Abdu, Ronnie and I made the journey to Karamoja to join our
students, parents and mentors in a Christmas and End of Year celebration. It was a wonderful time to spend with all who attended.
I could not be more proud of these children. There was about
4-5 students that failed and had to repeat the class in 2015. This year they ALL passed to the next
class! One boy failed Primary 4 for 3
years and he has PASSED!!!! I was so
proud when I saw his report card I had to choke back tears.
All of these gatherings tend to be more formal than what I’d
like. Everyone gives a speech…they make
me go last. Saving the best for last...I suppose. Haha! So by the time everyone else
speaks I usually am like “well they said everything I wanted to say.” But this time I think I did well. I came up with something. I’m getting used to speaking in front of
them. They know I love them and anything
I say is out of love. This time I
cried…such a sappy Carreira I am! I
couldn't contain how proud I was of them.
It is overwhelming to look back over the year and see the differences in
these children. And the struggles that
we've had and persevered through.
After the event we had lunch with the kids and their parents. They had a wonderful meal of rice, posho,
beef, chapati, beans, and some other side dishes.
We want to thank everyone who contributed to making this day
special. They will receive their
Christmas meal baskets for their families on Christmas Eve so that they can eat
it on Christmas day as a family.
Enjoy the pictures and videos below...
Agnes, Pastor Philip's wife, giving her speech
Gabriel was the male student representative to speak for the boys.
Pastor Philip giving his speech
Some of the parents or guardians who came.
My turn...
When I started tearing up...
Our beautiful children and some parents also
These three students were first in their class all year long so they were rewarded with a small gift.
The mother representative chosen to address everyone.
The father representative.
The parents danced as a thank you to their children's sponsors.
Then the children danced and wanted me to dance with them too. Fun times!
Last week we started wedding planning. We had already decided on the church and
reserved that. We started pre-marital counseling, which has been nothing like I
expected. Counseling we have to attend 8 sessions of 1.5 hours each. It is more of a bible study than counseling. I was expecting someone to ask us every question imaginable with regard to our relationship but it hasn't been like that (thank goodness).
We also held our first "wedding meeting" on Tuesday. The wedding meeting consists of people who will help with the wedding planning and coordinating and help on the day of the wedding so we do not have to do those things. Kind of like a wedding planner except many more of them and they responsible for certain things of the wedding. There were 5 women at our meeting (not including myself). I wrote down everything that we "have to have" so we can create the budget. These meetings are actually supposed to have more people involved but we asked them to come on short notice so 5 is all we had this time. It is sometimes difficult for me in these meetings because they default to speaking Luganda and I sit there not knowing what they are talking about but I usually nudge Abdu and he fills me in.
The next big item was finding
a location for the reception. We went to
many places over the course of a few days.
We started with medium priced places and some expensive places. There are some gorgeous venues here in
Uganda. Weddings are a BIG deal in Uganda. You seem to have to invite everyone you've
ever met in your life. So as much as I
loved this place…
there was no way we could afford to have it there because
the food was $20 a plate and you have to feed everyone who comes…when you’re
looking at a list of probably 300+ there’s no way we can do
that. So, we then shifted gears at
looking closer to Kampala and areas that could hold the amount of people and
that would allow us to bring our own cooks and food instead of using the venue
food.
I may need to start a wedding consulting business by the
time this is over because weddings are big business. People here spend some serious money. Weddings are such a large event many Ugandans
don’t go through with a traditional wedding.
They commit themselves to each other and consider themselves married
without doing the church and reception events.
Having to invite everyone or risk all those people talking about you or
hating you is tough. Feeding the guests
is the hardest part. If you could just
have snacks or finger foods it would be nice but oh no. You have to have a full Uganda meal with soda
and/or water. It is a budget buster!
We also realized that when I would walk in a venue the
prices went up automatically. So the
last day Abdu went to look at it by himself and then would bring me in once he got
the prices. He found a place that he
knew one of the managers which helped us with the pricing also! Praise God!
