Hoarding

WITH ALL THE NICE STUFF YOU HAVE ALL SENT WE FEEL SPOILED.  WE HAVE ALSO EXPLORED KAMPALA NOW AND KNOW WHERE TO GET SOME MUNDU (WHITE) FOOD LIKE RAISENS AND ALMONDS AND OATS AND POPCORN THAT POPS.  PLEASE DON'T SEND ANYMORE M&M PEANUT OR ALMONDS AS I SIT AND EAT THE WHOLE BAG AND FEEL SICK.  I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL FOR THOSE.  SO FOR AN UPDATED LIST OF WHAT WOULD BE APPRECIATED BY YOUR POOR SUFFERING FRIENDS IN AFRICA.    HERE IT IS:
DRIED CHERRIES, APRICOTS, FIG, PEARS, DATES
 BEEF JERKY
SESAME RYE CRISPS ( GREAT WITH FRESH GUACAMOLE)
TUNA  WATER PAK
GEDNEYS DILL PICKLE RELISH IN A BOTTLE
BRAZIL NUTS
MULTI GRAIN CRACKERS  "BRENTONS" SEASAME
PARMESAN IN A SHAKER
WALNUTS
COFFEE DARK ROAST

THE LITTLE KIDS HERE LOVE THE THINGS YOU HAVE SENT FOR THEM I SLOWLY BRING THEM OUT TO PLAY WITH AND IT DRAWS A CROWD EVERYTIME.  BALLS ARE THE BIGGEST HIT, DOES ANYONE HAVE A RECIPE FOR SOAP TO MAKE BUBBLES WITH AND A BUBBLE BLOWER THINGIE?   ANYONE HAVE OLD HARMONICAS? 
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO FOR US.  I AM LOOKING FOR ANOTHER SUITCASE TO BRING SUPPLIES. WE APPRECIATE ALL YOUR EMAILS AND WOULD LIKE YOU TO VISIT. BUT BRING MONEY AS THE TRANSPORTATION SITUATION IS HARD IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR OWN CAR AND DRIVER AND THOSE ARE ABOUT 100/DAY US.  MARC

Queen Elizabeth Park an adventure

Tom in the midst of KAMPALA traffic

Kampala down by the taxi park

It's been awhile since I wrote. We had our Peace Corp training down south of Kampala for 2 days. If we had not passed our Lugbara test we would have had it for 4 days but since the grace of God was shining bright that day I passed and we spent only 2. Thursday was National Women's Day here and a holiday. I don't know for who. The kids were out of school so that mean they were home and the women had to lug more water make more beans and do more laundry since everyone was home. But we had no school so Tom and I went to Kampala for 3 days before going to Masaka for training. PC has a program where someone at the embassy will host PC volunteers in there home when they are in Kampala because most of them were volunteers also. Our hostess was a young woman who served in Cape Verde and then got a job in Haiti doing relief and is now in Uganda working in the health sector. Tamika Allen. She has a pooch and lives in a lovely 3 bedroom rambles with large garage and summer house behind. Everything in the are she lives in is very heavy security as it is mostly inhabited by ex pats. She was not going to be home when we arrived so she gave us the combo to her key lock box and we let ourselves in. She has a generator and solar power so when the rolling blackout comes she still has a cold fridge and lights. The home was like the ones in America, with overstuffed heavy furniture carpet, drapes and very dark colors. Tamika was lovely but not home very much and we got the impression that we were welcome to crash here but she wasn't going to say home and entertain. Good for us she had a great veranda and the rain has come to Kampala so we could see green and walk on green.

 We did some shopping and wandering in Kampala and I found a source for raisins and popcorn that pops and oats so I can take them off the list of Please send us, and we were on our way to the bus park in a taxi in a traffic jam in the heat and my window was open and I was reading my text messages on my phone when a hand reached in and grabbed the phone from my hand and ran off. Tom had forgot his phone in Arua so now we were phoneless. It scared me but it reminded me of my stupidity of not paying attention to my surroundings. This is a PC drill and they go over it frequently. Then I felt stupid and finally mad that I am without all those # and connections and a communication source. We took a overstuffed matatoo to Masaka and the road was under construction so a 90 mile drive took 4 hours. There is no traffic laws here and cars just push and shove and squeeze and go what ever way is open at the moment. Our driver drove down a drainage ditch for 2 miles to get around the construction. His conductor got out and walked down the road to see if there was a way around the congestion and this was it. If anyone is going to buy a vehicle get a Toyota. These things are built way sturdier then a Ram. We were just flying down the ditch and then stopped and waited for the conductors to catch up and get in and off we went again. It was nice to see our classmates at In service training. But after a couple hours of seeing them it wasn't so nice anymore. I am really glad I am done being a wild child it is so hard to be around others who aren't done with it and some are older then me in the Corp. We are down to 40 from the 46 we started with. 3 were medically separated and 3 left before Christmas per their request. After training since we were 4 hours from Queen Elizabeth Park and one of our friends sites we took a bus and spent 3 days there. The place is beautiful, German run and gives discount to volunteers and missionary's. It sits on a ridge overlooking the rift valley which is flat and stretchs for mile upon mile of savannah. So, from our banda (Hut made of stones and straw roof) we had a spectacular view of the park and plains.

