August 30

August 30

I suppose I should be diligent and get back to writing and posting more to this blog. I haven’t been as good at it as I promised myself and some of you I would be. Please accept my apologies.

We had a wonderful weekend. I believe Friday was where I left off?

Saturday we chose a very simple way of exploring more of the area, our feet. We had the option of hiring a car and driver for the day and going to some more touristy areas but we decided we aren’t here as tourists. Even though we do want to see some of the country we don’t think it is proper for us to spend money like tourists.

Mbale is situated at the base of Mount Eglon, I believe it is the largest nonactive volcano in Africa. It is truly beautiful to look at at many different times. It can be shrouded in mist or, like today, the sun can be striking it in stunning ways. On Saturday we decide we would simply trek as far as we could up the mountain. We began walking from the campus at about 10 am. and simply headed toward the mountain. The first portion only goes up hill slightly and very gradual so you don’t even notice it. We stopped at the information building for the national park which covers the entire top of the mountain. There we picked up a map and asked about trails. We learned about one that would take us to the top, if we wanted to go that far and could make it that far.

We continued on. Soon we began to really climb. Although we remained on a road the entire time and there were “houses” all along the way, the climb was significant but the views we enjoyed were worth it. Sorry no pictures at this time due to slow internet.

Trust me it was beautiful. At one point we stopped to drink some water we were carrying with us and have a granola bar. Also trust me anything like a granola bar attracts attention. “Chocolate!” Three ladies who were also heading up joined us. They were pleasant company as we walked and they stayed with us for some time. They also wanted us to take their picture with Susan, which I did. They were campaigning for one on the many political parties in Uganda. The one to which the current president belongs. Primaries for that party were held today. They were going to have a rally in that area. They stopped at a community type meeting spot under some big trees and we continued on. We tried one way but it started to just go along the side of the mountain so we turned back and went the other way. We climbed for some time and thought we were about to reach the plateau but we turned a corner and all we saw was more road going up. We had gone as far as our bodies were physically prepared to go. We had been walking for two hours and had probably gone about 12 K. On our way back down our three ladies chatted with us again and asked if we had sodas or bottled water, or chocolate we would share with them. We only had enough for ourselves and we make it a point not to respond to these types of requests. It is very easy for musongos to give the impression that they are there to share wealth. Musongo is the swahili term for a white person. It is said with respect but we heard it a great deal all the way up and down the mountain. It is mostly said by children. In fact some of them even sang it. The phrase is “Musongo, how are you?” Repeat that several times and see if you can’t begin to sing it as well.

Time for a new paragraph since the subject is now coming down the mountain. Needless to say we returned to campus faster than we traveled up although once we reached the flatter ground of the town it was hard to convince our legs that they still had work to do to bring us home.

We took about 1.5 hours to return. I wish I could share some of the pictures. We certainly will when we return home.

When we got back to campus we could enjoy the final preparations which were being done for a wedding reception that took place on the front “lawn/field” of the campus.

It was interesting to listen to the music and later listen and watch the festivities. Many things were similar to our own wedding receptions but other things were quite different.

For those of you who are involved in catering for weddings you will love this. Preparations for the meal began in earnest the day before since there were 400 guests to be fed. Huge quantities of plantain (a green banana) had to be peeled. They worked till 1 am and then began again early Saturday morning. The meal was to be served at 4 pm. At 4 pm everything was ready but only a hand full of guests were in sight. Guest arrived mostly after 4 pm and the bridal party got there around 5:30. Dinner finally happened around 7. Amazingly the food was still warm and since we got to eat some too, quite good. We were fortunate, we got a fork and napkin with ours. Not so for the wedding guests. Food was eaten in the traditional way, with your fingers from a plate on your lap. No tables required. They did have chairs. More traditionally would have been on the ground.

One more interesting thing: By 8 pm the guests were all on there way home and by 11 mostly everything, including tents and chairs, was all packed up.

That brings us to Sunday.

We lazed around for the first part of the morning because we were told the service we wanted to attend started at 11 so we planned accordingly. We were going to the Presbyterian church since we were not quite ready for a full blown Pentecostal service quite yet. We will get to do that next weekend and the weekend after that since my students have asked me to preach in their churches. I hope they can handle it.

Anyway, when we walked next door to the Presbyterian Church there were still plenty of people outside so we thought we were on time but the service was already going on.

