Follow Up

I have not been doing a good job of taking pictures for awhile now, so I need to be sure and post the ones I do have. The majority of these are from the Thursday night get together that Joel mentioned in the previous post. It was a great night and made even better when I realised the students don't know a lot about tacos and therefore couldn't compare my very sloppy, not round, homemade tortillas to anything else (except chapatis - which are bigger than what I made - but we won't go there) :)

It's so fun to watch the kitchen be the main hub for visiting. This picture was taken while we were preparing for dinner. It was quite crowded by the time we were ready to pray and thank God for our food.

Sometimes I feel as if our house is too big, but I those thoughts go away when I see it filled with college students - what a privilege!

Here's our serious picture (our 3 girls from Covenant college are on the right)

and our silly picture...

On a side note the girls made dinner for us tonight. It was interesting how they were provided a good picture of how life is here. They shopped and bargained for their food. A vendor selling tomatoes told them it would be 500 /= (Ugandan Shillings) for 3 tomatoes (this is the normal price) but when they told her they wanted the stack of 5 tomatoes (which is normally 1,000/=) she wanted 2,000 /= for them! (It's still a good price because 2,000 /= is about $1) It's just the principle of it all.

So they walked back here from town with all their supplies to find the power was off as well as the water....that's just the way it is sometimes. They were so sweet to let Dara and Dade help and we had a delightful meal. The power came back on about 1/2 way through dinner and I'll confess I was so glad.

Speaking of power, the power lines invaded my picture of the sunset. But it's still pretty enough to share. (although not as pretty as Joel's picture)

But to be honest, I really really like my power lines (even if they don't work all the time)

Where My Heart Is

It's a little after 3:30am and I'm wide awake. That's fairly common for me, although I'm typically used to hearing a noise, checking it out and then heading back to bed. The power went off a little while ago and I was up dropping mosquito nets over the kids and making sure our neighbors' power was off as well. I guess it's a common occurence for thieves to cut the power in the hopes of sneaking up on you. About the time I had the nets down, the power came back on. I tried to head back to bed, but my mind was racing - not about thieves, but about discipleship.

Last night we had about 15 university students over to the house. We both felt like cancelling all day. The batteries on the car (yes, you keep two in your car over here) died in the morning. It took until almost 4pm to get that small problem fixed. Things just are not fast here! Ruth is in the village for a wedding, so while I was trying to fix the car, Jill was here doing laundry, trying to home school and frantically preparing a meal for 20 people (it ended up being 24)! Neither of us were feeling all that hospitable. It would have been easy to cancel.

So glad we didn't!!!!!!!

As we ate dinner together, I found myself in the kitchen with a small group talking about relationships, pornography and discipleship. I was sharing about a conference I spoke at a week ago and how the high school students expressed some interesting points of view on the issue of pornography. The opinion expressed was that there was nothing wrong with it (as long as you don't watch it)! I was challenging these university students to consider discipleship relationships with these students. Jill, wisely asked us to move in to the living room so the whole group could benefit from what we were discussing. As we rehashed the conversation, it became obvious that while many of them were willing to engage the high school students, what they really needed was to be discipled themselves. They've never had that and aren't sure how to model it for others.

I hope our family and friends won't read this the wrong way.....but tears came to my eyes (and are again now as I write this) as I thought about leaving these students in July. They will report back to campus in mid-August and we will be in the US until mid-October. They were asking to be discipled and we won't even be here. Now, please understand, I can't wait to see our families and spend time with friends. We need the break to help us prepare for a 2 year term. But guys......my heart aches for these students. I'm just being honest, but I feel selfish for needing a break, when these students need us!

I know what many of you are thinking......it's not about you Joel, it's about God. I agree. It is completely about Him and He will take care of them. I'm simply confessing that my heart is here. While I'm tired and worn out and need a break, my heart is here! While we need hugs from our families, my heart is here! While I can't wait to see Jill's sister get married, my heart is here! While I get so excited about sharing with our church family about life in Uganda, my heart is here!

Please pray that we will have wisdom on how to help these students before we leave and in our absence. Pray that our monthly financial support will increase so that we won't be delayed in getting back here. Pray that God will raise up others who are willing to come to this small corner of Uganda and pour their lives out for these students.

