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.