We learned later that Adult Sunday school and worship just flow into one another and the whole thing began at 9:30. The service was good. Some hymns were even very familiar to us although I have never sung “Christ Shall Have Dominion” quite that fast! or “Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow” quite as slowly as they did.

The preaching was good. Powerful even. The Pastor preaches in English but it is translated at almost exactly the same time into one of the many local languages. I’m not sure which one it was. I realized it is an art to Preach with translation going on like that. I pray I will be able to accomplish it without a) constantly losing my train of thought or b) boring people into a sound sleep. You may begin praying for me now and for the people next Sunday.

Our afternoon was restful. We planned to meet Mary (the young lady in charge of keeping us well fed and looked after) and Craig, (the person from World Missions in charge of the Farming in Faith program) and together go to a fellowship group that consists mainly of whites living or working in Mbale. It started at 5 so we were to meet at 4 in order to walk over. We got there at 6:30. This has not been typical. With all the talk of African time things have generally been on time or very close to it. We had a wonderful, although short, time of fellowship and met people from many different places.

Our hosts were a Christian couple who came from Palestine via Jordan some 26 years ago. They came here with nothing and gradually built a home and a life for themselves. Please pray for Christians who live in the middle east! Life for them is not easy and they are often forgotten including by other Christians.

Today was back to teaching. The only main difference was that the power went out during the night after our second major, and I do mean major, rain storm in less than a week. This is the wet season but these storms are big even from the perspective of the people who live here. They talk about climate change here as well. Other than these storms, both of which happened at night, the weather has been very pleasant. I would never say it was very hot nor have we had any need to close windows or put on additional clothing.

Our day without power did not affect my teaching any and it only made Susan’s day slightly less busy than her days have been so far. By 8 pm our power returned and we could once again feel connected.

Now if only we are connected enough so I can post this.

George.

August 27th

August 27

We are so sorry that there are a number of days missing from our blog. We were told in preparation that we would need to be flexible so we have been learning in all things to be flexible. We may also say that we have learned a little more to depend upon the Lord and know that He is dependable. Let me explain just a bit.

First: Somewhere in my mind I had the idea that internet access would be relatively easy. Well, it is, but only after you learn how to go about it. It seems the college where we are working has a grand total of one computer that has access to the internet. There is no such thing as a wireless network on the campus. Silly me. What made me think students here would even come close to having computers and a need for wireless access to the internet. What we learned is all you have to do is ask the right question at the right time. The right time to ask questions is often when Kennedy is around. Kennedy is a wonderfully helpful man who always has a solution. I think his solutions also include a way he can make a few shillings (the Ugandan currency) but that is okay as well. It is a survival skill in this country. One worth having. Kennedy has graciously provided us with the USB stick that connects us to a cellphone server and by that to the internet so we are now as connected as we can possibly be. (we did pay for the service for a month since Kennedy wasn’t able to but its really not a big price to pay and we are glad to aid him in this small way. Praise God for internet service. The things we have learned we would rather not do without!

Now for more stories of flexibility. Where to continue? Oh, yes.

Second: We were prepared for the fact that here we get 12 hours of light and twelve of dark so we didn’t have to adjust to dark at between 6:30 and 7. We were also mostly prepared for the type of accommodations we would have so our room, which actually is quite reasonable, was not a shock. We have adjusted to cold showers with a hand held shower. (It does help that my hair is now very short) I have also resisted some of my strong urges to scrub things, but not all. I am also glad that I grew up in a home where it was perfectly okay to use certain articles of clothing that have served their purpose and you are willing to part with as cleaning cloths. (Read into that as you must and you will probably be right.) Insert by Susan: I have decided to close my eyes to the dirt. It is such a large task with so little equipment. The red soil just walks in with us all the time and is everywhere. We do not even have a broom in our room so much for cleaning.

Third: And this brings us to Monday. I adjusted, because I had no other choice, to the fact that my expectations about the class I was going to teach were somewhat wrong.

I assumed 20 to 30 students, or even 10 or 15. I have 3. But I have come to love and respect these three wonderful men of God who have such a deep desire to learn. They have taught me so much already.

I assumed I was to start teaching on Wednesday and would be teaching until September 15. When talking with Patrick, the Principal, on Monday I saw my three students sitting in class waiting for me. I was graciously excused from beginning immediately. I officially started teaching on Tuesday but I did get to meet all three men on Monday evening and have a wonderful time of interaction with them. This has also become a regular evening practice and other times as well. Long, very deep and stimulating conversations can occur when you simply allow for the time. Our evening meal starts around 7. Tonight we returned to our room after 9 because of the blessing of conversation.

