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Friday, July 19, 2013

What the heck!? part two: What I do each day

So, we have established that I am living in Austria this summer.  But what the heck am I doing?

If you follow me on facebook, you might get the impression of fun, rest, adventure, and constant enjoyment.



This is somewhat true, but probably not the whole picture.

I am currently volunteering as a "intern" with ORA International Austria.  It is a small NGO, which has partner offices in over 20 countries.  The developed world offices partner with people on the ground in developing nations throughout the world.  ORA began with aid to Eastern Europe after the wall fell, and is still active there today.

I worked with ORA International in Arua, Uganda.  We ran the 10 principles of leadership for their staff.  It was a great success.  My dear friend, Katharina (mentioned earlier) is now the CEO of ORA in Austria.  Thus, when I needed a place for the summer, it fit well with what I do and what they need.

I work at the ORA office 3-4 days a week. I am basically consulting for them. Currently, I am helping them to develop a system of monitoring and evaluation, working on creating Win Win partnerships, creating easy to use project request forms, as well as listening to situations and trying to ask the right questions.  (I also help where I can with whatever odd job needs to get done.  The other day it was to take nice photos at the flea market, and today it will be doing some adding/checking of the finances.)  

Kat and I in beautiful Sherding


This is a great opportunity for me to try out being a consultant!  And, so far, so good.  It's a lot of research and learning, but I know that the knowledge I will gain here will help me in future consulting work. 

Mantler Family at Jakob's graduation
At the same time, the "not full time" nature of the internship allows me to do something which I do not find at all fun... job search.  I am currently in the process of trying to find a job in Grand Rapids, Mi for this fall.  It is an enormous amount of work, and it is time consuming.  Thankfully, I am able to create blocks of time to dive into trying to find a job.  I am applying for between 5-10 jobs per week.  It's a lot of work, and hasn't paid off at all yet, but I am trying to stay optimistic.

From what I've written so far, it may sound like life is slow and not very busy.  But that is not actually true.  Katharina and I have a running joke that I am actually her "personal assistant".  I am trying to be helpful everywhere... so "everywhere" included:  the ORA office, wedding prep, helping at home, helping to fix up their new house, creating relaxation for the somewhat stressed couple, and joining them for various life/family
adventures (attending Jakob's graduations, washing dishes and taking photos at Uncle Max's celebration of 50 years of priesthood, visiting friends at a sports camp, etc).
 
"Girl's Night" includes a run to the hardware store
Jakob and Katharina are getting married in a little less than a month.  Needless to say, there is a TON to do.  They bought a beautiful house, but it needs a lot of work.  So, some days, after work, we go to the house and work late into the night.  Or work on something for the wedding.  Or pack up things.  Or watch TV.  We also often have friends come on the weekends to help with the house... this means that we also work all day Saturdays and sometimes Sunday too.  I am mastering the art of taping for painting! 

It is a full and beautiful life.  Small town Austria may sound at first like it would be boring, but it is in fact quite exciting.

I have "my" bicycle (which needs some serious oiling) and that makes me decently free to move about however I like.  I like it because I can then take small adventures like randomly going shoe shopping or stopping for ice cream after work.  This works very well, because it means Katharina and I can have different schedules.  We have agreed that this arrangement is working out great.  We are able to be in the on me place and actually get work done, but we are also comfortable to not "always be around each other"... so it is pretty perfect.

Her family and I already knew each other before I came, and  deeply love them.  Austria is a surpringingly familial culture.  And I love it, being with a family is refreshing and restorative to me.

So yes, I am enjoying life, looving my work, and I am able to rest when my weary body needs it.  But I am not on a permanent vacation; I am working very hard with wonderful people and am proud of all the things we are doing together. I promise to keep up posting pictures. 

And yes, I am making new friends and having some fun adventures too...





Thursday, July 18, 2013

What the heck!? part one: How I got here

I think it's time I explain where I am and what I am doing.

