruno informed him that the great system Lou uses – attaches pictures and documents and goes at a fair clip – is no longer available. So while we spend hours, days and weeks…yes, even months…hunting a new system that works while an old system that Lou got 3 years ago sits on his desk and works fine, we cannot keep up with the Johnson’s and their “ancient” internet system. Ours is brand new and broadband, but only works occasionally…but when it does, we win! It’s lickety-split, does every task we demand of it, and if we close our eyes, we can almost pretend we’re in the US where everyone has high-speed. We just don’t win very often.
Now here is an area that any one of us, no matter where we live, can fall prey to great envy – the yard surrounding our homes. Just think about boisterous English gardens, beautifully manicured French gardens, gardens filled with mountain flowers, the riotous colors of annuals like petunias and pansies, blooming vines heavy with blossoms – it takes your breath away, like a Monet painting of Giverny gardens. We love gardens, we love green, we love color! So while we may all have garden envy at some time or another in our lives, the envy here in Uganda takes on a new and serious tone. The yard surrounding your home in Fort Portal is the only piece of ground you have any control over in respect to cleanliness and absence of trash. It is truly your sanctuary in a sea of constant refuse…the one idyllic spot where you can keep trash at bay, create a pastoral scene to soothe the nerves, and keep the wicked world of filth on the other side of the gate. Rumor has it that the new mayor of Fort Portal is working on keeping the trash off the streets – I have a box of plastic gloves to offer him to put a few unemployed to work. As for everyone’s yards, I think we all win. We come from the US where the common practice of throwing trash out the window of a car is frowned on, so we make the most of the rain and the sunshine and all have a little oasis around our homes.
There is one area here where everyone stands on even ground – no one bullies their to the head of the line and no one waits patiently at the end. When the electricity is off, it is off – it has no regard for your being rich or poor, tall or short, old or young, if you are Ugandan or mzunga, ill or well – the electricity is off. You can be caught cooking, ironing, washing or working on the computer – it doesn’t care. It just goes off. You don’t know if it will go off at 7:00AM or back on at 6:00PM. You can wear yourself out and bring yourself close to the brink of insanity trying to figure out when to do chores that involve electricity, when to sit at the computer, when to cook a big meal or a one pan meal. Just when you think you have a pattern down, there’s a public holiday, no one works, and the electricity stays on…or the station in Kasese blows a major fuse and the day they planned to work is moved to the next day…or it teases you and stay on until 9:00AM, making you think it will stay on all day, then goes off…or gets you excited to do laundry, then pulls the plug on you. Reasons are varied, speculation is constant…the most recent I heard was that when the Chinese botched the new dam on the Nile, the government had to step in to repair…a job which will take 5 years. If this continues that long, I predict that all citizens and expats residing in Uganda will be raving lunatics by the time it is completed.
Since we are some of the newest arrivals, we are so far behind the other expats in some issues that we will never catch up with the Joneses. We probably beat Bob and Jennifer in the water arena because they live up country and have to catch rain water or use a well – solar energy does not heat the water like electricity. I think most of us who live in town win in the hot shower category. Our newest arrivals are just happy to have water – they came from Kenya where you can go for a month with nothing running in the pipes. Most families are already trying to catch up with us in number of guests from the states – we’ve hosted 9 people in 6 weeks, as well as had lunch with 4 others from Arizona who didn’t have time to come to the house. Because Cheryl and Jeff have lived here for 14 years, they have traveled extensively and seen much of Africa – we yearn to see just a few places in our three years and will start chipping away with saving and planning at our short list of the Indian Ocean, Mt. Kilamjaro and a French island vacation on the Seychelles or Mauritius. Everyone here has long-term commitments, meaning years and years and years, while ours is just for 3 years. We will always stay the babies in this one. Most of the men can speak Rutooro much better than us, but we are already using more words than some of the wives who have been much too busy having and taking care of children to spend time learning a foreign language. Who has the best network for information on how to survive this interesting and challenging life abroad? Well, the US government thinks Jeff and Bob do since they are the reps from the US Embassy for all of us here in Fort Portal. Most importantly…lives touched by the love of Christ, souls saved for the Lord, scripture opened to hungry hearts – only God knows how we’re all doing in this category of keeping up with the Joneses. We all pray we are simply doing what we’re called to do, not keeping score, and leaving the rest to our Heavenly Father.
The expat community here is a great mix – lived here a short time, just moved here, lived here five years, been here the entire time we’ve been married, young children, high school age children, home schoolers, pregnant and soon to deliver, two grandmoms and one granddad, live in town, live up country, Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic, Church of Christ, Calvary Chapel, Presbyterian, Anglican. You can find just about any personality type, any part of the US represented, any color hair and any interest – we are athletic, academic, deeply spiritual, committed, called, kind, witty, talented, generous and intelligent. No one would dare expose a dark side – we all need the light of mutual encouragement too much. In our short time here, we know that this group will become like family to us – whether we are sharing a glass of wine or babysitting someone’s children, studying Beth Moore together or talking about football.
So as I recount the humor I find in comparing “keeping up with the Joneses, US style” to “keeping up with the Joneses, Uganda style” please know that we are already growing to dearly love these families who have brought a new and sustaining richness to our lives in Fort Portal. They have shared with us their wisdom, knowledge, advice, experience and humor.
Brandi and Lou hale from the south – Brandi from Mississippi and Lou from South Carolina. However, a strong bond was immediately formed when we discovered they had done their seminary training in Ft. Worth and we could talk Texas with them. Brandi and Lou live at one of the most beautiful corners in all of Fort Portal – they are high on Boma hill (where the British settled on their arrival to take advantage of views of the Rwenzoris), across the street from the nicest hotel in town with beautiful gardens, and under the towering eucalyptus trees that occasionally line the streets. We can’t match their location – they have it all. Nor can we match their butane burners…and I think Bob has BB envy. They have recently purchased a gas oven which looks like it could be in a home in Vail, but the secret to their cooking efficiently is the enormous waist-high butane tank which they connect to the stove when needed. As if that is not enough to envy – both stove and butane tank, they have butane lanterns scattered throughout their house which are just a bit more efficient than the 2 cent candles Bob and I prop up in cups to help us get through the night. Of course, Brandi is 7 months pregnant and needs some creature comforts.
