Feeling Overwhelmed

It’s been a while since the thought of baking something yummy just didn’t do the trick. I am overwhelmed! It is amazing to look back at the changes in who I am over the last few years of living in Africa. I can take lots of things that would have crushed me before. But this morning for some reason, I might have a few ideas, I just need to sit on the couch and “blog it out”.

It probably started when I woke up. Not the 5am wake up where I told myself I must go back to sleep but it was the shock when I looked at the clock and it was 9am! Isaac said, “The plumber is coming this morning!” We have been living with bad plumbing for two months now and with the lack of water in the pipes it is all exasperated. The plumber has arrived and Isaac is working with him and our landlord, via phone, to sort out the situation. It looks like it could take more than a few days to fix!

Isaac quickly walked up the hill and bought some milk for our tea (yes I’ve turned into a milk tea drinker, blame it on my husband’s British Uganda upbringing). I think that this is where things just went bad! On our walk yesterday we saw someone with local milk in a plastic bag. We thought we’d try it out. Mind you we have gotten local milk from the main town near our house multiple times from different locations and enjoy it. Isaac brought in the bag, it was a half-liter. He said that we should see if we like it before we buy a whole liter at once. I, as usual, cut the bag and poured it into the pot to boil. An ant! There was an ant left behind in the bag once the milk was in the pot. I can do an ant…the milk will boil and there won’t be a problem. Well… I watched as the milk boiled, you have to watch milk boil or it will overflow the pan like none other. As the milk boiled different small insects began coming to the surface. I can deal with small bugs, I told myself. Then it was there…a huge house fly! I quickly grabbed my spoon again, the one I’d used to remove all the other pieces and hairs that had been finding along the way. But there was another one, another house fly. Isaac quickly stepped in. He took the tea strainer, we have a large one, and he strained all the milk. I didn’t look at the amount of items. The milk was put back on the stove and boiled again. Tea will be served soon.

Meanwhile, a man from the village has volunteered to bring us water! Yeah! But he is very shady. It is only 9:30am and he is already drunk! No not a hangover…he is drunk. He happily goes off with the two jerry cans for his first load. I prepare the buckets for him to unload. Once he is back it is a race for me as he empties the jerry cans into buckets I quickly empty the buckets into the toilet tanks, shower basin, dish washing basins, and my mixing bowls here and there trying my best to keep his staring and smell to a limited time. He and I am happy to have him go for the third trip down the hill away from the house to the spring.

Of course while this hustle and bustle is going on a man from the village is here requesting payment for a job he did 3 days ago. Isaac is being pulled in three directions now.

My normal course of action during such times is to bake something tasty. I got out the recipe book and turned to one of my favorite coffee cake recipes. I looked around for a mixing bowl…right they are filled with water, useful water that can’t be placed somewhere else. I just gave up, left the kitchen and went to the couch. Perhaps a nap would be good…

Jesus Film in Kiwanyi

In a village that has just received electricity some business savvy men have put up a local cinema. The movies shown are violent and filled with perversion. For someone who has never seen a film before just watching a movie is a huge draw. Isaac’s desire is to use that draw for a different outcome.

While in the states we purchased uplifting films and our desire is to show them in village, free of charge, out in the open.

There is a challenge though. These films need to be translated. Here in this showing Isaac sat and translated what was said the whole movie through.

Challenge 2 would be sound. Without adequate speakers the words of the film aren’t heard.

Challenge 3 we really need a projector and screen! We were able to show the Jesus Film (for children) to a group of only 10 people because of the lack of screen size.

If you’d like to donate to the cause of buying speakers, a projector or screen please visit http://overcomersint.com/page9/help.html and mention what you would like to help with :)

Village Doctor

Being the only doctor in a village setting the patients come without notice. I can't blame them because the need is so much!
Even in my busy schedule I remember what I swore in the Hippocratic Oath stating that the health of my patient would be a priority.

Waiswa had severe prolonged fever, cough, and shortness of breath. His mother brought him to me after they had gone to the health center for treatment but still with deteriorating health. He had been given medicine for malaria but upon a check up I realized he had pneumonia. I prescribed medicine and a few days later he was a happy little boy.

Wound care is so important in a community that is prone to infection.
Teaching the children how to care for their own wounds is an important start to changing a community.

It's amazing to see Yusuf getting better each time we visit him. In April I found him with severe heart failure, a heart murmur that could be heard from a distance, and high blood pressure, shortness of breath, and pitting edema of the lower limbs (swollen legs). I diagnosed him and bought him medicine.

Upon a recent check up I found that his heart murmur and edema were gone. We bought more medicine to continue to stabilize his blood pressure.

