Chapter XIII
Chapter XIII
August 23, 2006
Wednesday was a memorable day. We went to meet the orphan’s group and their guardians at Emmanuel church. There have been so many children orphaned by AIDS. There are about 50 just at Emmanuel parish. Some of the women organized a support group for the orphans. They work to raise funds to send the children to school. It costs between $104.00 to $329.00 per year to send a child to school (includes fees, uniform, shoes, book bag, sweater) depending on the level in school. The kids introduced themselves, most painfully shy, one by one, telling us how happy they were to see us, how much they love Jesus, and how much they love school and the chance for an education. Rick and I spoke to them. We described the average day of a child at St. John’s School, talked about our kids and grandkids, told the caretakers how much we admire them for what they are doing. I really hope to inspire some interest in supporting this group when we get home.
The children sang us some songs and I sang a song for them. We then moved outside for dancing. These kids are incredible! Their dancing and singing was joyful, abandoned—they had fun. The girls challenged the caregivers, many of them grandparents, to dance and several of them did. It was a wonderful experience.
We then had tea at Fr. David’s house (the one there at the church grounds). From there we went to lunch at the Senior Warden’s home. The Senior Warden, Martin, lives at the family land. His father (who is 80 years old) who they call Mosay—a very reverent term for “old man -” greeted us effusively with hugs and slaps on the back and a huge smile. Martin presented his two little girls, Martha and Martina. The younger one came and sat on Rick’s lap. Martin’s twin brother, Frank, proudly brought out his pictures of his wife and 11 month old son. Their mother came and sat by the father—neither of them speak English so a translation marathon began. Mosay had so many questions about America. He had worked hard and built a wonderful house for his family. His sons treat him with obvious love and respect. In the back yard are the graves of another son and daughter-in-law who died from AIDS.
There were several guests there who had come to welcome us. One was a woman county council person who was elected as representative for women. Women have been liberated in Uganda by Christianity. The church encourages them to get education and encourages their husbands to support them. The AIDS epidemic (new cases) has been dramatically reduced due to the teaching of the church on faithful monogamy and abstinence before marriage. Their acceptance of Jesus has literally saved this country.
August 26, 2006
I am hiding in our room—the entire place is crawling with people preparing for the Introduction Ceremony and I’m feeling pretty useless. I’m having that too-familiar feeling of not wanting to get in the way but not wanting to appear lazy and unhelpful. The house has been painted, lawn scythed, mosquitoes sprayed, rooms washed. There is a man outside making decorations—well, trying to make squashed decorations look new. These will go on the tent. I’m beginning to wonder why I spent all day yesterday making decorations. Rick attended a Give-Away ceremony yesterday. Fr. David had Rick deliver a message and Rick described the whole ceremony to me. Sounds very nice.
Patience had a bit of a meltdown yesterday over some boutonnière type things she had someone make and
didn’t like the results. I wound up remaking them all and she appeared to be satisfied with them.
The “roll-with-the-punches” lifestyle here is hard for us Americans to adjust to. Yesterday, the Give-Away ceremony was to begin at 13:00. Rick was informed he would be giving the message as a guest preacher by overhearing a conversation between Fr. David and me through the window. At 12:30, Fr. David was still off on some errand. Rick was sitting in his suit and tie waiting to be collected and taken to the Give-Away. He had been ready for an hour. About 13:30, Fr. David returned and told Rick the family had called and they weren’t ready yet so they didn’t have to be there until 14:30. They left at 14:45.
This morning I was summoned at 08:30 by Emilly that I needed to go to the hair salon with Patience. I jumped up and got dressed in five minutes. When I walked into the living room, Emilly was calmly setting out tea and fruit and said Patience had left already, but would be returning soon because she couldn’t get her hair done yet due to a power outage. I remain waiting for her now at 10:30 wondering what I’m supposed to be doing. Rick is supposed to accompany Fr. David to the wedding ceremony (the people who had the Give-Away yesterday) and Fr. David said they had to leave at 10:00—English Time. Rick is dressed and ready to go, reading a book. Fr. David is gone somewhere. It’s 10:30. Either Fr. David forgot he asked Rick to go (distinct possibility), or African time has once again prevailed. Yes! At 11:00 Fr. David arrived, quickly donned his shirt and clerical collar, collected Rick, and they were off.
The Introduction Ceremony was scheduled to begin at 13:00 here at the house. At 11:00 when Fr. David and Rick left, Patience had still not returned. She finally showed up at about 11:15 and told me we had to get to the hair salon right away. So off we went. The hair experience was fascinating. Here, everyone is black and has African hair. Most women have their hair cut extremely short. At the hairdresser, there is no shampoo basin. The hair is not washed there, only styled. First, the hair is smoothed down to the head by a thick, oily substance that reminds me of axle grease. It is combed into the hair little by little until all the hair is smooth and glossy and plastered to the head. Then small tufts are picked back up and tied with string to form anchoring places for what happens next. After her hair is dried to a hard shell under the hair drier, the woman having her hair done selects a piece of artificial hair which is then sewed on to her glazed hair by first anchoring it in several places to the little tufts, and then using an actual needle and yarn to sew it on the rest of the way. Then the artificial hair is styled into a French twist, curls or whatever the client wants. This process all began for Patience at about 12:00. Remember, the Introduction was scheduled to begin at 13:00. Around 14:00, the hair was finally done and we went home to dress for the ceremony, which finally began around 14:45.