Doug and Destiny are from northern California and run Calvary Chapel. Destiny married Doug after he was already living in Kampala, so she went into this adventure with eyes wide open, even knowing she would have to leave the big city behind and head west to tiny Fort Portal. While Bob and I shudder at the thought of spending $130 on gas to go to Kampala to run errands and spend hours discussing how to forego the trip, Doug and Destiny have a baby who has to get to the doctor for immunizations. They have no choice but to budget for the required travel for Audrey’s shots. We have “Kampala trip” envy because they have an verifiable excuse to go…of course they also have a 7 month old baby and a 3 year old son, a situation I not only do not envy, but am over the moon in my admiration for their courage.
At the first expat dinner we attended at Doug and Destiny’s home, we met Bob and Jennifer – who have lived here 14 years and wear that fact like a badge of courage. This dinner happened to be during our “lost in space wire” episode, so we were wearing our concern on our sleeves and everyone knew what was going on. Bob regaled us with 14 years of stories of stolen money, lost funds, missing donations, and corrupt Ugandans. We don’t think we will ever catch up with his list of how many times he’s been cheated, swindled and deceived, even though we are already working on a rather healthy list of our own.
Our internet and email situation brings up so much emotion that I could write at least a chapter and probably an entire book on the difficulties, the frustrations, and the adjustments we continue to make in trying to find a system that keeps us in touch with home and allows us to share the mission and vision of Christ Aid Academy with friends and donors. So after a trip to UTL with Lou, who generously took time to introduce Bob to Bruno, the friend who babysits Lou’s system, Bob walked away with deep disappointment when Bruno informed him that the great system Lou uses – attaches pictures and documents and goes at a fair clip – is no longer available. So while we spend hours, days and weeks…yes, even months…hunting a new system that works while an old system that Lou got 3 years ago sits on his desk and works fine, we cannot keep up with the Johnson’s and their “ancient” internet system. Ours is brand new and broadband, but only works occasionally…but when it does, we win! It’s lickety-split, does every task we demand of it, and if we close our eyes, we can almost pretend we’re in the US where everyone has high-speed. We just don’t win very often.
Now here is an area that any one of us, no matter where we live, can fall prey to great envy – the yard surrounding our homes. Just think about boisterous English gardens, beautifully manicured French gardens, gardens filled with mountain flowers, the riotous colors of annuals like petunias and pansies, blooming vines heavy with blossoms – it takes your breath away, like a Monet painting of Giverny gardens. We love gardens, we love green, we love color! So while we may all have garden envy at some time or another in our lives, the envy here in Uganda takes on a new and serious tone. The yard surrounding your home in Fort Portal is the only piece of ground you have any control over in respect to cleanliness and absence of trash. It is truly your sanctuary in a sea of constant refuse…the one idyllic spot where you can keep trash at bay, create a pastoral scene to soothe the nerves, and keep the wicked world of filth on the other side of the gate. Rumor has it that the new mayor of Fort Portal is working on keeping the trash off the streets – I have a box of plastic gloves to offer him to put a few unemployed to work. As for everyone’s yards, I think we all win. We come from the US where the common practice of throwing trash out the window of a car is frowned on, so we make the most of the rain and the sunshine and all have a little oasis around our homes.
There is one area here where everyone stands on even ground – no one bullies their to the head of the line and no one waits patiently at the end. When the electricity is off, it is off – it has no regard for your being rich or poor, tall or short, old or young, if you are Ugandan or mzunga, ill or well – the electricity is off. You can be caught cooking, ironing, washing or working on the computer – it doesn’t care. It just goes off. You don’t know if it will go off at 7:00AM or back on at 6:00PM. You can wear yourself out and bring yourself close to the brink of insanity trying to figure out when to do chores that involve electricity, when to sit at the computer, when to cook a big meal or a one pan meal. Just when you think you have a pattern down, there’s a public holiday, no one works, and the electricity stays on…or the station in Kasese blows a major fuse and the day they planned to work is moved to the next day…or it teases you and stay on until 9:00AM, making you think it will stay on all day, then goes off…or gets you excited to do laundry, then pulls the plug on you. Reasons are varied, speculation is constant…the most recent I heard was that when the Chinese botched the new dam on the Nile, the government had to step in to repair…a job which will take 5 years. If this continues that long, I predict that all citizens and expats residing in Uganda will be raving lunatics by the time it is completed.
Since we are some of the newest arrivals, we are so far behind the other expats in some issues that we will never catch up with the Joneses. We probably beat Bob and Jennifer in the water arena because they live up country and have to catch rain water or use a well – solar energy does not heat the water like electricity. I think most of us who live in town win in the hot shower category. Our newest arrivals are just happy to have water – they came from Kenya where you can go for a month with nothing running in the pipes. Most families are already trying to catch up with us in number of guests from the states – we’ve hosted 9 people in 6 weeks, as well as had lunch with 4 others from Arizona who didn’t have time to come to the house. Because Cheryl and Jeff have lived here for 14 years, they have traveled extensively and seen much of Africa – we yearn to see just a few places in our three years and will start chipping away with saving and planning at our short list of the Indian Ocean, Mt. Kilamjaro and a French island vacation on the Seychelles or Mauritius. Everyone here has long-term commitments, meaning years and years and years, while ours is just for 3 years. We will always stay the babies in this one. Most of the men can speak Rutooro much better than us, but we are already using more words than some of the wives who have been much too busy having and taking care of children to spend time learning a foreign language. Who has the best network for information on how to survive this interesting and challenging life abroad? Well, the US government thinks Jeff and Bob do since they are the reps from the US Embassy for all of us here in Fort Portal. Most importantly…lives touched by the love of Christ, souls saved for the Lord, scripture opened to hungry hearts – only God knows how we’re all doing in this category of keeping up with the Joneses. We all pray we are simply doing what we’re called to do, not keeping score, and leaving the rest to our Heavenly Father.
The Smell of a First Grade Class
The smell of a first grade class – all chalk, freshly sharpened pencils and paper straight from the mill. The excitement of knowledge, learning, activity, language, numbers, maps, rulers. Desks to organize, pencil boxes to fill, sharpeners to hold just so, crayons to line up just in the color order you want.
