Great Friends

I keep telling you that so many things go on in a day that I can’t remember to tell you everything. We had an earthquake 9 days ago. It was a 5.9 magnitude quake centered in Tanzania. The area where it occurred has reported 19 deaths and at least 40 injured. The property damage was also significant with 1044 homes destroyed and 6281 more damaged. Please pray for those families that have been affected by this quake. In Kampala, we certainly felt the tremor, but there were no injuries or property damage.

As most of you know, this is my first time back since our 10 month stint in 2013. Greg has been back for a month each year, 2014 and 2015, and has come home exhausted each time. Now that I am here with him, I can see why. Each day is jam packed starting at just after 6 AM and ending sometime between 9:30 and 11:00 PM- depending how long we can keep our eyes open. This week our days are filled with work and our evenings are full of catching up with dear friends. Our next available time slot is a week from today. How blessed are we to have so many dear friends.

Today I got to meet Phina,, Ed’s wife. They came to our hotel and spent the evening with us. She is a lovely person, just as I knew she would be. And by the way, we are getting another grandbaby!

Tomorrow we get to meet our 2 month old grandson, Darren. Another great day coming up!

Maybe technology doesn't hate me afterall!

I think our devices are starting to get happier and communicate with each other. I sure hope so!
Here is a picture of Ed with the Oreo Cookie Frappe I told you about. It is yummy!

It's Monday

Because it is Monday, I have good internet again and can actually post. So here is everything from the last three days.
We are having some trouble getting our devices to communicate with each other. At this point, it takes a significant amount of time and frustration to attach pictures. We have included two photos today and we will keep trying to get them for you.

September 16, 2016

Remember how I told you a few days ago that we have gotten to the point where not so much surprises us anymore. Well, believe me, it happened today!

After Greg did some hands on training with the team this morning, he went with some of the guys to purchase a piece of equipment. Greg asked if I wanted to come along, but I declined, knowing that they wouldn’t be gone that long. Oh right, sometimes my brain is still set on “Canadian” when I think silly thoughts like that! It is Friday and there is always jam for the whole day on Friday so the trip took several hours (that is definitely not the surprising thing that happened).

Once the trip was done we decided to knock off a little early, stop for a bite to eat and then spend some time with Joanna and the kids. As I said the jam occurs for pretty much the whole day on Fridays so it takes a while to get anywhere! 

Eventually we were on our way to Joanna’s, but we are not so familiar with the route to her current place so we were relying on the GPS. We have spoken many times about how our cheap little Garmin GPS has gotten us to where we have needed to go and was an absolute lifesaver for us in 2013. Well, today it let us down! On top of the crazy jam, the GPS decided to take us through a community that had very narrow streets, with many, many, many people walking on the roads AND a huge market lining both sides of the streets. We also had absolutely no idea where we were at that point. “In the olden days”, this would have freaked us out, but again, that is another situation that we have become accustomed to.

Finally we got ourselves on the right track and we were on our way, or so we thought! We ended up in such a bad jam in an area where there should be no jam. It took us over 30 minutes to go 400 meters. What, what, what? As we were slowly getting closer to the corner where we needed to turn, we could see that there was a very large mob of people (>1000) gathered there. Things would remain quite quiet for some period of time and then this huge crowd would begin jumping and yelling. At this point we were still too far away to determine what was going on. Every few minutes the crowd would begin jumping, a loud roar would come from the crowd and then we would move a few car lengths ahead, before we came to a stand still again.

We just could not figure out what was happening. At first we thought there were people fighting in the street. No, it didn’t really appear to be an angry mob. Then I saw a sign for a soccer match that one of the bars was planning to show. That must be it. Ugandans are crazy for soccer so they must be gathered in the streets watching a match. But the loud cheers came every few minutes, there is not that much scoring in soccer. It was becoming curiouser and curiouser!

Finally we are about the third or fourth car in the lineup when the cheering began again. The people in the street started freaking out and pounding on cars to get them to clear the intersection. Then Greg says, “Look at this!” Here comes a race car- yes, a fancy painted race car, zooming down the street toward us. It then turned on the street where we wanted to go. Right behind it comes the vehicle it was racing against. Once the racing cars passed and the cheering died down, some of the people in the street started directing traffic and waving at us to turn and get going. What? We don’t want to be part of this race!

