Dark brown heavy linen fabric for the body, black yarn looped atop the head for hair, a sleepy face drawn on one side and a happy face drawn on the other. Pretty dresses made from Rick’s shirts with cute button accents. Matching ribbons in their hair and on their dresses add some flair.
The saga of the dollies continues; a box full is held in jail at the Kampala post office. What a day of rejoicing...
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sewing Machines for Bugiri
Kyamagemule was the first group to receive sewing machines and Karamoja was the second group. Now Bugiri has four machines and the women were eager to express their enthusiasm. Just three weeks ago they received the foot pedal operated machines and in that time they’ve demonstrated how serious they are about being certain the gift is well managed.
They began by arranging for a professional tailor...
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Kitodha Mercy Women
The melodious voices of the Kitodha women welcomed us in the ceremonial way that seems to be customary to Ugandans in the bush. They clapped and danced and sang until we finally moved to another part of the beautifully manicured lawn. Henry and Lauren delivered four sewing machines to the group just three weeks earlier so the two were recognized and we were all welcomed. Each time we visit a bush...
Mercy Uganda Expands to Bugiri
Receiving the International NGO status means that Mercy Uganda must demonstrate a substantive presence in all districts of Uganda, particularly during the first year of operation. At that time the government will review our progress to see that we are fulfilling the requirements assigned under that standard. As a result, we’re expanding our child sponsorship and other ministry efforts into many districts...
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Aisha's Story
“700 each,” the taxi man said. That white tax almost cost both Lauren and me an extra 200 shillings for the ride. We hopped off at the top of the big hill on Entebbe road and up, up, up we climbed over the recently rained upon but not too slick dirt road. Sweat dripped down my back…and a few other places. Rain came down this morning for hours. Lauren commented that as soon as I wanted to go somewhere...
Harriet's Story
A beautiful smile adorned the face of one lovely young mother who sat next to me in church. She looked familiar and I treated her that way, but I later learned that she is a new Christian and has been coming to Calvary Chapel Namulanda for only a few weeks. I’ve never met her. Whoops.
The special luncheon following the service was delectable. Matoke, rice, gee-nut sauce, beef, and cabbage filled the plates beyond recognition. This young woman served me and then asked to come to my home for a...
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Bujagali Falls
Rain did indeed fall, although not heavily, and mixed with the red clay dust just enough to make the unpaved roads super slick. Our trusty driver, Gabriel, successfully navigated the car to the entrance of Bujagali Falls where as a standard I was charged more for entry than the dark-skinned people were charged. Although here the higher fare is posted.
We parked the car almost immediately to...
Christmas Dinner
Kesega is the hometown of these young men and following the church service we were invited to Augustine’s home for Christmas dinner. We relaxed in the shade of the straw-covered hut, although the day was cloudy with a chance of rain. A calf visited our small enclosure as did a chicken and a child or two.
Joel cut up my favorite Ugandan food – pineapple – while Augustine’s mother...
Kesega
This little guy watched me through the
doorway all through the service.
Recent graduates of Calvary Chapel School of Ministry, Augustine and Joel are planting a church in Busoga. On Christmas day, however, we found the nearly inseparable pair at Calvary Chapel in Kesega—a remote village north of Jinja. Busoga is on the opposite bank of the Nile which causes a financial burden to those wishing...
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Eve Dinner
A mattress, mosquito net, and some rice were the Christmas gifts sent by Olivia’s sponsor (not my friend’s Olivia, a different one). The family invited us into their home and I continue to be surprised at how neat and clean the homes always are – given the dirt floor and mud walls. Commonly the family has a wood chair or two, but most have hand-woven mats for sitting on the ground. Kick off your...
Kyamagemule Well Update
Swosh, swosh, swosh. The girls were riding the pump handle up and down as the water swoshed a steady stream to fill the jerry cans. Cool, clean water. They’re so thankful for the well installed in Kyamagemule this past September by some generous donors to Mercy Uganda.
...
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas Delivery: Rovinsa and Millie
Dolls. These girls are absolute dolls. Rovinsa and Millie live together, although they’re not sisters. We had the opportunity to visit with these Mercy Uganda sponsored children who are on holiday from Covenant Junior School in Kyamagemule. Lauren conducted an interview of each child to help Mercy Uganda and their sp
onsors ensure she is well cared-for. I was given the gift of delivering Christmas...
Christmas Delivery: David and Michach
A beautiful arbor of bougainvillea shaded the bench we used while interviewing David and Michach. Their mother and younger sister sat on a hand-made mat covering the hard-packed earth and looked on. The boys had been playing somewhere and were covered with dirt and out of breath when they came running to greet us.