I believe that we will be happy with the venue and it allows us to bring
our own food in so that will also save us.
We forgot to take pictures because it was raining at the time but next
time I’ll have to take some pictures.
Each afternoon we go to the church because the kids are on
break now until first of February. The
school year starts in February so this is essentially the equivalent of the
summer break for kids in USA. The kids
train in singing and dancing each afternoon so we like to stop by and spend
some time there to see what they are up to and make sure they are staying out of trouble.
Wednesday night was church service and it started
storming. It was a lot of rain all at
once and the way that the structure is put together there are gaps in the
roofing material and the rain just was pouring in. They try to patch the areas or redirect the
water. Our prayer is that one day we
will have a church building that is permanent and secure and for land that the church will own also. We cannot even leave the
sound equipment in the church at night.
We rent a room down from the church where we store things so that they
will be secure. A couple of the boys
from the church stay in that room also because their family home life is either
bad or non-existent.
I was sick for a few days with stomach pains and didn't want
to eat because I’d end up in the bathroom.
Finally Abdu prayed for me before we went to sleep and when I woke up I
was completely fine and have been since then.
I've been doing okay otherwise.
For some reason I have had a congested nose each night and sneezing but
I’m thinking it is allergies.
We are grateful for the blessings of the week and am
preparing for the new week and the new month.
As I've stated before I was born and raised in the Catholic
church. Very conservative and the
services very much the same in every Catholic church around the world which I
loved and believed in the teachings of.
Problem enters when you fall in love with someone from a different
denomination and you feel like this is the one God wants you to marry. If your fiance is baptized in a Trinitarian church you can marry in the Catholic church.
However, they require your fiance to agree to have your children
baptized and raised in the Catholic faith.
Well, for us that is not really an option. Abdu is a pastor of a Christian church and he
certainly wouldn't want his wife and future children going to a different
church than the one he pastors. As they
say a family that prays together, stays together… So, I am attending Saved to Serve Worship
Center with my husband-to-be.
Now, most of what happens at the church I've experienced
before in other churches. Praise and
worship and a pastor preaches. No
surprise. Pastor lays hands on some
people to pray for them. No surprise.
While the pastor is praying for someone, they fall down and start
screaming like they are being tortured and kicking and hitting….Surprise and
shock!
Abdu had shared some videos on Facebook for me to be able to
see what happens at the services before I came.
I always had a hard time watching them because I could not get over the
screams of the person. He tried to
explain to me that these people had demon spirits inside them and they were
praying for the demon to leave. The
demon was speaking through the person.
The person usually has to be restrained and even sat on because they are
fighting so badly. The videos were so
hard for me to watch…seeing it in person is another story altogether.
Since being in Uganda I've actually had time to sit and read
the Bible. Can you imagine? I've read the books of Mark and Matthew
completely through. There are many
instances of Jesus casting out demons and unclean spirits from people. It doesn't say that they were bad people or
had done anything except that they had demons in them. There are children…Matthew 15:22-28, Matthew
17:14-21 and adults in Mark 1:23-27, Mark 5:1-14. The disciples were given the power to cast
out demons and unclean spirits in Mark 6:7-13.
I had never had the experience of seeing or really knowing
about people having a demon or unclean spirit inside them. It’s not that I didn’t believe it was
possible it’s just that I didn’t know it happened often…
The 3rd Sunday of each month is an anointing
service at Saved to Serve Worship Center.
Abdu had been preparing me for it for some time because he knew how I
felt about watching the videos so we had been talking about it and preparing so
I would not freak out completely. He
told me that I needed to be praying the entire time and particularly if someone
had a demon so that to help that person.
The anointing service was supposed to be in the
evening. However after Abdu was finished
preaching he felt like he was supposed to pray over people right then and then
did an anointing service in the evening also.
