Hope Alive! Talent Show

Three foundational beliefs of Hope Alive! are
1) Every person is uniquely created
There is no one else like you…ever. God thought about you before he created the foundation of the world.
2) Every person is deeply loved in Jesus
It is impossible to be loved more deeply than we are already loved right now.
3) Every person is specifically gifted
God gives us gifts—things we are specifically good at and enjoy doing.

Last Saturday, we put on a Talent Show. This was in celebration of the end of the school term, but also was an opportunity to showcase the talents that God has given our students. The day was filled with fun, excitement, and activity. The show was a complete success! The students wow-ed us all with their amazing acting, speaking, singing, and dancing abilities.

Here are a few pictures of some of the things the students did:



puppet show








karate demonstration











skits




















singing groups







traditional dance







And even a fashion show!























It was a great show. We all had a good time. I am so proud of these kids!

Fish Feast

A few days ago I was in Masaka, a city 2 1/2 hours to the southeast of Kampala. HOPE ALIVE! has a site there, and my colleagues and I were putting on a 2 day mentor training. We had a great time together, getting to know one another better and learning about communicating with children, what mentorship is all about, how God views children, etc.

On our way back to Kampala, my roommates and I decided to engage in an adventure.
Along the road between Kampala and Masaka are shacks that sell fish. The people that sell the fish stand there waving fish out onto the road, trying to attract customers. It is not unusual to see a cars with fish tied to the front, pass you by.
So, Megan, Holly, and I stopped at one of these stands and bargained for some fish. We bought two talapia for 22,000/= (about $15 or so). The men then tied them to the front of the hood.



The fish produced a powerful odor, so we were careful to keep the air circulation coming only from within the car :)
The drive home was mostly uneventful. One funny thing that happened, however, was that when we got into Kampala, we were pulled over by a policeman. As we were stopping, we noticed that the guy was laughing. He told us that he pulled us over because our front license plate was hidden by the fish, but we think that he just wanted a chance to talk to some mzungus (white people) and that he thought it was pretty funny that we had fish attached to the front.

Well, none of us really knew what to do with the fish, so when we got home, we asked our gate keeper, Biaggo, to help us. He scaled it for us and cut it up into big chunks. It was a nasty job because every fly in the city was attracted to us. Swarms of flies surrounded us and made piles on every piece of the fish entrails that it could.














Our neighbor, Brad, has a grill, so we "invited" him to dinner (and asked if he would grill the fish!). This turned out to be more work that we anticipated, as the fish kept falling apart on the grill.




Brad and his brother Grant grilling the fish.





In the end, we were had a wonderful fish feast, and we enjoyed our adventure!



Holly, Brad, Megan, and Grant enjoying the meal

Cooking with Friends

Last week my roommates and I invited some of our Ugandan friends over to have a cultural cooking exchange. We have been wanting to learn how to make Ugandan food, and they like to learn how to make American food, so it seemed like a good trade.

After everyone arrived, we got right to business. All of us pitched in and took part in making the different food items, so we could all have the experience.
For our meal we made:
*chapatti (similar to a tortilla)
*pilau rice (rice with pilau masala seasoning and other things)
*beef stew (which is really pieces of beef cooked in a broth)
*kalo (a dish made by tribes from the north; it is made by mixing
millet flour into boiling water)



Cutting up vegetables




Me, rolling out my chapatti




Holly stirring the beef stew



Kate pouring the millet flour for the kalo





Megan stirring the kalo








Cooking and hanging out together was a lot of fun, full of laughter. When everything was ready we sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labor, and boy was it tasty!

For dessert, we taught them how to make Apple Pie (can you get more American than that?). It turned out nicely too.



