Important meeting I forgot to include

As of 7PM last night, we are all home, safe and in one piece. Our fearless leaders, John and Sue were waiting with their luggage, mostly filled with baskets from the village, in the lobby outside of baggage claim—tired and very ready to be home, as were we all.

They stayed in Amsterdam for a couple days to visit a friend who is battling cancer. He was going in for stem cell replacement therapy the day they started for home. Please include him in your thoughts and prayers.

I’ve taken a couple days off from this blog to rest, attempt to get caught up at work and to down load the hundreds of pictures I will share in some format, soon.

Speaking of baskets from the village, in re-reading the blog I was racing to finish before we got on the bus for the airport, I see I missed a very important event that happened Feb. 11th. Lucy, Generous and yours truly, visited the umbrella woman’s organization known as the National Association of Women’s Organizations of Uganda, or NAWOU, (www.nawou.interconnection.org/). The objective was to get the baskets and bead necklaces from the HIV/AIDS women of the village into their fair trade program for selling throughout the world.

We met with Peace, a woman Lucy had contacted via the internet before we left on the trip. Peace was not the person we would ultimately need to talk to, that person was out for the day, but Peace was very positive about the hand work and thought there would certainly be a possibility for inclusion into their program.

We also learned about the many other programs this organization provides the women of this country. Not only would they be able to help teach the women about better quality and consistency in their hand work but this organization proactively promotes changes to women’s rights law’s in the country a much needed activity from the stories we were hearing during our trip.

We were out of time for a follow up visit to these offices, but Generous was already setting an appointment for further discussions as we were leaving.

Heading for Home

Uganda Feb 10th

It was a long day of travel, about nine hours back to Kampala from Kabale. The road is paved but very narrow and rough in many parts. There are so many vehicles traveling this road, I can’t imagine it will last much longer without repaving, but there is so much of Uganda that needs paving for the first time, priorities I guess.

There was one more health official Rick and Linda wanted to meet before we left, Dr. Patrick, the top health official for the Kabale area, he was traveling to Kabale from Kampala on the same day we were heading to him.

We meet him for lunch on the road in between at a hotel in Masaka. Dr. Patrick was amazed and very happy to hear about all that was accomplished at the clinic and we asked about next steps to get government supplied vaccines for the new refrigerator and an update to staffing.

To make a long and very positive conversation short, Dr. Patrick said he would make arrangements for it all to happen, right away. Once again, God finds a way and puts the right people in our path. We all had a concern in the back of our minds, that our “build it and they will come” approach to the new clinic might meet with so many hurdles it would take a long time for the clinic to really become fully operational.

So, a pleasant surprise to share even on a travel day.

It wasn’t all travel and meetings this day. We stopped again at the equator to scour the gift shops for a t-shirt that Rick had seen on the trip west. It just says “Mzumgu,” the term we heard where ever we went as people waved and cheered--a non-derogatory term, so we were told, for a white person. “Bzumgu” is the term for when there is more than one of us. Apparently we didn’t blend into the crowed very well.

Feb 11th

Monday, back in the big city of Kampala, I think I mentioned that after our last dinner together in Kabale we were approached by Dr. Ruganda Ruhakana, the Minister of Internal Affairs for Uganda and lead negotiator for the conflict in the north. As he suggested, we called his office and were granted a meeting with him at noon.

Having the appointment established allowed us to spend some time touring the African artist park near the government offices. We each found more than our fair share treasures to carry home. The time went quickly and soon we made our way to the office of the “Honorable Minister,” which is how we were coached to address him.

It was a very relaxed and positive meeting with the Honorable Minister. He was very glad to hear the story of our mission trip and was full of praise for Richard and Generous for their initiative and all they are doing to support their home village.

He also was very thankful for the help of our group and all those who support us in this effort back home in the U.S.A. At his suggestion we closed our meeting in prayers of thanks for God’s good works through our partnership with the villagers and for safe travels for our long trip home. I have a feeling this man will be a good friend to have as this mission progresses. How cool is that!

We had to cancel planned visits to two more orphanages as this was not really the model we were going with in our orphan program, but we closed our day by meeting Pastor Frank Mukiliza and his wife Lydia. It was a great dinner conversation as we learned of their path to the church and orphanage that they founded. He was very happy and thankful to hear of our activity this week and over the last several years. Before dinner ended and we went our separate ways, the pastor and his wife sang a song for us, in beautiful two-part harmony. The song about this being “holy ground” where ever we are together with God. We returned the gift with the song Sanctuary, one we had well practiced when singing before the village congregations and during our evening devotion times--A quiet ending to a busy and eventful day.

Feb 12th

Our flight is not until late tonight and we have to check out of the hotel, so we have a lot of waiting to do. The positive thing is it will allow me to get caught up on this day to day blog.

We started with morning reflections and devotions. The highlight was the time we spent going around the group with each person of the team providing the individual on point with words of affirmation for their role on the team and all we experienced together. As you might imagine there were a lot of tears and hugs from all.

Some of us continued packing and writing our blogs, others spent the time shopping for fabrics for a quilting project--a fund raiser yet to come.

Soon we will be putting it back on the bus for the trip to the airport. We are all looking forward to home and the ones we love and miss so much.

Last Day in the Village

For many reasons, including time and technology, I'm behind in my blog dates, if you want a more up todate, and what I assume is a shorter and to the point verion, check out the blog from Charles Bash at www.Ikamiro.blogspot.com.

We are about to head for the airport and will do my best to write while we travel to catch up with a post when we get back home, but for now. Here is what I have.

Uganda Feb 9th

I can’t believe it’s already Saturday, our last day to visit the village before we get up and make the day-long drive back to Kampala from Kabale.

In case you are confused by all these village names, well, I’ve been here a week and I’m not sure I have it straight. Muko is a small village, depending on the road conditions and road construction, about an hour and a half drive from where we are staying in the bigger town of Kabale. Muko is also the name of the sub-county, of which Ikamiro is a Parish. The actual villages of Muko and Ikamiro are just a few miles apart strung along a mountain-side road. I tell you this to help set up the situation for the bit of drama I will tell you about in a moment.

