Its a Bit Cold Here

April 14th: Tuesday

Got up early from the hostel where we slept, loaded the car, ad left the cheesey country western music that had been playing since 4 that morning and headed to the airport. We made it through security and got our tickets. Storms were ranging over lake victoria that morning although they didnt keep us from taking off on time.

We flew into London and somehow made it through customs in record time. Lots of Mzungus here. We picked our car up a silver vauxhall or something. the tires are so little and its so clean. Jim just about drove of the road in the first two minutes cause the steering is so sensitive. carefullly following the directions from Margaret we managed to get completely lost and ended up on the wrong side of london. its cold here. we stopped in a rest stop and ought dinner and a map. emboldened by the blessing of the chashier that London traffic wasntbusy this time of night we procededto drive through the center of London which took us nearly two hours. We finally stopped that night at a little hotel that was overpriced but warm and crashed at 1 which is 3 for us.

the next morning we got up early and drov all morning up to Scotland. stopped just after geting into Scotland and buying some bread and cheese for lunch. love cheese. listened to musci all day on the drive up. we got to stirling just after 2 and explored the town. its a really cool place. alot of th buildings are really old. several hundred years at least. We drove out to the Murchinsons where we are staying and met them. Murdo and Margaret and their kids, Sarah, Murdo Jr. and Duncan. had tea with them which i guess is dinner. after that we went on a walk with both murdos up and around the neiborhood and into the forests and backpaths. slept under three blankets that night. lovely cold.

Are The Animals Supposed to be Out of Their Cages?

April 12th: Monday

Monday we were in Kamala and Entebbe and that afternoon we decided to go to the infamous Entebbe zoo. the day did not get off to an auspicious start. As we got out of the car several monkeys scampered by us and hopped over the fence. Apparently trying to keep the animals captive was not a strong point of this particular facility. if it had been a petting zoo it would have been less worrysome but as they had lions and hyens and the like we entered with some trepidation.

After trying (and on my part failing) to get a reduced ticket part because “of course we’re residents” we walked in. Fortunately it seemed as though the staff has only given up on keeping the vervet monkeys behind bars. unfortunately the janitorial service seemed to have all been sick or on holiday, for months.

The range of animals was rather impressive including believe it or not, a cow. remember that this is a country where you cant go 20 minutes without seeing a cow. they are everywhere, even in the cities. And yet somehow this most mundane of beasts came to reside with the zebras and ostriches. While the animals are contained for the most part the style of construction is somewhat lacking. the phrase jua-kali comes to mind. At the rhino’s enclosure there was only a 6 foot high metal fence which might consul a few but didnt look up to the job of stopping a half ton charging rhino.

As if to reasure you there are helpful signs all over the Zoo like "Dangerous Animal" in front of the Lion's cage. Also they had signs with emergency phone numbers assumedly in case you were being chased by some escaped animal and needed some assistance.

The scariest animal in the entire zoo isnt even restricted to an enclosure and actually technically isnt even part of the zoo. around the trees throughout the zoo there are hundreds and hundreds of spiders hanging in their webs. this lovely arachnids ranged from about the size of a quarter to as big as a tea saucer. ugh. the scond scariest animal was this freaky looking bird called a shoe-bill. looke kinda like a dinosaur but it had this evil looked in its eye. it said “I am going to eat you.’” Obviously there wornt any baboons.

One Last Time

April 10th-12th: Firday-Sunday

Firday night a couple girls who are working up in northern Karamoja who Jenny somehow contacted came down to visit. We had a big meal with everyone o the mission that night. It was interesting to here aobut their work up there. The Tricaricos went rafting th week before along with Anna so they should their video.

Saturday mornign the Wrights left kampala. Martha and Leah are going to a conference on an island in the middle of Lake Victoria and the family is going to visist and then go up to mbale. after a bit of a rough start they got off and i said goodbye. they gave me a t-shirt with “My name is not muzungu” on the front. its funny because they mispell “mzungu.” it has only one “u.” its kinda like wearing a shirt that says “i am not an idiat.”

That day i packed. i am leaving Uganda with almost the same amount of stuff as when i came. just most of its different. that night Jim and i went over and had dinner with Moses who made enough food for the entire mission.i love african food. pocho and rice with cabbage and greens along with goat and soup. Sunday at church i said goodbye. sucked.

"Is This a Hostel or a Hostile?"

April 5th-6th: Monday and Tuesday

Monday we visited a game park and had a lovely safari. it was Nakuru park which is situated around a lake. we saw thousands of flamingos and Thomson and Grant Gazelle, Impalla, Cape Buffalo, White Rhinos, Zebra, Giraffe, Ostrich, Water buck, Warthogs, and Eland. Also a lizard who nodded yes to every question we asked him. It was a really fun safari although a bit expensive because we didt see any lions or other predators.

that night though was an adventure. It was getting dark and we needed a place to stay. Jenny say a guesthouse/hostel from the road side and called but was told to "just come" so i ended up running over and asking about it. they showed me a room and so i ran back and after geting lost and stuck in a matatu park we finally reached there after dark. the lady who was helping us, named Monica, was really nice although very confused. it took forever to figure out that we wanted a room, for only one night and we all wanted to stay in one room. apparently jenny looked scared because Monica offered that she could sleep with her. whatever. then we didnt want dinner and Monica was scared of Jim and wouldnt talk to him. i think she had a little crush on me though. it was like a twilight zone episode.

Tuesday we crossed the border and made it to Mbale. that night we had a dinner at the landmark wit a bunch of people. it was really good. as it turned out that would be my last dinner at the landmark.

Nairobbery

April 3^rd-5^th: Saturday-Monday

We drove into Nairobi a little after 5 and promptly got lost. Jim had met and stayed with a couple her in Nairobi when he had come for the medical conference in January and we planned to stay with them again. Jim was able to call the wife and we managed to find our way. Joe and Elfie are an interesting couple. Joe is a Kenyan born in a village, son of a witch doctor he has traveled and lived abroad while getting various degrees. He speaks something like 13 languages and is a pastor of a Presbyterian church in Nairobi. Elfie is German born and came here to work in the 80s where she met Joe.

That night we went to an Ethiopian Restaurant where we talked with Joe and Elfie an ate some amazing food. the next morning we went to church with them. they are renting a really nice private school for their services. they congregation is over a 100 strong and divided up between indians, blacks and a scattering of Mzungu. it was a realy cool service. we sang in 3 languages, english, kiswahili, and hindi. we didnt get to hear Joe preach though because there was a guest pastor.

After the service we had lunch with Joe and Elfie and then Jim, Jenny and i spent the afternoon evening going to various shopping centers throughout Nairobi. we finally ended up at a tapas bar for dinner. When Jim was telling Jenny and i about this place we kept thinking he said "topless" bar. which of course was rather confusing because he was saying he had gone there last time and really liked the food. anyway a tapas bar is apparently mediteranean food which is amazing. i had a glass of wine. again.

