Well. We are here and I know you have heard a lot from Ben and little from me so i will try and fill you in.
I'll start with Rebecca (auntie Naka) to the children. She is black as night and as pungent as I have ever smelt. Her smile is bright white and when she says my name she glows love. She is my matron she does my laundry. For $3.oo US a week. she cleans my clothes. They are cleaner than ever. She is amazing she has 7 children the youngest being twins Viva and Destiny. She nurses all day while washing laundry. Her older daughter Rachel helps tend the children. Rebecca is a good mama. She is a good friend.
I have 41 extra children with Javonta 42. And I love them all. When i see them cry I cry when I see them laugh I laugh. I believe in what they say they want and am inspiring them to see them selves in His image.
There is a girl named Hannah she is so beautiful she is soft spoken simple really. I asked her what she wants with her life. She wants to be a judge. It takes a lot of work here to pass an exam to get into law school and Hannah isn't doing well in school she tries so hard. So I'm praying that she gains a wisdom that is from Him and that if she is to be a judge that He makes all things possible.
I love what He is doing in me. I thought I knew how to be loved but ever day He shows me more.
There is a little boy maybe 8 named Boaz. Hard as a rock . Yesterday I looked out my window he was pretending to be a goat. I bleated back threw the window and He smiled "Ello Aunt Rachel!" and he crowed like a rooster. He is letting me in. Slowly but surely .
2 days after we arrived a woman in the neighborhood died of AIDS. Three of her daughters live here. Beatrice,Mary and Jane. The sound of grief coming from them caused my entire heart to move. In Africa hugging is a sign of happiness so we were told not to hug them. LOL I did it anyway. Mary needed holding the most. The middle child. I held her so close - this 14 year old girl lost in grief that I could literally feel her pain. We cried together. I walked all 41 children up the hill to visit the body and the family. One by one we piled into a small hut where the body lay on the ground the children and i surrounded the lifeless woman and an adult came and uncovered her. It was awful. The children started to pray all of them in the Spirit out loud the Holy Spirit filled the room. The spirit was so thick I could feel Him on my bare skin. The entire mass of children began to weep. It was the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. I held the girls and rocked and rocked. I am now there mama. Mary especially she watches my every move and makes sure I am close by. Betrice is still heavily mourning and is coming to me for comfort. Jane, the youngest, is full of Joy. God is truly Amazing.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Shopping Nightmare
Today I have been given a great gift. My friend is allowing me to use his wireless internet card OVERNIGHT! I am so blessed! The main reason for the long time gap between posts is my limited access to the internet. I have been writing blogs off and on over the past week but have just been given the possibility of posting them today. :) I love copy and paste!
Anyway, I want to share an experience I had at an American style shopping center in Kampala. Rachelann and I had needed to stop by a higher end shopping mall to purchase some things (like phones) and some other things that could not be easily purchased in Jinja. As it turns out this shopping center (which will remain nameless) was so "Western" that walking into it gave the illusion of walking into a Wal-mart.
So I walk over to the electronics section and send Javonta off to look at Playstation 2 games while I peruse the phone selections. I was surprised to see all the phones locked behind a glass case with only a small sign next to each one that gave a vague description of each phone. This wasn't such a big problem for me since I figured that I was in Africa and I had to shift my expectations of retail venues. This shifting of expectations however was tested to the extreme however when I encountered the retail sales clerk.
After looking at the phones I turned around and made my way to the customer service desk. There was one lady there, she looked like a young adult. She was clearly tired and clearly did not want me asking her any questions. She never greeted me and when I asked her a question about the phone, she rolled her eyes. Okay, she's tired... so what... get over it. Well okay, yeah, but then what happens is even more interesting. I ask her if I could see one of the phones so I can look at it and perhaps even see the box it comes in so I can read the technical specs for the phone. The sales clerk quickly tells me that this is not possible and that I must BUY the phone I think I want and that she would go in the back to retrieve it. She continued to explain that once she had retrieved the phone I could look at it and then if I didn't like it she would refund me the money right there on the spot.
