Blessings

Blessings

A young woman from the states came to Africa on Christmas Eve and brought for Tom and I a suitcase with 30# of wonderful delicious thoughtful American foods, kitchen gadgets, candy, work shoes, spices, Christmas cookies and love. We picked it up last evening and put it in our back packs real fast from her suitcase. (so we wouldn't have to share) Funny how selfish I am with stuff that you don't believe you will see more of. I think it is called hoarding...We brought it home on our bikes and put it all on the table and looked at it real long and hard. Then I started tasting and feeling what packaging is like and imagining what I am going to do with all this new stuff. Tom took a picture of our cupboard with everything put away.

We felt proud and like “life is good” with all this stuff... We called our friends and family and talked about our stuff and our gratefulness. Today we had the young girl and her research partner over for lunch and she brought another blessing. She plays violin and showed me some things I need to know to be able to play better. (So the rooster quiets crowing when I practice and the cats quite coming to see who is in heat). Isn't that just like God blessings blessings blessing even when I continue with a greedy selfish heart. I feel as though he is trying to show me by example how to be generous and remind me of all the richness there is to share. For some reason I keep wanting to hoard. Even from Tom... I justify “He has his coffee's” I can eat his jerky or chocolates or whatever is parceled as “his because I don't have specials.. Get where this is going? Right back to selfishness. Being in Africa it show me so much more how afraid I am that the blessings will stop. Kinda like when the water quite and we had to haul and now the power is out and we have to conserve.

I don't see the selfishness in the Ugandans they share everything and anything they have. (Which isn't much) I guess when malaria, hepatitis and tuberculosis are everyday diseases you really don't count on tomorrow as much as I do, at this point in life. I am even older then the average Ugandan. They die at 52. So where is this going? I don't know, maybe confessing it makes it a bigger reality to keep on eye out for, but I am still not ready to share those peanut M&M's...

Thank you all for the blessings you give me everyday! For the time you take to correspond, the phone calls you sit through with me, the packages you put together and sharing your lives. I miss you all and didn't really think I would to this extent.

From Christmas eve I enclosed a picture of the hostess (Sherry) of the Christmas eve candle light and star service and ice cream social with 28 flavors of home made ice cream, and Betty my getting to be very good friend from Phoenix who I find great comfort in talking with.

 Christmas day pictures are of me in the kitchen like always just a different kitchen. George, a PCV living with the brothers at the Cathedral boarding school wanted to do a pork loin on a charcoal fire and Betty and I and Tom made the rest of the meal. Included are pictures of us cooking with Rose the young girl who knew how to cook on charcoal as that is all there is at the kitchen of the school. The pork roast dripped onto the charcoal and caught fire and the outside was really char coaled but we licked it up anyway all 14 us.

Boxing Day is the 26 and a holiday here. In the UK and Canada people box up stuff to bless others with and also do there Christmas returns by boxing them up to give away.  We had Betty over for potato soup and rested and today was a fun run at the Youth With A Mission complex down the road. I am not running but the kids and I walked for 5 kilometers and that was a good way to say hello to morning. Right now, it is still about 80 degrees in the house. Someone went back to the states today for furlough and left us their solar shower. A large black bag you put on the sidewalk and let warm up during the day, hook up to something high and has a plastic nozzle head you can open and have a warm shower with. It was lovely. It is 7 pm and the mosquitoes are busy chewing on me. I hate crawling into bed but it is the only place with a mosquito net. We have screens but they still manage to come in the doors where there are no screens. The power is not on, the computer battery is almost gone, but we all well fed, well loved and enjoying the stars as they shine so bright here with no artificial light. It is also quite. With the power out the Ugandans can't play there music. Merry Christmas!

A suggestion for your church or book group. WHEN HELPING HURTS by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert a book about how the western world sees help and how come it fails in the 3^rd world or the majority world as it is called in the book. It also talks about the people that come to the church door for help and what the best way to HELP is. Excellent read and short but so thought provoking and insightful. Makes me and some of my missionary friends ponder how to do blessings here. More to come on the subject.

             Love from Africa, Marcy and Tom

One last picture.  The people across the soccer pitch playground are moving tomorrow so they are cleaning out.  Bugs are a constant struggle here.  They must have found a few or many cockroaches in a couple boxes they had put away as the man of the house come s out and throws these on the steps and the chickens immediately come to eat.  Thought you would enjoy the picture

.   Oh Yea here is a picture of Tom too!