Tears flow freely as I write this. I always hoped my heart would be captured this way by these people and by this country. I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. My heart is in two places - caught between the world I've always known and the world I now live in. That's where my heart is during the early hours of this morning.

Give Away

A couple weekends ago, we were blessed to attend a "Give Away" with some friends of ours. This is the ceremony where a bride is symbolically given to the husband's family. This precedes the church wedding. It can be a very big affair.

This was our second to attend but we still left hours before it was complete - we don't like or recommend driving after dark so we left early (and did good making it half of the way home before darkness fell). This particular ceremony was beautifully done. The where 5 big tents filled with people, flowers everywhere, the cakes were pretty, and the food was good.

There were dancers who came out in shifts to entertain everyone while we waited for people to eat in shifts. The dancing wasn't as traditional as I expected but still interesting to watch.

These two little boys were dancing alongside the hired dancers and were adorable to watch. The one in the light blue shirt stole the day when, taking a short break from dancing, decided to urinate right there in the middle of the walkway where the other dancers had just finished. In a culture where boys (and men) can go almost wherever and whenever the need strikes them, this boy thought nothing of it. But it was so funny and all 400+ people got a good laugh from it. After we were all finished laughing, the MC asked his parents to remove him from center of the activites, and he cried.

This is a picture of several of our team mates who came along. This is my only African dress, but it's not traditional wedding attire for this tribe. Susan (the lady beside me) is wearing a traditional Runyankore dress. (Just in case you can tell, my hair is a bit red because my friend, Ankita, did 'henna' to my hair a few weeks back...it should wear off before we get home).

This is a picture of our view as we were leaving. Doesn't God do amazing work?

This last picture just made me laugh...it looks as if the termite mound has a cow head. It probably doesn't make anyone else chuckle, but I liked it.

On a different note (and a response to a comment made by much younger friends of mine), I did try to upload the video of the kids sledding onto YouTube. However, when 1% of the upload was complete and it told me I had 547 minutes remaining, I couldn't do it. I gave it a few minutes to see if the count would drop quickly once it started, but I never saw 2%. It just wasn't worth it for a 30 second video - sorry. You'll just have to trust me that it's fun to watch. :)

Aging

Aging is what I am doing these days. This post is mainly an apology to the many nurses and other people I have poked fun at because they were older than me. Finally, it is my turn. We have a group of 9 college students from Covenant College who will be with our team for the next few weeks (3 will stay longer). It has been very, very sobering for me to realize that I am closer in age to their parents than their siblings. When did this happen?! I don't feel older, but apparently I am. Go ahead and laugh...

On a completely different note, I have tried twice now to upload this video, hoping this time will work. The kids have had a blast on this little hill and card board boxes make it even better. I've thought about trying, but realizing (again) how I'm aging - thought it wouldn't be such a great idea. :) Hope you get to enjoy it.

okay, I've tried for several nights now to upload a video for you - it isn't working so just trust me that it is really fun to watch the kids slide on pieces of card board down a small incline. Perhaps I'll show you when we get home this summer.

Thank You Moms!!!!

I know this is a day early, but something about being away from your mom on Mother's Day brings out emotions and makes you reflect on these special days. The past two days we have been attending the wedding of some dear friends. I reflected earlier today on how proud, happy and content the mother of the groom looked. She is always a postive, optimistic woman, but there has been joy that is so evident in her the past two days as she has watched her first born start a new life. I guess as I watched, I was reminded of how much a mom pours into her kids. I was reminded that while it is probably very hard for a dad to let go, it must be so much more difficult for all the mothers out there. Let me try to explain these thoughts.

I was thinking about life here. I began realizing how hard Jill really has it here. She pours so much of herself into our kids. While I complain about all the appointments and meetings and running around, Jill is here with two kids. She listens to their complaints, hears the crying about wanting to go home, has to be comforter and teacher all at one time, and still finds a way to greet me everyday with a smile and a kiss.

