Sunday…A Day of Rest…Well, Sort Of

(I just noticed that I didn't get this posted yesterday....too busy) Our day has mostly involved being at the church today. Man…these people really know how to worship. I could see that Heather was a little spooked at the shouting and the raising of hands. This is truly the highest form of Pentecostal that I have ever seen! I am used to it since I have been preaching here for the past two years. But, it can be strange for someone who has never been around people speaking in tongues. During the altar call, a girl came forward and there appeared to be an exorcism going on. We were in the back so it was hard to see what was happening, but there was a whole lot of shrieking going on. There were 15 people who accepted Christ after the second service. It was really a special time. I really enjoy worshipping at this church. The people are so free and they just don’t care who is looking at them and there is no judgment when a person raises his or her hands. After service, we had about two hours before we had to go back. So, we headed to our beloved Internet Café and uploaded our blogs and sat and visited to other people who were in the Café. Justin (the owner who is from Austin) is doing quite well. I think his only issues are with staff showing up on time. The people here really do have a different idea of what time is. When you tell someone to be somewhere at 3:00, it is not unusual at all for some of the folks to show up two hours later. This is tradition…T.I.A. (This is Africa). Heather had a wonderful brownie a la mode while I drank a cup of tea. We have met so many great folks at the Café. A lot of Muzungus (white people) hang out there. I know they love the amenity of a cappuccino/espresso and home made cinnamon rolls. We do! We had the first meeting of the people who want to start the training at Hope For Africa Vocational Training Centre. There was an incredible attendance and we are not going to be able to get all the folks trained right away. The plan is to have two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The students will start with Bible Study, English/Business, and then skill training. It is going to be wonderful. The meeting started at 3:00 and we didn’t finish until nearly 7:00. I gave a mini-sermon on Matthew 25: 34-to the end, which is the parable of the goat and the sheep. This is one of my favorite stories because I love it when Jesus says, “When you have done it to the least of these, you have done it unto me.” I used that parable to remind the men and women that they will be required to tithe from their earnings. I think it is important for them to learn the principle of giving as well as the joy of receiving. I think the blessing is greater in the giving than in the giving. As we left the church, we noticed a thunderstom in the distance making its way to town. It was absolutely beautiful! The sky has a different hue here. The grey is a beautiful dark color that meshes dark blues/black/grey and purple. Lightning was striking all around. People were scurrying to their homes and for shelter and the temperature dropped quickly. It was so enjoyable. Before the storm hit, we had the chance to stop and film a dance troupe practicing their African tribal dances. I insisted that we stop the car and I got out and filmed three of their dances. I would have loved to have known the story behind the dances and I will ask before I leave. The dancing is incredible. The movements are precise, jerky and tell great cultural stories. One of the dances was a hunting ritual…it was almost obvious what they boys and girls were portraying. I could have stayed there all evening. I hope the people here never lose this part of their culture. Tomorrow is a big day. We are going to have one-on-one interviews with each of the people who were at the meeting. We have very strict rules that the students have to follow. I’ll attach a copy of some of the documents that we have finished. I think you will like seeing what we have accomplished. Keep us in mind and in your prayers. We are doing well and we are healthy. We leave on Friday and I hope that we stay like this! Blessings!

