Merry Christmas: Poop is Raining from the Ceiling

As explained in my last blog, since Christmas in Africa can’t ever truly “feel” like Christmas, why not make it as different as possible. And we succeeded, Christmas 2007 will not be lost in our memories. You know what I’m talking about…. when in the tradition of not breaking tradition, ten years of Christmas holidays all blur together into one general trend of triviality. From Kampala, Uganda, we took a 45 minute drive to Lake Victoria (largest lake in Africa and source of the Nile) and took a wooden boat on the 75 minute ride to Bussi Island. Our mission? To show the Love of God to 165 orphans, or in other words, take on the Santa Claus occupation. Out on a beautiful lake on a gorgeous sunny day, reaching almost 95 degrees, seems like a lavish holiday to those digging there cars out of piles of snow and ice all around the States. The name of the Orphanage that we visited was called Ossanide. It is ironically pronounced “Oh Sunny Day”, but is actually translated into English as “He Is Worthy.”

What a joy it is to bring Christmas to orphans. We came laden with boxes of toys – dolls, airplanes, cars, jump ropes, shirts, kitchen play sets, and doctor play sets. And come prepared to bring the entire Christmas experience to the kids, including hot chocolate, popcorn and Christmas movies. How many people have made 200 cups of hot chocolate over an open fire? Well, I have. And I doubt that many others have found themselves in the same company. Please pardon this expression, but I felt like a witch from fairy tales, bent over her magical pot of potions, with my big ladle, open fire, and black kettle. I brought 40 liters of “Long Life” milk (the brand that doesn’t need to be chilled) and plenty of sugar and coco powder and we mixed and boiled it in two batches over an open fire. We found out later that the orphanage had never had milk before. The “house moms” kept wanting to dilute it down with water to make it last longer. But, not for Christmas, we said! The popcorn, also cooked over the open fire, turned out a little burnt and a little unsanitary, once the “house mom” and kids had finished cooking it and putting it into bags. We also came armed with my DVD Player and Projector, as well as a video screen and gasoline for the generator. Then hooked it into their ancient sound system and the kids all gathered around to watch Polar Express and The Nativity. Many fell asleep in their chairs and on the cement floors, but, a faithful few (around 50) lasted all the way to the end of the night at 1am. Even I started feeling like it was little bit like Christmas sitting there watching Santa on the screen with my hot chocolate in hand!

But, to be truly honest, this is a story of which the telling of is much more fun than the living of. We had to sweep out and kill at least 20 spiders from our little hut/room. Those were only the ones near the floor, we didn’t even want to disturb the one’s above our heads. I brought my bags and shoes into my bed with me, tucked in my mosquito net tightly into my mattress, and slept fully clothed and with my shoes on, praying that I wouldn’t be attacked by something in the middle of the night and that morning would come soon. Then, I woke up, and cocked my head as I focused in on the “poo droppings” resting on top my mosquito net. (I was reminded of the episode from The Office when the bat gets in and Angela screams Poop is raining from the ceiling. Poop!) Turns out that, that scratching I heard all night above me was the bat the lives in that particular hut. I was happy to not go to bed with that knowledge; then my dreams all night which were full of creepy-crawling things, would have included creepy-flying things as well. And like I said, the telling of this adventure is more fun then the living of it, since my ideal Christmas doesn’t usually include peeing out behind a tree on Christmas morning. In my journeys here in Africa, I have discovered that I can stand almost any “third-world” setting…….but, please just give me a toilet! So, after barely a few hours of sleep, we got up to deliver Santa’s gifts. It doesn’t matter how you organize, the simple fact that you are giving gifts to 165 kids and to be honest combined with the fact that we are in Africa and disorganization is a way of life, chaos took over for about an hour. But, to see how much fun they had, was worth it. This is the only toy that these kids will get this entire year and I made a mindful decision not to ask, if they had ever gotten a gift on Christmas before. I didn’t think I would be able to take the answer. It’s not really until looking back on my pictures that I can see the true joy, we got to be a part of on Christmas day. It won’t matter how many years pass, the simplicity of this Christmas holiday will not be forgotten.

