Two highlights from the week. First I, Matt, had two friends, Rashid and Alex, up to the house for a “Canadian evening” as they called it. And… Meg had her surgery.
Thursday night Sarah made her way into Kampala to be with Meg, which gave me the perfect opportunity to have Rashid and Alex over for a guys night. Now I am not overly sure, but I am fairly certain Ugandans do not just get together to hang out. There is usually a reason for their gatherings such as weddings, burials, etc. My plan was to make hamburgers and French fries for supper and watch movies, a very normal, laid-back guys night in my opinion. But according to their reactions and their words of thankfulness this “Canadian evening” was an experience of a lifetime. We did just as I had planned; we watched a movie, ate chips, drank tea (not so Canadian) and then made homemade hamburgers and fries with Cokes to wash it all down. We then sat a chatted for hours about life, Canada and how we are so different yet the same. It was definitely a trip highlight for me.
Rashid and Alex were so interested in everything about how I live my life. They were astounded that I ate chips during a movie, that I bought enough food for weeks and kept it in the freezer, that I was able to defrost frozen hamburger buns in the microwave and that I knew how to make hamburgers. I am proud to say that Alex also is now a hamburger-making expert. They were also extremely interested in our laptop, my iPod, our shower with hot water and the many pictures of family and friends. After we had talked for many hours we crashed for the night, had a sleep over if you will, which was yet another new experience for the guys. Alex made the comment that in 10 years working with Mzungus from all around the world, not one, until now, had invited him over for dinner, a movie and to stay the night. Both Alex and Rashid were blown away that I would open my home to them. While it was an experience of a lifetime for them, it was the same for me. It was a way for me to share a very small portion of Canadian life with them. We are very similar yet live very different lives. For example, very few Ugandans have stoves or refrigerators, even fewer have microwaves, the majority wash their clothes by hand, the majority would buy “enough” food for one day and then do the same the next day and very few, in the village, have running water or electricity. Ugandans and Canadian are similar, but we live very different lives.
Now to hear from SJ:
Yesterday was surgery day for Meg and everything went perfect! Meg and another baby from the home both had hernias repaired. We were up bright and early on Friday morning, as we had to be at the hospital by 7am. To prep for the surgery Meg had to stop being fed at 1 am, you wouldn’t have known though, she was in her normal bubbly, happy mood all morning. Meg was second for surgery so we played a little and then she had a little catnap before heading in.
Annie, my boss and leader of the babies homes, after much sweet talking, was able to observe both the surgeries. I felt so much better knowing that she was in there. I sat just outside the theatre doors waiting, just in case they needed my assistance ☺. Meg went in at 9:30 and was back in my arms by 10:30. Annie said she was very well behaved until the nurse wanted to put an IV in her hand. She did not want that. The nannies at the home always tell me that Meg is my daughter and that she reminds them of me and that she has taken on my attributes, so you can imagine if she doesn’t want something she is vocal about it and persistent ☺. Yet Meg is an IV pro. She has had more in her short six-month life then most people will have in a lifetime. After the IV everything went as planned. Meg woke up loudly after her anesthetic, wanting some cuddles. As soon as she was picked up she was as happy as pie.
We had a great day together in her hospital bed. She was the happiest baby and you would have never guessed she had surgery that day. I made sure that she was fine medically. My two years of surgical nursing came out a little I think, the vitals, waiting for the first void and listening to bowel sounds. The nurse came in a few times just to peek in at us, but didn’t come to take her temperature until 2pm in the afternoon…oh man!
Meg is such a character, so full of joy. She talks so much and giggles. She is such a joy and I have fallen in love with her. I can only imagine how parents feel towards there own kids. Meg is not my own and I don’t know if my heart could love her anymore. I love when she is lying on my chest just staring up at me telling me stories. She does so many cute things, like if your chewing gum and you get close to her face she will ‘pretend’ to chew gum too. She sometimes gets giggling so much that she has to catch her breath in between laughing. She loves lying on her tummy and lifting her head to see the world, but she gets tiered and her head just falls down for a couple of seconds and then she lifts it back again, smiling away, looking around! And her faces, and the noise she makes….love her!!!
Matt loves her as well. He will go into the babies home and find her to give her cuddles. She giggles when he kisses her with his whiskers. She just stares at him and smiles. Matt always sneaks in to her room before we go to say good-bye and give her one last kiss.
