We are finally getting somewhat settled on African time and the new, unstructured routine. Homeschooling started yesterday morning (which the kids were actually excited about). The weather is actually pretty nice - maybe around 80F - and despite being the rainy season we’ve only had two rainstorms so far. Power in Kamapala has already gone out three times, and last night on and off for hours so keeping food is hard. For most people here, though, losing power isn’t an issue as few have refrigerators or much of anything that requires power.
Kampala is dirty and densely populated, and by and large, people are very, very poor. That’s an understatement, and something we’ll shed more light on as we go. People are generally incredibly friendly and nice. Most speak some english, all speak Lugandan, and then there are 57 unique languages throughout the country, so communication can be tough.
We made our first trip out of Kampala last weekend to Masindi, an area about 300 km north of Kampala. We saw several villages, including Wasswa’s birth village, distributing toothpaste and toothbrushes, soccer balls, and the occasional sweet treats for kids.
Africa is sad, inspiring, hope-filled and so many things at once. Brayden's comment after his first visit to a village.... "The people in Africa seem to be the poorest in the world, but I think one day they will be the richest". Mom: "Why do you think that"? B: " Because the Bible says the poor will become rich and also because they do things like weaving and creating cool things here".
Tyler's answer to the question of "What do you think about the people's faith here?" T: "The people here have to have such a strong faith just to survive. It seems like the poorest people and the ones with disabilities have the most joy".
Yes, those are actual quotes from our [sometimes] wise beyond their years 7 and 8 year olds.
Don't mistake it, the people of this country are suffering in a huge way. Many have no money to get food, have very very small huts to live in, have no access to medicine, education, or even basic necessities as water. But, despite this injustice, Tyler is right - there is still a sense of joy. The expressions on some of the children's faces do better justice than any words can....
In Wasswa's village, Roxanne gave a quick demonstration on how to use toothbrushes and toothpaste. Don't EAT the toothpaste!
Thank you to all who went to their dentists and asked for toothbrushes and toothpaste. You have no idea how grateful the children we've met so far were to receive them. There's something that hits you so hard when you see such gratitude from children receiving toothbrushes. It puts into perspective the depth of our own habit of taking for granted.
We can't explain the joy and blessing this time was to each of us. The kids got to feel this in a very real way....
Tyler was so excited he darted into the center part of the village with toothbrushes in hand.
And, Christi bonded with many children.
Part of our trip was to join our friends at Busoga Trust America to see some of the water wells they've built in the northern part of the country. The water was very good, and is saving lives - literally. Of the villages we saw that had wells, as many as 300 people use one well and each family pays the equivalent of about 20 cents monthly to maintain the well. The are incredibly thankful. But, many are making appeals for a second one!!!
Tyler and Brayden got to do some pumping...
...while Christi checked out the quality.
Wasswa experienced firsthand that with the blessings of clean drinking water come the risks of a splash in the face!
We left Masindi on Sunday afternoon after an amazing visit. We thankfully made it back to Roxanne's place late Sunday night, thanks to the giftedness of our driver, Jeffrey (on right), who somehow navigated through the bad roads, walkers on the side of the highway, overstuffed trucks with coal practically spilling out, and bodas (motorcycle taxis) darting in and out of us.
Yesterday, Roxanne surprised us with a prank visit from some of her friends on the Police force. They came in to apparently arrest me, but thankfully she rounded the corner before Christi and I had time to completely freak! They had actually followed her over because they had asked her for Bibles weeks ago and we brought some over with us. They were so happy to receive them!
Stay tuned and thank you for your comments and for your prayers.