I’d like to say that I have seen everything now, but I doubt that is true! Can you imagine? Cars racing around a circuit through some community while 1000 people block every intersection and cheer. What does one do after encountering such a situation? Just sit and laugh hysterically! TIA (this is Africa)

Remember I told you in the beginning we were headed to see Joanna and the kids. We did eventually reach there and were greeted with our usual hugs, hugs, hugs. It was so amazing.

While Brian and Martin were preparing supper for us, Sharon and Efrance decided that the rest of us needed to dance with them. These kids are part of a competitive dance group and they dance very well. The rest of us, not so much! Greg quickly decided he needed to go assist with supper preparations, while Joanna and I continued to “dance”. Joel was watching and was laughing so hard that I thought he would collapse! Then he decided he needed to take video of this- whatever it was! Hopefully there will be no evidence of this posted anywhere.

After we ate our amazing supper, we all sat around the table and talked for quite some time. These young people are absolutely amazing. What a huge blessing it was to sit with them and discuss so many different things, from spiritual issues to teenage issues. All the craziness of the trip there, just didn’t matter anymore. We would have done it four times over, just to have the privilege of that time with Joanna and these incredible young people.

By the time we left at just after 10 PM, there was no more jam. We got back to our hotel quickly and without one single wrong turn. Yay Greg- you rock this Kampala driving!

September 17, 2016

One of the jobs Greg needs to do while we are here is to assess each of the eleven Watoto church campuses, from a maintenance perspective. We are starting to panic that our time is going so quickly and will be gone before we know it, so we decided to hit a couple of them today.

First up- Suubi Village! Many of you already know what that means- the mom that we sponsor and three of our sponsor children live in Suubi.  Unfortunately, the mom we sponsor is currently on leave (vacation) so we did not see her today. But we did get to see some of her boys who were staying in neighbouring homes. We saw Abdul, who stayed with our friends Kim and Laurena when he was on choir tour in Canada, a few years back. We also saw Victor, who stayed in our home when he was on tour in Canada in 2014. Abdul immediately recognized us as he has seen us many times, but it took a little longer for Victor.

Next we proceeded to the home of three of our other sponsor children. These children are so special to me. While in Uganda in 2013, I prayed, “Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours”. These three children were the first kids that broke my heart while working at the babies home. They are biological siblings and when they came to babies home, I was assigned to work closely with them. Very soon I became “mommy” to them and I knew immediately that we needed to sponsor them- there was no way I could let go of them. The oldest was on choir tour in Canada earlier this year and stayed in our home, but we haven’t seen the other two since 2013.

It was so incredibly emotional to hold those kids in my arms again. The tears flowed as I told their mom how much these children mean to us and how thankful I am that she is for caring for them. Someone suggested that the children should come back to Canada with us. Believe me, if that was possible, they would have come back with us in 2013!

Two more site assessments were done today, but I won’t bore you with the details. 

The exciting part is that two members of the facilities team came with us. Grace was raised in Suubi village so he was a huge help when we needed to navigate that large village. He also did most of the driving today so Greg got a break, while Jonathan and I sat in the back. Jonathan was not part of the facilities team in 2013 so this trip has been my first opportunity to get to know him. I love the days when we get to hang out with team members, away from the work setting and just get to know them better. These are two incredible young men and we are privileged to have them in our lives.

As I have said many times before on this blog, it’s not about the work, it’s about the people and today was a day loaded with people. How blessed we are!

September 18, 2016

Sunday, what a blessing to be able to go to church and worship with God’s people. 

Today Greg decided to check out the two new Watoto Church locations that have opened since we left in 2013. These are not buildings that Watoto owns, but are in rented facilities. One is in a hotel and the other is in a theatre (not a movie theatre, but one where you would go to see a play or the opera).