Dorothy, Shammah, and Holly putting together the apple pie






Some things I learned about the Ugandan cooking style that differs from Americans.
*Ugandans usually cook using a charcoal stove
*Ugandans cook wearing a wrap around skirt they call a “lesu” –this is specifically a work skirt.
*They don’t use recipes that are written down. They have the ingredients and measurements all up in their head, learned from experience.
*American measuring devices (1/2 cup, teaspoon, tablespoon, etc.) don’t match with Ugandan, so we used regular spoons and drinking cups to measure things out.
*Ugandan recipes are never call for exact amounts; they just eye things and add in more as needed.





Me, Kate, Dorothy, Miriam, Megan, Shammah, Holly

Refreshment in Turtle Bay

Every once in awhile it is good to get away, to relax, and have a bit of good old fashioned fun. And that is just what I had the opportunity to do. My mission organization, WorldVenture, held a Spiritual Life Conference in Malindi, Kenya at the end of March. Missionaries from Uganda, the Congo, Kenya, and South Africa all came together at the Turtle Bay Hotel located on the beach by the Indian Ocean for some refreshment and encouragement.





Each morning we met together for a time of singing, prayer, and Bible teaching. Our speaker, Brent Slater, did an amazing job of teaching us from the Psalms and the book of Jeremiah, challenging us to have a singularity of devotion to the Lord, spend time in His Word, use it correctly, and allow it to motivate and drive us.












Our meetings ended at lunchtime each day, and then we had the afternoons off. My afternoons were spent lounging on a beach chair, swimming in the incredibly warm Indian Ocean, going kayaking, paddle boating, snorkeling, playing volleyball, reading, and much more.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that I got to ride a camel as well!?!?!













Here are some more photos of my time there:



Massai tribal dancers that performed for us. They have huge vertical leaps!








After eating a wonderful pizza dinner, all the mid-term missionaries serving in Uganda got together for a photo op.







Faye and I with our Sand Turtle, Thelma Connie.









Enjoying the sun!

The Turtle Bay conference was awesome...something I really needed. I am so glad I got the chance to go!

Graduation Party

Ugandans celebrate major events with much pomp and ceremony. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity of attending a Ugandan graduation party with my roommate Holly. The party was for a friend of ours—Agnes and her sister. Agnes works as a waitress at Rwenzori Café; a place we frequent for good food and an internet connection. It is through our many visits there that we have gotten to know her.

The party was held at her home. The invitation said that the party began at 2pm, so naturally Holly and I planned to arrive by 3 or 3:30pm. As we drew near, her house was readily recognizable. Big tents and tons of chairs were set up in the yard in front of the house. Lots of people were sitting down but there were still plenty of empty seats available for guests yet to arrive.

After parking, Holly and I were immediately surrounded by some of Agnes’ relatives and greeted warmly. Being the only two mzungus (aka white people) at the gathering, we wanted to slip into the back somewhere to sit, but they would have none of it. Instead they led us in front of the crowd to some empty seats. (It’s not like we don’t stand out already!)

The event began with a priest leading a special service on behalf of Agnes and her sister. During the service, a special offering was taken for Agnes and her sister. They both stood up front holding baskets, and anyone who wanted to give them something came up front and put it in their baskets.

After the service was finished, the emcee and deejay took over. Agnes, her sister, and their two attendants took their places at the head table. Then the greetings, introductions, and speeches began. Everyone was speaking Luganda, so Holly and I were pretty much in the dark about what they were saying. A little ways into things, however, one of the speakers switched to English, saying, “And we want to especially welcome our two sisters of a different color. As you can see, not many of them come to these gatherings, so they must be good friends to join us today…” Of course every eye was on us at that point ☺.

Agnes then sent a friend of hers to come get us and take us to sit up front! We had seats located right behind the main table. At first I thought it would make us more conspicuous, but it ended up being nicer, a little out of the way.