Let it Snow; Let it Snow; Let it Snow

No streets lined with light, Christmas trees or decorations, no eggnog latte’s. or chilly weather. Does it sound like Christmas? No. And it doesn’t feel like it either. Here in Uganda, driving in the car listening to “Let it Snow”, “Jingle Bells”, “Frosty the Snowman” and here we are in the middle of summer – living in a pleasant temperature of 90 degrees every day. We were talking about how nice a white Christmas would be! Well, we almost got our wish..........

No, it didn’t snow in Africa, but we did have an attack of lake flies. Millions of little flies about the size of a fruit fly converged on our living quarters. And strangely enough, under the glare of our porch lights and the beam of our flashlights, as we dashed to the dining hall, you had the impression that it was snowing outside! Unfortunately, the moment didn’t last long. You were soon completely distracted, trying to avoid gulping down these bugs!

Fact is, it feels like I’m missing the Christmas experience this year; the houses wrapped in lights, the smells of pine and cinnamon, the appearance of Starbucks holiday cups, movies about Santa Claus and the holidays of dysfunctional families. I even miss the bustle of people in the malls and I’ve never been one of those crazy Christmas fanatics. I get annoyed when I hear Christmas music too early and I really don’t enjoy eggnog or pumpkin pie that much. In humorous moments, I’m a self-proclaimed Grinch. But, today, I’ve realized I’m not and actually I’m far from it. And though, I have always enjoyed candlelight services, the excuse to throw a good party, and I especially like buying that “perfect” gift for my friends and family; I’m quite sure that beginning in Christmas 2008, I am going to appreciate this season so much more; and maybe even get a little fanatical about it (though don’t get your hopes up that far!). As for Christmas 2007, I am going to enjoy the stocking hanging on my wall (sent from home).

I Like Big Butts

Does it seem odd to visit a zoo on the continent that all the other zoos import animals from? Well, Kampala has a zoo – the Entebbe Wildlife Center. It’s not hard for this zoo to put the animals in their natural habitats. The zoo feels like the Ugandans found an animal and just put up a chain-link fence around them! My partner in “adventure” is Molly Nixon; visiting Uganda for two weeks with Tim and Merrill Smith from Pastor Jess Strickland’s church (Living Hope) in Aloha, Oregon. It was nice to spend time with people from home. Even though Molly and I just met here in Africa for the first time, we were “forced” to be fast friends, since we were constantly in close quarters in taxis, buses, and boda-boda rides! J We really did have a lot of fun exploring together. Molly is finishing up nursing school in May, and very well may find herself back here Uganda soon! There were no giraffes or elephants at this zoo… guess those can only be seen out on “safari” or in the “wild” here, but we did get most unreasonably close to the animals; hence, the picture of Molly’s foot on the Rhino’s horn and my uncertainty to shake hands with the monkeys due to my trepidation at getting rabies. As you can see, the African idea of safety is not comparable to the American mentality on safety, which was probably inspired by our litigious precedent. Nevertheless, we found ourselves hiking through the hidden trails of the zoo, getting close and personal with the animals, but ended up getting plenty of “butt shots” of animals instead. Our favorite animal of all was the Rhino…. “I like big butts, I can not lie” J

Rafting Down the Nile

I never would have thought that I would be on the Nile twice in 12 months time. Last December (2006), I was in Egypt riding down The Nile on a Falucca. We spent three days and two nights wrapped in sleeping bags on top of these ancient sailing boats, sleeping under the open skies (and actually freezing to death in the night desert wind).

This December (2007), I find myself in a totally different place on The Nile and a totally different experience. Since The Nile finds its source from Lake Victoria in Uganda, this end of The Nile is fast and violent. Unlike the slow, meanderings of The Nile in Egypt, this trip was in a raft, holding on for dear life in the midst of Class Five rapids. And since this close to the equator in Uganda the temperature rarely drops below 80 degrees Fahrenheit, getting tossed into the river is an inviting thought. At the beginning of the six hour rafting trip, Josh, our guide (a world wanderer from Canada) explains we will get tossed from the raft during this wild and adventurous trip and therefore we must practice being overturn in calm water and how to hold on to the raft in such occurrences. The three other guys, on our raft were from the States as well and had just finished studying abroad in Kenya. They had gone already the day before and had been over-turned three times the day and were quite excited about the prospect of being thrown around a second day in a row. These two factors made me question what kind of risk I had put myself into. If Class Six rapids will kill you, what will Class Five rapids do? Only maim you? And for those thrill-seekers, who are worried that the rapids may well kill them, why not go bungee jumping first! And, finally, if the bungee-jumping and the rapids don’t kill you, then the crocodiles will. Yep, I laughed when our guide told us to stay in the boat during a 30 minute portion of our rowing because there was a 15ft croc living in this portion of the river, but it turns out he wasn’t joking.The fact is, for all this preparation and intimidation, the day was amazing; exotic scenery, beautiful weather, and eight exciting white-water rapid experiences. I never felt nervous or fearful once we got going. Maybe I am a true adventure seeker, but more than likely it’s because I grew up in the water. I’d prefer to be in the water than the boat and I feel very comfortable in it. And just in case, two very talented, kayakers went ahead of us, in case any of got thrown, they could rescue us and bring us back to the raft. They also send a kayaker down ahead of you with a video camera to tape your triumphant journey through these rapids, or your tumultuous excursion, which ever may find you. So for $45, I am able to relive my white-water experience for years to come. J