Interviews, interviews and MORE interviews

Today was a busy day! We had lots and lots of things to do. It all started when we got to the school to register students. At the end of registration, we had filled out 90 forms for students!!!!! It is remarkable that we might have a chance to make a difference in this many people’s lives. I just hope and pray that we can do what we hope to accomplish. It was an amazing morning talking to women and hearing why they want to come to the school. Some of their stories are very, very sad. We met many girls who have been child soldiers and had babies by many of the officers of the LRA. I met with all the women from the Congo who escaped the conflict there. I worked with all of them because they only know Swahili and we only had one interpreter who spoke that language. It was amazing. We have been invited to Miriam’s house (the interpreter) to hear the women’s stories. I am not sure I really want to hear what they have had to endure, but I know it would make me even more motivated to do this project. We interviewed people until 2:00 in the afternoon. It was a LONG day. Then, we came back and started discussing plans for the school. We sat down and wrote out all the items we need to get started and it comes to about $2,000. I am going to be working on fundraising when we get home. We want to get sponsors for the women and men and we are thinking that $100 would get them through a three-month training period. Most of the women who are coming to the school have children at home and we will need to get some of the widows to come and care for the children. One lady whom I met had eight of her own children and eleven orphans. Can you imagine???? Many, if not most, of the women had at least four children and they were in their mid-twenties. It was a struggle at times not to reach over and hug them for the hardships they have endured. Speaking of hardships…we met a man yesterday who had leprosy. It was awful. And, “No,” we didn’t touch him. But, his skin is rotting away and he had large sores all over his body. Many of his extremities are gone, too. He was sitting in a wheelchair in front of the hotel. I had never seen him before and he didn’t stay very long, but his condition was simply horrifying. Again, this is something that wouldn’t happen where we live. Things like diseases (malaria, measles, leprosy) and other things like hunger, lack of water, and no housing wouldn’t happen in America either. It is hard to face these things. It is hard to know that people live in such squalor. But, I know that this is the way of the world and I can only hope to “matter to this one.” We went to Molly’s shack today to look at beads. I am coming back with another suitcase full of gorgeous necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. I have a marketing theme for them that I think will earn more money from the sale of these beautiful beads. It does seem that the market here is rather saturated with beadmakers. There is a young gal named, “Callie” who has a website business devoted to beads from Gulu. Her business is called, “31 Bits.” I don’t have a clue what that means, but she hires the ladies to make beads and then she buys them and takes them back to sell in the U.S. Personally, I like the way that we do it. We have met a “ton” of Muzungus here! Mostly, we see them at the Internet Café next door. It seems everyone has a “need” for a good cup of coffee. Personally, I do like the instant coffee that we drink, but Heather and I have made it a morning ritual to go to the Café and upload our blog postings. We write them in the room at night and then they are ready to go in the morning. It is a good time to write. We are both usually really tired, but neither of us want to forget what happened each day so writing at night is best. Irene and I sleep in one twin bed and Heather has the other. Deo is downstairs in his own room. We are quite a family! I took some pictures of Irene today with the beads. She is very photogenic. We took some precious pictures of her with the beads. Some are quite fun and a couple are racy…just a bit! But, she had so much fun being photographed and she can really flirt with a camera. I can’t wait for you to see how precious she is. We have seen very little of Pastor Chris since he is with the team from Rock Harbor. I don’t mind, though, because we just do not have time to do much at the church. We have moved everything to the school and so we do not have time or the need to be there. We have made some great friends with the staff that still lingers on at the school. There are still about 20 street boys there and the staff is looking after them. I think we will hire a couple of them when we get the entire facility. And, it looks like that is going to happen sooner than we think. They are giving them a deadline now to leave. I really don’t want to do that to the boys, but we are not in the business to put kids in school. I would love to help them all, especially the young boy I wrote about whose father ruined his hands. God bless him!!! Their teacher, Issa, is going to help us with the English classes and he is excellent with all types of mechanics. So, I think we will being offering basic mechanics soon. He would love to teach a course and I think it would be a great course offering for the school. Deo is not feeling well. He is suffering from malaria. Please remember him in your prayers. Tonight, Heather and I went for dinner and then combed the streets for ice cream. I had an incredible urge for something sweet…it is hard to find sweets here. Both the stores we know about were out of ice cream so it looks like I’ll have to wait until we return to Kampala on Thursday to get some. There is always so much to write about, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. So, I’ll close. It is nearly 10:00 our time…2:00 in the afternoon where you are. We rarely make it past 10:30 because of how long our days are and tonight is not going to be an exception. I have much to do before I leave and little time in which to do it. But, I am always tired at night and in need of rest. We really push ourselves hard here. This is not a trip that just anyone could make and enjoy. The sacrifices are great, but, they are worth every moment of it. I do love it here so much. Good night to one and all. I love you all. Thanks for your prayers! Hugs, Sally

“Peanut, Peanut Butter….and Jelly!!!!!”