Back to teaching. I started teaching on Tuesday. On Thursday I noticed a schedule on the bulletin board that listed my class dates as beginning the week before we arrived. So I wasn’t just a day late, I was a week late. But not according to my schedule. I also noticed the end date for my class was set as September 6 so I went to ask Patrick and discovered that I was in deed expected to complete my teaching time by that date. Shift into high gear!

I think I was also under the assumption that I would be teaching for 3 hrs each morning and another 3 hrs in the afternoon. That isn’t the case and I am glad for that. This week we met from 9 am until 10:30 and then had tea break for about 45 min. We then resumed class until 1 or a little after. Sometimes we are having such a wonderful discussion it is hard to stop.

I have done a lot of talking but that’s okay. You all know how much I love to talk anyway.

I had also assumed that it might not always be easy for my students and I to understand each other. I was right although they seldom have a problem understanding the things I say at times I have a problem understanding them. Let me share two things about that. First, they have a wonderful way of speaking for one another when they sense I have not heard or understood something. When this happen one of the others, most often Moses who I never have a problem understanding, speaks up and says
“I think you have not understood what ..... is saying” This has been so very helpful and the other brothers graciously accept this as something good.

Second, there are times I just have to listen and hope that what I have misheard will become clear. That happened today as one of them was telling a story. I heard “rich doctor” and wondered about people going to see the “rich doctor” It didn’t seem to make sense until it dawned on me that they were saying “witch doctor” and then the story made perfect sense.

The English spoke here is actually much better than I had assumed but accents can sometimes cause us to pause to consider what has been said. It’s actually fun and we have also learned that people here love to laugh.

I think I am now up to number four on the list of learning to be flexible, if I am mistaken please be flexible, laugh about my mistake and move on.

Maybe I should mention Susan’s work here. She was prepared to be truly flexible on this since we had no idea what they would find for her to do. The one option that had been presented was helping to reorganize the library, and this is what she is doing. This work involves the Librarian finding catalogue information for each book on an internet based program. This is a slow process made slower by the computer, the internet speed, the time that the internet is down and perhaps the Librarian. When she finds the information on 10 books she can print a sheet of labels. She can do this when the printer has ink, which it didn’t have at the beginning of the week and that would have remained the case had it not been for our willingness to provide the funds to buy a new cartridge for the printer. Oh, and we think this is the only printer on campus so our donation made a few others happy as well. We don’t plan on asking to photocopy anything because we assume it has no toner, or something worse. Occasionally we are told about certain things and do get the feeling that it may be a way of asking if we might be willing to help. As an aside, we are very thankful we read a book entitled “When Helping Hurts” before coming. It has been a blessing to realize that the answer to every problem is not throwing money at it. Our brothers and sisters here are not always truly blessed by depending on others and we are not a blessing when we promote dependancy. Now back to Susan’s work. It moves slowly but she is enjoying what she can do and the people with whom she is able to interact as well. We both feel it to be a blessing that we can share this time together.

This is not the kind of experience you can have and then go home and tell your spouse all about it. We hope you are getting a sense of what we are experiencing but we know that there is simply no way to convey everything nor is it wise to convey many things until you have turned them over in your mind. We are glad we can do that together.

One more item on being flexible is knowing when to quit and move on to something else. I believe I have come to that time for now. This post is already quite long and there is far more to write but it can wait till another time.

Tomorrow we plan on an extended walk/hike. I will tell you about our walks either before or after that one.