She will be hard to leave but has most certainly made our 8 months here worthwhile. We will continue to love her from Canada. We have tried to think of any loop holes that would allow us to bring her back with us, but have been unsuccessful. She will do great and mighty things wherever she is. It’s just our heart that will miss her like CRAZY! Someday we will come visit her and bring her all the pictures we have taken and show her how much we loved her from day one.
Mother Theresa said it well when she said, “It is not how much we do,
but how much love we put in the doing.
It is not how much we give,
but how much love we put in the giving.”
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
African Thunder
We started out last week with a trip into town. These trips are making us increasingly excited about having our own car again. It’s a lot of work to hike down a mountain, wait for a matatu that has room for two people (remember that matatus are smaller then a 15 passenger van and fit up to 24 people into them). This past Sunday we rode in one whose windows, where we were sitting, didn’t open and it was a HOT day…imagine☺. By the time we got to town we were stinky and sweaty. Luckily people still love us. We met up with friends that we met here that are originally from CA. They had within the last week just adopted a little boy that is approx 1.5 years and cute! It was fun to catch up, they also extended their one-year stay to what could be three years and moved to a new house. So many changes. We were blessed by them and hope we were a blessing to them.
I stayed in town Sunday night for meetings Monday morning. I never know what kind of adventures await when I stay overnight in town. There are currently no international nurses except for myself at the moment. Needless to say, it makes for interesting days and long, phone call filled nights. On Monday I ended up taking Hope to the surgery. Hope is our newest baby weighing in at a measly 5 kg at approximately three years of age. She is tall, has a full set of teeth and speaks and understands her local language. She is a beautiful little girl and a fighter to say the least. It is pretty amazing what the human body can withstand and live through; God’s grace is sufficient and miraculous. Baby Hope, as far as science is concerned, is a miracle child. The human body needs calories and nutrients to sustain itself; she has been deprived of both for a long time and yet she lives. Now that she is with us she will never be neglected in such a way ever again. She will be loved! Good things are happening here. Remember to pray for this little one – for strength and health.
The preemie room has been busy with five babies under 2 kg. A week ago two were unstable, but as of today everyone is doing well and happily gaining weight. This week we did blood work straight from the home as a jaundiced baby had been under the bili light for about a week and was not improving. We normally judge a babies bili levels on observation alone - if they are orange they go under the light. I drew the blood and signed the Dr.’s line on the blood work requested, took it to the lab and, an hour later, we had our bili level. Being a western nurse it’s so exciting to have lab results - they are so concrete!
Matt has been busy. This past week they started using their new alarm system at the shop. Matt spent extra time down there teaching the guys how to use it and made sure that he was with them the first time they activated and deactivated. So far so good and we haven’t been woken up by any alarms yet! He is also doing awesome on his schoolwork. He sent in two papers this past week to bring his total to 11. Five more and he is done his third year!!!
We have been enjoying the beauty of African thunderstorms this past week. Almost every night this week we have had thunder and lightning storms, they are beautiful! One night it was raining so hard and the wind was blowing so fiercely that the rain was falling sideways coming under our door and into our home.
Big week coming up for Meg as she will be having her hernia surgery this Friday. Yaaa! I will head into town Thursday and be with her on Friday at the hospital before and immediately after her surgery. Please pray for her little body, her surgeon and the anesthetist.
Hope you all had a happy St. Patrick’s Day. I had fun explaining it to my nannies. They think we celebrate some weird holidays.
Blessings to you all!
I stayed in town Sunday night for meetings Monday morning. I never know what kind of adventures await when I stay overnight in town. There are currently no international nurses except for myself at the moment. Needless to say, it makes for interesting days and long, phone call filled nights. On Monday I ended up taking Hope to the surgery. Hope is our newest baby weighing in at a measly 5 kg at approximately three years of age. She is tall, has a full set of teeth and speaks and understands her local language. She is a beautiful little girl and a fighter to say the least. It is pretty amazing what the human body can withstand and live through; God’s grace is sufficient and miraculous. Baby Hope, as far as science is concerned, is a miracle child. The human body needs calories and nutrients to sustain itself; she has been deprived of both for a long time and yet she lives. Now that she is with us she will never be neglected in such a way ever again. She will be loved! Good things are happening here. Remember to pray for this little one – for strength and health.
The preemie room has been busy with five babies under 2 kg. A week ago two were unstable, but as of today everyone is doing well and happily gaining weight. This week we did blood work straight from the home as a jaundiced baby had been under the bili light for about a week and was not improving. We normally judge a babies bili levels on observation alone - if they are orange they go under the light. I drew the blood and signed the Dr.’s line on the blood work requested, took it to the lab and, an hour later, we had our bili level. Being a western nurse it’s so exciting to have lab results - they are so concrete!