It was supposed to be a low-key day with minor odds and end to finish at the clinic in Ikamiro followed by a registration of our 14th orphan back in Muko; a visit to the Muko Saturday Market. We would say our good byes and get back to Kabale early for packing and dinner. It essentially went like that in the long run but not before some surprises.

We stopped to pick up Richard on the way through Muko, we all wanted to be on hand when the solar power for the clinic could be declared officially done. It would also give some of us a chance to see the new chalk boards in the school as it was raining too hard the day we were there to make it across the yard between buildings.

As you have been reading it has been raining hard every afternoon here, slowing outdoor projects such as installing the solar panels on the roof of the clinic. It also made the roads very sloppy with deep wet sticky clay.

As we made our way up to the clinic in Ikamiro this day, our 4x4 bus/van fishtailed a bit at each low spot. As we rounded a tight curve on the edge of this road, we encountered a large farm truck with one back wheel of the edge toward the valley, right down on the axle. The front end of the truck was completely blocking the road. There was no way to even begin to pull this truck back up on the road until it’s cargo of at least 100 bags of potatoes was off loaded to the ground. These are not ordinary bags of potatoes. They were about 4 feet tall and as big around as a tree--Each pushing 250 pounds or better. I thought to try to help but after one bag fell over from the stack, it took all I had just to pull it upright again so I knew just attempting to lift and carry just one would put me out of commission.

Three or four young men did all the work. The others would wrestle the rough poly-weave bag to the back edge of the tilted truck, while one man received the full load of the bag against his bowed neck and shoulders. They would help the man straighten to balance the load on the frame of his skeleton and off he would go, negotiating the gap between the floundered truck and the wall of the hill. Each man took his turn walking the load through wet sticky clay up to his ankles in spots, past the truck, past our bus and leaving it with a toss to the pile that was building to the side of the road behind our bus.

This was going to be a long process, let alone painful to watch. Charles and David decided to take off on foot, the couple or remaining miles to the clinic so that they could truly be done with the final things they had to do before we left.

With the truck finally unloaded, they tied a long and strong piece of what appeared to be nylon rope to the frame of our bus. It looked like a hodge-podge of salvaged misc. pieces that only God himself could keep together with the forces we were about to exert on it. Those of us that were off the bus as spectators were asked to get back on the bus as ballast--Finally a way to help. Christopher backed the bus down and with truck tires spinning and strong men lifting and pushing, the truck returned to the sloppy road ad to the side so we could pass. Once again, welcome to Africa.

By the time we reached the clinic Charles and David had already been back to work. We toured the now dry and empty school, and took pictures of the chalk boards to share with you all at home.

Soon we were called into the waiting room of the clinic and Charles lead us through a prayer that was emotion soaked for all of us. For the first time in Ikamiro village electric lights glowed from the ceiling of the brand new clinic. There was a loud cheer and praise to God from the gathered crowed of team members and locals, and the vaccine refrigerator hummed along in harmony--Things already betta.

We made it back down to Muko without further transportation delays, where we were able to greet, register and photograph the remaining orphan and care provider. We all took a walk together through the amazingly large Saturday market spread out along the hill in Muko. Some of us left the market early for a beer in the bar next to the SOS office. I bought one for my young friend Josiah, a local teacher and one of the SOS volunteers. There was no refrigeration of course so the bottle of Nile special was on the warm side, the bar matron wiped the dust off the bottles with a well-used rag and popped the tops off before handing them over. They were wet enough to be refreshing and I toasted one of our many new friends, Josiah, before we all said our goodbyes and got on the bus for the last trip back to Kabale.

Two Blog posts in two days!

Uganda Feb 8th

There was definitely a sense of relief in the air tonight among the team. The tasks we all had, though not complete, are well within doing in our remaining time. They will be done providing we don’t have some unexpected set backs, so we are even anticipating them too.

We began the morning with all the guys hitting the grungy, dilapidated and trash blown shopping part of Kabale looking for various electrical parts for the clinic. Men of all ages tend to congregating in groups, watching us with serious expressions as they mumble something to their assembled audience. There seems to be a toughness they try to maintain within these groups—all standing around waiting for something—a fight to break out across the street, the offer of a few schillings to help load or unload a truck. They just wait.

If you smile and say hello or how are you, many are taken off guard and their underlying friendliness gets the best of them. They will smile and return your greeting with exuberance then grow instantly bashful as the non verbal norms of his group envelop him with their eye’s and his face turns to a stony wall again.

If you have the time while waiting around yourself, for a part or directions to the next shop that might have a certain bolt, you can engage the whole group there by just bravely breaking though the stares with conversation, talking to them about what our group is about. They all warm up pretty quickly then and welcome us to Uganda. Some will joke and say they are moving to Muko or Ikamiro to benefit from our programs with SOS.

You can’t really go into each shop, as they are small and filled with a miraculous inventory stacked in no particular order in dusty, damp and over stacked boxes—the higher ones melting into the lower ones. There is only room for the shop owner to walk around the small floor if he is careful.

We found most of what we needed, or at least knew where to try next, as soon as the next place might open. Hours posted on the doors are often more of a guideline. The bike shop was open and we wanted to purchase a bicycle for the SOS personnel and volunteers to use in their travels. Heavy duty bicycles are everywhere around here, and used for transporting weights and volumes of goods beyond anything you could ever imagine. I’ve seen everything from huge stacks of lumber to bags of potatoes taller than the man pushing the bike, somehow lashed to the standard seat and/or frame as stable as a brick building. Everyone we talked to recommend the Loadmaster brand, but this dealer said they were no longer made. He recommended his version, a Phoenix, make in China. It looked sturdy enough so the deal was made, with an add-on for “adjusting” the bike--Tightening everything up and making sure it was all working properly. It was an added investment well worth the extra half hour. We used the time to continue our quest for the electrical part still at large.

