Intensive Trip

One of my favorite things to do here in Uganda is to visit the church plant in Soroti. Why? There's just something about Soroti that has made me fall in love with the people. Perhaps it is the passion that Pastor Julius exudes along with his huge smile, or the hospitality of the pastor's wife and the church members, or that the children know my name and want to spend time with me with nothing else expected.

So, when I found out a team from Mariners was coming, and planning a trip up to Soroti, I knew I had to tag along...plus, I would be able to hang out with people from "back home."

We certainly packed a lot of work into a quick trip. As Pastor Julius addressed the team and announced our schedule on the first afternoon, he referred to it as an "intensive" couple of days. He wasn't kidding!

Day 1: After 5 hours of driving, we arrived at Soroti Hotel for lunch. We then drove over to the church to pack 100 bags of food (posho, beans, and cooking oil). Some of the kids began to gather at the church while we did this, so we took the opportunity to give each of them a polaroid picture of themselves.

Jackson, one of the kids I met my first trip to Soroti, came and asked if I would be in his picture with him. Of course! All the other kids took their picture individually, but Jackson wanted me to be in his. I look forward to seeing him each time I return to Soroti. Here's a pic I took with Jackson and his youngest sister, Grace. The first time I met "Gracie" she wouldn't smile or talk to anyone, yet she was always intently watching or quietly sitting on someones lap. Now, she talks and laughs with me :)


We then left to distribute the bags of food at two different IDP camp locations...The families gathered and listened to the pastors explain who we were and why we were bringing the food. By the time we finished, it was already dark. So, we returned to the hotel for dinner.

Day2: Wednesday morning we visited the new ARM sponsorship office. Then we headed to Amuria county to distribute wheelchairs. I personally had the chance to record three stories of people receiving a wheelchair for the first time. Just from this one gift, their life had hope again. In a society where crippled people are shunned and hidden, we let them know that they are not fogotten...that they are loved by a big God.

After lunch at Pastor Julius' house and a quick training on malaria & mosquito net use, we drove out to the surrounding villages to distribute the nets. I, somehow, ended up in a group with me being the only "mzungu"(white person), which was fine except that it automatically made me the spokesperson of the group! I hate being the center of attention like that!

Each time I've gone out into the villages, I am amazed by the Ugandan people's hospitality. They rush to find chairs/stools for us to sit on as they see us approaching. Each family is grateful for the net that they receive because they understand the reality of death...and malaria is the number one killer in Uganda.
Again, we were out until dark...so back to the hotel for dinner and rest. The heat of the day drained our energy and we were exhausted!

Day 3: Early the next morning we were back on the road to Kampala.

Nutrition 101

I've heard some interesting theories about nutrition from the Ugandans I work with and come in contact with...here are just a few:

1)There's a little boy in the P3 class whose belly is slightly bloated. In Africa, this is a sign of Kwashiorkor, a protein deficiency common among malnourished children. So, I asked one of the teachers if Douglas eats lunch as school (a meal of posho and beans, which would provide a good source of protein). The teacher said yes and then asked me why I was asking. I told her that I noticed his belly was a little bloated, which is a sign of malnutrition. SHE SAID...children get bloated stomachs from eating too much cold food. Yep, cold food. She even gave an example...too much juice. Be careful out there...don't drink too much juice!

2)A guest speaker came to our school and talked about nutrition. He said high blood pressure comes from eating food that is not made by God, which is not completely wrong but does discount all the other factors involved. He included the local chickens as food that is man-made, not God-made, because of what man has done to change them. I was sitting there thinking...does this mean I should stop taking my vitamins and drinking filtered water so I won't get high blood pressure? He also mentioned that Americans don't get high blood pressure because they eat right and exercise...he obviously has never been to America!

How do you know when you're making a difference?

Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here...am I really being effective in my teaching...am I helping to promote positive change in the school...are the teachers learning something when I teach or just using me to do less work themselves...will the teachers use any of the strategies I'm teaching them once I'm gone?

Who really knows? Ok, I guess God does...and I just have to trust that God's plans are working out through my life. I believe God sent me here and wants me to be here, so I often remind myself of a verse in Proverbs that says, "Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD."(Prov.16:20)

I admit, at times, I want to jump on a plane and head home! A lesson goes bad... the kids don't seem to be listening or getting the questions I'm asking them. Or the teachers ask me to do something totally menial or say something that gives me an uncomfortable twinge throughout my body that tells me they are taking advantage of me.

BUT, at other times, the kids or teachers will surprise me with a question that shows their deep interest or they'll do something that shows they are learning/changing. There are several kids I started working with last September who couldn't read one word out of a simple book...now they are sounding out words and READING! Kids get excited when I walk through the door with a stack of books in my arms, because they know what's coming. These are the moments that make me smile and know I am supposed to be here.

Seriously?!

A container came in...

A container came from the U.S. with donated supplies, which costs at least a few thousand dollars to ship across the ocean. So, you would THINK that it would make sense to ship things that would actually be helpful and beneficial to the people who you are sending it to, who are picking it up, and paying the steep taxes for, but...

The other day the school secretary comes in to the staff room and places a pair of pink, LA Dodgers, fuzzy slippers next to me. What's this?

She says it's from a donation and each female teacher received a pair. At first I was surprised they included me...then, I figured they must have gotten so many pairs of slippers they didn't know what to do with them.

I mean...pink, fuzzy slippers...in Uganda...where it's constantly HOT, and dusty throughout the year. Come on, even during rainy season, it's HOT!

Then, I stopped by the library...there were boxes and boxes piled up all around. Several workers were sifting through the boxes to divide the supplies. Although, some of the supplies had them stumped. They asked me, What's this? What do you use this for?

There were totally random things like luggage tags and orange construction paper...there were totally useless things like Thomas Guides for Los Angeles and 2008 calendars... and then the things we Americans think are nice, like an electric stapler, but the Ugandans don't know what they are at first and then probably think are impractical because electricity is expensive, if it isn't out.

Many of the supplies had me questioning...Seriously? Seriously?!