Random Pics

This is the Gray family being prayed over at their goodbye party. Many people gathered to appreciate them and their service in Bundibugyo. It was hard for many to say goodbye. Please continue to pray for the Gray family (Wendy, Rick, Aidan, Grant, and Chase.

Julia Myhre and Myself at the Gray party smiling big for the picture.

Baby Chase is a well loved child. At the party so many people wanted to hold him and he was being passed around from person to person. Please continue to pray for him as he undergoes many tests and please continue to pray boldly that whatever the problem is that is keeping him from developing at the normal pace is minor.

On the 31st of Oct. we had a fall festival and invited some of our Ugandan friends. We decorated cookies, ate yummy food, and had lots of fun.

This was taken on the airstrip right before Scott and Amy left. Scott was around as the only single guy with many single women for most of his time in Uganda, so of course we had to take a picture of Scott with the single women.

Fun and Games

Some of you might remember using something like this in your own elementary PE classes. Of course the kids here had never seen something like this before. It was a blast to see them laugh and play and work together to keep the ball over the parachute. Their excitement and enthusiasm is so contageous. I continue to enjoy each moment I have witht he children at St. Padre Pio.

Gulu

My time in Gulu was a wonderful experience with great company, new sites, and an opportunity to see hundreds of people come together to show that they desire to work together to keep peace in northern Uganda. The Guluwalk started with a 2 mile walk around Gulu town ending in a big open field. We gathered in the open area to hear various speakers, listen to musicians, and watch some dance groups. All of this was put together to remember the war that took place for over 20 years in the north, to celebrate how far they have come, and to show that people are continuing to commit to work together so that future generations of children no longer have to fear every time they put their head down to go to sleep. Thank you for praying for our safety as we traveled and for our time and experience in this new place. Enjoy the pictures below.



Hundreds of people came out to show their support in this event, both to walk and to cheer as spectators.

If you look closely you can see me and my teammate Pamela among the walkers.

My teammates and travel companions Stephanie and Pamela

This group of children were walking in front of us and later they performed durning the program which proceeded the walk.

Along the route that we walked many signs like the one above were posted.

These are some of the children who wrote the messages written on the signs like the one above. They each got to read their statement aloud during the program.

One of the dance groups that performed. They had such great energy

People signed this baord to show their committment to peace.

Only in Uganda

A few things have happened recently that have made me think to myself “only in Uganda.” Now by no means am I trying to give Uganda a bad name, and these things don't really only happen in Uganda. I am sure things like the following happen in a lot of different places and for me they have only brought great stories, cultural experiences, a reminder that I need to have a good attitude about the unexpected, and lots of laughter.

A couple of weeks ago I was traveling back from the town of Fort Portal, which is on the other side of the mountains from Bundibugyo, on public transport. I had a front seat in the pickup truck, which is usually more comfortable than the back and more spacious. We were about 30 minutes from home when the truck broke down. Now the breaking down I was not surprised by, it happens all the time and usually people know what to do. However, because we were not moving I decided to get out and stretch my legs. As I got out of the car and looked to the floor of the vehicle where my feet were, there sticking out of a black plastic bag was the head of a goat. Oh yes, the head of a goat. I actually tried not to have too big of a reaction because for everyone else traveling with a goat head is not a big deal. I was thankful that I did not know that I was sharing my leg room with a goat head until the ride was almost over. And yes, I did get back in the car, but I made sure my feet were as far away from the head as they could be.

This story isn’t as bad, but still funny. To travel back to Kampala from Gulu we took a bus. Any time you travel on public transport long distances in Uganda they have periodic stops where the bus pulls to the side of the road and venders run up selling meat on a stick, corn, fruit, and other Ugandan food. This is what we call “the fast food of Uganda.” Well during this trip I saw a couple of venders selling live chickens. I guess people were buying these to eat later. I didn’t realize that the person sitting behind me had purchased one of these chickens until my feet felt some feathers under my seat. Throughout the rest of the trip the chicken kept scooting further and further forward until it was pretty much right under my feet. I continually tried to gentle scoot it back with my foot, but wasn’t too successful, I don’t think it liked it too much either because it kept making squawking noises.