Matt has been busy. This past week they started using their new alarm system at the shop. Matt spent extra time down there teaching the guys how to use it and made sure that he was with them the first time they activated and deactivated. So far so good and we haven’t been woken up by any alarms yet! He is also doing awesome on his schoolwork. He sent in two papers this past week to bring his total to 11. Five more and he is done his third year!!!
We have been enjoying the beauty of African thunderstorms this past week. Almost every night this week we have had thunder and lightning storms, they are beautiful! One night it was raining so hard and the wind was blowing so fiercely that the rain was falling sideways coming under our door and into our home.
Big week coming up for Meg as she will be having her hernia surgery this Friday. Yaaa! I will head into town Thursday and be with her on Friday at the hospital before and immediately after her surgery. Please pray for her little body, her surgeon and the anesthetist.
Hope you all had a happy St. Patrick’s Day. I had fun explaining it to my nannies. They think we celebrate some weird holidays.
Blessings to you all!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
God is GOOD!
To get right into it, for those Meg fans out there, Meg was able to meet with both a surgeon and an anesthetist this past week to discuss her hernia problem, and the possibility of getting it fixed. Both appointments went well and Sarah was able to accompany Meg to the surgeons. She was very impressed with the surgeon and trusts Meg will be in very capable hands. We are now playing the waiting game. We will update you all when we find out more.
Last Sunday Sarah and I took a little trip with Gerry and Donna down to the equator. This was the last thing on our Ugandan to-do-list. We have been blessed to see much of Uganda and surrounding countries during our time here. The equator was only a short, 45 minute, drive from our Suubi home, which made for a nice Sunday afternoon outing. While there was no Equator Theme Park, as Sarah Jane had hoped, there was a small café, where we enjoyed lunch, a small Ugandan village/market, two “official” equator markers and an official water swirling demonstration. Both Sarah and I are witnesses and pleased to announce that water does in fact swirl the opposite direction south of the equator. At the local equator gift shop we saw a water demonstration in the north, the south and directly on the equator. Since I cannot remember the details…in the north it spun one way, in the south it definitely spun the opposite direction and directly on the equator the water simply drained straight down. I have to admit, both Sarah and I were skeptical but walked away impressed. We also found out that when standing directly on the equator we were 3% lighter. So we enjoyed that for a brief second or two. All in all it was a nice trip.
Sarah had a bit of an interesting week, not only was she able to attend a women’s conference on Women’s Day, enjoy a day lounging beside a pool with the other female volunteers and she also had the 24-hour flu. While the first two were somewhat more enjoyable than the flu, she has recovered and is back to normal. She was also called into town at 3:30 am on Tuesday morning, as a preemie baby needed her capable hands. Despite a, not so convenient, power outage and thick thick fog, Sarah was able to make into Kampala, thanks to Annie, and help the little one. She put her NICU skills to work and stabilized the baby. 4 days later, the baby remains stable!
Today I returned home from a whirlwind trip, 4 hours north, to Gulu. Friday morning, Gerry, Charles (the shop’s welding foreman) and I made our way up north to visit some of our workers, who have been there for over a month, and to gage where we stand work wise at Watoto’s newest babies home. Along the way we made a stop to visit Charles’ 90 year old father who, prior to the planning of our trip, had requested that Charles visit and bring him some fish. The fish was his absolute favorite food. After a brief visit with the seemingly healthy man, we continued on our way to Gulu. Once in Gulu we caught up with our guys at the babies home, made a plan as far as cabinets, drove out to Watoto’s Gulu village, and treated the guys to supper out. It was a terribly hot, yet lovely trip. The next morning however, during breakfast, Charles received a call that his father, the man we met only 12 hours previous, had passed away in his sleep during the night. Needless to say, we were all shocked. The man had seemed quite healthy and lively for a 90 year old, which by the way is an extremely rare age for a Ugandan. We quickly packed up and made our way back the home of Charles’ father. I was a bit surprised by Charles’ reaction with all that had happened today. Not only did he not shed a tear, but he kept mentioning how good God was and praising God. He was happy. He was happy because somehow, by the grace of God, we just so happened to be traveling directly past his father’s house and just so happened to stop in for a visit on our way up rather than on our way home. Charles was able to see his father one last time and introduce him to two friends of his. That is why God was good and I agree. A good lesson for us all.