Some Photos

 The mechanics road enlarge so you can see all there tools all 20 of them mostly hammers.  My dad would have loved working here.

 Bread stores all in a row, all buy from the same place and all charge the same.  All bags of bread come with holes in to let the air out.

 Fruit vendors who are right on Market road with all the exhaust adding to the flavor of the fruit but the pineapples are organic.

 3 of the 300 ladies selling tomatoes

Tom with the neighborhood cuties.  The one in the middle had a huge crush on him  She moved to Kampala now.  

The power went out so I have to close and save battery to call kids on Christmas 
My love to all of you and Merry Christmas and Thank you to all of you who are helping us keep Christmas here by sending cards, packages, prayers, love, emails.  We miss you all so much.   Marcy and Tom

WATER

Water December 18, 2011

Remember all the complaining I did about food when I got here? No variety, no raw freshness, same old manna everyday and then I got to the promised land and could cook for myself. But, over a kerosene can because there wasn't any bottle gas. Then I got the gas and a suitcase came with pots with handles and I was living on easy street. But, I didn't now it, because I was onto the next annoyance which was laundry, and going to the market everyday after working, and then another volunteer came to stay until he got better from having rapid transit (diarrhea) but he stayed a week and he was 23 and Asian and didn't know to pick up after himself, or take off his shoes after I scrubbed, how to hit a toilet, used our stuff like it was his with out the care, and just stayed too long with us and drove me crazy. Well, he left and I was pretty happy again. Then Wednesday when we got up we had no water... We had running water and a toilet that flushed because we have a gravity tank that is filled every night. The story goes that the power being out prevents the pumps from filling the tank, or they are changing pipes for this area of the town, or dry season has started and the place they pump from is already dry or no one knows and no one has water unless they have a rainwater catchment tank which to me makes a lot of sense to have. Very few do because the Nile is so close and water is not a problem most of the year.

I had visions of getting solar panels so I could keep the computer charged as I felt this was my life line but having to lug water is making me think that a rainwater catchment is a better investment. It is late for that now as we are only expected to get rain 1 more before it is dry until April but I will be thinking on this real hard as it gets dryer and dryer. Jerry cans weigh 40# with 20 liters of water in and Tom nor I want to lug 2 liters/day for our use so he paid some boys to lug and the boys ran off happy as heck to have a purpose and job with instant $ for work they are use too.(Mostly there sisters are use to) They each came back with the 20 liters got the $ and spent it immediately. Yesterday they are back wanting to do it again but the water was a little murky, which it can be, if the well has sand in it. Tom asked where they were getting it and we found out it was out of the stream down the hill from our complex. Most area have boreholes but the one for here has been condemned for contamination a long while back so what would the stream have in it? Peace Corp gave us recipes on how to purify water to make it drinkable and it is to boil, or add bleach and filter but brown water I just can't get past my eyes. Washing dishes rinsing dishes, washing my face, taking a bucket bath. Yes ,it is nice to know I won't get sick but will anything be clean? And why the heck did those boys go to the stream and not the well at the hospital? So, we washed clothes with the murky water and tried to just use the top water and let the sand and sediment settle out and dump that and found a resource of rainwater at the hospital to get clean water from. We are hopeful that the water is again flowing through the pipes soon. That they are only changing pipes.

That is what is happening and like everything here it just takes longer because there is no phone book to look up the Public Utilities and complain. With no complaints you can do it in your own time. AND THEY DO! So we are learning one more thing about being in Africa. Just how much work water is and how vital it is to the day to day activities. Also, what water can be. Maybe soon I will be appreciative of the murky brown because that is all there is. I hope not, but you never know what new lesson God has in mind. We now have 3 jerry cans of water and 1 10 liter filtering for drinking water. One of the handymen took pity on us and brought us 2 clean rain (I think) on a boda. We are praying to not get sick from yesterdays water that we never asked the source of until late. The boys get water there for there family why wouldn't they get it for us?

Most of the people in the compound here have left to go to their villages for the holidays. We are headed to the monastery for pot luck. I think our Asian friend is coming back so I am going to give him a class on cleaning my way when he comes. I am not the maid or his momma. I have to go wring out the sheets for the line. I hope to write again soon. Merry Christmas if I don't. Love you all, Marc

We had to go the market again so I took some pictures of the disparity between the men and women.

