Forgive me in the delay for writing.
Internet has been difficult to come by during this trip to Uganda. A little over a week ago, I picked up my husband from the Entebbe airport for his first (with more to come) trip to Uganda. It has been interesting to see Uganda again through a fresh pair or eyes; from someone I highly respect. To notice the children shouting “muzu gut” (white person) again, to be in awe that women can carry that much weight on their heads, that most people in the village don’t have shoes, etc. After being here for so long, things become “normal” to you and you fail to notice them anymore. My husband has listened to my stories, experiences of Uganda for the past 3 years. For him to come means everything to me. He worked hard at learning the language of the Teso, spent countless hours building relationships with those close to my heart, had a lot of patience while traveling on long, hot, uncomfortable bus/taxi rides, built relationships with students, and all the while, be a servant to me. I could not have prayed for a better husband. It feels complete that he finally understands.
We were able to get the Administrator’s Building built (although we still need windows if anyone is interested in donating the money for that, about $200), provide school fees (students were chosen by participating in a Composition Competition), a free reading program/class, medical care, food, clothes, and much more. The people of Kapelebyong took care of our hearts and have once again, left me, and now my husband, a sense of commitment and to help this village as it continues to grow for the better. We return back to the states on Tuesday night with more goals and desires than ever before in our marriage. Thank you for all of your support to help the orphan, widow and slave. The peoples’ thankfulness here is relentless. We are blessed by that. “…whatever is demanded by truth, by justice, by mercy, or by love must surely be taken to be willed by God.” Thomas Merton

And so it begins....

The past two weeks have been full in the village of Kapelebyong. Laughter, loss of patience, hugging, sweating, babies born, grandmothers passing away,

sunburns, misquote bites, some other bug bites, curriculum planning, walking, walking, walking, talking, talking, praying, planning, agreeing, changing of contracts and planning again. Drum roll please……we are building an Administrative Building Block for John Eluru Memorial Secondary School. The school, built by Hands in Service in 2005 and the school were I’ve continued to volunteer my time with over the past 6 years, is growing in numbers of students and teachers (this is a good thing for the school). This means, the campus needs to expand. Uganda has interesting laws. One of them is: Unless a school has a “center number”, students cannot take their end of term exams on the school premises. They must pay a neighboring school (the closest being 20 miles away) over one million shillings (about $500) so that their students may sit for exams there and be recognized as students by the Ugandan government. A school does not receive a “center number” unless they have an Administrative Building. Therefore, after many long meetings, it was decided upon that the most needed items at the school were an Administrative Building, a scanner copier, and chalkboard erasers. (Being that the school is 2 hours from a somewhat sizable town, chalkboard erasers are hard to come by and making copies is a weekend event.) The school has come a long way since 2005 and it’s amazing to witness the locals taking responsibility and pouring their lives into it. Still, there are families that do not care about Education (especially educating their daughters) and the poverty cycle continues. A fence was placed around the school property by Hands in Service and corn is growing everywhere within the compound which will help the school and community. World Bank is donating a chemistry lab and the building process for that started in December and has come to a halt. The teachers and locals are saying that the contractor hired for the job is corrupt and has used all the money to build the lab on things other than the lab. The contractor extended his contract until September. Locals say it’s so he can find money for his debt. The contractor is not from the area and of course, is not trusted. As far as the Admin Building goes, we a using a local, well known, well educated contractor that we’ve used in the past. Money is handled by me and contracts are being signed Monday. Here’s hoping!

Different, but the same.

“One of the first things that strikes us about the men and women in Scripture is that they were disappointingly non-heroic. We do not find splendid moral examples. We do not find impeccably virtuous models. That always comes as a shock to newcomers to Scripture. Abraham lied; Jacob cheated; Moses murdered and complained; David committed adultery; Peter blasphemed. We read on and being to suspect intention: a consistent strategy to demonstrate that the great, significant figures in the life of faith were fashioned from the same clay as the rest of us.” –Eugene Peterson; “Running with the Horses” From my observation, those living in intense poverty seem to be stronger then the majority living in the Western world in more ways than one. For example, carrying a 20 gallon jerry can filled with water while walking with no shoes in 100 degree heat for 5 miles is close to impossible for me. Many living in poverty have more resilience when faced with extremely difficult circumstances, more faith in God, more hope, and stronger wills. Over the past seven years of committing to Uganda, I’ve also realized the conditions of their hearts are no different than the rest of us. To name a few: Difficulties with relationships, judgment of others, assumptions, lying, cheating, falling in love, family issues, gossip, worry and anxiety, selfishness, anger, …all things that come with the human heart. We have a lot of differences, but really, we’re a lot alike.

Uganda: Take 6

I'm going back. With my husband. It's been three years since I've returned to the land I fell in love with at the age of 22. Now at the age of 30, I'm returning with my husband (a dream of mine), with ambition and hope. There are many goals we hope to attain. In partner with Hands in Service, here are our main goals: to provide quality curriculum for John Eluru Memorial Secondary School; finish the building project of a fence around the school so that the school can cultivate and provide food for itself and create a marketable income; add to the teacher's living quarters; provide quality beds for Kapelebyong Medical Clinic; conduct a 5 week reading program with both middle and high school students; spread the gospel of grace to teachers and students. Six days and counting. I fly off June 15th!!!