That’s all from this week. We hope you are all well. It is crazy to think that we have only 6 weeks remaining. Please pray for Charles’ family first and foremost, and that both Sarah and I would serve wholeheartedly during our last few weeks.
Last Sunday Sarah and I took a little trip with Gerry and Donna down to the equator. This was the last thing on our Ugandan to-do-list. We have been blessed to see much of Uganda and surrounding countries during our time here. The equator was only a short, 45 minute, drive from our Suubi home, which made for a nice Sunday afternoon outing. While there was no Equator Theme Park, as Sarah Jane had hoped, there was a small café, where we enjoyed lunch, a small Ugandan village/market, two “official” equator markers and an official water swirling demonstration. Both Sarah and I are witnesses and pleased to announce that water does in fact swirl the opposite direction south of the equator. At the local equator gift shop we saw a water demonstration in the north, the south and directly on the equator. Since I cannot remember the details…in the north it spun one way, in the south it definitely spun the opposite direction and directly on the equator the water simply drained straight down. I have to admit, both Sarah and I were skeptical but walked away impressed. We also found out that when standing directly on the equator we were 3% lighter. So we enjoyed that for a brief second or two. All in all it was a nice trip.
Sarah had a bit of an interesting week, not only was she able to attend a women’s conference on Women’s Day, enjoy a day lounging beside a pool with the other female volunteers and she also had the 24-hour flu. While the first two were somewhat more enjoyable than the flu, she has recovered and is back to normal. She was also called into town at 3:30 am on Tuesday morning, as a preemie baby needed her capable hands. Despite a, not so convenient, power outage and thick thick fog, Sarah was able to make into Kampala, thanks to Annie, and help the little one. She put her NICU skills to work and stabilized the baby. 4 days later, the baby remains stable!
Today I returned home from a whirlwind trip, 4 hours north, to Gulu. Friday morning, Gerry, Charles (the shop’s welding foreman) and I made our way up north to visit some of our workers, who have been there for over a month, and to gage where we stand work wise at Watoto’s newest babies home. Along the way we made a stop to visit Charles’ 90 year old father who, prior to the planning of our trip, had requested that Charles visit and bring him some fish. The fish was his absolute favorite food. After a brief visit with the seemingly healthy man, we continued on our way to Gulu. Once in Gulu we caught up with our guys at the babies home, made a plan as far as cabinets, drove out to Watoto’s Gulu village, and treated the guys to supper out. It was a terribly hot, yet lovely trip. The next morning however, during breakfast, Charles received a call that his father, the man we met only 12 hours previous, had passed away in his sleep during the night. Needless to say, we were all shocked. The man had seemed quite healthy and lively for a 90 year old, which by the way is an extremely rare age for a Ugandan. We quickly packed up and made our way back the home of Charles’ father. I was a bit surprised by Charles’ reaction with all that had happened today. Not only did he not shed a tear, but he kept mentioning how good God was and praising God. He was happy. He was happy because somehow, by the grace of God, we just so happened to be traveling directly past his father’s house and just so happened to stop in for a visit on our way up rather than on our way home. Charles was able to see his father one last time and introduce him to two friends of his. That is why God was good and I agree. A good lesson for us all.
That’s all from this week. We hope you are all well. It is crazy to think that we have only 6 weeks remaining. Please pray for Charles’ family first and foremost, and that both Sarah and I would serve wholeheartedly during our last few weeks.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
the week Africa got cold
This week has been unseasonably COLD and wet for Uganda. I know what you are all thinking… “oh you poor things”, but seriously it has been cold. We are in fact experiencing African winter. Monday was the grand opening of the babies home at Suubi and it was by far the coldest, dampest day we have experienced in our 6 months in Uganda. No one ever knows the actual temperature here, so we look it up on the internet and we read that the low for the day was 16 degrees Celsius. It felt WAY colder. Even as I’m writing this blog I’m wearing socks for the second time in six months. With all that being said, I still managed to get a sun burn this past week on the one day the sun did shine☺
Matt has been busy organizing things down at the production unit to make life run more smoothly. He has been compiling every product that has ever been made in the shop and creating job packets. Each packet will contain an overview of the job, a drawing of the product, a cut list and a list of material. This will hopefully save much time in the future. Matt and Gerry spent last Sunday setting up a new security system for the production unit. This was a new challenge for both Gerry and Matt, but so far so good. This will hopefully save the shop much money. Even with a security guard, many items have going ‘missing’. Another huge accomplishment at the production unit this week has been the purchase and setup of the shop’s new generator (40 KW John Deere). They are now off the main power grid, which was unreliable and charging the shop FAR more than they have been using. The shop can run on the generator for a 9-hour day at 2.3L of diesel/hour. This will save them loads of money as the cost the cost of diesel for 9 hours is less than the cost of electricity and the workers will be provided with constant electricity, which equals greater productivity. Great week for the production unit!