First we went to the one in the theatre, which is in the area of Kampala where we had our apartment in 2013. As we entered I saw a face that was so familiar- Jetti, one of the nannies from the babies home. What a huge blessing to see her again. Then she told me that Susan also attends this location and my heart leapt! If you followed our journey in 2013, you will remember how it was very lonely for me at the babies home for the first couple of weeks I was there. Then God sent two amazing women, two kind and caring nannies that I had the privilege to work with often- Susan and Florence. It was such a huge blessing to see Susan today. I couldn’t locate her before the service, but I found her after and I RAN when I saw her. Yes ran for the first time since June (for those who don’t know, I tore my hamstring badly in June). Again, I can’t explain to you how amazing it was to see her and to hug her- she is so amazing!

We also saw our cell mate (ie. A friend from our Bible study) Michael. Greg describes him as the “happiest Ugandan”. Many of you know some Ugandans and know how much they smile so you can only imagine how much bigger Michael’s smile is to be given that description! His smile and laugh are so contagious!

Today we had the privilege of being escorted to these campuses by another of the team members, Ed. He is one of the original team members that was here when we arrived in 2013 and is another of the wonderful people we feel blessed to have in our lives. He got married last year while Greg and his brother Mike were here, so they were blessed to attend the wedding. I, however, have not met Ed’s wife Phina yet. I keep asking him why he is keeping her from me, but he assures me that is not the case and keeps promising I will meet her soon. I will keep you updated.

While we were at the Watoto Church that is at the hotel, we saw several race cars in the parking lot. There were also three large cups/trophies that either someone had won or they were going to be contending for in the near future. We have now learned that what we saw on Friday night was not so unusual. Street racing is actually very big here. How would I know that? The only thing I know about racing relates to Lightning McQueen and the Piston Cup.

Today we had lunch at my favourite little spot which is called Bean Café. If you ever come to Kampala, you should go there. It is easy to find- right on Ggaba Road and they serve the most amazing Oreo Cookie Frappe. They serve lots of great salads and sandwiches as well, but don’t miss out on the frappe!

Canada is HOW BIG?

Today officially begins our second week in Uganda and I think we are finally over the jet lag. We are so thankful for that! And we got to start our second week off with one of our favourite Ugandan foods- Rolex. No we did not go to chipatti alley to get them, they served them at our hotel this morning.

I suppose another Ugandan lesson may be in order here to explain what a Rolex is- no it is not an expensive watch! Ugandans make a very yummy flat bread type food that is called chipatti. To make a Rolex, one fries an egg (often with peppers, onion, etc cut up in it) and put it on top of a chipatti. You then roll it up and enjoy the Ugandan yumminess!

The days just fly by here. We are up by shortly after 6 AM so we can get ready, have breakfast and be on the road before the jam happens. Last night we had computer work to be done for today so it was after 11 PM when we fell into bed. But when you are doing what you love, it just doesn’t matter! There is a worn out kind of tired and a “wow, we had a very busy, but amazing day and we are falling into bed” kind of tired. Ours is the latter. We go to bed feeling so very blessed to be here. There really are no words.

Today was another great day for the team. More hands on experience that taught them so much. Each one had the opportunity to use the power tools- some of them for the first time. There are so many things we take for granted everyday in Canada. Please take time today to be thankful for all that you have. Most of the world does not have things that we take for granted everyday.

During every trip here, we have worked hard to learn more about the country, more about the culture and more about individual people. So rather than health teaching today I decided to teach them a little about Canada and Saskatchewan. My reason for doing this was to try to have them understand why the jam makes us so crazy. For them it is normal to have people everywhere and a perpetual traffic jam. Once I showed them a map of the world to show them the size of Canada vs the size of Uganda (you can fit about 2 ½ to 3 Ugandas into the area of the province of Saskatchewan), they started to understand. Then when I told them the population of Uganda is greater than the population of all of Canada, they were in disbelief. I went even further and explained that the population of all of Saskatchewan (land mass nearly 3X the size of Uganda) is just over a million (less population than the city of Kampala). It completely blew their minds, but it helped them to understand a little more about us. The more we understand about each other, the closer we can grow as people.

Is there someone in your life God is calling you to get to know a little better? I challenge you to do that today- don’t put it off!

Oh Kampala

September 14, 2016

We were talking on the drive in this morning about how so many things that used to be so foreign to us, now have become so everyday. Things that shocked us from the bus in 2010 and 2012, now seem normal.

