8 Months in Uganda

Count your blessings

2010-07-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

If anyone still reads this.... this is for you.

God has blessed me so much in the past few months. There's really not enough time to recount his blessings, and I should hit the sack since I actually have to get up early to drop my roomie off at work tomorrow (ah the life of sleeping in and having no schedule). I apologize for not posting earlier, but I don't regret not posting and justify it due to the personal nature of my journey and growth. Being in Tennessee with my parents and brother and pets and garden and cows across the street has been wonderfully rejuvenating and restorative. Working at the urgent care/family practice clinic as a scribe was enlightening and informative. It gave me motivation and purpose. I mean, God created work before the fall, so of course it has a purpose in our lives. Think of the proverb that says something to this effect: Look to the ant, you sluggard! lol

I had the best counselor and can really look back and see the distance I've come. This journey is certainly being incorporated into my testimony, but the story isn't over yet--which is a reason why I haven't released details to many people. Eventually, though, I can see me sharing this story to the benefit of others and the glory of God. There are so many things I have learned. I'll leave you with one: I have only the energy God has given me for today--not for tomorrow or next week.

My first year as a medical student begins with orientation Aug 5th and with classes Aug. 16th. I have a great M2 (second-year) buddy who gave me some great advice to avoid complaining about studying. I want to enjoy every minute of it and learn as much as I can to be the best doctor out there.

Here's a blessing list:
1) I'm getting a relatively new Dell 1440 laptop for FREE from a generous friend in TN (saving me the leftover mission funds)
2) My M2 buddy just lent me 12 books for school! (think $$$ textbooks)
3) I have a great roommate who's also a great friend.
4) We have a nice apartment (aka "flat") really close to the pool, tennis courts, and laundry facilities.
5) fast internet
6) a super family that I love love love
7) special extra time I've had with my parents and brother
8) extra knowledge of UTIs, broken bones, and medicines and other useful facts I've gleaned from work
9) a beautiful and loving dog I call Meg
10) a FREE dining table with 6 chairs
11) a visit with my friend who's going back to Malawi
12) experiencing love the way God desires to express it to a daughter of the King all the time at the Emmaus Walk #75 of the Cumberlands (De Colores!)
and etc.

Praise God who gives so richly and lavishes his love on us!

Just a thought or two...

2010-04-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

Reflection on Lou's last post (since I tried twice to comment):

When the head doctor at Satellite Med where my mom works (and now I do too) found out about what happened, he cried out to God. He asked where God was when this happened to His precious child serving him on the mission field. God condescended to give this reply: I WAS there; I kept her alive.

I know this to be true. I've never prayed harder in my life as I did that night. He kept me calm and gave me the fight I needed. I don't know what his purposes are with regards to this....but I'm banking on the fact that he is God. His purposes are so much bigger than me. If I have to sacrifice...a lot...for his global redemption of peoples of every nation, if I have to realize he accomplishes his purposes without my help..., if I have to lose many valuable and intangible parts of me for his greater good, then I have no choice but to say, Yes, Lord.

Real friends send packages... :)

2010-03-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

This is Amy and me at Opry Mills. She's such a great friend to come visit the week after I arrived. Unfortunately for her, I was still so jet-lagged.

She'd mailed me a package that arrived in Uganda a few days after I left, so one of the ladies at AIM was kind enough to bring it in a suitcase and repackage/mail it back once she was in the U.S. It would've been fun to get this in Uganda, but it was especially meaningful now. I wonder if my big Christmas box from my family will EVER arrive in Mbarara. My mom spent way too much money on that.

So, I'm working now as a scribe at an urgent care/family practice clinic. Scribes input information into the computer chart system for the provider (doctor or NP) during the Hx and exam. I also fax prescriptions to pharmacies, order lab or x-rays, and put in billing info (per provider orders). I'm learning to connect generic medicine names with the frequently heard-of names and to correlate those drugs with the diagnosis of the patient. I'm also learning medical lingo, such as cerumen impaction, which means wax-stuffed ear canal. My favorite term is nevus--what a funny word for a mole!