Down at the babies home we are excited that the Grand Opening is done. Now we can really settle in and focus 100% on the babies. The new schedule is going wonderfully and my nannies are being amazing with all the change and crazy things I’m asking them to do. The babies are getting smarter as they are now playing with playdough, being read to and receiving intentional interaction among other things. They are also feeling more settled. I also, am blessed to go to town once a week for meetings and of course to get my preemie fix in☺
An update on Meg for all you faithful blog readers – she rolled over yesterday for the first time!!!!
We have been missing Canada as we are hearing small tidbits of the Olympics – makes us proud to be Canadian, but also miss home a little too☺
Love to you all!
Matt has been busy organizing things down at the production unit to make life run more smoothly. He has been compiling every product that has ever been made in the shop and creating job packets. Each packet will contain an overview of the job, a drawing of the product, a cut list and a list of material. This will hopefully save much time in the future. Matt and Gerry spent last Sunday setting up a new security system for the production unit. This was a new challenge for both Gerry and Matt, but so far so good. This will hopefully save the shop much money. Even with a security guard, many items have going ‘missing’. Another huge accomplishment at the production unit this week has been the purchase and setup of the shop’s new generator (40 KW John Deere). They are now off the main power grid, which was unreliable and charging the shop FAR more than they have been using. The shop can run on the generator for a 9-hour day at 2.3L of diesel/hour. This will save them loads of money as the cost the cost of diesel for 9 hours is less than the cost of electricity and the workers will be provided with constant electricity, which equals greater productivity. Great week for the production unit!
Down at the babies home we are excited that the Grand Opening is done. Now we can really settle in and focus 100% on the babies. The new schedule is going wonderfully and my nannies are being amazing with all the change and crazy things I’m asking them to do. The babies are getting smarter as they are now playing with playdough, being read to and receiving intentional interaction among other things. They are also feeling more settled. I also, am blessed to go to town once a week for meetings and of course to get my preemie fix in☺
An update on Meg for all you faithful blog readers – she rolled over yesterday for the first time!!!!
We have been missing Canada as we are hearing small tidbits of the Olympics – makes us proud to be Canadian, but also miss home a little too☺
Love to you all!
Monday, February 22, 2010
All things Suubi
To pick up where we left off last week… Meg’s first outing and first Valentines was a blast. While our original plans to take Meg out for a picnic were washed away by rain, our day was memorable nonetheless. We picked Meg up and Sarah wrapped her snuggly in a baby sling to take her out of the babies home for the very first time. Prior to me meeting Sarah, Meg and Jill for lunch I picked up some flowers for the three of them because what is Valentines without flowers, especially ones first Valentines. From what I could decipher from Meg’s wide eyes, busy eyebrows and head that never sat still, I believe that she LOVED her first afternoon on the town. I hope that she will always remember that her first valentine was a 24-year-old white boy form Canada. Sarah was tremendously generous in sharing me for the afternoon.
Later in the week, while Sarah and I were deeply enjoying some much-needed sleep, as anyone would at 5:00 am, Sarah received a call from the babies home with shocking news; George was having trouble breathing. We quickly made our way down to the babies home to find out what was wrong. When we arrived George was being held tightly by Vicki (the night supervisor) wheezing and hooked up to an oxygen tank to help him breathe. Sarah quickly decided that he had to go into Kampala for some medical attention and called Annie to come pick him up. In record time, Annie made it out to Suubi and Sarah, George, Annie and Jill were off back to town. In the end, George was diagnosed with croup, given some much-needed medication and sent on his way to a speedy recovery. Needless to say, he managed to scare many people in a few short hours. We thank God for his speedy recovery and that he was surrounded by capable and loving individuals when everything happened.
In other babies home news, as of today, the Suubi babies home is officially open. The home was visited by roughly 150 people today to officially open it and dedicate it to the glory of God. The ceremony was complete with African dancing and drumming, speeches, prayers, tours, cake, and volunteers and babies in matchy smatchy t-shirts. A good time was had by all.