Rick and Linda had more appointments with local health officials about the clinic. The clinic solar team set off with the bike and extra parts, (They reported later that they got it all, almost finished but they lost an hour trying to find a short in a circuit only to find the problem was in one the brand new wall switches they had installed earlier).

The plan was that the bus would bring the Muko folks for our planned SOS meeting back to Kabale, so a bank account could be open and appropriate signatures could be notarized. They eventually made it back to Kabale, but the delivery of the bike caused a lot of excitement and need for delay.

The SOS folks were thrilled with the bike; in fact Tito, our chief volunteer and mobilizer jumped on the bike immediately and took off putting it through its paces in a flurry of dust. Richard and Generous established the ground rules right way and set up a system where volunteers would sign the bike in and out.

The SOS leaders made it back to Kabale on our bus, including our new friend Blessing, our soon to be assistant director for SOS and specifically the social worker for the orphan program. He lives in Kabale and had set off on his bike to meet us in Muko, about a 2-hour ride by bus mostly up hill. He had made it half way there when we unknowingly called him on his cell phone to tell him that the meeting had been moved back to Kabale. He peddled back and in time for the original appointment! Needless to say he was tired but still enthusiastic about the job—that combined with his experience we know he was the right man for the job. We made the offer and he accepted right away.

SOS and the Muko H.O.P.E. orphan program finally feel like an up and running entity.

Everyone involved in the trip to the bank found their way back to our White Horse hotel in Kabale. We took over part of their dinning room for a quick SOS board meeting that included Father Bruno and Reverend Julius.

It was exciting to go around the table and debrief each other about our many accomplishments for the day. We’ve done so much in such a short time and it is almost all complete.

It was also a nice evening of reflection and worship, followed by a night cap for a few of us to celebrate the accomplishments with SOS.

Back in Kampala and trying to catch up on this blog

Tues. Feb. 5th

We started with a pretty easy plan for the day, but we have already been taught here multiple times, to go with the flow. We had all been invited to Father Bruno’s church for Mass and baptisms and we all very much wished we could go. The guys working on the solar equipment at the clinic are really feeling the pressure of this week speeding by, so they went on up to Ikamiro after leaving the rest of us as representatives of our group in Muko to attend Mass. Rick and Linda could only get appointments with government heath officials in Kabale today, so they stayed back in the town for the meetings. They also shopped for extra items for distribution day.

We all took as much extra donated items of clothing and flip flops that we could on the plane as luggage, but we also had a generous amount of donated cash--U.S. dollars that would go very far here and give a small boost to the local economy. With all of us so busy with the many projects on this trip Rick and Linda’s willingness to work a shopping trip into their agenda for the day was really Gift. They were able to hire an extra driver with a truck and managed to find several huge, 250# bags of dry beans plus additional clothing for the village distribution.

Christopher taught us the East African carry as a way to move the enormous polybags of beans. It’s a way of grabbing the forearms of the other man under the load, rather than just grabbing the tightly packed bag itself with your hands. Granted, it was much easier to lift the bags this way but it still required at least two to three men and getting men and bag through the narrow doors of the buildings and bus, plus over all the seats to the open area in the back was a brutal task. Beans leaked from every seam of the may-pop bags adding a nice rolling, slippery aspect to each step of the carry.

It seemed once again that everyone turned out for the Mass and baptism at father Bruno’s church. The blue roof had an extra gleam to it as we walked up the hill to gathering throng so excited to see us again. Mass started about 10 and father Bruno assured us we could plan on it going no later than 2:30 including lunch with him and other leaders of the church.

Once again we were swept away with the service, lots of wonderful music and dancing. They introduced each of us and gave of gifts of carvings and huge baskets of fruits vegetables and raw eggs. We knew in advance that we would be asked to be God parents for all the babies this day. Since we were not all at the service, we each had two or three babies to stand with and lay hands upon at different points of the sacrament. Father Bruno coached us through each step with his usual grace and humor.

At 3:30 the service was still going strong and we needed to abandon all hope of getting more done with S.O.S. and the orphan program for this day. We had not yet had lunch and the bananas among the baskets of fruit we looking pretty tempting. Storm clouds and rain came swooping in over the hills at about this time and the storm built itself into a furry. It rained and even hailed as hard as I’ve ever seen it rain for at least an hour and strong winds soaked the church goers sitting any were near the window openings into the church. The singing and dancing continued through it all until a surge of sustained rain and hail made the sound on the new metal roof actually painful. We all huddle with our fingers in our ears waiting for a break in the tempest. Huge stokes of lightning lit the dark interior scene of the church, startling each one of us with its apparent closeness.

By 4PM the storm had ended. There was no rainbow but the roof had held, and there was a pot-o-gold in the form of lunch waiting for us in one of the homes down the hill. Though we were hungry, we were also worried about time and knew the team at the clinic would be coming down the hill soon on the bus to pick us up. We attempted to beg off of lunch and Father Bruno was hearing none of it. So down the hill we slogged, though the saturated red clay.

As we were picking our way down the hill, between the still flowing rivulets and wash outs, Richard game driving up in his truck. He had just left to see how the others at the clinic had weathered the storm and to inform them to keep working if they wanted to, because we would be so delayed with lunch. Just up from the where the road construction crew had been crushing volcanic cinder rock into gravel for the new road, there had been a wash out from the hill side above down onto the road. Richard could not get past to get to the rest of our people, and there was know way the bus could come down. Richard organized a work crew of local men, and with the same hoes they use to cut clay for bricks and dig potatoes for dinner, they set in to clearing road of it’s blockage of mud.

Distracted with worry, we sat to try to enjoy the beautiful lunch that Sister Paula had prepared. Truly it was a site to behold on the table, only to be outdone by its taste. Almost as soon as I sat, the two-way radio in my jacket pocket began to crackle. It was the bus of our crew form the clinic telling us they were almost to Muko and they really wanted to head back to the city right away. They had not yet reached the blockage in the road and I had to give them the bad news that they were about to encounter what could be a significant delay. Armed with the news they added extra caution to their slippery trip so they wouldn’t run into the mud slide coming around one of the tight mountain corners.