Masaai in the Rift

April 2^nd-3^rd: Friday night and Saturday

Friday afternoon we arrived in Masaai land just before dark where we met Jim’s Masaai friend Simon. He is a short wiry fellow who looks only 30 but is over 50. He is a part-time preacher, community leader, and health worker who has been to America and speaks excellent English.

We arrived during a weekend of celebration not only because it is Easter but also because two boys will be circumcised the next day as a right of passage into manhood. That night Simon took us to visit some other Masaai in another boma. The houses or bomas here are rectangular and full of smoke since the Masaai cook inside their homes. They sleep on beds made from the dried hides of cows and stretched taunt across the frame. We spent several hours inside as people came in and out and talked and Jenny made a friend with a small Masaai girl and people greeted us. Eventually we went back; walking through the brush to Simon’s erai where he showed us the small mud building where we would sleep, thankfully smoke free. The rain played against the tin roof as I dozed off.

Simon woke us at 5 to go to the circumcision. We hiked back to the erai from the night before in the cold and the dark through a gentle drizzle. The boma was pleasantly warm and cozy as we waited for the ceremony to begin. After some time we went outside to wait with the men. The boys arrived just after light naked and supported by their elders. The Masaai aren’t aloud to show pain during the operation and the two boys where in an almost trance as they where laid on their special cow skin. After the nurse had finished the operation an elder poured cow milk on each thigh and then they where whisked inside to recover. We returned as well although we soon had to leave again from the smoke.

Much later that morning Simon and his second oldest son and the three of us left to go to Mt. Longonot Park. On the way Simon took us through some back ways where we saw several Thompson Gazelles and a Giraffe. Mt. Longonot is a large composite volcano. We hiked to the rim and looked down at the grass covered crater several hundred feet down. We watched the rains roll in from the west across the escarpment and into the rift valley.

We ate lunch at a small hotel just outside or Maai Mahiu and then returned to Simon’s where we packed and after attending some preaching and things for Easter and the circumcisions we left for Nairobi. We drove up the eastern escarpment nearly 2000 feet over the valley.

I fly like paper get high like planes, if you catch me at the border i got visas in my name

April 1^st-2^nd: Thursday and Friday

Jim, Jenny and I are taking a holiday from their hard work and my goofing off to go to Kenya this weekend. We left Nakale a little after two since Jim was a bit worried about weather the roads would be dry. Our worry proved to be unfounded since the road was dry although very rough. We stopped to see Dr. Jan in Mbale and Jim and Jenny gave her a present of clinic supplies we didn’t need.

That night we had dinner at the landmark with Al and the McBride’s who I met in Tanzania and Tim who is a British medical student working with Dr. Jan. It was fun to see the McBride’s again and to meet Tim. The food at the landmark was as usual superb. Al gave Jenny and me our passports which had just gone through immigration where we both had gotten an extension.

The next day we left for the border at the break of dawn. it takes about an hour to reach the border although the border took us more than two hours to pass. All went well though and I got Kenya stamped in my passport. For the next 8 hours we drove through western Kenya.

This entire area is incredibly green and beautiful. we passed up over the escarpment on the west side of the rift valley and drove down into it. The roads here are little more than a year old and in excellent shape although the traffic here consists of an amazing amount of large trucks seemingly exporting things to Uganda. The towns here are larger and Kenya’s economic superiority in east Africa is easily seen. there are only 73 Kenya shillings to the US dollar as apposed to nearly 2000 Ugandan shillings.

We stopped in Eldoret just before lunch a town several hours from the border where we went to the Nakumat and bought such luxurious as cheddar cheese and ice cream. Since Jenny has here international driver’s license she was able to help Jim with the driving and her and I talked for a couple of hours while Jim napped. We left the main road at Naivasha to Maai Mahiu where we left the lovely tarmac roads behind us and onto the familiar dirt ones to visit the Masaai

Matany, Moroto, and Much Much More

March 26^th-28^th: Friday- Sunday

Since I will be leaving here in a few weeks Jim and I wanted to visit Logiel Mark before I left. Jenny and Heather wanted to come and see Matany and visit Mark as well so after work the 4 of us along with JB and Okwai Moses set out for Matany. As we pulled out of the gates it began to rain ominously. thunder and lightning. a killer stalks the night.

All this proved notwithstanding though since the rain soon left and although the sky remained cloudy the roads up to Moroto were clear and somehow smooth. We stopped for petrol in Moroto and continued on to Matany where the road became a bit more dynamic. Upon reaching Matany we drove to the hospital and back to the guesthouse where located out rooms and learned that dinner was still in progress. Jim, Moses, JB and I went to go find Mark. We met him just outside of the surgery ward where he is working; it is good to see him. We went back to his quarters and he changed his cloths and then he returned with us to the guest house. /he had to leave to go to dinner and we ate some decent although rather odd food including pizza and fish noodles. after that we watched some satellite TV and then went and visited Mark. we got to talk and pray with him for a bit and then returned to the guesthouse where some went to bed and others did email and I slid around on the floors in my socks.

Saturday morning was really fun. Mark had classes early so we toured the gardens and Jim was able to buy some plants for his house and Moses got to spend some time in the lab and Heather got to see all the agriculture that Robert, the Italian missionary was doing. We got to go into town for a bit with Mark and have a soda and I bought a nice plastic red mug with “ok” written on the side and everything was just ok. we had lunch and met/talked with some of the missionaries working there and played “mobile” the most confusing African game I have ever played. after lunch we left and went direct to Nakipiritpirit where we planned to spend the night and meet Salim a Bangladeshi working for concern there and have some Bangladeshi food. unfortunately he had just gotten back from a trip so we drove the 45 minutes to home after Moses, JB, and I had a fight with some small fruits.

that evening the Baumgardeners came over and we made naan and paneer tika masala and watched slumdog millionaire. and I had tea out of my “ok” cup and the whole evening was just ok.

Sunday the morning was cold and cloudy and every one was late for church but almost everyone showed up so it was fine. That night Jim and I and the singles went over and hung out at the Wrights were we talked and looked up engrish.com a website with funny English spelling and grammar mistakes from all over the world.

In Which Some Fathers Teach Me About Correction and Cleaning

March 20^th-22^nd: Saturday-Monday

Saturday Jim, Rachel, The Baumgardeners and I went to Namalu and visited Guliano and the catholic fathers. It was really cool to meet all these different guys. Guliano was out in his fields trying to plant corn but since it had rained the night before he was having a lot of trouble with mud clogging the machine. The Fathers were eating lunch which they invited us to join in. some of the best food I have ever had. there is one Italian father residing in Namalu and a Spanish priest who is living their as well. the last guy is this funny old Italian guy who comes every year for a couple of months and helps out. He is installing the sound system in the church. The fathers being catholic and Italians have been making wine here and they had some of the distilled grapes or something. Basically like grape moonshine. They added it to their coffee as a “correction” because “there might be a mistake in the coffee and this will ‘correct’ it.” they also used it as a “cleaner” by taking shots of it in their empty glasses to “help out the dishwasher.”

