Buddies, burgers, bodas, buses, and birds

What a great weekend!

Friday, after the well was fixed, Donna and I rode with Charles in the tipper to Gulu.  He had to take it bak to Bobi, so we thought it would be a good time to leave the village for a while and explore the city! What a great weekend it was!

We started on Friday night in Bywale, walking around the streets and market, while Charles had the tipper serviced.  We then headed out.  Charles dropped us off at the Kakenyera hotel, but there was no room at the inn, so we called Cosmos, and he took us over there.  We ended up staying at the Cosmos for 3 nights, and in my opinion, it ended up being better than the Kakenyera.  It was in a great location, clean, hot water (that I finally figured out my 3rd shower, but I don't care because I got a shower) and breakfast.  It also had a great common room where we were able to relax and also visit with other guests.  It reminded me of a nice hostel.

We didn't get in until almost midnight, so we went right to bed, although didn't sleep too well because of parties going on around us.  It turned out that Saturday was graduation, so graduation parties were everywhere Friday night.

Saturday morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel, then went to the coffee hut to get our bearings.  Oh man, that coffee was delicious!!!  My first cup in over a month!  SO GOOD!!!  It's also a common place for Mzungus to hang out, so we talked with a few people and they helped us figure out where to go.

I should add that we also enjoyed a piece of chocolate cake with our morning coffee.  I love days like that!

After coffee we walked around the town, until we ended up in the market.  It was so neat to see the market and shop there.  We ended up spending a lot of time there over the few days.  We found souvenirs and even had a skirt made.  For lunch we took bodas (motorcycles that take you around like a taxi) to Sankofa and had burgers and pizza.  It was in a beautiful courtyard, and very nice and relaxing.  We walked home from there, shopped some more, and then ended our day early, relaxing in the common room.  I was beat after that, so we called it an early night.

Sunday we tried to go out for breakfast, but due to a communication error, although we were told that they had breakfast, it turned out that their cook was still at the market shopping.  So we drank tea, and then headed back to the hotel for breakfast there.  More shopping on Sunday, and getting things made, and then lunch at Churchill courts.  That time, I was much more comfortable riding the boda.  Didn't scare me nearly as much!  More shopping, and then we stopped for a soda before heading home just as the storm hit.

Monday, we made our way to the bus station and rode home with a chicken next to us.  That was a great surprise!  We didn't even know it was on the bus, until we heard it and watched someone pull it down from the overhead luggage bin where our bags were.  We got a big laugh out of that.

The ride home was surprisingly quick and we stopped in Bywale so that Donna could go to the market, and I could enjoy a soda and read, while watching our bags.  We then took Bodas back to the village, and got caught in a rain storm.  It was pretty crazy, and quite the experience of a day of travel in Africa!  One that I definitely will never forget!

We came home to the pump being out again, but Praise The Lord, they got it fixed today!  So, we should be good to go now!

Thanks for your prayers for the pump situation, for safe travel, and for my time here!  I am very thankful to have people praying for me!  I know I was praying a lot on that bus and those bodas, but God is so good!  I am home safe!

Last night Elijah came and brought me a note.  It was the sweetest note that I have ever been given!  My heart is full of love!  I can't believe that I only have 3 weeks left!  As much as I miss everyone back home, I am going to be really sad to leave here!  These kids are amazing!

One final PTL came tonight, as John Kerry stopped by my hut.  I hadn't seen him or talked to him in a few weeks and was really sad about that, but tonight, he finally came back around!  I am so happy!  We are hoping to pull out the parachute again this weekend, so hopefully the kids will come around!

I love these kids!

Got to love the coffee hut!

The market from inside

Sankofa

I love this painting!  But he wasn't finished with it yet, so I bought a painting of giraffes that kept catching my eye.

Catherine and Monica, who made some stuff for us at the market.  This is my skirt.

Donna and me on our last stop, Tangawizi!  (REAL Gingerale!)