There is one decent movie theater in Kampala. The only problem is power in Kampala is not reliable. We were about an hour and forty minutes into the movie when the power shut off. We were told it would come back on in 5 minutes, but the 5 turned to 10 and then 15 and finally people decided to leave and get free movie ticket. The funny part is that we decided to go an eat dinner and come back to the theater to catch the end of the next showing. We arrived a little early and watched about 15 minutes we had already seen and then it finally got to the part where it shut off and guess how much was left? Two minutes! It did shut off on a very suspenseful part and we would have always been wondering.

As I write these stories I am realizing that most of them are about animals. Am I am magnet to livestock or something? Well, this one isn’t about livestock, but it is about a furry creature people don’t want to run into too often, if at all. The other night we went out to dinner in Kampala and the restaurant we chose was what you could call an open air restaurant. Our food had just arrived when out of the corner of my eye I noticed something darting towards me. My reaction was not fast enough and so this furry creature, which ended up being a small rodent, ran over my lap and onto the floor. I will admit a small scream did escape my mouth. We did get some free drinks and a discount on the bill because of it.

A Colorful Day

On Thursday I went to St. Padre Pios Primary School and taught an art lesson. We talked about the story of Noah and what a rainbow symbolizes. Many, if not all were hearing the story of Noah for the first time. To help the children remember the story we made windsocks and drew rainbows on them and other things we see when we are outside. I knew that this activity would involve a lot of effort on my part, but it sure did wear me out. I forget that children here do not know how to use glue sticks and even their ability to draw and color is limited. They are used to copying things from the board and so when they are asked to think of things on their own and use their imaginations, they don’t know what to do. The children worked hard on their windsock and were excited to see the finished product. It is not too often that they have a work of art, in which they have created. Their beautiful creations now decorate their classroom and can be a reminder to them each day. I am really thankful for these opportunities in which the Lord is providing to visit schools and teach some lessons. I am realizing more and more how much effort you have to put into a lesson if you want it to be engaging, hands on, creative, etc. I probably glued over 70 windsocks and also tied string to each one. What would maybe be an hour lesson in the states turned into a two hour lesson here. As I prepared to teach the lesson again on Friday I sharpened over 100 colored pencils by hand and I have the blisters to prove it. I just wanted to shout, “Where is my mechanical pencil sharpener!!” The children are worth the blisters though. This experience is helping me think through how to work with teachers; even if the resources were available they would have to be taught how to use them and how to teach the children how to use them.
Below are some pictures from Thursday. Enjoy!!

Visit at Shalom School

While in Kampala I went to visit Shalom Primary School where a friend of mine teaches the preschool age children. We recieved a very warm welcome from both staff and students. Groups of students would take turns coming out to greet us and sing a few songs. And of course as visitors we were expected to give a few words to each group of students. We even taught them the song "I've Got Joy." I love the schools in Kampala because they are always brightly colored which create an inviting feeling. Shalom school is a very inviting school. Below are some pictures from our visit.

Juba

Juba is not the kind of place that I would want to spend more than a couple of days in. I did however find that people were very friendly and helpful, which is a huge answer to prayer. The conference that I went to was very informing and even though it has now been 2 days since I have returned back to Uganda, I still feel overloaded with information. I left Juba feeling like I still had a lot to learn, but not feeling discouraged. Because there has only been peace for about 3 years a lot of the mission workers and Sudanese church leaders are just beginning their ministries again and trying to figure things out. Through the conference more clearity has come that Mundri, Sudan is where God desires for me to serve next. Please continue to pray with me as I continue to pursue this desire.



This is the Toto Chan conference center where we met each day from 9am-5pm. I was definitely tired of sitting by the end of the day.

This is our meeting room. There were between 30-40 people there throughout the 3 days.

This is my lovely tent where I spent my 3 nights. I was one of 2 guests and so I felt very catered to. My evenings were spend hanging out with the staff.

Here is one of the staff members who took good care of me.

This is Custom market, which was not far from the camp where I stayed. Many of the things that they sell in the market have come from Uganda and also the prices are doubled it not tripled.

