These pictures are from the girls' night I mentioned in the last post. Lou and I hosted all the uni. girls in our Bible study plus some other friends. You can see how "snug" we were in Lou's living room sitting on a mattress covered, concrete floor about to watch a movie and litter the floor with popcorn and gnuts (like peanuts but diff) that didn't make it in our mouths. That was fun and relaxing for the girls who had just finished exams that day. I know the feeling. During the movie, one of the girls they call Tez gave me her earrings after feeling my earlobes to determine if they were pierced. At least that's what I thought she was doing..kind of weird having someone feeling your earlobes. But I appreciated the gift. Here she is.



You can even see some of the spread in this next photo. We made nachos by cutting chapatis and baking them in a borrowed oven. I made salsa that was polished off before I tasted it. We had guacamole, the amazing juice, pasta with red and white sauces, and bread. We even had cheese! Anything that requires being kept cold is a luxury for Lou and me as we have no fridge so it must all be eaten quickly or go to waste. House-sitting for the other missionary families has been really nice in that regard. Oh, and I must say that the word "guacamole" was the funniest thing to Ugandan girls.



That was only some of us squeezed around the tables in my living room. The next photo is a funny one of Ruth and me trying out my new mattress. When I moved in, the mattress was sunken and didn't fit the width of the bed frame. So, I finally bit the bullet and bought a new one, and I haven't regretted it at all. No more trying to lay on the edge of the bed as to avoid the compressed foam in the middle. Plus, I can successfully tuck in my mosquito net now. Yay for new mattresses! I got 5000 USH off the price because of knowing the store's employee. The cost was 85000 USH (to est. USD divide by 2000).



Ruth makes me laugh, and I thinks it's reciprocal. She teaches Lou, Lucy, and me Oranyankore. That's the language here in Mbarara district and beyond. She also helps with laundry and cleaning. She's such a big help. Ever tried to hand wash a couple loads of laundry in small basins? My wrists and muscles used to wring out the water were sore afterwards. So I will gladly pay her to wash my "clothe-ES" as she says. She is saving money to go to school for a business management degree. She is an orphan, but you'd never guess by taking one glance at her warm smile.

Lows and Highs

Not too long after I arrived and began settling in my place, I noted in my journal that missionaries must be crazy people. We leave behind all that is familiar and all whom we love to trek across the world (usually) in order to love a people about whom we have no idea. The people, the culture, and the norms are different. We want to be the love of Christ, but expressing love in another language is a challenge. We are juxtaposed in between the realization that our way of doing and living is not the best way, yet we often miss our comfortable and habitual ways.

In addition, there are preconceived notions of how we mzungus act, at least here in Mbarara. Many westerners stay here for short lengths of time, living as they please just for an "experience." As an agent of the gospel, I am called to live higher-for Christ's purposes and my pleasure in those purposes. Am I treating Ugandans like any other Westerner? Do they see me the same way? Am I just like a celebrity to these kids and even adults who yell "Mzungu" at me to get my attention?

There are days I when I wonder...not why I'm here (because I am certain God has called me here) but what on earth am I doing while I'm here. I mean, it's hard to see how one is useful when one scrutinizes oneself. It's easy for an evangelist like Billy Graham or even anyone working "in ministry" (by that I mean obviously in a church) to come home and know he or she has proclaimed the gospel. It's much harder for someone like me working dually as a minister of God's grace to the weak and weary along with a job in the hospital. I feel sometimes like I'm an undercover agent for God. I shouldn't feel like this. Why is it so hard to integrate my speech about Christ when I'm stretching the legs of a person with paraplegia? Well, I think I can give one answer among many...(1) the language barrier. When I can't speak in the vernacular about God and my patient doesn't know English, all I can do is demonstrate his love.

It's funny how dreams may reveal the subconscious. I used to have a recurring theme of being in the U.S. with anxiety about returning to Uganda by a certain date, without being to recall ever flying home. Or there's the one where I may not graduate for missing a biology senior course for 2 semesters while I'm in Uganda. I have graduated in real time, so I have no idea what that's about.

As Christmas nears, I'm missing the festive holiday season. From what I've learned, Ugandans do celebrate Christmas on the day of and maybe the day before. They stuff themselves with all the foods they normally eat and even the ones they can't normally afford (like meat, especially chicken which is pricier than beef). Families get together in the villages they come from. Even bus tickets going away from the city double in price at Christmas just because the company can't lose the profit from an empty bus headed back to Kampala. As far as decorations, some do the interior of their houses, but seeing a home or business's exterior lit up with lights is something I haven't experienced here.

I just read a beautiful email from my sister. It even brought me misty eyes. It's such a trap to think I'm self-sufficient. She unknowingly reminded me of the blessings of encouragement.

Last night I went to sleep around 4 a.m., which is the latest I've been up here. Lou and I had a fun party and squeezed about 20 girls into our houses, mine for the meal and hers for the movie(s). It was a blast but I didn't relax from being a hostess until movie time--then I enjoyed myself. See Lou's blog for more about the evening. Most of the girls study at the university and attend a book/Bible study with us. Two girls, Viki and Diana, really helped us with planning and shopping in town and even setting up. The juice they made was, as Susan Boyett called it, "amazing juice" (all fresh from passionfruit, pineapple, oranges, mangoes, papayas, etc.). Besides the juice, my other highlights of the evening were hearing them all laugh out loud at the movie and taking a group pic.

Trip to Ssese Islands

These are my Congolese friends who stay on the Islands. Their names are Noella and Joshua. Noella got her name because she was born on Christmas day. I think it's so cool how children are named. Basically, everyone has two given names, usually one is African in nature and the other English but not always. The children in Western Uganda close to Congo may have a name that means "first-born girl." There is a name given to the second-born, third, fourth, etc. all the way to at least eighth. The names are different for boys and for girls. So practically, a school teacher could call one name and many kids could answer to it! But it does give family history on first meeting.

Anyway back to the Islands of the Kalangala District of Lake Victoria, Uganda. If I can rightly recall, there are about 84 islands of all shapes and sizes dotted with some fishing camps/villages. I stayed on a bit of privately leased land.

The boat ride out was so misty that I couldn't find the horizon. See the mattress I slept on?

When we finally arrived, we were greeted by the father of the kids above, Damean. He was wearing a Wheaton Thunder football tee shirt (and I really wanted to take his picture for Chelsea, my sister, who goes there). He and his wife helped us unload and carry our bundles across to the other side of the island. Deep inland of the island was just as I would imagine the rainforests of Congo to look. There were incredible redwood trees surrounded by lush green foliage.

I was out on the island for a community-based volunteer (CBV) training course, the third of three. I was thankful to have a chance to see what other AIM missionaries are doing in community healthcare here in Uganda. Thanks to Deb for allowing me to tag along.

Each of the 14 CBVs is elected from the post-test club of the fishing camp where he or she lives. This reinforces the already existing structure of post-HIV test clubs that the government requires. Not only that, but the CBVs are respected leaders among their communities, and I could definitely sense that from this group. I was so encourage to see them interact and participate in discussions during the training sessions. These individuals really care about improving their communities and the lives of people they know.

I will have to type a second installment for this experience later, as I'm beginning to fatigue of the computer. sorry

Net Access

So, Lou and I got the net at our place! It's a wireless USB that holds a sim card. In celebration, I'm posting the first photo on this blog. Meet Lou. We were about to eat breakfast outside a hostel in Kampala.