Worldview

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12

Most Christians in North America have quoted at least part of that verse at some point in their lives. Some quote it frequently, but do any of us actually believe it and see it as reality in our everyday lives?
I am reading a book right now which I purchased while we were still in Canada, but didn’t start reading until recently. The book talks about our worldview. I am not very far into the book yet, but it has given me many occasions to pause for thought and look at my life- my life in North America (where my worldview primarily comes from) and my life here in Uganda where there is a very different worldview.
One example in the book is regarding how we respond to illness- a very interesting example in view of the verse above. The book discussed how as westerners we would seek medical attention, take all the medicine, do all the therapies the doctor recommended, etc, etc and then when we were desperate and had nowhere else to turn, maybe we would pray for healing. The author discusses how we often see our bodies as machines, governed by physical rules and nothing else. But Ephesians 6:12 doesn’t lead us to believe that we are governed only by physical rules, it seems to be saying the opposite! I do need to clarify that I am not saying we don’t need science; I have a Bachelor of Science degree. Please stick with me through the rest of the blog so we can look for a balance here.
On the other side of the coin is the worldview that exists among the majority of African people, as well as others in many parts of the world. When they become ill or injured, they ask what spirit is causing this or what person has had this spirit afflict me with this illness? For Christians here in Uganda, the automatic first response is to pray against the spirit that has caused this illness. For those who do not know Jesus (and unfortunately, even for some who claim to), they will seek out the services of a witch doctor. Please do not think that I am condoning the practice of consulting witch doctors- I certainly am not, but the point I want to make is this: Even those who don’t know Jesus, know that the battle is not against flesh and blood.
The problem with both of these worldviews is polarization- westerners have forgotten that it is a spiritual battle and we need to seek God FIRST (and yes, He may also use science to heal us). In Africa the problem is to the other extreme where the problem is seen only as spiritual. Many, many, many (I won’t even guess at a number) people have died of AIDS without ever seeking medical attention. Getting people to start taking and continue taking ARVs (Aids medicine) is a huge problem. The point I am trying to make is that we need to recognize our spiritual selves first while not neglecting our physical selves.
All that was just the introduction to today’s blog, here is the real story. Greg has been sick for the past few days with an extremely nasty GI bug (I won’t go into details!) So I (the North American nurse) have dipped into my large supply of medical tricks- Pepto and probiotics (that’s what usually works), liquid silver (good for lots of bugs). However, the symptoms have continued to get worse and last night was a particularly bad night. This morning he looked awful, felt even worse, but really needed to be at work for at least a few hours this morning. My thought process today has centered around- do I start him on the antibiotics that we brought along or do I take him to the medical clinic?
When Greg got to work one of his co-workers asked what was wrong. This man is Ugandan- totally different worldview…Guess what he did. He prayed for Greg! (What a great idea- why didn’t I think of that?) And guess what- Greg just texted me to say that he is feeling much better. It is not a battle of flesh and blood…
In North America, we often talk about how people need an attitude adjustment. I need a “worldview adjustment”!

Hooray- more shopping!

And now, the next chapter…
Sorry I (Lorenda) didn’t have time to blog yesterday, but we had a very long day. The sewing of the curtains continued and the ladies did an amazing job. They look great!
However, Judy decided yesterday that I should be the fabric cutter and I could teach her friend Lydia how to do it. Judy went off to help the other four women sew while Lydia and I were left to cut the remaining fabric. Frightening indeed, but we did manage to get the job done.
The next task was to get the curtains hung at the guesthouse. Fortunately that went quite smoothly so we were done by about 8:30 PM, stopped for pizza on the way home and called it a day!
Remember the place I described where we go to get the fabric? It really is quite a place and we went there THREE times today! On the first trip we bought 150 metres of one fabric, as well as buying a whole bolt of another fabric and a few other things. The 150 metres was in a large white “fabricish” bag which a man carried to the street for us. Judy had to go pick up one more thing so she left me standing on the street with the large white bag, the bolt of fabric and a plastic bag of stuff. Without really thinking about it, they left me standing in front of a bank. Very quickly, there was an armed security guard there asking me what was in the bag. I explained that it was fabric and I showed him the bolt of fabric and the contents of the plastic bag. The large bag was tied shut so I couldn’t show him it, but after he looked at everything else I had, he seemed convinced that I wasn’t there to blow up the bank and he stopped to chat for awhile. He was almost apologetic at that point explaining that when something unusual happened outside the bank, it was his job to check it out. I told him that he was doing a great job and I’m sure the people in the bank appreciated that.
Every outing in Kampala is an adventure! You really need to be here to understand what I mean by that. Being here on building teams did not prepare us in any way for actually living here- it really is a different world. We have chosen to look at every new experience here as an adventure- it adds a whole different light to everything we do!