That night after community meal Jim and I watched a Bollywood movie called Kuch Naa Kaho which means “don’t say anything” or something. it is kinda a chick flick but it was pretty good. Jim and I laughed the whole way through.

Sunday afternoon we had music at the ward. Not as many people showed up which was good since only English speakers came but also a bit disappointing that a lot of the English speakers who came last time didn’t come this time. still it was really encouraging and fun.

Monday Jim and I went for a run after work. we went up and around and at one point I just stopped and looked at Kadam and Karamoja and realized how much I will miss this place and how much I love it.

That night for guys night Jim made beef with peas again which unfortunately wasn’t as good as the first time he made it. Laurie, the proctors teacher came up from Mbale with here 3 siblings and cousin. Her two brothers came for dinner and we talked about forgiveness and what that looks like.

Blue Band Baby

March 17^th-19^th: Wednesday-Friday

Wednesday I did school with the Wrights after last weeks break. Everything went well. Later that afternoon I went over to the clinic and visited JB’s new baby. Joyce seemed to be doing pretty well and the baby seemed healthy. He is so little. I have already remarked on the odd custom of completely wrapping the babies in huge blankets with many layers and little knit caps and stuff until the age of about two when they go to the other extreme and just go naked or at most a shirt. One thing I didn’t know about though is how the mother will take blue band and smear the baby with it. Joyce says it helps keep the skin soft. ok.

while I was there Rachel, Maria, Josh visited along with a visitor, Josiah, who is a Geneva student studying in Rome. We stayed and talked for a bit. Josiah is an interesting guy; the next night at Stella’s dinner I got a chance to talk to him a bit more. he is in the army and has toured Iraq.

Thursday night we had a celebration dinner for Stella since she was married a few months ago. Some of the clinic ladies came and prepared the meal and all the clinic staff was invited. it was really good food. Chicken, pocho, cabbage, soup and tomatoes. for dessert all the missionaries came over as well. It was a really fun night.

Friday Jim and I made fish tacos and had the singles over including Rachel and hung out and talked for a bit afterwards.

Just a Short Blog Where I Return to the Homeland

March 15^th-16^th: Monday and Tuesday

Monday we resumed drilling at Yeroen’s. Dave and Bob have combined their two methods of drilling and Monday Bob used one of Dave’s hammer bits and his air compressor to drill with foam. The foam is the consistency of shaving cream and made of soap and water. It constantly gushes out of the hole as it is pumped through the system and creates a huge mess. After set up we drilled for about 5 hours and got through more than 40 feet of rock but only hit a little water. That night we ate at the landmark again.

Tuesday Martha decided to go back up to Nakaale and I came along as tire-changer man. We stopped off in town and collected some few groceries and food from Yeroen’s. Rachel and I went in and got to say goodbye to him. The trip up was uneventful. The road was horrible and we say a Tank sitting by the road along with a couple bored looking army officers.

It had been more than a week since I was last in Karamoja and I was glad to be back. It makes me realize how much I really like it here and will miss it when I leave in a few weeks.

Of Boda-bodas and Food of the Baumgardner

March 14^th: Sunday

Jim and Jenny needed to drive back up to Nakaale for church so we all left Sipi early and they dropped us at the junction again where Milton picked us and brought us into Mbale. He dropped us at the Proctars where we had breakfast and then we went to church with them. This was our second Sunday in Mbale and it was kinda nice to see everyone again.

After church we returned to the Wingaurds house and I caught a boda-boda into town. I had an infection in my leg which was paining me so I wanted to get started on the drugs. I went to Andy Co. After taking a boda-boda back I had lunch which was this pasta with spicy tomato sauce and naan and some calzones Heather had made. She is amazing.

That afternoon Heather and I went to the same bible study that Jenny, Rachel and I had attended the week before. This time it was at Yeroen’s and Eid’s gave us a ride out there. Not so many people sowed up this time but people I had met that week and knew from last week. It was really cool to get to know some more people in Mbale. We had a really good discussion and then some great food. The Eid’s gave us a ride back into town as well where we got to see the Wrights and here how things at the Irish Ball went.

Sipi Agua

March 12^th-13^th: Friday and Saturday

Friday morning the Wrights left for Kampala. They are playing at the annual Irish Ball on Saturday night while Justin, Heather, Laurie, and I are meeting Jim and Jenny and going to Sipi. Friday we spent hanging out. Justin and I walked into town and got some food while Heather stayed back. We ate at Yeroen’s shop and had some yogurt and chapatti. After that we wondered around Mbale town for a bit and were mistaken for Asians.

Milton gave us a ride from Mbale up to where the tarmac ends and the road to Sipi splits off. Jim and Jenny were waiting for us. It is good to see them again. We drove up to Sipi and checked in at the Crow’s Nest. That night we ate at Sipi River Lodge and then hung out afterwards. Right before we started dinner JB called to say his wife is in labor.

The next morning we went hiking having lunch at the top waterfall. After hiking a few of us went on a “coffee tour”. We got ripped off. We had been told that we would be able to participate in the process and stuff but they just showed us some coffee plants and gave us a cup of joe.

That night we ate at Sipi River lodge again and spent the afternoon hanging out there. I was able to get online and watch a few You tube videos and do some email. The food that night was as good as the night before. pumpkin soup with fresh bread and cottage pie with some mango thing for dessert. wow. We heard that day Joyce, JB’s wife, had given birth to a little boy.

Rafting on the River Nile

March 6^th: Saturday

Saturday morning we got up before dawn to drive up to Jinja to go rafting. Rachel wasn’t interested in going rafting again so we dropped her at Kingfisher and then went to the rafting place. We paid and then sighned our lives away and had breakfast. there were about 40 people rafting that morning. after a pep talk we went and got our life vests and helmets and then loaded into two trucks and drove down to our launching point on the Nile. Out group was all loaded into one raft and we started off. to start out we practiced falling out of the raft, climbing back in and reflipping the raft.

After several kilometers we began to encounter the first rapids. The support kayaks would go first along with the support raft and then the rest of us would follow one by one. The first time we flipped was at the 3^rd rapid. We got stuck in the rapid and were whirled around for several second before we finally tipped. I managed to drag myself aboard the support raft. Many of the rapids as you approached you could see the raft ahead of you simply diseaper over the top. During one rapid we paddled into it and then swept down where we met a wall of water well over our raft. The second time we flipped over I managed to hang on to the saftey rope and road out the rapid with the raft.

