Musings from the First Five Days

The past few days have felt somewhat surreal as it feels as though we never left Uganda, however, as we look around at the kids and some of the changes that have taken place we are reminded that indeed 10 months have passed.   The biggest change we have felt is the absence of 5 of the older kids who are now attending a Secondary School in Mpigi where they also live.  We were able to have them come visit for the weekend which was so great!!  They are all growing up quickly and doing well at their new school, but their presence is missed here, as seen by the excitement in the younger kids upon having them arrive to spend a few days.   We hope to see them again while we are here, but in case we don't get that chance the team took the opportunity to bless them with a few gifts that were brought over for them.  Each of the students received a new backpack that Bentley's so generously sold us for a fraction of the price, a quilt hand-made by my mom's quilting group in Victoria and a Bible.   It was a special time we shared sending them off, however bitter sweet it may have been.

Another change is the presence of Jovia, the 11yr old granddaughter of one of the Mama's.   Jovia lost her father to AIDS a few years ago and had been living with her mother until recently when her mom became very ill and  it was deemed that Jovia could no longer be the one to care for her dying mother.  A week ago she was brought to live with her grandmother here at the 10 Acres.   One would never have guessed the difficult circumstances of Jovia's life by the radiant joy she possesses!!  Jovia is a character, keeping all around her entertained at many points in the day.  I am so thankful that she is here for now, a place where she gets three meals a day and has friends to play with.  When she hugged me last night my heart broke as she just held on as though she hadn't been hugged in a long time.  It is difficult to comprehend the amount of suffering this child has had to endure and yet she lives each day with a joy most of us could only dream of.  When I look at her I can't help but think that this could be my child and therefore count it such a privilege to be able to love her for the next 6 weeks.

As far as our family goes, we are doing well and the kids have settled in with the same ease as last year.   Paisley has been the target of a biting creature during the night and Owen's bunk bed collapsed, fortunately not with Paisley underneath it.....but now she has a "princess bed" so all is well!!! Paisley is loving have the older girls on the team here and if she is not with one of them I usually find her up with the mama's sitting and visiting or helping with whatever task they are doing - so we barely see her.  Beckham is always on the soccer field looking for a willing componant, and Owen is out and about keeping busy with whatever he can find.  Today he has gone with the team to do some work on the church in Mpigi.   They are all content and happy to be here!!  And teachers, I am attempting to get them to do some school work:)

Now, COME ON CANUCKS - no more of that!!!

Safe and Sound

We have arrived in Uganda and are all safe and sound!!   We didn't get a lot of sleep on the flights over so it will take a few days to get feeling human.   In fact, we went into Mpigi on Boda's yesterday and I caught myself falling asleep on the drive home...I finally had to force myself to keep my eyes open so I didn't end up falling off the back!
It is good to be here and to see all of our Ugandan friends.  The sun has also been nice!!  
Allayne, one of the girls on the team has brought her guitar out and is now surrounded by kids singing so I must go join the fun and take some video!!
Thanks to all of you who have been supportive of us.  We had no plan to be here again this year, but God so clearly has directed us.....we know He has a purpose!  Please pray that we will be able to serve the people here as He directs us.
Beckham was up in the night sick and is still sleeping now at almost 11am so hoping he will be feeling better soon!!  We had to laugh at him at 4 am saying "I'm hungry, I'm gonna barf, I'm hungry again".  But he's a little trooper!

Musings From Home

People keep asking "Is it good to be home?"  Or stating, "Must be good to be home!!"  When I hear this I feel the need to say "yes", and yet I find myself pausing, unsure of the answer.  I don't want people to feel I'm not happy to be here, as there is definitely much to be "happy" about being home.  However, I loved our time in Uganda.  I loved the sounds, the sights, the people.  I loved watching my kids enjoy themselves,  play, and make some great friends.  I loved having people around all the time and walking out at any time of the day to find the Mama's working away at something.  I loved seeing the kids walking up the hill as they returned from school and the excitement that brought for all of us that "Yay, they are home!!"  I loved getting 52 hugs every night, and more during the day. I liked driving on the bumpy roads either on the back of a Boda Boda or in the back of Crazy Jonny's van. I just loved it, plain and simple.   Owen wandered upstairs about 10 minutes after I had put him to bed last night and collapsed on the couch in tears proclaiming "I miss Uganda and my friends there".