But just when you start thinking that, there comes new things to add to the adventure. This morning on the drive into the office we saw a matatu knock a boda and send the driver skidding on the tarmac (translation- a van that acts as a taxi hit a motorcycle taxi and he went skidding on the road). Fortunately, it was not serious, the boda driver dusted himself off, picked up the bike and everyone carried on.

Right after that, there was a police vehicle a few vehicles behind us with lights and siren on. In Canada, everyone would work together so that the vehicles can get out of the way for the emergency vehicle. That really doesn’t happen here because there is no where to go. Even at 7 AM, there is a lot of traffic and it is not easy to maneuver.

Shortly after arriving in the office, we noticed that the traffic was even worse than usual this morning. Turns out the bank right across the street was robbed this morning. If the facilities office was still where it was in 2013, I would have had a bird’s eye view of the goings on. However, the office has now moved to a bigger space that works well for them, but is less conducive to being a “looky loo”!

What a great day it was for the facilities team today. The morning was spent hearing Greg teach about more principles. Then the afternoon was spent doing some hands on work on air conditioners here in the building. We all know that hearing information is good, but hands on experience is the real teacher. Greg is so in his element here- building into the lives of others who are so very eager to learn. It is a tremendous privilege and blessing to be here and we are so thankful for the opportunity we have been given.

Since we didn’t get out of the office until 6:00, we went for supper at a restaurant just a few blocks away. In Kampala, EVERYTHING depends on the traffic, or as it is known here “the jam”. That is the only thing I can truly say I hate about Kampala (and of course snakes, but God has protected me from seeing any of those here!). Even when we left the restaurant at 8:00 PM, it still took us 45 minutes to go the 3 or 4 kms back to our hotel.

It seems that the theme of today’s post is traffic. It is the most exhausting part of the trip for us. Driving on the opposite side of the road, watching out for bodas, pedestrians, and other vehicles, while trying to avoid the really big pot holes and slow down for the huge speed bumps, requires your undivided attention and is mentally exhausting.  Our children will be thrilled to hear that Pop has resurrected his favourite Ugandan phrase “An inch is a mile.” Yup- nothing more to say!

And Now we are Caught Up...
September 12, 2016

OK- I guess it is time that we actually get busy and do some work. That is what we came here for, isn’t it? Of course it isn’t! We came here to bring glory to God by sharing the gifts and abilities He has given us. The bonus is that we get to hang out with really amazing people every single day. So much happens everyday that it is difficult to capture it all.

Today, like every day, we got to hear Watoto Children’s choirs practicing as they prepare to go out to various countries.  Since we have been here, we have met the team leaders for the choir that will be coming to Canada.  We have chatted with many of the leaders that have been to Canada with choirs in the past few years. It really is like coming home to a big, huge family. Everyday we run into someone else.

On our first trip to Uganda in 2010, we were met at the airport by two hosts- Bonny and Apollo. Today we were sitting eating lunch and Bonny walked into the lunch area. Of course that meant more hugs and also to hear about the exciting things in Bonny’s life, as he is now a pastor at one of the Watoto campuses. Apollo is no longer with Watoto, but is now working with a US based NGO here in Kampala. I forgot to mention that I ran into him at the restaurant, the day I ran into Joanna- see there is so much everyday that I keep forgetting to tell you things. I think instead of just reading this, you should all just pack up and come on over to experience it yourself. It is an incredible experience that you will never forget.

We really did do some work today! Edward, Greg and I went to Watoto East campus (it has a new name which reflects the area of Kampala it is in, but I can’t remember, pronounce or spell it!) to look at some equipment there. It was a public holiday today (a Muslim holiday that is not observed by Watoto) so there was no traffic (by Kampala standards) which means it was still mostly bumper to bumper, but it was still moving! Going anywhere in Kampala takes a long time (comparatively speaking!)

Tomorrow “Boot Camp” will begin. That is two weeks of intensive learning sessions that will equip the team to better understand the workings of air conditioning. There will be lots of lecture time combined with hands on experience. We spent some time today preparing for Day 1. Keep us in your prayers as we get going.