There were two other pastors there to assist with praying and anointing. Each of the pastors would dip their finger in
olive oil (which had been prayed over) and then they would anoint each person’s
head and pray for that person. People
were praying for healings from sickness, for wisdom on their upcoming exams, etc. There were some who were prayed for and then
that person went on and sat down. Then
there were some who while being prayed for would fall down overcome by the Holy
Spirit. Some of the teens around would
stand behind whoever was being prayed for just in case that person went
down. Then they would carry that person
to a cloth on the floor and lay them down and cover them as many of the
girls/women wear skirts here.
In the evening service there were several who would go down
and you could hear the demon start talking.
Of course it wasn’t in English but Abdu told me afterwards what many of
them were saying. So there was about 3
people that I can recall now that this happened to. Abdu was praying over a young girl and all of
a sudden she started screaming and thrashing around. The others carried her to the stage and laid
her on the cloth. They wrapped her legs
together with another cloth because she was kicking and they held her arms
because she was hitting. The kids that
were holding her were praying for her and casting out the demon. Telling the demon that it was going out of
her and it could not have the girl. The
demon asked Abdu “Who do you think you are?
She’s ours.” Her blood curdling
screams were the worst. But after about
30 minutes the demon was gone and the girl laid there to rest for some time.
Another pastor, who they call Mama Brian (because she’s
Brian’s mom), was there also praying for a young man. Now this young man had stood in the morning
service and testified that he had been working as a DJ in the secular music
world in bars and discos but he had quit because he had been praying and had
heard a preacher who preached about discos and how they breed fornication, sin,
etc. and he decided he didn’t want to be a part of that anymore. He’s probably about 20 years old or so. He helps with the sound board and music on
Sunday services. So while Mama Brian was
praying for him, the demon in him started fighting. And when I say fighting I mean FIGHTING! There were 10-12 people at one point trying
to hold him down. He was kicking and
punching and thrashing around. I was
praying and watching from a safe distance…but I was close enough to be able to
see his face and his eyes. He was not
the boy that I knew. I couldn’t
understand what it was saying but you could see that it was the demon talking
to Mama Brian and the others. His eyes
were all crazy looking and certainly not normal. All of the biggest boys of the church were
restraining him. Two were sitting on his
legs and they bound his legs so that he couldn’t kick his legs separately. They were praying over him and telling the
demon that it was going out of him and that he belonged to Jesus and not
Satan. There were times when he was just
lay there and they would let up on the restraint and he would flip over or jump
up and try to fight. Honestly I had
never seen anything like it but I know one thing for sure….that boy had
something inside him.
Praying for this boy went on for what seemed like an
hour. The biggest boys got tired from
holding him for so long. After some time
he seemed to have been completely delivered from the demon and he sat up and
asked for some water. Then next thing I
know he’s throwing up. You could tell
that he was alone again and was completely exhausted from what had happened.
After the service they asked for people to come give
testimonies. Several people said they
had been feeling sick for several days and when they were being prayed for the
pain and sicknesses went away. Then they
asked the young man to testify as to what he felt or what had happened. He went into a long explanation on his life
which I will try to summarize.
His mother was dating a man before this young man was
born. The man she was dating was
involved in witchcraft. She left that
man and went to another man who turned out to be the young man’s father. Mr. Witchcraft was furious and told her that
they needed to pay him 300,000shillings (about $150 now) or he was going to put
a curse the child’s life. They evidently
paid the money out of fear for their child.
But this young man has been struggling his entire life. When the demon was speaking it kept talking
about the 300,000. It is clear that
there is some witchcraft curse that was put on this young man’s life. Witchcraft is still very prevalent here. There are many people who pray to their
ancestors and do sacrifices. The curses
that are put on people and children seem to follow them.