Over all I got the worst sunburn of my entire life and had a pretty great day of it. That night we stayed at the cabins provided by the rafting company and stayed up late and talked with some people we had gone rafting with.

Rafting on the River Nile

March 6^th: Saturday

Saturday morning we got up before dawn to drive up to Jinja to go rafting. Rachel wasn’t interested in going rafting again so we dropped her at Kingfisher and then went to the rafting place. We paid and then sighned our lives away and had breakfast. there were about 40 people rafting that morning. after a pep talk we went and got our life vests and helmets and then loaded into two trucks and drove down to our launching point on the Nile. Out group was all loaded into one raft and we started off. to start out we practiced falling out of the raft, climbing back in and reflipping the raft.

After several kilometers we began to encounter the first rapids. The support kayaks would go first along with the support raft and then the rest of us would follow one by one. The first time we flipped was at the 3^rd rapid. We got stuck in the rapid and were whirled around for several second before we finally tipped. I managed to drag myself aboard the support raft. Many of the rapids as you approached you could see the raft ahead of you simply diseaper over the top. During one rapid we paddled into it and then swept down where we met a wall of water well over our raft. The second time we flipped over I managed to hang on to the saftey rope and road out the rapid with the raft.

Over all I got the worst sunburn of my entire life and had a pretty great day of it. That night we stayed at the cabins provided by the rafting company and stayed up late and talked with some people we had gone rafting with.

Drug Running, Traffic Cops, and Forgiveness

March 4^th and 5^th: Thursday and Friday

Thursday morning Jim, Heather, Jenny, Leah, Rachel and I left for Kampala for a drug run and then for rafting on the Nile on Saturday. Bob and Justin followed after us driving down the Dina for a supply run. The last several days it has been raining so the entire road down was muddy and rough. Jim’s new Prada though did fine throughout it all. At one point there was 21 marble trucks stuck in a row. We managed to get around them all though. We met Bob and Justin for lunch in Mbale at the landmark. We drove for the rest of the afternoon to reach Kampala. It rained on us. Jim was stopped once by a traffic cop. the conversation went something like this

Traffic Cop, “hello, are you Ugandan?”

Jim, “I’m an American but I live up in Karamoja.”

TC, “Even me I’m American except for being black.”

Jim, “Oh, where are you from in America?”

TC, “Colorado”

Jim, “Oh”

TC, waving to the four girls in the back, “These ones are excess, leave one here.”

Jim, “haha”

TC, “ok, you are free to go.”

That night after we checked into the cornerstone guesthouse where we were staying we went to an Ethiopian Restaurant. I have never had Ethiopian food before but it was delicious. We sat outside underneath an umbrella tree and ate by candlelight. After dinner we went to Garden City and watched “My Name is Khan” a new bollywood. The first hour was hilarious then it got really sad and kept dragging on and on.

Friday Jim and Jenny went and picked up drugs in the morning while Leah met a friend of hers and Heather, Rachel and I spent the day at Garden City. I spent the morning on Jim’s computer. I did some email and tried to apply for college and figure out some stuff for Jim’s and my trip to Scotland. Had lunch in Garden City with Heather. I got a couple Lebanese sandwiches, schuarmas (sp?) or something.

Then we had to go meet Bob and Justin to drop off the drugs and pick up Justin so he could go rafting with us. Jim got pulled over twice in about two minutes by some traffic cops. They were just looking for bribes and Jim just kept saying he was willing to pay the ticket which is more work for them and they don’t make any money so he was forgiven. Went to a stupid movie that night, Percy Jackson and then went out to Thai food at like 9. Great food. God bless Thailand.

In Which There Is Much Singing In English

February 28^th- March 2^nd: Sunday- Tuesday

Sunday afternoon instead of having the usual singing and teaching at the main house we went to the ward at the clinic. We arrived early and Jim played his bagpipes while Jenny Heather and I opened up the ward and set chairs up inside. The entire clinic staff came along with several of the workers and some of the people from just around. We sang a bunch of English songs with guitar and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Al gave a short devotional sort of thing. We had planned to have it for only English speakers but someone asked if we could translate so Al and Lokwii Paul were really cool about it and translated it. We sang one song to end the time with. The entire thing was really cool. Afterward I went to JB’s and spent some time hanging out and talking with him along with some of the Wright kids.

Monday was a rainy and cold day. For devotions at the clinic I went over with the Wrights and Martha and Rachel played guitar and we sang English songs. The clinic staff seemed to really like it. That night at guy’s night Jim made beef with peas on rice and it tasted really good.

Tuesday at work Justin and I worked on the roof for the new meeting banda on the main compound. We wound rebar around the frame so they could put the grass on. He welded it all together while I helped maneuver the rebar. It started to rain though so we had to stop early. They guys from the clinic came and we played football. I think we may have won but I don’t remember actually.

I Like Chocolate Milk

February 26^th-27^th: Friday and Saturday

Friday night Jim and I had the Wrights and the singles over for dinner. Jim made pork with apples. It was really good but very strange since it spelled a bit like apple pie but tasted like sweet pork. Very nice though. After dinner we talked a bit about the difficulties of missions and different aspects of the mission here.

Saturday morning I went to work. Justin and I loaded up Bob’s truck and went over and helped the work crew put the last of the iron sheets over Al’s office. Al is very allergic to mold and every time it rains the roof leaks and new mold sprouts up. Because of this Bob and Craig decided to simply extend the iron sheets out and over. Every thing went very well although it took us a long time. The work crew only works tell 1:00 on Saturday so Justin and I finished up on our own. After putting the last sheet on Justin was standing on top of the scaffolding looked at days work when the scaffold tipped under him. He managed to catch the roof and then springboard off one of the cross braces of the scaffold as it fell and landed on his feet. Dented the roof a bit though.

Justin and I finished around 2:00 so I headed home and had lunch. I made a toasted cheese sandwich with pickles and Jim’s special mustard. Then I made some bread and snickerdoodles at the same time which generally never works for me; I generally end up burning something but everything went well except that when I pulled out the bread and flipped it upside down to let it cool one of the loafs completely collapsed. The entire center was doughy.

Before the community meal Jim and I went on a quick run. The food at the community meal was amazing. Al made the meat and Heather and Jenny made some amazing potatoes plus some salads and stuff. And of course for dessert we had snickerdoodles, mmm…tastes like home. On the way home Jim and I stopped at the Wrights and talked a bit and I realized how little time I have left here. Heather and Jenny came over for a movie and Jim made some drinks with his chocolate milk. Jim bought two huge packs of chocolate milk in little juice boxes about a month ago because the guy gave him a really good discount. Well the expiration date is tomorrow so Jim realized this a few days ago and he and I have been drinking about 4 of these a day ever since.