Gravel Girls

An entire generation of fathers are missing here in Uganda and maybe Africa as a whole. Some died of Aids, others go to other countries to find work and send money back home, but never return, and many to be honest, just leave. This pattern extends into the church. The churches are full of single mothers. Everywhere you go you see and meet moms who are only 20 years old, already with two kids.

For example, you meet women, like Immaculate, who make gravel for a living. She is 24 years old with three children, ages 1, 3 and 4. Every day, on my way into town we pass the “gravel factory” where she works. The gravel factory is just piles of rocks on the side of the road, available for purchase. This particular gravel factory is owned by a woman, who employs another six or so women, who sit all day on banana mats and chip away at large rocks, with hand tools. While their children, sit next to them and play in the rocks – no 11am play-dates or 1pm nap-times, just manual labor day in and day out. Immaculate, works everyday, but Sunday for hours on hours in the heat, pounding away, in order to make a living. Immaculate will make enough to feed her three children, but probably not enough to send them to school. The only reason she herself was educated growing up, was because of the kindness of a Canadian named Sarah. The Iverson’s have started recruiting friends and family to sponsor children’s school costs; for $10 a month you can send an African child to school.

Where is father of Immaculate’s children? Well, he just left one day. It’s hard to imagine how these women find time to nurture their children after such long days. That is probably why they suggest at times that maybe when we go back to the United States, we would take their children with us; because the love for their children wishes for a better future. They were thrilled to let us take their pictures. Immaculate even went and changed into the black top you see her in, so she wouldn't be in her dusty work clothes. These women are survivors and troopers. Their strength and perseverance was worth a tribute.

RUN Bible Youth Camp

Our church put on a youth camp all this week. There were 270 kids there in an age range of 11-21 years old, with the majority of them, 15-18 years old. Anyone who remembers going to Twin Rocks camp in Tillamook every summer for youth camp, and thought they were “roughing it” – how wrong we were! These kids get up every morning at 5:30am for prayer (Morning Glory, they call it). There services and sessions are under a large tarp and they sit on wooden benches, while electricity goes in and out on the PA system. They sleep on mats on cement floors under leaking roofs and nightly visits from lake flies. But worse yet, all 270 kids and adults share only four latrines (ie. holes in the ground) for their bathrooms! Many ladies of the church also stay on the grounds and make breakfast, lunch and dinner for them. Close to 100lbs of Mitoki and Beans every meal, and then they slaughtered a cow on Tuesday to have meat for a few evening meals. I learned that a cow is one of the few animals, of which you can eat the intestines and not get sick. As I watched them squeeze “stuff” from the intestines, I decided to not stay for dinner that night.

I had all three of the morning sessions on Wednesday – which equals four hours; 9am – 1pm. I guess you could call this my inauguration to preaching African-style! Since it was so much time, I made it pretty interactive. I purchased journals and pens for anyone that didn’t already have them at the camp with them. Then in my first session I talked about the Seed of Potential that God placed in each young person. So then I had them journal their future dreams and plans and then a couple brave ones came up and shared with the group, what they had written. In the second session, after talking about how they need to protect their potential, which includes sexual purity, I broke them up into groups to discuss the lies of Satan to young people, and to the Ugandan people as a whole. Again, I had several teens come up and shared the results of their group conversations. Finally, in the third session, I addressed past hurts and abuses in their lives. Then had them journal what they needed God to heal them from, in order to move to their future. Over 50% of people raised their hands to the two things I asked if I could pray for them about. I was so relieved that God helped me communicate through an interpreter and more importantly that I had enough relevant stories and illustrations that my points were understood and received. On Friday, they had a testimony time and it was exciting to hear how the kid’s lives were touched during the week. I remember how great camp was every year for me growing up and was an impact it made the choices I made as a teenager growing up. So it was fun to get that same camp feel and to see the same impact in the Ugandan youth.