The view

 The swimming pool overlooks the park too and 2 meals a day are included in the price. 

 We did a game drive and boat ride and I have included pics in the note of things we saw. No lions just a fresh kill they had made the day before.

The Glory of God

 Our 3 days went really quick and now we had to head home. There is a road that goes N along the Renzowrie Mts but in rainy season it is impassable but this was dry season. We met a couple with kids from British Columbia that were going to the park up N by us and they gave us a ride for part of the way as we didn't want to pay the park fee and hotels in the park are outrageously expensive. So, we got in the Toyota van with them and headed N rather then go to Kampala and get a bus. The road was tarmac for 90 miles and that was beautiful and wonderful and then it turned to murum which is a word for red clay roads. Red clay washboard roads where the Toyota rattles so much that dust is billowing in from the floor board and pretty soon the Ugandan driver is the same color we are. This lasted 3 hours. Tom has no fat on him anymore and he said his butt was numb from being beat to death in the back. A back leaf spring broke an the washboard so they called a mechanic, he came out on a motor cycle and they propped the van up with rocks, took off the spring, pounded it with a hammer took it to town found a piece came back in 2 hours pounded it some more and put it back on and off we went. I thought my dad would have loved it. The only tool I saw was a hammer the maul kind with a short handle and it worked great. Our new friends let us off at a taxi park in Masindi. We had 2 more washboard roads in a car meant to hold 8 but having 12 in it,and did I tell you it is still hot here and sweaty and hot and dusty and the windows in the back don't open and your butt is ½ on the guy next to you and your chest is wedged between I am not sure what and who's idea was this anyway? We finally get to the road main artery to the N and the bus is coming at 12:30am and it is 8 now and we are covered in silt and sand. We found a place to bucket bath for 30 cents shook out our clothes and ate some beans and rice. Now it is 9 so I went to the bus station and they unrolled a mat on the floor and I layed down and fell asleep. Tom stayed awake and at 12 we got on a bus for home, We were 5 hours away and it stopped ever 50 miles to pick up or drop off but we weren't squished and the window in the back was open. We got to Arua at 4:30 and it is still very dark. We are not to ride boda's so we head out walking which we know is bad idea. The boda drivers tried to get us to come but we refused. We are only about a mile from our house when we are at the bus but it is night. We walked for ½ mile through town and came upon some partiers but we didn't think they would bother us. As we walked closer to the hospital a boda came by really close to us and Tom hollered that we couldn't take boda's and he said he knew he was watching the guy following us. A GOD MOMENT! We are in his protection and praise Him for it. We got to the hospital gate which is locked, and the Askari (guard) let us in but told us to be careful when we went to the school because there was a party going on. (It was a hand over of student council members and they had a disco party all night.) The music is so loud you could hear it at the hospital so you can really hear it at our house and it goes till 6:30. That is when the generator gets turned off. The Askari that is at the school is drunk but has a helper who got the key in the lock and let us in and out of the next 2 gate so we could go home. When we got home, laying on our front veranda was a body. It is now 5 am. We woke him up, he is one of the heavily armed security guards that wanders around the housing at night and he told us he had slept on our porch every night since we had been gone. Tom made him some soy tea and got him a chair to finish his shift in. Another GOD MOMENT! Tom is in Kampala this week again for a training and I am home alone but the doors are locked and the chair is out. The security guard is sitting outside my door. The power is on and the cool breeze is blowing which is such a relief after the heat of the day. The last picture is of the local kids that come over everyday to hang out. I am sure 1 of them has Tb as he is coughing all the time so I listened to all their lungs. Then they wanted to listen. They helped me go through all the bags of supply's that recently came from the hospital. The stethoscopes were a hit but the soccer ball has been the greatest gift for the kids. Even a baby toddled over to have a go with the ball. Thank you all my friends for keeping us supplied and entertained. We miss you all but somedays we are enjoying the adventure. When it is a travel day the adventure is not so great... Love from Arua where it feels like home and is good to be here! 

Local helpers appreciating all the great stuff!  We all say THANK YOU!

Can we put a roof on a church? CONTINUED

Can we put a roof on this church? The blog has several pictures but not much text. Here is the story...

Last week I was approached by one of the askaries (guards watchmen gopher people) who are here at the hosp. He told me of his church in Ambala that the roof had blown off in 2008 and they were having a fund raiser to put the roof on again. The church was built in 1995 by the people, meaning they made all the brick by hand, dried them and laid them to be the church. Then the roof went on with the lumber under it The people of the church had done the original work and when the August winds blew in 2008 one end of the church roof collapsed. The estimated cost of the new roof is 14 mllion Uganda shillings which translates to $6ooo.ooUS. They have raised 2 million and had a fund raising event that was the congregation going against each other in pairs to see which of the pair could raise the most money in a given time period. Sunday, everyone turned in their money and they raised another 2,750,000 so they have 4,750.000 UGS ($2022 US) for the project and rainy season is coming in April.