Our little chicken buddy!

The vendors at each bus stop.  You can't see it here, but they also hold up and sell live chickens!  There were a few more on the bus than we originally thought!

On the boda ride home.  You can't see me, but this is my driver.

My boda is just on the other side of these cattle!  This is right before the rain hit!

PTL for safe travels!  Thanks again for your prayers!

(A lizard just dropped in the middle of my floor from my ceiling.  I need to go take care of that now!)

Nile Adventures

It's been an interesting week with the well being out.  We've made the best of our situation and witnessed God work in amazing ways!  The pump guys arrived this morning, and are working on the well now.  Once it gets fixed, Donna and I are hoping to hitch a ride to Gulu with Charles to take a few days to explore the city.

People have been donating to help cover the cost of the pump, which is incredible!  It's amazing how many extra costs are involved, since we have had to hire more people to help pump and drive water, drive supplies for both villages, pay town fees to use their well, and so much more.  The pump cost has been covered, but if you would like to donate to the fund as a whole and help cover these extra costs, go to villageofhopeuganda.com and make a donation, putting what it is for in the memo line.

Thank you!

Here's a few pictures of our Nile adventure.  We took a boat across the Nile and walked to Atura.  It was a fun adventure!  Yes, the Nile has snakes, crocodiles, hippos, etc but we thankfully did not see any!  It was a beautiful day, and such a neat moment to watch the sunset across the Nile while sitting in a dugout canoe!

The road to Atura

Sunset over the Nile

On the way home from Atura

Me and Geoffry

Our boat driver wanted his picture with me.  I was quite flattered!

Heading back

Donna bought me and Charles roasted maize on the way home

One last picture of the sunset as we were on the road to the village

It's not a "crisis" if you have fun problem solving!

The pump for the well went out yesterday, so today we were low on water.  Think about a village of 275 people, cooking, drinking, bathing, cleaning, doing laundry, providing for animals, and so much more suddenly going without water.  It was a good lesson on how the rest of the world lives!  I am counting my blessings tonight!

With the water out, we had to take a special trip to the Nile River with the tipper full of our tanks and jerry cans for us to fill.  It was a fun afternoon!  Many people came along for the ride.  It was so much fun to be out with the house moms and other staff as we worked together to fill the tanks, and also laughed, played, and swam!  Okay, I didn't swim, but I did wade!  Either way, I had fun!

Please keep the village in your prayers!  The pump guy comes out tomorrow.  Pray for a quick fix, a non expensive fix, and for the 275+ people who are in need of water!

Also, we are seeing a rise in Malaria cases.  Two of our teachers found out today that their kids are in the hospital.  Please pray for them as they travel to be with their kids, and pray for the many people who are dealing with this illness.  It's very common here, but it is an awful illness.  Please pray for their health hand recovery.

Thanks!

Carly

The beginning of the day.  Jerry cans lined up at the locked faucet in hopes that it would be turned on.

Loading up the truck to head to the Nile

A full truck!

Backing the truck in to the Nile

The ladies working the bucket brigade

Richard filling buckets for the tanks

My first time in the Nile

Having a little fun!

On our way home we picked up Joseph, where he had been filling jerry cans at a town well for drinking water, and these girls kept pointing at me (a Mzungu) and getting their friends to come look!  What a surprise to them, there were 2 of us!!!

Home again, and ready to unload

Stephen and Brenda listening as the drum fills!

It was a fun day, but praying that it is just one day!

It's fun to be a kid!

Today's post is just some pictures of a fun day!

We brought out the parachute today!  Laughter everywhere!

We also played "Hugger Mugger"

And one last thought...

Remember Cosmos?  I talked about him in my last post and have shared about him in a sermon before.  He is in need of a sponsor.  Super sweet boy, all smiles!  If you are interested in sponsoring a child, go to www.villageofhopeuganda.com and change a life!