Puppy pictures!

2010-03-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

Meg sure is getting bigger and bigger. What a cutie. She's a pretty quiet dog, too, except when she growls.

That's a yawn.

It's like she's tired of me taking pictures of her.

Back in the U.S.

2010-02-20T06:34:00.000-08:00

Newsflash:

I'm back in the U.S. That's my new puppy above. Her name is Meg. She's a mix between Great Pyrenees and Commondore. She will be BIG when she grows up. Here's what I sent to supporters:

Dear friends, family, and supporters,

You deserve to know that I am no longer on the field in Uganda. An emergency arose last week which required my immediate evacuation. There is no intention for me to return to Uganda because of the trauma I experienced. While the original plan was for me to come home in May, this is the new plan. Thankfully, I returned safely to my family in Tennessee, where I'll stay until moving to start medical school in August.

Though I planned to be there eight months, God only needed half that time to accomplish what he willed. I'm reminded of Proverbs 16:9: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." It is difficult for me to convey to you how I ministered there, as I was unaware of how God was using me in the lives of those I loved. From the testimonies of my fellow teammates, I'm realizing that my ministry supported the long-term work in Mbarara many times over what I could have imagined.

I look forward to sharing with you about the ministries that I was blessed to be a part of in Uganda. I may be making a trip to Mississippi in late February, so I hope to see you then!

My attention span is short and I need to get to the posta before it closes, so I'll put more up later. But I do say AMEN to all the scripture posted on my friend's blog (which isn't allowing me to comment). See Psalm 121..Ecclesiastes..oh just go read it on "Go therefore"

God has a way, and I have a challenge

2010-02-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

Every Tuesday night, the missionary team with AIM in Mbarara (plus some adopted missionaries) has a dinner and team meeting. Usually we share some business and prayer requests. We generally laugh and sometimes cry together as we share stories of the goings-on. During the prayer time, when I manage to focus on the prayer and even God instead of myself, I often get choked up in response to the Spirit moving through someone's words.

Tonight, I was moved by a prayer about how God gets things done when we think there is no possible way to resolve a situation. This was a referral to the destruction of about half the hospital wards in preparation for a new and expanded facility (with a few stories even). The memo for relocated the affected wards, inc. TB, Emergency, and Burns wards as well as the Radiology dept. designated the places where to move (or "shift" as they say here). However, beside the list for Orthotic Workshop (which serves for 10 districts in Uganda) and Physiotherapy were these words: "To be determined after consult with the contractors."

Haha! All I can do is laugh, since the contractors have no idea and just go back to the hospital administration, who wrote the memo. Now these departments (or ministries of health--MOH) are not actual buildings. They are "containers" bought and placed by Italians. The physio dept. will get a space in the new facility, but the orthotic workshop cannot; it has large and heavy equipment that would vibrate the floors and walls and crack concrete ones after some time. So there's no space for any of us in the meantime--meaning no outpatient physio for a year likely and no workshop at all once demolished.

We've done inventory in our dept. so are ready for a move when we know where to go. Otherwise we've been literally watching ourselves get fenced in by the construction while the wards beside us are hammered and chiseled to bits.

Now, thankfully, God has worked by mobilizing the Ugandan association for the disabled to raise concern and funding for our reallocation. It's a grassroots movement! They got the Minister of Disability (or something to that effect) to chat with the Minister of Health about this. When we are helpless, we have the Helper.

Which really is how I feel many times in the hospital: helpless. I have a mental struggle between the positive benefit of me coming as a learner and the wearing feeling of not having the knowledge to really DO something, medically, for these patients who tug at my heart when no one seems to pay them attention.

See, coming in as a learner, not as an expert, is a key for transformational development. By asking the nurses to teach me, their confidence in their work gets a major boost. I'm enabling them to show me what they can do (which sometimes may not get done). And I'm bringing attention to needs without telling them what is wrong. In essence, I'm encouraging them to take control and realize they have power to make a difference in their own country. Even Zillah has told me what a change she's seen in Janet, my coworker physio assistant, since I've come. I can't take credit for that--I didn't know it was happening. It's all God's work.

