Remember how I told you about the wall in our village house where we wrote down quotes, ideas, and lists? Well, about a month before leaving we started a “Things I HATE about Africa” list. A bit extreme, but it was a part of our mental preparation for departing. Here is the top half of the list:
Gassy matooke and beans.
Hard to Keep things Clean.
When I light a candle, things fall on my cutting board. (spider webs)
Decay of the English Language
Throwing / Splashing water to “get clean”
Noffee
No Couches. Concrete everything.
No Copy Machine.
Baking soda and fuel shortages.
Squatty Potties. No toilet in the house. Ka bano.
LARVAE RICE.
I share this in order to de-romanticize any thoughts you might have regarding “life on the mission field” or life in Africa. I fancy myself to be on the practical side, pragmatic even. But even this level headed girl wasn’t prepared for all the challenges found in Ug. The list of things we hated about Africa isn’t a list of important things- if we define ‘importance’ as something having a lasting impact or life changing. We made the list so when we got back home to America we would remember the daily reality of life in a third world country.
Mom asked me to write a concluding “update”- a what now. But before I write the “what now” I wanted to recap the 10 months I spent in Uganda.
In January I flew from Arizona to Entebbe, Uganda. There I met Bill and Rebekah Adams.
Rebekah had been in Uganda since October and her father, Bill, was coming for a visit. From Entebbe we traveled together to Kabale town where our adventures began. (Yes, my hair was that wild... short and curly and out of control. sigh)
Originally I was supposed to work in Mbarara- a larger city with plumbing and electricity (every other 24 hours). However upon arriving I found Rebekah and a whole group of kids praying for a change in location… and God heard them…. And I moved to Kishanje.
Life in the village was unlike anything I had experienced before- the closest thing I can equate it to is a long term camping trip. And I don’t like camping.
Anytime I fail to find the words necessary to convey what I experienced, I fall back on the old cliché- a picture is worth a thousand words. So here are 24 thousand words for you.
On the left you see a picture of my Benja Boy taken three years ago. I first met him in 2007 when he was rescued from a refugee camp. He was really malnourished and terrified of me. I loved seeing him again and seeing how much he has grown. As you can see, my malnourished boy is healthy and quite a tank. I have written about him in the past... so I know you remember him.
The rolling mountains of Kishanje. Beautiful and green (during the rainy season). The dock at Kyabakasa (sounds like cha ba casa) where we would land in the boat and begin the hike to the village.
Life in the village was always hard work. On the left you see me, Rebekah, and Wedell wet but victorious after collecting water in basins and various other containers during a rain storm. With no running water we had to be quick on our feet- taking advantage of the water provided from up above. Then you see a picture of Lucious, remember our Lizard "friends"? And finally, this is some meat. In a bag. Fresh from the butcher. The dead cow hangs from a chain and the butcher cuts off whatever part you want and puts it in a sac for you. Well, not for us, since Bek is a vegetarian, but for customers.
This is a sweet potato. We would stick them in the bottom of the charcoal stove and let them slowly roast as we cooked on top. We enjoyed eating them occasionally. Our last two weeks in the village though we ate them twice a day... which decreased our enjoyment. Secondly you see a massive roach. Sorry there is no scale thing to measure it by, roaches are disgusting. I stepped on it (see the guts) but it came back to life. I hate roaches. Thirdly, check out the squatty potty. Our latrines. Yay.
Now that you have seen some of the not so pretty, have a look at the pretty good looking: On the left is Travis, Rebekah, Me, and Seb. I told you about Trav and Seb- interns with Africa Inland Mission (AIM). They are really neat guys with a heart for God and a passion for serving. I loved each moment we spent with these guys. Then, meet Barhum, Thomas, Fred and H. The three in the black shirts were good friends to us in Kabale town, they were part of the staff of Edrisa, the hostel we stayed at. Lastly, among the pretty good looking, Mollie, me, and Rebekah. All gussied up for the ABIDE graduation.
This is an example of the lorrie - big cargo trucks- that we would ride on to reach the village if we decided against hiking and crossing the lake. The middle photo shows a very lightly loaded truck... we have ridden when the truck had over 65 people in the back. If we rode up front, like in the third picture, we three girls would squeeze in front. Three people fit comfortably, driver and two passengers. We rode with the driver, us three girls and another person. Cozy.
A few of my favorite things: It is Ugandan law that signs are posted around school campuses. Signs that quote moral advice or sayings. The sign above these boys head reads: AVOID BAD TOUCH. Can't make this stuff up folks. The second photo is of some little primary students running down the hill to fetch water. They have the smallest little water containers and struggle to carry them back up the hill. Thirdly you can see a few of my favorite boys. When Dylan came out I made him sleep in the boys dormitory. He became fast friends with some excellent kiddos. On this particular day we climbed this steep hill to reach the crest and look over at the lake. The boys ran up the hill cause they are crazy like that.
Doing the laundry. Step one: Fetch water. Step two: collect basins, laundry detergent, and dirty clothes together. Step three: begin the long and arduous process of scrubbing each item by hand. Yes it does hurt your hands. In fact, you rub the skin right off until you develop good callouses. Grocery shopping: don't trip on the piles of rocks or sacs of potatoes obstructing the isles. Keep your money close at hand so it doesn't get picked out of your pocket. Ask around to see what the real price is before buying anything. Only buy green (unripe) tomatoes and avocados because if you get ripe fruits, they will never survive the journey to the village.
Our last night in Kishanje. Tired but smiling. All packed and ready for the truck in the morning.
As you can see from the last pic, I am healthy, two eyes, one nose, and though you cant see it, I do have all of my fingers and toes.
I have a gazillion photos. It is impossible to know which ones are the best ones to show you, but I hope these at least helped illustrate life as I knew it.
"What Next?" is not easy for me to answer. In Uganda one of the things God worked on in my life was teaching me to wait on Him. I don't know what is going to happen now, I don't have a master plan, but I am reminding myself to wait on the one who does know.
Current game plan: spend some quality time with friends and family, catching up on their lives for the past year, look for a job, and wait patiently.
And that's a wrap folks.
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