My problem however was that I wanted to look at more than one phone and I also thought that even though she was tired, it would be a bigger inconvenience for her to have to run back and forth to get different phones. I tried to explain this to her but was met with a look that communicated "stupid foreigner, just follow the policy and then leave me alone."
So I complied. I bought the phone with only seeing it in the glass case. She went in the back and brought it out. I opened the box and began reading the technical specs. After about thirty seconds, the girl's manager who was now standing next to us spoke something in Luganda to my friend and translator. Asking for the translation, my translator quickly replied - "hurry up". I sighed and finished my looking. In the meantime I noticed that the sales clerk had gotten impatient and tired of my apparent stalling and put her head down on her hands while she waited. I decided to go ahead and take it as well as two more phones to which the sales clerk looked like she wanted to kill me for suggesting such a seemingly difficult task. She went in the back and brought out two more phones.
At no point during our exchange did she smile, greet me or even thank me for doing business. When I asked her if the phone was a good one, she said it was. I then asked her if she had ever owned this phone or knew anyone who had. She said no. So much for consumer reports.
My translator then told me that we needed to buy SIM cards to make the phones work. I asked the clerk for SIM cards and she said that they were sold at the other end of the electronics department. I turned just in time to see the two clerks who ran that section of the department on their way out the door. I called out to them that I wanted to buy SIM cards but they said they were leaving because they were tired. I turned and asked the impatient clerk what time they closed. She said 8. I noticed the time was 7.
Now I worked at Home Depot for eight years. We were constantly taught to employ excellent customer service. Had any of us acted like this we would have been fired immediately. Now I have been trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. She is working in a westernized shopping environment and the westerners who shop didn't seem all too friendly this particular night. Maybe they give her crap all the time and so she is just burned out and sick of it. Maybe her home life sucks. I don't know and I really don't want to make excuses for her. I just know that my attempt at "love your neighbor" was greatly stretched.
But it was also a great learning opportunity for me as well since I can't control my circumstances. I need to be able to love everyone in whatever process they are in. And by the grace of God, I will. I forgave her quickly and I am now able to laugh at this situation. It is pretty funny when I look back on it. But this type of customer service seems to be the norm here in Uganda. In many other retail environments, many of the Ugandans I have met don't seem to be focused on "customer's first." I am still learning to shift my expectations regarding Uganda. I have a lot of "should be like X" conversations in my mind, especially about something that was so ingrained into me from a business point of view.
But, live and learn. We did end up getting what we needed. Even though prices here are considerably higher, I did learn that I can get most anything here in the capital city.
Anyway, I want to share an experience I had at an American style shopping center in Kampala. Rachelann and I had needed to stop by a higher end shopping mall to purchase some things (like phones) and some other things that could not be easily purchased in Jinja. As it turns out this shopping center (which will remain nameless) was so "Western" that walking into it gave the illusion of walking into a Wal-mart.
So I walk over to the electronics section and send Javonta off to look at Playstation 2 games while I peruse the phone selections. I was surprised to see all the phones locked behind a glass case with only a small sign next to each one that gave a vague description of each phone. This wasn't such a big problem for me since I figured that I was in Africa and I had to shift my expectations of retail venues. This shifting of expectations however was tested to the extreme however when I encountered the retail sales clerk.
After looking at the phones I turned around and made my way to the customer service desk. There was one lady there, she looked like a young adult. She was clearly tired and clearly did not want me asking her any questions. She never greeted me and when I asked her a question about the phone, she rolled her eyes. Okay, she's tired... so what... get over it. Well okay, yeah, but then what happens is even more interesting. I ask her if I could see one of the phones so I can look at it and perhaps even see the box it comes in so I can read the technical specs for the phone. The sales clerk quickly tells me that this is not possible and that I must BUY the phone I think I want and that she would go in the back to retrieve it. She continued to explain that once she had retrieved the phone I could look at it and then if I didn't like it she would refund me the money right there on the spot.