At the end of the night Abdu looked at me and said “now you
have seen and you have heard”. I had
indeed seen and heard. I had never seen
or heard anything like it in my life. It
isn’t that I thought people were faking before I came here but I just did not
understand it. Satan and witchcraft are
serious. I remember on one of our early
trips we observed an orthopedic outpatient clinic in the biggest hospital here. One man came in and his leg was just
dangling. The doctor held up the x-rays
and me who cannot look at an x-ray could clearly see the fracture. The bone was completely broken and dislocated
and his leg was just dangling there. The
doctor asked how long ago the fracture happened. It had been a couple months because he had
been going to a witch doctor for healing but eventually realized he should go to
the hospital and see a real doctor. Some
of the stories that people tell you about what has happened to them seems
unbelievable but it is true. I’m always
learning here in Uganda…
I pray that these children are protected and covered in the
love of Jesus and that these spirits that were in them never come back to them.
So now that it has been 3 weeks and we are settling down I
want to share some of my thoughts on things here in Uganda.
People here are generally nice and
welcoming.The funny part is there are
usually two types of people.Those who
smile and say Hi or some sort of greeting and then those who just stare at you
like you are a ghost or something.And
that goes for adults and kids.Most kids
say “mzungu by-eeeee” as I walk by which is cute.They all learn English in school.The kids are taught to say simple things from
very early on.You can ask a 2 year old
how they are and they will say “I am fine”.Everyone is fine in Uganda no matter their circumstances.
Prices go up as soon as they see my white
self.When we were searching for the
LandCruiser we went to a car lot unannounced and I told Abdu “Did you just feel
all the prices go up?”And they
did.They told us the price for the
LandCruiser and we ended up getting it for significantly lower once we were
firm in our stance.
Everything in Uganda is a negotiation.Very few prices are actually the prices you
end up paying.From rent of an apartment
to food to clothing to transportation.Which is exhausting to me because I do not like negotiating.Just tell me the price and let me go on.
I don’t feel like a minority…it’s strange to say
that because I hardly ever see another American or European around but when I’m
walking or riding around I don’t feel like a minority even though I clearly
am.If it wasn't for the people who just
stare at me I would feel like I’m a Ugandan and just going on with my day.
Traffic in Kampala is serious.Abdu keeps trying to tell me I have to learn
how to drive here…I just don’t know about that…maybe in a year or
something.I don’t understand how they
know where to go or what to do.There’s
no street signs, barely any stop lights or stop signs.It just looks like mass chaos most of the
time and you just put your nose in front of someone else’s car and go for it…
Navigating where I am is still quite a
struggle.Half the time I don’t know
where I live let alone where other things are.I am getting better at recognizing things but then Abdu will take a
different route and turns my world upside down.
I hate wearing bug spray and sunscreen…well
really even lotions.I don’t like
feeling slimy or greasy it just makes me feel dirty.I wear long skirts/pants and a jacket every night
to protect me from the mosquitoes.I
never thought I would wear a jacket in Uganda!My arms are getting darker.My
left arm is darker than my right arm because the left one is in the window when
we are driving.It has burned once and
peeled already.I told Abdu I was going
to have to either learn how to drive or sit in the backseat to even out the
right arm.Haha!
It rains a lot in Kampala.In all of my previous trips most of my time was
spent in Karamoja where it is incredibly dry and doesn't rain often.It has rained almost every day in Kampala and
we have been without power for days at a time because of it.I didn't realize it was like that.Makes me nervous about an outdoor wedding
reception….just saying.
I never thought I would say “I’m cold” while in Uganda.But the other day I was home by myself and it
was cloudy and the wind was blowing and I was like whew it is cold.I started laughing because I actually
admitted out loud (even though it was to myself) that it was cold in Uganda!I admitted it to Abdu when he got home…he
laughed.
Laundry is some kind of work that’s for
sure.I've had help with most of our
clothes but there are some things that you don’t want others to do for
you.Never take your washing machine and
dryer for granted!I miss those two more
than any other appliance.We washed on
Saturday and they weren't dry so we took them in at night.It rained Sunday so the wet clothes sat with
nowhere to hang them.Monday we put them
back out.If they were in the sun they
dried.If they were in the shade they didn't.Back in Monday night.Then it rained Tuesday….you see where I’m
going here.It is such a process!
