Goodbyes

Africans have some funny traditions. One of them is that when a visitor (especially a white one) leaves they put you up at a head table and give speeches. These speeches are often terribly long and slightly awkward.

So last night I knew I was in for it. Yes, a head table. Thankfully several Africans joined me, including a Kenyan who is also leaving today. But this time it wasn't so terrible. This community has the art of brevity! I love it! So people said very kind things and I felt very loved. They gave me at least 3 yards of beautiful fabric to have a dress made from! Hooray!!

Father's comments were beautiful, and almost too much. I am going to miss him and this community a lot more than I am ready to admit. (no tears, no tears, no tears)

I thought about this a lot today...

4 years and 2 months ago a 19 year old semi punk girl from the states was wandering around Rome by herself. During that trip she met many amazing people, and has worked hard to keep in touch with many of them. They have graciously returned the favor.

And now, one of those people has totally changed this now 23 year old African wanderers life. The time here at Yesu Ahuriire Community has changed everything... in a beautiful way! Father Emmanuel is an incredible human being, whom I am excited to be working with for many more years.

I love how these crazy adventures all end up mingling together to make something which is surprisingly beautiful.


Just a note: The next stage will take me to Masaka for 9 days. Then I am off to Kenya. I am very unsure how much internet I will have in Kenya. So if you don't hear from my for a while... that is why!

A Little Book, Laughter, Laundry, Lakes, and Leaving

A little book I brought with me has been causing “trouble”.  No, it’s not the bible, though that book causes lots of people trouble.  It is called “Charity in Truth”, it is the most recently letter written by the Pope of the Catholic Church to the world.  It is all about International Development.  So every where I have gone, I’ve talked to people about it.  All sorts of people too.  Many people have borrowed this little book and been inspired by it. 

When I arrived in Mbarara, I asked Father Emmanuel if he had read it.  He hadn’t, so I promptly gave it to him.  This morning at breakfast he gave it back.  ... with the announcement that it will be the topic of the huge conference they have every January!   Crazy... it really inspired him (it is really inspiring).  At the conference the goal will be to make the stuff in the book practical, which is exactly what I want to do with my life!   

I am leaving Mbarara on Friday, and am sad to be going.  Today I was cleaning my back pack and drew a crowd of different people.  After a few moments we were dying of laughter over my impressions of how they communicate.  Definitely a good moment.  I love that I have been able to find ways to make Ugandans laugh.  They are very beautiful people and when they laugh their whole faces light up.

Laundry here is a challenge, as we have no water in the tank.  Today I struggled.  I first put too much soap in one of the basins.  This meant there was a ton of soap in my dress and towel.  Now, rinsing the soap out without running water is almost impossible.  I asked for help, but there was a communication breakdown, as often happens.  I managed to rinse all my clothes well enough, except my towel.  Next time you do laundry, think of me holding a jeary can between my knees trying to get soap out of my clothes.  (A note on Laundry:  We do it in basins, leaning over, with nothing to scrub the clothes on.  Yet the water gets SO dirty. It is crazy how dirty clothes get here!)

I went to Kabale for a 24 hour visit.  It is in the far south west of Uganda, very close to the border with Rwanda and DRC.  I had been invited by an elderly German couple, Manfred and Inguard.  The husband teaches at a university there.  They are lovely people, and it was a good time of conversation and visiting.  They are moving to Mbarara soon, so we may have more contact in the future.  They were enormously generous and took me into the mountains and showed me the lake which has many islands.  This country is so beautiful. 

So I am leaving Friday for Masaka.  I will settle there in the afternoon, then go to Kampala on Saturday for a wedding.  I will be working with a development agency and orphanage in Masaka.  I am very sad to be leaving here, and would rather just stay.  But I know that the road is calling again.  My bag has been unpacked for too long... it’s time to go. 

Beautiful Children at one of the schools Father has helped established...we were there to see about their new latrine (the one which cost 55 USD) They sang us some beautiful visitor songs!

This is their "bathroom"... that this one is actually still ok, it was the one on the other side which had caved in.

These are Matoke Trees! They grow 3 together, one big, one med, and one tiny. The big ones produce the bananas we eat all the time. There are over 19 different types of banana, all of them taste differently and are cooked differently. I won't be eating bananas when I go back to the states!

This is Shalom Center!! (a few weeks ago, now it has a roof and some walls) It is an incredible house, in fact I want it someday (or one very much like it). It will do amazing work for the mentally ill and orphans! (the man in the photo is Father Emmanuel)

The other night Elizabeth and I spent over an hour doing her hair... hair is totally different in Africa! This is pre putting it in hot water. Hehe...