Jungle Jim Returns

February 21^st-22^nd: Sunday and Monday

Sunday morning around nine I was loafing around in my boxers, thinking about cleaning up the house before Jim got back and this shining Prado comes rolling into our gates. Crab cakes and tartar sauce. I helped Jim unload the car which was laden with snack foods from far off Kenya, plus luggage and other less important stuff. Jim helped me clean the house a bit and then we headed off to church. A bunch of guys from the clinic came to see Jim and we all sat together during church.

After church Joseph, the head doctor from Takora came over for lunch along with Leah, Heather, and Jenny. The Baumgardeners made lunch and dessert. It was good to have Jim back. I was kinda freaking out.

Jb came and visited us that afternoon and Jim and him got to talk a bit. We drove over to devotions since JB is still pretty beat up. Jim talked after devotions about his trip to Kenya and some of the stuff he learned and saw. He told a great story about visiting his Maasai friends and fleeing from berserk buffalo. Jim and I spent a quite evening at home. we got to talk and pray.

Monday I did school in the morning and then helped to acid wash Jim’s walls; to remove the excess cement from the stone. Moses, Albert, Lokwii, Robert, and some friend of Lokwii’s came over to play football. We started playing as it continued to drizzle. For the first time I felt as though I was actually playing alright. The teams were pretty evenly matched and we had a lot of fun. Jim got back from his run and I helped him make dinner. He made this amazing beef with peas on rice witch tasted really good. Bobby, James, and Justin showed up and eventually Robert, Moses, and Albert came back as well. We have kinda been going through the young peacemakers on Monday nights so we discussed consequences which went pretty well.

Of Bicycles and Thunder Storms

February 19^th-20^th: Friday and Saturday

I got up early Friday morning and did devotions and did some few excercises. that morning I did school with Bobby and then did science with him and Anna. after eating lunch at the main house I took Jim’s bicycle for a spin and headed over to the clinic to see JB. the bikes here are all old school full metal bicycles and somehow they are incredibly unstable. I’m not sure why but you seem to have a really high center of balance and little control. however I enjoyed my bike over to the clinic, the sun was shining, the men where under the etule tree, the women were working.

I stopped in the clinic to see if JB was around. I sayed hello to Moses and Susan who made me try some “cookies”. flour with sugar fried in oil. Like a sweet mendazi. I biked back to JB’s house. he took a spill coming back from Takora visiting his wife and his knee is all infected and he may have broken his inky finger. A kamakazi goat got him. He seemed a little down. Losike is in Namalu with the grandmother. we talked for a half hour and he had me try these little seeds that pack an incredible unch, nasty and bitter.

After 5:00 Moses, Robert, and Albert came over from the clinic to play football. Moses had to be on my team, poor guy. After a bit Justin showed up and played with Robert and Albert played sides.

That night all the singles and the kids came over here to eat dinner and hang out. Jamie and Rachel blasted music and we talked and hung out tell ten. it was fun and stuff.

Saturday was a bit of a strange day. I got up and went over to help Craig and Bob. I helped Craig lay tiles all morning tell lunch. I made lunch and dark clouds starting rolling in and thunder sounded. Just as I finished it began to rain. It poured rain for nearly an hour. After wards I went over and Craig and I finished putting down the Jim’s master bedroom.

After work then Albert, Robert, and Moses came over and we played football in the mud tell I had to go shower for community meal. Dinner was delicious and after wards the Wright kids came over and we watched Wallace and Grommet: Curse of the Were-Rabbit at the tricarico’s.

What About Quiche?

February 7-9 : Sunday-Tuesday

Sunday morning was hot. The rest of the day followed suit. Hot, hot, hot. After church Heather, Jenny, and Leah invited Justin and me over for lunch. I sat on the counter and didn’t contribute to the lunch making process at all. Actually I may have hampered the ability of the chef people. The kitchen in the main house has my favorite sitting counters of all time. They are plenty wide enough and the perfect height. My mother always scolded me for sitting on the counters but here in Africa I have gone counter-sitting berserk. Despite my “help” lunch turned out delicious, pesto chicken pasta with good bread.

After lunch Jenny was called down to the clinic to get some drugs for a patient so rather than do the gracious thing and offer to do the dishes I went with her to visit the clinic staff. First we visited JB who just returned from Namalu and was about to set out for Takora where his wife is staying because she is very pregnant. Losike, his son, was in a foul mood because as he says his mother is “gone to buy another baby”. We visited Rose, JB’s sister who had lost her baby during delivery and had to have a c-section. She seems to be improving. Next we stopped in on Moses and Susan and played cards with them tell prayers.

Monday night was guy’s night so I made up some potatoes and fried it up with onion, tomatoes, cheese, and eggs. Everyone came though and we ran out of food. Everyone got some but not enough to really fill them up. I felt horrible.

Tuesday night Jenny and Heather made dinner at my house and invited Moses, Susan, Robert and his Wife and kid who are visiting from Matany where his wife works as a Nurse and their son just sleeps, eats, and cries. He’s just a newborn so it’s ok though. Heather and Jenny made a lovely quiche and bread with Jam. Robert’s wife (obviously I don’t know her name otherwise I would use it) was really funny. She was trying to eat and keep the baby quite at the same time which meant she was accomplishing neither. Jenny took the baby and promptly scared it speechless by making faces at it. After dinner Moses, Robert, and Susan taught me how to play Ludo which is kinda a lot like Sorry. Susan is really funny because she gets really competitive and into the game. Poor Moses though never does well. He is the worst board-game player I have ever seen. Not only does he always lose but he also always finishes last.

In Which We Participate in a Parade, See Bushes with AK-47s, and Revance

February 6^th: Saturday

Saturday Martha, all the Wrights kids, and I piled into their van and along with the Eldeens set off on an expedition. Our destination, a “Peace Village” several kilometers from Nabilatuk where two different Karimojong tribes have come to live in peace instead of raiding from each other. We were to meet a group there including two men from Peacemaker Ministries in the US and from the Eldeen’s and my home church. Unfortunately after a half hour drive from the main road into the boondocks we encountered a nearly impassable stretch of “road” from the recent rains from the night before.

After our forced “revance” we stopped in Nabilatuk for sodas where we immediately attracted a huge crowd of curious children who flocked after us like we had 3 heads. The Eldeens headed back while Martha went to the local shop to go and buy some groceries. JB and Christine had come with us and JB wanted to go visit his aunt so we took refuge in here compound from the hundreds of obnoxious kids who had been following us. It was like being mobbed by the paparazzi.

