USP led Worship

singing
announcements
skit
message
prayer
silent testimonies
song

my silent testimony:
Self-Absorbed and Depressed

thought Jesus, Giving and Joyful

Catering in Uganda

So, God has extra-ordinary ways of taking the experiences, knowledge, and lessons of the past and using them to intensify (not the word i really wanted) the present. I spent six years working for First Baptist kitchen, catering various occasions, and just Saturday I helped with catering a wedding reception. Thank you Suzette :)
Okay, so, yes, it was rather different....but in more ways than I expected it was the same: start before 7 am, cutting, sweating over pots, peeling, running to get and give, cutting, transporting, setting up, waiting, serving quickly, collecting plates, scraping plates, and going back in the dark. If you have never one this sort of thing this whole post probably makes little sense....sorry....

Oh, and my three brothers and I went to the volleyball courts the other day (I watched them play with a friend). The basketball team was just finishing practice. One of the guys saw me and asked what I was doing sitting alone. i told him I was waiting for my brothers.....he was rather surprised...hehe...he then asked, "From a different Mum?" and I laughed and said, "yes." Btw, polygamy still happens a bit often here. just random things from thing weekend......

Finally....

Yes, internet in some countries is difficult to deal with when you are an American used to having things just so. Oh well, not three post for February is okay, right?
Anyhow...the picture will not accompany this post, but I'll just tell a little of the family I spent a week with in Kapchorwa region. Rev. Moses and Justine Selimo have three children:the older two, Edger and Femia, were gone at boarding school, so I had the company of Issabell, who is seven. Rev. Moses is a parish priest in the Church of Uganda (Anglican extension). Justine is a special education teacher in a local primary school. Both are hard workers, but what struck me most was the way they shared domestic duties. Because Justine was gone so much of everyday, Rev. Moses prepared lunch, but she always prepared supper. He took care of the two cows and six (later five, yes I saw it slaughtered) goats everyday except Sunday when he had to leave early for church, then Justine did. Two young men tended his acre large garden for him, but harvesting matooke (ask me about it sometime and I'll give details) was a job or whomever was cooking and needed some. One evening, Justine was particularly tired and some clothes needed ironing, so Rev. Moses did it. Using an ironing box that has charcoal in it is tricky business, by the way, and washing clothes by hand with just cold water and soap will make your knuckles raw and carrying a 20L jerry can up from the well gives your neck and back muscles a major workout and walking everywhere lends to the most exhilarating feeling when you reach your destination. Now the wet season in Mukono, to go up to Kapchorwa during their dry season was interesting: deep dust and humidity levels so low that the morning wind was actually cold. I said up to Kapchorwa because it is in the mountains of eastern Uganda. It looked strangely like some parts of the southern Appalachians. If you are curious, google Sipi Falls, the furtherest is not more than 10K from the Selimo compound. (isn't it odd that 'google' is now a verb?) The second weekend in the area, all the USP students went to a resort Sipi Falls and had the option to hike to the three falls. Yes, I did and enjoyed myself immensely....and went in a long skirt. :)
Okay, so I just got distracted, lost my train of thought, and realized this post was long enough.....in other words, I'm stopping. Will tell more in my monthly update and upon response to questions later. hehe ^_^

Rakai Region Trip

The IMME students (15 of us) visited the Kibaale Community Centre this weekend. The area was so beautiful! We climbed to the top of a steep hill and could see over into Tanzania! Nearly six hour drive on roads about like the one in the picture, was an adventure, but I am so thankful I have never been one prone to motion sickness. :) Yes, I can even read while riding. God has so blessed me through years of preparation for this kind of life. We spent time with the Canadian missionaries, but mostly we were hanging out. This was more of a restful retreat for me, which was needed. I did quite a bit of silent contemplation and reflection. Asking God questions I know He will not immediately answer. It rained for awhile Sunday morning before church and that gave me a chance to really just sit and listen to God.
Do you see the bend in the road? I think I can see another bend in the path of my life, but I've not the foggiest idea what is around it. I'm beginning to think I could live in Africa the rest of my life. Yet, with the more and more muzungu (white) missionaries I meet here, I think Uganda specifically is not where I should stay. Please, pray for me as I continue searching for the way God most desires for this follower to bring Him glory.

