all I see is hope

Now that you understand the general structure of New Hope Uganda, you have to hear all about the people.  The co founders are an American and a Ugandan who had the vision of forming much more than an orphanage.  They wanted to keep Ugandan culture alive and offer hope to those who have been forced over the years to make tough decisions based on their personal situations.  Uganda was in a civil war when the Danger (co founding family) family arrived to Kampala.  There was so much unrest at the time that their children would fall asleep to gunfire at night.  They would hide in the hallway of their home when the fighting outside it got too close. 

More than this, Uganda had a huge AIDS epidemic, to the point where children were caring for their very sick parents until their death.  Children were so hopeless they would pray and try to “catch” the disease so they would not live much longer than their parents.  This adding to the other treatable diseases that were going uncared for in so much of the country gave way to a huge orphan population.  Then the Lord’s Resistance Army rose up, orphaning children as they swept through villages drafting child soldiers who were proving their allegiance and saving their own lives by killing their parents and leaving to follow Joseph Kony the monster who had the vision for this atrocity.  Not to mention devastating poverty and an impoverished mindset that saw so much pain that their hope was for little more than the next few years let alone any future. 

Side note, I am not an expert on these matters, these are relevant issues in this country (although, the civil war has ended, the LRA and AIDS have been drastically decreased due to a governmental lead to exercise them from the population) not because the are happening but because they have happened and what is left are broken lives that need restoration.  Obviously children were the main victims in this battle and obviously children will be in need after their families are stolen from them by the things that can kill, steal and destroy.  Obviously many humanitarians were looking to care for the orphans and their grandmothers that were taking care of so many grand children alone with no income.  I have visited a few orphanages and ministries, in my time here that are looking to help those in need.  Giving food to the hungry, sending poor families children to school, giving orphans a bed in a dormitory or a children’s home, even Adoption domestic and international. The difference at New Hope is the emphasis on fatherhood and family.      

The importance of fatherhood and the instabillity of the lack thereof, is something we feel even in America, not so much as orphans.  We see it all of the time, single mothers raising children with little to no help from the children’s father.  Women juggling work, school, homework, baby sitters, day cares, family help, after school activities, and trying to have a social life,  It is a struggle to raise a family, especially alone.  The issue here in Uganda is that there are plenty of aunties and jaja’s (grandma’s) who would be more than willing to care for these children if they were being supported by and American organization. 

This is not an up bringing that promotes family, rather it teaches children that the presence of a Father is unimportant, that women should be the responsible party for children.  Teaches these “families” that they have no need to strike out on their own to provide for their families, because someone else will foot the bill. This, in turn, robs growing, impressionable minds of the sense of achievement that a job well done can give.  The sense of self-worth that using your given abilities can bring.  The hope that knowing you have value and can share it with those you love holds and the pride of being able to support yourself.  These things are important when you are trying to provide hopeless children with an understanding of their aptitude, power, their hope for a future and sense of self worth.

I think the “New Hope” that this place is trying to bring is the sense of belonging that a family provides.  Giving each child a set of parents that love and care for them.  teach them, discipline them and set the expectations that a child should have in a family, this helps them feel that they belong.  While they are doing this they are also teaching theses children historic Ugandan culture, what a family looks like and how to do things for themselves.  The Long term effects can and have already had immense effects on the heartbeat of the community.  Teaching many of the older “new hope children” (as they are lovingly referred to) to choose well when they marry, the importance of being a faithful spouse, the importance of being an actively involved and intentional parent.  The importance of the family unit and how much their children will learn from them.  This creates lasting marriages, strong families, contributing members of society.  There are already signs of the successful sustainability of this place in the families and ministries that have been born from New Hope. 

The problem with living in Uganda at New Hope is that you don’t see the suffering that is typically depicted in “Africa” the Africa that we see in the US.  There are no children starving and begging, there are no orphans, no hopeless children digging through the trash for food.  There are no malnourished bellies protruding from tattered t-shirts.  No sickly untreated illness, no mistreatment, No lines waiting for the only meal everyone will eat that week. 