As for me and the production unit, life and work is crazy busy. This past week we managed to finish up many of the cabinets, railing and doors for the main floor at the Suubi babies home, build and ship cabinets for 2 units of 6 up to Gulu babies home, continue building furniture for both the schools and the homes at both villages and install a security system. The security system was a first for me, so far so good. Outside the shop this week I was able to spend some quality time with my friend, boss and mentor, Gerry Kimple. One of those times involved attending church on Sunday at a church deep in the rural bush. While I am incapable of spelling the name of the church my time there was memorable. Just to get there we drove down a dirt road full of potholes, goats, sheep and cattle for about 15 minutes until the road ended, from where we then had to proceed on foot another 10 minutes through a random village. The church building was no more than a few poles, some iron sheets, 6 benches, 2 chairs and a table. The congregation, that day, consisted of about 15 adults and 12 children. It was an absolutely interesting and refreshing worship experience. We worshiped through song, prayer and a message on how God is capable and willing to help us in our time of need, if we would simply give our problems to him. The music was not led by a well-outfitted band, but by 3 singers, two drummers, one of which couldn’t have been much older than 10, and our own rhythmic clapping. My time there made me realize that God is everywhere; he is in the mega churches of North America, he is in the house churches of China and he is most certainly in the simple churches of rural Africa.
I will end it there for this week but will ask you all to be in prayer for a few items. First and foremost, that God, and God alone, would be glorified through all of the efforts of Watoto. Secondly, for the health and well being of my Mentor, Gerry. Third, that Sarah and I would continue to see the “big picture” and serve with humble hearts. Fourth, for strength and energy to serve each and every day. And lastly, that those who do not know Jesus, whom we work with on a daily basis, would come to know him.
Later in the week, while Sarah and I were deeply enjoying some much-needed sleep, as anyone would at 5:00 am, Sarah received a call from the babies home with shocking news; George was having trouble breathing. We quickly made our way down to the babies home to find out what was wrong. When we arrived George was being held tightly by Vicki (the night supervisor) wheezing and hooked up to an oxygen tank to help him breathe. Sarah quickly decided that he had to go into Kampala for some medical attention and called Annie to come pick him up. In record time, Annie made it out to Suubi and Sarah, George, Annie and Jill were off back to town. In the end, George was diagnosed with croup, given some much-needed medication and sent on his way to a speedy recovery. Needless to say, he managed to scare many people in a few short hours. We thank God for his speedy recovery and that he was surrounded by capable and loving individuals when everything happened.
In other babies home news, as of today, the Suubi babies home is officially open. The home was visited by roughly 150 people today to officially open it and dedicate it to the glory of God. The ceremony was complete with African dancing and drumming, speeches, prayers, tours, cake, and volunteers and babies in matchy smatchy t-shirts. A good time was had by all.
As for me and the production unit, life and work is crazy busy. This past week we managed to finish up many of the cabinets, railing and doors for the main floor at the Suubi babies home, build and ship cabinets for 2 units of 6 up to Gulu babies home, continue building furniture for both the schools and the homes at both villages and install a security system. The security system was a first for me, so far so good. Outside the shop this week I was able to spend some quality time with my friend, boss and mentor, Gerry Kimple. One of those times involved attending church on Sunday at a church deep in the rural bush. While I am incapable of spelling the name of the church my time there was memorable. Just to get there we drove down a dirt road full of potholes, goats, sheep and cattle for about 15 minutes until the road ended, from where we then had to proceed on foot another 10 minutes through a random village. The church building was no more than a few poles, some iron sheets, 6 benches, 2 chairs and a table. The congregation, that day, consisted of about 15 adults and 12 children. It was an absolutely interesting and refreshing worship experience. We worshiped through song, prayer and a message on how God is capable and willing to help us in our time of need, if we would simply give our problems to him. The music was not led by a well-outfitted band, but by 3 singers, two drummers, one of which couldn’t have been much older than 10, and our own rhythmic clapping. My time there made me realize that God is everywhere; he is in the mega churches of North America, he is in the house churches of China and he is most certainly in the simple churches of rural Africa.
I will end it there for this week but will ask you all to be in prayer for a few items. First and foremost, that God, and God alone, would be glorified through all of the efforts of Watoto. Secondly, for the health and well being of my Mentor, Gerry. Third, that Sarah and I would continue to see the “big picture” and serve with humble hearts. Fourth, for strength and energy to serve each and every day. And lastly, that those who do not know Jesus, whom we work with on a daily basis, would come to know him.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Mama Said There Would Be Days Like These...