The small army of men cleared just enough mud to make an opening for the 4 wheel drive bus to slither through—we thank God for Christopher and his skill in driving multiple times every day. They arrived in Muko just as Father Bruno began pushing us into staying to enjoy an amazing desert of cake and fruit. We wolfed it down and said our good byes for the day, thanking sister for an amazing job on the food.

Once on the bus we made our way down the rutted slippery clay of the road, toward Kabale. We never knew if we would encounter another wash out along the rapidly darkening trip home. There could have been one around each bend of this twisting mountain road. I kept one eye on the step hill side above us, making sure nothing seemed to be moving. With the steep ravine to the valley below the road, this bus would roll along way if we were to be caught in a slide, and this was no ordinary rain, all the ground was saturated to capacity

It was a slow and careful trip to Kabale, where we met up again with the Rick and Linda. In addition to the success in bean shopping, they had very informative meetings with the health officials of the region. I can’t go into detail here, but from what they shared at dinner, there is much to be done yet to get the new clinic staffed and operational. The officials they met were all very positive about the clinic, but the staffing would need to be arranged by them and they have budgets just like everyone in the world. We will all pray and remain positive and hopeful for the new clinic, but apparently it takes more than just a building and a solar powered vaccine refrigerator before they start sending the vaccines and the staff to administer the medicine. Politics, bureaucracy and more politics, we will have to engage the locals to keep this moving. It can’t all be done on this trip.

Feb. 6th

We decided to move our meeting with the Save Our Situation, (SOS) leaders from Muko, up to one of the rooms in the new clinic so we can all be working in the same general area. We worked through a lot of the details for our relationship with SOS—such things as organizational structure and board of directors. We also came up with a name for the orphans program under the SOS umbrella structure--Muko H.O.P.E. (Help Orphans Prosper and Endure), so simple yet exactly right.

We also got to meet the first 5 orphans and care takers later in the day. Rick and Linda checked them over and recorded weight and height information while Lucy recorded the basic story of the orphan’s life. I took some photos for the file etc.

I don’t remember the source he sited but John had mentioned reading that Uganda was listed as one of the worst places in the world to be a child. When you hear some of the back stories of these little survivors, you will have no doubt. The culture here is to have many babies, (the average number of pregnancies is nine). This is because infant mortality here is very high and as they grow they become more and more help to the family’s agricultural-based life.

It’s not just HIV/AIDS and war that create these orphans. Many parents are victims of other diseases, and social issues. We have heard more than one story of the mothers being “mad” with mental illness, alcoholism or both. They usually become pregnant from rape during nights living on the street. These mothers just leave their babies sitting in the village while they go off for days or sometime never come back. Other stories involve divorces and remarriage to another man and the mother just abandons the child of the previous marriage. Many of our care givers are just good samaritans from the village who have picked these babies up and just began caring for them, usually with no resource even for their own survival.

After the registration process and photo’s we gathered with all the orphans and care givers, Generous went through and explained each item in the back packs before giving them out. You should have seen the smiles. Some of us demonstrated the yo-yos and a couple of the orphans gave them a test run. Lots of practice we told them.

Storm clouds began brewing again in the afternoon and we made it up the hill to the school in Ikamiro just and the clouds cut loose again. Rain with lightning and thunder means solar panel work on the clinic roof must stop, so David Kelly was able to join us in the class room.

We first met with Julius the head master or superintendent of the school. Sue filled his desk with school supplies for the kids and he was very excited. The din of rain on the metal roof above us served to postpone Julius’s prepared speech to us until another day, but as the rain slackened we moved to one of the class rooms as students poured in from other classrooms in the compound.

David Kelly spoke to the gathered group as our resident university professor, some looking in from the iron-barred window openings along both sides of the class building.
He told them a bit about the U.S.A. and then opened it up to questions. The extra brave ones asked many good questions our country—the type of terrain that could be found, our climate and politics.

No gathering is complete here without a welcoming performance of singing and dancing by the students. It was really fun to experience this. We made our way back to the bus or van, (I know I’ve described it as both in this blog). Gathered those working on the wiring in the clinic and made our way back to Muko to drop of the SOS folks. We unloaded the massive bags of beans and loaded the massive baskets of fruit for the trip. Some of the ladies in our team attempted to bring the baskets to the bus by balancing them on their heads as the locals do. It was great entertainment for the ever-present crowd that follows us where ever we walk.

All previous attempts to update this blog had apparently failed and when we arrived at the hotel I learned the internet connection in their office was up and running. It was a rickety ride on their dial-up service with multiple lost connections but I pulled off an update before joining the rest of the group for dinner. God only knows when you will get to read these words.

After dinner Lucy lead us through a mini Ash Wednesday service in one of the hotel meeting rooms—complete with red clay to mark our foreheads--A very welcome event for our small band, operating in what often seems like another planet from our own.

Feb. 7th

We had an extra early 7 AM departure from the hotel this morning as we wanted to give John, Charles and David extra time for work on the panels. All three solar panels are mounted and running. This is a major accomplishment given the daily afternoon rain delays, cutting the clinic team’s time to do the work. All but one light in the clinic glowed with electric power—a first time event for this village. Hopefully we can make it more of a village event some evening before we leave for the night.

Our first meeting of the morning was with the women’s group who work together making baskets and beads to sell, to help support the cost of their HIV medication. Lucy and Generous lead the group through detailed discussions about organizational structure and election of leaders etc. Much was accomplished toward getting them set up with a fair trade organization, but much more needs to happen as well. The women set out all the baskets and jewelry they had made since Sue’s last visit—some really beautiful things.