All I see is hope; all I see are healthy (even strong) children.  People who are constantly offering each other help.  Children laughing, washing their dishes, playing on the playground, goofing off while they wait to fill their water jugs.  Playing Futbol, walking to the garden together, doing homework in the family group.  Sitting in groups talking under the mango tree. Plaiting each other’s hair, cooking the chip orders for the week, tending the pigs. All I see here I hope. 

So many people greet me all day “Hello Auntie Rachael, how are you”.  I ask them how school is going, if they are feeling better, where they are heading, where they have been.  They ask me about the relevant present issues in my life.  This week it was a stomach bug they consoled me about and they all welcomed me back from a weekend in Jinja.  Maybe 40 people in the last three days have welcomed me back from my trip.  The families here are so close and caring, It’s difficult to remember that there is suffering here. 

So I have gotten to really enjoy Ugandan Culture, an abundance of it.  I am not being swindled for a boda ride, I am not being a mistrusted, mzungu.  I am not worrying about being robbed or mistreated.  I am not fearful or caught up in the tragic surroundings.  I am surrounded by the results of a ministry that has “done it right” and has proven it through their sustained longevity. 

Write more soon,  I hope this is giving a more understandable picture of the place I live and the important strides they are making toward Uganda’s bright future.       

it's all in the family

So this blog is long overdue, sorry everyone.  I have just been struggling with some personal issues, ones that I’m sure I’ll talk about when I am ready. 

So, I want everyone to understand the compound structure a little more, at New Hope so that you might be able to see this world through my eyes, without being evasive or painting a half picture of things that are either good or bad.  I want you to see it as I see it. 

I want you to see it as I see it because I think it is hard to understand this place, even with the horrific, tragic news reports and the dramatic glamorous romanticized way that it is depicted in Movies and travel articles.  They are all spun so you will read it a certain way and feel a certain way and that has been my issue since I’ve arrived, struggling with the reality of what I see, the reality of what I feel and the romantic/heroic idea that I came here with.

I live on the continent of Africa, in the country of Uganda which is east Africa, Uganda is the Pearl of Africa, best known for being in the place where Lake Victoria runs in to the Nile river, being the source of the Nile, gains Uganda some serious credibility as a beautiful country, lush greenery, rich soil, good land.  I live in the district of Luweero, which is, on a good day, 2 hours north east of the capital city of Kampala.  If you take the Nakaseke road, passing the roaming goats eating Grass by the primary school.  You will drive 45 minutes on dirt and gravel road to get to the front gate. On the way you will pass vast open land, Bulls chomping grasses in a ditch, old women carrying baskets on their heads, children carrying Jerah cans of water, marshes with thick papyrus on both sides, a large pond sort of thing with a hazy blueish sort of film over it, that you will find people bathing or washing clothes in, even collecting.   After 20 minutes of the drive you will reach a tiny town with rows of shops selling wares of all kinds and on Saturday they have a market of women sitting on the ground beside the road with their vegetables stacked up on mats beside them.  Passing the not so busy town of Kiwoko is just the beginning of the land that belongs to New Hope, the mill is on the right, just off the road, milling corn to go to market.  You then pass the vocational school also on the right, teaching machinery, woodwork, tailoring, mechanics and more.  Coming closer to Kassana (the “township”where we live, kasanna means sunshine and man do we ever get it) you will simultaneously come to the front gates of the primary and secondary school property.  The main property where New hope runs from is on 2…maybe even 3, miles of land.  Land that houses at least 400 people all year and up to 700 at holidays. 

I live on what we call primary side, so at the gate you would turn left, and the guards would probably let you right in because you are a Muzungu (white person) and they only come this far in the bush for ministry.   The primary side, (primary school=primary) is where the church, clinic, administrative offices, special needs school, baby house, most staff homes, Institute of childcare and family and all of the family groups are.

The secondary side is where the secondary school is (jr. high, highschool) and the enterprise farms.  Acres of land that produce major crops that are used on site for cooking and sold in the market to support the community on site.  They raise, cattle, pigs, chickens, goats, grow corn, matoke, beans, g-nuts and cook or sell them for profit. 