Cosmos playing multiplication bingo with me

Cosmos working on the beads of hope

Joy

Yesterday was an incredible day in so many ways!  I got to witness the joy and laughter of the children, as well as the joy, compassion, and love of the staff in a way that I feel overwhelmingly blessed to be able to be a part of.

Yesterday had so many different aspects to it, some that have been in the works for a long time, some that have been on my heart for a long time to write about, and some I just got to witness.  That combination is making this post difficult to put my thoughts in to words.

I guess I will just start from the beginning.  It started like any other day, with our morning walk.  Janelle, Donna, and I have started walking every morning, which I LOVE!!!  It's a great way to get out into the community, talk about our days, think, and of course work off the posho belly!

As we were about to leave, we learned that there was no school because of the Muslim holiday celebrating when Abraham attempted to sacrifice Ishmael.  Although we do not celebrate the holiday, we had to give the day off as part of the district.  So that just meant extra hang out time with the kids.  In the morning, Donna and I worked on sorting letters that we were going to hand out at the evening assembly to say goodbye to Cindy.  I've been talking with Donna over and over about sponsorship, and even coming, I knew that I would want to sponsor a child, so I had started working out ways for it to happen.  Well, since I've been here, I see the importance of child sponsorship, and I also learned that you can be a partial sponsor if you can't afford the whole thing!  Perfect for me, because I wasn't sure if I could do $100, but I know for a fact, if I manage my money well, that I can afford $30.  It just means shopping at WINCO and having the week planned out, rather than my spontaneous "I want this" runs to Albertsons.  I was also able to cancel a few luxuries to be able to pay this.  If I can do it, anyone can!  Anyways, all that to say, that I officially made the decision to sponsor Elija.  Elija is the boy that I have connected with the most since I have been here.  Not only does he share a name with my beautiful nephew, but he reminds me of the boys in my youth group.  A kid with heart, full of spunk, a strong leader, and fills my heart with joy and laughter!  You'll notice that you've heard his name a bunch, and seen his picture almost any time I post a group picture!  He's also a regular outside my hut, "Carly, Carly, are you home?!"  Yes, he is also one of the 2 people here who know my name!

Anyways, I am so excited to sponsor him!  I'm going to start small with what I know I can afford, and hopefully someday I will be able to be a full sponsor.  Keep reading, and I will talk more about the joys of sponsorship when I talk about the letters.

When Donna and I were done sorting letters, and had sent the email to start the process of sponsoring Elija, the boys came in to her hut wanting to play the ipad.  We recently passed a new policy to not let kids play with the ipads or other electronics.  So when we told them that they couldn't play, we expected them to go out and find a ball, or something, but they just sat in there with us.  Then the group kept growing!  They started telling stories, and Elija would translate for the other boys, because all of their stories were in Acholi.  It was so much fun to hear them get excited about telling stories, laughing, and like any child, trying to talk over each other to correct the story or to give the punchline.  To be honest, I have no clue what any of the stories were about, but I still enjoyed the excitement they had in sharing them!

As the stories ended, we decided to play a pick up game of multiplication BINGO.  A few more kids came in to join us for that.  It was fun to play with them.  I teamed up with Cosmos (who I have shared about a lot at HPC, and preached about the week before I came!)

I forgot to mention, one of the things that led to this fun hang out time was the words "I'm bored."  I don't know why, but I took such joy in those words.  I guess its because these kids are so busy with chores, and school, and working for the village, that when they don't have that to do, they are bored!  I love that these kids love school!  They love making beads!  They love working and playing!  And when you take that away, just like any other kid, they get bored!  So Saturday, I am going to open up the Library so that we can read together, rather than be bored.

Later in the day, Elija was still bored, so he came in, hung out with me, and we played "Go Fish" and "War" with cards.  It was nice to hang out with just him for a little while, since we are always in a big group.  I haven't' told him that I'm going to sponsor him yet, I'm waiting for the paperwork to go through, but I can't wait to tell him, since we have already connected.