My problem however was that I wanted to look at more than one phone and I also thought that even though she was tired, it would be a bigger inconvenience for her to have to run back and forth to get different phones. I tried to explain this to her but was met with a look that communicated "stupid foreigner, just follow the policy and then leave me alone."
So I complied. I bought the phone with only seeing it in the glass case. She went in the back and brought it out. I opened the box and began reading the technical specs. After about thirty seconds, the girl's manager who was now standing next to us spoke something in Luganda to my friend and translator. Asking for the translation, my translator quickly replied - "hurry up". I sighed and finished my looking. In the meantime I noticed that the sales clerk had gotten impatient and tired of my apparent stalling and put her head down on her hands while she waited. I decided to go ahead and take it as well as two more phones to which the sales clerk looked like she wanted to kill me for suggesting such a seemingly difficult task. She went in the back and brought out two more phones.
At no point during our exchange did she smile, greet me or even thank me for doing business. When I asked her if the phone was a good one, she said it was. I then asked her if she had ever owned this phone or knew anyone who had. She said no. So much for consumer reports.
My translator then told me that we needed to buy SIM cards to make the phones work. I asked the clerk for SIM cards and she said that they were sold at the other end of the electronics department. I turned just in time to see the two clerks who ran that section of the department on their way out the door. I called out to them that I wanted to buy SIM cards but they said they were leaving because they were tired. I turned and asked the impatient clerk what time they closed. She said 8. I noticed the time was 7.
Now I worked at Home Depot for eight years. We were constantly taught to employ excellent customer service. Had any of us acted like this we would have been fired immediately. Now I have been trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. She is working in a westernized shopping environment and the westerners who shop didn't seem all too friendly this particular night. Maybe they give her crap all the time and so she is just burned out and sick of it. Maybe her home life sucks. I don't know and I really don't want to make excuses for her. I just know that my attempt at "love your neighbor" was greatly stretched.
But it was also a great learning opportunity for me as well since I can't control my circumstances. I need to be able to love everyone in whatever process they are in. And by the grace of God, I will. I forgave her quickly and I am now able to laugh at this situation. It is pretty funny when I look back on it. But this type of customer service seems to be the norm here in Uganda. In many other retail environments, many of the Ugandans I have met don't seem to be focused on "customer's first." I am still learning to shift my expectations regarding Uganda. I have a lot of "should be like X" conversations in my mind, especially about something that was so ingrained into me from a business point of view.
But, live and learn. We did end up getting what we needed. Even though prices here are considerably higher, I did learn that I can get most anything here in the capital city.
Snapshots - Interesting sights and sounds from around the world.
1) Ben to Javonta: how big was that termite hill you saw? Javonta to Ben: Oh about the size of a medium size banana tree.
2) Advertisement: “Give your cooking the Midas touch!”. (In America, Midas is an automobile repair shop).
3) Rachelann and I were in the van driving home from Entebbe. We had driven a man to the airport to get his fiancé. At some point in the darkness on the way home we dropped him off in the middle of nowhere. He turns to Rachelann, thankful for the evening’s conversation and asks, “Do you have facebook?”.
4) I was in church on Sunday and saw that the Ugandans had set up a sound system. During one of the worship songs I glanced over at the drummer and noticed that he was playing an electronic trap set. The interesting part was that the trap set was sitting on top of a large African bass drum that was now being used as a stand.
2) Advertisement: “Give your cooking the Midas touch!”. (In America, Midas is an automobile repair shop).
3) Rachelann and I were in the van driving home from Entebbe. We had driven a man to the airport to get his fiancé. At some point in the darkness on the way home we dropped him off in the middle of nowhere. He turns to Rachelann, thankful for the evening’s conversation and asks, “Do you have facebook?”.
4) I was in church on Sunday and saw that the Ugandans had set up a sound system. During one of the worship songs I glanced over at the drummer and noticed that he was playing an electronic trap set. The interesting part was that the trap set was sitting on top of a large African bass drum that was now being used as a stand.