JB’s aunt gave us tea and told us that there were so many people in town today because supposedly Janet Museveni was supposed to come and speak in this rally thing. Well wow, so we decided to stick around and check out this rally. There we got seats underneath a tent and watched several groups of Karimojong women perform songs. After that to our complete astonishment a marching band appeared from somewhere and the entire town participated in the spontaneous parade up and down the main street of Nabilatuk. After the parade the army burned 136 AK-47s as a symbol of the disarmament. Apparently someone didn’t do his job properly because a bullet went off in one of the chambers which freaked everyone out and most of the people ran away. Then several speakers came and the Wright kids somehow scored free sodas. I was standing by some soldiers who participated in the parade and for some unfathomable reason were covered in branches so they looked like bushes with AKs and RPGs. One particular soldier by me must have been like 4’9” and had this hug RPG over one soldier. He was shorter than Kipsy.

Eventually the realization sunk in that Janet Museveni wasn’t coming and instead it was someone who used to have her post in Karamoja. We left the rally disappointed but optimistic because we had seen great and wonderful things that day.

In Which My Life Takes an Exciting Turn of Events

February 1^st-5^th: Monday-Friday

Monday night we had guyed’s (I left this spelled wrong because this is what my computer thinks this is correct, little scary? I think so) night. Jim and I made some sort of food stuff. Justin came with James and Bobby and then Robert, Moses, and JB came from the clinic. After dinner we played cards. Jim taught the clinic guys how to play 21 which is all good but unless your betting it’s actually kinda a boring game. They were really into it though. Eventually we switched and started playing sets which is this game they pay here.

Teaching has been going pretty well. It’s something I don’t think I am very good at but I am helping out the Wrights and giving Martha more free time so it’s good. Actually Bobby has finished his math book for the year and Mary and Kipsie have finished their science book too so we have just moved on to the next books.

Jim left Friday of this week to go to Kenya for two weeks. He is taking part in a two week seminar thing for doctors in third world countries in tropical regions and also renewing his CPR registration. He left Friday to ride down with Bob to Mbale where hopefully he will be able to pick up his new car.

Sherlock Holmes and a Cow

January 28^th-29^th: Thursday and Friday

Thursday morning after teaching The O’Leary’s met with all the MAs. They asked us about our input on how things were at the mission and how we felt like we were helping and what, what. It was a good discussion. I really appreciate the O’Leary’s taking so much interest in our mission and how things are going. Unfortunately because our meeting ran so long we missed the group going into town that morning.

After lunch however we were able to get a ride into town. Jenny, Heather, Maria and I wondered around and bought a couple of movies, Sherlock Holmes and another movie, Standing Tall or something. We stopped at flavors where we had a some milkshakes. Eventually we got pickeys back to the Kingfisher.

After we got back we went on a boat ride before dinner out on Lake Victoria and the Nile. The boat captain/driver had it in first gear the whole way. He used about a teaspoon of gas. It was a bit ridicules. That night after having a cigar with Craig we all watched Sherlock Holmes. Pretty entertaining movie. Very different from the books but that is to be expected.

Friday all the MAs piled into Andrews van for the drive back to Mbale. An uneventful trip except Andrew hit a speed bump at nearly full speed. I thought we had hit a cow.

We found Jim somewhat recovered at the Shelburne’s. We decided just to load up and head back to Nakaale that night rather than append another night away from home.

That day I read the first half of the sci-fi short stories I bought in Jinja. I had ripped it in half and given half to Rachel. The first half had definitely better stories. Some really interesting ones. The book was all sci-fi mysterious by Isaac Asimov.

Street Sellers and Nightswimming

January 27^th: Wednesday

Jim was feeling really sick so Wednesday after breakfast he left to go crash at the Shelburne’s house in Mbale. That morning a bunch of us went to a cloth textile factory. The company made all their own thread, which they dyed and then spun on these huge wooden looms. It was really cool. The whole operation took place in this old brick building which didn’t have glass in the windows or finishings. With the cloth they made all kinds of stuff including rugs, blankets, some kid’s cloths, bags etc…The looms where the coolest part of the whole place. They were huge and hand operated. Pre-industrial revolution.

After that we all headed into town to check out the scene. Jimja’s main street consists of several restaurants. Some local shops and about 50 little tourist shops all selling the exact same things. I split and headed down town to try to find a book seller where I could get some books. I passed several street sellers but they only had text books. Finally I hit the jackpot. A Sherlock Holmes book and a sci-fi short collective of short stories. The man who sold them to me had an incredibly high voice. It was like bargaining with Mickey Mouse.

Jenny, Laurie (an MA, teacher for the Proctars) Rachel, and I decided to stay in town for lunch. We went to Aussies’ which is this cool little shop run by this old Australian lady. I had a mushy burger which was pretty good although the food did take forever. After we ate we wondered around town a little bit. To get back to the Kingfisher we hired a couple of Boda-Bodas (pickeys).

David O’Leary has been teaching through the book of Job during the retreat. Once in the morning and again in he afternoon. He is a really insightful, interesting, and passionate speaker. I really enjoyed his teaching.

That night I went out to eat with the Wrights and the other singles. Bob had arrived that day with the Wright’s cousin Justin and we all went to the Gately which is this really nice restaurant on the Nile. We sat out back on the veranda where we ordered drinks and sat in their incredibly comfy furniture and talked until the food was served just after dark. I had a steak on top of pumpkin mash potatoes topped with a blue cheese sauce and served with sweet potato chips. Best meal I have had since Khana Kazana. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Then we all had ice-cream for dessert. wow.

After we got back that night I had a cigar with Craig and Phil. The kids all like to swim at night so they jumped in and after I finished my cancer stick I joined them. The night was cloudless and a nearly full moon looked down on us. I kept thinking of that song Nightswimming by R.E.M. Post swim I donned my new trousers and stayed up late talking to people.

Favorful Sequins

January 25^th-26^th: Monday and Tuesday

Monday afternoon all the MA’s and Jim piled into the decrepit green land rover and headed to Jinja for the mission retreat. That night we reached Mbale. After being sick for the entire week I was going a bit stir crazy so I talked the entire way down to Mbale. That night we ate at the landmark. The food has really improved.

Tuesday morning Jim wanted to leave early so we could get to Jiinja early and spend hours at Flavors his favorite coffee shop in all of Uganda. It’s a little slice of the west. Ironically we arrived too early and Flavors wasn’t even open. So we went to the Big Bazaar Supermarket. We stalked up on water and Jim bought some weird gum. Then we went to flavors which had just opened. I haven’t really been hungry since I became sick so Jim made me eat some of his pancakes.

Jim and heather wanted to hang out and do email but I wanted to go into the market and stuff so Jenny, Leah and I left. The market is just like I remember it from before I went to Tanzania. I don’t remember it smelling like fish so much though. Unfortunately I had to walk by the shoe ladies but I don’t think they saw me. I really wanted to buy some jeans. I only have one pair of pants and I am going to need some more for Scotland. I started looking. The jean sellers are a pretty chill group of guys. Not pushy, mellow but helpful. For the most part. They kept giving me girl jeans though. Which is all fine but I don’t have the hips. Also a lot of the jeans had like butterflies and sequins and stuff on them. What? Eventually I found the holy grail of jean stalls. This guy had no less than three pairs of jeans that where the right waist, length, color (blue jeans, not red) and best of all, men’s. He was asking outrageous prices though but I worked him down and paid about 6 dollar for them.

