Greeting.... EVERYONE EVERYTIME

Water just up and quit this morning. I have no idea why. Thankfully I filled my water bottle last night.

I wonder about sharing these details with you. Please know I am not complaining. I am not fearful at this moment about the water not returning, it is the rainy season, the water barrels will fill and we have enough. So don’t fear for me either.
Being in UG is different. I think the most different thing I am feeling on this trip is the finality of it – I have committed for one year. Each day feels so long, but it doesn’t seem as though I have been here for 12 days.

Some things continue to boggle my mind. There seems to be an unspoken rule that it is “my” job to greet everyone I pass on the road. Why do I have to initiate the greetings? I am just learning this language; can’t someone greet me first and let me respond? Silly, I know, but some mornings it is frustrating. I have had to apologize multiple times already for not greeting everyone in the room I enter. Even if I don’t know a person I need to greet them. Even if I just saw them five minutes ago I need to greet them.

Upon arriving in Mbarara I was informed that I would not be allowed to walk in the dark. The sun sets early now, so I would have to leave by around 6:30 at the latest to make it “home” in time. The night walking ban lasted one day. On the same land as the children’s home is the “ABIDE house” for guys who have just graduated HS and are waiting to begin university – they come here for a discipleship program. Anyway, each night a “band of men” / aka the ABIDE guys walk me home. The walk is never long with stories and laughter. I am tired of walking but I treasure these moments as they instruct me in cultural norms, tell me ghost stories, and share their lives with me.

Before leaving for UG one of my cousins totally hooked me up with great survival stuff. I carry the small Kershaw knife with me and use it daily. Another sweet item he gave me was what I would call a “protection flashlight”- small and incredibly bright. (if you get attacked at night shine it in the bad guys eyes and it blinds them temporarily so you can escape). I was explaining this concept to Uncle AH who was skeptical. Next thing I knew, he had taken it and shined it alongside his eye (not directly into his eye, but on the side)….. sure enough, it worked. “LE, my sight is gone! Is this permanent??” Oh, boy.

Driving from Kabale to Mbarara we passed a village. Uncle AH told us that a house we passed was being built by a family we know. “Why do they build second homes in the village, Uncle?” I asked, “In case someone dies” was his reply. Only in Africa would they build a second home in case a relative happened to die in that region…. RA and I laughed and still laugh about that explanation. Upon further investigation I have learned that you must have a place for the elderly to be buried – land where they came from. So if you have elderly parent you build a house in the home village so the relatives have a place to stay during the funeral and so you have land to bury them on.

School starts on Feb 1 here, so there aren’t many children around. I have been working on creating admission forms, acceptance letters, and advertisements for the JAM school. Learning all kinds of different school requirements in the process.

Keep me in your prayers as I have been faced with some difficult questions already. Some of the kids have shared their family history with me and my heart is hurting for them. I will keep you all posted as I continue to learn new things about life in UG. Love to you all.