I got up this morning and realized that all I had to eat yesterday was two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! We have eaten peanut butter for lunch nearly every day since we arrived. It is easy to put in the car and take to where ever we “land.” Today, I didn’t eat at all until dinner. It was a great day!!! We went to the store and got all the “fixins’” to paint the iron bars on the windows at the school. There are about 20 street children who live at the school and we cannot trust them not to break in and vandalize the building. The one room that we have fixed up is beautiful!!! The walls are cream-colored and we did the trim in a bright yellow (Kristy’s idea.) It is so cheerful. Today, we primed the iron bars and then painted them white. It looks very nice…at least for Africa!? SMILE. I am so proud of what we are doing. While we waited for the primer to dry, I got to work with some of the boys and we filed and sanded the bike. Those guys were awesome!!!! It is funny how little it takes to communicate when people are busy doing the same thing. It was quite “neat” how in sync we were. We got so much done on the bike!!! I had started worrying about getting it sanded, but we spent about six hours on it and it looks great. Tomorrow, we will put another wrap on the bike and let it set. Then, on Monday, we will finish the sanding. I am quite pleased with this effort. The people that we have had to help us really understand what we are doing. There was one boy I want to tell you about. He kind of stood back during the work, but I really didn’t pay attention because I was so busy. At one point, I noticed that his hands were horribly deformed. In fact, I was a little shocked to see so much of what looked like a hand without a hand actually being there. Then, I found out the story. I hope you are sitting down. His name is Simon Peter and he is about 11-years-old now. About five years ago, he was at home and he was quite hungry and so he ate some of the food that was put aside for dinner. Granted, that is certainly not the right thing to do, but what happened next in unthinkable. His own father found out and was livid. So, to teach the boy a lesson, he held the boys two hands over a charcoal fire until his fingers fused. Basically, he has his thumbs and then stumps for the rest of his hands. You can only imagine the grief that I experienced when I heard the story and hugged that little boy. He has a very sad face, but I was told that he can write with a pencil and has some talent for art work. I will be watching after him next week to see what I can tell you more about him. Suffice it to say, this boy should be in all our prayers…he is a REAL victim of the culture here. We did get all the sewing machines put in the room and they look beautiful!!! Molly, our lead instructor, came in and she wept when she saw the room. She just cannot believe how beautiful a room she has to work in. Her home is awful and I hope to put her in one of the rooms with a bed some day. But, that will have to come in time. Another wonderful thing that happened today is that we found an English teacher!!!!!! Isa, whom the kids met when they were here, serves as the English teacher for the boys and he has agreed to teach the women the language. So, he and I will head to the Northern Choice Book Store that our friend, Robert, owns and get the supplies for the ladies on Monday. Everything is coming together so well. I just cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed these past three weeks here in Uganda. I am already starting to grieve coming home, but I do miss my family so much and I need to be there. I love it here very, very much! We have made more good friends with other “Muzungus” (white people) who are here doing mission-type work. There is an incredible group of people on the ground here trying to help the people as they recover from the war. There just aren’t enough of us. But, as we say, what we are doing, “matters to this one.” I am off to try to get some paint and sawdust off my body. I spilled a tin of primer on me and ruined some clothes and shoes. My own regret is that I don’t know if anyone will want them now, although I know there are people who would love to have these worn and very stained clothes in a heartbeat. Good night to you all. I love you. Sally

The Peril called, "Palyec"

