Nothing says happy new year like dancing and beating on watering cans...

How does one celebrate new years in the bush of Uganda?  Well here’s how my day played out...

• Hand washing clothes.
• Trip to the market
• Sweaty bike ride back home
• Impali ants invading our house again! (see post the Ants go marching... for more on what this is like)
• Cow crisis at RMS.
• Mango daiquiris and fajitas!!
• A round of Apples to Apples  with great quotes like “I wasted ‘being in love’ on you” -Josh to Pamela... she didn’t pick his card
• A round of Cranium with more great quotes like, “I don’t know if I’m good at it, but I’ll do almost anything”- Jess
• Finally getting enough internet to download some of the top 40 songs from America... thank you Pamela!
• Going out on our front porch with our little battery radio listening to the voice of Bundibugyo (one of 2 stations we get on the FM dial) for the count down.  
• Listening to the countdown in Lubwisi and shouting too early.  
• Beating on our milk pail that caused the bats in our rafters to swoop down on our heads.  Pamela and I to screamed and Jess and Pamela ran inside.
• Walking down the road because we thought we heard fireworks and coming upon our neighbors dancing around a tire with burning plastic inside whilst beating on jerry cans and watering cans with sticks.  Needless to say we joined in the fun which brought joy to those around us despite our obvious lack of ability.
• We continued down the dark dirt road, the neighbors following us with the flaming tire now on a stick. Still beating on jerry cans
• Coming back home still hearing the beating.
• Closing my shutters... still beating on jerry cans... putting in ear plugs... still beating...

HAPPY NEW YEAR BUNDIBUGYO!

Webale Bhili Bikulu!

The cattle were lowing as I walked into the RMS school yard Friday afternoon for the RMS Christmas program.  Just one of our team Christmas festivities.  After that we headed out to our neighbors and sang Christmas carols.  We walked dusty footed down the road.  Even though the sun was starting to set I was still sweating.  I can't image what Mary must have felt traveling all day in the heat on a donkey.  It was probably the dry season in Israel too! I do love Christmas in Bundibugyo!  Here are just a few reasons why...

RMS Christmas parties and decorating cookies... not to mention really cute students :)

RMS Christmas performance with refreshements!

Susanna

Caroling to our neighbors

Christmas eve with my awesome, super fun team

Great Christmas dresses

... and great suits

Christmas story drama

My Bundibugyo family!

Christmas morning baptisms

Webale Bhili Bikulu!

A little Bundibugyo Miracle

Jesse was hiding in the bushes.  Her breathing was labored, she kept hacking up stuff and gave a pitiful low growl when I tried to pet her.  Earlier in the day Jesse had killed another cobra in her usual strike and shake to death method, but this time she had not managed to avoid the fangs and venom. Jessica (one of our team doctors, now with some veterinary experience)  was sure that Jesse wasn’t going to make it.  She did look bad.  The tears started to flow and I choked back a few sobs as I thought about life with out this pup.  No Jesse jumping up on the window in the morning, with her whole body wagging.  No more excited Jesse kisses as I sat on the back porch to check my email.  No more of her cute little howls, where she would throw her head back in attempts to get a little love and attention.  I love this dog.  I thought to myself... this was a goodbye I was not expecting and one I felt like I could not deal with.  

It was a long night. I tossed and turned, went through a lot of my America stash of tissues, and offered up many prayers in my semi-wakeful state.  I got up at 6 am with puffy, red, tired eyes and went out to the porch to face what I thought I couldn’t handle.  And there they were snuggled together, Jesse and our other dog Chloe.  Chloe got up to greet me and Jesse slightly raised her head and gave a little tail quiver.  To which I almost started crying again.  My heart was definitely singing with thankfulness to God.  Jesse still couldn’t get up, but she was alive!  Jessica administered a round of IV fluids.  Jesse spent the day in a basin in our kitchen.  By the end of the day she was able to lick a little water from my hand.  With the advice of some vet friends Jessica gave steroids and antibiotics.  I happily sat in as veterinary assistant and held Jesse’s head with my oven-mitted hand.  (This is a dog that freaks out when I have to put totally painless flee treatment on her back.)  Fortunately, she was too weak to do much more than wriggle around and growl.  By the next morning she was able to stand up and walk to the back yard.  She could even drink. Yesterday she ran to the gate to greet me.  My girl was back!  

Some people might think it a little crazy to pray for a dogs.  But I know that God healed her. Jesus himself said that not even a sparrow falls without the Father noticing.  The point of saying this may not have been to show that God cares about animals, but I believe that he does, he created them after all.  And the bigger message is that He cares for us, A LOT.  Whether or not Jesse had made it this would have been true, either with God holding my heart or by filling it with joy and thankfulness.  One thing I know... Jesse is just another way that God shows his love for me.  And it is pretty amazing how much He cares!