After the meeting with the basket weavers, we climbed the hill for distribution day. All the beans, clothes and about 30 new farming hoes, (heavy garden hoes), were awaiting distribution to a large and growing crowd. Before the distribution, in true Ugandan style, we were treated to hours of speeches, songs, dances and plays. It was just amazing again. The SOS leaders sat us like royalty up on the porch of the Catholic Church; they had used wood poles to erect a make-shift staging curtain on the uneven, stony grass before us. It was most uncomfortable to be treated with such honor. So, we did the only thing we could, we all climbed down off our “thrones” and just started dancing with the dancers. It made the crowd laugh a lot, and then the town leaders and SOS joined us in the jump up dance. What a blast.

It’s been a week of being treated like a rock star but we take every opportunity to point out that we represent many people back at our respective churches in Midland, all the works and this relationship begin and end with God’s love and the care we need to have for each other.

We have to constantly remind ourselves that the ceremony, food and hand crafted gifts are just that, the gifts of God’s love that they can give back, to our congregations, through us. I’ll be doing my best to make sure everyone has a chance to see the photos and footage of their out pouring of welcome, thanks and gratitude.

Running a couple hours late in the program, we stopped for a lunch break, but not before one of the most amazing plays was presented to our assembled portion of the team. Story telling through plays is one of the traditions of this culture and when the simple curtains opened again there was a young teenage boy and girl standing there playing roles of Richard and Generous. A new legend has begun for these people--The story of Richard and Generous, getting their education and leaving the village for work in the city.

Before I tell you the basic story of the play, let me describe the context or lens through which we were viewing it. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned, anytime we set foot in the village we are surrounded by the curious faces of both the young and old. When ever someone feels like they have an opportunity, they strike up a conversation with one of use to tell us of their individual need or that of another group they know. It’s usually about sponsorship of some kind, medical help, education in the U.S., new tools to carve with, etc. No one can blame them, these folks are desperate for help in so many ways and they see us as an opportunity for relief and a better future. As we have said, they are just trying to survive but the need is endless and overwhelming. At least now with the establishment of the umbrella organization, SOS we have a place to refer their requests to be prioritized with the needs of the village. Think of it as a village United Way.

It was after about a week of these requests that the play of Richard and Generous was presented. They acted out the whole story of Richard contacting Sue and John with a letter and all the events up to today. The crowd all laughed every time the teen actors called each other darling and sweetheart as they followed the script. They even had additional actors play the part of each member of the team as the play moved into present events.

What stopped the hearts of all of us on the team was when the play moved into the future and they had young people representing individual orphans from our Muko H.O.P.E organization--Orphans that had lived and grown to become educated, with opportunities to go to universities and advanced trade schools. Each orphan had a name, a successful job and they were proudly returning to Muko/Ikamiro to be doctors and educators, to sponsor students to go to university or to donate money for supporting new orphans or other development programs like libraries and better schools.

The leadership of this village had developed a story of vision and self sustainability. A story of many more, like Richard and Generous--They were communicating this story and vision to the whole village and it was one of the most emotionally profound and wonderful things I had witnessed all week.

I got such a lump in my throat I could hardly take it. This is not just about an endless pipeline of money, food and clothing donations to them. It will take years and even generations to build a self sustaining foundation, but through all of you supporting this mission, you are a part of God’s work in making a seismic shift in the reality of life for the people of this little village, floating higher and higher with each step we take together in the ocean of need we have seen here in Africa.

Through this play and these people, God’s own hand was showing us what his plan is and what we are starting for him in partnership with this village. You could have knocked me over with a feather. It was the most astounding and beautiful thing I have ever witnessed.
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As if to close the deal, after lunch we learned that more orphans had arrived with their care givers from the surrounding hills. At the beginning of the week we thought we might only be able to set up a pilot program with nine of the fifteen orphans we had hoped for, we were now up to thirteen.

They waited outside on the grass near the house Richard and Generous rent and stay in while they are here. We used their front room as the place where we would register the orphans and take their photo.

The first little boy they brought in had taken off running when Generous called his name. He had never seen white people before and this whole process had triggered every survival instinct he had. One of the volunteers caught him and carried him, holding the small boy with all his might. He cried hysterically and fought like a wildcat as he yelled no, no. Only God knows what this little guy has been through in his short life.

Dr. Rick sat down on the sofa in the room as the boy was brought over. He smiled and talked in a calming voice, distracting the boy from his fear by showing him is watch and putting it on the boy wrist. He then showed him the stethoscope and how he put it in his ears to listen to his heart. In no time he had calmed the boy and had him sitting next to him on the sofa. With tear streaked cheeks the boy looked at me a short distance across the room and returned my thumbs-up sign with a wide smile as Rick let him listen to his own heart.

I saw this same boy several times that afternoon. He is no more than four, and his little face caught my eye among the crowd of people, hardly noticeable below the adults towering over him and each time he smiled and gave me the thumbs-up sign. “Things already getting betta.”

We had much to share together that night during worship and reflection. We each prayed and thanked God for the team member to the right of us. One of our group wept at the pain of homesickness we are all feeling. Much has been done and much more will need to happen after we are gone, but it’s time to finish up what we are about here and start the process of making our way back to our own loved ones.

Finally Have internet Access!

Feb. 2nd.

We made it to Kabale! It was a really long bumpy day in that van, but what a great way to travel this country. John, Charles and Richard (with his pick –up truck), started a few hours later. Our customs expeditor, Jimmy, apparently “didn’t get to” our remaining solar panel the day before, so it was still in customs. Making a very long story, short, they were able to get the panel and join us a little later at the White Horse Inn, Kabale.


We off-loaded the gear into our hotel rooms and enjoyed a late dinner together followed by some worship/reflection time. All of us agreed upon how easy it is to get overwhelmed by the crushing need you see every where you look. It was a non-stop, 9-hour theme as we rode in the van to Kabale. Every where you looked for as far as you could see, it was rock-bottom subsistence living. Every member of every family was hand digging the earth, clearing out a new section of jungle to farm or sun-drying a few bushels of bean crop on an old blanket from the mat that is their bed.