I missed getting to write a post yesterday. We were quite busy. “So, what’s new?” you ask! We got up early to drive to the Antonian High School’s adopted village, “Palyec.” It was quite a drive…I must say. I don’t think the pot holes could have been worse. I am certain some of them were one foot deep. It took us much longer than I remember to get there because of those things!!! I am surprised that our rear tire didn’t end up in San Antonio!? The drive, however, is a beautiful one as there are loads of very, very tall palm trees that dot the landscape. I am told they were planted centuries ago when slaves were being moved from Uganda to the Sudan. The slave traffic was quite large there and as the slaves walked, hands shackled, they were given fruits to eat at times and they would throw the pits on the ground. The legend is that those pits grew into the beautiful palm trees that give us such joy. It is sad to think that the beauty from those trees came at the extreme suffering of men and women in Africa. It was such a joy to see Mama Mary, Speaker Martin’s mother. She was so excited to see us and, in typical African style, she pulled her worn and dirty mat from her hut and urged us to make ourselves at home. She is a dear woman and I shall remember her always. The well the kids from Antonian paid for is functioning very, very well there. The tribe has built stick borders around the entire bore hole to allow for order at the well. The women come and put their jerry cans in a line while waiting their turn to fill their cans. Without the fence, there would be chaos and fights would ensue. It is wonderful to know that over 300 people are using this well. I can’t wait for us to get the other two wells in so the entire village is satisfied with enough water. There was sadness there, though. People are starving to death…literally. Last week, four people died from starvation. The problem is that the people have put the seed in the ground, however, it has not yet started to rain and so they have nothing to eat. These are the brave people who chose to leave the IDP camp and move home. The well has done much for them, but they have no food to eat and they are loosing the battle with malnutrition. I am going to the Heifer Project, Inc. on Monday to inquire about a pair of pigs. They have layers and they have some eggs, but the ground is dry. In fact, it is very dry. In town, the city is coming along with trucks to throw water to keep the dust down. The foliage by the side of the roads is actually orange right now because it is so dry. But, we are at the very beginning of the wet season and there should be a lot of rain coming soon. We did stop at the school in the village where we were last March. The people there remembered us and I noticed some kids who were there when we visited. We have spoken to the headmaster and we are going to get some uniforms for the orphans. AEP gave the school some uniforms and that has increased the number of kids coming, but the orphans who cannot pay for a uniform are coming and they don’t have the proper clothing. It is odd, but the school could be shut down if the students do not have uniforms. Our goal is to send Molly to the school and measure those children who need uniforms and find some people who are willing to give $15 for each of them. Please put this in your heart…they need so much help! My heart was very heavy all day thinking about those dear people in Palyec who are dying because they have no food. I just find it so hard to think that we have so much and they have nothing. I am sure that the people of this world do not want these people to die such horrible deaths, but this is such a remote area and it is easy to ignore them. I have to remember my “motto”; “It matters to this one.” Otherwise I know I would go crazy thinking about these people and how sick they are. Think about Mama Mary tonight before you go to bed and say a prayer for rain and food. It really isn’t too much to ask…is it?

Hope for Africa Vocation Training Centre

The time is going by way too quickly. We are busy and we still can’t get everything done in a day. We worked on the bike for most of the day today. We filed and filed and filed…then filed some more. My hands are wrecked…much like they were when Barr and I were in California. What I wouldn’t give for an electric sander and a vice! We have to have someone hold the bike while we use flat files to break down the layers of sisal that has hardener like a rock. We did not even finish because the work is so tedious and the equipment we are using is so crude. I really think we will want to invest in an electric sander and a study vice to help the fellows and gals who make this project become a reality. The boys (Deo and his friend Timothy) went to a camp where a team from California was doing medical mission. These are some of the really forgotten. The way they get water is they have a rock pile and they have it set up such that when it rains, they collect the water and that is how they get the water they need to cook, clean, and bathe! Can you imagine? It is so amazing what people can do when they have nothing to work with. Another thing that they do is they have found a bat cave nearby and they capture the bats and eat them. I cannot imagine the diseases they those animals carry. I am appalled by the way these people live. Heather and I have spent time in our dear friend, Molly’s home. Honestly, our pets who live outside have nicer places to sleep than she. Her place is a make-shift room of aluminum sheets and some concrete. The door is a sheet. She does all the beads in that tiny room and she lives there with her son. It is nothing that any of us have ever experienced. They use kerosene for a lamp at night and, of course, they have no toilet, no running water, and no furniture. These people sleep on the hard ground and wash their clothes in tubs. Interestingly, they are always very clean and properly dressed. I really do not know how they do it. I would love to help Molly get a better place to live. I would like that for all my friends here, but it is not a possibility. This would be an awesome place for Habitat for Humanity!!!!! There is not much more to report for the day. I am having a meeting with the first group of 20 women who will start the school next week. We will meet on Sunday. I am really excited and I believe they are, too. Peace and blessings to all

Update to the update!?