Do you remember first grade? The sights and smells of Christ Aid Academy are just a bit different. While there is paper, pencils and sharpeners, the dominating scent of the room is possibly the musty, wet dirt on the floor, whatever the breeze is bringing through the room – possibly the cow passing by the window, the scent of falling rain - or the odor of unwashed bodies and clothes. Pupils huddled together four to a desk, no space to claim for your own, everything is shared except your student exercise book. Groups of 8 to 10 cluster themselves around a few textbooks, each student hoping to get the best view of the day’s lesson. Students write with pencil nubs, bent over their books with intensity as they copy from the board. One student pauses, takes out a razor blade from her bag, and begins to whittle her pencil to a sharpened point.
No one possesses a writing utensil with color to it – no crayons, no colored pencils, no markers. All work is in black and white – there are no worksheets to write on, no pages to color – there is no copier and no copier paper. The most colorful part of their work is the pale blue cover of their student exercise book. There are no textbooks where blue and red jump off the page at you to stimulate your thought and hold your attention. Chalk is white because Fort Portal bookstores have no colored chalk. There is no homework because there is nothing to take home.
But they are learning – they are spelling and counting, adding and multiplying, writing and reading. They sit with great discipline at their desks, some dressed in uniforms, others in rags and barefooted, most attentive and bright-eyed, hands shooting into the air to be picked to answer. This Sunday we have a parent meeting to discuss school issues of fees, uniforms, next year, growth, changes. The P1 students are copying a letter to their parents – in the process they are learning pronunciation, reading, spelling, and writing. Their charge? Copy the letter in your student book, take home to your family or guardian, and read the letter of invitation to them. The end product the proof that they have learned to spell, read, write and pronounce correctly…all in Rutooro…because the parents cannot read or understand English.
The teachers work diligently to pass on knowledge – all without the instruments of modern education. If the lesson or the teacher does not hold the attention of the class, there is no recourse to videos, computers, learning stations, calculators, flash cards. The classrooms at Christ Aid Academy have posters created by the teachers – large pieces of construction paper with the alphabet, words in English, multiplication tables…and a blackboard. The knowledge being shared is the same universally…the pace is a little different without resources and the ability to send work home.
Recess brings activity and snack – but snack only if they carry a plastic carton filled with a banana or chapatti. Some homes care, some do not. Some homes can send, others cannot. Some students eat, others do not. We are working on a program for next year to supply at least one nutritious snack/meal during the school day. Whether they eat or not, each student finds a place at self-proclaimed activity centers – soccer matches where students run through fields where cows have just enjoyed lunch and other activities, jump rope, drums, singing and dancing. There is no adult supervision – according to the headmaster, they know their limits. I have joked with him that the police would come take him to jail in the United States if he weren’t out on the playground area overseeing to be sure no one was hurt, stolen, or lazy.
A return to the classroom brings more lessons with teachers drilling students with numbers and words. Repetition and memorization dominate this educational process – and we acknowledge that these are important – but we have seen very little room left for creative or individual thinking. With a classroom of 50-60 pupils, we assume there is not enough time to address an original thought that deviates from the plan for the masses. We are beginning to wonder how much talent is left untapped in Africa…who will never know they could solve an international crisis, who will not become the leader of a spiritual community, who will not know they could be an Olympic athlete?
But the flip side brings hope – which child in the village of Kicuna will find out they are a talented orator who can inspire their people to great accomplishments? Will Amos discover he can manipulate numbers to solve problems of energy and technology? Which young boy will see the simple glimmer of hope to be able to provide a future for a family? Will Dauphin want to learn to heal the sick who dominate a culture ruled by disease?
We are an odd mix here at Christ Aid Academy…educated teachers pulling and straining like little tug boats churning in the water to pull the big vessel out of the chains of the dock to the freedom of the open sea, trying to get a community to break free from past bondage in ignorance to the wide open opportunity of education. Parents who need to go to market and will keep their students home at the drop of a hat to feed the chickens, tend the goats, or watch guard over the family garden. And Americans who are the product of decades of commitment to the passing on of knowledge and Godly principles which sustain a nation. Certainly they must look at us with puzzlement as they listen to our pleas for commitment to the school. Heaven knows we try to hide our bewilderment when we see they don’t understand…
Do you remember first grade? The sights and smells of Christ Aid Academy are just a bit different. While there is paper, pencils and sharpeners, the dominating scent of the room is possibly the musty, wet dirt on the floor, whatever the breeze is bringing through the room – possibly the cow passing by the window, the scent of falling rain - or the odor of unwashed bodies and clothes. Pupils huddled together four to a desk, no space to claim for your own, everything is shared except your student exercise book. Groups of 8 to 10 cluster themselves around a few textbooks, each student hoping to get the best view of the day’s lesson. Students write with pencil nubs, bent over their books with intensity as they copy from the board. One student pauses, takes out a razor blade from her bag, and begins to whittle her pencil to a sharpened point.
No one possesses a writing utensil with color to it – no crayons, no colored pencils, no markers. All work is in black and white – there are no worksheets to write on, no pages to color – there is no copier and no copier paper. The most colorful part of their work is the pale blue cover of their student exercise book. There are no textbooks where blue and red jump off the page at you to stimulate your thought and hold your attention. Chalk is white because Fort Portal bookstores have no colored chalk. There is no homework because there is nothing to take home.
But they are learning – they are spelling and counting, adding and multiplying, writing and reading. They sit with great discipline at their desks, some dressed in uniforms, others in rags and barefooted, most attentive and bright-eyed, hands shooting into the air to be picked to answer. This Sunday we have a parent meeting to discuss school issues of fees, uniforms, next year, growth, changes. The P1 students are copying a letter to their parents – in the process they are learning pronunciation, reading, spelling, and writing. Their charge? Copy the letter in your student book, take home to your family or guardian, and read the letter of invitation to them. The end product the proof that they have learned to spell, read, write and pronounce correctly…all in Rutooro…because the parents cannot read or understand English.
The teachers work diligently to pass on knowledge – all without the instruments of modern education. If the lesson or the teacher does not hold the attention of the class, there is no recourse to videos, computers, learning stations, calculators, flash cards. The classrooms at Christ Aid Academy have posters created by the teachers – large pieces of construction paper with the alphabet, words in English, multiplication tables…and a blackboard. The knowledge being shared is the same universally…the pace is a little different without resources and the ability to send work home.