Seeing Christmas Different

Christmas

Cherry, challenged me to experience God in a new way this year because I am in a new culture. When she wrote that I balked and thought God is God. But, here in Africa, God is different. With no power most of the time and no radio to listen to evangelists, no movies, DVDs, or tapes but just fresh hot air and time in sorta silence. ( Remember we have chickens, roosters, and goats that run around the place, and more children then Tom grew up with in his neighborhood, who play on the grass (soccer pitch) in between our house and the next and people walking past saying hi all day) Seems you can hear God rejoicing a little more and see what makes Him weep a little clearer.

The nursing school is next door as you can see from the last pictures with only a barbed wire chicken fence between. Last weekend, on Saturday the Catholic community of nurse students did the reading, drama, and music of Christmas. I was sitting outside reading “The Tipping Point” and the music just kept coming and coming and coming. Did I tell you Africans can carry a perfect tune, even the Catholics. So I ventured over to be closer and had a wonderful surprise. If you have never read “The Best Christmas P agent Ever” you need to. It is funny and really true. It is a “experiencing God in a new way” through someone else's eyes. Like reading Phillip Yancey. I got to the program when they were doing the annunciation by Gabriel to Mary. The angel had on a mosquito net to make her angelic. When she comes to Joseph and tells him with the beautiful expressions of the Ugandans it was so tender. Pregnant? OH! His questions and surprise made the scripture real. Then he goes to tell Mary he will marry her and they both pray to God for strength and wisdom. They make the sign of the cross every time they pray. To see 2 young kids with there heads bowed praying about what was going to happen in there life made me ashamed. When had Tom and I last prayed for wisdom together calling on the names of God the FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT?

The music continues, the readings go on and the drama next is the angel coming in the mosquito net to the Shepard’s and they come see Mary and Joseph and bring the naughty sheep who come into the small house and baa baa baa and disturb the furniture and baby and everyone. In the Ugandan way greetings are the most important part of any conversation. If you do not greet properly you have insulted in the highest way. The greetings go on while the sheep bleet and wander, but, Joseph and Mary are welcoming and happy for the visitors. They enacted it so well. I paused to wonder, when people come to see me or call, why I am not as gracious. I feel sometimes annoyed when I am not, I am just being selfish. What is more important then relationships???

The next drama is 3 Wise “Mans” as they say here. Because this culture has been at war for so long and with so many tribes and foreign people the drama was different. Rather then the wise “mans” going to Herod, Herod has them hauled in by the military, who are none to gentle thinking this is a spy party of foreigners. Which, in this area, we are cautioned to be on the look out for, always. So, the 3 “mans” have to talk to Herod and the military stand around and enforce answers. With fear the “mans” tell why they are here and what they want and Herod confers with the military and the rest of his crooneys and send them on the way with suspicion. The “mans” slink off and find the baby. Josephs greets them with “You are welcome” as they come in with an entourage. They take over his small house and pass the baby around and all the presents get passed around like a wedding shower. Then they leave and have a fight about which way to go back to the East. It was perfect. Kinda like a summer vacation where everyone wants to something different and then your all mad. So the fresh look at God and His story seemed a little more real with people who didn't speak exactly like I do, who didn't think exactly like I do, and who don't look like I do. But, have seen much more of the Bible in there own lives then I do. Military occupation, war, famine due to a really long dry season, disease's killing children, having to walk everywhere, and doing laundry in a bucket. Who better to act out the story. Oh yea, and when songs are sung and you wonder if “heaven is suppose to be like that won't it be boring” when you are in the states, but then you hear them here. You aren't bored, your heart even sings the songs with. Even my voice blends and sounds better... Africa, I suggest it to everyone for Christmas.

December in Uganda

This is a bucket bath

Our address is: MacAulay  PO Box 933, Arua, Uganda

Gulu and Permagardening End of November

No black Friday shopping but on Sunday we were invited to a PC workshop in Gulu on permagardening. We took a bus to Karuma Falls and waited for a bus that goes to Gulu. 1 ½ hours later we find out that there is no bus to Gulu on Sunday. So we had to hassle with the mattatoo divers (Toyota van taxi's they pack 14 people into) The taxi owners and most Ugandans think if you are white you are rich and will pay whatever they ask. They tend to ask outrageous amounts. A typical ride to Gulu is 12000UGS they asked 80000. So you haggle and hassle and it is so annoying. And the sun is hot but in the time you sit on the side of the road in this small town/village you see a lot and I have enclosed pictures of what we saw from the bus and while sitting. When we did secure a mattatoo for reasonable, they put in a few extra people. So we had 19 in a toyota van meant to hold 14 for a 1 ½ hour ride. No one complains, but me, I refuse to be “squished” as they call it and it is squished for sure so our seat row had only 3 in it not 4 but we had a navy locker under our feet instead. 