Lots of people have been confused, so it's probably time to explain.

Currently, I am sitting on my bed in Andorf, Austria in the Hofinger's house.  My bed is right next to Katharina.  We have the upstairs apartment of this beautiful 140 year old house.  Across the hall from us is Jacob's room.

Katharina and I met at the end of 2004 in Dublin, Ireland.  I had moved there to be a nanny, and she was there doing a training school in my neighborhood.  We became better friends when she came back to visit in 2005, and from then on have remained very close.  I generally call her my "best friend in Europe".  We both are Catholic, have experience with community, and are also development practitioners.  So basically, we can talk about everything.

Last year in February, I went to Ireland to attend a conference called ReLay.  I convinced Katharina to join me, and we stayed together for 5 days and attended the conference, as well as visited some old friends.  It was very wonderful.  At that point, Kat was already engaged, and so I promised that I would come to her wedding in Austria, in August 2013.

Then I decided to leave Africa.  I knew that the timing would be best if I went in June of 2013, for many reasons.  But I didn't want to spend the extra money to go all the way to the States and then come back (in August, peak season) to Europe.  It didn't make sense.  So I started thinking... I came up with a variety of plans, including an internship in Rome, working on organic farms in Slovenia, etc... but all of them would have taken a lot of work to make it happen.

And then... I decided to email Katharina.  She currently is the director of ORA Austria, a small NGO based here in Andorf.  I knew I wanted to DO something with this summer, specifcally something related to my field (international development)... so I was bold and asked if I could come and help with her NGO as well as help her get ready for the wedding/help with the house/live with her family (whom I had already met)

 She said Yes!

So, it happened!  I traveled in June, which was unexpected and incredible.  The opportunities to learn about the Middle East was amazing, and I now have a lot of learning to do in relation to comparative development between Africa and the Middle East... (hopefully soon Eastern Europe too.)  I also visited friends in Geneva for a short break and took a "congratualtion you survived 3 years in Africa" short trip across Switzerland with Natalie Way.

After a visit with friends in Munich, I found my way to little Andorf, Austria.  I had been here before, so it felt a little bit like coming home.  It's one of my favorite places.  I have now been here for 2.5 weeks, and have another 4ish to go.  So far, so great!

The next post will detail what I am actually doing here... :)


Monday, July 15, 2013

24 hours: Africa and Austria

I am, slowly, starting to process.  I am not forcing it, just living one day at a time and allowing realizations to slowly surface.

So.  Here's the first one:

Time.

I am finding it slightly overwhelming here that I can do so much with a day.  My brain isn't sure how to handle it.  I get up, go to work (more on daily life later), work on anywhere between 2 and 6 different projects, go to Kat's house, work on something there, come home have something to eat, or work out, or read a book, or watch a movie, or talk to people, or.. or.. or..

We went to Vienna last week for Jacob's graduation.  In two days we did more that I would do in a week in Africa.

In Africa, I am used to accomplishing between 1 and 3 things in a day.  I think that 3 was my max.  I quickly learned if I tried to do more than that I would get frustrated. 

Three things.  That's it.  And I felt accomplished! 

The difference is stricking, it's jarring, it's strange. 

In Austria...
The internet works, really well.  There are no power cuts.  I have my own transportation, or share a ride with someone who always leaves on time.  I am not terribly tired (*I am tired, actually very tired, but not in the same way as in Africa).  I am not always on the spot.  People don't always notice me.  The roads move quickly.  Everything works.  There are more activities to do in the evening than go out to eat or watch TV.  There are clear boundaries, on and in everything. 

In Africa...
 It was overwhelming.  The smallest thing could take hours. Very little was constantly reliable. The phone network would stop working.  The power cut sometimes. I am muzungu.  And I found I could not do very much in a day.

But it's not black and white.  Better and worst.   It's not like that.  It's different.  It's hard.  It's change.