Just very briefly, I have to add that they have a radio station in Kiwoko, a home of remediation for former child soldiers on the Lord Resistance Army. And a camp on Lake Victoria that runs all year for ministry groups.  

So the structure of the place is very important, to understanding the heart of the ministry, the place begins at the family groups.  There are seven family groups each has a family father and mother, ten to fifteen children, who are boarders or orphans.  They Live in a grouping of circular huts, made of cement with thatched wood or tin roofs, a main house, a cook house, a storage house and a main dining area that is open to the outside.  Each family has land it cultivates and some raise animals, goats, pigs, chickens etc.     

            The families at New hope are “families” all of the families, are comprised of family parents, children who board in the community and even staff who are assigned to be a part of a family structure.  A family at new hope works together, plays together, rejoices, suffers and prays together.  They have family parents, who they call auntie or uncle.  But everyone here is auntie or uncle.  They call each other sisters and brothers.  They come back to this place for holiday; they recall family memories from here, when talking to friends.  They know one another’s weaknesses, they know strengths, and they support each other, and cheer one another on.  They tease and spoil the little ones; they look up to the big.  They are a family. 

            Every morning…what am I saying…all day, there are children running to fetch water for cooking, for bathing, for drinking.  From the youngest to the oldest are in the garden, digging, sowing, harvesting, weeding or tending the family food.  Some are watching the babies.  Some are cooking in the kitchen.  Others do their homework in the main dining area, with the help of the older ones.  Some are working to make a little profit, making bread, or chips or pizza and selling it.  Some are making jewelry some are doing odd jobs.  It is a lot like a typical family.  Then in the evening, they gather for devotions, the older ones prepare devotions in between the parents leading.  They eat dinner as a family.  Talking, laughing, learning from one another, table manners, asking questions and getting to know and love one another one meal at a time.     

Once you understand the structure of the family groups you understand the structure of the entire place.  All of it is an environment that supports the family structure.  The parents run the home, the children work at home or in the garden and go to the school, the staff supports and runs the other parts of the place.  The mill the vocational schools, the admin offices, the baby house, the institute of child care.  All run to care for the families.  The baby house takes in orphaned children, the administrative office takes care of the legal work and the major land issues also the support from the states through world vision.  The primary and secondary school is attended by the family children and other children from the community.  The clinic is for medical care of the entire Kasanna area, people come for miles to get medical care.    The vocational school is attended by those children who graduate from secondary and want to learn a trade, the farm and the mill are worked by the older children after school.  The mill is to make profit to keep things running.  The church is for the families and the institute is to teach the long term successes and failures of American’s in Ugandan culture and to promote the basics for other ministries beginning here. 

Since this is already long I will post the rest tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading J    

It’s beautiful and hard, and everything in between

It was while I was walking home from a friend’s house this evening, as I passed by the rhythmic drumming of the Jonathon family, I stopped to catch a glimpse of the fiery red sunset, and realized that I have been in Africa for a month and a half.

And while I have seen sunsets like this many times, as well as glistening starlit nights, the moon so bright we have to put down our curtains to sleep, I have walked across the road with the warm breezes blowing on my face, held shiny coffee colored babies.  Shook hands with some of the most hospitable people I have ever met.  Danced to lively Ugandan worship songs. 

I have also sat and listened to horrific stories, learned of peoples jaded pasts, heard of orphaned children who were living in poverty, alone and hopeless.  I have prayed with those who have lost their loved ones, something that seems to happen on a daily or weekly basis.   I have seen people carrying dirty water on their heads in huge jugs for miles.  Helped teach a 50-year-old woman who cooks for me how to read. 

In all of this I can find his Glory, because the sun was put into place by his hands, the stars and the moon specifically set in the sky, the breeze only comes because it is God breathed.  The babies were tenderly knit together in their mother’s wombs; the hands praise in all things, the worship is genuine.  The stories all have happy endings, the pasts are gone to make room for the future, the Lord has sent those here for the orphans, the dirty water that cannot satisfy is the perfect example to show the wellspring of living water that only he can bring, and Mamma Jen may not know how to read but she knows all of the gospel songs you could imagine and the Joy of the Lord is in her countenance.