This past week was not the most fun of our lives. Many frustrations seemed to pile up all at once this week. I have rested in a verse found in Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Without going into the nitty gritty of our week, I want to share a few of my own “Proverbs”, if you will, that came as a result:
1. Good leadership is crucial to all organizations. Good leaders need to support their followers, be willing to get their hands dirty, have and share their vision, communicate and, finally, care for and encourage their followers.
2. My husband is an AMAZING man!
3. People will not listen to your criticism unless you have first spent time loving them and encouraging them.
4. Culture is a tricky thing! There is immense beauty in cultural differences, as well as immense frustrations.
5. I LOVE and am passionate about premature babies!
6. I believe in doing things to the best of my ability.
7. Learning people’s names makes such a HUGE difference when relating to and leading them.
8. Love people well!
9. Beware of a bitter heart – it will poison your entire being.
10. Lean on Jesus – “He is my strength when I am weak.”
11. My husband is such a blessing to me – I am so thankful for him!
12. Walking home in the dark through rural Africa is so SCARY!
13. I love Canada.
14. Not having water for 15 days over the last month makes the days that you can have a shower seem EPIC!
15. I believe in being a good steward of the things you are blessed with.
16. Doing something right the first time will ensure that you don’t have to repeat the task over and over and over…. this is a foreign concept to some.
17. Being given much without having to earn it or take responsibility for it makes for a bad combo…parents please keep your children accountable, don’t just hand them things on silver platters. They will be better children because of it.
18. Being consistent and following through on your word is so important.
19. Never, ever yell at people.
20. Treat others with respect and dignity.
21. 1 pair of thinning flip flops + 12 hours on a concrete floor x 5 days = 1 VERY sore body.
22. African babies have an innate ability to dance.
23. We need to love our neighbors as ourselves. Take care of people.
24. Good parenting is going to make or break the next generation.
25. Use peoples gifts. Don’t extinguish them.
26. Before expanding/growing one must look at what they have and improve that before they are entrusted with more. Be a good steward of what you have been given.
27. Respect. Encourage. Love.
28. Admit when you are wrong.
29. Read your bible – you will be amazed at how is change your life. Take time to “be still and know.”
30. Choose wisely who you are going to spend the rest of your life with! I am so so happy with my choice!
The babies home is doing well. We are making changes that are EPIC. The nannies are working so hard! I realize that change is a very hard thing and we are very short staffed at the moment. I have been trying to encourage my staff and help out as much as I ca. Yesterday we had a “Hoosiers” moment (only some of you will understand what that means…a Hoosiers moment in the Morgan household means like – the climax of the movie…the point where you want to cry cause it’s so beautiful!). On Friday afternoon, my very tiered nannies and volunteers and I had a spontaneous and random African dance/singing time with the babies. It was beautiful – we bonded, we loved, we were African, and I think it was a good way to end our week.
Matt has been busy this week. He has been doing more drawings and planning than actual hands on building. He is very helpful to his boss. He has been given a long to do list. This past week Matt also had a chance to sit down and very clearly share the gospel with Rashid (the man he has been working closely with for the past 6 months, who is Muslim). While Rashid did not accept Jesus, their conversation was extremely respectful and honest. Matt said that that conversation made the entire trip worthwhile. Matt is currently out playing volleyball with his “team”, In the hot hot African sun.
Tomorrow we are off to town to visit the prems and take Meg out for a little Valentines date, just the three of us. I can’t wait! This will be her first “outing” from the home!
Missing home a little with all things Olympic happening – GO CANADA GO!!!
Without going into the nitty gritty of our week, I want to share a few of my own “Proverbs”, if you will, that came as a result:
1. Good leadership is crucial to all organizations. Good leaders need to support their followers, be willing to get their hands dirty, have and share their vision, communicate and, finally, care for and encourage their followers.
2. My husband is an AMAZING man!
3. People will not listen to your criticism unless you have first spent time loving them and encouraging them.
4. Culture is a tricky thing! There is immense beauty in cultural differences, as well as immense frustrations.
5. I LOVE and am passionate about premature babies!
6. I believe in doing things to the best of my ability.
7. Learning people’s names makes such a HUGE difference when relating to and leading them.
8. Love people well!
9. Beware of a bitter heart – it will poison your entire being.
10. Lean on Jesus – “He is my strength when I am weak.”
11. My husband is such a blessing to me – I am so thankful for him!
12. Walking home in the dark through rural Africa is so SCARY!
13. I love Canada.
14. Not having water for 15 days over the last month makes the days that you can have a shower seem EPIC!
15. I believe in being a good steward of the things you are blessed with.
16. Doing something right the first time will ensure that you don’t have to repeat the task over and over and over…. this is a foreign concept to some.