I can do Math!

OK, as promised, the next chapter in the story…
Today, I (Lorenda) spent the day assisting an amazing group of women who were creating curtains. OK so perhaps “assisting” is a bit of an overstatement- it was really more like I was trying not to wreck anything and attempting to stay out of the way of the productive people. Those who know my lack of creative ability will not be the least bit surprised by that!
There is a wee bit of a back story here- something I didn’t share with you- mostly due to the fear of being mocked! Last week when we were in Gulu, I looked at the toppers on the windows and thought, “I could do that.”  Actually, I did more than think it, I said it to Judy. Since she is a nice person and she hasn’t known me long enough to know the truth, she said, “Of course you could!”
So, as we have been in all these fabric stores in the last few days, I have been looking at fabric and thinking about what I would like in my home in Canada. I could buy the fabric here and just “whip up” these projects when I get home.
Reality, like gravity, is a force that is undeniable- it catches up to you eventually and today was that day!
Today Judy and I were cutting fabric- truth be told, I was helping her to straighten the fabric and then I would hand her the measuring tape and the scissors. At that point, I may have been thinking, “Maybe I could do this”. Then Judy did the unthinkable; she went off to do something else and told me to cut the next set of curtains. This woman really doesn’t know me, does she? OK panic started to set in- I need to get the fabric all laid out straight, then I need to measure- oh no, what if I measure wrong, so I need to double check and triple check the measuring, look at the paper again, did I do it right? Can I cut it there? Should I cut it there? It was a hot day today and I was sweating some earlier, but now the sweat is pouring off me. What if I cut it and it’s wrong? We only have just enough fabric- the store didn’t have any more of it! If the cutting is crooked, the whole curtain is going to be crooked. Then I thought about that day I was in Gulu and reality kicks in. “No I could not make that!” Reality really is your friend when you embrace it and accept it!
Some of you who don’t know me as well might be tempted to think that I am being too hard on myself. Trust me, I am not! I have no creative skills, but I am good at other stuff. For example, yesterday when we were figuring out how much money we needed, I was coming up with the numbers in my head faster than the woman with the calculator. I can do math, I just can’t do creative stuff! I have recently decided that the right side of my brain (the creative side) is really just a placeholder that keeps the left side from rattling around loosely in my skull.
It’s OK though- I don’t need to have creative talents, I just need to surround myself with the right people. When I need flowers, I call Laurena. All I have to do is tell her who it’s for, the occasion and how much I want to spend- done! Why would I even think about sewing anything? I’ve got lots of choices- Joanne, Kathy, Barb and now Charissa is sewing- got that covered. Scrapbooking, photography- there’s Courtney! I don’t want any of you to think that I take advantage of my family and friends- I do things for them too! What you ask, can a person without talents offer to others?
Well…I can do math for them!

This is a long one!