Cooking….so anyone who knows me knows that I do
not cook.Not because I probably couldn't do it.But that I was spoiled by my
parents and didn't need to.Without the
luxury of having a refrigerator you essentially have to buy each day what you’re
going to cook that day or the next day.Abdu
cooks some things but we have one little burner.It’s an electric burner.We have been without power for 6 days on and
off.It seems like when we need it, it
goes off.Like right now it has been off
since during the night and I’m using my laptop battery until it dies…But I hope to learn how to make some things
that Abdu will like to eat too.
Food is my biggest issue as I knew it would
be.I’m not a fan of the traditional
Ugandan foods.My choices are usually
limited to chicken, fish, goat or beef for meat and I usually pick
chicken.I like the fish but they give
you the entire fish on a platter and it stares as you while you eat it.With any meat, I’m not good at cleaning all the
meat off the bones.Abdu tells me to
finish it and I look at it and say “it is as good as I can get it.”I might turn into a potato soon because
that’s what I like the best.Irish
potatoes that is cooked in a sort of soup or irish potatoes that are cut up
into French fries (or as they call them “chips”).Rice is ok on occasion but I’m not a big fan
after being scarred from our first trip with flies and ants in the rice in the
village.I like fruits but have never
been a vegetable person but am trying what I can.Going to the more expensive places that have
pizza and other things like that are not really an option right now because we
are watching our spending very closely.But I’m surviving and not starving.
I’m losing weight as I expected I would.Things that didn't fit when I left US are
fitting already.I need to get a scale
to make sure I don’t lose too much because my wedding dress needs to fit in
about 2 months from now.
Abdu is a wonderful partner in life.He is always concerned about my happiness, physical
and mental health, safety, comfort, and spiritual life.I do not know what I would do without
him.He’s going to be a great husband
and I am thankful for all God is doing in our lives.I am constantly praying that I will be as
good of a wife for him.
Overall, I’m not surprised by much of what has occurred over
the last 3 weeks. I had been here enough
to know how most things are. I’m okay without
air conditioning. I've gotten used to
sleeping without a fan for the noise. I
am comfortable when walking around. I've
learned how to find my way from where we park to our church. One day I need to get someone to video tape
that trek so you can see what it’s like.
So, I’m settling in and we’re settling into life together.
In an effort to get caught up because I can’t stand being so
far behind I’m going to quickly tell you about what’s been happening in the
week since we returned from Karamoja.
Friday—November 14 We
left Matany, Karamoja at 10:00pm and arrived in Kampala at 1:00pm the following
day. It was a long brutal journey
back. Couldn't sleep because I was like
a double stuffed Oreo with Abdu on one side and another young Ugandan on the
other on a bench seat that was really designed for thin Ugandans not the double
stuffed Oreo! It was dark and when I say
dark I mean can hardly see your hand if you put it in front of your face. This
is when I realized that this was not going to be fun at all. Nothing to look at, can’t sleep, and worse of
all my knees were hitting the seat in front of me so every bump we hit (which
is at least a million) my knees would bang into the seat and I ended up swollen
and bruised by the time we got home. The
only thing that got me through it was I had my iPod and I was able to turn on
some praise and worship music and just pray and sing my way through the pain. Traveling during the day isn’t bad because as
least if you can’t sleep you can still stare out the window and admire God’s
beautiful creation. But it was a long 7 hours before daylight…
A couple times I don’t know if the driver fell asleep or
wasn’t paying attention but he hit these holes or something that absolutely
sent me and other flying up and hit our heads on the overhead compartment. The bus is like a Greyhound bus but the
Ugandan style. We were sitting in the back
of the bus…and as I posted on Facebook…do you remember when sitting in the back
of the bus was where all the cool kids sat?
Well, this was not the place to be…just saying. The back is the worst but when they go over
the bumps because there were several times when my bottom left the seat…not too
fun!
