A couple great buys

Today we had lots of fun shopping at the outdoor market in Buremba. It has been getting cold here in the evenings (~ 60 degrees) and all Moses ever wears is a t-shirt. So, we went to get him some pants (or "trousers".) I was able to buy these fun cargos and his new sandals for a total of 4,000 UGS ~ $2.00. He looks like such a little man now!! And he was so pleased with himself. Isn't he seriously the cutest guy? Sure, we have to work on the runny nose, but baby steps ... we are in Africa you know. :)

So after shopping we came back to the office and I had to work. Moses wanted to work too, so he asks for a pen. (He has a piece of paper in his hand.) "What do you want the pen for, Moses?" ... "I want to write" ... "What are you going to write?" ... "I want to write to God." Pretty good response, I thought. So I gave him the pen and let him scribble like crazy for a little while. Fun times in the village...

More on Moses

"Agandi, Mary. How are you today?"

"I'm good, Melanie. How are you? How is life? How is this place?"

"It's good. But Mary, you know, Moses - he is still sick. He has had cough for more than 1 month."

"Bombay. I know. I have tablets."

"Where are they, Mary?" *She looks for about 2 minutes before she finds them.* "Have you been giving them to Moses?"

"Not yet."

*I look at them closer and am somewhat relieved. They look like aspirine.*

"Mary, you know, Moses. He is sick everytime I am here. We need to find out why. I'd like you to take him for a TB test at the government clinic - just to be sure. It is free. "

"You take him , Melanie. It's okay."

"No, Mary. Moses is yours. You must take him. Will you take him today, please?"

"But I am so tired. I was at a party this morning. I am just too tired. You take him. He loves you so much."

"No, Mary. You must take him. Tomorrow - will you take him tomorrow?"

"Yes. I will. I will do each and every thing. But tomorrow. I am too tired today."

Mary didn't take Moses for his free TB test. And she refuses to buy him medication because of money. However, Mary is one of the smartest (nicest looking) women in the village.

I want to help Moses, but I must be careful. The more I do for Moses, the less responsibility Mary takes for him. If I am not careful he will be worse-off after I leave then when I arrived. My goal right now is to get him healthy and involve Mary as much as possible along the way. Please pray that our Lord would heal Moses' body, and soften Mary's heart to love him deeply - with a genuine mother's love. Pray that I would be given wisdom as I care for him. I'm open to advice.

Photos for you

Last weekend I hopped over to Kenya to visit my wonderful boyfriend. That's us at the park. :) We had a great time, though still lamenting over the fact that the Steelers and the Seahwawks lost. We didn't get to watch the games on television, but we did get to watch the scores tick by on the internet - almost just as much fun.

So when I got to Kenya, Phil gave me a gift that I think we are all going to love ... a new camera! It is absolutely fantastic. So you can thank Phil for the following photo spread....enjoy....

One of our community water sources - so sad - this is why we have a water filtration project here.

These are the biosand water filters that we help the community members construct. When used and maintained properly, they filter out 99% of the germs and bacteria from contaminated water sources like the one you see above.

This is my awesome team from Kagaramira! From left to right they are - Herbert, Apolo, Stephen, Basil, and in front Boaz. They work with the community, teaching them how to construct, use, and properly maintain their water filters.

And this is one of my Village Health Team members from Oru Tabo. He is a volunteer who has been taught about good health and hygiene. He now teaches his neighbors what he learned and encourages them to make simple changes to their lifestyles (like washing their hands, fencing their animals, and using a latrine) that will improve their family's health.

This is a precious little boy from Kagaramira that stole my heart. Now you can enjoy him and pray for him with me. He has downsyndrome and will struggle to receive proper care.

These are my comedians from Bwizi - community members who are constructing filters for their families.

This is a beautiful mother who built a filter for her family. She glows.

These are my guys from the teamhouse where I live. From left to right - William my protector aka. security guard, Julius my musically-gifted driver, and Mark my super-organized Worksite Supervisor. They all do an awesome job. I'm so blessed to have them on our team.

This is a cute little math message I received on my sidewalk yesterday. Funny sidenote: no one can really say my name over here. They actually think I'm "Meran" and the "ie" part is just to sound cute. Like Tom and Tommy. So "Marneh" up there was their nice attempt to spell Melanie.

Kids in front of a local church hanging out.

My backyard and wonderful "Gen" - Generous. Gen is our cook. She's in the back there, working on the little charcoal stove. She makes some delicious guacamole and chipati. And she's an amazing woman of God.

This is a local butcher. Want to come over for dinner? Gen really is a great cook.

And last but not least a few more members of our team - left to right - Julius my fun driver again, Rachael our Public Health Educator, and August one of our filter specialists - he didn't want me to take his picture.

So here's a bigger glimpse than usual into our project and into life in the village. Thank you for all of your prayers and support as we live this out together. I appreciate you so much.

Salvation for Herbert!

