Random updates...

Hey faithful blog followers, once again I need to confess that I've not at all stayed on top of what it going on here. It isn't because I don't want to, it is mostly that I have not had a working computer for almost a month.  On top of that my camera was stolen out of my truck in Karamoja a few weeks back while I was stuck in the mud and I'm finding that without pictures I have even less motivation to post when I do borrow a teammates' computer for a few hours.So now that I finally am on the computer with some internet, what is there to tell you?  I've had nearly more animal patients than human ones lately. In Karamoja I was helping with an animal vaccination project where we spent 4 days in 6 villages immunizing and treating livestock. Back in Soroti, I delivered a litter of puppies and have been giving IV fluids to a sick cat.  I think I like animal patients better than human ones. The well drilling situation in Karamoja is still at a standstill while the local government figures out how to motivate the "federal" government to allow the drilling to continue. I visited the village last week and they were so excited when they saw my truck driving up but when they saw that the well drillers were not with me they were very letdown. They, obviously, really want the work to continue so that they can have water but they have so little power over getting the right documents to continue. But, we are praying that God uses this delay to get the village's attention. I'm spending a lot of time with an end-stage AIDS patient who is near to death. Her family's lack of care for her is sickening and they had pretty much abandoned her but at our  (not so gentle) encouragement they seem to be taking better care of her now. I'm trying to spend time just sitting with her and encouraging her family. Also, my Ugandan team is gearing up for their big "retreat" when they bring all of the students that they are sponsoring in Karamoja down to Soroti for a week of camp (nearly 150 kids). We will spend time playing games, telling stories, and doing crafts.  I'm going to be teaching a bit on health and hygiene and also purity. I intend to spend the next few days writing my lessons and trying to make them highly interactive in order to hold the attention of so many students. 

The solar eclipse through a welding helmet. 

Lets see, what else?  There was a solar eclipse this week which was really interesting. And, last but not least, my dad and brother Benj are coming to visit in two weeks!! They will be helping to install the solar power system to a teammate's house. I can't wait to see them!!






* I am getting so sick of technology issues here!  Why does this post change font midway though?! And why have all the formatting changes I made in the blog template reverted back to this?! 

Giving, generosity and causing more harm than good.

Last time I was in Lormoruchabi a group of ladies asked repeatedly for skirts and clothes. I know these women by their shirts because they each only really own one thing to wear. Their clothes are tattered rags but they are all they’ve got. They live a hot, tough, 9 hour round trip walk to the nearest place to purchase clothes and even if they went, the need for medicine, food and soap is greater than the need for a new, used skirt. But I live in Soroti where I can get clothes easily and I am enormously wealthy (compared to these ladies).  So I understand why they ask me to bring them things. I could get a bunch of skirts and shirts ( I estimate I could get 20 “outfits” for about 30,000/=, or $15). But there are probably 60 women in the village. All would like new clothes. Honestly most NEED new clothes. On top of that there are roughly 200 kids who also need clothes. I’ve gotten to know Joseph. He is a 9 year old kid who owns an old, tattered, filthy red coat. That is all he has. No pants, no underwear, no shirt. He spends all day in the coat, then at night he zips it up and pulls his legs up in it because he doesn’t have a blanket either. (Or a sheet or a mattress but that isn’t any different from any other kid in this village.)

But back to the ladies. They had given me a nice necklace that they had made, clearly in hopes that I’d bring them some clothes. And I really want to be generous. I’d love to come in like some silly female Santa Claus and give everyone a gift from my giant bag. But I don’t really think that would be right. There is often in the back of my mind, the principles of “When Helping Hurts”. That we are only increasing dependency and in the long run we are harming people when we think we are helping. Over and over in Karamoja I’ve seen the damage done by well intentioned NGOs giving away free stuff. It was described to me this way: Great harm can come from the best of intentions when done without wisdom and discernment. It seems like a paradox but kindness and good intentions can be an insidious path to destruction. The following parable, though obvious and over simplified helped me understand the problem the k-jung are having.