Do I miss only being able to accomplish one, two, or three things a day?  No, I don't miss it. 

But I do miss my team.  Pineapples. My apartment. 


And sometime, I do miss the feeling of being ok with not accomplishing so many things.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

6 weeks of Sundays: part two

Sunday June 16th
Location:  Amman, Jordan
Mass?  None
Reason:  Jordan is a 96% Muslim country.  This means their weekend is Friday and Saturday... which is very different.  It was so interesting to learn about how Friday in Jordan is a family day.  We spent our Friday morning with Wissam's Family, and the Muslims with us took their time to pray.  I also was on a conference, so our schedule was packed for every day!

I asked Wissam, whos family is Catholic, how it works for them with mass.  He said that some people would go to mass on Friday, and that there are also Sunday evening masses.  I also had some wonderful opporunities to ask some of the Christian Jordanian participants about what it's like to be such an incredibly small minority.  There answer was surpising.

I think in the West there is a perception that if a country is majority Muslim, the other populations must be oppressed, persecuted, or disempowered.  But in Jordan I found that to be totally untrue.

The Christians I met shared with me that they did not feel that they were at all persecuted, or even discriminated against.  They are able to be who they are without fear or violence... they live their lives, in peace with others.  Yes, there are areas where Christians live and where Muslims live, but it's not forces... it'd be like Latinos, African Americans and white people living in different neighborhoods... it happens but they are not always seperate. 

I think western perception of  "The Middle East" is very wrong.  I am so grateful I had the chance to go and learn, listen, serve and share.  I hope I can share more with you over the coming weeks about these eye opening and wonderful experiences.

Sunday, June 9th
Location:  Beruit, Lebanon
Mass?  English Mass with Victor and his brother
Events of the day:  Victor picked me up and we went to mass, with all my stuff as I was moving house that day.  After mass, which was in English! we went to where I would be staying and met Gus, the father of the family.  I then went with Gus to pick up his very fun father and drive into the mountains to have a delicous lunch with his family.  It was some sort of Italian and crzy good.

After lunch we went to a Christian Community meeting and I got to say hello to some different friends.  Then I went with my hosts, Gus and Madonna, to their friend's beautiful home, and we all went to a town about 20 minutes from us for the evening.  It was lovely time with great conversation, interesting and delicious food (including fruit cocktail which was awesome) and seeing Lebanese traditional culture at a large school event which was open to the public.  It was a beautiful evening.  On the way home, Gus and I discussed development issues at length, which of course made me incredibly happy.

Sunday, June 2rd
Location:  Kampala, Uganda
I didn't go to mass... it was the day I left Uganda (posted about previously)


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

6 weeks of Sundays: part 1

This past Sunday I was thinking about my last 6 weeks of Sundays.

The last 6 weeks have been... crazy.  I have learned so much I don't even know where to start! I have had adventures, a vacation, worked very hard, and seen big changing in my life and the lives of others.  For a quick overviews sake I will give you "6 weeks of Sunday"

Because I am a practicing Roman Catholic, I try to go to mass on Sunday, though traveling does not always allow this.  So let's walk through these 6 weeks of Sundays...

Sunday, July 7th:
Location:  Andorf, Austria (where I am currently living)
Mass Language: Austrian high German
Attended with:  Katharina and Jacob
Events of the day:  I actually went to mass on Saturday and it was celebrated by "Uncle Max", Katharina's uncle who currently occupies our wonderfully packed house.  He is celebrating 50 years of priesthood this year and is currently on vacation with us.
    So, on Sunday, Katharina, Jacob and I went on an adventure!  We went to lunch at an "Alm" in the Austrian Alps.  We parked the car and walked about half an hour to Katharina's friends Alm.  An Alm is a place where people keep cows during the summer, but also operates as a sort of inn.  These friends have had this Alm a few years, we went to visit!  The food was excellent and it was wonderful to get to spend time with the "Inn Keepers".  Then we continued onto a sports camp about 20 minutes awaz from the Alm, where we heard a paralympian speak about how he got there.  I got to meet Jacob's whole family and many other friends of theirs.  We left very late, after 11 pm McDonalds run, and got home around 1:30 AM to start the week off right.