Recess brings activity and snack – but snack only if they carry a plastic carton filled with a banana or chapatti. Some homes care, some do not. Some homes can send, others cannot. Some students eat, others do not. We are working on a program for next year to supply at least one nutritious snack/meal during the school day. Whether they eat or not, each student finds a place at self-proclaimed activity centers – soccer matches where students run through fields where cows have just enjoyed lunch and other activities, jump rope, drums, singing and dancing. There is no adult supervision – according to the headmaster, they know their limits. I have joked with him that the police would come take him to jail in the United States if he weren’t out on the playground area overseeing to be sure no one was hurt, stolen, or lazy.
A return to the classroom brings more lessons with teachers drilling students with numbers and words. Repetition and memorization dominate this educational process – and we acknowledge that these are important – but we have seen very little room left for creative or individual thinking. With a classroom of 50-60 pupils, we assume there is not enough time to address an original thought that deviates from the plan for the masses. We are beginning to wonder how much talent is left untapped in Africa…who will never know they could solve an international crisis, who will not become the leader of a spiritual community, who will not know they could be an Olympic athlete?
But the flip side brings hope – which child in the village of Kicuna will find out they are a talented orator who can inspire their people to great accomplishments? Will Amos discover he can manipulate numbers to solve problems of energy and technology? Which young boy will see the simple glimmer of hope to be able to provide a future for a family? Will Dauphin want to learn to heal the sick who dominate a culture ruled by disease?
We are an odd mix here at Christ Aid Academy…educated teachers pulling and straining like little tug boats churning in the water to pull the big vessel out of the chains of the dock to the freedom of the open sea, trying to get a community to break free from past bondage in ignorance to the wide open opportunity of education. Parents who need to go to market and will keep their students home at the drop of a hat to feed the chickens, tend the goats, or watch guard over the family garden. And Americans who are the product of decades of commitment to the passing on of knowledge and Godly principles which sustain a nation. Certainly they must look at us with puzzlement as they listen to our pleas for commitment to the school. Heaven knows we try to hide our bewilderment when we see they don’t understand…
Email 10/08/08
Well - we think we're back...sometimes the new system we have is working well and sometimes not. I'm praying for it to work while I get this email off!
It's been a long two weeks with very little communication from and to home...and along with no internet, our phone went haywire. God had us on an island and we survived, but just barely! Our absence, one from another, pointed out how very important our ties are to those of you we love and miss. It also gave us a long, hard look at our ministry here since we couldn't be side tracked by home. Every bit of it was good for the soul and brought us to the point of cherishing every good and perfect gift from God.
We're still not having great success attaching documents and photos, so you may still be getting copy and paste for a while as we keep trying to work through this one - I can at least do group emails and have access to all our contacts - very exciting!
We're open for business, so feel free to send emails. It sounds like we should be praying for all of you as you deal with the economic issues and the upcoming election - while we are a nation far from perfect, we are a nation that cares for the world. Americans do amazing things and we pray that God will continue to work through our country, even as it appears we are in for a rough ride for a while.
YIKES! Praise God - everything attached!!!!!! I'm sending before something happens. There's one rather humorous and one somewhat poignant and one photo of the inside of the school when Bob and I pop in on the classes.
Much love to you all,
Bob and Linda
Email 9/23/08
DEAR FRIENDS, PRAYER WARRIORS AND SUPPORTERS!
As I type, Bob is up at Kicuna, getting construction to completeBuilding I off the ground – Mukama Asiimwe! It's a gray morning, butthere is no rain and the cloud cover is providing blessed shade andprotection from the blazing equatorial sun, so I'm sure all theworkers are thankful. He left in his fleece vest and long pants andtop – maybe hard to imagine since one sees jungles, tropics, and heattogether, but very much like life in Vail in September…well, at leastthe weather!
We have found another angel in Fort Portal – the young woman namedSondra who works in customer service at the MTN office. She and theirtechnician, Rocky, spent a frustrating hour at our house trying towhip our internet service into shape, but they left as ready to changesystems as we are. She is headed to Kampala to return this system andsign us up for the new, and much more costly, system connected tosatellite. But we should be able to send those pictures you have beenasking for and attach word documents to our emails. We hope we canalso open "mapquest.com" and "ESPN" websites, among a few others thatshut down the internet when we click on them.
So…the point of that little explanation is that we will be withoutregular email service for anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks. To be able toget the new system, we have to first return the non-functioningsystem…which renders us non-functioning, as well. We will be checkingemails periodically at internet cafes, but will only be sendingnecessary emails for work or urgent issues. Please forgive ourmomentary communication lapse – we are so blessed by technology andthe open door it gives us to stay in touch - we will miss you allwhile MTN has us separated. As soon as our new system is up andrunning, be looking for a much more exciting update with a photo!
I am trying to send one more update prior to saying goodbye to our dealy bob lodged in my computer, but may not be able to finish in timebefore it leaves for Kampala, or may not be able to send due tointernet problems. I hope this one goes through…
Prayer Requests:
1. Safety during construction. We have already had one truck rollover as it attempted to climb the treacherous hill to Kicuna. No one was hurt, Mukama Asiimwe, and somehow the good citizens of the areawere able to get the truck out of the ditch 30 feet below the road. The driver had his seatbelt on, other men jumped off the back of thetruck, and everyone lived to tell about watching it roll over severaltimes until it came to the bottom of the hill, ending up on its sidelike a big beached whale.
2. Mukama Asiimwe (I hope you are getting that this means Praise be toGod) that every single one of the Christ Aid Academy students who hasattended from the last two terms has returned for Term
3. The teachers say that is unusual.
4. Pray for wisdom and discernment for us as we make decisions on adaily basis which affect the lives of so many people here. We have several changes that are being implemented in CAA (all based on meetings with the staff here and changes they want to make) and are in the midst of parent meetings and home visits continue. Every contact we make, every word we speak, every impression we leave – veryimportant to the progress of the project. Please pray that we are ambassadors for Christ in all we do.
5. Pray that resources are stretched to their limits – that God willprovide every good and perfect gift for the completion of what webegin.
As always, you are daily in our thoughts and prayers. We know that all of you are preoccupied with your own demanding issues – work,family, health – and want you to know how blessed we are by your emails and the time and effort behind them.