“Say a person hurts their leg. You bring them food while they heal. After time they still don’t wish to get up because it hurts at first. So you continue to be kind and bring them food. Over time their injured leg develops contractures from lack of use and it is even more painful to get up so you continue to bring them food. In the end they are permanently bedridden, unable to walk again because of your kindness.  Goodness brought significant harm. 

The k-jung have become so dependent on others for food, goods and seeds, help, everything, yet their lack only fuels their anger at the outside world. Generosity and very good intentions have encouraged laziness and a feeling of lack of personal worth creating a whole tribe’s indolence. The more help they receive, the more help they expect and think they need, the more they hate. As long as the kindness is so open ended they don’t gain discipline, dignity or self-reliance. Our kindness actually impoverishes their humanity!!

Ugh, all of this struggle over 60 ladies who would like some second hand skirts….

What do it do?

I’m headed to Karamoja in an hour. I expect to be back at the end of the week.

HIV support groups

In the last few months I've been placed over some groups of HIV positive people. They are groups that were created before I joined CLIDE but have been neglected due to lack of staff. The people have been requesting us to come back and still support them. So, that has fallen to me lately. So, I'm trying to figure out what it looks like to run HIV support groups here.

Acham

This is a group of about 35 people who are quite educated about their disease. About half are believers. Their biggest struggle is with discordant couples who still want to have children but obviously don't want to infect their partners or have positive children.

Awoja

This is a group of about 75, 10 of whom are believers. This group is in an area where there is a lot more discrimination. Their kids get kicked out of school because their mom is positive. They have a hard time getting jobs (more than the average rural Ugandan). They are overall much sicker and more impoverished. Their bigger concerns were with end of life care and how to feed and care for their children.

I had two “trainings” last week with these groups to encourage them. Both times I tried to stress that this was NOT God's punishment for their sin (which is a strongly held belief that drives many away from the church after they get a positive diagnosis). We played games, laughed together and tried to discuss practical solutions to their problems.

The groups reported that it was helpful and overall I felt very positive about our time. There were some hard things though. The Awoja group has an expectation of receiving money from CLIDE. I can't meet this expectation and I know it isn't a long term solution to anything either. Also, while in Awoja a few of the older ladies did a drama to illustrate the importance of end of life care. Only, it wasn't so much a drama as real life. The lady who needed care was very sick. She has wounds all over her body and is so wasted away her bones jut out. She has such bad abdominal pain all the time she can't stand up straight. It was pretty hard to watch the ladies in her group “act” out their skit knowing that no one was acting. She has no pain meds and still has to try to work in order to eat and care for her children. She has only a few more months to live. She doesn't need a support group, she needs hospice.

OK, I seem to have the blog moderately functional again without weird ghost pictures and strange formatting problems. I have a bunch of stories and stuff to write about but I've taught all day and even though I expected life to slow down I'm still waiting for that to happen....

Maintance

Having lots of blog problems. I've been told it may be related to unconfessed sin, not sure. But meanwhile the blog is undergoing some work. Hopefully soon I'll have some new posts and a nice new look. But I need to go to town to purchase loads of supplies for the next trip to Karamoja right now so once again the computer work will have to wait.....

In the meantime my friend Rachel blogged about the training last week that I participated in. You can check out her blog at http://danielandrachel.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/training-dayer-week/

CLIDE team

There are definite challenges to being part of two very different ministry teams but I appreciate what both of them contribute to my life!

This is my CLIDE team (the one I work with mostly in Karamoja but more and more also in Soroti.) We are from the US, UK and all parts of Uganda. I do believe that when we are together 7 languages are spoken fluently and all desire to serve Jesus.

Water well update

3 of the well drillers in the middle surrounded by community

Just back from Karamoja again.  Unfortunately, the purpose of this trip was to pack the guys up and get them out of there. The UWA (Uganda Wildlife Association) has accused the village of living in protected wildlife land so supposedly they are not allowed to put in boreholes there.  We have maps that show this isn't true but they have to go through the correct governmental channels and in this country that means a lot of time. Meanwhile, the guys have been threatened so we had to pack up. Late at night, in Soroti, as I was doing last minute packing I was really nervous about how the community would take it. They've been waiting and waiting for water. They've lived there a while now with promises that water was coming and over and over they've been disappointed. Now again a big setback. But the day was overall positive. There were negatives expressed (all in a language I don't speak but anger and frustration is pretty easy to interpret) but the village leaders gathered as we were leaving and we prayed together and promised we were coming back as we discussed what they needed to do for the land dispute.  Please keep praying!!