Otino Waa - Our Children Orphanage

The missionaries that we visited for Thanksgiving in Lira (Northern Uganda), started building an Orphanage four years before. It was great to get a vision of what Hope Village will look like one day. One approach/strategy that I love about this orphanage is that they print their own money. The kids are given a monthly allowance of Otino Waa money and are responsible for purchasing their own school uniforms and school supplies. So if they lose something, then they must have the “money” to replace it. It teaches the kids responsibility and even monthly budgeting. If they are responsible with their “money”, then they have extra each month for treats. Real money (Ugandan Shillings) is considered contraband. They use to do give a monthly allowance in shillings, but they kids would go spend it all. Many had as many as 13 pairs of pants!

What a pleasure it was to walk around and visit with the kids. Here are some of my favorite pictures.....

Current Projects

"So, what is Sarah up to exactly?” For those detailed friends and supporters out there, here are the details…

Youth Outreach:

Currently, the students in Uganda are on their “summer break” until February (even though it always “feels” like summer). They take two other breaks during the year for one month – one in May and another in August. It is during these times that we are targeting the youth with the AIDS education and other topics including Peer Pressure, Making Right Choices, Abstinence, and God’s Plan for their lives.

Please remember in prayer the upcoming speaking engagements; there will be a range of 100-300 young people at each event.

¨ December 10^th – 15^th RUN Bible Youth Camp
¨ January 14^th -18th Youth Camp:

Specifically, pray that God gives me relevant analogies to communicate the principles to the youth and that I would be comfortable speaking through a translator. Also, we are still working on getting the New Testament Bible’s that have youth-focused devotionals. I was hoping to have them by the January camp, but not sure if that will happen.

AIDS Education for Pastors

Praise Report – God has really given me favor with World Vision Organization here in Uganda. They are talking about including me in their AIDS Education Facilitator training in South Africa in February. They would mentor me to be able to facilitate my own Aids Education Conferences for Pastors. This program is specifically directed to help pastors educate their congregations, create their own outreach programs, and care for the HIV positive people in their communities. Since Pastors are truly the front-lines of the epidemic here, this is a unique opportunity. I would be able to incorporate this program into two Bible College’s and we are talking about planning a Pastors Conference around this topic in the Spring.

Hope Village Construction

No construction is currently being done because we are waiting for the Hope Village Board of Directors to be established. They will be responsible for making decisions on building and policies as well as to keep accountable for the financial decisions. Please pray for wisdom as the governing structures of this 1.5 million dollar project get put into place, and everyone can be happy with the accountability in place.

Medical Clinic

Another praise report - God brought us a great resource for the Medical Clinic! A man randomly contacted me by email. He started a clinic in another area of Kampala and since it such a tedious process, he has a heart to help others that have to go through the same process. He has really helped to break-down the steps for us and even given us contacts within different agencies and organizations. I will need to visit ten different locations and find the “right” people at each office in order to get us recognized as an official clinic as well as receive the drugs and materials needed to stock the clinic. Please continue to pray over this entire process – as I am going to take the lead on navigating this process.

I also came to help build the local church here and they have determined to keep me busy! Here are the projects I am working on at RUN Bible Church.

Assimilation Program

I am working with Staff Pastors at RUN Bible Church to put an Assimilation Program in place for the church. In other words, help them capture visitors, make them feel loved and then connect them into Membership Class and Cell groups. We need creativity for the strategy because on 50% of people have phones and there is no addresses here. So following up with people’s prayer requests and needs are 10x more difficult! In this process, we are also pulling new curriculum together for a two-month Membership class. Currently, the class goes indefinitely!

Church Cell Groups

Pastor Wilfred has asked me to help him organize and launch Cell Groups in their church. They started to put them together last year, but never got it launched. We have scheduled Cell Group Leader training in January and are pulling curriculum together for that. Cell Groups will be launched in February. Please pray that the leaders catch the vision to be “Pastors” of their people.