Over the river and up a hill

 I went to visit my friend Asiimwe yesterday who just had a baby... or “produced” as they say here.  The day was hot and beads of sweat quickly accumulated on my forehead as I headed down the dusty road, the ever present chorus of “Mujungu... Mujungu!” following me as I went.  In the US I would come bearing some casserole or crock pot of soup.  Today I stopped in the market to get a bag of beans, some rice and sugar to add to my gift of baby blankets.  As I neared the market I saw a man with 3 children under the age of 5 pushing a broken down truck... wished I had my camera with me.  My shopping done, I headed down a side road to Asiimwe’s house.  Greeting people as I went, all very curious as to where I was going, and so excited that I was walking on the road.   

I began to descend a steep hill cut by deep ruts from the rivers of water that race down it from day to day with all the rain we have been having.  When I arrived at the river at the bottom, I saw that the stones that I had hopped across in the past were under water.  An old man who had just crossed was putting socks and shoes on wet feet and another old women with a basin on her head slipped off her flip fops and expertly navigated her way over the stones.  So I followed suit, with flip flops and my bag in one hand, skirt held up in the other.  I eased my feet in the cool water and started across.  I managed to make it to the other side avoiding major catastrophe, slipped my shoes on and squeaked and slipped my way up the hill on the other side of the river.  It must have been cocoa harvesting day as I passed person after person balancing basins piled high with the slimy, milky, white beans on their heads.  And I was impressed yet again by 5 year olds heavy laden with jerry cans of water strapped to their backs who were passing me as we climbed.... and climbed.  I hadn’t remembered that this hill was so big.  My forehead wasn’t the only place that the sweat was dripping now.  

I stopped at a compound with some familiar kids who were greeting me, thinking Asiimwe’s must be the place just across the road.  It was not; and they communicated that I should keep going and informed me, “she is there”, so I continued to climb.  Some kids must have rushed on ahead because Asiimwe was waiting in the door way of her little mud house as I arrived, telling me I was welcome.  I removed my shoes and she took my things and we sat in her tidy little front room.  Asiimwe scooped up Oliver (a girls name... pronounced Oliva) who had been sleeping on the couch.  She placed the peaceful little bundle in my arms.  Oliver was so perfect with long little fingers and tiny finger nails, soft black fuzzy hair, and smooth milk chocolaty skin.  I couldn’t help but think of Psalm 119 and how this little girl was so wonderfully made.  I had to share it with Asiimwe.  We chatted and 2 or Asiimwe’s daughters popped their heads in to greet me and I shared about what I remember from way back when my little brother came home from the hospital.  Asiimwe didn’t even go to the hospital to have her baby.  But the women here are strong... I mean Asiimwe came to work less than 2 weeks after having her baby, looked awesome, probably even helped harvest cocoa earlier in the day.  So we sat and chatted, I dabbed my face, still sweating and sat some more until I figured I had better get going down that massive hill to be back in time to fix some dinner.

As I walked down hill this time and could truly appreciate the beauty of this place with the lack of sweat dripping in my eye and the sun beginning to sink in the sky,  I could just drink in the beauty of the green banana trees, towering mountains, warm smiling faces, some of which I had already passed returning with their empty cocoa basin to get another load. Isaac and Slivia, Asiimwe’s 2 other children greeted me as they were walking home.  I couldn’t stop smiling at how wonderful it had been to be out greeting friends and sharing life.  I sure hope I get a lot more of these afternoons in the months to come!

Thankfulness in my heart

I have five months left in Uganda.  Sometimes I feel the anxiety creeping in as I think about life changes, saying a multitude of goodbyes to people and a place that I love so much, reentering life in America, all that has to happen before I head to Kenya, the list goes on.  As a team we have been studying Colossians.  In Chapter 3 there is a verse that says “Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart and be thankful.”  I am not so good at letting the peace of Christ run my life.

A friend of mine came over to pray a week or so ago.  She is a single parent who really needs a job.  She has a lot on her mind... a lot she could be anxious about.  She said that a friend had told her she needed to read her Bible and she came upon Philippians 4.  Guess what that says?  Don’t get anxious about anything... but talk to God about it and be thankful and the peace of Christ will guard your heart.  I like that picture of peace being a guard.  It is not like hard things are going to stop coming at me.  I still have to deal with all that stuff.  But as the arrows come the peace of Christ keeps my heart safe.    

So what keeps me safe?  How can I let the peace of Christ rule in my heart?  By being thankful, by remembering God’s faithfulness to me and what he has already done. These are just a few of the things I have to be thankful for.

One of my biggest fears coming into this was being lonely, God has been so faithful to provide roommates.  So far I have had 8 different roommates and only about 2 weeks of being alone.

My entire family... Mom, Dad Randy, Rachel came all the way to Uganda to see me this year!  

I have an awesome team here in Bundibugyo that is like a family.

God has blessed me with great Ugandan friends.

I get to live in an incredibly beautiful place with lush green everywhere, towering mountains, and it is WARM almost every day. The sun makes me so happy :)

God has directed my path and showed me where to take the next step as I make plans to teach at RVA.

God in all his glory and in perfect happiness left heaven because I could not come to him.  And he came down to be with me.  

I have a lot to be thankful for and God’s faithfulness to me is never ceasing!  And this is PEACE!