Rachel praying before we go.

Tom (well guy) and Kodet (CLIDE guy) explaining to the community the land dispute.

 

On the upside the ladies gave me another necklace. :-)

 

Amecet

My fellow missionaries over at Amecet are grieving the loss of a baby that they had really worked hard to save. Little baby William was born Aug 12th and went to be with Jesus only two short months later on October 2nd. He arrived at Amecet after his mother died and the Dutch nurses there worked very hard to give him a good chance at life but it wasn't to be. Will you be praying for them and their hearts as they continue to care for the remaining children?
William's first post here

Heartbreaking

Well drilling update....

Just got home from Lormoruchabi (where we are trying to put a well Karamoja).  We just had a really nice day of worship and rest and let me tell you, these 6 guys have earned a rest. They have given up on the drilling technology and have taken to hand digging.  I honestly don't know how long they will keep trying. It is hard, hot, dirty work. (Possibly dangerous too. Don't tell OSHA.)
I had to got the privilege of preaching this morning and a few adults of the village came along with 110 children.



Scorpion....not sure how this picture got posted...

My little blue tent in the middle of the village. Also not sure how this picture was in the batch.

I have some more pictures but I'm just to tired to figure out why I keep getting random ones I haven't selected or why most keep posting sideways no matter how many times I rotate.

The essence of this post  is keep praying. I personally have another full week ahead of me and as long as these guys are still attempting their craziness when next weekend rolls around I'll head back up with more food and supplies for them.

 

Oh, and pictures of Friday or Saturday's teaching in Kabermido. 

Well drilling

So much good stuff going on! I'm so busy I really don't have time for a good update but here are a few pictures to tide you over while I catch up.

We are digging wells in Karamoja!! The village where this crew is working (Lormoruchabi) is in desperate need of clean water so we can't wait for it to be functional. Please pray! They are doing it all by hand and it is HARD work. They are far from any access to their supplies, transportation, parts, equipment, etc...

 

 

Cold rainy mornings!

 



My next few days are very full teaching days (in Teso not Karamoja) and if I finish with enough hours of daylight left I can go back up tomorrow afternoon to bring them more supplies and see how the progress is going. Please pray for teaching today and tomorrow, that the community will be open and receptive. It is an area I don't have many relationships yet and a new language group (Kabermido) but they invited me and I am excited to see what God has in store.

Walked with the kids to get water from their current source.

The long walk home.

New drilling site. Hit an impenetrable rock layer in the first and second one.

 I also need lots of prayer at the moment. When I get so busy traveling, preparing lessons, packing and working I neglect my source. But it is when I'm so busy I need time with Him more.  Pray that I don't miss important interactions with people in my busyness and that I would be attuned to the Holy Spirit speaking to me.
Thanks for your support everyone!!

International Teams

Was in the spotlight last week....

Lots of teaching lately...

This was a busy week with lots of teaching and I'm tired tonight but I have to give God glory as overall I think they were very productive days. I know that in the past few years I've really improved as a teacher (all credit going to the best teacher!) and I think can really make a lesson more relevant and applicable here than when I first started. Wednesday was a youth conference with kids aged 9 to about 19. I talked about making choices that honored God.  There were about 100 kids packed into the church and it was 100 degrees  But God helped me hold their attention (after a highly active game with lots of water and laughter) and the visual demonstration that really seemed to bring it home for the kids was an idea I got a midnight the night before.  They were still talking about it on Sunday so I hope it helps them as they mature into adults.

 

Then this weekend was a "conference" on family planning. Honestly, this one is the one I like to teach the least as I have absolutely no personal experience to pull from but it is the one that is requested the most. Also, I find it the hardest as I know the good biblical reasons and good biological reasons for child spacing and waiting to get pregnant until they are a little older (19 instead of 17) but I absolutely don't know how to help these ladies actually do it. Very few of the normal prevention methods seem effective here and for most of them, their husbands are not cooperative. 