All the important people in Agnes and her sister’s lives gave some kind of speech: her mom, grandmother, aunts, uncles, sisters, friends, etc. Music was played during every transition. When it was time to give them graduation gifts, the line of people stretched long and the pile of presents grew to a huge mound. One of my favorite parts to this was that there was a bubble machine blowing bubbles over the crowd ☺. A meal was served, and it was quite a feast; with several different types of meat, vegetables, rice, fruit, matooke, and more. It was enough to serve the 80-100 people who were there to celebrate. After the meal there were more speeches. Agnes and her sister spoke. Holly and I were invited to speak as well.

The formal aspects of the celebration lasted for several hours. Holly and I had to leave at around 8pm. By this time it was dark, lights were lit, and the dancing was just beginning. I’m sure the party lasted late into the night. I’m glad I got the chance to participate in this part of Ugandan culture.

Visit from Home

I received the best Valentine's Day gift ever this year...a visit from my parents!!!! Yes, both my mom and my dad went and got a thousand shots, began taking malaria prevention medication, and undertook the extremely long trip to come to Africa. It was so nice to see them and show them where I live and work.

Here are some of the fun things we did:





Picnic lunch outside my house with my roommates and neighbors.









We went to a show at the Ndere Center, and they performed many traditional dances.






And, what would a trip to Uganda be without going to Murchison Falls?





Mom and I in front of the Falls






















Our Game Drive and Boat Cruise




















































Saturday Club with the Kids


















Even though I was ecstatic that my parents were here, I was surprised by how excited the Ugandans were that they came. When I introduced them at church, everyone let out a big cheer! That was neat to see. All in all, it was a great trip. I am very lucky to have such wonderful parents!

January Happenings

January has been a busy month, and I’ve actually spent most of it in Kampala. I have had a lot of interaction with the students of Children of Hope in Lugogo. December and January are their summer vacation months, which means they are around a lot more. It has been great getting to know them better. Here are some of the things we did:

Breakaway/US Team:
This is a holiday club that met twice a week. During this Breakaway we studied about the life of Joseph in the Bible, and we also played some games, did crafts, and sang songs. For part of Breakaway, a team from the US was here. They had a blast with the kids.











Coaching:
I began a coaching (tutoring) program for the kids during the month of January. We met twice a week for 2 hours each time to study math. There were a steady group of about 6-8 secondary students and 8-10 primary students attending. Two other people volunteered to help with the coaching. I enjoyed this interaction with the students.


Saturday Club:
Every Saturday the kids come to the church for a Saturday program. We serve the kids both breakfast and lunch, and in between there is Bible Study, Karate class, crochet class, and a puppet class.












Puppets:
A little over a week ago, I had the privilege of taking a puppet team to perform at an event called Celebrate Kids. The puppet team is made up of Children of Hope students as well as some youth from Lugogo Baptist Church. They performed a song and a skit, and they highly entertained all the kids there.













Zoo:
We took a field trip to the zoo last week. It was a fun trip. Almost 60 kids came along. Many of the students had never been before. When we arrived we took a tour of the grounds, seeing white rhinos, zebras, chimpanzees, a lion, ostriches, hyenas, water buffalos, wart hogs, and more. Our tour guide was informative and engaging. After lunch, the kids had a choice of whether to go on a boat ride or donkey ride. They had a blast on them.













Back to school preparations:
*Shoes: Each student gets a pair of new school shoes at the beginning of the school year. All last week we took different groups of students to a shoe store called Bata to get them shoes.













*Letter writing: Students write their sponsors at least three times a year—once at the beginning of each term. First, the kids write a rough copy of their letter. This is looked over by one of the Children of Hope staff to correct spelling/grammatical errors, and then the student writes their final copy. As a reward for their hard work, the students get to enjoy a pop and biscuits.












*School Supplies: After their letters are written, students are given their school supplies. This usually consists of pens, pencils, drawing book, graphing paper, a ream of printer paper (to be given to the teacher on the first day of school), and some booklets.

*Haircuts: All the schools require the students (boys and girls) to have their hair cut short at the beginning of the term. On Saturday we brought in a barber to cut the kids’ hair. I think he got more than he bargained for as over 40 kids were there to receive a haircut!