Mukama Abahe Omugiisa (May God bless you),
Bob and Linda
As I type, Bob is up at Kicuna, getting construction to completeBuilding I off the ground – Mukama Asiimwe! It's a gray morning, butthere is no rain and the cloud cover is providing blessed shade andprotection from the blazing equatorial sun, so I'm sure all theworkers are thankful. He left in his fleece vest and long pants andtop – maybe hard to imagine since one sees jungles, tropics, and heattogether, but very much like life in Vail in September…well, at leastthe weather!
We have found another angel in Fort Portal – the young woman namedSondra who works in customer service at the MTN office. She and theirtechnician, Rocky, spent a frustrating hour at our house trying towhip our internet service into shape, but they left as ready to changesystems as we are. She is headed to Kampala to return this system andsign us up for the new, and much more costly, system connected tosatellite. But we should be able to send those pictures you have beenasking for and attach word documents to our emails. We hope we canalso open "mapquest.com" and "ESPN" websites, among a few others thatshut down the internet when we click on them.
So…the point of that little explanation is that we will be withoutregular email service for anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks. To be able toget the new system, we have to first return the non-functioningsystem…which renders us non-functioning, as well. We will be checkingemails periodically at internet cafes, but will only be sendingnecessary emails for work or urgent issues. Please forgive ourmomentary communication lapse – we are so blessed by technology andthe open door it gives us to stay in touch - we will miss you allwhile MTN has us separated. As soon as our new system is up andrunning, be looking for a much more exciting update with a photo!
I am trying to send one more update prior to saying goodbye to our dealy bob lodged in my computer, but may not be able to finish in timebefore it leaves for Kampala, or may not be able to send due tointernet problems. I hope this one goes through…
Prayer Requests:
1. Safety during construction. We have already had one truck rollover as it attempted to climb the treacherous hill to Kicuna. No one was hurt, Mukama Asiimwe, and somehow the good citizens of the areawere able to get the truck out of the ditch 30 feet below the road. The driver had his seatbelt on, other men jumped off the back of thetruck, and everyone lived to tell about watching it roll over severaltimes until it came to the bottom of the hill, ending up on its sidelike a big beached whale.
2. Mukama Asiimwe (I hope you are getting that this means Praise be toGod) that every single one of the Christ Aid Academy students who hasattended from the last two terms has returned for Term
3. The teachers say that is unusual.
4. Pray for wisdom and discernment for us as we make decisions on adaily basis which affect the lives of so many people here. We have several changes that are being implemented in CAA (all based on meetings with the staff here and changes they want to make) and are in the midst of parent meetings and home visits continue. Every contact we make, every word we speak, every impression we leave – veryimportant to the progress of the project. Please pray that we are ambassadors for Christ in all we do.
5. Pray that resources are stretched to their limits – that God willprovide every good and perfect gift for the completion of what webegin.
As always, you are daily in our thoughts and prayers. We know that all of you are preoccupied with your own demanding issues – work,family, health – and want you to know how blessed we are by your emails and the time and effort behind them.
Mukama Abahe Omugiisa (May God bless you),
Bob and Linda
Email 9/21/08
I'm sending on my most recent journaling in reference to the humorouspart of our days here in Uganda...it's good for us to remind ourselvesof the odd little things about living here.
One added note...we have spent the day driving around some pastorsfrom Memphis - it was a delightful day, filled with lots of laughterand English we could actually understand. We had to pass through themajor intersection of the Kampala Highway coming into Fort Portalseveral times - and drove over the major electrical and phone linesthat come into Fort Portal - yes, drove over all of them. They wereknocked down yesterday by an 18 wheeler which hit the lines and pulleddown the pole - yes, they were hanging VERY low - and now they are notonly stretched across the highway, being crushed by 18 wheelers, busesand cars, but they are also running through the corner gas station,perilously close to gas pumps. If we hear an explosion in the night,we will have no doubt where it is coming from. Such is life here inUganda.
God bless your week as we know he will ours. Bob and Linda...keep reading below...remember, we still can't attachword documents - only copy and paste.
COME BACK TOMORROW…
Today in Barclay's Bank, I heard an employee ask a client to "come back tomorrow". The words echoed in my head, over and over, remindingme of how many times Bob and I, in four short weeks, have heard thewords, "come back tomorrow" – code for "we haven't done anything totake care of your problem, so let's see if tomorrow will be anydifferent". As someone who has been in the business of working tokeep clients happy, through both education and retail, the last thingin the world I would ever willingly put on the table to a valuedcustomer is "come back tomorrow". The thought of not having takencare of a promised or expected task is horrifying, as it is to mostprofessionals in many parts of the world. It is our honor on theline, for goodness sake!
However a different set of rules is applied to daily transactions herein Uganda, and we are learning in the fire, through the fire, and withthe fire all around us! Just a few examples of setting up life inFort Portal will explain the new system in which we are functioningand probably remind all of us how life in the states has no equal.
We could begin with our banking system…and we could end with ourbanking system. In fact, I think just a discussion on our bankingsystem alone would sufficiently make the point! Before we ever left Colorado, we made the decision to do our banking with Barclays –wouldn't everyone? Why would we choose Stanbic, or Centenary, bankswhich have no reputation with the international community and could bea cover for who knows what African mafia business (does the mafiaexist in Africa?). We felt confident.
While we had some issues with our first withdrawals (including Bobgetting to the Kampala Barclays on his first boda boda ride with Sam),everything seemed to move smoothly after we worked through all thepuzzling steps to get to our money. Our second wire, however, became another issue.
"Come back tomorrow", or even "I'll call tomorrow"were the words which frequently came at us from bank employees in FortPortal who were less than concerned that our wire was not showing upanywhere in the system. Sixteen days after the wire was sent from Colorado, countless unproductive trips to the bank in Fort Portal,constant texts back and forth to the US, a tracer which followed themoney from the west to the east coast and across the ocean to Uganda,and multiple conversations of exasperation later, we were gifted withAlex the Angel (this after Jane prayed for an angel to find ourmoney…). We never heard the words "come back tomorrow", but insteadheard "finding your money will be my top priority today". And with that attitude and the prayers of many supporting his search, Alex was victorious, and not once did he say "come back tomorrow". He is our new very dear friend.