Sunday, June 30th
Location:  Munich (Olching), Germany
Mass Language:  Germany German
Attended with:  Members of the Kantert Family
Events of the Day:  Up at 6!!  Ahh, why?  To say a sad goodbye to my dear Natalie Way who was off to the airport to catch her flight home.  She went to the airport by train and I went back to bed.  I woke up around 9, and soon after heard the "breakfast bell".  I hurried upstairs to join the Kantert family for a traditional German-Austrian style breakfast of breads and cheeses... and coffee, apparently advertised by George Clooney!  We went to mass around 10someone... it was a lovely and creative family mass.  Afterwards there was a parish picnic, but I was tired and in a lot of pain from my back... I also hadn't packed for the journey ahead.  Claudia, my dear friend, stayed with me and we talked endlessly about many great things.  Tea, close friends, cold days, are wonderful things.
  We had a hurried lunch and made it to the train station with plenty of time.  We'd mapped out my route, so I knew all my connections and had the right tickets.  And thus, I began my journey to my new home in Austria.  It was uneventful for the most part... except that Berti (my massive blue backpack carrying my earthly belongings) broke in Passau!  With one connection to go, he gave up!  So it was a little challenging to carry him around after that, he was pretty massive.  When I reached Andorf, I lugged Berti up and down, thank God for elevators!  And Katharina eventually found me and we headed into my new, quiet life in our Austrian village.

Sunday, June 23rd
Location:  French-Swiss Boarder (began from home in France, had mass in Switzerland)
Mass Language:  French
Attended with:  Pierre Angleys
Events of the Day:  I had arrived in Geneva, from Uganda on the Friday before.  I got up and got organized and headed out the door with Pierre and Terri.  Terri dropped us off at the old, beautiful Catholic Church and continued onto her church just around the corner.  We were a bit early, so Pierre was able to give me an incredible tour of "St. Pauls"... he told me all about the art stlye, the history and the artists who had contributed.  It was pretty cool!  After mass, he showed me the tram stop and I headed into Geneva, and my own public transport nightmare.  I don't speak french or german, and when trying to get where I needed to go, this proved a challenge.  I finally got onto a train headed to the airport, which was mz destination.. but without a ticket.  Oh well.
   I was late to the airport, by a while... and I didn't have Natalie's flight information, which would have been wrong anyways because her flight had been changed.  I was looking around frantically, affraid she may have gone into Geneva already, and imagining how in the world I would find her there!  But then, I spotted her!  It was wonderful to see her... we got money and used 2 heads to get into Geneva.
  We went to Nations, where the United Nations are, and there met up with one of Natalie's Ugandan friends!  We had lunch with him, which was great fun.  Then we journeyed home, including a beautiful walk from the bus stop to the Angley's home.  We had a wonderful afternoon and evening with them, including naps, food, wine, and watching halks pick up food from their garden, it was like National Geo live!  We played a fun game that evening and then headed to be, both decently exhausted but incredibly happy to be together!!

Keep an eye out for part two in the next day or two!

Monday, June 24, 2013

The Leaving Post



I’m not in Uganda anymore.

And it is strange. 

I thought it would be important to start at the beginning, the beginning of this process.

I left at 4:45 on a Monday Morning from Entebbe airport.

The week before I had spend teaching at 10 Principles of Leadership Short Course to the Missionaries of Africa, based in Kampala.  I had been a bit sick, but it had been an excellent course.  No better way to leave, then leave doing what you love with people you love!  Friday evening I was exhausted, so I chilled at home and packed. 