Building a House
When David told me that the team would be building a house a woman in our community, I jumped at the chance to help. I had been in Uganda only about one week at this point and was looking for opportunities to get to know the Ugandan men as well as interact with the team some.
We were driven to the site and were told about why we were there. The goal was to create a house for a mother and her two children in our community. The mother had no other place to go and David impressed on us the importance of taking care of each other. Instead of having two children go to orphanages due to the inability for parental care, they would be able to remain in the community as well as be taken care of by their mother.
We were given hoes, pick axes, shovels and gloves. There were a few Ugandan engineers on site and they helped us lay out the measure for the foundation. Each of us took turns evicting the clay baked Ugandan soil from its home. We dug down about two feet.
As this process was underway, several of us walked about fifteen minutes downhill to a water tap. At this water tap were many children filling up 20 liter Jeri cans with water who would then carry them home for their family to use. The water was clean of debris and looked clear. However we could not drink it due to the presence of typhoid. Some of the children were drinking the water. We were told that this was okay since their immunities had built up enough to allow them to effectively fight off the typhoid bacteria.
We filled up the Jeri cans and then struggled to carry them by hand back uphill to the construction site. I was humbled many times as children perhaps four or five years of age walked past me with their Jeri cans in hand with no huffing or puffing. I tried to be a stud and took two. However, I quickly found out that I was not able to manage them. I was thankful for one of the children who had come with us. He must have been eleven or twelve. He picked up both and carried them for a bit up the path. He then set them down and I then let out a sigh as it was my turn to carry them. We alternated this way until we got back to the site. To be perfectly honest, he probably carried them 2/3 of the way while I only huffed them about 1/3 of the way. Quite the trip.
Those who had stayed behind had not been lazy. Four enormous piles of bricks towered each of the corners of the freshly dug trench. I also noticed that a dump truck had come and dumped a large pile of sand nearby. A wheelbarrow was quickly brought and sand was shoveled inside. I walked over to the wheelbarrow and proceeded to deliver seven large bucketfuls of sand to a clear spot on the ground. One bag of cement was added as well as the water. Two of the Ugandans grabbed hoes and began to work the water into the sand and cement, creating freshly made concrete.
The freshly made mortar was shoveled into trays by some of our children and others then began taking the mortar to the brick layers. Other people were taking bricks and making sure that the brick layers had the bricks handy. We worked throughout the day and finished the foundation as well as the four corners of the house. The following day we made more concrete and finished the walls as well as installed the doors and windows.
The third and final day, the team wasn’t available so the Ugandans and I went back and spent the day finishing the roof. It was a lot of work. We framed it out and then nailed metal sheathing onto it. Some of the others with us made concrete for the floor. This involved mixing large stones into mortar. It looked like a lot of work. I was too busy helping make the roof to help with the poured concrete floor. It looked like a lot of work and I was actually thankful that I didn’t have to do it. The children who helped us worked very hard too. Many of them worked without shoes.
As I was reflecting on child labor, I realized how much of a blessing this work was to them as it was to us. The children are learning valuable skills that will aid them in getting jobs as the grow older. It also builds their muscle, their work ethic and their knowledge of the building process. It was interesting to see how the Ugandans all worked together. Each one was looking out for the other. There was no competing or boasting of one over another. I have never before seen children be so respectful of adults or so hardworking. I didn’t hear any complaining at all. Of course, it is not in Ugandan culture to complain. The could have been complaining inwardly, but I didn’t know it. But from the looks on their faces, they looked as if they were enjoying the process. I also noted that the children seemed to know what to do better than we did. They acted like they had done it before. Indeed there are lots of opportunities to help out.