We checked into the kingfisher where I have a little quarter banda all to myself. Not sure why I am not rooming with Jimmy since it would be cheaper but whatever. We ate lunch as a mission. The Tricaricos, Eldeens, Wrights (except Bob who was still in Kampala picking the Wrights cousin) the Proctors, Andrew, and the MAs. Finally Mr. and Mrs. O’Leary who are on the foreign mission board for the OPC came to visit.

Don't Touch Me, i'm Hot

January 16^th-17^th: Saturday and Sunday

Saturday Jim and Jenny wanted to go into Mbale to visit people and I decided to tag along. we left early, driving the Okkens’ newly repaired vehicle. I had been feeling a bit under the weather when I woke up but was feeling much better now. we drove along through southern Karamoja when we encountered a problem. the car suddenly jerked and the front left side plunged downward. As we skidded to a stop something caught our eye. we watched as our front left tire bounced amiably into the field on our left. apparently Bob and Craig hadn’t tightened the lug nuts after repairing the car. however we soon had the car jacked up and with several lug nuts Jenny had found on the side of the road and a few lifted from other tires we soon had the tire remounted and were off.

we picked Laurie, the Proctar’s teacher and went to landmark fro lunch. we also met Andrew Innocent. Andrew is a long time friend of the mission who is currently going to medical school in south west Uganda and an old friend of Jim’s. Jim, Andrew and I went to go run some errands and things. I got to have several interesting conversations with him. mainly about what I want to do with my life and why I like Africa. we also got to stop by the home of the head Lab tech from Cure’s house where we met his family and stayed and talked for a while.

later that afternoon Jim and I climbed the mountain behind Mbale. it was a spectacular view and a beautiful climb. unfortunately I was feeling pretty sick at the time. we got back and after a shower and I ate a bit at the Proctar’s and then went to bed with a horrible fever. it seemed like the worst fever I have ever had. I woke a half dozen time during the night and was always too hot or cold and always wet with sweat.

the next morning we left early in order to be on time for church. I crashed out in the backseat as we drove. I spent the rest of Sunday sleeping and laying on the couch. eventually I managed to get up an
d take a shower. I had a fever again that night.

A Trip Down Country Including Music, Movies, and More Gross Stuff

January 7^th-11^th: Thursday-Monday

Thursday morning I left with Martha and the kids for Mbale. The Wrights were going down to Kampala for the weekend in order to do some airport runs including dropping of Ben Smith. Ben and I were going to go rafting in Jinja on Saturday before he flew out Sunday morning.

Meanwhile this meant I got to spend the day in Mbale. On the drive down I sat up front with Martha and we talked about my time in Tanzania and everything else. We arrived in Mbale and after eating lunch at the Proctors’ we left the three youngest girls and went into town to run some errands. Martha took Bobby to see a therapist at CURE and Rachel and I descended into the market to try to buy some ingredients to concoct a fruit salad for dinner that night at the Protars’. We also tried unsuccessfully to buy some shorts for Bobby at a reasonable price.

The next day I was to spend the day in Mbale where I would meet Jim, Ben and the other singles and we would go rafting on Saturday. However the white land cruiser broke down and we were unable to procure another vehicle I just went down with the Wrights. That night we stayed at the ARA, the American Recreation Association. It is an extremely facility with the nicest rooms I have stayed in Africa and a swimming pool and tennis courts. That night was music night which is something put on by these two British guys which the Wrights have played in before. Unfortunately this time there was hardly anyone around and besides the Wrights only one other guy performed. Still it was fun.

The next day I awoke to the most delicious breakfast I have had in recent memory. Over easy eggs, bacon and sausage with a croissant or something. Then Bob, Bobby and I went into Industrial Kampala to pick up some parts. We stopped at several shops and bought various car parts, looked at toilets, and bought a mechanics creeper.

After we ran our errands we returned to the ARA and loaded everyone and everything up and then traveled down between Kampala and Entebbe to stay with a friend of the Wrights, Clark. We unloaded all our possessions into his extremely nice and comfortable house and then returned to Garden City. Garden City is the only real mall in Uganda and is rather amazing. We ate at the food court where I had Lebanese food. Then we wondered around and checked out all the shops. Bobby and I went exploring found a store that was exactly like America. It smelled like America, looked like America, it was freaky.

That night we went and saw Avatar. All in all I thought it was a pretty lousy movie. the special effect an action sequences were amazing as where the opening 15minutes when any originality slipped in. the rest of the movie was filled with card board cut out characters and plots strait out of any Disney movie. The plot was boring and predictable and the characters were about as shallow as puddles.

The next morning we went to church at New City a Presbyterian church after Bob had dropped Ben Smith off at the airport. The congregation was about half African and half ex-patriots. The singing was good as well as the message. After the service we went to a Tandoori restaurant called Khanna Kazana or something like that. The best food I have ever had. It is my favorite restaurant in Uganda.

That night after we returned to Clark’s I was put under the knife. For about a week I had had an infection in my arm. Saturday I had started taking anti-biotics and although I had tried to drain it of puss earlier nothing had occurred. Now though the time was ripe. Bob did some digging and prodding with a leather man and suddenly I was gushing black blood. Vast quantities of black blood and pus came out and the swelling went down from a golf ball sized bulge to almost nothing. It hurt. Thankfully Bob gave me some extra strong painkiller and as it turned out. That was the last I needed for my arm. I had been needing to take some so I could fall asleep for the past several nights.

That night Bob picked up Andrew Dickson who has been gone for the last couple of months to America and New Zealand. The next day we packed up and gave one of the vans we had driven down to Andrew While Bob and Bobby rode in the new Dina truck Bob had picked up from Chipper’s the night before.

In the Evening we ate dinner at the Landmark. The Landmark has changed a lot since I first ate there in June. The old owner Shameek (sp?) left for India and the new owners along with a new cook have also bought a pool table, DSTV, and are trying to cater to a more diverse group of people. the food Monday night was incredible. best food I have ever had at the landmark. The Wrights invited an Indian family I have never meet before but have been friends of the mission for years. They were a really interesting couple.

In Which We Celebrate a New Year, See Gross Stuff, and Are Offered a Goat

December 31^st-Januarey 2^nd: Thursday- Saturday

Thursday night the entire mission gathered in the main house to welcome in the New Year. The Myhre’s, another missionary family from south western Uganda visited on there way to Kenya to drop their kids of for boarding school.