Saturday morning of my last weekend in Kampala, Pheona, my amazing house keeper, came to help me out for the day.  She helped me with some clothes and a little cleaning before the party.  I made a shopping list for her, and she went and bought everything we needed.  Then I proceeded to teach her to make guacamole, hummus, and chapatti chips.  It was great fun with a lot of laughter. 

The party was to start at 2 pm.  I had a lot of things to get rid of, but felt I was pretty organized.  A little after 2, 2 of my female interns arrived at my house, and thus began the great clothing try on of 2013!  I had many clothes I did not need to take with me, and all three of them, Jovia, Perepetua (the interns) and Pheona jumped into trying on all the clothes.  All of them found something, and it was a great time of laughter and sharing and fun.

Then others came.  At one point I looked around and pretty much everyone on my team was there.  It was an incredibly special time.  Some people brought beautiful gifts and cards, there were lots of hugs and a few tears.  The party lasted longer than expected, but by 6:15 everyone was gone and I was loading things into Tred’s truck to take them to a friends to be given out to other people... this is an expat tradition. 

That evening, I had invited a number of people out for dinner.  It was perfect.

We went out for Indian, the crew was comprised of:  Tim and Kathy Kruetter, the head of Cornerstone Development and his wife.  Emily G, from Sseko and Ember Arts, a dear friend.  Marcus and Elizabeth from IJM, Sam and Yen from the Embassy Community, and of course, the awesome and amazing Susanna and Peter.  It was such a diverse and wonderful crew of friends, representing every part of my life in Uganda.  It was just the right size, I was grateful. 
 
The group for goodbye!
 
Afterwards, Elizabeth was awesome enough to be up for going on for a little while.  We enjoyed a totally empty dance floor at a place across the street.  I went home and slept, one last time, in my apartment.
The next day, Sus stopped by in the morning to pick up my stuff.  She took it to her house, where I was to end up later in the day. I had breakfast at Endiro, and then went home and suddenly felt overwhelmed by the things I had forgotten to do.  I tried to catch up, but finally just surrendered and went to S&P’s house.

Spending my last hours in the country with them was wonderful.  It was the perfect ending, it felt so normal, but also so right.  The kids and I had a great time, and a wonderful was to close my time in Africa.
Around 10 pm, my taxi drive came to pick me up.  Sus, Peter and I all agreed that it didn’t feel like a real goodbye.  Goodness, I am going to miss them!
Goodbye giggles with T... see you when you're 4!
 My flight was at a crazy hour, so I had a long and tiring wait to board a plane for Cairo and leave my African home behind.   

Monday, May 27, 2013

Followers!!!

Dear 32 Followers of my blog, and those who recieve updates in your email,
    Hi!  As you have probably gathered recently, I am leaving Uganda in less than a week.  So, what is happening to Noelle in Africa!?! 

Don't worry.  We're not going anywhere.  I won't be posting much here, but occasionally will put up photos and updates on different topics.  So stay with me!

However, the real action has moved, and I would like to give you the chance to Follow my newest blogging adventure! 

It's called Glimpse; A Journey to see more.  Please give it a chance, I think you'll love it.  I just added the "Follow" button, so you know how easy it is to keep up with now!

So check it out, if you like what you see, click that follow button and stay with me!  (you can also subscribe to receive updates in your inbox!)

Please join me for an epic summer of learning about people all over the world!

Thank you for being faithful readers.  I hope that these new ventures don't let you down!  

http://glimpsethejourney.blogspot.com

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Beautiful Tapesty



How a short term visit to Uganda in 2009 turned into long term relationships

In the summer of 2009, with less than 3 weeks notice, I found myself in Uganda.  I traveled with a team of friends from London to Luwero, Uganda to help run a University student training course.  I had experience doing student mentorship on university campuses, and so was invited to join the team when one of their team members was unable to go at the last minute.  