On the other hand, I have to admit that there are things I am enjoying about being home.  I like having toast in the morning.  I like not having to sleep under a mosquito net.  I don't miss brushing our teeth with bottled water using a headlamp for lighting.  I loved watching my kids see a few of their friends and the excitement that brought for them.  I've liked seeing some friends and getting caught up.  Tonight I even enjoyed the chance to see a few clients and hear about their lives these past couple of months.

I have not liked the television, the Wii,  the lack of space for our kids to play, not hearing little voices outside my window in the morning, wondering "what is on the agenda for today?" or how we will spend our time.  I have also disliked the ridiculous amount of time and space taken up by stores and consumerism, the grumbling I have already been privy to about trivial things or things that one could actually be thankful for.  I did not like having to say good-bye to Scott and the kids as I left for work.  I love my home, but even that feels like it's all too much....a fireplace? shiny countertops?? Three bathrooms?? Comfort.....that is the word that keeps coming to mind.  In Canada we have a lot of it.....but I am not convinced it is always good for us.  Has it made us both less resilient to discomfort and simultaneously less able to enjoy the comforts we do have??  These are things I wonder.

I also wonder when I will get back to Uganda.  When will I see those 52 children I love so much?

There are other things that I have mixed feelings about like not having to scrub my kids feet (or whole bodies) every night, feeling I should shower everyday, using a blow dryer, having a phone and high speed internet, Starbucks,  flushing the toilet after every use (did I really train my children to do this?? ).  Oh yes, my closet of clothes and my kids toys.   I say my feelings are mixed because I would have thought these would be unquestionable LOVES for me, yet I find myself ambivalent about such things.  Hmmmm.

On a more practical level,  at least one of our kids continues to be up by 5 am which makes for long days, and my own body and mind feel completely confused about when to be tired, hungry or even processing where I am waking up in the morning, or if I ever left here.

In the midst of it all I am incredibly content.  God has been so kind to us.......as have others.  We are Blessed beyond what we deserve.

Home Sweet (& sad) Home

Weird Blog Title, I know.

But that's the feeling now that we've arrived back home.

Sweet: Hot water out of a tap.  Hot showers.  Familiar bed. Toast from a toaster.  Quick internet.

Sad: Missing the kids & workers in Uganda. Goodbye to simplicity.  Less learning experiences from the great Ugandan people.  Lack of adventure.

Those are some of the first initial thoughts from my clouded mind this morning.

We've got more to say in the next few days as we process the experience as a family....and we still have a "lessons learned' blog to post (haven't forgotten)...but that will have to wait.

Just wanted to let you know that we're back home safe and somewhat sound.  Thanks to all of you who kept us in your prayers....one last blog to come...

S&T

Reality Check

From the moment I woke up yesterday I kept thinking "I need to go see Joyce and find out how Faby is doing".  Joyce and her husband Amos live here on the ten acres with their two daughters Juliette and Faby.  Amos takes care of the grounds and security at Zungway (the 10 acres).  Developing a relationship with them over the past 6 weeks has definitely been a highlight for me and I have grown to care about their family very much.  Both of their daughters were born with genetic abnormalities, the most obvious of which is that one (or in the case of their youngest Faby both) eyes are covered over with skin.  Juliette has one good eye that she is able to see out of however, it is very uncertain at this point if Faby will have vision out of her one eye.  Besides the emotional toll on these young parents, there is the financial difficulty of how to get proper care for their girls.  This is some background information....let me continue.....