One of the team who rode in the pick-up truck shared a story on himself that certainly could have been any one of us. Once you are well out of Kampala and on the road to Kabale the consistent scattering of self-made rural homes begin to thicken again into small trading centers that support everyone within a walking distance of many square miles.

Well-worn dirt foot paths wind their way like spider legs along ridge line and valley toward each of these trading centers. Shanty towns, a fraction of what we’ve seen in the city, grow again behind the battered store fronts that line the road at the trade center. The number of people walking in the dirt along the edge of this narrow highway grows dramatically at these centers. Traffic slows and many van loads and buses of travelers pull off for a break.

At the larger of these centers there are what appear to be swarms of young men cooking meat on wood sticks over rows of smokey grills. I would assume the meat is beef, goat, chicken or pig. There are herdsmen and farmers of this livestock all along the road, by God’ grace we have not hit any of them as we barrel past on the bus. Any traveler, who has become sick after eating food from a road side vender, would not consider this a meal worth the risk.

The unusual thing about this form of road side vending is that they try to sell you this meat through the car windows if you so much as slow down. If one person in a bus-load of people signals that they want to buy some meat, tens of men, each with as many sticks as they can carry try to be the person that makes the transaction with that individual. Failing that, it’s a hard push to try to entice the others in the vehicle.

The team person admitted, for the benefit of everyone, that he made a seemingly innocent comment, naturally seeing a little humor in all the commotion—apparently Richard just smiled and in his gentle way said “they are just trying to survive.” The raw reality of the scene and Richards words set in hard for us all. It was a scene we all had shared separately along this road; it is about survival here—overwhelming and beyond our scope, except for a few orphans, in a small village, at the end of this battered and buckled highway.

This same evening, John read the famous passage about the gracious entertainment of strangers…as you never know when you are entertaining an Angel. He said the passage came to him as he saw the cherubic smiles and excited waves of the many 3, 4 and 5 year olds playing much too close to the road. I saw them too, some of them actually tottering though the tall grass with a stick in hand to herd a few goats left in their charge. All of them smiled, all of them waved, very happy to see us--yet not a bit surprised--Angles monitoring our progress, every one.

Feb. 3rd.

If you are going to Ikamiro, Kabale is where the pavement ends and it’s an hour of rutted, washboard dirt that winds through some of the most beautiful mountainous foothills you’ve ever seen. It is Sunday, this day of our arrival and we are excited and apprehensive at the same time. We stopped along the way to pick up Richard and Generous, in her home village of Muko, just before you reach Ikamiro. Their youngest, Josiah, was baptized today so everyone was looking mighty “smart” in their Sunday finest.

We arrived in Ikamiro to an amazing amount of fanfare. Every angel we saw along the road must have flown in for the day, because they were all there, laughing and running along side the van. Christopher drove right up to the front door of the beautiful Anglican Church. It overlooks a green patch-worked valley, with a lake filling the bottom and giving visual depth to each fold of the many ridgelines dropping down to form bays and headland points into the distance.

You can’t believe the setting nor will you believe the scene. It seemed everyone from every ridge and valley for miles turned out to warm our greeting. We learned later at lunch that attendance had more than doubled for the event of our arrival. A teaming sea of smiles, hand shakes and hugs as we were ushered into the simple and perfect sanctuary. The teachers from the local schools graciously hosted our visit, translating from their local dialect into English and Helping us to anticipate what was about to happen next.

Row after row of wooden benches creaked with over capacity as attendees poured out of the doors out the glass-less windows and into the grounds around the church. It was time to start, and the greetings turned, temporarily, to more solemn nods and smiles. It was the calm before the storm.

As we had been warned the service was 3 or 4 hours long, but I don’t think any of us noticed the time as we were swept along in a very moving and joyous celebration. There was singing and drumming along with both planned and spontaneous dancing. The people were so welcoming, introducing each one of us and giving us each a gift of local craft. Dance teams from the local schools gave special performances of traditional praise and celebration. One of the teams, visited from the local school that had received the blackboards.

Lucy was honored as God parent to Josiah for his baptism. She also read scripture and gave a wonderful sermon of our work in partnership with the local community. The team could not have been more proud of her accept maybe her parents, John and Sue.

Richard stood and said a few words in our behalf generating spontaneous drum beats, clapping and song.

Both John and Sue were also asked to say a few words, and they presented the signed Bible and Hymnal carried from Memorial Presbyterian to be left here in their sanctuary as a symbol of love and partnership from us.

Charles Bash, presented the church with a beautiful set of alter linens from his home church St. Johns Episcopal in Midland.

After the service, we walked down the hill to the new medical clinic for a tour of the freshly painted new building. Richard proudly drove his pick-up, parting the crowd as he carried the new vaccine refrigerator closer to the clinic. Teams of young locals made short work of moving frig. Solar panels and batteries into the clinic for set up this week.

The team enjoyed a beautiful lunch with the elders and Pastor Julius in his near-by residence. Soon we were off again to meet with Father Bruno of the local Catholic Church in Muko.

They just don’t make words to describe the emotional waves of love, joy, and thanks giving we shared together with this congregation. The shear power of it made tears well up even in these dry old eyes. God is great—and as in one of many songs Generous lead the congregation through, “things are already getting betta”.

Feb. 4th

Monday, the hands on work with our partners finally began today. The team divided into smaller groups and worked in different parts of the two neighboring villages, Ikamiro and Muko. It was also the day, where the “honeymoon was over” for an emotionally and physically tired Midland team. There was much accomplished on all fronts but each of us had any number of set backs, surprises and derailments of plans. At our regroup this evening, John and Sue’s leadership got us through some wrong assumptions and miscommunications that had us all a little peeved with each other. But tonight it was our medical team that needed propping up. It was a day of much more than they had bargained for.