Humble. Hardworking. Family man. Were my first impressions of Herbert. He was one of my only staff members who brought his family to live with him at his worksite, rather than leave them behind in another village. I was immediately impressed by his love for them. Because of his hardwork ethic, and great attitude (never an ounce of complaint) I promoted him the first chance I got. Everyone on the team celebrated because they knew he deserved it.

Honestly, I would have boasted Herbert as one of our most devoted Christians because he was such a good man. It never crossed my mind that he may not know Jesus.

So just a couple weeks ago we had our ministry conference in Kampala. I was allowed to take 15 of my staff members - but only "payroll." Fortunately, due to Herbert's recent promotion, he was eligible.

In Kampala, our staff were blessed with 2 days of wonderful teaching from a Ugandan pastor. He talked about what it meant to live in the Presence of God. Everyone listened intently everyday and even wished for him to preach longer. At the end of our last night together, our Pastor gave an invitation for anyone who wanted a relationship with Christ to come forth. But no one was to open their eyes. I wanted so badly to see if any of my staff went forward, but I couldn't open my eyes and breach their trust. So I remained anxiously in the dark.

Then we gathered in small groups to pray and encourage each other afterwards.

As I was walking back to my room, my friend Jodi yelled for me. She had tears in her eyes and started telling me about Herbert. She was in his small group and he gently told everyone that he had accepted Christ for the first time. He said, "I have worked for SP for 5 years now, but I never really understood what it was all about -- until tonight."

God opened Herbert's heart to the gospel that night. Herbert is now saved and enjoying a relationship with Jesus - forever! Please pray for him and his family as they begin this journey together. May his wife and children accept Christ, may he be rooted in a strong church, may Godly men come around him in encouragement, and may Herbert continue to love our Lord more and more each day!

This is what it's all about, my friends.

To God be all the Glory!


PS. This was also a good reminder that it doesn't matter how good anyone is. Before Herbert accepted Christ, his salvation was not secure. Also, everyone working for us should be a Christian, but because Christianity is so nominal here, it is often hard to know for sure.

Late for Bowling

During our ministry retreat in Kampala, we had the opportunity to take our staff out for a night of bowling. Most of my staff had no idea what bowling was, so it was quite the treat. Too much fun, I tell you!! We piled into vehicles (approximately 100 of us) and were headed into town, when we encountered THE jam. "Oh man, we're going to be late for bowling" ... "stupid riot" ... "let's drive through and see what's really going on." ... were our sentiments, which I assure you the latter we did not act upon. We ended up arriving safely at the bowling alley and safely back to our retreat center - even safely back to all of our field sites. We are praising God for his protection and provisions for all of us.

Sadly and more seriously, here are Uganda's latest headlines. Please pray for this nation.

Riots in Uganda In whose interest?
Sep 17th 2009 KAMPALA From The Economist print edition

Museveni, Qaddafi and the mysterious protests

"RIOTS rocked Kampala in support of the king of the Baganda, the country’s largest ethnic group. Shops in the capital were looted, cars burned. Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, who hails from the much smaller Ankole group, ordered police and soldiers onto the streets. At least 24 people were killed in and around the city; most were shot. The government says the rioters themselves had guns. In fact, it seems likely that the armed forces fired into the crowds. The main Bagandan radio station was closed. Some journalists were arrested and charged with sedition.

Events would have spun further out of control had the Bagandan king, or kabaka, Ronald Mutebi, not cancelled a planned trip to the north of the city. Mr Museveni’s aides told the kabaka he would be held responsible for further bloodshed. So he was kept in his palace. Many of his people were enraged by this apparent humiliation.

Buganda is the largest of Uganda’s five ancient kingdoms banned under the presidencies of Milton Obote and Idi Amin but revived by Mr Museveni. The Baganda make up 17% of Ugandans. They are not generally averse to Mr Museveni and his political party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM). A majority of them voted for him in the last election, in 2006. The vice-president and numerous ministers and MPs are Baganda, along with many civil servants doing the NRM’s bidding. So why are Mr Museveni and the Baganda now at loggerheads, especially as the president is seeking re-election in 2011?

Mr Museveni thinks the Baganda have been getting uppity. Though their kingdom is the largest and was once the most powerful, it is now a ghostly fiction, with no sovereignty and little wealth. Mr Museveni is especially weary of persistent Bagandan demands for a return of a swathe of claimed ancestral lands that were long ago distributed to pastoralists or pilfered by officials—and are most unlikely ever to be given back. Besides, generosity to Buganda would aggravate the other kingdoms, particularly neighbouring Bunyoro, whose land includes Uganda’s new-found oilfields.

Mr Museveni may calculate that he can treat the Baganda harshly now, but retain their votes by granting them concessions nearer the election. He has been adept at dividing and conquering the electorate, using carrots and sticks. He dishes out jobs to loyalists but harasses businessmen suspected of helping the fractured opposition. He says he will limit the kabaka’s power and chastises “meddlers” harming Uganda’s prospects.