Speaking of children, Javonta came one of the days and helped out. He worked his butt off and didn’t complain one bit either. He helped mix the mortar as well as dig the trench and carry water. He said that he enjoyed his experience and was thankful for having gone. I was impressed by the amount of work he put forth. Javonta has really manned up quite a bit since arriving here. I think he sees just how good he has it. All of the other children on the FDLM base have chores to do and they all share a room. Javonta has his own room and hasn’t had to engage in the chore regime as of yet. Javonta has been engaging the other children and staff in conversation and has been going in and around the base on his own off and on to play with them. The Ugandan children are extremely outgoing and have been very committed to loving Javonta. Some of them had even asked my why Javonta was so quiet. At the time we had just gotten there and Javonta was struggling with a mighty bout of jet lag. It was interesting to see the concern these children had for getting to know Javonta. He has since opened up a bit and is letting them in. He loves to wrestle with them and they definitely love to wrestle him. As I write this, Javonta is actually out with one of the staff members monkey hunting. He had wanted to go before with a bow and arrow he had bought in Jinja. But since shooting monkeys with bows and arrows is ILLEGAL, we told him that he could only go monkey sighting. I’m sure he will have an interesting story to tell when he gets back.
We were driven to the site and were told about why we were there. The goal was to create a house for a mother and her two children in our community. The mother had no other place to go and David impressed on us the importance of taking care of each other. Instead of having two children go to orphanages due to the inability for parental care, they would be able to remain in the community as well as be taken care of by their mother.
We were given hoes, pick axes, shovels and gloves. There were a few Ugandan engineers on site and they helped us lay out the measure for the foundation. Each of us took turns evicting the clay baked Ugandan soil from its home. We dug down about two feet.
As this process was underway, several of us walked about fifteen minutes downhill to a water tap. At this water tap were many children filling up 20 liter Jeri cans with water who would then carry them home for their family to use. The water was clean of debris and looked clear. However we could not drink it due to the presence of typhoid. Some of the children were drinking the water. We were told that this was okay since their immunities had built up enough to allow them to effectively fight off the typhoid bacteria.
We filled up the Jeri cans and then struggled to carry them by hand back uphill to the construction site. I was humbled many times as children perhaps four or five years of age walked past me with their Jeri cans in hand with no huffing or puffing. I tried to be a stud and took two. However, I quickly found out that I was not able to manage them. I was thankful for one of the children who had come with us. He must have been eleven or twelve. He picked up both and carried them for a bit up the path. He then set them down and I then let out a sigh as it was my turn to carry them. We alternated this way until we got back to the site. To be perfectly honest, he probably carried them 2/3 of the way while I only huffed them about 1/3 of the way. Quite the trip.
Those who had stayed behind had not been lazy. Four enormous piles of bricks towered each of the corners of the freshly dug trench. I also noticed that a dump truck had come and dumped a large pile of sand nearby. A wheelbarrow was quickly brought and sand was shoveled inside. I walked over to the wheelbarrow and proceeded to deliver seven large bucketfuls of sand to a clear spot on the ground. One bag of cement was added as well as the water. Two of the Ugandans grabbed hoes and began to work the water into the sand and cement, creating freshly made concrete.
The freshly made mortar was shoveled into trays by some of our children and others then began taking the mortar to the brick layers. Other people were taking bricks and making sure that the brick layers had the bricks handy. We worked throughout the day and finished the foundation as well as the four corners of the house. The following day we made more concrete and finished the walls as well as installed the doors and windows.
The third and final day, the team wasn’t available so the Ugandans and I went back and spent the day finishing the roof. It was a lot of work. We framed it out and then nailed metal sheathing onto it. Some of the others with us made concrete for the floor. This involved mixing large stones into mortar. It looked like a lot of work. I was too busy helping make the roof to help with the poured concrete floor. It looked like a lot of work and I was actually thankful that I didn’t have to do it. The children who helped us worked very hard too. Many of them worked without shoes.