September 13, 2016

Every Tuesday, Watoto Church has devotions as an entire team. That means 300-400 staff members gather at 8:30 AM to worship together, hear a devotional presented by one of the pastors and to be encouraged. Each week is a little different in some way. Today we welcomed back the founders of the organization, Garry and Marilyn Skinner. They have been away on a break so everyone was excited to have them back. We also welcomed back the worship pastor Grahame and his wife Sheila, who have been out of the country (I believe in India) for their daughter to have a bone marrow transplant. It was such an encouragement to hear of God’s healing power and God’s provision in their lives.

Of course with all the staff meeting together, there were more hugs as we connected with people who we had not seen yet. Since we are staying only one month, I think we will be constantly hugging people- either to say hello or as time goes on, to say “see you later” (we don’t say good-bye, only see you later).

Boot Camp Day 1 started at 10:00 AM and is now in the books. What a privilege it is to share your knowledge with people who are so hungry to learn! Greg talked about refrigeration stuff- I hope the team got more out of it than I did! Of course I didn’t understand much, but then again I wasn’t really listening (again- don’t tell Greg). I shared a little bit of health stuff regarding the importance of staying hydrated. Tomorrow I will ask them what colour their pee is today! They really don’t know what to expect when that crazy Mzungu woman gets up there to speak- why disappoint them now?!

We're Back!!!

It has been nearly a week since we left home. I have been keeping track of our activities and writing about them, but this is the first opportunity I have had to post them. This post is rather long, but it will get you caught up!

September 8, 2016

The trip is long, but to arrive at Entebbe Airport and see so many smiling faces there to greet us…there are no words. Our Ugandan family are truly amazing people. All of you reading this should come here right now and meet them!

We arrived late last night after a delay in Rwanda. It was 2 AM by the time we arrived at the hotel and we were very glad to crawl into bed.

A bit of a sleep in was needed this morning so it was nearly 10:00 when we arrived at the office. What an amazing day it has been. Greeting team members who were not at the airport and seeing so many friends all around the building. What an amazing time.

Then came the time to unpack all the things we brought with us. Tools are always a big hit with the team, but I think they liked the Twizzlers the best (shhh Don’t tell Greg).

By mid-afternoon, it was time to get up and wander around the building because when that intense jet lag hits, one is at risk of falling off their chair! However, the fact remains that one must stay awake to try to get over the jet lag. Who knew staying up until 8:00 could be so challenging.

September 9, 2016

Every day just seems to get better and better. Jet lag is usually a frustrating experience, but last night it was a gift. We went to sleep at 8:30 PM because we couldn’t stay awake any longer and we woke after an AMAZING sleep, only to realize that it was 11:00PM! God started to give us ideas about ways we could better support the team and the ministry here. As one idea came up, it snow balled into another and another. It was a wonderful way to spend jet lag hours- instead of laying there being annoyed!

Today we were taken for lunch by two of the organization’s leadership team. What a wonderful time of hearing about the organization’s successes and plans for the future. It was also an opportunity for us to share our vision of what we can do to be more involved while in Canada, as well as when we are here in Uganda. There is so much going on already and so much potential for the future. I am so glad Watoto is an organization that continually reevaluates and changes to meet the needs of an ever changing society.

As we were leaving the restaurant and walking through the parking lot, I was shocked to see my friend Joanna. In a city of at least 1.5 million people, what a shock and a huge blessing to just “bump into” her! Some of you may be saying, “Who is Joanna?” If you go back and read previous blogs, you will learn a lot about her, but I will give you a little update.

Joanna is from Sweden and came to Uganda in 2013 to volunteer for one year. During that year, God showed her some of the huge needs here and she made the decision to stay. Initially, she had joined with an already existing Ugandan organization. That partnership has since dissolved and Joanna now has a NGO (non government organization, aka non-profit or charitable organization) that is registered here in Uganda, as well as in Sweden.

When I met her in the parking lot, I immediately told Greg and the others to go back without me and I would walk back when I was done. So back into the restaurant we went to have a nice cool drink on this hot Ugandan day. What an amazing, blessed time we had together and the hours flew by very quickly.

September 10, 2016

What an amazing day filled with the richest of God’s blessings.