The little one with the water bottle is Faith. These children stay at the current House of Love Africa in Bushenyi. They are currently building their new house! Give me 4 years and I might adopt Faith.

These are the twin lakes in Bushenyi.  The whole area is this beautiful.  Father E randomly turned off the road, into the bush and we broke out to this view.  Life change and awe inspiring (behind us you can see the whole stretch of Queen Elizabeth National Park)

Fishing!  It's a bit different here than in the States, and whole community event!

 These are the butter scotch mountains... we drove into them for the AIDS meeting and visiting schools

 AIDS meeting in the mountains, they are dressed in Sunday best.

Father tempting a very large baboon! (we had one on the front of our car.. those photos will come sometime, they are amazing!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bushenyi and Paypal

I just realized that the pay pal donate button on my blog has not been easy to find.  For this I apologize, and I hope that now you can see you, you feel very free to push it.  :)  (all donations are tax deductable)

Today I went back to Bushenyi.. which is actually the name of the regional area, but I can't pronounce (yet) the name of the actual place we were.  I love Bushenyi, it is in the top 5 most beautiful places I've ever been.  (and I've been to a few places)

It is where incredible, breath taking beauty meets terrible, and breath taking poverty.  I wandered myself some, and also a bit with Father E.  The people of that area are so beautiful and so poor.  I love going and visiting with them, giving them hugs, listening to them.. even when I don't understand.

If you have never been to Africa, to a rural or impoverished area, it is hard to explain the places I have been.  Today I spent time in poverty.  Father is trying to improve one of the homes on his land... an improvement would be to mix sand and cow dung together and put it over the walls.  The walls currently are made of mud.  People live here.

We visited another neighbor and her 7 children.  Her husband died when she was pregnant with her twins, the last two children.  She has no land to cultivate, so she does a little in the national park (which is where I saw a ton of awesome animals the other day!)... but the problem is that the elephants come and eat her crop.  She can't do anything about it because they are protected animals.  The amount of ground nuts she had was pitiful.  Her house was incredible small and rough.  Yet, she smiles and her children smile... and they laugh.  And they are so beautiful.  I love them.  I want to get to know them better.   

House of Love Africa is the main work Father is doing there.  The children (there are 17) are so beautiful and fun.  I really enjoyed my day around there today.

I spent an hour on my favorite hill top. It looks over the craters and onto the mountains. 

All I could think was the proverb "There are mountains beyond the mountains"... meaning there is always more to do.

But I must start, and I must start somewhere.  I think it will be Bushenyi, among those who have literally nothing.  I have nothing but love to bring.  I hope that I can bring it well. 

Eating Matoke with Chopsticks; Cultural Collision

A short update to say I had an amazing lunch today.

I ate with two Korean nuns who take care of 36 AIDS orphans not far from the main community.

We ate Matoke with chopsticks.  We also had sea weed imported from Korea!  It was an amazing meal as we tried to communicate and get to know each other over yummy chili sauce, stir fried veggies, and beans.  It was a collision like I've never seen before.

The house has 3 languages; Korean, English and the local language.  No one speaks all 3! 

The children are so beautiful.  I think I'll be spending some time down there this week. 

When the world turns upside down

I have tried to post here probably 10 times in the last week. The internet here is not working, and getting time to sit with it not really possible. But today is Sunday, so the office is closed. It also means the internet is faster. So, I am hoping that this posts!

My last post found me a bit out of place here in Mbarara. This post finds things different. While I still wander sometimes, not 100% sure where I am meant to be, I am very happy here. This group of people are incredible. Father Emmanuel is my hero.

I think that I will just write short sentences about some of my experiences. There is too much to go into great detail.

We went to the mountains.

I watched 80 AIDS patience be loved, cared for, respected, and given life giving drugs for free.

I sat in a meeting discussing a new toilet... the hole in the ground the over 100 children had been using had caved in. Father Emmanuel was able to gave them 110,000 shillings. We all clapped for joy! That will buy the school a much better latrine, with a cement floor and walls.

110,000 shillings is 55 USD. 55 dollars.

I visited a church 2.5 hours away and sat for 3.5 hours as the young people discussed how they can do development and really make a difference.

I've laughed with my friends so hard I almost fell over.

I've discussed every global issue with Father Emmanuel. And we both come back to the same thing... just start. Begin with One. Be the difference.