As I was reflecting on child labor, I realized how much of a blessing this work was to them as it was to us. The children are learning valuable skills that will aid them in getting jobs as the grow older. It also builds their muscle, their work ethic and their knowledge of the building process. It was interesting to see how the Ugandans all worked together. Each one was looking out for the other. There was no competing or boasting of one over another. I have never before seen children be so respectful of adults or so hardworking. I didn’t hear any complaining at all. Of course, it is not in Ugandan culture to complain. The could have been complaining inwardly, but I didn’t know it. But from the looks on their faces, they looked as if they were enjoying the process. I also noted that the children seemed to know what to do better than we did. They acted like they had done it before. Indeed there are lots of opportunities to help out.
Speaking of children, Javonta came one of the days and helped out. He worked his butt off and didn’t complain one bit either. He helped mix the mortar as well as dig the trench and carry water. He said that he enjoyed his experience and was thankful for having gone. I was impressed by the amount of work he put forth. Javonta has really manned up quite a bit since arriving here. I think he sees just how good he has it. All of the other children on the FDLM base have chores to do and they all share a room. Javonta has his own room and hasn’t had to engage in the chore regime as of yet. Javonta has been engaging the other children and staff in conversation and has been going in and around the base on his own off and on to play with them. The Ugandan children are extremely outgoing and have been very committed to loving Javonta. Some of them had even asked my why Javonta was so quiet. At the time we had just gotten there and Javonta was struggling with a mighty bout of jet lag. It was interesting to see the concern these children had for getting to know Javonta. He has since opened up a bit and is letting them in. He loves to wrestle with them and they definitely love to wrestle him. As I write this, Javonta is actually out with one of the staff members monkey hunting. He had wanted to go before with a bow and arrow he had bought in Jinja. But since shooting monkeys with bows and arrows is ILLEGAL, we told him that he could only go monkey sighting. I’m sure he will have an interesting story to tell when he gets back.
Updates and Reflections
Today half of our children are gone on holiday. The remaining children and I just got done wrestling in the church. It is a big church with a large open space. For Sunday service the children bring loads of plastic chairs and set them up in the church. Today however the space was empty. Javonta and I fought off about twelve children of different ages. They would team up and try to pull us down. Finally my body gave way and I fell down amidst many cheers and much laughter. I got up and laughed a bit myself as I congratulated them on their excellent teamwork. I had taken them all down innumerable times and is was high time that I was defeated. Later that afternoon Rachelann told me that she had seen some of the girls come from the church breathing heavily and sporting big smiles. She told me that when she had asked them what had happened they replied, “Uncle Ben!”.
The girls were far much stronger than the boys. This is probably because the amount of work the girls do is simply amazing. I have been shocked many times as I have witnessed the quantity of tasks that are completed by the children before 7am. The kids get up at 5:45am every morning and do their chores before breakfast. This early wakeup call is sounded by the rooster who alerts us sleepy folks that it is time to get up for another great day. Of course I should mention that during summer break, the children usually stay up until about 11pm each night to do devotions. But they still have full energy and laughter each day.
I am really having fun getting to know these children. Many of them have been asking me to teach them something. I have been teaching one of my new friends, Jeremiah, guitar. He has been practicing almost every day with a guitar that was donated by the team that was previously here.
I have also been teaching many of the staff and children typing and computer skills. Many of the staff have never used a computer before. I have been enjoying showing them pictures that I have on my laptop. When I am online, I will be able to show them the Google Earth utility and show them around the world. I keep encouraging the children to dream big. It will be so much fun to show them other places that they have only thought of dreaming about before.
The girls were far much stronger than the boys. This is probably because the amount of work the girls do is simply amazing. I have been shocked many times as I have witnessed the quantity of tasks that are completed by the children before 7am. The kids get up at 5:45am every morning and do their chores before breakfast. This early wakeup call is sounded by the rooster who alerts us sleepy folks that it is time to get up for another great day. Of course I should mention that during summer break, the children usually stay up until about 11pm each night to do devotions. But they still have full energy and laughter each day.