Singles Ministry

Finally, I am helping the church launch a Singles Ministry. Again this is difficult because of the technical barriers (lack of phones and emails) and financial barriers, since many of them may be looking for jobs. But, just like in the United States, this group of people are looking for a relational community, not just another church service. We are planning to do Quarterly Events and Cell Groups for singles. Our first event will be on New Year’s Eve. Please pray that we will find a good venue for our event and that we can motivate them to get plugged into Cell Groups and evangelize their communities.

When did poverty become a virtue?

When did poverty cover a multiple of sins and prosperity become without any virtue?

We, as Americans, and maybe even more so, as Christians, we live with a guilt for our prosperity, for our success. We grow up hearing, "there are starving children in Africa, finish all your food!" Four years after high school and 30 pounds later, I realized that, that voice speaking to my conscience was helping no one, least of all me!

The other countries and cultures constantly reinforce that feeling. As if I, not finishing my mashed potatoes, would solve the problems of poverty in Africa, let alone feed one child.

Please, don't get me wrong. There is a principle here, everything in moderation. The availability of resources does not forgive gluttony or excess. We should recognize our abundance and be grateful for it.

And Americans are grateful. They are the most generous people on earth. And here are stats to prove it. Research done on charitable giving around the world reveal that in the United States' is the ONLY nation's whose charitable giving is the equivalent to OVER 1% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product). The United Kingdom is in second place with 0.73% of its GDP going to charitable giving. France and Sweden, who enjoy an even higher GDP fall to the bottom of charitable giving in developed countries. They are out given by countries like South Africa. I am proud to live in a philanthropic generation. And I believe, why not strive for 2% or higher?

I am currently living in Uganda for 9 months, working to establish an orphanage and medical clinic as well as, establishing a Christian Aids Education Outreach to high schools. It's a big vision that requires a lot of great people who give out of their God-given abundance. And as a result of this endeavor, I am constantly amazed at the sacrificial generosity of Christian people. Ultimately, one day, my own vision is to make enough money that no one has to fund my own philanthropic work. I can come back to Africa or wherever the need is; and fund it myself. When I return from my time in Africa, will you judge my efforts to increase my wealth? Will you know my motives? Do you judge the hearts of many of those around whom God blesses?

Strive. Move forward. Win. Succeed. These are not sinful words. Yes, excess and abuse of abundance sadly occurs even among Christians, yet is it not just another extreme to be poor for poor-sake? When did poverty become a virtue? The fact is, in an effort to "relate" with the down-trodden, we may very well remove our ability to create change. I see the faces of Africa daily, and I wish I had the money to meet every need. If we, as Christians, all become poor, who would benefit? I choose to be faithful with little, that God may trust me with much. But, to whom much is given, much is required. Instead of settling for little, I choose to decide to meet the requirement.

Thanksgiving Turkey RIP

I definitely will never be a vegetarian. If I can meet my own Thanksgiving TURKEY and still enjoy the Thanksgiving MEAL, then there is no hope for me. Here is, Herbert the Turkey, (or Herb, may he rest in peace) on Thanksgiving morning. While so many American’s enjoyed an “Organic Turkey” for their Thanksgiving holiday, I think the terms “fresh” and “organic” take on a whole new meaning here in Uganda. And, I believe an African would be shocked at how much we American’s pay for an Organic Turkey! But, it was really nice to find Thanksgiving so familiar this far away from home, thanks to Herb, may he rest in peace.

Drugs, Alcohol and Mini-Skirts - A Survey of Ugandan Youth

In my endeavor to create an Aids Education Program that is relevant to the Ugandan youth (age demographic 14-23), I constructed a 13 questions survey about Sex, Culture, Christianity and Aids. Hardly intended to be scientific at all and really just a survey of Christian youth, it still gave me a glance into the perspective of Ugandan youth. And honestly, I really wanted to determine if the church had adequately addressed these sensitive issues with their youth. I was encouraged to find that ALL believed that sex outside of marriage was a “big deal.” And furthermore, that their Christianity was the largest determining factor in their decisions about sexual relationships. Some of the things they wrote down were…. helped equip me to resist the devil; helps to overcome temptation; to live morally well; I learned to abstain until marriage, kept me safe from sexual immorality; that I am a temple of Christ and I need to protect it; I love my Jesus more than anything; taught me to relate with opposite sex in godly manner; Helps me to keep my thoughts pure; It provides boundaries for me; I know God will honor a pure life; Christianity has provided me something bigger to look forward to – that’s heaven.