I came here to teach, to hold, to care for, to help, to change and I have, but what’s more is that I have learned, and been lovingly cared for, and been changed.  It would be hard to describe to the me I was three years ago, where I am now.  I was a totally different person then.  Not this brave, or willing to be uncomfortable, not this well traveled, not this able to persevere, or trust in Him.  I’m not saying that I’m the best person or better than anyone else, I am just better than I was, and isn’t that what  we are always striving to be?

I don’t love Uganda, It’s hard and hot and uncomfortable, and challenging to this American born, very pampered, young lady.  I don’t love taking cold showers outside, or sleeping under a net in the heat, I don’t love needing to be wary of every infectious disease in Africa, I don’t love the lizards that more than occasionally scurry across our walls, I don’t love hearing bats in the roof all night.  I don’t love peeing in a hole in the ground, especially at night when the cock roaches are out.  I don’t love having to stop every two minutes on the road to formally greet every person I come into contact with.  I don’t love having the same three starches rotated at every meal (bread, potatoes, matooke)  I don’t love the general smell that you can only understand when you’ve been here.

But I do love singing praise songs with my friends under the stars.  I do love napping with beautiful baby Hannah on my lap, I do love when I walk in the kitchen and all of the ladies embrace me one by one and tell me how “smart” I look in my dress and try to teach me Luganda and laugh deep belly laughs at my accent.  I love my hilarious roommate, I love the people I work for, I love seeing Karson picking up reading a little more every time we sit down to practice.  I love taking the kids on nature walks to see the oxen or the sheep, I love the way Moses smiles when I walk in the baby house and crawls right over to me.  I love my Auntie Flo, Auntie Consequence, Auntie Blessing and Mamma Jen, I love catching a really good futbol match on the way home.  I love sitting on the porch at sunrise reading my Bible with a chill in the air and I love Ugandan MUSIC! 

So, It’s beautiful and hard, and everything in between. 

Just some of my thoughts.            

sleepless nights

i thought this concept deserved it's own title...

I have been wrestling with sleep since i arrived i may have had one good night of sleep since i got here. too many sounds, too many thoughts running through my head, too many prayers to pray, to much darkness when the electricity is out.

so i wake up at 4 am, i rationalize that the internet is faster then anyway.

we got batteries for the clock, so now i know what time it is when i wake up and there is no light out.

I finished a third book and am on to the next, a text book, that the students have to read, ugandan missionaries during the civil war twenty years ago.

the whole compound went maze harvesting this week, i stayed back with the little kids.
a student told me about a conversation he had with one of the locals, about harvesting corn by hand

"do you harvest corn where you are from?"
"yeah, but not like this"
"how do you do it then?"
"we have a big tractor and a machine that harvests it for us, just one man operates it"
 "really?"
this was as they were hand picking and shucking bags and bags of corn.

I had to explain a clothes washer to a girl the other day, I told her that you put the clothes in with soap and they come out clean usually.  she wanted me to act out how the machine works, I did the best i could, lots of whirring sounds, she laughed the whole time i did it.

this week i found the baby house, It is almost a mile from my house, which is good, because our diet here is rich in carbohydrates.  i've walked there as much as i can, i met the leader sarah, who immediatly gave me the okay to pretty much come by when i want and take kids for walks, play, hold babies and pointed me to the double stroller.  I hoisted two babies in, buckled them and took little daniels hand, we were off to see the pigs.  as we followed the back path to the pigs i began to doubt my 3 year old guide's directions.  He kept shouting pigs and pointing ahead so i kept pushing, over burned grasses and past ant hills as tall as me.  we arrived to the pigs, who were all sleeping, so lazy :) they were huge and as we peeked over every wall they seemed to be getting biger and bigger, until we saw the last pin, with a big mamma and her four piglets. laying in the dirt, so tiny and pink.  i picked up the two babies one on each hip and walked them to see the baby pigs, they pointed and laughed, and tried to copy my voice when i said "big fat pig" as i bounced them up and down.  daniel was off to see the next ones and every time he would hop and say "pig, pig, pig".

when we left the pigs, and headed back toward the campus, passing a small house standing alone, with pineapples growing in a perfect circle out front, I was caught off guard when i saw a cow on the road meandering toward us, because at first I pointed and said "cow" to the babies with exuberance, until i looked passed her to see a whole heard heading my way. I stood for a second, not really knowing what to do, I had three babies in a double bob stroller and the road was narrow, all i could see was the long horns on the bulls, pointing toward the sky.