The two stood obediently and patiently before Lauren and Martin (the Covenant...
Kyamagemule Roads
Scrape, scratch, thunk. Kyamagemule roads have not changed since the first trip or the second trip. This time, though, we made the journey in a standard-carriage car that scraped along a good portion of the dirt road. The first two-and-a-half hours of the drive were on tarmac. But Gabriel skillfully navigated the treacherous, gully-ridden, rock-infested hills in the hour-and-a-half-long drive...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Kawuku Market
The plan was to go to the market after Olivia’s tutoring session, but Gabriel was called away at the last minute. He charged Lauren and I to go together (i.e., don’t let Leslie go alone) to pick up the few items needed for some sponsored children in Kyamagemule, a trip we’ll make tomorrow. Mattress, mosquito nets, and rice. While we’re there I thought of getting some food for lunch, dinner, and tomorrow’s breakfast – potatoes, carrots, and pineapple.
Lauren was hungry too. I know because she...
Wet Season
A sudden chill at 4:00 a.m. compelled me to cover up with the small Turkish Airlines blanket used during my last trip to nap in the airport. There are no open windows in my room so I didn’t associate the chill with anything special. Moments later all the water in the world was unleashed atop our thin metal roof. In the pitch black of my room, I dozed to that constant drone. A quick snap of thunder jolted me and the neighbor’s car alarm awake. Occasional rumbles in the background lulled me back...
Job Hunting Advice
We lunched at a nearby restaurant before heading home where I reminded Ronnie that he is loved, God has not forgotten him, and that he is important and special and valuable. Being discouraged during the job hunting process is not uncommon.
I shared some tough advice with Ronnie too. We sometimes have to adjust our opinion of our capabilities in light of the larger pool of job candidates so that we are more likely to actually be considered for a job. Although Ronnie and I are both confident...
Job Hunting
Walk to Entebbe road, bus-taxi into Entebbe, car-taxi to the airport. Ronnie had identified a few target companies for application before he picked me up that morning. We walked into his first target only to learn that they are not hiring. The aviation organization was larger, which meant that having a personal conversation with the Human Resources manager was not going to happen, although we did...
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Job Application
After practicing some interviewing skills together, we’ll begin the door-to-door application for jobs that Ronnie has scoped out in advance. At one location he reported having seen the piles of CVs separated into two stacks. When asking the security guard why there were two piles he learned, not surprisingly, that one pile was for those applicants who: (a) already worked there, (b) knew someone who worked there, or (c) had a sponsor.
During the job application process—an application appears...
Curriculum Vitae
Apart from a good education and a strong work ethic, the process of securing employment often begins with a well-written, well-organized resume. Yet even the most accomplished writers struggle to develop a document that rightly describes their education and experience in a way that compels potential employers to invite them for an interview.
Ronnie and I worked to develop his curriculum vitae (CV)—a more commonly used term in Uganda than the term resume—in preparation for the job hunting we’ll...
Monday, December 20, 2010
Christmas Delivery: Olivia
Before leaving the States I offered to deliver Christmas gifts to the children sponsored through Mercy Uganda. Delivering presents to the children here is always a privilege. I suggested a very small flat rate box size (5-3/8” x 8-5/8” x 1-5/8”) and then I gulped when I thought about the actual volume and weight associated with the potential for 30+ gifts.
Before plunking a box the size of...
Two-mile Trail
Look to the left, look to the right, look to the left, look to the right. The cars are driving on the wrong side of the road so what I see doesn’t make sense in my head. With conscious effort I begin to anticipate traffic flow; but then a boda drives by going the new wrong way, then a bike. The normally narrow space needed to trot across a busy road must double or even triple. Luckily that amount...
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Market Day
Colorful, plastic tarps cover the mostly dry and very dusty ground. These tarps conveniently mark the spot where one vendor starts and the next one ends. The narrow and surprisingly irregular footpaths that remain often produce an inadvertent scuff to the merchandise as shoppers shimmy past one another. As a result, the path is unavoidably littered with stray fruits and vegetables that recently escaped their assigned positions.
Irishes (potatoes), carrots, avocados, and other similarly stackable...
Bubble Chasers
A gentle whisper produces a single, round form. A steady puff generates many clusters of irregular shapes. The rainbow colors never fail to appear in the bright, overhead sunlight. The slight breeze carries the fragile structures in all directions. First low—some too heavy—then high. Their walls thin and they eventually pop.
Children look on in amazement. What is this? Five repetitions, ten...
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