And, worthy of special note…. “The Church taught me to only have one wife.” This is not a response you would find on any survey taken of American youth!! However, that is reality here. I have often asked a teenager how many sibling they have, and to get an answer of 25 is completely normal! (The woman are reading this thinking… that is not humanly possible!) But, this is because a man will have several wives, sometimes one in each village he travels too or he keeps one on Tanzania, one in Kenya and one Uganda. (Now you, men, are thinking… I’m moving to Uganda!) However, the Uganda Christian church is constantly battling this tradition of multiple wives. For example, when someone gives their life to Christ and decides to join a church, which wife do they keep? What happens to the children of the non-wife? These may seem like obvious answers on paper, but the reality is that sorting through the nature of these familial relationships is no easy task to communicate and implement.

This probably gives you the perspective Africa/Uganda seems like a backward, if not morally weak society. But, the lens of the cultural perspective is always relative. When I asked the Ugandan youth their impression/opinion of the United States Culture, the majority of responses were that our American Culture "is bad because it’s where mini –skirt (half-naked styles) came from and are practiced.” That it is “bringing bad things into Uganda like prostitution, taking drugs and putting on mini skirts.” Now, I must admit that having mini-skirts, grouped in with such sins like alcoholism, drug use, and promiscuity, made me chuckle a bit – and still does – hence the title of this Blog. Nevertheless, morality here is not determined by your family relationships, rather, your morality is demonstrated by your modesty. The fact is that morality is probably found somewhere in the middle, but it is interesting how the culture affects where the emphasis falls.

Now to be fair, not all of their perspectives were mentioned our problems with mini-skirts. Other responses were…

• It’s relative; it has brought the gospel, sent missionaries, equips church leaders, enhances values, but it also encourages immorality via pornography, homosexuality and divorce.
• They should change some of their behaviors and lifestyles, like the movies they put out and other people copy
• The worldly people are totally destructive, but those that know God are really compassionate
• American Christian culture is perfect
• American Parents are so busy that their children do whatever they want to
• I don’t want to judge them because they are people too - with struggles

Now to the main topic – that which is my motivation behind the survey – that of HIV/AIDS. And the dialogs confirmed that contrary to our youth’s experiences in the United States, ALL youth in surveyed personally knew at least one person dying of AIDS, and many knew more than could be counted on two hands. I asked how Aids affected the lives of these people, and some of their responses were: They have no hope for tomorrow; hopeless; unhappy; they are always sick; they have unanswered questions; they all died; they cursed God before dying; hated their lives; makes them miserable; they have given up on life and don’t care if other people catch it.

Despite the cultural differences, Ugandan teenagers face the same struggles as American youth. All the Ugandan youth said that a lot of their friends or acquaintances at school (this is both high school and university level) are already sexually active. Furthermore, the majority admitted to being tempted or also received peer pressure to engage in sexual encounters. This is not surprising, really. The same Satan that is out to kill, steal and destroy in America is at work here too and he employs every means necessary to do so.

If you’ve made it to the end of this long Blog, I’m impressed and honored to keep your attention for so long.

Going to the Hospital

We attended a special service at Bwerenga Church (on Hope Village Property) on Sunday night. During worship, a two-year old boy napping on a mat on the floor, started convulsing. My first thought was that he was having a nightmare, but when I went to him, I realized he was having a seizure. It last at least 8 minutes, while the church prayed and we turned him on his side and put the end of a spoon in his mouth to keep him from choking on his tongue. When it was done, you could see he was burning up with fever so I carried him outside, and Elizabeth Iverson went to find the parents and get her car keys. The service continued on, and we took him and the parents to the hospital.

The hospital is nothing we would find, even in the ghetto, of our country. Cement walls and floors, with open windows for ventilation. The children’s ward was a room of 17 metal cribs. Moms bring food and a mat to lie on the floor next to their children’s cribs. No chairs, no mattresses, no TV, no mosquito nets; just a lot of waiting and a lot of silence. Another mom let me pray for her little baby with asthma.

