Uganda Chronicles Chapter XXI
13 September 2007
Today we sent into town fairly early (around 10:00) to take care of some banking. We had to sign a bunch of papers to be officially on the Good Samaritan Orphanage Care account. Then we had to go across the street to get our pictures taken because the bank needed our pictures for their records. We had taken the money out of the account to give the gifts to St. John’s Bugongi School, Nyabushabi School, Emmanuel orphan’s group and St. Luke’s church. We didn’t have to be at Emmanuel to meet the sponsored children until 14:30 so we had time to shop for some things we wanted. We had to get a button up shirt for Bob, a dress and shirt for a couple at church, and a few more things for ourselves. I love the dresses here – they are beautiful colors and made for women who actually have flesh on their bones. We also needed a calculator, some envelopes, and I wanted to find a book on the history of Uganda. We met Fr. Francis in town and had a nice talk with him. It was about 13:30 when we were finished, so Fr. David said we should go home and have lunch before going to Emmanuel. As we walked back to the car from the other end of town, a man was riding by on a bicycle loaded down with three giant bunches of bananas. Fr. David stopped him and negotiated a price on the bananas and told him to meet us back at the car. Somehow he had arranged for pineapples to be brought also. So we started home with a trunk full of bananas and pineapples but we still had to stop to buy several cases of sodas to take the children and their guardians at Nyabushabi. We arrived home for lunch at about 14:00. I astutely ascertained we would not be arriving at Emmanuel at the appointed time of 14:30. We had lunch, got in the car and started off. After stopping for petrol, we arrived at Emmanuel at about 15:45. Most of the sponsored kids and their guardians were there – kids playing and guardians visiting. Some still had not yet arrived. They walk amazing distances up and down steep hills and across streams and through tall grasses and undergrowth to get there. We assembled in the church and as we walked in a song was sung. Fr. David prayed and then explained why we were there – then each child and their guardian came forward and introduced themselves and told a little about themselves. Rick video taped it for the sponsors. After that, Rick and I spoke for a few minutes to the children and guardians. We are so incredibly lucky to get to meet them! The kids then sang some songs for us, and then the guardians sang and danced. It was joyous – the singing, dancing, drumming, birds flying through the rafters, the rain pattering on the metal roof and a cool breeze blowing through the open doors and windows. The children were all clean and dressed – some even wore shoes. Isaac Rurihoona, who was assisting in any way he could, took pictures, opened soda bottles and passed out the drinks. He is such a nice young man – full of curiosity about everything, and always willing to help. He is in his last year of secondary school and a candidate for the last 2 years of high school. He will board at the school this year as they have evening counseling and advisory sessions to plan for their futures and also don’t want to be distracted in their studies by things that are happening or need to be done at home.
Before we left the church, Fr. David had a woman named Ruth come forward and tell her story. She has deformed feet and seemed to be of advanced age. Her husband and all her children are already dead. She is alone in the world and a few months ago her mud house began to crumble and the thatch roof began to leak. Fr. David had the roof repaired by members of the parish and the walls patched, but now her outhouse had caved in. We had a time of prayer for her, and then Rick said why don’t we go see the extent of the damage. So we started off to her home, which was “just near” like everything else here. We hiked single file down little trails enclosed on both sides by tall grasses and bushes and trailing vines. I felt like I was in a Tarzan movie as I brushed vines aside and moisture dripped from the vegetation. We finally emerged into a small compound of mud homes, some with iron roofs, some with thatched roofs. Ruth’s home was the smallest mud hut with a thatched roof. Next to it was the remains of her outhouse. Fr. David suggested I step inside the house to see what it was like. Just inside the door was a room about the size of a walk-in closet with a hallway leading back to what was probably a bedroom. It was dark in the house even though it was still light outside. There are no windows in the house so it is pitch dark 24 hours a day. The whole house was about the size of a child’s bedroom in the U.S. Rick asked how much it would cost to construct a new outhouse and was told about 50,000 UGS (about $30.00). Rick gave the money to Richard, Fr. David’s assistant, who will see it gets built for Ruth. (It was done the next day). We then processed back down the jungle trail to the church as it began to rain. Finished with the program for the orphan’s group and done with our side trip, we said our goodbyes and got in the car to leave. About a third of the way home, we hit a bump and heard “THE SCRAPE,” the one that means the fuel line was scraped by the bump. Sure enough, the car stopped