While we were at the salon, several large pavilions had been set up in the front yard, and all the living room furniture had been brought out of the house and placed under the pavilion. Rented folding chairs were set up, and a large grass mat. The groom’s clan, who had been waiting down the road for who knows how long, were now signaled to arrive. The rest of the guests began singing, and the groom’s clan walked solemnly down the road, through the gate and into the yard, taking their places on the sofas set up under the pavilion. Meanwhile, the bride and her entourage, including me (the Matron of Honor), were peeking out the window of the room we were sequestered in. When the groom’s family was all seated, we began our slow procession out the door and across the yard to the pavilion. The groom’s family, and all the guests, including my husband Rick, were seated in chairs or on sofas. The bride and her party got to sit on the ground on the grass mat and remain there, staring solemnly ahead and being careful not to smile, for a long time while many long speeches were made. Fortunately, by this time I had learned to put myself in a state of semi-hypnosis to avoid feeling my back and legs first hurting and then slowly going numb. Eventually it was time for the bride and the matron of honor to get up off the ground and proceed across the lawn to where the groom to be was comfortably seated on a sofa. We knelt in front of him, and Patience put a flower in his shirt pocket which is meant to show her clan that this is the man she will marry. Clapping and singing broke out as the bride and groom to be exchanged small gifts and Emmanuel (the groom) slipped the engagement ring on to Patience’s finger. It was then time to rise gracefully from our knees without tripping over the long flowing skirts and wraps, and proceed back to sit on the grass mat with our backs to the entertainment everyone else got to enjoy. When the time came, we got back up, proceeded into the house, and were sequestered in a room, food brought to us, and there we were to stay until the party broke up later. However, Patience released me so I could go see what the rest of the party was like since I was a rookie. There was a lot of food and laughter and friendship, and it was very enjoyable. The next morning when I woke up, all the furniture was back in the house, the house was spotless, and the yard was absent any sign of the chairs, pavilions and soda bottles from the evening before.
August 23, 2006
Wednesday was a memorable day. We went to meet the orphan’s group and their guardians at Emmanuel church. There have been so many children orphaned by AIDS. There are about 50 just at Emmanuel parish. Some of the women organized a support group for the orphans. They work to raise funds to send the children to school. It costs between $104.00 to $329.00 per year to send a child to school (includes fees, uniform, shoes, book bag, sweater) depending on the level in school. The kids introduced themselves, most painfully shy, one by one, telling us how happy they were to see us, how much they love Jesus, and how much they love school and the chance for an education. Rick and I spoke to them. We described the average day of a child at St. John’s School, talked about our kids and grandkids, told the caretakers how much we admire them for what they are doing. I really hope to inspire some interest in supporting this group when we get home.
The children sang us some songs and I sang a song for them. We then moved outside for dancing. These kids are incredible! Their dancing and singing was joyful, abandoned—they had fun. The girls challenged the caregivers, many of them grandparents, to dance and several of them did. It was a wonderful experience.
We then had tea at Fr. David’s house (the one there at the church grounds). From there we went to lunch at the Senior Warden’s home. The Senior Warden, Martin, lives at the family land. His father (who is 80 years old) who they call Mosay—a very reverent term for “old man -” greeted us effusively with hugs and slaps on the back and a huge smile. Martin presented his two little girls, Martha and Martina. The younger one came and sat on Rick’s lap. Martin’s twin brother, Frank, proudly brought out his pictures of his wife and 11 month old son. Their mother came and sat by the father—neither of them speak English so a translation marathon began. Mosay had so many questions about America. He had worked hard and built a wonderful house for his family. His sons treat him with obvious love and respect. In the back yard are the graves of another son and daughter-in-law who died from AIDS.
There were several guests there who had come to welcome us. One was a woman county council person who was elected as representative for women. Women have been liberated in Uganda by Christianity. The church encourages them to get education and encourages their husbands to support them. The AIDS epidemic (new cases) has been dramatically reduced due to the teaching of the church on faithful monogamy and abstinence before marriage. Their acceptance of Jesus has literally saved this country.
August 26, 2006
I am hiding in our room—the entire place is crawling with people preparing for the Introduction Ceremony and I’m feeling pretty useless. I’m having that too-familiar feeling of not wanting to get in the way but not wanting to appear lazy and unhelpful. The house has been painted, lawn scythed, mosquitoes sprayed, rooms washed. There is a man outside making decorations—well, trying to make squashed decorations look new. These will go on the tent. I’m beginning to wonder why I spent all day yesterday making decorations. Rick attended a Give-Away ceremony yesterday. Fr. David had Rick deliver a message and Rick described the whole ceremony to me. Sounds very nice.
Patience had a bit of a meltdown yesterday over some boutonnière type things she had someone make and
didn’t like the results. I wound up remaking them all and she appeared to be satisfied with them.
The “roll-with-the-punches” lifestyle here is hard for us Americans to adjust to. Yesterday, the Give-Away ceremony was to begin at 13:00. Rick was informed he would be giving the message as a guest preacher by overhearing a conversation between Fr. David and me through the window. At 12:30, Fr. David was still off on some errand. Rick was sitting in his suit and tie waiting to be collected and taken to the Give-Away. He had been ready for an hour. About 13:30, Fr. David returned and told Rick the family had called and they weren’t ready yet so they didn’t have to be there until 14:30. They left at 14:45.
This morning I was summoned at 08:30 by Emilly that I needed to go to the hair salon with Patience. I jumped up and got dressed in five minutes. When I walked into the living room, Emilly was calmly setting out tea and fruit and said Patience had left already, but would be returning soon because she couldn’t get her hair done yet due to a power outage. I remain waiting for her now at 10:30 wondering what I’m supposed to be doing. Rick is supposed to accompany Fr. David to the wedding ceremony (the people who had the Give-Away yesterday) and Fr. David said they had to leave at 10:00—English Time. Rick is dressed and ready to go, reading a book. Fr. David is gone somewhere. It’s 10:30. Either Fr. David forgot he asked Rick to go (distinct possibility), or African time has once again prevailed. Yes! At 11:00 Fr. David arrived, quickly donned his shirt and clerical collar, collected Rick, and they were off.
The Introduction Ceremony was scheduled to begin at 13:00 here at the house. At 11:00 when Fr. David and Rick left, Patience had still not returned. She finally showed up at about 11:15 and told me we had to get to the hair salon right away. So off we went. The hair experience was fascinating. Here, everyone is black and has African hair. Most women have their hair cut extremely short. At the hairdresser, there is no shampoo basin. The hair is not washed there, only styled. First, the hair is smoothed down to the head by a thick, oily substance that reminds me of axle grease. It is combed into the hair little by little until all the hair is smooth and glossy and plastered to the head. Then small tufts are picked back up and tied with string to form anchoring places for what happens next. After her hair is dried to a hard shell under the hair drier, the woman having her hair done selects a piece of artificial hair which is then sewed on to her glazed hair by first anchoring it in several places to the little tufts, and then using an actual needle and yarn to sew it on the rest of the way. Then the artificial hair is styled into a French twist, curls or whatever the client wants. This process all began for Patience at about 12:00. Remember, the Introduction was scheduled to begin at 13:00. Around 14:00, the hair was finally done and we went home to dress for the ceremony, which finally began around 14:45.
While we were at the salon, several large pavilions had been set up in the front yard, and all the living room furniture had been brought out of the house and placed under the pavilion. Rented folding chairs were set up, and a large grass mat. The groom’s clan, who had been waiting down the road for who knows how long, were now signaled to arrive. The rest of the guests began singing, and the groom’s clan walked solemnly down the road, through the gate and into the yard, taking their places on the sofas set up under the pavilion. Meanwhile, the bride and her entourage, including me (the Matron of Honor), were peeking out the window of the room we were sequestered in. When the groom’s family was all seated, we began our slow procession out the door and across the yard to the pavilion. The groom’s family, and all the guests, including my husband Rick, were seated in chairs or on sofas. The bride and her party got to sit on the ground on the grass mat and remain there, staring solemnly ahead and being careful not to smile, for a long time while many long speeches were made. Fortunately, by this time I had learned to put myself in a state of semi-hypnosis to avoid feeling my back and legs first hurting and then slowly going numb. Eventually it was time for the bride and the matron of honor to get up off the ground and proceed across the lawn to where the groom to be was comfortably seated on a sofa. We knelt in front of him, and Patience put a flower in his shirt pocket which is meant to show her clan that this is the man she will marry. Clapping and singing broke out as the bride and groom to be exchanged small gifts and Emmanuel (the groom) slipped the engagement ring on to Patience’s finger. It was then time to rise gracefully from our knees without tripping over the long flowing skirts and wraps, and proceed back to sit on the grass mat with our backs to the entertainment everyone else got to enjoy. When the time came, we got back up, proceeded into the house, and were sequestered in a room, food brought to us, and there we were to stay until the party broke up later. However, Patience released me so I could go see what the rest of the party was like since I was a rookie. There was a lot of food and laughter and friendship, and it was very enjoyable. The next morning when I woke up, all the furniture was back in the house, the house was spotless, and the yard was absent any sign of the chairs, pavilions and soda bottles from the evening before.
Labels: Uganda Chronicles
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