Turns out that our young patient, Cerabu, had Malaria and his temperature of 105 is what caused the seizure. I have a picture of this young boy because just the Sunday before, he spent the entire service on my lap. It is to God’s glory that we were there! No one that attends this village church has a car and, who knows how the boy would’ve made it to the hospital if we hadn’t been there. Thankfully, he stayed just the one night at the hospital and was able to go home the next day.

Uganda Luxuries

In the United States, having a maid, a cook and a tennis instructor are all indicators of an extravagant if not wealthy lifestyle. This is not so in Uganda. These services are the mechanism for which wealth is distributed here. The world simply does not run the same at all. Trying to incorporate our Western way of doing things is just not relevant to the economies or speed of things. For example, in the United States, almost every household has a washer and dryer and those with wealth in abundance (I say wealth “in abundance”, because here ALL Americans are wealthy in comparison. The simply fact that every child can attend school for free makes us a very rich society.) But, I digress, back to the topic at hand. A washer and dryer in Uganda would be neither normal nor a luxury – simply put, it would be irrelevant and unusable. Let me explain. Electricity (aka power) is not only expensive, but weak and inconsistent. Out of the three weeks, I’ve been here, I have been without power at least 50% of the time. And when there is power, it is hardly strong enough to heat enough water for a shower. Now let’s say that you have a generator to power your washer and dryer. Why would you pay an exorbitant amount of money to power those power hungry appliances, when you can pay someone to wash your personal clothes by hand for 5,000 shillings (translates to roughly $3 US Dollars). The cost for someone to sweep up my cement floors, beat out my rugs, and change my sheets is 3,000 shillings ($2). In the United States, we do not pay people to do, what machines can do for us. Most of the world does not function that way. The mentality in Africa, is why have a machine do, what you can pay a person to do. It is in this way, that the wealth trickles down the all classes of the society.

Living Missionary Style

And for those that are concerned that Sarah's adventure in Uganda is not so "missionary-like"... let me give you a true taste of missionary life....

Where's the Toilet....................................??

"Welcome to Uganda Sarah" - I haven't even been in the country 24hrs and this is where we stop to pee. All I got to say girls, is thank God I was wearing a skirt. And I had to use my backpack to keep the door shut, though it hardly increased the privacy. I truly believe toilets are the best invention. I do have a toilet in my room, but once you leave home, you never know what you'll find!



Where is the Power.........................................??

So I've gotten tons of questions about my living situation here. I am currently NOT living on the Hope Village property. Buildings still need to be built there! Right now I rent a room at Banana Village with the Iverson family, which is also where the CBC Storm Team stayed when they were here in July. I am feeling settled in and this is beginning to feel like home.... the only reminder that "this is Africa" is that I've only had power for about 30% of my time here (and thats now exaggeration)... according to Royce Iverson, it wasn't like this before I came!
But, here is a look at home.....




Next best invention, next to the toilet, is electricity (thank you Mr. Edison). I guess no electricity on Sunday is a pretty normal event here in Kampala since government will divert power to different areas of the country on a rotation system due to the shortage of it. However, on Monday we woke up without power still. Turns out the power lines were down (and still are), due to the huge thunder and lightening storm we had. Without electricity you can’t charge our computers or our cell phones, and since the power warms our showers, its been a cold couple of days! Basically to sum it up, since I have only had electricity for 30% of my time in Uganda, you essentially get use to it and adapt. If the power is on, you jump in the shower darn quick, whether you need one or not!

Malaria Mondays

Or so we call them in order to remember to take our weekly dosage of Mefloquine to protect us from Malaria. Side affects to these pills include sleeplessness and vivid dreams. It is definitely true that I remember my dreams in the morning more now then before taking these pills, when before I hadn’t an inkling of any dreams. Certain nights are restless, where you never fully fall asleep nor do you ever fully wake-up, leaving utterly exhausted the entire next day. If this happened too often I would stop taking the pills entirely.

The fact is that if you sleep under a mosquito net that you decreases the chances of contracting Malaria by 50%. And across Africa, you cut deaths by Malaria in children by 1/3. That’s why you hear about such organizations as www.nothingbutnets.com, which hopes to help every African child sleep under a net. Malaria medicine is great for a season, but you can not take it for a lifetime or it will destroy your liver and therefore is not viable for African to take their entire lives. Contrary to popular belief, there is a cure to Malaria. And taken within the first 24-48hours of noticing the symptoms, you have a 97% chance of a full recovery from Malaria. However, the problem in Africa and why Malaria is killing xxx number of people every year, is that basic health care services are often too far to reach for people that they rarely seek treatment for ailments and many times the cost of services is more then they make in a month even though the cure only costs about $10.