I kept thinking that I hope this is like what people say
child birth is like… you forget afterwards what the pain is like because then
you have another kid and know you have to do through it again. We are hoping to go to Karamoja every 4-6
weeks and at the time I was thinking….I don’t know about that now…
Saturday, November 15—Josephine is a youth from the church
and just a sweet girl. She’s 16 and
lives with her mother right outside the church.
Today she came to help us with cleaning the house and some cooking. Then in the evening we went to church for
dance team practice and choir practice.
I love Saturday nights! I was in
the church choir in high school and I like to sing. I would love for these kids to be the best
choir around that gets invited to sing at weddings and church events and other
things like that. Abdu also likes to
sing so we make a good pair. I’m always
pointing out songs that maybe they’ll try in time…
Sunday, November 16—We attended church service at our
church, Saved to Serve Worship Center.
Pastor Abdu preached about 10 steps to transformation. The third Sunday is also an anointing service. I will write more about this at another time.
Monday, November 17—Abdu and I had been discussing the
possibility of us buying a larger vehicle.
He transports children back and forth from church on Saturday for
practice and Sundays for service. On
Sunday, he put 11 children in our little Toyota Corolla! Yes 11 and yes a Corolla! I was not in the car or that wouldn't have
happened. We also have an idea for a
business for the Corolla and if the car is working each day then we would need
something to move us around in. Another
thought was if we got a vehicle with 4 wheel drive we could take it to Karamoja
instead of taking the bus. So, Abdu
contacted a broker and they took around to several different lots to show us
some LandCruisers. We saw many that were
ok and one that was good. They told us
the price, Abdu told them what we would pay and then we left because they said
no. We prayed that if it was God’s will
for us to have this vehicle that He would allow us to get it at the amount we
needed it to be.
Tuesday, November 18—The car broker called and agreed to
sell it to us at the price we wanted!
Praise God!!! It is an older
vehicle as almost all vehicles here are.
I think it’s over 15 years old but it has a solid engine and only minor
issues that needed to be addressed. It
was fun to watch Abdu get adjusted to driving it. It’s much bigger than the Corolla and I got
nervous a couple times because he is used to fitting into small spaces but that cannot happy with this thing…
Wednesday, November 19--Abdu and I went to the church that we want to
get married at. Here in Uganda you
cannot get married just anywhere. The
places have to be registered with the country to be able to issue marriage
licenses. So we had to pick a church
that had the license to marry. Abdu
picked a beautiful church and it was exactly what I was wanting but he didn't
know that. It’s called Full Gospel Church
of Makerere. We met with the secretary of the church and
she gave us all the requirements and forms that we needed to complete. We have to get labwork done and also they
require pre-marital counseling with someone from the church. Counseling will be 8 sessions of 2 hours each….whew that
is a lot of talking. The secretary was
pushing us to get everything done because we are only about 8 weeks from the
wedding and she said we are behind. In
the evening we went to church for evening service.
Thursday, November 20—We spent the day downtown
Kampala. We started with getting labwork
done. Then have to wait and hour for the
results. Instead of waiting we went to
get some other errands accomplished. I
didn't eat breakfast which was really stupid and ended up getting really weak
from the heat and all the walking. So,
Abdu put me in a restaurant and told them to give me anything I wanted. He went back to finish the errands and got
the car and came to pick me up. I felt
weak the rest of the day but I ate more and was fine by the evening. We picked up the lab results and gathered
everything else we needed for the wedding requirements and went back to the
church to deliver that and to pay for the wedding to reserve the date. Thankfully that was done.
Friday, November 21—Abdu and I spent the day going around to
look at places for the wedding reception.
We looked at several places and the one I really liked was booked for the
date we wanted so that was a bit disappointing.
The others were either not great or too expensive. So we will be looking at more. We then went to church for the bible study
they have each Friday night. I am always
amazed at what these youth say. They are
supposed to share a scripture that touched them that week and then preach about
it for 5 minutes. Some even ask for more
time to talk. The wisdom that some of
these kids have is amazing. I get up
there and can’t think of two words to say…they are awesome!
