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.