For both of us: George

August 22 Sorry for the delay

Sunday evening, I think?
It seems like the days and nights have some how blended together to the point that it is now hard to tell what day it is. I can tell that it is night, well evening, because it is dark out. If I look at my computer clock it still shows the time back home in Ontario. It’s 1:22 pm there. Sunday afternoon. We wanted to send an email just to say hi to the kids but discovered we don’t have as easy access to internet as we had hoped. I think we are discovering many things rather quickly. But let me back up a bit.
We had a restful night of sleep in Amsterdam before heading out to the airport. There was some stress involved there but that is to be expected between two people moving into a very different chapter. Our flight to Nairobi was fine although I think it felt much longer that the flight across the Atlantic earlier in the week. Was that still less than a week ago? Nairobi airport was a surprise even though I had received some hints as to its antiquated state. Still it was functional and we survived even though our flight was delayed by about 45 minutes and the whole process was somewhat confusing.
We left Nairobi somewhere around 10:50 pm for a short flight to Entebbe. Entebbe is the location of the airport in Uganda. We were met at the airport by a nice man whose name I don’t remember but it was evident he didn’t like meeting late flights. The drive to Kampala was an eye opener. Well, opening the door on what I thought was the passenger side of the car was the eye opener. Can you say right hand drive? When it is late at night and you are tired and lights are coming at you down the road but they seem to be on the wrong side as far as you are concerned, it can be a little unnerving.
Anyway, we were deposited at a very nice guest house after waking the armed guard (another eye opener) and the front desk staff.
To say the least we crashed.
This morning we woke around 9. Had a nice breakfast although the taste and texture of what were described as sausages prevented us from finishing them.
About 11 am Patrick, the Principal of the Theological College met us along with a hired driver. The trip to Mbale was to take about 4-5 hours. Always leave room for traffic and what ever else might happen. Our might happen was one flat tire and the discovery of a flat spare but in a reasonable location. We got to smile and say hello, good-bye, yes and no to what seemed like 20 or more children, way more didn’t come near us. The exhausted their English on us very quickly. We were very thankful for a big shade tree and some convenient bushes while we waited.
We also engaged in some road side dinning, well sort of. We braved trying the fried bananas. We have some left, enough said. The bottled water is good! We wondered what the quality of the chicken will be that Patrick bought for his wife and placed in a plastic bag on the warm floor of the warm car from 1 pm till perhaps 7:30 by the time he got home.
What else shall I tell you. The sights, the sounds, the smells were a little overwhelming.
Smells, not nearly as bad as I thought they might be but diesel fumes are definitely not on my list of favorites. Sights, very diverse. Still processing those. I brought the camera into the car thinking of taking pictures while we drove and then deciding that Africa is not intended to be one big photo opportunity. I will drink in the people and the scenery with my eyes and then chose how to portray life here. Sounds, car horns have a very useful function here. Other than that it is quieter than I had expected.
That brings us to Mbale. We arrived around 5 so our trip was about 6 hrs. Not bad.
We then went for dinner which was also not bad. Finally Patrick brought us to the College just after 7. It was already very dark so we don’t have our real first impression on the campus.
Our room is on the third floor of the dorm building. we do have our own little bathroom for which we give thanks. Other than that we will learn to live with little. Can honestly say that when you arrive after a very long and somewhat tireing journey you do get hit with a “what have we gotten ourselves into” feeling.
There are more surprises ahead, of that I am sure.
I know of a few more but I will let you absorb all of this first.
Thank you for your love, prayers and support.

Safe Arrival but

We arrived safely in Mbale last night but discovered quickly that we didn't have as easy access to the internet as we had first hoped.

At this time blog posts will be a little more difficult to do so please bare with the lack of major posts. We hope to get something figured out.

Thanks

How to Visit The Netherlands in Four Days

Well, here it is Friday, and our time in The Netherlands is coming to an end. The country greeted us on Tuesday morning with rain and cool weather. I suppose that was a side of The Netherlands we were suppose to see.

Our flight arrived 40 min. early thanks to a strong tail wind. This gave us lots of time so we went over to our hotel to check if maybe we could get our room early. We could. We had to pay extra but it was worth it. We took a nice nap and then caught the train into the central station of Amsterdam. We had no real plan of what we wanted to see and where we wanted to go so we simply wandered around in the rain. Amsterdam is to say the least an interesting city. It is not truly "Holland". It is an international city. We quickly learned what people meant when they said there was a difference between coffee shops and cafes. You go to a cafe for coffee, you go to a coffee shop for 420. We inhaled deeply on the street but didn't go in. We also wanted to explore some of the old churches so we searched out the Oude Kerk. In doing so you end up in the window shopping district. Its a sad world when those of the female gender are displayed in that way. Definately nothing attractive or tempting about it.

What more can I say about Amsterdam. I don't think the weather helped or the fact that we were quite tiered.

We got a good night of rest and then picked up our rental car on Wednesday morning. North, over the dijk and into Friesland to Frienakar (please excuse all spelling errors in this post). We found Susan's aunt's place with a little bit of fun since I forgot where I put the hard copy of her address. I knew I had it in the computer on Google Maps but without internet access you can't get to it. Bummer. Somehow I recognized the street name as we searched on the GPS.