Joyce and Faby were on my mind and finally at around 3 or 4pm I saw that they had come up and were sitting with the Mama's, so I made my way up to say hello.  I had barely sat down when I noticed Faby was wimpering and so I took her from her five year old cousin who was holding her and right away I knew she was not well.   The wheezing sounds coming from her, combined with the fact that she was extremely hot set off warning bells in my head.  I quietly spoke to Joyce asking "do you think she needs to see a Dr.?"  Eventually Joyce told me that "yes, she does, but we do not have any money today to take her". After quickly conferring with Scott, we called a Boda and Joyce, Faby and I headed to the "Double Cure Medical Clinic".  For 3 years I have chuckled at the name of this clinic and now I was going to get a chance to see it first hand.  

We arrived and after a short wait we were taken into a room where a nurse checked Faby out and suggested that the first order of business was a Malaria test.   I was skeptical about this, but what do I know.  We then went to the "lab" (a room across the hall with a microscope that looked like one my sister got for Christmas when we were children).  Within moments I was whisked away for a "tour", which turned out to be a proposal for us to get our 52 kids into their medical program.  If they only knew that I have absolutely no say on any of these issues, but as a white person there is often some special treatment often followed by a plea for some sort of help.  Eventually I was reunited with Joyce and Faby and we were told that Faby had "severe malaria".  By this point her breathing was getting worse and she had begun to vomit.  Faby is 7 mths old.  I kept asking about her breathing and was repeatedly told that it was just from her "cough".  I asked about Pneumonia and soon enough we were told "yes, she also has pneumonia".  I am still unsure if this was my diagnosis or theirs, and the Dr. out for the day, nonetheless, we were told she needed to be admitted and be given IV meds for both the Malaria and Pneumonia.   I soon realized I did not have enough money to pay for this and Joyce was covered in vomit so off I went back to the 10 acres for money and clothes.  In my trips back and forth we also dropped off and picked up 3 other kids from here that also had come down with Malaria yesterday.  That is a whole other story....these kids, some as young as 5 yrs old are dropped off at the clinic by the boda driver, they see the Dr. on their own and then are picked up by the boda driver and taken home, a small envelope of pills in hand!!  By 7 pm I felt like I was in a daze.  I was uncertain about leaving Joyce and Faby at the hospital....would they get the care they needed??  What if she got to the point where she wasn't able to get a breath at all??  She had a high fever, vomiting and difficulty breathing.....I was worried, but I also knew I needed to get home and that there was no way I could spend the night in this hospital.  I told Joyce that if she thought Faby was getting worse or had any concerns she needed to get the nurse right away and then I said good night.  Cartenday (my favorite boda guy) took me home after picking up two of the kids on the way and by the time we arrived at the 10 acres it was dark out and everyone was heading to bed.

I had a restless sleep, waking every few hours wondering "is Faby okay?"  Finally morning came and I was able to find out that Faby had made some improvement through the night.  I was relieved.  However, one cannot walk this path with a friend and not ask themselves a lot of questions.  What would have happened to Faby if I had not noticed how sick she was?  How can I leave this mom and child at a clinic/hospital that I would never take my own child to??  What would it be like not to have $1 to take my sick baby to a Dr.??  The total cost for 2 days in this private hospital, plus all the medication both in the hospital and upon release came to $25.00  That is all.  For this family, that is half of their months wages.  They could never have afforded this and some weeks I drink this amount in coffee's.  I want to help these people.  Both those who have become my friends and those who are strangers.  Last friday I sat in the home of a beautiful young mom and listened I heard that her 2 yr old son had just died of Malaria.  She cried and my heart broke.  The need here just amongst those I have met is bottomless.  Everywhere you turn there is another tragic story of loss, poverty and sickness.  The sad part is that if each of us would sacrifice (if you can even call it that) just little, we could relieve SO much suffering.  What would it be like if you couldn't afford to keep your child alive??  That is life for most here.  I am lost in my thoughts and I watch person after person become ill with malaria.  I am so thankful that for our 52 kids here they are able to get the medical care they need.  Thanks to all of you who have helped to make this a reality.

A Time to Reflect...

It’s hard to believe, but our time in Mpigi is quickly coming to an end.  We are in Mpigi this week, and then on Sunday 28 Bazungus (a group of white people) will head up to Jinja for 2 days.  There I will get the chance to go rafting on the Nile….very excited to do that…I have foresaken last year’s birthday and Christmas presents to get the chance to experience class 5+ rapids and I can’t wait to get dumped out of the boat!