Short skit

Anyway, I'm committed to continue to teach the biblical foundation of quality care of families and let God work out the rest. I added a drama this time to the teaching to help them discuss abortion.  It was a pretty serious drama and the actors did great but the audience laughed through the whole thing. I'm still trying to figure out culture here. 

Also the questions I get still never cease to amaze me like "Sometimes I feel like a male goat. Does that mean my wife is in heat?" And "At what age should the children stop sharing the parents house?" One of the things I teach is how there are specific times a month that a woman can get pregnant and they are shocked. They all say it is the first time they've learned that.

Butch

Just an amazing little not so little thing I'd like to share with you:
We are in the midst of the rainy season which means that mosquitos have become little heat seeking missiles that have the power to ruin a perfectly good nights sleep, even if you have a mosquito net.  If at any point in the night you come in contact with the net they will bite you through it. (I currently have 16 bites on the side of my arm)   I'm also not sure how they do it but a least a few make it into the net and hide until you are sound asleep. Then they will wake you up again and again and again with either the buzzing or bitting.  It was driving me crazy. I was trying to keep all windows and doors closed in the evening but was suffocating without the evening breeze. So I was dousing in repellant but it always wore off by morning. Then I tried to re-treat my net by am unable to get permethrin here in Soroti. Even sitting at my desk in the evening was enough to drive me nuts. (That is actually my excuse for the lack of post lately)
So God provided this praying mantis for me. His name is Butch. He has been living in my bedroom for about 4 days now. He sleeps all day and eats bugs all night. The first night I actually heard him chewing. I've slept soundly every night since. Wikipedia reports one this size will eat around 800 bugs in his short life. I'm good with that.

Saving the world

There is a great blog post up at "A life overseas" about a missionary having a conversation with someone who hates missionaries. She says...

 I have never believed my job was to ‘save the world,‘ nor is it to convert others to a brand Christianity that looks just like mine. I’ll try to leave convicting and the converting for God to do. My job is to love with all my heart and obey the God I say I serve and worship. I try to love and serve the people He places in my life the very best way that I know how. If in that loving, God gives me opportunity to talk about Who He is, what He means to me, what He’s done for me, why I do what I do, what i read in the Bible about how to be in a right relationship with Him… I want to do so truthfully, graciously, gently and kindly.

May this also be true of my life and yours, no matter where you are serving. The story of the conversation is here.

Thats one sick little kid!

Last week I was up in Kangole with the intention of spending a few days working with the VHTs but had heard over and over about how bad the road was and how I would get stuck and not make it out to Nakayot. I had other things I could do in Kangole but really had the feeling I should go. Friday morning after praying,  I felt increasingly convicted that I had to at least try. I packed extra drinking water, a tent, tarps, tow straps, boots and shovels and headed out thinking at least if I got stuck and had to sleep out there it was what I was supposed to do.  After some significant off-roading (thinking the whole time “People pay money to do this as a hobby?!” ) We reached the village. They seemed genuinely happy to see me, or at least see the medications and supplies I was offloading. 

But we’d only been there 10 minutes when the question was translated for me “There was a sick child that the father was refusing to take to the hospital. Could I help?” I said I would try but I didn’t want to make the father angry. A very few minutes later a group came running up to me carrying what appeared to be a dead child. The 6 year old wasn’t conscious and barely breathing.   With sternal rub be stopped being flaccid and started exhibiting the most classic decerebrate posturing I’d ever seen. His skin was so hot it felt he could practically leave blisters on my hands.  When he was moving air (which wasn't as often as I would have liked) he had adventitious lung sounds that could be heard without a stethoscope.   HR was more than 200 and I didn't take time to get a BP.

Trying to find a dang 22g cath.

I laid him on the tailgate of my truck and, through one of many miracles that was going to happen in the next 24 hours, got an IV in on the first try. I had rocephin and fluid running as fast as I could and then told the family that I felt the hospital was the only thing that would save the child. Amazingly the father agreed right away and 20 minutes later we were back on the road. Several times on the way the child stopped breathing but each time he started again. The mud was thigh deep in several places but the way around, through the bush, was somewhat clear and we made it to the hospital in less than three hours.  I know, in the vehicle, both of my translators  were continuously praying for the life of the child (and my rather reckless driving) and somehow he was still alive when we arrived.