Now dont get me wrong, Ive seen all sorts of cows in my day, my grand father is a cattle rancher, i've spent hours in my grandpas barn embracing and naming them, gone out to the field to help with irrigation so the grass would stay green, handed out alfalfa,  but I dont think ive ever, just had cattle walk by me on the road, usually they are behind a fence.  so i panicked slightly, my heart was racing, I shoved the stroller  half way up a little hill on the edge of the path, threw the daniel up on top and stood as still as possible, I was genuinely afraid, these animals were huge, and two bulls stopped to simply stare at me, like they were deciding if they were gonna go easy on me.  little did i know that daniel was about as good a little herder as Robert who introduced himself as he passed with a large stick at the end of the line.  He shook my hand and i think i was shaking, we shared a proper ugandan greeting and i waved him off to follow the cows, but a straggler was behind and daniel ran to it and shewed it ahead and even gave it a little slap in the hip to get it moving like a little professional, i sould have just let him lead the way.

It took me a few moments to recover from that unnecessary anxiety and we walked back to the baby house where i spent the next two hours holding baby joseph, who is so smiley and loved being tickled.  I met all of the Aunties, and kissed little cheeks and patted little tummies and it was time to go because i was on dinner dish duty.  so i walked the back way home through the David family village, where at least four people knew me by name, i was greeted, "Hello Aunt Rachael, how are you?", "I am fine, how are you" i would respond.  when i told them sleep well in Luganda they laughed hard appreciative laughs and told me "well done".

those babies are my new excitement lately, I have to say, as disgusting as it sounds, for me, being spit up on is bliss. I love everything about these babies, and I 'll have to be careful because I wont want to leave them come May.  I have held them all, some are tiny, smaller than they should be, some are so fat they cant walk, little leg rolls and dimpled cheeks, some of them are just right.  most of them are boys, there are two girls, and they are bigger girls actually, maybe 15-18 months. walking and starting to talk.
I tell them "jangu" and give a wave opening and closing my hand, they toddle over for hugs and smile so sweetly!

well...that's all for now, until next time... good early morning from Uganda.

love
rachael


 

Much to learn...

So, I have been in Uganda, Africa for a little over two weeks, in that time; I haven’t had the privilege to see the entire site, but I have moved my things into my little hut, I have watched babies, I have eaten matoke, g nut sauce, chipatti,  and posho. 

learned maybe ten “Luganda” phrases, held countless children with no other hope than the basic necessities they are provided by orphanages, made a new friend, read three books, written a few blogs that I am by far not ready to post and been forever changed by what I have seen.  My time here has been really life altering.  All that I know is that I’m not sure what I think yet.  I feel like that is ok, what I have seen of Uganda (which is a very small portion) is beautiful and horrible all at the same time.  It is fun and frustrating, joyful and depressing and everything in between.  Ok, now I will talk about the parts that don’t make me cry and maybe I will move on to the other things, that I really think everyone should know, but I’m not ready to share.

My hut…is a round structure, that has a roof made of aluminum siding, it is separated into two rooms, one serves as a small sitting room, with a couch and two chairs, the other is our bedroom… I have a roommate. 

Our hut has a “Bathroom” where there is a drain in the corner of a small room outside of our hut, enclosed by a wood door. 

Our Latrine, is a closet sized room with a hole in the cement, where we do our most important business, we have lovingly named it the embassy. 