After Jinja, it’s just 4 days at Mpigi and then we’re off to Kenya for a three-day layover in which we’ll do a safari…and then it’s home.  All said, we’ve got just 11 days left on the 10 acres that has been home for the past 6 weeks.

As we start to approach the last part of our trip, I’ve been a bit more intentional about chatting with the kids about ‘lessons learned’ (and trying not to cross the line of being the ‘annoying dad’!).  Last night, as we walked in the dark into town to watch the World Cup final, Owen brought up how things would be easier in Canada now.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Like being crowded in the car won’t bug me anymore,” He replied…”and I’ll be able to eat things that I wouldn’t eat before and if I don’t like it I’ll still be able to eat it….and I’ll be more thankful to get to go to school after seeing how hard those kids have to work in the rock quarry and how tough school is here…”

September is a long ways away so there’s lots of time to forget this school statement….but these are the kinds of life lessons we have prayed for and want to continue to nurture within each of our kids (well…Beckham at least….Paisley, we’ll just have to see what sticks in her brain upon our return!!).

Tracey & I have also learned things…it’s not just the kids who need to learn!....and we’ll try and reflect on some of those things in an upcoming blog.

Today Beckham lost a tooth.  In Uganda they don’t have a tooth-fairy but a ‘tooth-rat’ that sneaks under the pillow to give the child some money….we’re not going to play up the Ugandan version or I don’t think Beck will sleep much tonight!  Besides, Beck knows the whole thing is a farce because last month the ‘tooth fairy’ forgot to come three nights in a row….and on the first tooth he lost nonetheless!

Anyways, today and tomorrow are quieter days with the Biffarts visiting the Rhino sanctuary, the Whites in Kampala and Lydie in at a Baby house for 2 days.  We’ll attempt to enjoy the family days….right now it’s 50/50…..we’ll either enjoy them or the kids will beat one another….we’ll see which way it goes! 

We'll try and get some new pics up on Tracey's facebook in the next day.

Peace

School Days

It has been too long since I have had a chance to write.  It has been busy here with people coming  and going, but I think now we have settled in with the Biffart’s and White’s for the next couple of weeks.  We had a great time with the Kasten’s who as I write are on the plane back to Canada.  I can say for certain they all fell in love while they were here.

Today the boys went to school.  At 6:30 am both were up having breakfast and by 7am Beckham was all geared up with his backpack in place, ready to go.  They were escorted by 52 children and so excited that neither of them even said good-bye.  I will just say it was an experience for them.  Both had to take a test, as well as  witness school as they never will in Canada.  Some might think I am crazy sending my kids off this way, but I knew with 52 African friends with them they would be well looked after, which of course they were.

In other news, Owen has begun to pick up a facial expression that the kids here use.  We noticed it tonight and had to laugh!!  I’m sure those of you who see him when we return home will notice it.  He has made so many wonderful friends here and has begun harassing us about extending our stay.  We continue to be asked if we could stay for good and today when we replied that our work is in Canada, we were told we could learn to grow crops!!  Can you just picture us??? 

The other thing we have been doing for the past couple weeks is helping the kids carry water.  There are 3 large water tanks on the property, however, they have run dry which means that everyday water must be fetched from a spring.  Old water jugs and yellow Jerry Cans are carried the 1km walk where everyone waits their turn to fill their container and then make the 1km uphill walk home.  Each child is required to do this two times.  We have enjoyed this time with the kids each day and are all likely a bit stronger for it, however, this has meant that it is 7pm before the kids are eating dinner and even having a chance to think about homework.  Therefore, tomorrow we will purchase a truckload of water that will fill one of the tanks that they can draw from.  We are so thankful we have been here to help during this dry season.    It is hard to believe there are millions in our world who would give anything to be able to walk two kilometers and find clean water.

As I write tonite the men have all gone into Mpigi to watch the Germany vs Spain soccer game.  They took Pastor Geoffrey and Mulumba with them so they should be okayJ  I am off to bed to read!!!