Mr Museveni’s people say they have identified another villain of the piece: Libya’s president, Muammar Qaddafi, whom they accuse of giving cash to the Baganda. For several years Mr Qaddafi has subsidised Uganda’s kings and their cultural institutions as part of an exotic plan to unify Africa in a web of chiefs and kings. But his latest dollops of cash, say Mr Museveni’s friends, were meant to stir up trouble, because Mr Qaddafi has fallen out with Mr Museveni, despite helping him to win a bush war that brought him to power two decades ago.

Mr Museveni has ridiculed Mr Qaddafi’s swaggering “king of kings” approach, preferring to build up Africa with regional trade blocs such as the East African Community. Still, it is odd that Mr Qaddafi should want to poke Mr Museveni in the eye by funding riots, since the recent oil discoveries in Uganda should make its president more attractive as a friend. Libya, for instance, hopes to tender for a big oil refinery that Mr Museveni wants to build. "

safari photos

Our beautiful lioness
~photo courtesy of J. Blackham Photography ~

A romantic evening for two
~photo courtesy of Cory the Intern~

Farewell for now...
~photo courtesy of Cory the Intern~

Bush camping

This weekend I went on a safari camping trip at Murchison Falls with my fellow ex-pats from every corner of Uganda (Kampala, Karamoja, Lira, and Kamwenge.) It was a great adventure for all of us.

We set-up camp on the delta of the Nile river - amidst hippos, elephants, buffalo and lions. No fences or animal deterent systems - except our strategically parked Landcruisers. Our first night, we went on a game drive only 2 kilometers from our camp site and stopped for a herd of more than a dozen elephants. As we were anxiously watching them eat their dinner, we also noticed hippos and crocodiles rolling around in the swamp across the road. And buffalo were starring us down in the distance. It was unbelievable!

That night we slept nervously off and on. We happily awoke at sunrise to no major nightly activities. Our guide talked about a lion's roar in the distance, and having to chase off a herd of buffalo. But we didn't think too much about it.

That afternoon, a few more friends joined us after seeing a pride of 6 lions cross the road as they entered the park. They also saw a lioness relaxing under a shade bush just a few kilometers away. We excitedly jumped in and on the Landcruiser to check her out. Yep - "on" - meaning we were sitting on top of the SUV holding on for dear life (quite literally, once we saw the lioness.) She was in the exact location that our friends described and she was gorgeous. I admit, I was scared out of my mind sitting on top of the landcruiser when she stood up to walk around us to find a new, more private bush to relax in. Not sure what we were thinking sitting up there. But it was definitely an adrenaline rush.

After seeing our cat, we were all excited and content. We ate a great dinner around our campfire and enjoyed each other's company late into the evening. None of us get a lot of social time out in the field since we all work in separate locations, so this was really precious. We went to bed expecting that the biggest adventures were over.

Then at 4am, one our friends Brian wakes us to some loud noises at our camp. It was a couple elephants! And one had just stepped on one of our chairs. But more importantly, they were crazy close to our tents and could easily trample any of us. Fortunately, the elephants decided to get back on an easier track - the road - and therefore, left our campsite. But we woke up to a broken chair, huge muddy foots prints on our mats, and a great story to tell.

I'll get you guys some pictures soon...sorry for the lack of visuals. But I'm sure your imaginations can conjure up a pretty accurate image of what we saw. A few more highlights to end with:

• Great MPI (mountain pie iron) egg sandwiches
• Running giraffes
• Hippos visiting our campsite
• The massive and turbulent falls

It was an awesome trip, and great fellowship. I can't wait to take all of you, someday - some sooner than others...can't wait to see you in November! We're going to have a GREAT time!!

You just give

(a cute old mosai)

We were deep in the banana forest, constructing our new worksite. Laying cement between the eucalyptus poles. Beads of sweat running down the faces of Dativah and Innocent.

"Nice work, Dativ and Inno!", I yelled with a smile. "Tu gende..." (Let's go...)

They smiled back, we packed up and loaded ourselves into the Pajero for the ride home.

As I was trying to crawl up into our big car, an old Mosai (old man) was trying to ask me something. It seemed as if he wanted money. He would tug at my shirt - tilt his head - hold out his hands and say, "Muzungu" (white woman). His breath smelled of alcohol, so I was a bit nervous. I was compassionate only so far as to not close his arms in the door.

Then, Akankwasa reached into his pocket, pulled out 200 shillings (10 cents) and said "roll down your window." He gave the bit of money to the old Mosai, with a big shiny smile.

"How do you know who to give to Akankwasa?" I said. "I mean..."

He interrupted and said, "You just give, manager (melanie)."

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me and whatever you did not do for them, you did not do for me" Jesus said.
Matthew 25:31-46

"Several ways to make yourself miserable" ... Way #8 ... "don't fall into any compassion traps - the sort of situation where people can walk all over you. If you get too involved in other people's troubles, you may neglect your own."
- Elizabeth Elliot

God, give us hearts for the poor and needy. Give us compassion. Enable us to give of ourselves. For your sake. For your pleasure. For your glory.

I learned a simple lesson from Akankwasa. It can be simple.