It was my first time to Africa, and I was more excited than words.  I had been studying sub Saharan Africa for 2 years at school and had just finished my degree in International Relations with an emphasis in Africa studies.  I had been interested in working in Africa for much longer than my time of studies.  This was the opportunity of a life time.

Team Photo; July 2009
 We were in Uganda for 10 days total, the training was 5 days long.  It was held at Emmaus Centre in Luwero, a Christian retreat center about an hour north of Kampala.  We were joined on our team by a number of Ugandans, and worked harmoniously together to empower the young university students to better be able to run various campus groups.

Little did I know that the people I met and relationships I was forming would later turn into 3 years in Uganda, partnering with Emmaus Center, and 2 years working with Cornerstone Development!  I think that these stories are worth telling…  

Emmaus 2009, Alfred singing a song that encourages him.
Alfred:  One of the people who joined our team at Emmaus that week was a man named Alfred Edakasi.  Dynamic, charming, well spoken, and funny, Alfred shared with the participants aspects of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  I had never heard them presented the way he did.  When we had a chance to talk over lunch one day, he outlined the work of Cornerstone Development for me.  I was fascinated, and wanted to learn more. 


Alfred, sitting next to me at my farewell lunch this past Friday
Fast forward 4 years, Alfred has been my “boss” (oversight might be a better word) for 2 years!  I am his daughter’s God mother and incredibly close with his whole amazing family.  Alfred has been a constant encouragement and support.  While I was living in Mbarara, he used to call and text me to make sure I was ok, and getting the medical care I needed when I was sick.  Insightful, supportive and wise, Alfred has suggested many of the things we have implemented in Cornerstone Veritas, which have had great success, including our internship program!  

Me and Martha at her baptism







Who knew that a lunch and a few days at Emmaus in 2009 would turn into a lifelong friendship! 











Frank:  In late July, 2011, Cornerstone Veritas ran the 10 Principles of Leadership in Kampala.  A close friend of mine, Fr. Henry, told me he wanted his brother to attend.  When his brother didn’t come the first day, I informed Henry that he hadn’t come.  Apparently, Henry put some heat under his brother, and Frank came the next day.  He participated actively in the course, and found the material to be life changing.  At the end of the course, we invited him to join our team back at my apartment for dinner.  He fit so well with us!

A very young Frank, 2009 Emmaus Center
It was at that point that Frank told me that he had met me before that week.  I was deeply confused.  When? I asked.  He told me that in his break after high school he had attended the university student’s course at Emmaus, in 2009!  I was so surprised and excited.  He said it had been a very positive experience.

Frank's funny CV staff photo
Several weeks later, we interviewed Frank for the part time Male staff position with Cornerstone Veritas, and hired him!  Just this past weekend, he shared with the Cornerstone Veritas team the whole story of his involvement with Cornerstone Veritas.  He shared some incredible things…  “Noelle was there to encourage me and inspire me at the start of university to make positive life choices.  Just as I finished school, and was starting to move away from the right path, Noelle came back into my life!  Being part of the Cornerstone Veritas team has been priceless and life changing.  I wasn’t so good at relating with people before joining CV, but now I feel I am part of a family and am confident in building relationships with others.  I am so proud to have been part of a work that is changing and impacting people’s lives.”  

Speechless.  It’s so amazing how connected we are, and how people can come into each other’s lives at the perfect timing.  


Edmond and Clementine:  The Ugandan I became closest friends with during the 2009 trip to Uganda was Clementine (said Clementina),   We worked together on several session and found a kindred spirit in one another.  If you’ve been following my work for some time, you know who she is!