Being in Africa has taught me a lot, but watching Jill thrive here has given me a whole new respect for the jobs mothers have. And most of all, it has made me grateful for the two moms we have back home. We are so aware as we talk with others, how fortunate we are to have parents that support God's call on our lives to live in a place so far away from home. I know it has been hard on both of our moms especially. It can't be easy to nurture a child for all those years, pour so much of yourself into them, and then selflessly, let them go not knowing if or when they will come back. Mom and mom.....thank you both so much. We love you and are so grateful for your lives. Your voices (even digitized on MagicJack) have carried us through some tough times. Know that even though we can't be with you on this day, we love you!

Adjusting

Sometimes people ask if we are adjusting to life here. Today it was neat for me to see two different ways that show we are. The first was early this evening when I saw Dara and David (our guard) hitting around the volleyball. I could see them through the kitchen window and they were having a great time. About 20 minutes later I went to find David to thank him for cleaning out some gutters.

I came around the corner, and this is what I saw...this is Dara helping sort rice. They were picking out the pieces of bad rice and Dara was talking away. She proceeded to tell me how she beat David at soccer 2-6. David gave me the sweetest, knowing smile. He is such a good daddy and friend.

Andrew is kept trying to eat the plain rice and Dara kept hiding the bag from him.

And he is just soooo cute...

If I can't find Dara in the house in the afternoon or early evening hours, I can almost bet she is somewhere around David, Kate, and Andrew. What a blessing to have them here.

The last thing that happened to show how well we are adjusting was after dinner tonight. Dade was in the shower, Joel and Dara were in the living room with Seb (we have yet to get a table), and I was in the kitchen. All of a sudden the lights go off and it is pitch dark. You could barely see your hand in front of your face. My first thought was of Dade taking a shower so I grope around for a flash light and come down the hall saying quite loudly, "Dade, I'm coming with a flash light!" I could tell he didn't understand what I said, because he yelled out (in a very calm voice), "Mom, it's all dark in here." I put the flashlight in the bathroom and he finished up without blinking an eye. Obviously, there aren't any pictures of this story, but it does show how we are growing accustomed to life here. And for this, I am so grateful.

Strange Happenings

I know I say it often but life really is soooo different here. A few days ago some friends of ours in the missionary community had an attempted break-in. The wife/mom woke up with their son around 3 a.m. and heard their dog going crazy. Then she heard some people trying to get into their back door. She woke up her husband and he yelled at them. The thiefs actually said something like, "We are thieves! Let us in!" What a funny and odd demand. Did they really think the person whose house they were trying to invade would just open the door for them?!

All is well at their house now, but it did prompt some conversations at our house. Joel came to bed the other night and said to me, "I never thought I'd have to explain to our kids which side of the ponga is the one you would use to hurt someone." Pongas are the big knifes here. They are the same as machetes (as far as I know). Back home, we taught the kids not to talk to strangers or get into someone's car, but it's just kind of strange to have such candid serious conversations with your children....

Even before all of this, Dara has been keeping her pink pocket knife by her bed....just in case - she says. What prompted this blog was Dade asking me, "Do you know why I keep my knife out of my drawer?" I said "no" and he proceeded to explain, "The drawer is very hard to open and if a thief comes I can get it fast and stab them." To this comment I replied, "good". What else do you say?

I do have pictures to prove it - just in case you think I'm exaggerating. Dade's "knife" is actually a broken tool of some sort that he found in the dirt about a week ago. He uses it to scrape at trees and as a defense weapon - apparently.

Here's Dade in his bed; you can barely see the red handle on the night stand.

Dara was asleep - I was sure the flash would wake her up, but it didn't. Her pocket knife is on the far left corner of her night stand.

On a happier note, because I have a funny feeling our mom's aren't gonna find this post as impressive as I do...Amaani is still alive and is actually improving! The vet finally came by late Sunday afternoon. He said the bag was not the problem but it was probably whatever was in the bag that gave her a bad infection in her gut. We resumed her antibiotics and added another one. Yesterday, she actually ate some scrambled egg and drank some chicken broth (left over from the chicken I boiled for the chicken pot pie which was sooo good), and she didn't throw up! Today she is looking better than she has in days. I really thought she would die, and even though she is still very thin - we think she'll survive. Thank you for your prayers for our precious little dog.