Greg had an amazing sleep last night and woke refreshed this morning. I did my usual sleep from 9-11 PM and then was awake until after 3:00 AM. The good news is that today is Saturday and we didn’t need to be anywhere so we could sleep in. I am not much of a sleeper inner, but I slept until 10:20 this morning. This is the first day we haven’t been walking around like zombies. Hopefully our clocks are resetting themselves and we will be on Uganda time!

After stopping to pick up a quick lunch, we headed over to see Joanna and the kids. You will recall from 2013 posts that Joanna was living in a house with over 50 children. That is no longer the case. The children have all been resettled with families and Joanna is assisting them by helping to find better living conditions and sources of income.

Several of the children in Joanna’s organization continue to dance. Today we went to see Joanna and to watch the dance team practice their routines. Most of the children did not know we were coming so when we walked in the door, the place erupted and dance practice was interrupted for hugs, hugs and more hugs. Several of the children said the most beautiful things to us. They told us about the huge impact we had in their lives, yet we feel like we did so little- just a few visits when we were here in 2013. They told us how they have missed us and how they were so very glad to see us.

While praying, the oldest boy said, “It is very easy for people to forget about us here in Africa. I thank you God that Greg and Lorenda did not forget us.”

When he finished praying, I told him and the others that it is very HARD to forget them- something that we could NEVER do. It is completely impossible for us to ever forget them. These children have impacted our lives in such huge ways and we love them dearly- they needed to hear that and we both made sure they heard that message today LOUD and CLEAR. I think they were rather surprised to hear how much they meant to us.

There are a couple of great lessons for us all there:

1.     You never know the impact you have in someone’s life. You may only be with someone for a very short period of time, but never underestimate the impact, either positive or negative, on both parties.

2.     People need to know how important they are to us and how much we love them. Whether that person lives on the other side of the world, across the country, down the street or in the same house. Tell them today and make sure that they know- don’t take that for granted!

We have learned that when we volunteer to meet a need in someone else’s life, we walk away feeling like we have received many times more than we have given!

To say we were blessed today would be such a huge understatement. God’s goodness is overwhelming.

Do you have someone in your life that you could impact? It very often is a small thing that you do, but it can make a lasting impact. It doesn’t have to be a child in Africa, it could be the lady next door who needs her lawn mowed or the boy down the street whose dad just walked out and he needs someone to play catch with. Opportunities are all around us, no matter where we are on this planet. Why don’t you commit to making a difference in the life of someone today? What’s stopping you? Believe me, if you do it with the right heart, you will get much more than you have given.

September 11, 2016

Today was one of those days where you just stand in awe, with your mouth hanging open and your eyes filled with tears and ask, “What could I possibly have done to be this blessed?” Of course, the answer is “Nothing”. God blesses us because we are His children and He loves to lavish us with wonderful gifts.

We started the day worshiping with our dear friends at Watoto Church. The energy and the passion are amazing. Pastor Julius delivered a wonderful message, as always. He is just a gifted preacher. If you don’t believe me, go online and listen to him yourself at www.watotochurch.com

More wonderful gifts came when we got to see the beautiful faces of Joanna and her children. What an amazing group of kids and we had the privilege of hanging out with them for most of the day.

Then we were treated to supper made by some of the older children. Brian, the oldest of the children (he is not a child anymore, he is a young man), is studying to be a chef. Judging by the meal we had, and the fact that he is such an amazing and determined young man, I have no doubt that Brian will be an amazing chef.

Joanna and her amazing group of kids really cannot be explained in words. They are strong, resilient, intelligent, feisty, fun-loving, kind, lovable, loving people that I wish you all could meet. Tonight we went to a dance performance with them. It was a Ugandan cultural dance show and the kids were watching, not performing. At least they weren’t performing until the end of the show when the host invited everyone to come down and join the party. They then became the center of attention and were surrounded by kids and adults alike. Each one of them has such a magnetic personality that you can’t help but be drawn to them. They made sure that we were down there dancing too- I think that was for their entertainment!

It is such a privilege to be able to play such a small part in building into the lives of these amazing young people. Please continue to pray for Joanna and the lives she touches everyday here in Uganda. I am truly humbled.