running. We all got out and Rick, David and a young man passing by jacked up the car and fixed the problem. We drew a crowd as usual – kids, women walking by carrying loads on their heads and babies on their backs – all stopped to watch the repairs and to visit. Fr. David, in his black clerical suit, white shirt and collar, was lying in the dirt under the car, Rick kneeling in the dirt beside him, Constance and I standing at the side of the road in the rain. Finally it was fixed. We got in the car, started it up, and went maybe 100 yards when it quit again. Repeat performance – men under the car, spectators, me and Constance in the rain. Back in the car – 200 yards – repeat of all of the above. We finally made it to the relatively smooth main road and to a gas station just as it was getting dark. We pulled into the repair bay so someone could walk under the car to fix it better. However, there was no light in the bay (power still out) so once again my mini flashlight came off my key chain to provide the light by which to repair the car. The guy under the car sent another guy to get something to fix it with. Guy #2 proceeded to amble slowly around looking through piles of un-identifiable stuff until he pulled an unidentifiable something out of a pile and gave it to Guy #1. Car fixed once again, we went home. The car was still acting weird – pulling strangely to the left and something rattling loudly in the wheel area. Once home, we ate dinner, visited, played guitar and sang. About 21:00 Fred left to drive Patience and Retreat home. Ten minutes later Fr. David’s cell phone rang. It was Fred saying the car had suddenly “refused to move,” and was listing to the side like it had a flat tire. However, nothing that simple would happen. The real problem turned out to be a broken A frame – in layman’s terms, the metal part that holds the axel together and the wheel on was cracked. I’m not sure how Patience got home, but the car had to be left there on the side of the road. The next morning a mechanic came and somehow got it to the repair shop.
Today we sent into town fairly early (around 10:00) to take care of some banking. We had to sign a bunch of papers to be officially on the Good Samaritan Orphanage Care account. Then we had to go across the street to get our pictures taken because the bank needed our pictures for their records. We had taken the money out of the account to give the gifts to St. John’s Bugongi School, Nyabushabi School, Emmanuel orphan’s group and St. Luke’s church. We didn’t have to be at Emmanuel to meet the sponsored children until 14:30 so we had time to shop for some things we wanted. We had to get a button up shirt for Bob, a dress and shirt for a couple at church, and a few more things for ourselves. I love the dresses here – they are beautiful colors and made for women who actually have flesh on their bones. We also needed a calculator, some envelopes, and I wanted to find a book on the history of Uganda. We met Fr. Francis in town and had a nice talk with him. It was about 13:30 when we were finished, so Fr. David said we should go home and have lunch before going to Emmanuel. As we walked back to the car from the other end of town, a man was riding by on a bicycle loaded down with three giant bunches of bananas. Fr. David stopped him and negotiated a price on the bananas and told him to meet us back at the car. Somehow he had arranged for pineapples to be brought also. So we started home with a trunk full of bananas and pineapples but we still had to stop to buy several cases of sodas to take the children and their guardians at Nyabushabi. We arrived home for lunch at about 14:00. I astutely ascertained we would not be arriving at Emmanuel at the appointed time of 14:30. We had lunch, got in the car and started off. After stopping for petrol, we arrived at Emmanuel at about 15:45. Most of the sponsored kids and their guardians were there – kids playing and guardians visiting. Some still had not yet arrived. They walk amazing distances up and down steep hills and across streams and through tall grasses and undergrowth to get there. We assembled in the church and as we walked in a song was sung. Fr. David prayed and then explained why we were there – then each child and their guardian came forward and introduced themselves and told a little about themselves. Rick video taped it for the sponsors. After that, Rick and I spoke for a few minutes to the children and guardians. We are so incredibly lucky to get to meet them! The kids then sang some songs for us, and then the guardians sang and danced. It was joyous – the singing, dancing, drumming, birds flying through the rafters, the rain pattering on the metal roof and a cool breeze blowing through the open doors and windows. The children were all clean and dressed – some even wore shoes. Isaac Rurihoona, who was assisting in any way he could, took pictures, opened soda bottles and passed out the drinks. He is such a nice young man – full of curiosity about everything, and always willing to help. He is in his last year of secondary school and a candidate for the last 2 years of high school. He will board at the school this year as they have evening counseling and advisory sessions to plan for their futures and also don’t want to be distracted in their studies by things that are happening or need to be done at home.
Before we left the church, Fr. David had a woman named Ruth come forward and tell her story. She has deformed feet and seemed to be of advanced age. Her husband and all her children are already dead. She is alone in the world and a few months ago her mud house began to crumble and the thatch roof began to leak. Fr. David had the roof repaired by members of the parish and the walls patched, but now her outhouse had caved in. We had a time of prayer for her, and then Rick said why don’t we go see the extent of the damage. So we started off to her home, which was “just near” like everything else here. We hiked single file down little trails enclosed on both sides by tall grasses and bushes and trailing vines. I felt like I was in a Tarzan movie as I brushed vines aside and moisture dripped from the vegetation. We finally emerged into a small compound of mud homes, some with iron roofs, some with thatched roofs. Ruth’s home was the smallest mud hut with a thatched roof. Next to it was the remains of her outhouse. Fr. David suggested I step inside the house to see what it was like. Just inside the door was a room about the size of a walk-in closet with a hallway leading back to what was probably a bedroom. It was dark in the house even though it was still light outside. There are no windows in the house so it is pitch dark 24 hours a day. The whole house was about the size of a child’s bedroom in the U.S. Rick asked how much it would cost to construct a new outhouse and was told about 50,000 UGS (about $30.00). Rick gave the money to Richard, Fr. David’s assistant, who will see it gets built for Ruth. (It was done the next day). We then processed back down the jungle trail to the church as it began to rain. Finished with the program for the orphan’s group and done with our side trip, we said our goodbyes and got in the car to leave. About a third of the way home, we hit a bump and heard “THE SCRAPE,” the one that means the fuel line was scraped by the bump. Sure enough, the car stopped running. We all got out and Rick, David and a young man passing by jacked up the car and fixed the problem. We drew a crowd as usual – kids, women walking by carrying loads on their heads and babies on their backs – all stopped to watch the repairs and to visit. Fr. David, in his black clerical suit, white shirt and collar, was lying in the dirt under the car, Rick kneeling in the dirt beside him, Constance and I standing at the side of the road in the rain. Finally it was fixed. We got in the car, started it up, and went maybe 100 yards when it quit again. Repeat performance – men under the car, spectators, me and Constance in the rain. Back in the car – 200 yards – repeat of all of the above. We finally made it to the relatively smooth main road and to a gas station just as it was getting dark. We pulled into the repair bay so someone could walk under the car to fix it better. However, there was no light in the bay (power still out) so once again my mini flashlight came off my key chain to provide the light by which to repair the car. The guy under the car sent another guy to get something to fix it with. Guy #2 proceeded to amble slowly around looking through piles of un-identifiable stuff until he pulled an unidentifiable something out of a pile and gave it to Guy #1. Car fixed once again, we went home. The car was still acting weird – pulling strangely to the left and something rattling loudly in the wheel area. Once home, we ate dinner, visited, played guitar and sang. About 21:00 Fred left to drive Patience and Retreat home. Ten minutes later Fr. David’s cell phone rang. It was Fred saying the car had suddenly “refused to move,” and was listing to the side like it had a flat tire. However, nothing that simple would happen. The real problem turned out to be a broken A frame – in layman’s terms, the metal part that holds the axel together and the wheel on was cracked. I’m not sure how Patience got home, but the car had to be left there on the side of the road. The next morning a mechanic came and somehow got it to the repair shop.
Labels: Uganda Chronicles
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