Infestation of Evil Spirits

As I was busy getting my internet business done, before my costly hour was up, at the ARA (American Recreation Association). They have a radio station always playing in the common area and the station was doing their regular news update on top of the hour.

I usually block out the voices, but the repetitive use of the words “evil spirits” kept interrupting my thought process. As I tuned in, the story unfolded as such. A Boarding School (these are VERY common in Uganda) in a local district, had after several attempts to remove the “evil spirits” that were plaguing them, had to shut its doors, until someone could come and fix the problem. Furthermore, accusations were being laid at a gentleman’s feet that he had been taking money from the school to help remove the “evil spirits” but that he had in fact invited more in. Several parents having heard of the “evil spirit” problem had already picked their children up from this boarding school thus sparking the shut down. Now this information was reported as fact on this credible radio station. No words like “supposedly” or “allegedly” were ever used, it was all reported in tone and verbiage of complete validation. To say the least, stories of the supernatural appear here every day. They are woven through people’s daily experiences; conversations over lunch, or over the water cooler at work and as already discussed reported daily in the news. Is this pure superstition or the things of the spirit more blatant and more bold in Africa? Are they present in the United States, but just hidden better -behind our luxurious exteriors and orderly processes?

Dead Man in the Street

The value of life is just not the same here in Africa. For example, crossing the street here will get you killed as demonstrated by the dead man we saw laying in the middle of the street on Saturday. Traffic continued to move by, as if it was business as usual. In the United States, a dead body in the road would have blocked traffic for hours. And worse yet, here another man took the shoes from the dead man’s body. Who knows how long he will lay there in the middle of the road. Someone said that people, especially white people, don’t stop because here, they are quick to judge and they will probably think it was you, who hit him with your car. Then on occasion maybe even take matters into their own hands, which often includes stoning people in the street. So unfortunately, you don't stop to help here often.


It is risky business here because there are no speed limits, no stop signs and everyone drives on the wrong side of the road! And to make matters worse, I have counted a total of only TWO (2) stop lights in the entire city of Kampala - which has close to 3 million people living in it! Therefore, I thought something so rare, deserved to have its picture taken!

Rooster Honorarium

Pastor Mark Bryant was here for a few days with some businessmen from his church in Boise, Idaho. We drove 2 ½ hours to a small village where the church was dedicating a new building. Here you can see a picture of their old church, which would allow rain all over the attenders.




Over 250 people showed up; many walking as many as 4 miles in order to be there. They are very excited to have a tin roof on their new building! The service lasted 4 hours, with two choirs, two sermons, an update from a local government official and about 8 greetings, including one from me.


They were dressed in their very finest for the occasion. Traditional Ugandan dresses are very colorful and extravagant.

They gave me some sugar cane as a gift, but they gave a rooster and some eggs to Pastor Mark as an honorarium for speaking. These people are the poorest of the poor and have nothing else to give. The rooster is the highest honor, they could give a guest speaker. It sure was entertaining to drive over two hours with a rooster in the car!

My Friend - Mr. Gecko

My first night here I woke up with a large spider bite on my foot. Anyone who knows my extreme fear of spiders might find that an ironic welcoming gift. However, after the second night in my room, I was startled by a new resident, Mr. Gecko. Turns out geckos eat mosquitoes and other insects, so since his presence, I have not been personally eaten in my room. So other than the random “droppings” I must sweep out of my room daily, I am happy to share my room with this guest! As you can see in the picture, he is in pursuit of one of my nemesis spiders!

After asking many of you in the States for suggestions for Mr. Gecko’s first name, I received many suggestions including....

• Gary the Gecko
  
• Chad or "Abstinence" - both courtesy of Chad Van Horn
  
• Lizzy - though I don't think suggesting your spouse's name wins you very many marriage points, Brian
• Gabriel - since he's my guardian angel (against spider bites)
  
• Then there were several votes for the name Geico (TV Ads sure do influence us way to much!)
  

Despite how great, many of these ideas are, I have come to think of him as just Mr. Gecko. :)