Remember a while back, I (Lorenda) told you that our lives were getting pretty routine? Well, the last few days certainly have not been.
Last week I went to Gulu to help do a facelift at the guesthouse there. This week I will again be assisting in that process at one of the guesthouses here in Kampala. The difference is…when I joined the team last week, the fabric had been chosen, the curtains were already made and I just helped with the “finishing touches” (like hanging rods and curtains). This time I was to be part of the process of selecting the fabrics and tomorrow I will watch as the women sew the curtains.
For most women, shopping is a favourite pastime- I am not one of those women. For many of my friends and family, sewing is a much loved hobby and picking out the fabric is part of the fun- not for me! And for some of my friends decorating is an exciting adventure as they choose colours to match and accent each other. Get real! I have enough trouble dressing myself in the morning- I have no idea what goes together!
With all of the above in mind, I will tell you that my friend Judy and I went fabric shopping on Friday and again today. I really cannot describe to you the area of the city (Kiyembe) where we went to shop for this fabric. It is walking distance from Watoto Central, but you go through this little pathway and you come out on a different planet. There are hundreds of fabric stores (each is a tiny little room) that are jam-packed with every imaginable pattern, colour and texture of fabric. Some of them are literally (and I do mean literally) so full of fabric that there is only room for one person- either the customer or the shop keeper, both can’t be inside at once! I have been here for three months now and I have been to Uganda twice before- yet I can’t say I have experienced anything quite like that before!
Friday was a day of “scoping things out”. I thought today we were going to purchase the fabric and get to work on creating these curtains. Remember at the top, I told you nothing was so routine!
First I need to introduce you to Judy. She is a tiny little thing that exercises regularly and will be running a half marathon next month (not her first). She weighs about the same as one of my legs and is full of energy. Everything she does, she does with all her might and she always has at least ten projects going at once.
We started out the morning organizing a budget to request the needed funds for our large fabric purchase. While we waited, we had a few things to do here and there in the building. We stopped in at the Living Hope center a couple of times to talk about some projects and to measure for the tables that will go into the new coffee shop. Next thing I know we are headed to Buloba farm (where Watoto’s chicken operation will be within the next few months) so that Judy could help pick out paint colours to be used there (this "side trip" was certainly not part of the plan for the day). A few times she asked for my input (did I mention I can barely dress myself) and then she made decisions and we headed back to Kampala. When we got back (around 1:30, I think) our money was ready so back to Kiyembe we went, bought our 46 metres of fabric (too heavy to carry so a car came and got it). Then we went to another fabric store to order 38 shower curtains and started the trek back to central. We stopped along the street to buy some mangoes (because the 29 from Thursday aren’t quite enough!) and arrived back at Central to tell everyone about all that we had accomplished.
When I reread the above, it doesn’t sound like our day was that crazy, but trust me it was. Keeping up with Judy is like storm chasing- she is a little whirlwind! I wish I could also describe Kiyembe better, but it really defies explanation. Mike was there buying electrical supplies when they were here- ask him about it! His facial expressions and hand motions will help a little for you to understand.
Tomorrow is curtain making day- stay tuned for the details! I know there will be a story to tell!

Sasquatch siting

Yesterday was a day of “running out”. We got up at 5:30 AM to read a Bible story to our grandson and while we were talking to him, our internet time ran out! Something we don’t have to think about in North America, but we do while we are here.
Lorenda then decided to boil some eggs for breakfast, but before the water even came to a boil, our gas tank was empty. Our stove is another thing that is very different here than at home. We have one electric burner and three gas burners on our stovetop. Our oven has an electric element on top and a gas “element” on the bottom. The thinking is that you should always have something to cook with. If the power is out, you can use the gas burners. The difference is that gas is not piped into the homes here like it is in North America. Our gas is in a tank in the cupboard under the sink. When it runs out, you take the empty tank and trade it in for a full tank. That is what happened yesterday.
Even though we ran out of internet time and “cooking gas” (we really don’t know what kind of gas it is!), God’s love didn’t run out and won’t ever run out. No matter what else runs out, we will always have God’s love. Aren’t you glad for that?
After we drove to get the cooking gas, we decided to walk to the mall to get our internet time. It is about 3 ½ kms each way through neighbourhoods, past businesses and across the train tracks where many locals hang out. We have said repeatedly that we are here because of the people and we want to be part of the community where we stay, as well as being part of the Watoto community. It is such a joy to walk down the streets and just smile, say hello, give high fives to everyone around (adults and children). Mzungu are more common in Kampala than they used to be, but some kids still act like they have spotted Sasquatch when they see us. One boy yesterday was just staring and us and saying quietly over and over, “Mzungu”. He was swinging his arm trying to get his friends’ attention so they could see too, but he never once took his eyes off us and kept repeating “Mzungu”.
Even though we ran out of a couple of things yesterday, we got so much more back. We could have chosen to be upset by the little annoyances of “running out”, but instead we chose to have joy because of the many, many blessings God gave us. If we hadn’t run out of internet time, we never would have walked to the mall and had contact with all those amazing people. Don’t let the little annoyances in your life rob you of the blessings God has for you. Have a blessed day our dear friends.