I am really having fun getting to know these children. Many of them have been asking me to teach them something. I have been teaching one of my new friends, Jeremiah, guitar. He has been practicing almost every day with a guitar that was donated by the team that was previously here.
I have also been teaching many of the staff and children typing and computer skills. Many of the staff have never used a computer before. I have been enjoying showing them pictures that I have on my laptop. When I am online, I will be able to show them the Google Earth utility and show them around the world. I keep encouraging the children to dream big. It will be so much fun to show them other places that they have only thought of dreaming about before.
Thursday August 20th, 2009
As I write today I am enjoying watching just taking in the sights and sounds from around my room. It is an interesting mixture of Jonathan David Hessler, African voices streaming through the window and the encouraging of our pet gecko “Gerty” to eat all the flies on our wall just out of reach. I am resting after a long week of moving around the world. I’ll give a quick synopsis.
For those who still don’t know, I am no longer living in America (this should NOT be a surprise!). We are currently staying at Father’s Divine Love Ministries (FDLM) and working with David Zijjan. The ministry seeks to set orphans in families and to provide a place of safety for those who don’t have anywhere else to turn.
When we first landed, we were surprised by another team that was being hosted by Pastor David. The week that followed was an interesting one indeed. Rachelann and I were trying to figure out how to befriend the Africans (which wasn’t hard, they love us!) while at the same time trying to work with this new team we were intersecting with. During the days Rachelann would spend her time with the women in the kitchen, generating friendship through quality time. I spent much of my time working with the team to build a house off site for a mother and her two children. Downtime was often spent hanging out with the 59 children on the base. Friendships among the children were instant. The first question those who could speak English (and probably among those who didn’t) asked was, “how long until you leave?”. We had the joy of watching the thought settle into their minds when we told them we were committed to being here for a long time. So many teams come through and offer help is a good thing, however the children and staff also really need someone to hunker down and invest a significant length of time spent with them. We are hoping to offer that assistance through being the gift that we each are as well as through networking. Of course these realities are engulfed by the much bigger reality of God’s love and care for these amazing people.
So far we have had almost everything we have needed except internet. We are hoping to get that established soon. This blog entry is being written offline until it can be submitted online. Internet here requires an initial investment of about $200 for the wireless card that syncs with the cell phone stations. From there, we will be paying about $40/month for unlimited bandwidth use. I am excited to get this since it will be a good tool for so many things that will enable me to utilize my giftings most effectively here.
As I mentioned before, I spent a few days building a brick house with the team being hosted by David. It was some of the hardest and most rewarding work I have ever done. In addition to the team helping, several of the children came from the base and worked harder than some Americans I know (and without all the complaining!). We made concrete by hand (seven wheelbarrows of sand to one bag of cement). We used red clay bricks for the walls and metal sheeting for the roof. We poured a concrete floor with cement, medium sized rocks, and sand. Everyone worked hard. I am noticing that the children here work harder than most children back in America. Many worked barefoot and helped mix the concrete by hand. None of them complained and overall the attitude of the children and the team was joyful. It took us a few days to build the house but we finally finished it and it looks great! It is being given to a single mother and her two children.
Today I went to Kampala to retrieve three of our bags that were delayed. The team got dropped off at Entebbe International Airport at around 5:00am. I got to Kampala at about 5:30. The bus that dropped off the team wanted to go back to Jinja and not wait until 8:00 when KLM’s office opened. One of my new African friends, Noah, volunteered to stay with me. We hung out until 8:00 and then got the bags. Noah was a lot of fun to hang out with. He has such a sweet spirit about him. We took public transportation back and finally made it back to FDLM by 12:00.
At some point while in Kampala I realized that it was my birthday. Time passes much slower here in Africa where the pragmatic American drive is not present. Rachelann, who has spent much of her time in the kitchen with the ladies, worked to make a cake for me. I had never had a cake in Africa before. The cooks that we have are quite amazing and can cook almost anything. The food is great! When teams come, they pay for food which allows us to eat well for some time. When they leave, we revert back to beans, rice and poscho. However, Rachelann used some of our funds to buy ingredients for a cake and so we had a cake. All of the children gathered around and sang happy birthday to me. It was exciting. I even learned how to say “twenty seven” in Luganda: abiri mu musanvu.