On the other hand, there's a patient vomiting and cool to the touch, but all the physicians on surgical ward are either med students who can't help me or surgeons who are busy in the surgical theatre. Patients in surgical ward may have a doctor look at them once a week as they await surgery, which can be a wait up to months. For instance, the lady whose name sounds like Elevator. She suffered from malicious acid burn and waited over a month for mobilizing surgery before heading to her village for Christmas. She's just come back in January to again wait to move up the list. It's just really frustrating. I have to stop comparing this to what I've known to be the case in America.

Well, I hope these jumbled thoughts strike a chord with you. May God lead you to pray for his ministry at the hospital in Mbarara--from the physiotherapy work Zillah and I do to the HIV testing and lab work Lou does. I'm challenging you to think of someone besides yourself and say a prayer for him or her every day for the next week. Let me know how it goes--that is, if you are willing to accept the challenge.

Much love from Mbarara, from your sister in Christ, Lindsey

Quick (or not so quick) note

2010-01-01T12:57:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!! Someone mentioned that we are starting a new decade. I hadn't even thought about it that way. It seems pretty natural to be 2010.

Yes, I have many things to say about my holiday season. Unfortunately, I have to be up tomorrow decorating for the women's conference put on by Life Ministries (aka Campus Crusade in Uganda). Actually, I rent my living quarters from the family who work with LM. So the wife will likely call me early in the a.m. to make sure I'm ready to help. She called me at 7:00 this morning (when I only went to bed at 2). Once she called at 6:30 to invite me to breakfast. Oh well, I know doctors are called at all hours.

Christmas Day I spent with a beautiful Ugandan family. Rev. Charles M teaches at Uganda Bible Institute, and Lou and I met him during our homestay at his friend Johnson's house. When he learned of my studies and interests, he decided I should meet his eldest daughter Shelia. She's aspiring to be a neurosurgeon (!!) and also loves music. She's a great singer. In fact the whole family sings. Charles and his wife Escovia have 4 children--3 girls and 1 boy on the end--and are expecting another very soon.

Anyway, I arrived at their house by 9:30 Christmas morning and traveled to the village to hear Charles preach in the church of his childhood. We arrived there at maybe 10:30 and didn't head back for lunch until maybe 2:30. Going to a village church is a whole-day affair.

The 27th, I went on holiday (or vacation) with two other girls. We camped in Fort Portal. We saw many rare birds like turacos and hornbills, many monkeys, caves, waterfalls, hot springs, the northern foothills of the Rwenzori mountain range, and even the Semliki River that borders Congo. New Year's Eve, we biked around crater lakes and to some falls with a guide. That was supposed to be a 3 hour mtn biking excursion but it became a 4.5 hour marathon. Even the guide admitted he was tired. The whole way back was uphill. Whew, I'm out of shape but add the elevation, heat, and terrible roads to that and you get a bad combination. I have scars to prove it. But afterwards we cooled off with a swim in a crater lake.

That night, after returning to Mbarara, we joined a party at the New Zealander's (Kiwi) house. Everyone enjoyed playing the animal game and a similar one called signs. On their front porch, we watched fireworks set off by the Lakeview Hotel down below.

2009-12-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-12T02:48:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-07T13:00:00.001-08:00

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.

house-sitting with mikey

2009-11-29T10:54:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

I'm house-sitting for the Skinners with Lou, watching her attempt to win the affections of their timid kitten Mikey. Ruth, our language teacher and helper, calls him "Mi-KEY" which sounds like she's asking where her key is. That cat is afraid of me, perhaps because Thanksgiving Day they locked him in the sick room with me and Jill. That's unusual for a cat not to like me--usually it is the reverse.