"Come back tomorrow" was the litany at MTN, our internet serviceprovider for this past month. However, tomorrow looked pretty good tous instead of "come back in two months" from UTL, the competitor, sowe took "tomorrow". As all of our friends back home know by now, ourability to communicate through email, attachments and photos islimited, but to even get to this point, we had to get through a weekof "come back tomorrows". Promised on Tuesday, but no later thanWednesday, we finally received our dealybob on Friday…only to find outthat it couldn't be activated until Monday, which turned into Tuesday,then Wednesday, and then quite honestly I can't even remember how manydays of "come back tomorrow" it took for us to get the service thattakes us 10 minutes to get online, cannot do group emails, works only on HTML, and will not do any kind of attachment.
And remember the key in the post office box…stuck in its antiquatedhome of rusty box 706? Just back up the days to two weeks before whenwe began the process. Go to the post office to get the application tohave a box. Have to go find our LC1 in the neighborhood who must signand vouch for us (I suppose to be absolutely certain we will notterrorize the post office?)…"come back tomorrow" after you get hissignature. Find LC1, get the signature, take back to the post office,but find out that we "come back tomorrow" for our key. We go backtomorrow, but the maker of the keys is not around and we are told to"come back tomorrow" when he is, in fact, around. We go backtomorrow, we get our key, and we wait a week to see if our test mailhas arrived from the states. Insert key into box 706, move key toopen box…no, key is stuck in one position and won't move eitherdirection and won't come out. We report our stuck key and are told"come back tomorrow". We go back tomorrow and visit our key which isstill stuck in box 706, unfortunately looking very comfortable. Whilewe are not told to "come back tomorrow", but instead told to "comeback in thirty minutes", we are by now so disciplined to "come backtomorrow" that we automatically put it on the calendar to return tothe post office "tomorrow" and ignore the "thirty minutes".
We could happily ruminate on more "come back tomorrow" stories, butwe're sure you get the point. Please appreciate all those commentsfrom everyone you work with…comments such as "just a minute", "I'll beright back with that", "we'll have it for you immediately", and "canyou wait just a minute and I will get that for you". They are "applesof gold" to us in this country which moves at a slower pace, laughsgood-naturedly at itself, and probably likes the "come back tomorrow"culture because they want to see you again!
And perhaps the last…but definitely the most important thing we ponderin this "come back tomorrow" life is that our heavenly Father alwayssays "I'm here right now for you".
Mukama Asiimwe!
One added note...we have spent the day driving around some pastorsfrom Memphis - it was a delightful day, filled with lots of laughterand English we could actually understand. We had to pass through themajor intersection of the Kampala Highway coming into Fort Portalseveral times - and drove over the major electrical and phone linesthat come into Fort Portal - yes, drove over all of them. They wereknocked down yesterday by an 18 wheeler which hit the lines and pulleddown the pole - yes, they were hanging VERY low - and now they are notonly stretched across the highway, being crushed by 18 wheelers, busesand cars, but they are also running through the corner gas station,perilously close to gas pumps. If we hear an explosion in the night,we will have no doubt where it is coming from. Such is life here inUganda.
God bless your week as we know he will ours. Bob and Linda...keep reading below...remember, we still can't attachword documents - only copy and paste.
COME BACK TOMORROW…
Today in Barclay's Bank, I heard an employee ask a client to "come back tomorrow". The words echoed in my head, over and over, remindingme of how many times Bob and I, in four short weeks, have heard thewords, "come back tomorrow" – code for "we haven't done anything totake care of your problem, so let's see if tomorrow will be anydifferent". As someone who has been in the business of working tokeep clients happy, through both education and retail, the last thingin the world I would ever willingly put on the table to a valuedcustomer is "come back tomorrow". The thought of not having takencare of a promised or expected task is horrifying, as it is to mostprofessionals in many parts of the world. It is our honor on theline, for goodness sake!
However a different set of rules is applied to daily transactions herein Uganda, and we are learning in the fire, through the fire, and withthe fire all around us! Just a few examples of setting up life inFort Portal will explain the new system in which we are functioningand probably remind all of us how life in the states has no equal.
We could begin with our banking system…and we could end with ourbanking system. In fact, I think just a discussion on our bankingsystem alone would sufficiently make the point! Before we ever left Colorado, we made the decision to do our banking with Barclays –wouldn't everyone? Why would we choose Stanbic, or Centenary, bankswhich have no reputation with the international community and could bea cover for who knows what African mafia business (does the mafiaexist in Africa?). We felt confident.
While we had some issues with our first withdrawals (including Bobgetting to the Kampala Barclays on his first boda boda ride with Sam),everything seemed to move smoothly after we worked through all thepuzzling steps to get to our money. Our second wire, however, became another issue.
"Come back tomorrow", or even "I'll call tomorrow"were the words which frequently came at us from bank employees in FortPortal who were less than concerned that our wire was not showing upanywhere in the system. Sixteen days after the wire was sent from Colorado, countless unproductive trips to the bank in Fort Portal,constant texts back and forth to the US, a tracer which followed themoney from the west to the east coast and across the ocean to Uganda,and multiple conversations of exasperation later, we were gifted withAlex the Angel (this after Jane prayed for an angel to find ourmoney…). We never heard the words "come back tomorrow", but insteadheard "finding your money will be my top priority today". And with that attitude and the prayers of many supporting his search, Alex was victorious, and not once did he say "come back tomorrow". He is our new very dear friend.
"Come back tomorrow" was the litany at MTN, our internet serviceprovider for this past month. However, tomorrow looked pretty good tous instead of "come back in two months" from UTL, the competitor, sowe took "tomorrow". As all of our friends back home know by now, ourability to communicate through email, attachments and photos islimited, but to even get to this point, we had to get through a weekof "come back tomorrows". Promised on Tuesday, but no later thanWednesday, we finally received our dealybob on Friday…only to find outthat it couldn't be activated until Monday, which turned into Tuesday,then Wednesday, and then quite honestly I can't even remember how manydays of "come back tomorrow" it took for us to get the service thattakes us 10 minutes to get online, cannot do group emails, works only on HTML, and will not do any kind of attachment.