As I write today I am enjoying watching just taking in the sights and sounds from around my room. It is an interesting mixture of Jonathan David Hessler, African voices streaming through the window and the encouraging of our pet gecko “Gerty” to eat all the flies on our wall just out of reach. I am resting after a long week of moving around the world. I’ll give a quick synopsis.
For those who still don’t know, I am no longer living in America (this should NOT be a surprise!). We are currently staying at Father’s Divine Love Ministries (FDLM) and working with David Zijjan. The ministry seeks to set orphans in families and to provide a place of safety for those who don’t have anywhere else to turn.
When we first landed, we were surprised by another team that was being hosted by Pastor David. The week that followed was an interesting one indeed. Rachelann and I were trying to figure out how to befriend the Africans (which wasn’t hard, they love us!) while at the same time trying to work with this new team we were intersecting with. During the days Rachelann would spend her time with the women in the kitchen, generating friendship through quality time. I spent much of my time working with the team to build a house off site for a mother and her two children. Downtime was often spent hanging out with the 59 children on the base. Friendships among the children were instant. The first question those who could speak English (and probably among those who didn’t) asked was, “how long until you leave?”. We had the joy of watching the thought settle into their minds when we told them we were committed to being here for a long time. So many teams come through and offer help is a good thing, however the children and staff also really need someone to hunker down and invest a significant length of time spent with them. We are hoping to offer that assistance through being the gift that we each are as well as through networking. Of course these realities are engulfed by the much bigger reality of God’s love and care for these amazing people.
So far we have had almost everything we have needed except internet. We are hoping to get that established soon. This blog entry is being written offline until it can be submitted online. Internet here requires an initial investment of about $200 for the wireless card that syncs with the cell phone stations. From there, we will be paying about $40/month for unlimited bandwidth use. I am excited to get this since it will be a good tool for so many things that will enable me to utilize my giftings most effectively here.
As I mentioned before, I spent a few days building a brick house with the team being hosted by David. It was some of the hardest and most rewarding work I have ever done. In addition to the team helping, several of the children came from the base and worked harder than some Americans I know (and without all the complaining!). We made concrete by hand (seven wheelbarrows of sand to one bag of cement). We used red clay bricks for the walls and metal sheeting for the roof. We poured a concrete floor with cement, medium sized rocks, and sand. Everyone worked hard. I am noticing that the children here work harder than most children back in America. Many worked barefoot and helped mix the concrete by hand. None of them complained and overall the attitude of the children and the team was joyful. It took us a few days to build the house but we finally finished it and it looks great! It is being given to a single mother and her two children.
Today I went to Kampala to retrieve three of our bags that were delayed. The team got dropped off at Entebbe International Airport at around 5:00am. I got to Kampala at about 5:30. The bus that dropped off the team wanted to go back to Jinja and not wait until 8:00 when KLM’s office opened. One of my new African friends, Noah, volunteered to stay with me. We hung out until 8:00 and then got the bags. Noah was a lot of fun to hang out with. He has such a sweet spirit about him. We took public transportation back and finally made it back to FDLM by 12:00.
At some point while in Kampala I realized that it was my birthday. Time passes much slower here in Africa where the pragmatic American drive is not present. Rachelann, who has spent much of her time in the kitchen with the ladies, worked to make a cake for me. I had never had a cake in Africa before. The cooks that we have are quite amazing and can cook almost anything. The food is great! When teams come, they pay for food which allows us to eat well for some time. When they leave, we revert back to beans, rice and poscho. However, Rachelann used some of our funds to buy ingredients for a cake and so we had a cake. All of the children gathered around and sang happy birthday to me. It was exciting. I even learned how to say “twenty seven” in Luganda: abiri mu musanvu.
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