About half way through the night Jim and I left for the clinic to go visit those of there. The clinic staff had been telling him about how they welcome in the New Year by burning things. Burn the old things, like Christmas trees. Jim and I arrived shortly before ten only to discover that everyone was asleep already. We managed to rouse Robert, Moses and Susan. We listened to the radio, the top 100 best songs of the year, and played Mexican train. All Ugandan DJ’s have a strange way of talking. They all sound like their constipated.

Just before midnight Jim and I walked back to the mission compound. The moon was nearly full and the fields and house stood out in stark relief against the shadows. At midnight we toasted in the New Year. I toasted with fanta passion soda.

Friday morning Jim, Ben, Leah and I left for Matany, a town several hours north of here, to visit Logiel Mark who is going to school at the Catholic hospital there. The land changes from Nakaale to Moroto. The vegetation thins out and trees become less and less common until they disappear almost entirely. Matany lies several kilometers from Moroto, at the base of Mt. Moroto. The entire village only exists because of the hospital. The hospital complex is huge with wards, and house staffing as well as gardens and a machine shop, plus places for patient’s families to stay and guests. A massive church dominates one corner of the compound.

We met Mark and his friend Abraham. He showed us a little around his school and stuff before we were caught in a rain storm that had followed us from Nakaale. That night while Robert visited his wife, who works at the hospital, and new born daughter we ate and slept at a little inn across the street from the hospital. It was relatively nice except they didn’t have enough food and the bathroom didn’t have a handle, just a hole in the door where a handle should have gone. You could kinda hold he door closed though with your foot. We fell asleep that night listening to Nigerian soup operas blaring away in the next room.

The next morning Jim, Mark and I got a chance to talk. He seems to be doing well here although it has been hard going to a catholic run school. We were able to pray and talk. Soon afterwards Jim, Ben, and I went to the hospital were Jim and Ben really wanted to follow along on the ward rounds. I went because I didn’t want to sit around all morning. We lucked out and managed to get assigned to the surgical ward were, due to lack of a surgeon present severe trauma cases had been stalking up for weeks. It was a virtual parade of infections, gunshot wounds, bloated and swollen limbs and burns. .it wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for the horrible smells that come with it all. After seeing more than twenty male patients I opted out of seeing the female patients and made what I hoped was a dignified retreat with my masculinity intact.

After a tour of the hospital the lack of adequate dinner the night before and no breakfast began to catch up to me. First though Robert wanted to show us the “lagoon”. What the heck? We hiked out behind hospital compound of into the scrub. After what seemed like hours we arrived at a walled compound. This we were informed was the “lagoon”. We peered through the gates and say some few plants and such like growing. We were informed that the sewage from the hospital came out here and fed the plants. Some lagoon. after a torturous walk back into town Robert informed us that the food was still not ready and we walked into town were I was rope into playing two humiliating games of pool before we were allowed to return and eat and Robert’s wife’s house.

We left shortly afterward. We stopped on the way back as we had on the way there and visited Mark’s family. Mark’s father was a little drunk this time then our first visit and wanted to give us a goat. We finally persuaded him to keep the goat and we would return and eat it together.

News

After some discussion the mission has decided to let me join as an Missionary Assisant which means for me I get to stay tell April hopefully. I have switched though from helping Bob and Craig and Craig being my missionary of oversight to being the Wrights teacher and having the Wrights as my missionaries of oversight.

I now spend the mornies and some of the afternoons teaching the Wright kids. I Do math and reading with Bobby, Science with Anna and Bobby and Science with Mary and Kipsy. It’s a pretty big change from what I have been doing but I enjoy spending more time with the Wright kids and after school I still help Bob and Craig so it has been working out really well.

Tis the Season For Rain?

December 24^th-25^th: Thursday and Friday

Christmas Eve dawned cool and cloudy. The air was misty and damp. That morning we put the ridge cap Jim’s house. We only worked a half day since we had a Christmas Eve service at the church at 4. We sung some Christmas songs converted to Na Karamojong.

After the service Jim and I drove back to Namalu to drop off the school boys and JB. We say Zachary Emeron the pastor for the Namalu church. He greeted us and said they were having a service tomorrow. Then we went to JB’s house were we say his wife, Joyce and his son Losike, who is pretty cute and has a huge head.

That night for dinner we ate nibbles. Kris made an incredible cheese ball. There were cookies and sweets. It was amazing food. My lemonole wasn’t a big hit. I tried to make guacamole but I added to much chili powder and lemon juice. So it first tasted like battery acid, then the heat hit, like a freight train. After we ate we sang a few Christmas carols and then got down to the white elephant gift exchange.

The presents were varied and interesting. Jim and I contributed a dozen eggs, or less, decorated with faces. We drew bandito, a uni-browed man, a Cyclops, Tin Tin, and Harry Potter just to name a few. Our other present was a flatus bag Jim had and some candies. The flatus bag was medical mystery to us. It had a plastic bag and a long tube connected to it. How exactly it was used we could imagine but why we couldn’t figure out.

After the gift exchange Jim and I returned to our house and talked for a bit and read A Cowboy Christmas; a short story my dad has read to our family on Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember.

Sunday morning I rolled out of bed a little after 8 or something and did my devotions and then wandered out into the kitchen to see what was cooking. Nothing was so I made coffee cake while Jim prepared the salad for Christmas dinner that night. After the coffee cake came out we made eggs (3 runny yokes, I non-runny yoke) and sat down to a lovely Christmas breakfast. Jim whips out my present (a tusker shirt) so I grabbed the bag and tissue paper and quickly wrapped his (a Tanzania jersey).

After breakfast we headed over to the Wrights where we met Leah and Ben and along with Martha and Rachel we set out in the van for Namalu. We stopped at the clinic first and picked up Moses and Susan. We pulled up to the tin clad church of Namalu which was blasting American songs out of a scratchy boom box. The church service began with praying and singing. As the time passed more and more people showed up. It reminded me so much of Tanzania. All the singing and the drums playing and the choirs coming up and singing and they way people dressed even. The service lasted well over two hours. After the service we were invited over to the pastors house for an amazing meal where we wee introduced to his family, all 11 of them.

We drove back to the mission. It had continued to rain off and on all morning and although the rain had stopped it remained cloudy and cooler. I put on my new Christmas cloths (Tusker shirt) and went with the Wrights over to the huge dance at the catholic mission/school just up the road. There were probably 300 or more people around. Everyone decked out in their Christmas best. However we had only been there a few minutes when the dancing broke up and everyone left because it looked like rain.

We went back and Jim and I had Moses, Susan, and Albert over to play Mexican train as it poured rain outside. We played until Jim and I had to go to Christmas dinner with the mission. We had delicious food and watched the Christmas caper with the penguins from Madagascar again. Then Jim and I came back and the clinic guys came over again and we played some more. And the rain continued.