My hut is one of 6 huts that form a semi circle around the main dining room finished by the large kitchen where all of our food is prepared by native Ugandan ladies all day.  The dining room also serves as the classroom for the people I came here to serve.  The Segners live in a house up the hill, two bedrooms, one full bathroom, kitchen, living room, patio…*sigh* its lovely, and I get to enjoy the full bathroom during the day J

I have recently acquired a roommate, named Speciosa, she is a young Ugandan woman.  Who works at the Musana camps ministry that is affiliated with New hope.  She is funny and sweet, and I like her a lot.  Happy to have a roommate.  Because  I don’t like to be on my own, and my first night, I came in to a hut with several varieties of spider, lizards and two dead bats…needless to say, I was afraid and slept maybe an hour.  Then special came and we cleaned together and made our little hut feel more like home, it has been wonderful since then.  My brilliant roommate also has brought solar powered lights and a battery, so when the power is out, as it is a little while every day, we always have light and a radio playing.  I am so thankful for her. 

The Segner kids have been struggling, since we got here, to find their sleep schedule, with sickness, with the food, with getting to know me, but these are all things that they will grow into with time.  So I am in charge, for only half of the day, of Karson, who is a 7 year old who looks like he is ten, and is a sweet brother, he makes friends fast and loves to be outside.  Everett, is 5 he draws me pictures  every day, and today he caught me using one as a bookmark in my bible and smiled, he is also smart, I caught him doing a secret code game in his coloring book without even needing any help or prompting.  Hadlee is 3 she is a little girly girl, when we got on the bus she asked me how the door closed by itself, probably expecting a technical answer, had wide eyes when I responded that it MUST have been by magic.  Within ten minutes, she told me that she loved me, haha.  Pierce is the toe headed baby boy, he is so darling, and smiley, he is the baby for sure, loves to be attached to mom or dad, we also find him running to the Ugandan strangers and grabbing their legs, they always pick him up and hold him by the armpits and smile.  He loves it. 

Kari and Jason are Texans, they are very kind, and considerate, have opened their home to me whenever they can and. …well …. They are moving indefinitely to Africa to start a medical clinic for orphans and pregnant women, so they are “those” kind of people, the good kind.   

The compound where we live is HUGE, as I said earlier I have made a friend, someone who I would say is not my roommate or my superior or another person simply living on property.  Her name is Betty, she is on staff here, our hospitality coordinator, which means she can answer just about any question we have, and she hands out the ration of toilet paper…so…I know how to pick em’ ha!

She has invited me to her hut, which we have recently deemed her mansion and we joke regularly that we will visit one another, but “how will I find you?”, I ask, to which she replies “I’ll be in the basement swimming in the pool”.  I tell her that, “I’ll be out back by the stables” when she needs me.  She has been a WEALTH of knowledge from pointing me to the clinic to showing me how to wash my underwear.  We have had a movie night, complete with popcorn, we have laughed and joked, shared countless stories, swung on the swings, she even walked me to meet her “family” which is one of the family groups on the property, my friend betty grew up in this place, on this property, worked hard, went to college and came back to serve here on staff.  I’m sure I will have wild stories to share about her.  But or now, she is my new friend. 

I have lived for a week in a radius of about 500 feet.  I have been to Kiwoko (chi-woko) with a small band of students, but mainly I walk to the Segners and back to my hut three to four times a day.  So not much action, but lots has happened. 

I attended church on Sunday morning, 3 hours, worship was 3 English songs and three Luganda songs, I liked the Ugandan ones more.  Then a message from the regional coordinator who oversees the ministries happenings, and all of the other sites that are affiliated, (including a special education school, a home for reformed child soldiers, a camp ground on lake Victoria, a radio station and a vocational school down the road for young adults).  He spoke about the difference between belief and faith.  That we are willing to say that we believe that God can carry us, but not willing to let him actually carry us through this life.  There were many long greetings and goodbyes after then late lunch and naps. 

Our week has been, lot of learning and there will be more soon, but I think this is enough for now.  Thanks for reading, please subscribe by e-mail , so you can keep up. 