I went to Shalom Center, a massive building which is exactly what I want someday. It will be a home for mentally sick mothers, their children and orphans. The community has found that many of the mentally sick just need to be loved and helped. They have seen many of them healed through both love and medical care. It is close to the hospital. It will truly make a major impact of these people's lives.

I have visited 5 schools which Father has started and is involved in.

I taught Geography for 3 days using a blow up globe ball.

I have been trying to learn to peal Matoke, to the amusement of all the women. It is hard. They have done 5 by the time I finish one. I will learn.

Father and I sit at dinner and laugh at the fact I don't know how to eat the whole fish in front of my, as I quietly scrap the lens of the eye of the fish I am eating off the skin.

The community has 4 fish ponds. I joined them "fishing", a very different process from ours! The fish were delicious!

Sitting on the bench in the kitchen, I've listened to Elizabeth tell me stories about the war which raged in her region from 1996 to 2003. And explain how they had to flee into to the bush.

On Thursday I went on a life changing trip with Father Emmanuel.

We saw animals on the main road through the park!

We walked around his families land... and stories came out of him. Stories of walking for 2 days, only to reach home and find his family have fled. Then having to search another 2 days in the bush to find them. The War.

Or listening and hearing the sadness in his voice as he says that there were 11 children in his family... only 4 still live.

And to see his pride at the beautiful land he owns and to hear his incredible dreams of changing the lives of all people.

He is truly wise. And he is willing to teach me. I am ready to learn.

I held a small girl on my lap, her malnourished belly pressing against mine. She says my name, my heart melts.

A little one squeezes next to me on a chair. She takes my hand and puts a hair tie on my wrist. Probably one of the few things she owns.

I watched a little boy named John, paralyzed on one side, laugh and smile and say "mama" to the woman who cares to these children at House of Love Africa (Lilian). They found Johnny in the forest when he was a baby... eating grass to live. He couldn't talk or even smile. This is love, this is development.

I visited with 12 people from England, giving 7 weeks of their summer to build the new House of Love Africa.



I believe in Jesus.
I think that we can all agree He had some pretty good things to say; love your neighbor and your enemy, serve the poor, give to one another, share, be kind, be willing to suffer with people, love even when it hurts.

I am seeing these words come alive. I read my bible, then I see my bible walking around. These people are living what they believe.

They aren't street preaching. They are loving. They are working hard to transform this world. They are building the kingdom of God, a transformed society, the new in the shell of the old.

And it is beautiful.


I am made for this.

Matoke and Milk in Mbarara

I arrived to the land of Matoke and Milk on Monday. The town of Mbarara is about half a million people. I am staying with the Yesu Ahiire (He is Alive) community about 8 miles outside of the city. It is a quiet country, set back from the road. The community buildings are on a hill, looking out across as some beautiful butterscotch colored mountains. They sooth my soul.

Things here are alright. It has been a challenging adjustment. Fr. Emmanuel and his house staff have been incredible. I am so well taken care of! When I am with Fr. E we have great conversations about development, community, and he explains everything that I don't understand about Africa to me.

However, he works in Mbarara all day, everyday. So I see him in the evenings, and have a word or two before he dashes in the mornings. Otherwise it is a bit challenging to get to know people. The members of the community DO speak english, but prefer to always speak the local language here. It basically sounds like really fast baby giberish. All of the songs, anything that happens at meals, conversations, mass, almost everything is in their language.

It is interesting to examine myself and my own reactions to this challenge. I have a been a bit annoyed, wishing people would make more of an effort. But then, I also realize that no, I need to make an effort... to put myself out there, and not to expect them to do it until I do my part.

I am trying. I am rather tired, or more uncomfortable mostly because of the food. I feel a bit unsteady, so I don't have my normal extroverted energy. But there is grace in all of this too. And I am trying.

So I wash dishes, pack medicine for people with AIDS, host random strangers from Germany in Father's house... and other random things. It is A LOT colder here. My body had adjusted to the heat of Sudan and central Uganda. The cold has made me use pants under my skirt in the morning and wrap really well in my African shall.

I eat Matoke. 2-3 times a day, Matoke. Matoke is mashed green bananas, and my body has decided that it doesn't appreciate it very much. But I have to eat it. A huge plate of it, twice a day. So I am trying to eat peanut butter and crackers once a day to see if that will help me a bit. They also have cows here, so we get fresh milk each morning. Boiled of course. Yum.

There is time for writing here. This has been good. I am working on "transformational development models" ... blah blah blah. You probably don't want to hear about all that. But it's a bit like doing research. It has been wonderful to get my brain working in a more academic way. So when there is nothing to do, I pray, I write or I read. That is good. We have a small chapel in the priest's house which is a wonderfully peaceful place.

