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.