Yes, I was sick on Thanksgiving (well the day we celebrated it here) so I missed out on all the good food. It reminded me of having my tonsils out in 6th grade during Thanksgiving. I was so desperate for turkey and stuffing that my family blended some into a baby food consistency...mmmm. So, now I'm hoping for an enjoyable Christmas. However, it seems everyone disappears from the city at Christmas to be with family in the villages. Apparently, even the hospital is pretty empty. I think I can count on the Mzungus (foreigners like me) to stick around.

The first two weeks after I arrived and after my homestay, I didn't have any obligations, which was really nice. That meant I had a language lesson in Orunyankole with Ruth, Lou, and Lucy basically every day. Unfortunately, once I started working at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) hospital, I haven't had but one lesson. Still, I'm using my greetings with the outpatients at the physio dept., who do their best to help teach me. Without writing it down, I forget the new words.

It means so much to these people to speak in their vernacular language. They love it when I try, and they love to help me. They even tell me that I know Runyankole, when I've only just said good morning, or how did you sleep. From reading a great book called Friendship Across Cultures, this is so unlike how we Westerners in the U.S. treat those who don't know English. We criticize poor grammar and incorrect syllabic emphasis. We certainly wouldn't tell someone they know English when he or she only speaks a few greetings haltingly. I'm convicted...are you?

Homestay

2009-11-08T10:04:00.000-08:00

From Oct 8:

Tonight is my second night with a Ugandan family in the village. A caravan of missionaries on the Mbarara team took Lou and I out to this beautiful rolling African countryside. Earlier, at the team meeting, they all tried to give us a picture of what to expect from a homestay. Mike, our team leader, is a very good friend to Johnson and felt that, as a father of daughters our age, he could entrust us to this family.

Believe me, we are safe and stuffed. My belly is happily full of food. Usually when I'm this stuffed, I regret eating so much because of the discomfort. Surprisingly, that isn't so now. It seems every time we eat, there is a feast: matoke, beans, g-nut sauce, millet bread, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, cabbage, eggplant that is small and round, and green beans, and I think that's it. Oh, except tonight we had beef, too. At lunch we also had matoke (baked plantains, a staple here) and millet. Between lunch and dinner, we snacked on sugar cane Joy bought at the market, enjoyed tea with a banana and jam and bread. \even after dinner, we drank more tea. African tea is steeped in hot, whole milk. When we finished tea, it was past 10p. That means dinner must have begun about 8:30 or 9. Breakfast consists of the same spread as tea time: bananas (bogoya), bread, butter, jam, honey peanut butter, tea or hot chocolate.

Oct. 10th:

It is 5:40 a.am., and this is the second morning my bladder has woken me. It is rather an inconvenience, because there is no indoor plumbing at Rev. Johnson's house. I definitely take toilets for granted in the States. Instead of the sound of a flushing bowl, everyone in the house can hear me creak open the locked metal door as the iron bar screeches through the sliding hinges. Whew! Once unlocked, the bottom of it scratches against the concrete stairs as it swings open. After all that resounding noise (note concrete walls and floor means you hear a lot), I'm free! Free to take my "torch" (aka for us from the U.S. that's a flashlight) to guide me to the right of the kitchen, past the drying racks for dishes, and to the outhouse. These wooden doors don't make any sound. Inside the cubicle is bare concrete, except for two foot-boards on either side of a narrow slit in the floor. That is the challenge. For a man, maybe it's not, but for a woman...
(Note: I later realized the reason Joy gave me a a plastic basin in my room--for those needs exactly)

Oct. 11:

Although you have been forsaken and hated,
With no one traveling through,
I will make you...the joy of all generations.
You will drink the milk of nations
and be nursed at royal breasts
Isaiah 60:15-16

This morning was the usually early morning after all the tea from the previous night. Once I was outside, though, I saw they were milking the cows, so I walked down to watch. One man held a bucket and pulled in a consistent rhythm. But before milking, he tied the hind legs together with a braided rope and allowed the calf to nurse a bit. After a few seconds, someone yanked the calf away. Once the man filled the bucket with frothy cream, the calf could nurse. When I first arrived, there was a small black calf tied up out of the pen making all sorts of disgruntled noise. Then the mother, who couldn't see the calf over the living fence but could it its whining, shuddered and belted out a loud "MOO." They were the last pair to milk and nurse. The cows are milked twice a day, morning and evening.