One more thing

As an addendum to my previous post...
I know many of you have tried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. You should try peanut butter and mango on toast- had it for breakfast a couple of hours ago and I highly recommend it!

Fruit, fruit and more fruit!

Hi All
This is Lorenda again. I have spent the last three days “up country” in Gulu. My friend Judy was doing a “facelift” on the guesthouse there and needed a hand to get some things finished before a huge team arrives within the next couple of days. Judy and some of the Living Hope women had already done a lot of the work like sewing the curtains and toppers for all the windows. We spent our time getting curtain rods up and hanging all the curtains. Judy had also started to recover the chairs in the dining room- she had the majority done, but we still had ten more to do while we were there. I’m not sure how much help I was, but we got them all done and they look great!
The road to Gulu is a very interesting one! The road itself is in horrific shape and has a lot of traffic on it. The actual distance is just over 300 kms, but it takes 5-6 hours to get there. We also had a team of four Americans in the same van as us- 3 of them had been here before and one was a “first timer”.  It was hilarious to listen to Adam (the first timer) as he commented on the road, the landscape, the trip in general- it certainly made the trip go much quicker.
It is “full on” mango season in northern Uganda. The landscape is covered with thousands of mango trees and every tree is absolutely loaded with up to 1000 mangoes. There literally are mangoes everywhere and we took full advantage of that! One day I ate 5 mangoes, as well as having fresh squeezed mango juice at every meal- did I mention that I like mangoes a little? On the way home we stopped at a stand to buy some mangoes and I ended up buying 29 mangoes for 2000 shillings! At today’s conversion rate, that is just under 80 cents for 29 mangoes- less than 3 cents per mango!
We also picked up “a few” pineapples on the way home. In the end, we had 29 pineapples in the van with us! Each one cost us 1000 shillings- yep, that’s under 40 cents for a huge, juicy, fresh pineapple. Some days it is really tough to be here!
Judy bought 8 huge avocadoes (about 4 or 5 times the size of what we get at home) for 2000 shillings. She also picked up a few mangoes and then we bought three bunches of bananas while we were waiting in the road construction area. Needless to say, if our van had broken down, we would have had plenty of food to sustain us!

I'm Back

Hi All
It's Lorenda here. I have been away in Gulu for the past three days. I had planned to blog from there to tell you all about what I was doing, but the internet connection with our provider is non-existent there! I just got home and am heading to bed, but I will tell you all about it tomorrow!

May Long

It’s Victoria Day weekend in Canada. Happy ‘May long” to all our friends and family there. We hope you are enjoying whatever outdoor activity: camping, walking, fishing, cycling, playing softball, gardening. We usually look at this weekend as the start of summer so start enjoying- all our family and friends in Saskatchewan need it after the brutal winter that was.
It is really hard for us to know what time of year it is while we are here. Everyday is sunny and hot, but the days aren’t any longer- still 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dark EVERYDAY! Since it is so hot we expect to have those long summer evenings, but they don’t exist here. There is no such thing as summer, fall, winter and spring here. It is just rainy season and dry season. Dry season is hotter than rainy season, but both are hot. Right now it is rainy season so at some point in each 24 hour period (often at night), it usually rains- sometimes a little and sometimes a lot.
Even though we really do not like the cold weather much anymore, we have learned (in our short time here) to appreciate the seasons we have in Canada. Sometimes life here feels like the movie “Groundhog Day” where you are living the same day over and over and over again. We need to start doing more social activities so that we don’t get in a rut. Even though the weather and hours of daylight are the same everyday, our routine does not have to be. Pray for us as we try to find the energy to get out more and enjoy the experience of being here, as well as working hard everyday.

Just us

Well, it’s back to just us again. Mike and Tanya left Uganda on Monday just before midnight and have arrived safely back home. Give them a call and ask them about their trip- they have lots to tell! Everyday was a new adventure- some good and some not so good. They have a lot of pictures and many videos to help show others what the trip was like. I know they would love to share the photos and experiences with you.