The treatment room later after everyone had cleared out.

It was after 4pm so triage was closed, we carried him straight into the treatment room where afternoon meds were being administered to 40 other children. We cut to the front of the line where valium, glucose, fluid and more antibiotics were given quickly by the nurses and he was admitted to wait for the evening doctors to come see him. All we could do was pray again and head back to my house in Kangole.

The following morning I had several responsibilities and couldn't get back to the hospital as soon as I liked. I realized that I didn't even know the child's name and if he had died in the night the father would be gone already.  However, I headed into "ICU" and found the patient right away. Still obtunded but breathing! I got an update from the nurses- they were treating for both meningitis and cerebral malaria. (I suspect they didn't have the equipment for an LP. ) One of the guys I like working with the best was free and I had asked him to come along to translate. We (meaning they  mostly because the conversation wasn't in English) sat and talked with the father for a while. He told us he had given up on the child and refused to let the mother walk the two day trip to the hospital. (Mostly because it would cost him 5,000/= , money he didn't have. ) But when we arrived and he saw me giving medicine and praying he thought maybe the child could survive. He wondered if God was telling him to have hope.

 

The ICU. (Sorry about my finger, I was trying to be discreet.)

Finally responsive!!

We encouraged him and Elupo  spent a long time talking with him about God's plan for us and salvation. I was really wondering if we were sent to Nakayot for this little boy and his family. On Sunday we didn't make the trek to the hospital but on Monday morning when we arrived he was awake and talking!! His dad said he is confused but able to eat so they had taken the NG tube out. Again we prayed with them and gave them money for discharge when the time comes.

 

I'm back in Soroti now so I don't know how they are doing but please pray that God continues to speak to this family through all of this. I made the father promise to come find me the next time that I'm in Nakayot to give me an update.

 

My team

Have I mentioned recently how much I love my team?

 I'm continually thankful to God for blessing me with them!!!!

Update on some kids...

Lets start with a positive update first...
Abraham- This is a little kid that has G6PD deficiency and a complicated medical history that I've been involved with for a while. Back in December we finally got a diagnosis for him. (Story here).  Today, I've happy to report that he seems to really be thriving! He hasn't been sick since we got the diagnosis and has finally put on a few pounds and some inches.
He was happy to show me how big he is getting!





Sarah- I just discovered I haven't written about her since 2010. Oops! She is a determined young woman who has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (also called brittle bone disease).  She is bright and willing to work hard. She expressed desire, so two years ago we go her into the handicapped school where she attempted to finish 3rd grade.  But she had missed so much school because of her inability to get around and constant injuries, and at 18 years old she just didn't want to spend more time in primary school. So she transferred into the tailoring program. She is doing really well and says she is enjoying it.

They have modified a machine for her that sits on the floor and she can run it with her arms. It is a little funny to see her working at a sewing machine is almost taller than she is but she's quick and it is a skill she can do even with her handicaps. She has completed one year and has one year to go.

Today her boarding school let out so I took her the 20 kilometers back to her home in the village. She proudly showed off her work to her family and her brothers tried on the patterns that they stich in paper first as practice.

Lazaro-
 This little guy still makes me so sad. He is Sarah's little brother and also has Osteogenesis Imperfecta. I wrote about him here and here. He is surviving but that seems to be about all. He is 5 years old, going on 6 and he still can hardly sit. He was able to feed himself this bit of banana but he didn't get any teeth (as a result of the disease) so anything else he could feed himself is too hard. His arms are too twisted to use a spoon. He doesn't talk and can't really hold his own head up without support. But he isn't sick at the moment which is actually huge. He usually has sores or a respiratory illness. No broken bones right now which is also significant. If he has made it this far he may be able to move around a bit like his sister.

Please forgive my camera woman, she is a bit inexperienced. And I get busy and don't take the time for pictures.

 All three of these kids were together in one post last year too. April 2012  Thanks for praying for them! 

One last picture, this is Sarah and Lazaro's mother. Her husband left her for a new wife and she has 9 kids to care for. I always pray with her and try to encourage her.