After the hot ride and the hours in the hot sun waiting for the hot ride we got to Gulu and they had hot water and showers. Haven't had that since swearing in. It was divine. Next day up and out to the Vocational school where they are gardening to grow their own for the students and maybe sell the extra. See more pics. You know the lovely machines we have back on the farm. Well here, we had tool and strong backs and lots of space. We were to bring our counterparts with so we learn together and take the knowledge back to our organizations and implement in into the villages for use. Ultimate goal was educating and working together for the greater feeding of the malnourished through dissemination of the knowledge. I was there with Tom and his counterpart. We started with grass on the land the kind I planted to grow at the farm. You clear the grass with the ebo and then you dig down a foot and turn the earth in a 10 meter by 3 meter area. 9 teams doing this with 2 foot walkways between. Next you start at one end and now dig down 3 feet to the red clay and bring that soil up and mix with the top soil you dug the first time and make sure you ebo does not attack your leg... Some of the counterparts grew up in the village and could “dig” as gardening is called here, all day and put us whites to shame. So we took turns digging and after each digging we are tested to make sure there is no goofing off... Next you rake and smooth out the clumps and level and pack down the walk ways. Then you plant seeds 2 to a hole. The holes are thumb to index finger spread apart in rows down the turned soil with 5 one row 4 the next for spacing and then cover. Only problems was I choose carrots so that spacing doesn't work but for demo purposes that is what we had to do. Next you go get old grass chop it up with a panga (macahette) and lightly cover the seed bed and water lightly. Now you go onto digging a compost pit and learning how to compost, next was a keyhole or basket garden for next to you house and at the end it is how to irrigate. All very labor intense with tests, evals, group teaching activities, and finally an action plan. 

Day one it rained in the afternoon, so, too wet to dig. They let us shop in Gulu for 2 hours and next day we were to make it up by coming earlier and staying later. Which we did... We should have worked in the rain... Peace Corp worked us hard and taught us well through the hands on blister building work. When we got to the hotel no power or hot water... Food was good, bed was better, and next day out by 7:30 and into the garden before it gets really hot. We dug and dug and dug. Not me because you have to straddle the dirt pile so you don't pack it down and keep digging as you jump ahead. I couldn't straddle. My bruises wouldn't allow, so I had a small shovel and broke up clods of dirt and did the measuring for the carrots. Pretty soon the Ugandans are all digging like crazy people and the whites are taking turns but supervising more and it is getting hotter. We met new volunteers, more Ugandans from our area, had great conversation and learned as we went. We all slept well and still didn't have power, hot water or continuous water by night 3. Day 4 when we were getting ready to leave the power was on and Tom found a espresso maker at the hotel and cooked up some espresso for all the PCV men. You would have thought he had hosted Thanksgiving. You gotta love it.

Peace Corp gave us a ride back to Karuma and then the wait and hassle of the mattatoo. 2 hours later we got in a taxi only to have him load us all in, and go get lunch while we waited for petro. Karuma has no station. ½ hour later they strap the rest of the jerry can with fuel to the back window of the taxi and off we go. You always want to look at the drivers eyes and see if he has been chewing KAT it is a stimulant that is like speed and that is what people on it do. Speed, for about a month and then they are addicted and don't do anything because it has effected there mental ability and they are a mess. The Sundanese and Somalis have used it in their culture without many ill effects but it is new to Ugandans and the Ugandans deteriorate from it's use. This guy was a good driver. Since there really aren't any traffic laws here or many lines on the road or in some places tarmac left on the road it is the survival of the biggest. We came upon a crash of 2 lorrys and a new pickup just over a bridge. All 3 cabs were pretty smashed and the loads were waiting for another truck to come pick up. Fortunately for us, the bodies were not still there. Reminders everywhere of who holds your life in His hands...