And remember the key in the post office box…stuck in its antiquatedhome of rusty box 706? Just back up the days to two weeks before whenwe began the process. Go to the post office to get the application tohave a box. Have to go find our LC1 in the neighborhood who must signand vouch for us (I suppose to be absolutely certain we will notterrorize the post office?)…"come back tomorrow" after you get hissignature. Find LC1, get the signature, take back to the post office,but find out that we "come back tomorrow" for our key. We go backtomorrow, but the maker of the keys is not around and we are told to"come back tomorrow" when he is, in fact, around. We go backtomorrow, we get our key, and we wait a week to see if our test mailhas arrived from the states. Insert key into box 706, move key toopen box…no, key is stuck in one position and won't move eitherdirection and won't come out. We report our stuck key and are told"come back tomorrow". We go back tomorrow and visit our key which isstill stuck in box 706, unfortunately looking very comfortable. Whilewe are not told to "come back tomorrow", but instead told to "comeback in thirty minutes", we are by now so disciplined to "come backtomorrow" that we automatically put it on the calendar to return tothe post office "tomorrow" and ignore the "thirty minutes".
We could happily ruminate on more "come back tomorrow" stories, butwe're sure you get the point. Please appreciate all those commentsfrom everyone you work with…comments such as "just a minute", "I'll beright back with that", "we'll have it for you immediately", and "canyou wait just a minute and I will get that for you". They are "applesof gold" to us in this country which moves at a slower pace, laughsgood-naturedly at itself, and probably likes the "come back tomorrow"culture because they want to see you again!
And perhaps the last…but definitely the most important thing we ponderin this "come back tomorrow" life is that our heavenly Father alwayssays "I'm here right now for you".
Mukama Asiimwe!
Email 9/18/08
We arrived in Uganda while school was on break - we are nowexperiencing our first full week of "school in session" - my firstreactions...remember I'm a MOM!
NOW THAT SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION…
Now that school is back in session, lunchtime traffic on the road toKicuna has taken on a totally different personality. No longer am Iworried about our car getting hit by one of the large trucks careeningdown the dirt road, a road mounded so high in the middle for drainagethat no two cars of any size can properly pass each other – no, now Iam worried that our car, or a racing boda boda, or a bike loaded withcargo of all sorts will hit one of the school children walking homefor lunch! Pupils of every age casually stroll along the side of theroad, balancing themselves so they don't tilt too much on the angle tothe ditch, P3 and older heading home for lunch and P1 and P2 headedhome for the day. They are tall, they are short, in skirts and inpants, walking quietly alone or in chatty clusters, all shiny in theirblue or green or red uniforms and prime targets for a driver thatlooks away from the road for just a moment. I am horrified each timeI make the drive at this time of day. I carry enough fear for all ofthem – they are oblivious to the threat.
Add to this concern another one for the students – many don't headhome until 6:00 or 6:30 from school and arrive home barely by dark.They thankfully move in packs of 3 or more, rarely alone at this timeof day, and I take comfort in the fact that together they present atleast an appearance of safety. But then we wonder…how do they dotheir homework if they get home after dark? Do they huddle in thechill of the night by a lantern or a candle and try to read theirbooks and write their papers? Or do they go home and do daily chores,trading precious study time for necessary work of fetching water ordigging in the garden? Without light, without a desk and chair,without a room where they can quietly sit and concentrate…how do theybecome a student?
Now let's add to that the fact that many of them must leave theirhomes by 6:00 AM to arrive at their schools, a mere 5 kilometers fromhome, for a 7:30 class. This time of day we have not experienced yet,as it is not light until around 6:45 and we do not go outside our gatewithout the safety of daylight– which points directly to the fact thatthese young students are finding their way in the dark down dirtroads, over narrow paths through banana plantations, down steep hillsand around sharp corners. There are no "yellow dogs" to transportthem and very few cars at home to car pool with the neighbors…I jest.Bob and I constantly find ourselves confronted with daily routines andactivities which defy logic – sending an 8 year old off into the darkhours of the morning – how did he even find his clothes to put them onwhen he had no light at home? And another question we have…when theywalk home in the rain, how do they get their school uniforms dry forthe next day? Do they stop on the side of the road under a tree or averanda, delayed even more by the rain, and arrive home dry, but at8:00PM? There is no washing machine and dryer in the laundry room…andno money to buy two uniforms, only one. We have lots to learn abouttheir ingenuity…or possibly the quiet acceptance of pulling on a wetsweater at 5:45 AM and hoping it is not raining again on the way toschool.
We hear that students do get hit, that accidents do happen, thatsometimes the headlines describe untimely deaths. We read articlesfrequently in the newspaper which bemoan the fact that Ugandansfrequently face death on their precarious highways. If adult driverswho have been trained to look both ways before moving are taking eachother out, how much more are innocent and unprotected students goinghome for lunch at risk?
At risk or not on the busy roads of Uganda, most students of all agesfind school a haven. We are beginning to think that they truly haveit all figured out…what is a little danger on the road when the wholeworld lies ahead of you if you find your way to the university…andsurvive long enough to leave your poverty behind?
NOW THAT SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION…
Now that school is back in session, lunchtime traffic on the road toKicuna has taken on a totally different personality. No longer am Iworried about our car getting hit by one of the large trucks careeningdown the dirt road, a road mounded so high in the middle for drainagethat no two cars of any size can properly pass each other – no, now Iam worried that our car, or a racing boda boda, or a bike loaded withcargo of all sorts will hit one of the school children walking homefor lunch! Pupils of every age casually stroll along the side of theroad, balancing themselves so they don't tilt too much on the angle tothe ditch, P3 and older heading home for lunch and P1 and P2 headedhome for the day. They are tall, they are short, in skirts and inpants, walking quietly alone or in chatty clusters, all shiny in theirblue or green or red uniforms and prime targets for a driver thatlooks away from the road for just a moment. I am horrified each timeI make the drive at this time of day. I carry enough fear for all ofthem – they are oblivious to the threat.
Add to this concern another one for the students – many don't headhome until 6:00 or 6:30 from school and arrive home barely by dark.They thankfully move in packs of 3 or more, rarely alone at this timeof day, and I take comfort in the fact that together they present atleast an appearance of safety. But then we wonder…how do they dotheir homework if they get home after dark? Do they huddle in thechill of the night by a lantern or a candle and try to read theirbooks and write their papers? Or do they go home and do daily chores,trading precious study time for necessary work of fetching water ordigging in the garden? Without light, without a desk and chair,without a room where they can quietly sit and concentrate…how do theybecome a student?
