Uganda Trip - Day 8

Today's notes from my girls...

Tuesday, Dec. 7 -

Funny I was just thinking about how I've been so peaceful and calm this week but then something happened last night that totally freaked me out. I've learned you don't always know if you are going to have power in Uganda and it just so happened to shut off at 11:00 last night. I could deal with no air conditioning - but the pitch darkness basically scared the bejeebers out of me. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face - it was so dark! Plus, it was super quiet and I'm used to sleeping with the noise of a fan so the silence was quite maddening to me. This definitely went down as one of the most scary moments of my life. I was all by myself in my hotel room sitting in pitch darkness in the middle of Uganda. I'm not normally a "fearful" person, but this trip has definitely brought out my fears. As mentioned earlier, even before we left for our trip, my mind was playing games with me. I would find my imagination going wild - especially at night, asleep or not. Shortly after the electricity went off, I got to talk to Steve and the girls which cheered me up for a little while but then I tried to sleep and away my imagination went again. My heart was pounding so fast and so loud, I literally thought I could hear it.

So that "fun" lasted about 3 or 4 hours. During that time I listened to a few Mark Driscoll podcasts on my iPod and the Casting Crowns Christmas CD for I don't know how many times. Finally, about 3 in the morning I decided it was silly for me to freak myself out the way I was. Worrying and being fearful was getting me nowhere. I started to pray (what a brilliant concept!) and suddenly a peace came over me. I think I finally fell asleep about 5 in the morning but I learned a valuable lesson that night. When I get scared, I need to pray first. Not freak out first or give in to my fears - but pray first. I knew that God was in that room with me but I didn't acknowledge it. He knew I was scared - all I had to do was pray and ask Him to take my fears away. I often times learn valuable lessons the hard way. Ugh! ;-/

I was so tired this morning from getting no sleep that I had to miss an 8:30 meeting I was going to attend. I hated to miss it but I was just exhausted - mentally and physically. After I finally got around, Kelley and I decided to go walk around the market again. I must have really made a breakthrough on overcoming fears last night because the last time we went to the market, Jimmy went with us and I stayed right by his side. He and I were both on guard at every moment. But this time I felt so much more relaxed and I just tried to enjoy the atmosphere and meeting the people.

This is a funny "ha ha" that normally would have totally freaked me out...As we walked to the market, some kind of political gathering was going on. I think they were trying to encourage young people to vote in the upcoming elections. So Kelley and I are walking and all of a sudden we see this tribal-looking dance troupe. They went up on stage and did their thing then danced off when it was over.





One of the dancers saw I was taking pictures so he came over to me and asked me to take his picture, too! I thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up - I just had to jump in, too. So I handed off my camera to Kelley and she snapped the two of us together...

He was not impressed that I was in the picture, too. He asked if I would take it again - him by himself ;-) So I did...

He loved looking at himself on my camera. After he walked off, Kelley and I cracked up laughing that I even thought to do that - very unlike myself. It was quite hilarious! Here's some more pics I took as we walked around Lira...

This is a meat butcher. Eeek! Check out the blood dripping from the meat in the window. Disgusting! And no, they don't have refrigeration. Everything is sold "fresh"...

This is a "normal" occurrence you see around Uganda - armed soldiers. Took me a bit to get used to seeing them. Good thing I didn't get caught taking this picture. You can get in big trouble for taking pictures of the soldiers.

And another typical occurrence - lizards. I actually thought the little guys were kinda cute ;-)

So later in the afternoon, Jimmy, Dennis and I went to the same three villages we went to yesterday. We took soccer balls and gum to two of the villages. Soccer is hugely popular here and the kids loved receiving the balls. And who doesn't like gum?! ;-)

Then we took baby formula to the mother and grandmother we saw yesterday who had been feeding their baby sugar water. We showed them how to mix the formula and water to make milk. She really needs to boil the water first but I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. Hopefully it will at least provide some nourishment and save the baby's life.

I loved going out with Jimmy and Dennis today because we actually got to help some of the families here and bring smiles to their faces. After we went to the villages, we went back and picked up Derk and Kelley and went to check on the progress on Calo Me Lare. We saw this teenager there on the grounds hanging out with some friends. He was pretty well-spoken and told us how he'd like to go to school but his family couldn't afford it. So Derk offered him a job right there on the spot to start clearing the undeveloped land at Calo Me Lare. An agreement was made that his income would go to pay his school dues. He was so happy - you could just see the hope in his eyes.


At the end of the day, we went out to eat at one of the three restaurants we had to choose from. Let's just say I can not wait to get home and eat American food. And no, I did not try the fish. Apparently, my fears crept back in ;-)

Today marks my 9th day away and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm so glad I came to experience Uganda/Africa - I think everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime. But I sure am ready to go home and hug my family and see my friends. Being in a third world country definitely puts things I used to think were "important" into perspective. In the U.S. while we're busy updating our  facebook statuses, upgrading our houses, and one-upping each other, children all around the world are starving, neglected, beaten, deathly ill, orphaned, and abused in ways we can't even imagine. Why can't we just be content with what we have, give away what we don't need and help those around us who are poor and hurting? That's the million dollar question we should all take the time to answer - not just verbally, but in deed - me included.

Our team has been talking a lot lately about how important it is to not only give the needy the immediate help they need, but to educate them on how to help themselves. Until they learn to successfully sustain themselves, the problem of poverty will never be resolved. It will only be repeated over and over again generation after generation. I pray that Calo Me Lare is able to make positive changes in the lives of many families in the Lira district and that they will go on to make a difference in the lives of others, as well.