Elim- street boys home

So a few more pictures have surfaced from our day working with the street boys (Thanks Rachel for sharing!). I enjoy these pictures because I really think these boys had a fun time and got something out of it. Language was a barrier and it was only a short afternoon but it was well worth the time.

Just a few adventures

So for the last few days of the boy's visit to Uganda we left Soroti and made the journey back to Kampala to find some adventure. I'm really tempted to just post pictures from those days and let them tell you the story... so I'm going to.

Yep, it was like that.

So many things done!

I dropped the guys off at the airport last night. While looking back over the past three weeks and I'm so impressed with how much stuff Dad and the brothers accomplished. They made it so the generator will run the fridge. They fixed the bathroom door.  We now have a back up water tank that collects rain water from the roof. They improved the water pressure from the city by cleaning out all the pipes. We now have a chicken coop (that is hopefully “monitor lizard proof”). And that is just at my house. At team members home's they fixed many plumbing problems, installed a sink, tried to fix a ceiling fan, hung a door,  fenced in a deep pit, ran internet cables (across the road to the resource room- which was really a big project as they had to set the pole first), ran power to a place that we can show movies to the neighbors, did maintenance on at least three vehicles and fixed several problems on them. They completely reworked the chair that Lazaro sits on so that it is repaired and now adjusts so that he can lay back or sit up straighter. They fixed at least 5 different bikes. They made benches with the kids at the street kids home. They fixed a pipe at the blind home. I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of other little projects that they did but you can see the variety. Pretty cool. THANKS GUYS!!! You are welcome to come back anytime even if you don't work so hard. I'm so glad you got to join life with me here for a while even if it was for a short time. 

Things I'm learning

*Post from Nick*

So I have now spent two weeks in Uganda and I’ve decided to take some time and share some of the things that I have learned in my time in this place.

1. There is an age where it is okay to swim in the swamps around the Soroti naked.

2. I learned I am not that age.

3.  A dirt road has 0 traffic rules. Literally 0. None. Not a single rule. Do what you want. 

4.  I learned the difference between a speed bump, a speed hump and a speed plateau.

5.    I learned how many Ugandans it takes to tip a car off a speed plateau after it has gotten stuck.   

6.    I learned why you only bring one bucket to the bore hole to carry water. It has to do with the number of heads you have to carry it on.

7.    I learned about the art of balance. Picture a 4 seat bike. 1 driver 3 passengers. The goal is make sure you balance out the kids so they don’t throw off the weight distribution.

8.  I learned who has the right of way at a Ugandan intersection. In this order:

-Cows: They are big and if you hit them Ugandan boys get really upset with you.

-Kids that herd cows: really its just not a good idea. Cows are big and these kids have some crazy control over these cows.

-Goats, chickens, children and any other pedestrian: this is the right of way that just levels the playing field. Evens up everyone’s odds.   

-Motor cycle boda: They are agile and much faster than their bicycle counterparts.

-Bicycle boda: A little more dangerous cause they don’t move real quick.

-Traffic going perpendicular to you.        

-Opposing traffic in your lane: Enough said.

-Opposing traffic in their lane.

-Anything bigger than you.

-You.

10.   You will find no more beautiful stars in all of the world.

11.  Driving on the side of the road may offer a smoother ride due to the lack of potholes where the was never any asphalt.

12.  It really isn’t thanksgiving without American football. Even with a bunch of missionaries. Fantastic wonderful missionaries. Truly fantastic missionaries. They just aren’t that great at football. Actually really pretty bad.

13.   There is no more authentic and powerful worship services than those held in an unfinished building on plastic chairs and wooden benches on a dirt floor with no sound system other than the hands of the congregation, a wooden table that tips with the uneven floor, however like every church there is the discussion of who will start each song during the service and not to mention the translator who is translating English and iteso and it varies depending on what language the pastor spoke the sentence before.

14.   I learned it really does take a village.

15.   I discovered how many Ugandan boys fit in a Toyota Corolla. 20. I'm pretty sure there were at least 20 boys in that car.

16.   There is no iteso word for potato so they call a normal potato Irish. I discovered I am offended they aren’t called Idaho.

17.   There are so many more uses for old tires:

-Straps (to hold anything on your bike like charcoal, sugar cane, papyrus, lemons, kids).

-Sandals.

-Belts.

I'm sure I've learned much more but the lessons just haven't sunk in yet. 

Dinner on the top of the rock

 We ate dinner together on the top of Ocholi roch last night. Hiking in Africa is always a bit of an adventure. Hotdogs never tasted so good.

Ugandan English

*Written by my brother Ben*
As I was talking to people about my planned trip to Uganda, a common question arose: “Will you be able to communicate or will that be a challenge?” My response was always something like “in and around cities and towns almost everyone speaks English so communicating should be no trouble at all”. As it turns out, this was not entirely true.

It is true that nearly everyone speaks English; however it is still difficult to understand at times. Allow me to share a few examples: Whenever you meet someone at their home or work place, or really anywhere at all, their first greeting to you is “You’re welcome”. This leads me to wonder to myself “I don’t remember thanking you. Should I have thanked you for something?” What they are really saying is “you are welcome to this place” or even “please come in”. To which the response should be “thank you”. Also, a common phrase is “it’s about”. This is usually a response to a question regarding the status of a meal or project or something like that. For instance, I might say “is dinner ready?” and I’m told “it’s about”. Now I am left pondering “what is it about?” Is there some deeper meaning to this meal that I have somehow overlooked? No, really it just means that it is nearly complete, it’s almost ready. Another question I get is “How do you find this place?” or “How do you find Uganda?”. The first few times I was met with completely bewildered stares and awkward silences when I tried responses like “I used a map” or “I just got on the plane. Really the pilot did all the navigating”. It turns out what they were really asking was “how do you like it here” or “what do you think of it here”. These are just a few of the odd nuances that confuse my conversations with Ugandans.