They have tried to raise money before but they can never get enough to do the whole project and something else comes up and it doesn't get done. They are a 500 attending congregation, you can see the mud benches in place for them. They do 20 baptism's a year and 1 or 2 weddings. ( Wedding means your first wife) There is a lot of polygamy here and it is part of the culture. Not just for the Muslims but Christians too. Burials are done at a persons home not the church.

They rented a car Thursday and took me to the village and showed me where they lived and how they lived. You can see from pictures that houses are built in the traditional way of mud bricks in a circle and a cone thatched roof. Nothing fancy, very functional. The people have land given by grandfather and divided and divided and divided for family's to live on with gardens that looked to be cooperative to save on space and energy where more then one family tends the plots. Not many wore shoes and most looked like they were wearing their siblings cloths. At the church service I saw a handful of women with dresses made the rest wore T shirts with yardage of Congo cotton fabric wrapped around them as a skirt. Poor? No, they have land to dig (grow vegetables on to feed their family. The poor are the school teachers who live in town and don't have land to grow on and the wage is barely liveable. Returning from the church I was shown the Congo border and some different landscape and invited to return Sunday for the fundraiser. I agreed to come back on my bike Sunday. I got lost and rode my bike up ad down Herman Hill several times before someone spoke poor enough Lugbara to understand where I was going and guided me across 2 goat paths in fields to the right road to get to the church after 1 ½ hours of hot sun and a breeze at my back. The ride was beautiful but tiresome. We were having company for supper and I needed to leave before the fundraiser was done so I excused myself and the elders insisted I take tea. It is very rude not to. So I sat for tea and they brought beans, rice, cow, and enyasa (local bread dough stuff made of cassava and it tastes like sand to me). After eating I was shown the right path and told not to “branch” just stay straight and I was home in an hour.

I have been advocating the book “WHEN HELPING HURTS” which I am trying to use a guideline for making decisions when it comes to $ and time. I did explain, as I always do that we are volunteers and are not to donate, loan, or give funds. Our job is to bring knowledge to assist with what people feel is needed. The elders understood this, but asked it there was anything I thought I might be able to do, they would be most grateful. There is much skimming off the top of any funds here and the church is not different. If any are willing to help with this I would only think 1/3 should be put forth and that spent directly on tin for the roof.

Am I giving to God or a project? Well, I think about it like “helping avoid temptation” by not making it available... Other thoughts are welcome so this is the story and today's photos are of what the church is to look like when completed. It is to be done by professionals so it won't collapse again. I think the 14 covers that expense too. From the West Nile, Marc

Can we put a roof on a church?

PART OF THE 500 MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH

THIS IS THE CHURCH FROM DIFFERENT VIEWS

 

 

 THE CROSS IS A FOCAL POINT AND ON ONLY 1 SIDE

HOW THE HOUSES ARE BUILT IN THE VILLAGE: BRICKS ARE MADE BY THE PEOPLE, LAID, DRIED OUT THEN THE ROOF IS MADE PUT ON TOP AND THATCHED  BEFORE THE RAINS COME IN APRIL

THE MAN WHO WORKS AT THE SCHOOL WITH ME. HE INVITED ME TO BE PART OF THE ADVENTURE. 

WITH HIS CHILDRN GRANDCHILDREN AND NEICES

THEY PUT WOVEN MATS ON THIS PART NOW TO KEEP THE SUN OFF ON SUNDAYS

A LOOK FROM THE BACK OF THE CHURCH WHERE THERE IS ROOF.

THE BENCHES ARE MADE OF MUD

SIDE VIEW OF THE FRONT 

A LOOK AT THE BACK OF THE CHURCH  2 ROOMS ARE ON THE SIDE AND THEY WANT TO PUT A CHOIR LOFT ABOVE THE 2 ROOMS

THE MUSIC STORAGE ROOM BECAUSE IT HAS A DOOR BUT THIS IS WHERE THE PASTOR CHANGES CLOTHES

THE OTHER STORAGE ROOM THE CHOIR LOFT WOULD GO ABOVE THIS

VIEW FROM THE FRONT

YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE ROOF EXTENDS TO

SOME OF THE ELDERS, PASTOR IN FRONT

THIS IS THE RESTING AND CHATTING ROOM AFTER CHURCH

THE PASTORS KITCHEN AND HIS SLEEPING ROOM IS TO THE RIGHT

VIEW FROM THE VERY FRONT WHERE THEY USE TO HAVE THE ALTER, NOW IT IS IN THE BACK

AWADIFO  (GOOD BYE, GOOD JOURNEY)