I have really never seen people with such a strong work ethic as the people of northern Uganda. Deo and I left Gulu this morning at 5:00 to drive to Kampala to get the computers that I got from Computer 4 Africa. The roads were already populated by women, in particular, who were walking with jerry cans on their heads either to or from the bore hole. Now THIS is a job that “Americans won’t do.” And, I doubt if there are many illegals that would do this kind of work. I have never seen so many people who work so hard at what they do in order to survive. It was very, very dark but there were people walking on the side of the road to get their water. I just hesitate to think what it would be like if we could not turn on the tap and get water. These folks can spend up to eight hours to fetch water. The women will take their cans to the bore hole and put it in the “queue.” Then, they go back or their children go to the hole to get the can and put it on their heads and carry it back to their huts. Of course, none of us would live in the kind of squalor that these people live in. We would insist on government housing, food stamps, Medicare and so on. These people have none of these options. They can only do what they is in front of them at the time. If this were not so pervasive, I would be unhappy. Today, Deo and I went to Kampala to pick up the computers for the school. I filed a grant with the computer company and they came a while back. I put them at Ggaba Modal, the school where Stella goes, and so we went to get them and bring them back to the school. It was a LONG day of traveling. It was almost like flying over the ocean. It took us 12 hours to make the round trip…not to mention the stops we had to make. But, it is funny, I absolutely adore the African savannah and right now there is a plethora of farms growing fields and fields of sunflowers…my favorite flower. Everyone gets so upset with me when I make them pull over so I can get in the fields and take pictures. I know I have some lovely sunflower pictures! We picked up Timothy, a friend of our and a film maker in Ggaba. He is going to make a short documentary on the suffering here for us to put on the website. I am so impressed with Deo. He has such a great vision!!! This was his idea. I am very thrilled that we have him working with us. He understands the culture so well and he knows exactly what we need to highlight. I just cannot tell you what a great joy Deo and Irene have been to us. They are going to stay here for the summer and work as Interns for us. They both have to have internships for their majors and so they are going to work for us. I just couldn’t ask for more!!! Tomorrow, we are supposed to have a documentary done on the bikes by the New Vision, the production company that is part of the newspaper. We have made quite a splash here!!! I cannot wait to see what the bike turns out! I need to call my friend in California and find more bamboo. We are going to make the best bikes ever!!!!! I spent the day yesterday in meetings with people about the property. Speaker Martin has told me that they are going to ask the project at the facility to leave in one month and that we will have all the buildings! I just cannot believe how much we are blessed. We have found a donor for another well at Palyec, someone has come forward with the money for the toilets at Lamintoo and the school is coming together so well. God is good…all the time. There is a team here from Rock Harbor, California. They are going to do medical mission work. I am not particularly fond of medical missions…they really do nothing to address the underlying issues. People get a pill for a day, but their lives are not changed. I shouldn’t go into too much here as I could write a book on how I feel about how the aid has been handled in Africa. It’s time for bed. Tomorrow will be another very full day. We are having to use the mosquito nets this time...we have been plagued with the critters at night. We lose electicity all the time, but we can't lose the mosquitoes!? SMILE Sweet dreams to all!