We had a milestone day today. Lorenda drove to and from the babies’ home today. We left at 6:30 AM so there was not much traffic this morning. However, on the way home at 4:30 PM, it was 4.2 km of Kampala craziness. She has been doing a little driving in Muyenga (our area of the city) so she is somewhat used to driving on the other side of the road. There really is nothing that can prepare you for driving in Kampala- you just have to pray lots and get in there and do it!

Please keep praying for us as we continue on with the work here. Thanks for journeying with us. We appreciate each of you a whole lot.

Lions and Tigers and Bears- Oh My!

View from the top of Murchison Falls

This post is coming to you from Paraa Safari Lodge. Paraa is a word in the local language and it means “place of hippos”.
We have had two awesome game drives and a great cruise down the Nile River to Murchison Falls- what a beautiful site! Yesterday we went to the top of the falls- a site we had never seen before. It was absolutely breathtaking!
On the game drives and boat cruise we saw many animals. No we did not see lions and tigers and bears (yes Carlen, I know that would not ever be possible because they do not live on the same continent- it was a joke). But we did see lions- two of them, both male (we named them both Simba) and we were able to get very close to them- about 10 to 15 feet away. The second one we saw was just eating a fresh antelope- some of you may think this is gross and you will want to skip the next sentence. Since we were so close, we could hear the bones crunching as the lion was ripping pieces off and devouring the animal. It was so cool!

Other animals that we saw were several varieties of antelope, some variety of monkey, lots of baboons (Rafiki is their name), many giraffes, many hippos, several elephants (we were very close to them), several hornbills (named all of them Zazu), a hyena (we named him Ed) and many warthogs (all named Pumba). If you do not understand the naming of all these animals, you need to watch Disney’s The Lion King.
Helpful point to anyone that may be going on a safari. When you are standing up in the safari vehicle, watch out for Dung Beetles. Taking one of those huge things in the forehead while traveling at 40 km per hour is not a nice experience.
While on the boat cruise we saw several Nile crocodiles. One was sleeping on the shore of a marshy little island. The boat we were on was able to get right up close to it- the front of the boat where we were standing was less than ten feet from it. The thing was huge and looked as though it had just eaten a very big meal- thankfully it was sleeping or the people on the lower deck may have been dessert! Just for the record- we were safely seated on the upper deck.
Tomorrow we head back to Kampala and Mike and Tanya leave for home on Monday. The month they spent with us has gone by very quickly. Please pray for safety as we travel tomorrow and for Mike and Tanya as they travel home on Monday. They leave at 11:30 PM (that is 2:30 PM for most of you) so please remember to pray for them as they travel home.

It was how big?

Look what we pulled out of Lake Victoria
A Nile Perch weighing 29.4 kilos (almost 65 pounds)

So, after Mike and Tanya being here for three weeks, we decided it was finally time to have some fun before they head home on Monday. We have got all the work we can out of them so we headed out to Jinja yesterday for a day of fun! Jinja is a small place about 80 kms from Kampala- I know you are thinking, “Oh just a nice little drive”. Not so! We left Kampala at 6:00 AM to avoid traffic and it still took us two hours to get there. On the way home we left at 6:00 PM and got to our apartment at 9:20 PM.  Traffic is bad here- all the time, but you can’t let it ruin your day!
First thing in the morning we went fishing on Lake Victoria. We were on a 32 foot boat with a great guide named Rob (from Australia). He had been out the day prior and they caught only one fish. We knew that it may be just a nice boat ride around Lake Victoria, but even that would have been fun. However, we prayed about this trip before we left and God blessed us abundantly! Mike and Greg caught nine fish with the biggest one weighing 29.4 kilos- that was some fish! At one point they both had a fish on the line. Rob told them they were likely caught up on something, but no- they each hauled in a good sized fish. There was much excitement on that boat for the whole four hours we were out there.
In the afternoon we went on a “Quad Safari”. When I hear the word safari, I think animals- we only saw people, goats and cows. We spent two hours ripping around on quads—through the trees, mud, small villages and then down to the Nile River in a couple places. We got a few scrapes riding through the trees, got filthy riding through the dirt and mud and one of us (who shall remain nameless) tipped his quad! Arms and legs are a little stiff and “spagetti-ish” today, but it was a great day of much needed fun and frivolity.
As this blog is being written, we are in a van, going down a very bumpy road heading for Murchison Falls National Park where we will go on safari- stay tuned for the details!