After hanging out with Elija, we went and watched the P5 vs P6 futball game.  I love the futball games because everyone comes out and just hangs out together.

After the game, the students met with Cindy for her goodbye talk and challenge.  It was such a blessing to listen to.  The encouragement she gives these kids, and the way she loves them is incredible!  The same goes for Rose.  I was encouraged by her talk, and took some good pointers to use in my own life and ministry.  

After Cindy's talk, we handed out the letters that HPC wrote the kids.  What an incredible moment!

Cindy came with letters that people have sent to their sponsored kids, but always dreads that some kids don't get their names called or don't have sponsors.  Some kids, like staff kids, don't realize the difference between the sponsored kids and themselves, and are sad when they don't get a letter.  As Cindy and Donna were trying to figure out what to do, how to hand them out without feelings getting hurt, they remembered that I had brought letters with me.  My church (especially the children) had written a letter for every single child in the village.  Every kid, sponsored or not sponsored, had a letter with their name on it.  Then, for the staff kids, we had some general letters that we were able to put their names on since it was so few.  So after the meeting, we began to hand out letters.  Some kids started to leave because they don't ever get letters, but sure enough, EVERY NAME WAS CALLED!  We didn't forget a single one!  Even the nursery school kids had letters, which was awesome since the last child waiting was a nursery school child, who I looked at and said, "Brenda, I know I saw your name on one of these" and the joy in her face as we looked through it and handed it to her was priceless.  We didn't have to get a general one and write her name in front of her.  Nope, it was already written.

All that to say, what we thought was just something cool we were doing, ended up being a HUGE event for these kids!  Some who never get letters got long, thoughtful letters!  Some got pictures!  All got their name!  It was a beautiful moment!

This morning when I went into the office, there was already a pile of letters to take home with me.  Kids are writing back!  One simple letter makes a huge difference!  These kids know that they are loved and being prayed for!  It's huge!

So, if you have $30, $50, $75, or $100 that you don't know what do do with.  If you want to give a different kind of Christmas gift this year.  If you want to start a family partnership.  Think about sponsoring a child!

If you only have a $10 one time donation, think about donating to the Village of Hope!  Every little bit helps!  And next year, they are opening a secondary and trade school, so that these kids can continue with the hope given to them!

If you have no money, but want to write a letter, send one to the Village of Hope!  Every letter counts!  Every kid matters!  And I can't even begin to tell you what it means to them to get a letter or to find out that they have a sponsor!  It really is an incredible thing!

And now, just as I do with every post, I want to leave you with a few pictures!  (PS Elija just walked in as I was finishing up!  He and Wisdom tried to teach me a new card game.  We'll try again tomorrow!)

The last time to play with the ipad.  Elija held it and made sure everyone got a turn.  It was such a sweet moment, he was acting like the big, loving brother to everyone.

The view from our walk.  From far away this building says "Welcome to Hope"

Preparing to hand out cards and letters.  What a gift!

Me and Elija on the day I started sponsoring him

Ant attack!  This was another big part of my day that I forgot to mention.  Ugh.  The picture is of the ant trap that we finally set.  Disgusting!

Sweet Miss Daisy!

Cindy and Rose talking to the children

The kids getting their letters.  Look at Elija's face!  Such joy as he receives his letter (Thank you Jake J. for the awesome picture!!!)

I wish I could have gotten more or better pictures of the kids with their letters, but it was getting dark so I couldn't get very good pictures.  But I did get great memories, and stories!

Gulu and other thoughts

I know I said that I would post the following day, but things have been busy, and we didn't have internet for a few days.  It is another interesting thing about being here, the fact that I get internet at all is amazing!  The village is set up on a solar system, and we have had so much rain lately that things weren't charging.  It really makes you appreciate the sun, and the ability to communicate a world away.  I still can't believe that I'm in Africa!  It feels like I am at camp, just a couple hours from home.  Although, when it rains here if POURS and is still warm!  I must admit, I am becoming weak, I wear a sweatshirt when it is only in the 70's.  I don't know how I'm going to make it back home!

