Saturday, July 25, 2015

The sights, Sounds, Smells and Heart of Uganda.

We are up and Sarah is making us eggs. While we wait we are feasting on Sol Café's Banana bread…which is totally fantastic! They had six loafs for sale Trivia night and we bought up two! And so delighted we did. We have parceled them out carefully so they have lasted! They are so, so good! 

 

The other night as I was blogging I intended to write about the sights, sounds, smells and feels of Uganda. I decided to do this as we were sitting on hard wooden benches, four to a row (crammed in) waiting for the choir performance to begin. The benches have no backs to them and the seat portions are very narrow. Within minutes I found myself very fidgety. The benches were hard. Did I mention they were hard. So let me put this in perspective. Ugandan students sit on these benches all day long to study on. They are filled to the brim with little people trying to learn. They have no real space to call their own. Yesterday when the kids were taking exams they moved them to the dining area (an outside covered pavilion. This is great except when the other kids are let out of class for break, lunch, etc. they have to continue to focus amidst the noise. I was impressed with their concentration skills. What I am trying to convey is this is how it is done in Uganda and the kids are so thankful for the opportunity to get an education they listen well and do not squirm. However after a little more than an hour on the benches all of us were done. We were so sore! We had rearranged our bodies into every possible position, but after a while it just didn't make a difference. So for feelings the things here are hard. They are hot and they are buggy. And yet walking and sitting in community is great. The willingness to lend a helping hand is something we could all learn from. 

 

The sights have changed over the past five years. Iganga seems a lot more westernized though the poverty is still overwhelming. Cows in the road, roaming across soccer fields, open markets with every other vendor selling exactly the same thing. The obvious discrepancies between Uganda prices and Mzungu prices. Bicycles bursting from the seams carrying goods. Boda bodas with whole families and the driver on board. The technology has gotten better – almost everyone has a cell phone and more and more of the kids are connected to the Internet. Musana has been a huge blessing for me. The love that prevails and the hearts for the kids has just been great to see. I will go home and know that they are being fully cared for. The kids are being raised up to be the next generation of Ugandans in such a way that brings pride to their country. I won't worry about their welfare when I leave and return home.  Through all we have done to get to where we are one thing has never waivered. The joy in the faces of the people has always been there. The sights 

 

The smells are overwhelming. I guess part of this is because in the US I really don't allow myself to experience the every day smells of the world. I go from air-conditioned house to air conditioned home. Heaven forbid I should role down my window and take in the smells of the surrounding area. Here there is always the smell of charcoal as people are preparing their meals on outdoor fires. Along with that is the smell of smoke. The smell of body odor is prevalent (I'm sure after a long day we are equally adding to that smell). The smell of manure rings in the air.

 

And the sounds… horns honking. Constantly. Warning each other to get back in their own lane after passing a car, to warn pedestrians they are coming, to tell boda boda drivers they are bigger and the boda boda better get out of the way. You can barely drive five feet without the sound of a horn honking. You also hear the children yelling, "Mzungu, bye" as we drive by. They run to the side of the road and wave frantically and yell until you wave back. It is a sweet sound. 

 

So today we started the day watching the nursery students participating in their field day. It was a BIG deal. The parents were invited and tents were set and at the end of the day prizes were handed out to the winners. At the start there was a band from a secondary school with instruments just like we have in a band; trumpets, saxophones, etc. They started the day by playing the National Anthem. Once they finished their part they all headed to the volleyball courts and spent the rest of the time playing.We decided Ugandan kids aren't near as competitive as American kids and not one single parent yelled at anyone. All anyone did was cheer. Every time a student finished and won an event the teacher would pick them up and swing them around in happiness. Watching these little guys run and have fun was so joyous. They had games that included picking up straws and putting them on chairs that were about 20 yards away. Then they would have to run back and get another one until all the straws were moved from one location to another. Another game was running back and forth to get duplo pieces and putting them together to build a stack.  Then they stripped the boys down to their skivvies and they had to run to the chairs and see who could get dressed the fastest in their school uniform. They all did this in record time. One competition was to see who could write their name the clearest with the best formation of letters. While the nursery kids were playing all the students at Musana were proudly watching them perform. Across the fence by the road leading to the guesthouse the neighborhood kids were stacked three deep (some even in the trees) to watch the festivities. When it was all said and done the winning team was given a goat (who seemed to really be enjoying himself) that they were going to roast and feed to the kids tonight!! Poor little goat!!

 

In closing, we can't believe we only have one more week in this country. Our schedule is full and we have yet to slack in any way, shape or form. We still have the dining room to finish, the hospital to paint, the signs to finish, the women's ministry to revisit and hopefully a district volleyball game to cheer at. I am overwhelmed thinking of all we have to cram in into the next seven days. But each day brings us more connected to Musana and the blessings they have to offer.

 

I hope you all have a great weekend. We start our day off tomorrow worshipping at Kokombo. We are then going to spend some time with Wilson and Agnes. We will then go from their to Idudi where we will meet with Pastor Andrew and give him his seed and medicine. When we finish there we will return home and put back on our paint clothes and get back to work… 

 

We love you and miss you all. The picture is of Evelyn and Mama Jonah's new baby girl! She is beautiful.

 

Sue


Sent from my iPhone

No comments: