Today we are saying our good-byes and farewell to the children, aunties, uncles as well as Piet and Pita. We have all been touched by different times as we have shared experiences with the children and workers. We also had visits with 3 sponsor families. One little girl, Medinah lived about an hour walk away from the school. Her mom walks her in the morning and then is waiting when school is over. They were so thankful we will be finding a sponsor in Chilliwack. It was a moving experience as the mother and grandmother look after her. She is such a happy little girl.
Packing has begun and we are leaving many of our items for others to use here. Stefanie is gleaning our left over non perishable foods. She is thrilled to have it. We need to head over to Piet and Pita's so say our goodbyes.
We will be looking forward to sharing with you our experiences.
Darlene
Thursday, 11 July 2013
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
The Stoning
Today Sue, Ceara and Taryn had the unique opportunity to witness Ugandan Tribal Justice. Sue and Taryn were calmly walking up the road, after spending a morning with the children, minding our own business, when suddenly... ATTACK of the BLACK MAMBA began. We heard shouts of "Snake, snake!!" and our knights in shining armour arrived with state of the art, attack equipment. This means stones and bricks. Taryn calmly hopped around saying, " Yuck, yuck, A black Mamba eww." While the brave Sue videoed the entire event. Ceara rushed out the clinic because one of us was freaking out to see what was going on. The men proceeded to throw stones and bricks at the snake until it met its demise... We were all quite relieved and Sue will soon sell the video rights in hopes to fund another trip back to Noah's Ark. So that was our excitement for the morning.
After a delicious lunch of snake on a stick :-) we spent some time taking photos of our newly sponsored children. Thank you for your generous support of these kids. Taryn had a meeting with Ugandan parents of the children from the outside and she stressed the importance of staying in school. She also spoke of the Canadian education system and the importance of skilled trades people and for some, university. Headmaster Moses translated for her. It was pretty cool.
Dr. Geddes, or Uncle Chuck, presented an outstanding workshop to some of the staff at Noah's Ark. His topic was Understanding the Effects of Trauma on Childhood Development. He ran through slides and video clips which explained how trauma can affect development and then offered some solutions and ways to address the problem. There was some great discussion and his workshop was well received. He is leaving behind a DVD with the presentation and some video clips. The hope is that the staff here will continue to use the material and consider ways it can be used to help the children.
Ceara and Sue spent some time in the childrens' home. They love it there and don't mind, even a tiny bit, when body fluids escape from the children onto them. They are so good with the children and babies and add even more light to their young lives.
Tonight we are just relaxing around the house and planning how we may spend our last day. Ceara is hoping to help deliver a baby tomorrow. It's part of her premed training. Until next time.
Taryn
After a delicious lunch of snake on a stick :-) we spent some time taking photos of our newly sponsored children. Thank you for your generous support of these kids. Taryn had a meeting with Ugandan parents of the children from the outside and she stressed the importance of staying in school. She also spoke of the Canadian education system and the importance of skilled trades people and for some, university. Headmaster Moses translated for her. It was pretty cool.
Dr. Geddes, or Uncle Chuck, presented an outstanding workshop to some of the staff at Noah's Ark. His topic was Understanding the Effects of Trauma on Childhood Development. He ran through slides and video clips which explained how trauma can affect development and then offered some solutions and ways to address the problem. There was some great discussion and his workshop was well received. He is leaving behind a DVD with the presentation and some video clips. The hope is that the staff here will continue to use the material and consider ways it can be used to help the children.
Ceara and Sue spent some time in the childrens' home. They love it there and don't mind, even a tiny bit, when body fluids escape from the children onto them. They are so good with the children and babies and add even more light to their young lives.
Tonight we are just relaxing around the house and planning how we may spend our last day. Ceara is hoping to help deliver a baby tomorrow. It's part of her premed training. Until next time.
Taryn
Safari and Such
We have made is safely back from our safari and what an incredible adventure it was. It involved a great deal of driving, along bumpy, dusty roads, through traffic jams like I have never seen and we even managed to avoid a gigantic herd of elephants as it crossed the road. I can't recall ever having to slow down to avoid a herd of elephants!