Life has been good!  I like the feeling of being productive!  This week I have been able to work on beads, doing quality control, we also had a holiday on Wednesday so I got to spend the day hanging out and playing with the kids.  We even had soda and a movie at night!  It was really fun.  Those are the things you can't take pictures of, so you just have to keep them as a memory.

The Hawaii team left yesterday, so we have been getting the Taj-ma-hut ready for Cindy's arrival today.  Mike and Janelle just left to pick Cindy and Janet up, and we are all looking forward to seeing her!  Please pray for her time here, that she stays healthy, and there are no complications.  Cindy had a brain tumor removed earlier this year, so please pray for her time here.  It is short, and there is a lot to be done, but it is going to be great for her to be able to see and visit with the kids.

Now for my Gulu story.

I started this blog to talk about my journey here.  The ups and the downs.  The things I am excited or proud about, and the things that I am not proud of.  This is one of those posts.

I joined the Hawaii team in a trip to Gulu.  The purpose of the trip was to visit the Bobi village, and to hand out food bags to kids that the village supports.  We went to Bobi first and got to see the work they are doing on that facility.  It was great!  Incredible to see!  Eventually, it looks like Bobi will be the primary school and the Village that I'm at right now will become the secondary school.  They have an incredible crew working in Bobi and are trying to get it ready to open at the beginning of the year.  The school year here starts in January.  Genius!  After the tour, and hanging out at the compound, we packed beans, rice, and posho.  It was a fun way to have everyone working together!  Pairing up in to teams, counting in Acoli, and laughing as we "turned white" from the Posho!

After packing the food, the truck went ahead to the delivery area, and we stopped in to greet the moms of the Tabitha project.  That was a really neat experience, because I have ended up working with a bunch of their stuff.  They made the crosses that I was looking over and taking inventory of.  It was exciting to see their names and know their faces!  For more information on the Tabitha project go to villageofhopeuganda.com it's an incredible ministry!

After the Tabitha Project, we headed over to one of the IDP camps to hand out the food we had packed.  This is where I had the hard time.

We arrived and the kids sang a few songs for us.  It was really neat.  We passed out food and then visited with the kids.  A lot of these kids, from what I understand, are the caretakers of their families.  They are so young, with great responsibility.

It was so neat to pass out food, that I started taking pictures.  This is really where I became ashamed.  I realized that I was taking pictures of these kids who are trying to provide for their families, and I was using it more as a photo op than a ministry.  After we handed out the food I tried to visit with the kids, but no one would really talk to me.  I can't help but think it's because I put them down.  I was so concerned about the pictures that would look so great to show people, that I put that above their lives.  It made me sad to realize that.  I almost deleted all of the pictures, but I decided that those pictures are a part of my story, and part of my growing process, so I will keep them.  But from here on out...people first, pictures last.

On the way home our van broke down, making us all pile into a small car to get home.  I call that team bonding!  I'm pretty sure that I was the only one who enjoyed that part of the journey.  Everything is an adventure!

All in all it was a good day, but it was not my favorite by any means.  I did learn, and I did grow, and so not all is lost.

To end on a good note, I did see the Nile River for the first time!

Here are some pictures.  Some I am proud of, and some I am not, but that's the way life goes.

The Nile River

Monkeys on the side of the road

Sesame Seeds

Working at finishing one of the homes

Filling bags of rice, beans, and posho

Davinci, the son of Monica, one of the woman from the Tabitha project

The children singing to us

Handing out food.  Just looking at this picture makes my heart hurt.

The sunset on the drive home.  Reminder that tomorrow is a new day.  I am a changed person.  I am forgiven, loved, and am a new creation.  There is hope for tomorrow!