Saturday, November 22--Josephine came again today to help with washing clothes and cleaning. This girl is such a blessing to me! Not having a washing machine is really tough. Thankfully I have enough clothes to last for a while because it rained last week when she came and then it rained everyday this week. Hard to wash clothes and get them to dry outside when it rains at different times each day. I washed undergarments, swept and washed the walls and tables and everything else to get the dust off while she worked on the other clothes. Tonight we are going to our first session of pre-marital counseling. I'm a bit nervous because I don't know what to expect but I know it will be okay. Then after counseling we have dance/choir practice! WooHoo!!!
Almost every day this week it has rained and we have been
without power so it has been a challenge without being able to use the laptop
as much as I want so I can type. Thankfully
it has been on when I’ve been home today and yesterday. Praise God!
Well, I think that catches me up for the day to day
activities. I have more thoughts to
share on things but that will be another post.
For
our last day in Karamoja we had one school to visit. It is where our youngest students are…St.
Daniel Comboni Nursery School. Little
Paul comes in and as quiet as usual shakes my hand and then just stares at the
pictures on the walls in the headmasters office and doesn't speak to me. Then here some Sarah…passes by Pastor Philip
and Agnes and makes a beeline straight to me and gives me her hand and then a
hug. The best part of this was…Pastor
Philip and Agnes were convinced that this was not the right Sarah Nakiru.Evidently there are 3 of them at the school with the same name so they brought all three so we could decide which one was “our girl”.Of course the first one was the right girl
but Agnes kept saying "this girl looks too big.We just saw her in August and she was small".To be honest I didn't know if it was the
right girl either.Her hair was styled
differently in August but she looked similar to me.We all got a good laugh out that one for a
while…
The correct Sarah is on the left...the other two girls are the other Sarahs
Our best attempt at getting a smile out of Paul.
Since this was the first time I've been at the school the teacher wanted me to go around and see each classroom. Which means get in front of the class and say something…not my favorite thing to do but they are little kids so what could it hurt? LOL!
It goes something like this:
Me: Good morning students
Kids: Good morning teacher
Me: How are you today?
Kids: We are fine.
Me: I am from the United States and am just here to visit the school today.
Kids: Clapping
Done. Onto the next class….
This is Paul's class. He is in the middle section in the very last row.
The littlest ones which is call the “Baby Class” were doing
a dance and you can see it below. And my
big baby was in there having fun with them too.
Abdu in front of the class teaching them some new English words.
This is Sarah's class.
The headmaster coming back as we were leaving.
Nice playground at the school
Pastor Philip talking to Paul's mother.
After leaving the school our next item on the agenda was to
visit a couple villages that received gardening tools and seeds and trees when
the Ezekiel 37 Ministry team was there in April to see how they had progressed.
Tractor stopped in the middle of the road...probably out of fuel...
So you blaze your own paths when the road is blocked...
First stop—Lorikitei village
Lorikitei is a tough village. We've only been there on 2 occasions prior to today’s visit. They need water badly. When we were there in April we prayed with the village for rain and thanks to God’s grace it did rain before we left from there. But the sun is so brutal in this area. There’s nowhere to hide from the sun. Over time they have cut down most of the trees to use a firewood to cook with. A water well (borehole) is a long walk from where they are. They did attempt to plant the seeds that we had given them in April. Some people were successful at harvesting some. It must be a tremendously difficult job to keep the crops watered.
They walked us around to see where people had successful planted the fruit trees that were given also. They are young trees so it will take time for them to produce. But the people are trying desperately to keep them alive.
This village is where Abdu had met with the older youth boys and when the team presented the pangas (machetes) he had told the boys that they should go cut down trees for firewood and go to schools to sell it. It was an idea for them to make some money and not just loiter around each day. It turns out they missed some of the steps when it comes to this.