On Monday we went on the Nile River tour. It was a beautiful afternoon and was lovely to be out on the water. Our journey began with an immediate viewing of a herd of elephants along the shore. These are massive creatures and beautiful to see. When their ears flap, especially on the big ones, it's as though you can feel the air move. The little babies are kept in the middle of the group and the entire herd was looking out for them. We watched them for a bit and then rode in the boat for 2 hours. Along the way we saw school after school after school of hippos. They are sometimes called schools here and sometimes pods. Either way, they were lazing around in the water and occasionally raised up their heads or splashed on another one in the pod. We saw one who had little ones on her back. There were 3 crocodiles along the way, one who had its mouth wide open, looking for a snack. We didn't get too close to that one! It was hot and everything was moving slowly. We also saw an incredible number of birds, all beautiful, each unique. We got off the boat at Murchison Falls. What an impressive sight this is. You can google it to see how amazing they are. We were the adventurous group who had decided to walk up to the falls, the other tourists rode back in the boat. It was good to get off but a little weird because our guide was not there. However, since the boat was gone we had no choice but to forge ahead. And there we were, marching through the hot, humid jungle of Africa. Very cool! The scenery was incredible and luckily, the path was easy to follow. We avoid stepping on the marching ants and the orange and gray lizards. Fortunately we didn't see any snakes! At the top of the falls we cooled off with the spray and met our driver Carlos. From there we went to our lodge for the night.
\It was fabulous! We had two little cottages with mosquito nets and a real bathroom. This is an important feature for sure:-) The generator runs for just a few hours a day so we pre ordered dinner and it was ready when we arrived. A fantastic 3 course meal. After dinner we sat outside under the African stars and were treated to a light show by the Fireflies with a few buffalo and warthogs in the background. It truly was spectacular. Then it was bedtime.
We were up at 5:00 to give us time for breakfast. We then drove to the ferry and crossed the Nile. The land safari began. Oh my goodness, there we were bouncing along dusty, bumpy roads in the middle of the African Savannah. I don't know how many types of deer and antelopes we saw but there were hundreds. Big ones, little ones, ones with gigantic antlers, ones with teeny, tiny antlers and some without any. One was called a Jackson and they are known for their stupidity. Apparently they will run away from lions, forget why they are running and stop to eat. Guess what happens then! Yes, dinner for the lions. Our driver Carlos and our guide Sam were the best. We had told them we really wanted to see a lion so Carlos drove off road and there she was. |A beautiful lioness, nestled in among the sticks and grass. She got up and sauntered off but we got to see her! We also saw one hyena and it was so impressive. It came out from the grass, posed for a photo op and ran across the road. We were so lucky to see it. We saw elephants and more elephants, breaking branches and trees as they eat. We knew where they were because they leave their calling card in gigantic mounds on the road:-) We saw a few giraffes and they are absolutely majestic creatures. There is so much to describe but I will leave this part there.
On the drive home baboons and monkeys were running down the side of the road and we learned you must be very careful because they will jump in the windows. Our driver kept shooing them away. We stopped for lunch at the Rhino Sanctuary. It was there we saw real live rhinos out in the wild. Uganda has been trying to rescue their rhinos and now have a place for them. It seems to be working because they are having babies and their population is increasing. We walked on the rhino tour and luckily they were sleeping. They can run up to 45 km /hour and none of us were interested in having one chase us. But the massive creatures were flopped in the shade. They truly are gigantic. Their ears move all around, all the time because they are listening.
From there were drove for 4 hours to get home. Oh my goodness, people all over the road, little children coming home from school, hundreds, if not thousands of them, vendors, bicycles, motorcyles, cars, busses, vans all weaving in and out. It was incredible. For me the heart wrenching part was seeing how many little children were lugging gigantic containers of water along the road. Men and women did this too but they are heavy. There seem to be many places along the way that have hand pumps for fresh water. This is a blessing to the people but takes much of the day for some. We are pretty lucky in Canada. It was good to arrive home safe and sound.
This morning I taught a multiplication lesson to the grade 2 students. There were 36 of them in the class. Oh my! But they were well behaved, I played a couple of games with them and it was fun. I left the class and gave them one pencil each. The teacher keeps these and I think it was a good thing to give since before the lesson, I noticed many had to share pencils.
That's it for now. We continue to spend time with the children, Chuck is working with the adults around trauma, Ceara is in the clinic at this moment, looking like a doctor and we're all continuing to build positive relationships. Thanks for your prayers. They are always welcome.
Taryn
On Monday we went on the Nile River tour. It was a beautiful afternoon and was lovely to be out on the water. Our journey began with an immediate viewing of a herd of elephants along the shore. These are massive creatures and beautiful to see. When their ears flap, especially on the big ones, it's as though you can feel the air move. The little babies are kept in the middle of the group and the entire herd was looking out for them. We watched them for a bit and then rode in the boat for 2 hours. Along the way we saw school after school after school of hippos. They are sometimes called schools here and sometimes pods. Either way, they were lazing around in the water and occasionally raised up their heads or splashed on another one in the pod. We saw one who had little ones on her back. There were 3 crocodiles along the way, one who had its mouth wide open, looking for a snack. We didn't get too close to that one! It was hot and everything was moving slowly. We also saw an incredible number of birds, all beautiful, each unique. We got off the boat at Murchison Falls. What an impressive sight this is. You can google it to see how amazing they are. We were the adventurous group who had decided to walk up to the falls, the other tourists rode back in the boat. It was good to get off but a little weird because our guide was not there. However, since the boat was gone we had no choice but to forge ahead. And there we were, marching through the hot, humid jungle of Africa. Very cool! The scenery was incredible and luckily, the path was easy to follow. We avoid stepping on the marching ants and the orange and gray lizards. Fortunately we didn't see any snakes! At the top of the falls we cooled off with the spray and met our driver Carlos. From there we went to our lodge for the night.
\It was fabulous! We had two little cottages with mosquito nets and a real bathroom. This is an important feature for sure:-) The generator runs for just a few hours a day so we pre ordered dinner and it was ready when we arrived. A fantastic 3 course meal. After dinner we sat outside under the African stars and were treated to a light show by the Fireflies with a few buffalo and warthogs in the background. It truly was spectacular. Then it was bedtime.
We were up at 5:00 to give us time for breakfast. We then drove to the ferry and crossed the Nile. The land safari began. Oh my goodness, there we were bouncing along dusty, bumpy roads in the middle of the African Savannah. I don't know how many types of deer and antelopes we saw but there were hundreds. Big ones, little ones, ones with gigantic antlers, ones with teeny, tiny antlers and some without any. One was called a Jackson and they are known for their stupidity. Apparently they will run away from lions, forget why they are running and stop to eat. Guess what happens then! Yes, dinner for the lions. Our driver Carlos and our guide Sam were the best. We had told them we really wanted to see a lion so Carlos drove off road and there she was. |A beautiful lioness, nestled in among the sticks and grass. She got up and sauntered off but we got to see her! We also saw one hyena and it was so impressive. It came out from the grass, posed for a photo op and ran across the road. We were so lucky to see it. We saw elephants and more elephants, breaking branches and trees as they eat. We knew where they were because they leave their calling card in gigantic mounds on the road:-) We saw a few giraffes and they are absolutely majestic creatures. There is so much to describe but I will leave this part there.
On the drive home baboons and monkeys were running down the side of the road and we learned you must be very careful because they will jump in the windows. Our driver kept shooing them away. We stopped for lunch at the Rhino Sanctuary. It was there we saw real live rhinos out in the wild. Uganda has been trying to rescue their rhinos and now have a place for them. It seems to be working because they are having babies and their population is increasing. We walked on the rhino tour and luckily they were sleeping. They can run up to 45 km /hour and none of us were interested in having one chase us. But the massive creatures were flopped in the shade. They truly are gigantic. Their ears move all around, all the time because they are listening.
From there were drove for 4 hours to get home. Oh my goodness, people all over the road, little children coming home from school, hundreds, if not thousands of them, vendors, bicycles, motorcyles, cars, busses, vans all weaving in and out. It was incredible. For me the heart wrenching part was seeing how many little children were lugging gigantic containers of water along the road. Men and women did this too but they are heavy. There seem to be many places along the way that have hand pumps for fresh water. This is a blessing to the people but takes much of the day for some. We are pretty lucky in Canada. It was good to arrive home safe and sound.
This morning I taught a multiplication lesson to the grade 2 students. There were 36 of them in the class. Oh my! But they were well behaved, I played a couple of games with them and it was fun. I left the class and gave them one pencil each. The teacher keeps these and I think it was a good thing to give since before the lesson, I noticed many had to share pencils.
That's it for now. We continue to spend time with the children, Chuck is working with the adults around trauma, Ceara is in the clinic at this moment, looking like a doctor and we're all continuing to build positive relationships. Thanks for your prayers. They are always welcome.
Taryn
Sunday, 7 July 2013
Sunday Serenades
Here it is, Sunday night and we are relaxing and listening to the crickets chirping softly outside of the windows. A frog or two is joining in the chorus with its deep croak. Ahhhh, peace and calm. It is a sweet relief at this moment in time.
We began our day with a trip to a village church and it was truly eye opening. The church was outside, the roof held up by bamboo poles or something similar. The floor was packed down red dirt. There was a bit of a stage that had a couple of red crosses hanging on the curtains and table cloths. It was humbly and beautiful to see. The people sat on benches or plastic chairs. They arrived dressed in their Sunday best and looked fabulous. And the kids! Kids, kids and more kids! Some had little suits on, some fancy dresses, many in bare feet and some in shoes. They sat at the back but at one point in the service, which was about 3 hours long, came up front and did a presentation. We were welcomed and the Worship began. This little outdoor church has a sound system and we sat right beside the speakers. Oh my, most of us can no longer hear:-) Just kidding, it was loud but it was so very much alive. Lots of clapping and moving and "Praise the Lord." "Amen!" At the end of this service they handed out the Operation Christmas Child boxes. The children were well behaved, lined up and when their name was called, graciously received a box. It didn't seem to matter whether or not they were a boy or girl, they just got a box. The interesting thing was, none of the children grabbed them and ran, some bowed low when they received it and many knelt. They then walked to the back of the little church, sat and waited. Oh sure, some had clear boxes and did peek inside. There were smiles when they noticed, 'Sweeties' (Candies). One little girl was so excited to receive a Barbie doll type of doll and she did open her box and try to fit the shoes on her doll. These children seem to have very little and yet seemed content. After church they all walked back to their houses with their boxes.
This little church had 3 collections today. One of the most heart breaking for me was when they were trying to raise 10 000 shillings so they could buy one more plastic chair this week. This is about $4.00 and it was a struggle for the church to raise these funds. They had an offering to buy petrol for the generator and then the regular tithing offering. One little old woman, beautifully dressed, walked slowing to the front and put in her envelope. Quite honestly it reminded me of the scripture where the poor woman gave her only penny. It truly made me realize how much we have in our part of the world.
After this service we rushed back to Noah's Ark to attend their service. It was quite different, a little more similar to the Promontory style. This church had mostly children from the home and a few adults. It began with Praise and Worship, they had a time for testimonies where people could come and explain what they wanted to praise the Lord for. There was a great deal of singing and then the pastor spoke. He did such a good job and spoke on the topic- You are Fearfully and Wonderfully made. He reminded all of us there that we are made in God's image and we are each created as an original and that He loves us. He was engaging and well spoken. There really was a lot of joy in this service and it was sweet. When it ended we came back home and flopped for a bit. This really means we had coffee, pop and snacks:-)
The third event today was dinner in the Children's Home. ! Oh my. This too is well run but very, very loud. Of course it would be, there were about 110 children 8 and under. They each had a spot to sit and there are about 8-10 at a table. There is at least one Auntie, the woman in charge, and it is her job to serve the children. Before they get to eat, one Auntie tries to calm 110 children down. She does this by ringing a bell and telling them to be quiet. It takes a little while, but somehow or other, they do get there. Before we could eat we prayed. There signal is, "Hands together," and the children reply, "Eyes closed." They tried to close their little eyes, but some were peaking at us. I know this because I had my eyes open to see if they had theirs closed! Dinner was fish and chips. Yummy! The Aunties dish it out and pass it to the children and they begin to eat. They ate everything in their bowl. In fact, I thought I had taken all the fish off of the bones, but one little girl reached over, took my bowl and REALLY cleaned the bones! Ooops. Now I know what eating all of my fish looks like. After dinner the children remained singing and there was a Bible reading and much singing.
One little girl had her 9th birthday today so they served cake for dessert. She got to cut it and people served it.While this was happening the other children were banging on their tables and yelling, "We want cake! We want cake!" It was now really, really loud but they were having fun. After dinner, they scattered and ran to their rooms to get ready for bed.
We came home, tired but content. Well I am and I think the team is too. It truly was a beautiful Sunday and now that we spent 5 hours in church today, I figure we're good for most of the summer. Ha ha, just kidding.
We all appear to be feeling fine. We learning lots, seeing much and beginning to understand how different lives can be and in some ways, how similar too. We're off on our Safari tomorrow but Chuck is staying behind, so he may blog. Thanks so much for your prayers, they mean a great deal. Until the next time.
Taryn
We began our day with a trip to a village church and it was truly eye opening. The church was outside, the roof held up by bamboo poles or something similar. The floor was packed down red dirt. There was a bit of a stage that had a couple of red crosses hanging on the curtains and table cloths. It was humbly and beautiful to see. The people sat on benches or plastic chairs. They arrived dressed in their Sunday best and looked fabulous. And the kids! Kids, kids and more kids! Some had little suits on, some fancy dresses, many in bare feet and some in shoes. They sat at the back but at one point in the service, which was about 3 hours long, came up front and did a presentation. We were welcomed and the Worship began. This little outdoor church has a sound system and we sat right beside the speakers. Oh my, most of us can no longer hear:-) Just kidding, it was loud but it was so very much alive. Lots of clapping and moving and "Praise the Lord." "Amen!" At the end of this service they handed out the Operation Christmas Child boxes. The children were well behaved, lined up and when their name was called, graciously received a box. It didn't seem to matter whether or not they were a boy or girl, they just got a box. The interesting thing was, none of the children grabbed them and ran, some bowed low when they received it and many knelt. They then walked to the back of the little church, sat and waited. Oh sure, some had clear boxes and did peek inside. There were smiles when they noticed, 'Sweeties' (Candies). One little girl was so excited to receive a Barbie doll type of doll and she did open her box and try to fit the shoes on her doll. These children seem to have very little and yet seemed content. After church they all walked back to their houses with their boxes.
This little church had 3 collections today. One of the most heart breaking for me was when they were trying to raise 10 000 shillings so they could buy one more plastic chair this week. This is about $4.00 and it was a struggle for the church to raise these funds. They had an offering to buy petrol for the generator and then the regular tithing offering. One little old woman, beautifully dressed, walked slowing to the front and put in her envelope. Quite honestly it reminded me of the scripture where the poor woman gave her only penny. It truly made me realize how much we have in our part of the world.
After this service we rushed back to Noah's Ark to attend their service. It was quite different, a little more similar to the Promontory style. This church had mostly children from the home and a few adults. It began with Praise and Worship, they had a time for testimonies where people could come and explain what they wanted to praise the Lord for. There was a great deal of singing and then the pastor spoke. He did such a good job and spoke on the topic- You are Fearfully and Wonderfully made. He reminded all of us there that we are made in God's image and we are each created as an original and that He loves us. He was engaging and well spoken. There really was a lot of joy in this service and it was sweet. When it ended we came back home and flopped for a bit. This really means we had coffee, pop and snacks:-)
The third event today was dinner in the Children's Home. ! Oh my. This too is well run but very, very loud. Of course it would be, there were about 110 children 8 and under. They each had a spot to sit and there are about 8-10 at a table. There is at least one Auntie, the woman in charge, and it is her job to serve the children. Before they get to eat, one Auntie tries to calm 110 children down. She does this by ringing a bell and telling them to be quiet. It takes a little while, but somehow or other, they do get there. Before we could eat we prayed. There signal is, "Hands together," and the children reply, "Eyes closed." They tried to close their little eyes, but some were peaking at us. I know this because I had my eyes open to see if they had theirs closed! Dinner was fish and chips. Yummy! The Aunties dish it out and pass it to the children and they begin to eat. They ate everything in their bowl. In fact, I thought I had taken all the fish off of the bones, but one little girl reached over, took my bowl and REALLY cleaned the bones! Ooops. Now I know what eating all of my fish looks like. After dinner the children remained singing and there was a Bible reading and much singing.
One little girl had her 9th birthday today so they served cake for dessert. She got to cut it and people served it.While this was happening the other children were banging on their tables and yelling, "We want cake! We want cake!" It was now really, really loud but they were having fun. After dinner, they scattered and ran to their rooms to get ready for bed.
We came home, tired but content. Well I am and I think the team is too. It truly was a beautiful Sunday and now that we spent 5 hours in church today, I figure we're good for most of the summer. Ha ha, just kidding.
We all appear to be feeling fine. We learning lots, seeing much and beginning to understand how different lives can be and in some ways, how similar too. We're off on our Safari tomorrow but Chuck is staying behind, so he may blog. Thanks so much for your prayers, they mean a great deal. Until the next time.
Taryn
Saturday, 6 July 2013
Canada Day in Pictures
Uncle Neil and Edwin after the Canada Day celebration.
Monkeys in the Trees
What would a Uganda Team blog be without some animal sights and sounds? The guest house we stay in at Noah's Ark is surrounded on 3 sides by jungle. We wake each morning to the crowing of roosters which are quickly overwhelmed by the chorus of birds in the trees. The loudest birds seem to be the Ugandan Crested Cranes which are about the size of a large duck and perch on the highest branches of the trees so they can show off their crowns. They are given a run for their money by the squawking of ungainly, chicken-sized birds with huge long pointed beaks. Then the monkeys join in as the race through the branches, and the games are on. The source of the Nile boat cruise featured all kinds of water birds - kingfishers, cormorant, and eagles. Personally, I was most taken with some giant iguanas - perhaps 3 ft long -- which would work their way along the banks before sliding in for a swim. These must be the very distant cousins of the dozens of small geckos which live all around our cottage (inside and out) and seem to be our watch-pets against mosquitoes.
Kids in the Schools
As we drive the city and country roads around Noah's Ark we see thousands of kids in school uniforms walking to or from school and hundreds or signs for private schools - some large and prosperous looking, but most looking like little more than a collection of brick huts. Teacher's tell us that public school may have many hundreds of children in a class and teacher's patrol their classes with a stick at the ready. The young Ugandan teacher's at Noah's Ark appreciate the smaller class sizes (around 35) which still seems high by our standards. At Noah's Ark the 120 or so school age "Papa's kids" are joined by an equal number of village kids in the primary school, and more in the newly-opened secondary/vocational school. This is an interesting exchange. Papa's kids speak English and often know little about the outside world. The village kids speak Lugandan, and know more about the "real" world. Village kids follow Ugandan culture and are usually more quiet, respectful, and obedient - often avoiding eye contact with adults, while Papa's kids have a reputation as being a little more stubborn and have learned Western-style manners. For me, the highlights have been the music and band classes where the kids sing exuberantly with multiple harmonies, often accompanied by dancing, clapping and African drums. The open air classrooms are beautiful but tend to be noisy as the brick walls and concrete floors create a lot of echoes and seem to magnify the sounds coming in from outside. Please pray with us that the teachers will find ways to effectively educate their diverse students with all the varying needs they arrive with.
Chuck
P.S. Greetings and hugs to Clan Geddes
Kids in the Schools
As we drive the city and country roads around Noah's Ark we see thousands of kids in school uniforms walking to or from school and hundreds or signs for private schools - some large and prosperous looking, but most looking like little more than a collection of brick huts. Teacher's tell us that public school may have many hundreds of children in a class and teacher's patrol their classes with a stick at the ready. The young Ugandan teacher's at Noah's Ark appreciate the smaller class sizes (around 35) which still seems high by our standards. At Noah's Ark the 120 or so school age "Papa's kids" are joined by an equal number of village kids in the primary school, and more in the newly-opened secondary/vocational school. This is an interesting exchange. Papa's kids speak English and often know little about the outside world. The village kids speak Lugandan, and know more about the "real" world. Village kids follow Ugandan culture and are usually more quiet, respectful, and obedient - often avoiding eye contact with adults, while Papa's kids have a reputation as being a little more stubborn and have learned Western-style manners. For me, the highlights have been the music and band classes where the kids sing exuberantly with multiple harmonies, often accompanied by dancing, clapping and African drums. The open air classrooms are beautiful but tend to be noisy as the brick walls and concrete floors create a lot of echoes and seem to magnify the sounds coming in from outside. Please pray with us that the teachers will find ways to effectively educate their diverse students with all the varying needs they arrive with.
Chuck
P.S. Greetings and hugs to Clan Geddes
Friday, 5 July 2013
Jinja
We are tired and getting ready for the night. Today we had the opportunity to see Jinja, a town on Lake Victoria and the start of the Nile. It would take 90 days to reach Egypt going down the Nile! It was a sobering thought that we were on the Nile river and learning about papyrus, knowing that centuries ago Moses floated in the river.
We had time to barter for souvenirs before we cruised down the Nile. We ate chicken on a stick and captured the beauty of Uganda.
Tomorrow is the start of a very busy weekend. We begin with Chuck and Taryn meeting with the teachers at 8:00am! Make-up with the older girls and aunties. Canada Day celebration in the afternoon and finishing with BBQ dinner at Piet and Pita's!
Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts! Neil and Darlene
We had time to barter for souvenirs before we cruised down the Nile. We ate chicken on a stick and captured the beauty of Uganda.
Tomorrow is the start of a very busy weekend. We begin with Chuck and Taryn meeting with the teachers at 8:00am! Make-up with the older girls and aunties. Canada Day celebration in the afternoon and finishing with BBQ dinner at Piet and Pita's!
Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts! Neil and Darlene
Thursday, 4 July 2013
Earthquake!
Greetings from shaky Uganda!
We tried to blog last evening but we could not access the blog due to internet issues. This morning we have had a time with the children doing their Friday morning Praise and Worship. It is so nice to hear them singing and praising our Lord together.
On Thursday, July 4th at 10:30PM we were shaken awake by the house rumbling and creaking! The animals were not pleased with being woken up. We wondered what exactly it was. Neil thought it might be monkeys on the roof or maybe an earthquake. We went back to sleep only to be woken again at 1:15am with another shake. The two earthquakes were 5.7 and 5.4. There was no damage to the children's home or any of the housing units. There was some damage to the secondary school where they are still in the process of building. Thanking the Lord everyone is safe.
We are taking a break today and heading to Jinja to see the Nile. We will have some very busy days when we get back. Continue to pray for safety for the team.
Darlene
We tried to blog last evening but we could not access the blog due to internet issues. This morning we have had a time with the children doing their Friday morning Praise and Worship. It is so nice to hear them singing and praising our Lord together.
On Thursday, July 4th at 10:30PM we were shaken awake by the house rumbling and creaking! The animals were not pleased with being woken up. We wondered what exactly it was. Neil thought it might be monkeys on the roof or maybe an earthquake. We went back to sleep only to be woken again at 1:15am with another shake. The two earthquakes were 5.7 and 5.4. There was no damage to the children's home or any of the housing units. There was some damage to the secondary school where they are still in the process of building. Thanking the Lord everyone is safe.
We are taking a break today and heading to Jinja to see the Nile. We will have some very busy days when we get back. Continue to pray for safety for the team.
Darlene
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
An Attempt at Plastering
Today we worked! The team started off by heading to the science lab attempting to plaster the walls. When we got there the crew had already been working. There were some greetings and smiles and then we got down to work. The plaster is a mix of cement and sand that you wet with water which turns into a brown goo that gets stuck everywhere! So with our little shovels we made our first attempt to get the plaster on. Apparently its "all in the wrists" but after giving it a try there is a lot more to it. We looked ridiculous! We were flinging plaster just about anywhere to see if it would stick and instead managed to cover ourselves rather than the walls. There was some teaching and a lot of laughing, but we eventually got some sort of system so that we could at least get the plaster to stick. We had some great conversations with the workers as well. Aish and Ruth were the two women we talked to the most. They were trying to help us learn some Lugandan which was an interesting experience when all of the words sound so close. There was some giggling as I had mistaken many of the words for other ones. After many attempts I still don't really know a single word.
On lunch break, Sue and I got taken by the kids into the nursery and we were smothered in love. These kids just love to be with you and all they want in the world is to be hugged. So we hug and tickle them to make them laugh. They're always so friendly and sweet that I have to just give them whatever they want. Whether it's the bottle of water I have on me or my hair elastic, they get it. Maybe its just the way the ask or how they call me auntie that makes me want to love them that much more, I'm not sure. There is just something very special about these kids and Noah's Ark that I can't even describe in words. The sun is now lowering in the sky and the sound of the children's band is still going strong. The day is beginning to slow down here and I'm hoping to go see some of the kids before it gets dark. For all of us, it was a very productive day and I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the new stories it will bring.