During our time together in 2009, I shared with Clementine about what I had just learned about Cornerstone Schools.  I knew that she had young men who she was caring for, and encouraged her to have them apply to Cornerstone Leadership Academy.  I didn’t think anything more of the conversation.
Edmond's CV Intern Photo
Clem, sharing with the group in 2009
In 2011 I met Edmond Elasu, and interviewed him for our Cornerstone Veritas internship program. While talking with him, I realized that he was one of Clementine’s nephews.   Later, I asked Clementine about it.  She told me that after our conversation in 2009, she had encouraged Edmond to apply for Cornerstone Leadership Academy for Boys because there was not enough money in the family at the time to send him to his last 2 years of high school.  He applied and was accepted.

Picking coffee with Clem last year...
Edmond graduated from CLA Boys in 2011 and was a Cornerstone Veritas intern in the 2012 Internship year.  He then joined junior staff, and will become the Cornerstone Veritas Administrator when I leave!  He is taking over our work… all because of a casual conversation under a mango tree in 2009.  

Clem is still one of my closest friends.  Last time I visited the states, I took crafts she made and that I helped her design.  She made some good money!  

Edmond's current staff photo



Fr. Herald Brock:  In 2009, our team from Europe expected to be the only white people at our conference. But when we began the course we were surprised to find a tall, grey rob clad, American Franciscan joining us!  Personally, I think Franciscans are great, so naturally I took time to talk with him and get to know more about him and his work.  He had come to Emmaus with a car load of young people from his youth group in Torit, South Sudan, where he had been working for a few years.   I enjoyed spending time with his youth and hearing about his work.

We remained in touch when I went back to the States.  When I decided to travel back to Eastern Africa in the summer of 2010 and asked him if he was hosting any teams at that time.  It turned out he was!  He invited me to be part of their 3 week team, which would travel across South Sudan.  Of course, I accepted.
Fr. Herald and Noelle in South Sudan
 My time in South Sudan was life changing, and deepened my heart for the African continent greatly.  At the end of my time in South Sudan, I asked Fr. Herald if he would be my spiritual direct (another word for Christian Mentor), and he agreed.  For the last 3 years we have regularly emailed and met several times a year, usually in Uganda (at Emmaus).  He no longer lives in South Sudan, but he is still the person from “outside” that I see the most.  He has been a consistent support, encouragement and advisor through the ups and downs of the past 3 years.  Because of his experience of living and working in Africa, he has been an incredible mentor and guide, all because we both showed up and the same place, at the same time in Uganda, July 2009.

Susana and Peter:   Rewind to 2005.  A dark, dank, and cold night in London, England.  I had journeyed by myself to a small meeting of Koinonia in some random part of London.  When I arrived, I met some nice people as we stood outside in the cold for a while because we were locked out.  The meeting was nice, and I was invited to an event the next night with them.  I convinced my sister Hannah, who I was traveling in London with, to attend the Saturday night event with me.  There, I met Susana from Uganda.  She was dynamic, fun and African!  I cornered her and we talked for a while.  She had a great story and was really fun.

But we lost touch.  In 2007, when Facebook became open to people who weren’t at university, I signed up.  Who should find me but Susana!  She had just gotten married to some guy named Peter, and sent me a message just saying Hi.  Because she had worked in London, she knew some of the people I traveled to Uganda with in 2009.  So, we met up with her and her husband Peter, in Kampala for a day!  It was great to reconnect with her.  

As we said goodbye, I asked if I could stay with them if I ever came back to visit.  They said an enthusiastic yes.  Then, just as they were walking away, Peter turned around and informed us that Susana was 2 months pregnant!  
S&P 2009 visiting with our team in Kampala
My favorite family, a few weeks ago after enjoying Indian food
 Well, I did come back and I did stay with them, for 10 days in June of 2010.  Their son was then 5 months old, and a little afraid of his new muzungu (white) auntie.  Well, he’s now 3, and not at all afraid of me anymore.  He now has a brother, and the two of them are probably my favorite children in Uganda.  Susana and Peter have been a pillar of friendship, love, support and encouragement to me.  They let me stay with them many times, helped me recover from being sick, bought me my first sim card, taught me to use taxis, and have been a rock in the midst of a lot of craziness.  We’ve been through a lot together over the last 4 years, I would not have survived Uganda without them. 


