Back in Soroti Again

When I heard Renee and Apollo were going to Soroti for a few days, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to hitch a ride...

I've visited Pastor Julius and his church, Soroti Community Church, twice in the past with teams from Mariners. This time, however, we stayed with Pastor and his family, seeing a more intimate picture of life in Soroti.

On Saturday, Soroti Community Church officially launched its child sponsorship program. They had a whole program and lunch scheduled for the day. Here's Pastor Julius giving his speech and showing off his perma-grin.

The children performed a couple songs at the celebration. They are so good!

After the celebration, I had time to just hang out with some of the kids. The only problem is, when you start to hang out with a few you soon have an overwhelming crowd of kids around you. I couldn't even play a simple game with them because they crowded so closely around. Later in the afternoon, there was a manageable number of kids around, so it was the perfect time to take some pics with them!



Some of the girls wanted to pose like it was a photo shoot...


We also spent a day visiting pastors in the surrounding villages. These pastors had been given bulls, plows, seed, and bikes through the Mercy Network. The Mercy Network is one of Africa Renewal Ministries' programs that helps resettle people, who were displaced during the LRA attacks, in their villages. The idea is that the pastors will then partner with about 12 other families, helping them to resettle, plow their fields, and spread the Gospel.

Strict Dress Code

At Maranatha Christian School there is a strict dress code enforced throughout the school. It is a cardinal sin to come to school with a dirty uniform or to get it dirty while playing at break time/lunch, students are sent home for not having school approved stockings, and boys are beaten for not tucking in their shirt.

And perhaps worst of all... if a student's hair is getting "too long" (and I'm talking about anything more than a 1/2 centimeter for boys or girls) the teacher will come with scissors and cut a small section of their hair on the top of their head so they look funny until they get it cut.

Calling All Single Ladies!

I don't quite remember how it started, but at lunch today what started as a bit of curiosity turned into total mayhem. The staff room is typically a pretty quiet place at lunch, but today I'm sure people could here the laughing, yelling, and cheering from a good distance.

Somehow, it came up that the three single, male teachers would like American wives. To this I said, "You DO realize that American women are very different and expect different things than Ugandan women, right?"

This is when the bombardment of questions began. After I mentioned that both men and women help with housework in America, marriage is a partnership, we are equal, etc. the ladies started chiming in, "Yeah, you men need to learn how to help!" The men were discouraged at this.

Both sides quoted the Bible to support their arguments, they asked the "experienced" man what he thought, etc. It was all in good fun, but totally chaotic.

Even after all this, the three single men said they will continue to pray and persevere in their search for an American wife. One even said he wants to give me some photos of himself so I can show them to my single friends. Single ladies...any takers?

Fieldtrip to Rwanda

This last weekend, we (Jeff, Josh, Renee, and I) went on a field trip to Rwanda. It was a "field trip" because the purpose of a field trip is to learn something. At least, that's what I always tell my students...and I certainly did learn a lot on this one.

So, what did I learn...
1) Jeff has not lost his American sense of time. He said we were four minutes late when we left Friday morning at 6:04am. We were on a "strict" schedule all weekend and then found out we were actually an hour early for everything since Rwanda is in a different time zone than Uganda! Jeff also managed to cut off an hour and a half from the 10 hour car ride home because of his mad dodging skills around huge potholes and vehicles of all sizes.

2) Rwanda's genocide was a huge tragedy that the rest of the world turned it's eyes away from until too late. A once peaceful place was divided during colonialism, and hostilities intensified in the years after independence. Nearly 1 million people died in only a few months' time. We visited the Kigali Memorial Center and two churches where mass killings took place. Pretty intense, but helpful in understanding the history of the country.

3) Kigali is one of the nicest capitals in Africa. No kidding! After the genocide, money was given to Rwanda to help rebuild itself. A little late, but at least it looks like the money was used the way it was supposed to be used. You look around and see nicely paved roads, registered taxi/boda drivers, manicured roundabouts, etc. It felt safe. People seemed to work hard and move faster than some of their neighbors in Uganda.

4) Rwandans are as crazy about Obama as the Ugandans are!

5) "Hotel Rwanda" doesn't look anything like it does in the movie!

All in all, a pretty good trip.

Faith's Introduction

On Saturday, I was introduced to Ugandan Introductions... I was warned ahead of time that it was long hours of sitting, staring at the people across the way, and all in a language I don't understand. Still, there was a part of me that was curious. Plus, I think Faith must have asked at least 10 times if I was going to be there...how could I back out now?

We (Jeff, Josh, Wilbur, and I) arrived around 2:30pm, much later than most of the other guests. We were escorted inside the house, where only the "important" people were allowed to sit and eat. Luckily, we ate sandwiches on the way and weren't hungry for the Ugandan food.

Around 3:30pm we were told to get our seats...it was about to begin. For the next 4 hours, I sat and watched a dialogue, mainly between two spokesmen from the two clans, of which I understood about 3 words.

Here's a picture of some women in their traditional gomas, of which I believe no two are alike...


This is what Joseline later explained to me (remember this is an abbreviated version of the next four hours!)... the men from Faith's clan pretend they are having a meeting, in which people from Alfred's (the man Faith is going to marry) clan interrupts. This is where the questioning begins: Why should we let you interrupt our meeting? You will bring in your diseases. Do any of your people know our people? etc. etc.

Then groups of people are brought out to help determine if they know the imposing clan. First they brought out the young girls, then boys, then ladies (including Joseline), etc.

Joseline...

And finally, Faith's group!

Faith's aunt says she knows Alfred, then they pick out Faith to marry Alfred. Next comes the dowry. I watched as 42 baskets of food, crates of soda, bags of sugar, boxes of soap, two goats, and a cow thigh were marched past me.

Finally, Faith and Alfred are "officially" engaged to be married!
It was dark by the time they served cake, right after which, we took off...adding 5 more to the car, making 9 passengers!
Joseline and I took a couple pics after we got back home...yes, I borrowed a modern, yet still traditional dress from a friend. And least it's not as bad as the guys having to wear dresses!

Aerobics with no Music?!

So, Christine and I went to aerobics on Thursday for the first time in about a month. When we first arrived, it seemed to be eerily empty, which made us question if they still had a 6pm aerobics class...

The aerobics instructor walked in shortly after, giving us a hearty "Welcome Back!"

About 5 minutes into aerobics class, the sound system was acting up. Then, it completely shut down. How can we do aerobics with no music?! Oh, no worries, the instructor just ignored the fact that there was no music and continued, making the rest of feel a little silly. Then, he decided to get a little creative...

He had us do "sprints" across the room, leg work against the walls, mat exercises, etc. All in all, not too bad of an improvisation.