The women of the town were talking about a baby who was born blind. A few hours later the mother and baby were brought to me for consultation. Again without an appointment. The woman traveled for an hour on the back of a motorcycle taxi, baby in arms, once she heard that their was a doctor in the area. She wanted to know if there was anything that could be done.  After a quick review I noticed the boy was born with no eye balls, an extra finger, a congenital hernia, and many other issues.

The need is so great! I wish I could help every patient.

Lasting Impact

Look what a primary school teacher just sent us.

Isaac and I were so thrilled to share what God is doing in our lives in East Africa while we were in the states. I guess the children at one school still remember us!

They Bought a Goat

Overcomers International (www.overcomersint.com) is now the proud owner of a GOAT!!!

This is Joel and he will be caring for the goat. As payment he will keep the first kid born to the goat but the mama goat will remain Overcomers International's for Joel to continue caring for or for us to find it a new home. 

The goal of keeping the mother goat is to ensure that she's not eaten before she bears kids and to create good farming skills within the caretaker. 

Very Exciting!!!

You can join by going to http://overcomersint.com/page9/help.html and tell them you want a goat...or a chicken, or a cow...whatever (just not a hippo)

Scary White Lady

Living in Burundi where the children think that white people will eat them gave me a greater distance from children. It was a reality that I have come to grips with. Here in Uganda it isn’t as extreme but there still is the child that screams and runs away in total terror because they have seen me. There are also the children that look at their hand after they shake mine to see if the “white” has come off on them.

 But for some reason Wisawa isn’t afraid of me. Perhaps because we put him in the motocar. His favorite word! I’m glad my nephew chooses to come to me for comfort…it’s nice.

Rocket Stove

 My father has many wonderful qualities and skills but the one I admire the most is he research. He is always looking into new ideas and how better to do things. When I was younger it was Mother Earth News, when I went to dance lessons he would spend his time at the library researching healthy eating, there are always articles, books and websites on canoe building, kayaks and of course camping. Since I’ve moved to Africa my father’s research has changed to very practical things that help my life here. And now I have finally done something about all his hard work! We made a rocket stove!!!

Isaac and I gathered bricks and did our best to put together a stove that resembles a rocket stove.

The trick with the stove is to place a barrier between the bottom 2 layers of bricks but not pushed all the way in to block the chimney. This barrier goes in to hold the wood up so that the air can enter the stove at ground level and then go up the chimney. It produces less smoke and cooks faster.

It was great seeing the children abandon the old, three stone cooking “stove” and cook only on the rocket stove.

Thanks Dad!!!

Visitors

We’ve had visitors to our house.

Well we didn’t let the turkeys inside, but they do enjoy our back and side yards.

We have had the privilege of having a boy come and bring us water. He charges 300 Ugandan Shillings per 20 liter jerry can. That amounts to about 10 cents. The other day we were in need of water so badly we saw him out the window and asked him to help. He happened to be holding a baby. So Isaac traded empty jerry can for the baby. I got to hold the little one for a little bit but once I passed him off to Isaac the little guy wouldn’t return to me. When the boy came back with the water it was funny because the baby wouldn’t go to him either. We forced the hand off with whining from the baby.

Isaac commented that this is what our lives will be like in a little while. We admitted to each other that it was very nice to have a little one in our house. 

Our nephew Denis spent the night with us last week. I have to admit it was interesting hosting a 16 year old boy in the house. I was very glad that the carpenter had finally put a door on the bathroom before we hosted him J Denis enjoyed American style pancakes for the first time. They were a hit.

Our Home

 Our home is starting to look and feel more like a home. Things are becoming more “normal” around here. We have purchased enough buckets and jugs to carry water from the spring at the bottom of our hill. Isaac hasn’t allowed me to do any heavy lifting of water. I’m very grateful! 

I just play games with the neighbor boys. This is Emma (Emmanuel) and Iggy (Ignatius) they call us Aunty and Uncle. It is always great to come walking home with children running at you for hugs! We are loved. 

We bought a dining room table and chairs. It was a challenge to make sure everything got put together properly…it didn’t come with directions.

It is the only thing to sit on in our living room right now so we call it a couch, but you might know it as a rug. This giant 6’x9’ rug was folded and rolled so small that we were able to put it in the mini bus with us on our way home. Again Isaac doesn’t allow me to carry things that are too heavy so he carried it down the hill. 

Angel's Center

Angel Center is a place for children with special needs to receive early childhood education. This is one of the only centers in Uganda who is serving children with disabilities at such an early age.

I was introduced to Angel's Center last year when I traveled to Uganda for surgery. Rose, the founder, hosted Isaac and me in her home while I waited for surgery. Little did either one of us know that we were both working with people with disabilities. God has an amazing way of putting people together.