They do not have paved roads in Juba. It was very hot and dusty during my visit. When I would talk to people who lived in Juba they would always say, "Juba is not a town it is a village."

Here I am standing at the bottom of a little mountain, which you will see in the pictures below. People collect rocks from these mountains to use for construction and I was told some people even climb them for enjoyment.

Again, I praise the Lord for my time in Juba. I was well taken care of, I learned a lot, I learned that I still have a lot to learn, I made some great connections with people, and the Lord brought more clearity through my time there. Thank you for your prayers!!

My Visit to St. Padre Pio's Primary School

Last Thursday I went to visit St. Padre Pio's Primary School. I had a blast! I taught the younger group of children, who probably range from age 4-6, Lions and Kobs. Then I taught the older kids link tag. This is St. Padre Pio's first school year and so they only go up to P2, which is the same as 2nd grade. I talked with some of the teachers during their break time and I am very impressed by the program here. I have decided instead of trying to move around Bundibugyo to see as many primary schools as I can, to just find a handful that I can invest some time in. I would love to continue to participate in school days with more games, crafts, songs, object lessons, etc. and continue to develop relationships with staff. If you have any game or activity ideas, especially those that teach the gospel please comment to this post or e-mail me. I would love to hear your ideas.







This is just a random picture from one of my village visits. This is me and baby Davidi who is only about 2 months old. He is so precious.

Mundri, s. Sudan

Our trip to s. Sudan was full of unexpected happenings. Our already short 3 day trip got shorter even before leaving Uganda. We could not fly out from our airstrip because of water and mud. Because of this we had to drive 2 and a half hours to another airstrip halfway over the mountains. We arrived in Mundri 3 hours later than originally planned, but again the Lord is not limited by time. He used every minute and moment we had.

When we first arrived we had to cross the river to the Mundri town side. The bridge is in the building process and so at the moment the only way across is by the boat that is pictured above. Notice the thick rope that is tied from one side to the other and the guy pulling it across. You can't tell from the picture, but the current is pretty strong, so it is not an easy thing to pull the boat back and forth.

Pat and I enjoying the boat ride across, oblivious to what lies ahead. We were only planning on being in Mundri town for the rest of the day and then heading back across to the Lui town side to stay the night. The Lord had other plans. The river ended up rising because of all the rain and flooded so that they no longer could take the boat across. We were stranded with no luggage and no way to communicate to those that were preparing for us that evening. But we were also in the hands of very friendly and hospitable people who were ready to care for our every need.

When we got up Tuesday morning we decided to take a walk down to the river. As we were walking we noticed that everyone was brushing their teeth; people standing on the side of the road, people on bikes, even those driving cars. Everyone was brushing their teeth. Some with a tooth brush and some with a stick. We obviously did not have our tooth brush handy, but we were very excited to learn about the stick method. After 5 minutes of stick brushing my teeth actually did feel clean. Fresh breath on the other hand, not so much, but hey I can't expect too much.

This is one of the local primary schools. When we first arrived the children we already done for the day.

We went back the next morning to see some of the students. The is one of the younger classes. They have no desks and a classroom that is not conducive to the rainy weather. However, I did not notice any complaining eyes or faces, only smiles and enthusiastic hearts.

Here is Bethany and I in our Hobbit Tukul. It offered a pretty comfortable nights sleep.

This is part of a health center in Mundri town. One of the medical assistants took us around and answered all our questions.

We got to visit many schools on our trip. Here we are at another primary school. I was happy to find that their were a lot of female staff, which is not common in Bundibugyo. I am standing with one of the teachers in the above picture.

Because there are so many classes and students and not a big enough physical structure to hold them all, some classes meet outside. This is a picture of one of the classrooms under a tree and some eager boys who wanted their picture taken.

We survived! It is the end of the trip and we are about to get back on the plane to head to Bundi. We thank the Lord for the opportunity to go to Mundri, for orchestrating all that happened, the conversations that took place, and all that we experienced and saw. We are excited to see what the Lord is going to do next. Please continue to keep the process of launching a new team in your prayers.