Ugandan Food

Here is my white hand.....I'm stirring the mixture of various spices and beef that was added to the brown rice. No, we don't cook in this large sauce pan all the time. This particular day Rogers (my oldest brother) and I were cooking for the family plus several ladies and their families. Yes, the sauce pan on bricks over a fire of either wood or charcoal is the way we always do it.
For all of you who were wondering what I eat, this plate is my supper one night and is pretty typical: rice, bean soup, sweet potatoes, and matooke (looks kinda like the sweet potatoes in the pictures). Soooo good!! :)
By the way, the cell phone is mine. All the USP students get one upon arriving for safety reasons.

Jinja Visit

at the edge of Lake Victoria

This past weekend, all the USP students who are in the Inter-cultural Ministry and Missions Emphasis (IMME) went to Jinja. Yes, you should take a minute to look up its location online.

On Saturday afternoon, one of the missionaries we met with gave us an unique tour of the town. At each place we were asked to think about a question. (I didn't write them down at the time, so I will give the questions I pondered which came from what he asked us.)
1. We saw the source of the Nile River, were it comes out of Lake Victoria. because of the dam just a few kilometers down river, this once distinct site is now just a small rapid on the surface. The monument where John Hanning Speke first saw it was just across from us. Where did I come from? Where am I going?
2. Visited a very poor fishermen's village next to a high society sailboat club right on the Lake. Who did Jesus associate with? Who are we to serve?
3. The area around Bell Ave was once called "the Hollywood of Africa" back when the many wealthy Indian people lived there. We stood beside a Hindu temple and looked at all the run-down, large mansions that once housed one family and now hold 15 to 20 families paying rent to Indians who live out of the country and have bank accounts in the UK. Am I living for a title or for a testimony? Do I want to be the wealthy or the lasting witness?
4. Next, we stopped at what the missionaries call "ting-ting." This is one factory where sheet metal is shaped into anything useful you can think of and the hammers on the metal constantly cause the ting-tink-ting sound. Bobby, the missionary, talked to several of the men briefly and a few even spoke a little English. How can we relate? How can we reach them?
5. Jinja Hospital was our last stop. We split up into small groups and went to different wards. We went in not just to see, but also to pray with some of the people there. Although this hospital is ranked 2nd or 3rd in the nation, it is very under staffed and supplied. What hope can I give? Why am I not one destined to such a place?

This is a very short summary of the trip. So much I learned and now have to think about. Please, if you want to know more, write yourself a note to ask about it when I see you next. Or if you want to know something specific, feel free to email me.

University in Uganda

I'm here! I am quite safe, excluding the crazy buda-buda drivers who pass me between school and home. :) They are a type of motorcycle for transportation hire. Pedestrians are on the bottom of the traffic hierarchy.
I'm very thrilled to be alive!! Africa is wonderful! Classes are fascinating! Other students are fun! I enjoy eating mutoko and popope everyday! Fruit here is spectacular! My Mom loves Jesus very much! My brothers patiently teach me Luganda! My sister and I sat for nearly an hour last night taking turns reading chapters out of the Bible to each other! Squatting beside a basin to bathe is much quicker than showering in the States, not to mention saves much water. (one learns to preserve when you can anyhow.....the well is about 2 km away at the bottom of a steep hill) I don't really understand why everyone likes to drink boiling hot tea three times a day when the air is already making you sweat.....

Beginning an Adventure

I'm beginning the travel to Uganda today. I'm so very excited!! and rather nervous too. Please, pray all the connections go smoothly, flying proceeds safely, and everyone in the group arrives there healthily. Out of Dallas tonight, we are to arrive in Entebbe International about 10:30pm their time (which would be 1:30EST) on Friday.
Being in the hurry-up-and-wait mode already, I'm having difficulty coming up with something worth saying.....as I sit here waiting on the last load of laundry done in the States for 6 months and not in a bucket. I've been back around LeTU since Sunday night repacking and bidding all (of those I have successfully found) my friends and good acquaintances here farewell. Due to the limited and slow and unreliable internet access where I shall be, I hope to continue blogging and updating as usual, but please, don't be alarmed if I am unable to do so.

All your prayers are greatly appreciated. God bless you all!!