Love

Rachael       

you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

It’s hot in this room, the fickle fan seems to dislike me, I am taking a break, from being sat upon by whomever could fit on my lap.  There are new kids here today, they are not new to the orphanage just new to me, Betty was a notable arrival, and only because hers is the one name I remember right now. 

Yesterday, a woman from the large group visiting the orphanage asked Brooke and me what is on our schedule, what we are doing during our stay and our answer was…nothing. We are simply being here, not cooking or cleaning, or doing laundry or doing anything.  I wish that we had jobs; the day might seem more meaningful.  For now we attend breakfast, hold kids, go to town (maybe)/play with the kids, attend lunch, go to town (maybe)/ play with the kids, attend dinner, visit the kids before bed, love on them, give them hugs, kisses, tickle them, give high fives and tell them they are special.  It feels like we spend a lot of time, sitting around talking with kids on our laps.  We both feel useless, doing little to nothing at all, but I know that the work that we do is not in vain. 

This is the scripture that I read at church the night I found out that the Segners would be waylaid for a week.  

But thanks be to God!

He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers,

stand firm.

Let nothing move you.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,

because

you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 cor 15:57

we have given ourselves, fully to the work of the Lord, we have come, we have made ourselves available, but all they have asked us to do is, love the children here.  If this is the work of the Lord well I am happy! I have been blessed by blessing these kids. It seems so small but as mother Teresa said, “not all can do great things, but everyone can do small things with great love”.

I went to glory dorm to fix the mosquito nets, but the beams that they are tied to were too high for us, and there was no Ladder.  So, we sat on the stoop while they took baths and took pictures, of their naked butts, of their Auntie Daisy, scrubbing their little necks.  I told the little ones to “seka” (smile) while they waited patiently on the stoop beside me, for their turn.  At dinner we ate with the large team that is visiting with “Visiting Orphans” and an old friend of the Children’s home, Carol, whose 9 year old daughter has raised all of the support needed to build a new playground for the 120 children who live at Canaan.  The two of them are here for a month to oversee and help with the building of the new playground, if you want to see more about the project you can click HERE.  We sat and ate with them, and talked about the Segners.  Who are scheduled to arrive at 10pm on Thursday the 5th which for me is today.  Very excited to meet them. 

            After dinner, we drenched ourselves in bug spray and went down to see the little ones.  Who were practicing their performance for the visiting orphans team, they are all no taller than three feet, they have strong features and baldheads, they are Gorgeous, you can see them soon! Promise.  They were stepping back and forth to the beat, one would call out and the others would respond, in song, they pressed their little palms together and shook their hips, Furrowed their little brows, clenched fists, they closed their eyes and sang louder, waving their little hand across the crowd before them like they were presenting themselves to everyone.  They sang a song telling the “vistas, you are welcome” and that they are praying for them and will never forget them.  So sweet, we told them to pee, took off all of their clothes (they sleep nude) and put them in bed, I went to help with mosquito nets laying them over the beds, the ones that did not need repair.  I called little Topista over a four year old who is teeny with a lot of personality.  Prayed for her to have a good night, sweet dreams, and peace.  She whispered “amen” and I kissed her cheek and told her good night, on my way out the door, I hugged their Auntie daisy, who is like their little momma, taking care of more than fifteen 4-6 year olds every day and wished her a good night.  Went to visit Vivian, and prayed with her, gave her kisses and said good night.  

A day full of nothing…well spent... more to come…

Love

Rachael   

  

We all ate and were satisfied

I spent my first day in Uganda, I woke up to a cool fan blowing on my face, the air was humid but cool, I lay there willing myself awake and wanting to drift back into a serene sleep.   I had to force myself up on the heels of my hands looking out past the billowing mosquito net, the light was coming in past the curtain and the birds were squawking their good mornings, I asked Brooke what that scratching noise was at the door, “it’s the crazy birds” she replied, but to me it sounded like a little monkey was wanting to come in. I told her as much and her only response was a half exasperated “I want a monkey”.  First conversation of the day and I’m off to a good start.