Anyway, after finding them we had a very nice day. A number of cousins stopped by and there was enough English to keep us happy.

Thursday was an adventure. We planned to drive to Uithizermeiden and then to Niejverdal. We decided no freeways. The GPS was great. Just tell her what you want and away you go.

I'll have to add the pictures to show you what we experienced when she told us to turn right, the road went up on to the inner dijk. We had to cross a cattle gate and entered the world of sheep. We both thought we were in the land of All Creatures Great And Small. I had no idea there are so many sheep in Friesland or anywhere else. The definately made us drive slow and enjoy ourselves.

We got to Uithizermeiden and enjoyed a little strole around. Not really sure what we were looking for so I suppose we found it. It was more about the drive and the scenery than the destinations. All of it was lovely.

We drove on to Niejverdaal. If you don't know The Netherlands you won't realize that we started off in Friesland then entered Groenigen. After that Drente and Overijsel. Four provinces before 5 pm. And we traveled on deciding to get closser to Pijnacker. So that puts us through a couple more provinces. All in one day.

Today was the best. Beautiful weather and a wonderful time with a wonderful lady. Jopee Vander Koij is gifted with the ability to make you feel very welcome. We enjoyed our time visiting with her and seeing some sights that were part of Mom Koopman's growing up.

We spent much longer with her than I thought we would but it was all good.

Fianally we went to Delft. Delft is everything you expect Holland to be and a whole lot more.

It was so beautiful in every way. We saw two of the churches, enjoyed some of the shops and all of the scenery and had a great dinner. And then back to Schipol to prepare for our flight in the morning. Staying at Citizen M again and enjoying a comfy bed. Much more to follow.

Commissioning

On Sunday August 15, 2010 we were commissioned for our work in Uganda and Kenya as part of the morning service at Tillsonburg Christian Reformed Church where I (George) serve as Pastor. It didn't seem right for me to do the commissioning of ourselves so the Elders and Deacons did it. We thank God for the love and support that we are receiving from our congregation and others.

Some Information about Mbale

Mbale District

Mbale lies approximately 237 kilometers (147 mi), by road, northeast of Kampala, on an all weather tarmac highway. The coordinates of the city are: 01 04 50N, 34 10 30E. Mbale is well connected with the rest of Uganda and Kenya through their tarmac road networks and along the main trading route to South Sudan.

Mbale is one of the biggest towns in Eastern Uganda with about 100,000 population, and therefore a regional trading hub, serving the hinterlands of Teso region and Karamoja. It is cuddled onto the foothills of the biggest extinct volcanoe (70 x 50 km)on the earth's surface, the Mount Elgon (Wagagai, 4321m), locally called Masaba. Nights are generally cool and days can become quite hot, especially during the dry season.

The slopes of Mount Elgon offer scenic panorama views reaching hundreds of kilometers into the African plains of Uganda and Kenya. Quite many waterfalls are skirting these slopes, some of them plunging down almost 100m! Here the best Ugandan Coffee is grown, processed and exported mainly to Japan and Switzerland, which already indicates its high quality. The primary economic activity in the district is agriculture. Some of the main crops are coffee, beans, Matooke, maize, onions, potatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes

Mbale town is a small city but with a bustling population. The town centre is well laid out and has a slightly oriental touch, dominated by Indian and colonial architecture. Of the 1,200,000 people in the district, 90% are considered rural and illiteracy rates are as high as 40%. Most schools are affected with poor staffing, inadequate physical facilities, and underdeveloped curriculum.

The local Hotel industry offers some of its best in Uganda, the top end reaching three to four stars according to international standards. It has many restaurants, internet cafes, and tourist opportunities. The local food delicacy is smoked bamboo shoots (Malewa) from the slopes of Mount Elgon, best served with posho (maize flour).Tourism is booming due to high security, attractive offers as well as tranquility. Sports and leisure offers include two swimming pools, a clay tennis court, a lovely mini golf course, sauna and steam bath, gymns, mountaineering, mountain biking, paragliding, forest walks etc. The 18 hole golf course is not maintained.

This is a test

Greetings faithful readers.

I thought it wise that I practice uploading a picture since I know how much blog readers also look forward to the pictures.

We are quickly approaching departure date. As I write this we are less than a week away.

I think the to do list is under control. There will always be those last minute things but as things come up we are able to deal with them.

So far no real sleepless nights.

God is good. He removes our anxiety when we give it over to him.

Thanks for your continued prayers.