Now let's add to that the fact that many of them must leave theirhomes by 6:00 AM to arrive at their schools, a mere 5 kilometers fromhome, for a 7:30 class. This time of day we have not experienced yet,as it is not light until around 6:45 and we do not go outside our gatewithout the safety of daylight– which points directly to the fact thatthese young students are finding their way in the dark down dirtroads, over narrow paths through banana plantations, down steep hillsand around sharp corners. There are no "yellow dogs" to transportthem and very few cars at home to car pool with the neighbors…I jest.Bob and I constantly find ourselves confronted with daily routines andactivities which defy logic – sending an 8 year old off into the darkhours of the morning – how did he even find his clothes to put them onwhen he had no light at home? And another question we have…when theywalk home in the rain, how do they get their school uniforms dry forthe next day? Do they stop on the side of the road under a tree or averanda, delayed even more by the rain, and arrive home dry, but at8:00PM? There is no washing machine and dryer in the laundry room…andno money to buy two uniforms, only one. We have lots to learn abouttheir ingenuity…or possibly the quiet acceptance of pulling on a wetsweater at 5:45 AM and hoping it is not raining again on the way toschool.
We hear that students do get hit, that accidents do happen, thatsometimes the headlines describe untimely deaths. We read articlesfrequently in the newspaper which bemoan the fact that Ugandansfrequently face death on their precarious highways. If adult driverswho have been trained to look both ways before moving are taking eachother out, how much more are innocent and unprotected students goinghome for lunch at risk?
At risk or not on the busy roads of Uganda, most students of all agesfind school a haven. We are beginning to think that they truly haveit all figured out…what is a little danger on the road when the wholeworld lies ahead of you if you find your way to the university…andsurvive long enough to leave your poverty behind?
Email 9/03/08
We are getting accustomed to life in Fort Portal and Kicuna - Bob is even out driving on his own and taking others around when our trust level is high!
We name streets by what is on them - Barclays (where the bank is), Andrew's (where the market is), MTN (where the telephone office is), speed bump road (on the way to Kasese) - but it helps us figure out where we are headed and is much easier than remembering Rhudymbagari Road..so far so good.
We are meeting people - we have Sondra at MTN, Jack at Barclays, Sarah at the office supply, James who sells us samosas and Andrew at the market. I asked him yesterday if he had different kinds of "minced meat" (our hamburger) and mimed 3 different packages (for us, 88%, 92%, 95%, etc.) and he laughed and said, "No, that's what makes the US a super power!" Well, if beef makes us a super power, we are in good shape, huh?
When my computer is reconnected to the internet and I can email from it I will send some reflections on our work in the field - making home visits. I think I said that last week, too, but this week I really mean it - we actually have our new wireless internet card and should be good to go by the end of the week.
Prayer requests for this week are similar to last week...we are busy pouring over bids for the completion of Building I and planning our home visits for tomorrow - what we have learned is the most challenging, but frequently enjoyable, part of our jobs. We hurt and ache as we move from hut to hut, encountering a way of life we have never seen and hoping to understand. I fear they think we're coming to work a small miracle right on the spot, and wonder what they think when we bring a message of hope for the future and encouragement to trust in a loving God who cares for them. When their smiles send us off and their eyes are on our backs as we leave, what do their faces reflect - is it disappointment that we have not made a more profound impession by bringing a gift or leaving shillings, or do they realize that the greatest gift we all have (rich or poor) is Jesus Christ?
Please pray:1. Wisdom as we finalize plans for construction...we are committed to a quality project with a set budget
2. Abundant provision for the needs of Christ Aid and Christ Aid Academy - the list is so long...
3. Christ Aid Academy to be a witness to the love of Christ in the Kicuna area - we are making specific plans for chapels and Bible teachings for this term, parent meetings for encouragement, employing parents for construction to help them pay fees, providing something nutritious for students during the day, cleaning the school for the return to term three... We continue to love to hear from you all, when so moved.
We pray your lives are blessed and joyful. We appreciate your prayers and truly feel uplifted on a daily basis.
Bob and Linda
We name streets by what is on them - Barclays (where the bank is), Andrew's (where the market is), MTN (where the telephone office is), speed bump road (on the way to Kasese) - but it helps us figure out where we are headed and is much easier than remembering Rhudymbagari Road..so far so good.
We are meeting people - we have Sondra at MTN, Jack at Barclays, Sarah at the office supply, James who sells us samosas and Andrew at the market. I asked him yesterday if he had different kinds of "minced meat" (our hamburger) and mimed 3 different packages (for us, 88%, 92%, 95%, etc.) and he laughed and said, "No, that's what makes the US a super power!" Well, if beef makes us a super power, we are in good shape, huh?
When my computer is reconnected to the internet and I can email from it I will send some reflections on our work in the field - making home visits. I think I said that last week, too, but this week I really mean it - we actually have our new wireless internet card and should be good to go by the end of the week.
Prayer requests for this week are similar to last week...we are busy pouring over bids for the completion of Building I and planning our home visits for tomorrow - what we have learned is the most challenging, but frequently enjoyable, part of our jobs. We hurt and ache as we move from hut to hut, encountering a way of life we have never seen and hoping to understand. I fear they think we're coming to work a small miracle right on the spot, and wonder what they think when we bring a message of hope for the future and encouragement to trust in a loving God who cares for them. When their smiles send us off and their eyes are on our backs as we leave, what do their faces reflect - is it disappointment that we have not made a more profound impession by bringing a gift or leaving shillings, or do they realize that the greatest gift we all have (rich or poor) is Jesus Christ?
Please pray:1. Wisdom as we finalize plans for construction...we are committed to a quality project with a set budget
2. Abundant provision for the needs of Christ Aid and Christ Aid Academy - the list is so long...
3. Christ Aid Academy to be a witness to the love of Christ in the Kicuna area - we are making specific plans for chapels and Bible teachings for this term, parent meetings for encouragement, employing parents for construction to help them pay fees, providing something nutritious for students during the day, cleaning the school for the return to term three... We continue to love to hear from you all, when so moved.
We pray your lives are blessed and joyful. We appreciate your prayers and truly feel uplifted on a daily basis.
Bob and Linda
Thursday, June 5, 2008
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