John, David and Charles headed for the new clinic and began the work, with local volunteers, to install the solar power refrigerator and run wire for the clinic lighting through the attic. The lighting will be powered by a bank of three large batteries that will be charged by the solar panels on the roof. Much was accomplished for the day here thanks to the help of so many from the village. Once again the whole town seemed to turn out to help and/or watch the journey of electrical power coming to Ikamiro for the first time. Unfortunately, a certain amount of room to work needed to be maintained, so many would-be helpers had to settle for observing from a distance.

Sue, Lucy and Doug spent a grinding day, making progress with our local “Save Our Situation” partners, developing the details for a pilot orphan sponsorship program. There is so much still to do and already we see our time here speeding past.

The little building just up the hill from the new clinic worksite is the place where an existing clinic is still in operation, such as it is. There was a significant communication problem and apparently word got out that a doctor would be in town all week to see them. The team knew and thought we had communicated ahead of time that Rick and Linda would not be licensed to practice medicine in Uganda. They were going to observe how the clinic is run today, and see what kind of ailments typically come through the door. They are also working to find and meet regulatory officials to help us find our way to having a fully functional, accredited and certainly, legal clinic. They also hope to meet our first pilot group of orphans and begin a basic record on them with height and weight, etc.

Unfortunately, everyone with an ailment, many very serious, got themselves to the clinic this day. By all appearances many had literally dragged themselves for miles to see the American Doc. Rick, Linda and the local assistant nurse, Anna were just buried in the desperation and hope of a packed clinic with more people waiting out side on the grass. “Finally a doctor to see them from the United States, surely they can help me with my daughter who is not recovering from malaria, this crippling arthritis, club feet, broken limbs that were not properly set, downs syndrome, congenital heart defects…”

In the end it was a gut wrenching experience. Even if they would have had a laboratory for tests, vaccines and medicines, they had no credentials to diagnose or for referrals to other medical facilities in Kabale. Some of what they saw is readily treatable in the United States and certainly here as well, but only if you can afford to get yourself to where the medical care is, and pay for treatments—a real show stopper for the people here.

If they had attempted to diagnose and treat people, they ran the risk of having the clinic shut down all together at best, or time in a Ugandan prison at worst. Having to explain this to village leaders who would lose face over this disappointment was definitely a set back in the relationship. Explaining it to the bewildered eyes of truly suffering people, who had waited all day, is emotionally crushing beyond description.

With the assistant nurse they did what they could, but the day raced along and it was soon time for the van to leave for the trip back to Kabale. Two medical professionals with full careers of helping people had to turn and leave these poor souls, and with people calling out to them, get on the bus.
Dear God, help is coming, it just can’t be today.

Feb. 5th

Just got internet connetion for the first time since in Kabale. Sorry this was so long in coming. Great news today. We have the solar pannels up with one wired and working! More later.

We are here!

Uganda January 31, 2008

Wow! It’s amazing to be here finally after so many months of planning and preparation. The trip over was long as expected with the requisite mad dash through the Detroit airport to make our connection. We all made it, and “Luggage Mountain” managed to follow us--So all is good in that department.

We arrived in Entebbe, the smaller town near Kampala where they happen to keep the airport. It was great to be welcomed just outside of customs by all of the friends Sue and John had made from their last trip. Richard and Generous were there with smiles and hugs. They had brought along the babies Jessie, Jorryn, Josiah and their friend Evelyn. Christopher was there to be our driver as he was for Sue and John before. And Chipper Adams was there to greet us as well. They treated us all like we were old friends and it revived our tired hearts.

It was about 9 PM and very dark so we didn’t see much coming in on the plane. It was about a 45 Min drive through the city to our hotel. There was very little in the way of street lighting, but even after 10 PM there were an amazing number of people out walking in the heavy humid air of the night.

Just outside of the glow from the road traffic I could make out row after row of rusted shacks cobbled together from corrugated metal. Most seem to be small shops, each selling what ever they could or offering some type of service. Hair styling to arc Welding, it was all there with throngs of people laughing and talking. Many people sat at occasional outdoor lounge bars behind plastic tables illuminated only by a candle or an oil drum burning the day’s trash. The fires made an acrid smog layer over everything and it burned in the back of my throat. I hoped that the people were not cooking over these fires but I’m afraid they probably were. Plastic is also a fuel if it needs to be.

The Squires hotel is fairly basic but clean and we were glad for the showers and a real bed. There is a wall with spikes all around it and an armed guard at the gate.

It was a rather gloomy first impression that night.

The next morning the poverty we had observed was all still around us, but the colors when I opened my curtains about hurt my eyes. The grass and trees are very green and good to see after coming from such a cold winter at home. The road behind the hotel had continued to host a celebration of some type well into the early morning, but it was now full of children running and laughing and people dressed in brightly colored clothing carrying shopping bags or balancing things on their heads. The road itself is the color of red Georgia clay and it just added to vibrant scene.

Over a hotel breakfast of eggs and toast we met some other guests of the hotel, Pastor George Epielu, his wife Eva and their very new baby Deborah. George is with the Bethel Pentecostal Church in Soroti and they were just returning from a successful 5-month mission trip to the U.S. They were in Arizona among other places, raising money for what he called Mission Times the Word Ministries. Soroti is located at the southern edge of the rebel fighting in the North of Uganda. He spoke with pride of how civilians in his home area picked up weaponry form the army and became an 11,000 member militia to repel the rebels--These same rebels had pulled over 2000 children from homes to the north and made the boys their armed killers and the girls their sex slaves. George’s eyes welled with tears as he described the atrocities and the last 20 years of this war. His mission cares for hundreds of children, many who have never known anything other than the poverty of the refugee camps.

We spent the rest of the day on the big 4x4 van that Chipper has for us. With Christopher driving we went from shop to shop exchanging money, and buying supplies we would need before we make the eight hour drive to Kabale. John and Charles left to go hassle with customs agents to gain access to the solar powered vaccine refrigerator and with a different driver got lost on the way back. It all made for an extra big day for them.

The rest of us met with Charles Howard, a friend of Chippers who was involved in the medical system of the country. He was full of great advice for the Drimlla’s and all they would go through in getting the clinic up and going.