Last night, Rev. Johnson told us some exciting news. Having already given Lou a Runyankole name Mbabazi, meaning one who is kind, he had promised me a name. Last night , he named me Mugisha, meaning a blessing. He shared how blessed he and Joy are to have us in their home and how much they have enjoyed us being here. From the way Johnson shared from his heart, it would seem to an outsider that we had hosted him! The exciting news is that since we came, two of their cows gave birth. Now they have two heifers! God has blessed them indeed, as cows are prized possessions for Runyankole people. Ankole cows are beautiful creatures with long horns. They give sweet milk. I am praising the Lord for answering my prayer. When I was coming, I asked God to bless this family for showing us hospitality and patience. And he did! He has affirmed the power of prayer in my mind, and I know this is just the beginning of my time here.

Some highlights from the last month

2009-11-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

On October 1st, while waiting in the airport in Heathrow to meet Lou, I wrote the following:

God is so good that he sent me a friend-for-a-moment, just when I was feeling lonely. I don't even know his name. He is waiting for his passenger, and he is a driver. He let me use his phone to call Lou. Now I just spoke with some other British drivers about whether Americans eat the innards, or offal, of any animal. Well, I told them that yes, we do. Southerners, especially the African Americans, fry pigs' intestines and call it "chitlins." That was something new to them. The hoary-haired gentleman made me promise to try a new dish: lamb's liver smothered in onions, gravy, and mashed potatoes (Think Brit accent and smile ;)

Oct. 3rd.:

We watched the film The Gods Must Be Crazy 2 tonight after supper at Matoke Inn (between Kampala and Entebbe). Lou and I had orientation today. A Ugandan girl named Jessica came to help us understand cultural differences in expectations of men and women and those relationships. I will learn--if one thing at all--to say NO in Africa. People here don't have any qualms asking for things or for you to do things or even to marry them. HA! But most Ugandans aren't blunt and they don't say exactly what they mean. Tactfulness will be useful...

Oct. 6th:

Today was the journey west and south to Mbarara at last! Lou and I rose about 5:45 to ready ourselves for 6:30 departure. I haven't gotten up that early since tennis practice! Phyl (the innkeeper at Matoke), who I would have never guessed, not only came to sit with us at breakfast but also read us the Bible story of Martha and Mary. She lovingly cautioned us against becoming too busy in a few weeks that we forget to come and sit at the LORD's feet. That, I think, was the best part of my day.
...
The ride on the post bus to Mbarara took over 5 hours. The fact that the bus wasn't crowded made it comfortable, and I wearily droned in and out of sleep as we left the outskirts of Kampala. Lou and I were both so tired, even though we went to bed by 10p. We stopped occasionally due to road work, even detouring on a red, wet dirt road to avoid the culvert being installed. Fairly frequently the large potholes would jolt the bus, sending all in the rear of it up off our bottoms for a millisecond. That widened my eyes to see the pages of the book I was, at times, pretending to read, but I was actually incoherent. The temperature was almost too warm except when the windows were open beside me, but as soon as we sped up and I closed it to just a crack, the guy in front of me latched it shut.

The burn mark on the back of my leg is starting to bubble. I hope it doesn't break and tear during the night like it did last night. It doesn't hurt until it tears. It's from the boda-boda. Karen, the AIM short-term coordinator for the central region, had just warned us to be careful how we hold ourselves on those motorcycle taxis. It figures that I would burn myself before I even got on.

New blog..a long time coming

2009-11-05T07:10:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I have taken so long to set this up. Now I have only 7 months in Uganda. I have been journaling so sometime I will transfer some of that from this past month here for you to read. Thanks so much for the support! I have to walk home now, b/c I see a rain cloud coming up. This is the rainy season and so far there has not been one day that I know of when it hasn't rained.

Much love,
Lindsey