With love,
Ceara
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Reflections
It is just after 7:00pm and dark has fallen upon Noah's Ark. The weather has been great and it has surprised me. I was expecting hot and humid, it's actually been warm and lovely. Today the wind picked up and the sky became dark and I thought it would storm, but it blew over. This compound is incredible and I am astounded by the multitude of activities that are going on. There is the Big House, where mama and papa and about 80 kids live. They have their own beds and there are separate rooms but it is their home too. The kids run through it and out onto the playground and are generally seen playing and having fun. The little ones reach up to you with their big brown eyes and are craving to be picked up. So we pick them up and they snuggle in. We have to look past the running noses and a few of us have been wet on, but it's all part of the experience. These little ones are well cared for and have opportunities that others in the cities, may not have.
Chuck,Ceara and I met with the school staff today to plan a few of our activities. We will be observing in the school over the next few days and will be meeting with the teachers on Thursday. We really do want to listen to them and ask a few questions. I'd like to teach a lesson or two and share some of what goes on in my school and our district. We will also be organizing a Canada Day Celebration on Saturday. We're a little behind the times here:-)
Darlene, Ceara and I survived the trip to the market. It was awesome and I'll try to describe it. The trip in was exhilarating and our driver navigated traffic, motorcycles, pedestrians and many other things and we arrived at "the store". Superstore it was not but it had what we needed. We didn't manage to find syrup but one of the workers did offer to get some in for us. Our order came to $198 000.00 Ugandan shillings and I have no idea how much that is, but it sure seems like a lot of money. After the shop we went to the market. Oh my, what an experience. Mom, there were some similarities to Peru but it was enormous. The road stretched for what seemed like miles and miles and there were vendors on each side and people all over the place. We navigated the people, potholes and motorcycles too. It was a lot of fun and the people were friendly. Daniel helped negotiate our prices and we came home with some fresh fruits and vegetables. We chose not to purchase any of the hanging meat! Imagine that.
When we arrived back it was time to see what was going on in the compound. Many of us went over to the Children's Home. There is always things to do there.I had a kids book with me and was swarmed with kids wanting to hear a story. Now many are familiar with Five Little Penguins and liked the skating ones. I came back to help with dinner and the others stayed to watch the children get settled down to their dinner time. The band was playing near our house and they are pretty good. They just started in January and have picked the music up quickly. Most prefer to play by ear and can pick the songs up really quickly.
Tonight Darlene and Neil are going over to see Piet and Pieta and will be planning our schedule. That's it for now, the crickets are chirping, the monkeys must be sleeping and it's another beautiful night in Uganda.
Until the next time. Taryn
First Full Day
Greetings from Noah's Ark Children's Home! We can say we all had a very good sleep last night and no one was up all hours of the night. Yesterday when we arrived we were greeting by the new Marching Band! It has only been in existence since January but they were wonderful. It was such a thrill and we all felt like royalty. They even had flowers for us!
Today has been busy for us. Taryn, Ceara and Chuck had a meeting with the heads of staff and are now formulating a plan. Neil, Darlene and Paul (a fellow from Germany) put together the BBQ for Piet and Pita. No pieces were missing and we have even turned it on and it works! Sue has been helping with some of the babies at Piet and Pita's, as well as the nursery. The ones who have been in the nursery have had the experience of getting soiled.
Taryn, Ceara and Darlene had the experience of going to the market for the fruit and vegetables - what an eye opener. Often as we walked through we would smell the smell of meat that had been in the sun too long! The grocery store is definitely not set up like ours and the choices are not nearly what we have. We will begin to prepare for our Canada Day celebration on Saturday with the children - we are looking forward to sharing about Canada.
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and we will post again soon!
Today has been busy for us. Taryn, Ceara and Chuck had a meeting with the heads of staff and are now formulating a plan. Neil, Darlene and Paul (a fellow from Germany) put together the BBQ for Piet and Pita. No pieces were missing and we have even turned it on and it works! Sue has been helping with some of the babies at Piet and Pita's, as well as the nursery. The ones who have been in the nursery have had the experience of getting soiled.
Taryn, Ceara and Darlene had the experience of going to the market for the fruit and vegetables - what an eye opener. Often as we walked through we would smell the smell of meat that had been in the sun too long! The grocery store is definitely not set up like ours and the choices are not nearly what we have. We will begin to prepare for our Canada Day celebration on Saturday with the children - we are looking forward to sharing about Canada.
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and we will post again soon!
Monday, 1 July 2013
Arrived Safely
We have arrived safely to Noah's Ark Children's Home. Flights were good. Delayed leaving Vancouver but made up time in London. Once we have rested we will post again. Thank you for your prayers.
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