And there are even more!

To me, these are incredible stories of how connected the world is, and how little we comprehend the impact of our actions and choices.  I had no idea that I would spend 3 years of my life in Uganda, or that all these amazing people would play a large role in my life.  I value each of these people so much, and am grateful beyond words for those “random”… or not so random, 10 days in Uganda in 2009.  

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Laughter and Love; a Weekend away

This past weekend, May 3rd-5th Cornerstone Veritas had it's first annual weekend away!  We went to the Cornerstone Development ranch, and stayed at the cottages there.  It's a beautiful and secluded spot, and provided exactly the sort of place we needed.

The first night there were 8 of us, and by the next day 10!  It was a truly joyfilled. adventurous, and fun time together.

We filled our days with a long walk together around the ranch, visiting Jovia's home DEEP in the bush, visiting with friends from Cornerstone Leadership Academy Boys, playing lots of games, and having a few times to share together, hear a few talks, and have small group time.

Pretty much, we laughed for 3 days straight!  It was a glorious time of team building, fellowship, and becoming better friends.  Here are some pictures of this glorious event!

The Middle of Nowhere... the roof of our pavilion
Sharing about the 10 Principles of Leadership
 This is one of the teachers from CLA Boys.  He went through Cornerstone Veritas' 10 Principles of Leadership course last December.  Here he was sharing with the group how much his experience on that course impacted his life, and how much he'd like to see any new teach who come into Cornerstone go through it! 
Cornerstone Veritas and CLA Boys Teachers/Student
We decided to invite friends to spend time with us on Saturday afternoon.  We prepared a nice lunch, and were able to eat and have time to visit together!  It was wonderful, and also encouraging for the CLA Boys teachers to see how far their graduates have reached!  They were very proud of who their students have become!

Local milk storage
 We went to visit our intern Jovia's home.  She lives very very deep in the bush!  We were so surprised to see how far she has to walk to even start her journey to Kampala.  It gave me a totally new appreciation for the commitment and dedication of our interns!  Here, Jovia is showing how they store the milk from their cows and make various local drinks and food from it!  It was really interesting!








This is Jovia's mother, Esther.  She greeted us with the warmest of hospitality, despite the language barrier.  She gave all of us fresh milk to drink, and told Jovia she should have told her more specifically when we were coming so she could've had more milk ready. Milk and Cows are the stable of their culture, they are originally from Rwanda. 









Here is the team all visiting Jovia's!  The huts you see behind them are their houses, where 11 people live!  It was a long walk, but very worthwhile.  What a great chance to visit our intern's home! 








View from Perapetua's home

We also got the chance to see where Perapetua is staying currently. She was chosen to work as a Matron for the boarding primary students at the Cornerstone Primary school.  She has a small room next to the dorm where the girls stay.  I am sure she is very good at taking care of all her young ones! 





At the end of the weekend, we each took time to do something artistic about what we were taking away from the weekend. We each got colored paper, markers, and chalk, drew pictures or wrote something, and then shared with the group.  It was a great time to hear the different things that people had learned and gained from the weekend. 

Kizito being adventurous


Birds nests against beautiful blue skies



Almost all the family!  Interns, staff and friends!

This is Edmond, looking very happy!  He's taking over Cornerstone Veritas at the end of the month and I am sure he'll do a great job!  He organized all the logistics for the weekend away, and did a fantastic job! 

Our Friend Robina
This is our friend Robina.  She had wanted to be part of our internship program, but was able to get a job during her school break which will help her pay for university.  She was able to join us for Saturday and Sunday, which was wonderful!  She did some fantastic drawings during the art time.  It was great to have her with us.

All in all the time away was an incredible time of building our lives together.  Everyone played a roll and had a chance to give and receive.  It was such a beautiful time, we're already looking forward to next year!