I write by hand, on little note books I buy at the canteen. I don't mind writing by hand, but have been thinking more and more than a little computer would be fantastic. Depending on how life shakes out, I might buy one. Fr. Herald had a really small one, he called it a toy. But it did everything that was needed. Perhaps one day. But for now, paper... and lots of hoping that nothing happens to the notebooks!

Next week I will be working all day at the community school. I'll be helping in classes and also teaching some geography! I hope that this goes well.

Tomorrow I go into the mountains to meet with people with AIDS, and on Saturday we are going to meet some youth at a parish. Should be good! I am sure that things will improve here. There is always transitional time. I am grateful that I am not feeling lonely. :)

Photo Post! Uganda so far...

My incredible Hosts in Kampala! Susanna, Peter and their beautiful son Teindi. I am Teindi’s favorite (and only) white auntie. He wasn’t afraid of me!





Old friends in new places… Maureen and I met last year at the conference I facilitated at Emmaus Center. She works at one of Cornerstone Leadership Development’s homes for street children. She is a beautiful woman and truly a servant of the poor around her. She was totally shock to see me in her living room! It was a beautiful reunion!




With a wonderful man named Councilor, I was able to visit with 4 of Cornerstone’s homes for street children. These are beautiful places, full of hope, peace, respect and joy. The program gives these children a chance to succeed at life. The phone above is one of their boys homes. Many of these boys would be new to this home. In the background you can see the black board on which the mentors are teaching the youth basic skills, such as telling time.




I was incredibly blessed to be taken to the Cornerstone Ranch (which is an actual working ranch, 3 schools, and has over 2,000 people living on it’s 2.5 mile stretch of land!) where I stayed for a day an a half. Tim (teaching in the photo), is the director/founder of Cornerstone. He gave me and another western girl a day long private tour of the place. We joined him as he taught the Senior 5 class their weekly Character Development section. The theme of this teaching was reconciliation.





Girls in the library at the high school on the ranch. There is both a Boy’s Leadership Academy, as well as a very large high school which has boarders and day student. The high school is fully self sustaining!



Carrying water with the girls at the Girls Cornerstone Leadership Academy. If you look closely, you can see that my can is a little smaller than the others. BUT I did carry it on my head, all the way from the well. It was about half a mile walk. Also, if you look very closely you will see that there is something between our heads and the can. It’s a banana leaf! The girls taught me who to make a small base so it doesn’t hurt your head so much.




Cleaning with the girls. The girls at CLA were incredible human beings! I really loved my time with them. They had never seen a white person work, and of course that was what I was there to do. They found it shocking that I would do everything that they did! This was cleaning chairs in preparation for a big day of celebration on Sunday when their families where coming to visit. It was a lot of fun!



Happiness is unpacking your backpack! This was a very joyful moment for me! I was finally staying in a place long enough to remove all the things I needed from my backpack and put my pack away! It felt so good to be able to have a space where my stuff was out and able to be easily found. It has been wonderful to be in one place for 2 weeks!




William and Anna: William and Anna are members of Emmaus Community. They had me over for lunch and supper (I have been going around to the different families homes for meals, it has been wonderful). These two have been married for 7 years, but are unable to have children. However, they are parents… to 10 children! They have taken in 10 orphans, 5 are related to them and 5 are not! They pay their school fee, cloth them, and provide a lot of love and care. It is an incredible witness to what African are doing for each other! They also have dreams of starting some small business ventures. I have been able to do a lot of talking with people about this, as well as some planning! I have really enjoyed being a part of their plans for development.



Some of the Orphans at the Children’s Ark. On Saturday I walked with my friends Francis and Hilary to the Children’s Ark up the road. It is an orphanage which houses over 80 children. It was begun and continues to be run by a visionary African man with a real heart for those who have nothing. We visited and got a tour of Saturday, then I returned on Sunday. I visited with the older girls and spoke with them about being a woman, and how we have value. Then we sang some funny songs and played a very long and intense game of “netball”. It was a great time!

More to come... sorry there aren't very many! The internet is a big issue here!

Sick day at Emmaus, photo post coming

Today I had a sick day.  I woke up and realized that living life normally today was not going to be possible.  I took it easy, my body isn't very happy right now.  But tomorrow is a busy day, I have a meeting with the program director here with some people at Cornerstone to work out some programming things for them.  I have to be able to function!

I have written a photo post, but was unable to post it tonight.  I will try again tomorrow!