They went into the forest area (as they call it) and cut down trees. They have heaps that they have cut but they said no one came to buy it. Upon further conversation it came out that they never brought the wood out of the forest. They expected people to just show up… I had to remind Abdu that we are not dealing with educated people who can think through processes the way that we do. Start at the beginning and explain every step. So, he did. He stood before them and told them that they needed to bring the wood to an area that a vehicle can reach. Then you go to the schools and say we have firewood for sale it is here and you can reach by road. They wanted us to see what they had done but it wasn't reachable by road so we couldn't go see the heaps. We could tell they were really trying and I am proud that they actually did something. Although it didn’t work out for them at that time we know they will figure it out with guidance and mentoring.
Abdu said these little ones were having conversations and planning what to do
Nice day for a shave and a nap...
Agnes greeting one of the elders of the village.
Loading up to move onto to the next stop
Abdu makes friends everywhere he goes. He doesn't speak the language in
Karamoja but he's learning it and they seem to respect that.
They told us that this old man on the ground needs a hand pedal bike to be able to get
around however, we could tell his arms are strong enough for that either. He would
be better suited with a regular wheelchair.
We moved onto another village that I cannot remember the name of…starts with an L…I don’t remember… Anyhow, April was the first time we had visited this village. These people had a similar issue with not enough rain and too much sun. It also turns out that we were a bit late in the season when we gave them these items. They need to begin planting in March and we didn’t get there until the end of April. But these people were more successful with harvesting some corn. They have the ears in sacks and they are keeping some aside to be able to use for planting next season.
Other villages also decided to keep the seeds and use them the next season for planting. Which is responsible really. They are trying to make good decisions for the future of their families and village. All in all I would consider it a success. With all things we do it is a learning experience. Really what these villages need most is WATER! I am hoping that in December when we return to Karamoja that I can meet with some borehole drilling companies to get some information and then we can really start to see a difference for these people.
Agnes and the ladies of the village discussing how the planting went.
On my way to see the trees a woman planted...
Abdu literally took 20 pictures of me getting to the place...
Every step I took he took pictures of. LOL!
Made it!
This lady was very proud of her fruit tree.
Baby tree
Even smaller baby tree...
Pastor Philip clearing the way for me to walk...so sweet!
You learn after multiple trips to Karamoja villages that you do NOT wear flip flops when you are going. Between thorns and briars and animal poop you just need to be smart about shoe wear!
I'm becoming a pro at this door entry thing! It's much easier without a backpack too.
Sorghum they harvested and have not ground yet.
This is the corn that this lady harvested.
Another families corn that they harvested. The sack was fairly full.
The best part of walking through the villages is that you
get to experience how the Karamajong live. We
were walking through and next thing I know Abdu is down under a hut grinding
sorghum. Then they talked me into doing
it too! Enjoy the videos… Haha!
After a short rest and late lunch, we went to visit where Agnes and some ladies
gather together and sew items in order to sell them and make money for their
families. Another organization, Mercy
Uganda, donated I believe 8 sewing machines that these ladies are using. Pastor Philip and Agnes have hired a man to
come teach the ladies how to make items that are marketable. When I was there they were making little girl
dresses which were really cute. They
have found that the dresses aren't really moving off the shelves so they want
to shift their focus to handbags for women and a type of tote bag that students
can use for school. This group of ladies
are in need of some support with sewing materials such as thread, scissors,
fabric, etc. If you are interested in
helping with this sort of project please let me know. They are trying to get established so that
they can be self-sufficient and generating some income for their families.
Moses is talented at sewing and cutting the pieces to be sewn.
This is Pastor Simon Peter's wife, Theresa. She just has another baby...pictured below.
Only a few weeks old I believe...so cute!
The remainder of this evening we spent time with Pastor Philip, Agnes, and the mentors of Ezekiel 37 Ministry. We discussed their advice and what they would like to see done differently for next year. These people are the ones who are on the ground there in Karamoja. They live there, they go to school there, and they are wanting to serve the Lord and His people alongside us. I am honored to serve with them.