When Tom and I were walking into the compound Tom said “You know it feels good to be back here, like we are coming home”. We both slept all night and today it is the count down to Christmas, World AIDS day (with parades and singing and speeches) and wash day. 

After our month plus here we are content. At least today. Tomorrow we are having guest for supper, I got some more dishes... So the adventure is continuing. I enclosed pictures of the sights from the bus as we went to Karuma so you can see some of N Africa but the battery was dead when we came on the elephants, sorry, they hang out at the Nile... I guess you will have to come see for yourself. One of the best Safari's is 3 hours from here and takes 2 days and you will see all things but the gorilla's.

That trip will cost you 500US and the hike is 3 hours and you still may not see the things. Plus it is a 14-22 hour bus ride. Go to the zoo if you need too see them Katie. It is only 300US in Rwanda... Gotta go eat and then decide what the afternoon will hold. Love you all, the sun is shining and the dry season hasn't started yet so temps are still bearable. Mango's are just ripening and are wonderful...Wish you were here to share them with. Marc

Permagardening

what happens when a bus comes to town

One of the River Niles

How things are secured for travel.

landscape from bus

Thanksgiving Arua, Uganda 2011

Our first holiday in Africa given by Peace Corp. We spent it doing laundry, marketing, and peeling potatoes and getting squash ready for the feast. It was pot luck at Radio Pacis which is a Catholic organization that does Catholic broadcasting. Different from DIGUNA, (Lutheran) but still really great equipment and there is a huge solar net for the power. The woman in charge, Sherry has been here 20 years and has helped establish the campus (Christus Center) for workshops and retreats and visiting people that want to have a conference there. Rooms complete with shower, hot water, and mosquito nets. Kinda high end hostel and beautiful gardens that all the rooms look out on and the porch’s have comfy chairs. The radio station is run by the Camboni order of priests and brothers from Italy so they are very generous to the radio station and Sherry, as I have said before, has all the American amenities. She hosted and her house is huge. There were 34 of us with a family of 5 dropping out at the end due to illness. Enclosed is a picture of the spread. One of the women here Pam is from Tennessee and she made sweet potato pie with caramel and pecans on top. We had dishes with cheese which is a difficult commodity to come by, water chestnuts in the broccoli casserole and the 1 Italian Father brought wine made from the grapes they grow at the retreat, radio, cathedral, center. We borrowed the stove and oven from the German girls home that come to work at the station so we didn't have to lug food up the hill on our ½ hr walk to the station. (Wouldn't want you to think I didn't have to suffer a little...) So, the feast was wonderful! The people were all new and there for different reasons so conversation was good. We weren't allowed to do dishes and that for me was always part of the Thanksgiving whether at moms growing up or at St. Mary's feeding the 700. Guess some traditions are meant to be changed at least for a year. Pam and Stan have been here since early 2000's with Bible translators Wycliffe (sp) they worked in the Sudan corner of Uganda before coming to the Lugbara area. They have 3 kids who are great, the 3 women peace corp volunteers and Tom were there. Another Camboni priest that was from IL that use to drive up to Mankato and preach about missions, and has worked here with refugees and displaced people in the area. Sherry from Chicago and hostess to us, and a couple from Tenn that works with African Inland Mission and have been in country only 5 weeks. It was a wonderful afternoon and evening and I sent 3 pics of the chow line, us and friends. We stocked up on chow that night and asked God for dispensation for our gluttony... Sherry makes the Italian gelato for the top of the apple crisp so we missed the pumpkin pie but no one complained.

Thanksgiving feast

Dining room with guests

Happy Thanksgiving!

Post-Crash Update

Last I left you, I had had the crash. After 3 days of laying around I started wandering around and have gotten stronger since. The thing about living in a compound (see picture 1-4) with all the Dr nurses and instructors at the hospital, and a gate keeper that had new news about the mundu (WHITE), is people stopping by to see how you are and when seeing you outside the house inquire and all wish you, “ to get better fast” and tell you how good God was to you that you are okay now, and they will “pray” and I have no doubts they did pray. So aside from a blue backside, pedal marks on my calves to match my butt, sore rib and a heel that I still can't put all my weight on, I am good. I have even got the bike fixed and rode it out to Toms work with him. I have more fear when riding now though. I don't think I will ride it through town anymore. At least for a while. I included more pictures of the school and compound where our house is too so you have a visual.

road above our home that leads to the poor part

our house is the 2nd one down the road

Nursing school compound and home