Monday the 8th

It has already been a long day and it is only 1:30 here! We got up early and rushed to the church to start wrapping the bamboo for the first stage of the bikes. Today, we have to take the sisal we cut last week, soak it in an epoxy solution and wrap all the joints where we joined the pieces of bamboo. It is a hard job as the joints have to be very exact in order to ensure the integrity of the bike. Working with the epoxy was VERY hard! Barr had given us some great measurements for mixing the epoxy with the hardener, but this is a different epoxy than what we used in California and our hands started to burn quickly. We had to wrap the joints and immerse our hands in a solution to clean up the epoxy before we could do it again. The heat from the glue was very hard on our hands. I was fearful at first, but when I realized I could put my gloved hands in a solution of IMO and water and relief the heat, I was satisfied that I could continue with the work. I didn’t want to ask anyone to do anything that I wasn’t willing to do. Heather even helped. We repeated this process for over five hours. It was hard work, but it is worth every minute of it. We can actually see a bike forming!! The best news is that the reporters who visited with me last week have given us a lot of publicity! I was on the radio…or so I hear… and there is a great article in the Ugandan newspaper with my picture and a story about the bikes. I am thinking I am going to get lots of calls soon about this project. I have already had two follow-up interviews. If you get a chance, go to Google and type in www.newvision.co.ug and you will see the article. It is fairly representative of what I said. As a former journalist, I know what happens when an interview is taking place; the interviewer projects what he or she wants to hear from the interviewee. But, it is pretty good. We are going to need to find financiers to help with this project. It is going to be an awesome way for many, many people to work their way out of poverty. The initial cost will not be high and when we are able to mass produce the bikes, they will finance themselves. I am determined to see this project through as I believe Craig Calfee has come up with an awesome project! We left around 3:30 for Lamintoo, a village where we put in a water well and where Jackson Middle School is paying for toilets.. As it is, the students go to class under make-shift rooms that are just tarp with some benches. The younger children go to class in a building that once served at the headquarters for the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The other students go to class under a canopy of tarp only. Two of the grades have to study under trees. It is no wonder that the kids in this village do not speak English very well! But, there are about 400 children in the village now and they need to go to school. In March, we gave the kids uniforms and that has boosted the population at the school. In fact, the headmaster has asked us for more uniforms as the children are very motivated to attend because of the skirts, blouses, pants, and jumpers that we provided. We will have to visit with Molly, the head of the sewing/tailoring school, to see about making more uniforms. One thing that I an encouraged about is that we did visit a place in Kampala last weekend where young men were using knitting machines to make sweaters. It seems that no one in Gulu is making sweaters; the schools have to buy them from the capital so I intend on getting into that market as soon as possible. I really wanted to write about the land in Lamintoo. It is really some of the most beautiful land that I have seen in Africa. The lush green foliage is like a blanket that covers some lovely hills in the area. Sadly, the LRA used to use those hills to be on the lookout for campfires and they used their vantage point as a point of reference for attacks on small villages. It is such a tragedy that such beautiful land has such a tainted past. I would give anything to walk up the hills through the green bush that is loaded with mango trees. It is a sight to behold…for sure. We are back from the village now and it is getting to be around 8:00. We do not eat dinner until 9:00…at the earliest. We go to a small place just down the street called the Kakenyero. It has adequate food and it is VERY cheap. I can get a meal of beans and rice for about 3,000 shillings which is about $1.50. We know the people there and they treat us so well! I am looking forward to a shower, although it WILL be cold. I have not had a hot shower the entire time I have been in Gulu, but I would be very surprised to have one. It really doesn’t matter. We learn to tolerate ourselves very dirty and smelly, too. It just isn’t a problem once a person settles into the routine of being in a third world country. I did want to mention that I saw Kenneth, one of my “sons” on Sunday. He came to church. He is such a dear. He was captured by the LRA and was forced to shoot. He told me, a long time ago, that when he held a rifle, he would deliberately shoot off to the side of the person he was supposed to be killing and he would pray that his bullet would not go astray and actually harm someone. He has Amnesty papers to prove that he has gone through the acculturation process and it is something that he really hates to live with. But, he is one of the lucky ones. We read in the paper yesterday that Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA captured 200 people in the Congo and is really on the move. I wish someone would kill him. I really do. He just does not deserve to live. On our way back from Lamintoo, I really was struck by the hardships these people endure. The homes in Lamintoo are built with sticks and mud…they cannot afford to use any commercial products. When the rains come…and they come often now that it is the rainy season…their homes are flooded and everything they own is saturated. I just wish there was more that I could do to help these folks; however, I continue to remind myself that what I am doing does matter to “this one.” Hugs and peace