Later we met with Charles Tuhaise, Principal Research officer for the Government social programs for Parliament. Charles was a wealth of information and good suggestions for how we should structure our orphan sponsorship program, and work with the district officials. Needless to say it will be much more complicated than we had imagined. At the end of the conversation, Sue invited him to be on our board of directors. He seemed very honored and would consider it. Generous also invited him to her home for our get together in the evening. He came, and is going to try to get time off to join us on the trip.

Richard and Generous have a beautiful new home with a lot of room for their growing family. We all sat and talked in their living room, enjoying a beautiful cake and soft drinks, while the kids entertained us all with cuteness.

Lucy led us through some spiritual time back at the hotel that night--A great way to cap off our first 24 hours in Uganda. It sure seems like more than that. What a day!

Feb. 1st.

We all straggled in to the lobby for the hotel breakfast between 8 and 9, and we put in on the road by about 9:30. Our first stop was a visit to the Canaan Children’s home in Jinja. It is an amazing place founded by Isaac Wagaba and his wife Rebecca. (They all call them Poppa Isaac and Momma Rebecca). It is largely supported by the Stony Point Presbyterian Church, PCA in Richmond Virginia.

If you do nothing else from this blog, you need to go to his web site and read the story of his journey to founding this place. I can’t begin to tell the story here but it includes dragging himself from a pile of dead bodies, when he was left for dead by an Idi Amin execution squad for being a Christian pastor and refusing to denounce Christianity. He is such a warm and high-energy person. When he tells you his story personally, as he did for us today, there is no doubt in your mind that he truly heard the voice of God that night raising him out of that pile and telling him to go and be the father to the now fatherless children of these dead men.

Isaac’s staff was also warm and wonderful, you could tell there was a lot of love around the place for all 102 children they have at the moment. The kids were just beautiful, very bright and healthy. They have them divided into buildings for boys and girls, with each bunk room a certain span of ages up to 18. They call each bunk room a family and each one has a “Momma” that lives in an adjoining room. As the boys get older they are lead by an “Uncle.” They also get together as one big family in the evenings and for worship.

The kids were very excited about our visit—loved to get their pictures taken and then see themselves on the little screen. Some proudly gave us a tour of their bunk houses and showed us the few treasures they kept on their bed that made it their own.

There is also a beautiful new clinic on the grounds that serve the children and the people of the surrounding area. We all had a tour and Rick and Linda had a chance to spend time learning the realities of clinic work here from the Doctor in residence.

We met David and Joyce Kimpwitu, for lunch at a beautiful hotel and restaurant overlooking the Nile near the dam in Jinja. It was good to share stories of our experiences so far, and to meet their beautiful daughter Dina and grand daughter Maggie. Joyce is Vincent Oriedo and Grand mother to his son Alex both members of Memorial Presbyterian. After lunch they joined us on the bus for a look at the near by water fall and rapids. Our driver Christopher stood next to me as we marveled at the volume of water surging through this part of the Nile. He said “It is amazing the shear power of God creation.” It was certainly an understatement.

We also travel the mile or so to the point where Lake Victoria empties out and joins a huge flowing spring that begins it’s 4,000 mile run to the Mediterranean—it take 3 months. It was just awesome and so amazing to be standing there, who would have thought I would ever lay eyes on this place though a much easier time than had by Jonathan Speke, (you might have to look up that reference).

We got lost more than a few times in the morning, finding our way to the orphanage, which set us back a bit, but Charles Tuhaise and Richard still joined us for dinner at 8 PM when we finally returned to Kampala. It was good to get off the bus and relax and reflect on the day while planning the next. Once again I was not home in time to post my blog and internet café. I don’t even know yet how it will work, but when you finally read these words you will know I have managed. (Unfortunately I don’t think I can send pictures because the cafe’s modem is apparently very slow and I, at least, want to describe to you what is happening here.

It will be good to be heading for Kabale and Ikamiro tomorrow morning, assuming the last solar panel can be freed from customs tomorrow early and the needed minor repair to the bus starter is accomplished. Nothing goes as planned…just as we planned.

I thought I should expand on my impressions from our travels today. In the light of day I could see that in some areas along the highway for many miles at the edge of the city, the tin roof shanty’s I described from our first night are actually miles deep in the directions parallel to the road--Shanty towns with masses of people of all ages existing in what to me would be unbearable squalor and tight-packed over-heated conditions. They seemed to be happy and living their lives, smiling and waving as we drove by—I guess if you’ve never known anything else, but…no, it’s got to be a powder keg anyway you look at it. So few with so much and the all the rest, huge masses of people, with less than nothing—there does not appear to be a lot of middle class here. I guess I can see how things can flair up to situations like we now read about in Kenya.

The people of Uganda, as I’m sure would be the case in Kenya, are warm and friendly people, gentle and soft spoken, the definition of grace in any situation, but I can’t even think about what those shanty towns must do to people at the end of their rope.

As we made our way out of the city and toward Jinja the housing went from tin-shack squalor to rural poor. The homes were still self-made but spread further apart and they tended to be more of bricks from the red clay rather than rusty metal. Everyone was out working, either in the fields, washing clothes, or preparing the next meal they had gathered from the jungle or a garden they tend. Carrying water was obviously a big part of the day, and cooking and washing involved no modern convenience of any kind. It seems to be a hard scrabble life anywhere we’ve gone in Uganda.

I’m sure it will be no different as we travel east to the village of Ikamiro. I look forward to seeing this place in the next couple days. Richard’s village and I think Generous is from Muko the next town near there. What tremendous accomplishments they have made for their life together and for the village. This must have been a rapidly expanding world for them in these five short years—I am sure, even bewildering to them. I sometimes look at them and wonder about their perspective of all of this. There is no question they are grateful that God has brought our communities together to partner in this way. I know our team and our churches get so much more in return--Generous just beams with welling eyes, hugging and shaking hands, saying “God is great. God is great.” How right she is.