We prepared half of our things for our long ride to Jinja, before we went to breakfast in the lobby, French toast and a cheese omelet, local fruit, mango juice, tea, coffee, and a few guests.  Our driver had arrived to pick us up, early, he had left that morning at 5am, he brought with him, Stella the Canaan center secretary and Liti, the little girl that Brooke is in Love with and has a special relationship with.  It was beautiful to see Liti holding on to Brooke tightly, eating breakfast on her lap, and telling her that she missed her.  We all ate and were satisfied, then got our bags fully together so we could begin the journey to Jinja,

           

            3 hour rough car ride and today I realized why God sent me to Sicily before coming here…the traffic.

 My friend, Dany had driven me a couple of times through Syracuse, a skilled driver, but made me very frightened, I offered him all of the money in my wallet on one occasion to drive slower, he didn’t care.  The honking, making their own lanes, tailgating, it was quite an experience Sicily!

Africa was a close second, not quite so fast, not quite so close, but more people in the streets.  We drove forty-five minutes through open lanes, watching the passing shops, colored brightly with all of their merchandise out on display, and a shop keep usually texting on their phone near said merchandise, there were all kinds of beautiful colors on the dresses of the women, boda drivers weaving past dips in the road, people carrying any and everything on their heads, roadside conversations, mothers toting children.  Beyond them was a beautiful hillside, with lush greenery plumed all along, pink and blue and green painted houses nestled into the bush. 

We came into Kampala, the capital city, well the outskirts at least, there were so many people out; walking running, selling, riding, buying, talking, arguing, laughing, washing cars, peddling.  Traffic was much tighter and there were more pedestrians vying to cross the road, more street peddlers, and more shops.  It was crazy and uncomfortable, and interesting and new.  We passed the busy city, to open road and very few people.  The land was beautiful, the same banyan trees grow here as in Hawaii, the same bush, the same banana bunches hang, the same pineapples.  We drove past lake Victoria as the midday sun gleamed across the still waters. 

We arrived to Canaan children’s center, where there were 70 children, running to the car, Brooke warned me that they would be excited to see us.  Vivian had my hand before I stepped out of the car, the moment that the door opened, little Vivian was looking up at me with big beautiful eyes, long curly eyelashes, a bald head and yellow eyes that told of her malaria, she had on a fancy girls dress like the ones I wore as a child, that was filthy from playing in the dirt outside her dorm, her smile was radiant, she said, “hello, what is your name” to which I replied “Rachael” she smiled and repeated it back to me very politely, she told me her name, she was well mannered and personable.  They are used to having visitors, every month from an organization called Visiting Orphans (click here to check them out), groups of 25-30 people come to visit; orphanages, baby houses and children’s prisons in Uganda, Canaan’s is one of the places they come.  Visitors play with the children, help teach, put together crafts and other things for them.  All that is really expected of them is to show the children love, holding them, telling them they are lovely, strong, good, showing them that they are worthy of time and effort and affection. 

The young guys living at the center helped us bring our luggage to the room, We sat with the children most of the morning, I took a nap after lunch, then we took a boda to town, to a café called the “source”.  A Boda Boda is a motorcycle driver who is much more economical than a taxi.  They have an extended seat and you sit behind them, our trip to town was fifteen minutes and cost 8000 shillings each, a little less than 4 American dollars.  Brooke and I had never taken a boda before so we were both a little hesitant, but we got on behind our perspective drivers and held on for dear life, through streets so full and potholed we had to ride on the dirt beside the pavement, over a huge bridge/dam that connects Lake Victoria and the Nile River with picturesque cranes flying low over the water, at the bottom of a small green canyon that the river has made in Uganda. 

It has been interesting things are not working out at all the way that we planned them, Kari and Jason were supposed to be here, we were supposed to be staying in a nice hotel near town, the internet was supposed to be working in town today instead it is me and Brooke, in a room that we have lovingly named the bat room, because we were woken up our first night by a bat in our window.  Taking bodas to town where the power is out and having a blast! I’m learning so much, and I’ve only been here three days, looking forward to the Segners arriving and beginning the next part of our journey.

Subscribe by e-mail if you would like to keep up with me. 

Love

Rachael