Book Review and a sermon, too!

I (Lorenda) have just finished reading a great book that I would like to recommend to all of you. The book is called Return to Dignity and was written by Marilyn Skinner (co-founder of Watoto).
The book briefly tells the stories of eight women’s lives- their stories are beyond anything that most of us could imagine in our wildest dreams. Each chapter could have easily been expanded into an entire book if the atrocities and horrific details of these women’s lives had been revealed in great detail.
However, Marilyn chose to tell us just enough about each woman’s life that we could get to know her and feel compassion for her, even though we really can’t imagine what she has been through. The subtitle of the book is Stories of Hope, Faith, Courage and Transformation and that is the part that is emphasized in the book. Marilyn describes how these women got connected with Living Hope (the Watoto women’s ministry) and then found Jesus, the real and only Living Hope.
I know that all of us have people in our lives that are going through difficult circumstances. Chances are those people weren’t kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and may not be HIV positive, but we all have people with needs. What is the Lord calling you to do in these people’s lives? Please note- I am not asking you what you think you should do in that person’s life (all you rescuers need to listen up here!), but what is God asking you to do in that person’s life? Seek the Lord and ask Him what your role is to be, but be careful because when the Lord tells us what we are to do, He expects our obedience (just like we expect of our children). If we sincerely seek Him and ask for direction, He will give us direction. Our response should then be obedience. It is funny to me how we ask God for direction and then treat His answer like it is a suggestion, rather than a direct command.
Sorry this started out as a book review and turned into a little bit of a sermon for a while there! Oh well- I find that I have become a little bolder since I have been here and do not fear saying what the Lord lays on my heart. I know all of you who know me well are saying, “Oh no, she will be even more obnoxious that usual when she returns.” Oh well….
I do want to encourage all of you to read this book. You can buy it on the Watoto website www.watoto.com. It really does help you to understand the struggles of the Ugandan people in a whole different way. More importantly, it shows the forgiveness and the rebuilding of lives that can only happen with the Lord.
I hope that tomorrow will find you worshiping our Lord Jesus with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We will be celebrating at Watoto South tomorrow- thanking God for the work Greg, Mike and many others did over the past few weeks to make this place ready for us to worship in.
Have a great day!

Mzungu

It has been a very busy week. The days here just fly by, as do the weeks. Time has gone very quickly the last two weeks since Mike and Tanya arrived. We have not allowed them to have much rest- they have been working very hard every day.
Greg and Mike have been busy working long days at the Watoto South site. The new tent was put up a couple of weeks ago and they have been working long days to get all the wiring done so the tent can be used for a service this Sunday. We had planned to drive to Jinja tomorrow to see where the Nile River flows out of Lake Victoria, but now the boys will be working so that will have to be postponed. One of the things Tanya wanted to do while she was here is stand on the equator so we will have to make that happen (on the way to Jinja) before they leave.
Lorenda and Tanya have been busy at the babies’ home. Seventeen children were moved from the babies’ home in Kampala to the babies’ home at Suubi village today and they were part of the team that took babies there. It was hard to leave the babies there because you get so attached to them. Even in the short time Tanya has been here, she has found a couple of favourites.
Lorenda and Tanya also had more adventures this week. With the guys working long days at South, they had to figure out how to get home each day. Being tough (stubborn) prairie girls, they decided they could walk the 4 kilometres. Crossing streets in Kampala is quite a task- there really is nothing that could be said to help you understand the enormity of the task- you take your life in your hands every time you attempt it. Then there are the numerous boda drivers that want to give you a ride, want your water bottle or want to marry you (Tanya got a few offers!) It rained a lot last night and today so the walk home was a little muddy in places. Lorenda slipped at one point and stepped in a mud puddle. Immediately, there was a “knight in shining armour” there to offer a hug- “No thanks!”
Each day the walk has been an adventure and usually is very entertaining. Children love to follow close behind and talk about the “Mzungu”. Some children just stand and point- not really sure what those creatures are. The funniest was when two young (late teens or early twenties) Ugandan women walked by and when they thought they were out of earshot, one said to the other, “Those two girls could glow in the dark.” We were both feeling pretty good about our tans until that comment!
We have a few more adventures to embark upon before Mike and Tanya head home- we will keep you posted.