 It was great to visit the Angel’s Center the other day. Rose needed some help on sensory items and asked me to come in. The children are still on holiday (Dec and Jan is their big 2 month holiday in Uganda) so it was just the staff working on things. Rose reminded me that when Isaac and I had visited last year they had only been open for a month. It was great to see all the changes that were made.

December Burundi Trip

While in Burundi we were able to see many friends.

Media worked with me at the King’s School as an assistant in the Kindergarten class. She was always so sweet to me while we worked together. She was on maternity leave having her second baby. We were able to visit her at the hospital and give her one of the Something Deeper Ministries Quilting Group’s quilts. She was so happy to see us and receive a gift for the baby.

While living in Burundi we had a night guard who slept under a few sheets. We were so happy to be able to take a quilt to him. He was so happy that he ran away clutching the quilt. I was confused until Isaac explained that someone offered to “keep it for him”. He was protecting his new gift.

Hope Africa University had graduation while we were in Burundi. It was great being able to see many friends finally get their degrees after four long years of undergraduate work.

It is not possible for me and Isaac to visit HAU without eating some rice and beans at the school cafeteria. It was a great time to chat with friends we hadn’t seen in six months.

Our Home

Off the main road to the airport, down the dusty road over many speed bumps, take a right down the foot path, take a left at the new two room daycare and when you get to the brick wall on the left take a right down the steep hill of the water eroded path, and our house is on the right. You can’t miss it. In a neighborhood full of brick houses our painted house and grass lawn our house stands out.

We weren’t looking for a house as large as we got, but when the price is right and the neighborhood is safe what can you do. We live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house complete with living room, dining room, indoor kitchen and garage. It has a very small back and side yards. When we moved in it was an empty shell. When you move into an unfurnished house in the states the house at least comes with closets, cabinets in the kitchen, cabinets in the bathroom and maybe even a linen closet. This house, and many I’ve seen in East Africa don’t come with any closets or cabinets! We literally washed the tile floors and put our things on the ground in piles. We have a bathroom pile, a clothing pile, an office pile, and a huge stack or random stuff that doesn’t seem to go into any pile.

Power has been one of our biggest challenges. With nowhere to cook we found ourselves eating many peanut butter sandwiches the first few days. Again the kitchen has nothing in it but some counter space and a sink, the water doesn’t work in that sink though. We bought a hot plate and an electric hot water kettle to begin our time. Our long term plan is to buy an oven but…with an expensive purchase like that we need to make sure we find the right one for a good price.

When the electricity works it comes in anywhere from 50-120 volts. Remember though that Uganda’s power should be coming in at 240v. We have been told that people in the neighborhood have been stealing the electricity which reduces the volts. This means that our hot plate and kettle take about a half an hour to warm up and work.

In addition to our electricity being weak we also have faulty wiring in this house. Our lights in the kitchen will work well but if we turn it off and on again it may or may not come back on. Oh it’s interesting. Also certain parts of the house work at certain times. So the bedroom will have light but the living room won’t. This all applies to the rooms that actually have functioning light fixtures. Our bedroom, the bedroom we are storing things in, and the dining room don’t have any working fixtures so these rooms remain dark once the sun goes down.

Day 6 in our new house and the neighbor children have figured out that we don’t have water flowing in our pipes anymore. Yesterday our reserve tank ran dry and we paid an 11 year old boy about 11cents for a 20 liter jug of water. This morning when we were getting very low on water after using it to shower, boiled for tea, and washing dishes; who shows up on our back porch… two six year old girls and each with a small jug and the boy with his large one. What a blessing. We were happy to part with our 22 cents and quickly collected all the water bearing containers we could find!

There are down sides to living in a house that hasn’t had someone in it for a while. The neighbors. It’s not their fault, this land has been their walking path and playground for quite some time. Although for our own sanity we have discouraged shouting right outside the windows, peeping in the windows, and pooping in our front yard. The random people walking through and the visitors knocking on our back door are welcome.

Quilts for Orphans in Burundi

Many people don't realize that even on the equator a 20 degree drop in temperature from day to night feels cold no matter what the temperature.

Something Deeper Ministries Quilting Group was happy to make over 30 quilts to donate to those who have no form of warmth in the nights.

What a joy it was to be the one delivering these quilts. I felt guilty bringing such joy when I didn't make the quilts, I just carried them in my suitcases.

The orphans are divided into family groups with one mamma and one aunt to take care of them. This family group was so happy to stand for their picture.

Thank you again to all the women who helped out, made quilts, donated material, helped sew, and all that was done!! Blessings

The Mamas were so happy have quilts for the children placed in their care. I could tell this was an answer to their prayers!

In delivering these quilts I was shocked to see the thread barren sheets these children are sleeping under at night.

So happy just to be together with such a huge blessing.