The reason I share this is because last night, as I lay on my mattress on the floor watching my mosquito net dance in the light breeze, I found myself wondering about another phrase I often hear our Ugandan friends say.

“I am satisfied”

This one means just what it says. This phase itself is not so confusing to me. I think the reason this one gives me pause is simply because it is not often expressed like this at home. At the end of a meal, or if asked if you want more, of if you have had enough of something, or if you need anything, by far the most common response is “I am satisfied”. The incident that was stuck in my mind last night involved a simple exchange at lunch with one of the street boys who live at Alim Home.

We had taken a break from our bench building work to eat lunch. There were many children who needed to eat and only so much posho and beans to go around. Each child got one helping before the pots were empty. After eating, I asked one of the boys if he had gotten enough. With a sheepish smile, he gave me the response I expected. “I am satisfied”. I’m sure he hadn’t eaten two meals a day last week. I would be surprised if he had eaten one meal a day and the outlook for next week isn’t any better. Even still, after a small helping of posho (corn meal and water) and beans, he was able to say he was satisfied.

All of this to say I need to ask myself when am I satisfied? When have I reached that elusive place called enough? Could I be content when all I have is only what I need for this moment I’m living right now? Is it possible for me to live in that kind of blind faith? Maybe it is possible and maybe it is the only way I will ever truly, whole-heartedly be able to say right now, right in this moment I Am Satisfied!

More work being done

Ben at the top of a water tower.



Dad installing a sink for the Kaisers (Teammates)



Ben reading with Lydia and Grace. (Don't worry Izaac- daddy will read to you as soon as he gets back!)

More plumbing!

Some electrical work for variety at Shaardas house.

Putting in a rain water collection system at my house.

Street kids

Street kid's home

Playing with milk cartons made into cars.

A few of the kids around the home.

Sorry that I haven't updated recently. We've been busy everyday and with more manual labor than I've done in months I'm really tired by the end of the day. But I'm making a point of posting now to tell you about today's project. Soroti has quite a number of street kids. Kids who live in the bus park or in abandoned buildings. They eat what they can steal or scavenge and many sniff glue to get a high that covers up their hunger and hopelessness. There is a home that has been created by local Ugandans as a halfway home for these kids. Right now 16 kids between the ages of 6 and 17 live there. It is an old, empty house where the kids sleep on mats on the floor and use an old pit latrine. A I walked through the first time I couldn't help but think of how small a step it is up from living on the streets. We plan to spend the afternoon building benches with them. They don't even have beds so benches seems a little strange but they need places to sit when they eat and we wanted a project that we can do with the older boys. So we are going, equipped with several hammers and the desire to communicate to these kids that they have value.
Will you pray for our day?
We want to convey far more that how to build a bench and do far more than just fill an afternoon. I'll post more pictures tonight...
Wow, a great day!


Five beautiful benches

Drilling 101

 

Painting the benches



At least no power tool injuries and my dad discovered how good he is at being a huge clamp.

More than just benches were created.

(If you want to read a little more about the street kids Mandy, a teammate, shared here - down near the end of the post.)

Beckie's birth story

So those of you who also follow my friend Beckie's blog you have heard about this already but for the rest:
A few weeks ago Beckie nearly got to deliver a baby. I was several hours away when our friend when into labor but Beckie got the call and jumped into action. The story is here Beckie's birth story  with pictures here and the close of the story here.
Part of me really wishes I was around at the time and then part of me is really glad I was too many kilometers away.... Life here is never boring!

Working

It was pointed out to me that almost all of my pictures are of Nick working (though the one of the guys under the car is technically Ben and Dad but you really can't tell) so here are a few more pictures to show the other two really have done some work.


Benj made lemonaid.



Dad read the directions

Small additional note about the lemonaid- I was in the market about a week ago asking for lemons. I bought about all that were there because fresh squeezed lemonaid is so great here after a hot day of work. There are not usually very many lemons in market because so few Ugandans eat them but they grow well here. Somehow word spread that I was purchasing and the following day a guy came to my gate with a huge burlap sack on his bicycle full of lemons. I bought 2,000/= shillings worth from him. ($1). Now we will be having fresh lemonaid every day. And lemon bars. And marinade with lemons. And pretty much anything else that calls for anything of the citrus nature. All for $1.

Thanksgiving

 What a fun day. The team all got together, ate too much food and played a bunch of games. I’m very proud to say that the turkey turned out great. Dad and I got up at 5:30am to stuff the bird and squeeze it in the oven. But it was totally worth it. On top of the fact that it was my first turkey it was also the first time I’ve made stuffing and I was afraid with my limited resources here it wouldn’t be so good, but mom sent the necessary seasoning and it tasted just like home. 

 A little "American Football". Angie with the catch and Mandy with the tackle. We have a great team.



Even here- Indians and Pilgrims

 Just to add to Nick’s account I need to back up a little. Early last week I “ordered” a turkey from a local guy who promised he could get me one for 35,000/= (about $18). On Sunday at church I paid him for it. And but Tuesday night I was getting just a little frantic that I still had not seen it and now the guy wasn’t picking up his phone. I started asking all of my neighbors if they knew where I could buy a turkey. But, Wednesday around noon he arrived at my house in the back of a pickup truck. Though the price increased 10,000/=.  Within an hour the brothers had it ready for stuffing (with a little help from some local experts who seemed a little better at killing things than us). I’m now having neighbors that I’ve never met before come to the door trying to sell me turkeys. Here are a few step by step pictures. Some are just a little graphic though….