17. Being given much without having to earn it or take responsibility for it makes for a bad combo…parents please keep your children accountable, don’t just hand them things on silver platters. They will be better children because of it.
18. Being consistent and following through on your word is so important.
19. Never, ever yell at people.
20. Treat others with respect and dignity.
21. 1 pair of thinning flip flops + 12 hours on a concrete floor x 5 days = 1 VERY sore body.
22. African babies have an innate ability to dance.
23. We need to love our neighbors as ourselves. Take care of people.
24. Good parenting is going to make or break the next generation.
25. Use peoples gifts. Don’t extinguish them.
26. Before expanding/growing one must look at what they have and improve that before they are entrusted with more. Be a good steward of what you have been given.
27. Respect. Encourage. Love.
28. Admit when you are wrong.
29. Read your bible – you will be amazed at how is change your life. Take time to “be still and know.”
30. Choose wisely who you are going to spend the rest of your life with! I am so so happy with my choice!
The babies home is doing well. We are making changes that are EPIC. The nannies are working so hard! I realize that change is a very hard thing and we are very short staffed at the moment. I have been trying to encourage my staff and help out as much as I ca. Yesterday we had a “Hoosiers” moment (only some of you will understand what that means…a Hoosiers moment in the Morgan household means like – the climax of the movie…the point where you want to cry cause it’s so beautiful!). On Friday afternoon, my very tiered nannies and volunteers and I had a spontaneous and random African dance/singing time with the babies. It was beautiful – we bonded, we loved, we were African, and I think it was a good way to end our week.
Matt has been busy this week. He has been doing more drawings and planning than actual hands on building. He is very helpful to his boss. He has been given a long to do list. This past week Matt also had a chance to sit down and very clearly share the gospel with Rashid (the man he has been working closely with for the past 6 months, who is Muslim). While Rashid did not accept Jesus, their conversation was extremely respectful and honest. Matt said that that conversation made the entire trip worthwhile. Matt is currently out playing volleyball with his “team”, In the hot hot African sun.
Tomorrow we are off to town to visit the prems and take Meg out for a little Valentines date, just the three of us. I can’t wait! This will be her first “outing” from the home!
Missing home a little with all things Olympic happening – GO CANADA GO!!!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Zanzibar!
As SJ mentioned in the last post, we spent this past week on the island of Zanzibar in the country of Tanzania. It was most certainly an adventurous and relaxing time.
We arrived on the island Monday afternoon and were greeted by 34-degree heat and what seemed like 100% humidity. Waiting for us outside the airport doors were two Tanzanian gentlemen holding a sign that read “Coral Rock Hotel”, which was to be our home for the week. They led us to our transport which was nothing special, an unmarked 4x4 SUV. We loaded our gear, hopped in and were off on our hour drive clear across the island (east to west). We first passed through Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar. This “city” was busy with people shopping, working and just hanging out and is apparently the birthplace of Queen’s former front man Freddie Mercury. Zanzibar by the way is a very remote and underdeveloped island whose main industry is tourism and fishing. Zanzibar also is an island without power. Lanterns and generators are widely used and therefore, needless to say, the people and businesses go through a heap of petrol (gasoline). So…on our way through Stone Town we stopped a very random, run-down gas station and picked up 8 large jerry cans full of petrol. This made our hour drive across the island less enjoyable.
Our hotel was located on the Southwest coast in the remote village of Jambiani. There was actually very little separating our hotel from the village itself, which made for a neat experience. We had a little beach bungalow overlooking the beach, which unfortunately due to a recent storm was covered in seaweed, and the beautiful Indian Ocean. The ocean was brilliantly blue in color and crystal clear. At around noon everyday the tide would go out about a kilometer creating a very large beachfront full of little pools and coral to explore. These pools were home to many tiny fish, crabs and starfish. At around 4 in the afternoon the tide would make its way back in, until noon the next day, right up to our front door.
During our stay we explored the beach, snorkeled in a little channel, did a lot of relaxing and reading and embarked on a dolphin tour. The dolphin tour was located on the island’s most southern tip, about a half hour drive from our hotel. At 5:30 in the morning one day, before the sun rose, we made our way to Kizimkazi. When we arrived at the beach we experience a scene right out of Jesus’ day. Coming into shore were dozens of large, rustic wooden sailboats, which had been fishing all night and were eager to show off and sell their catches. The beach was lined with tuna, marlin, kingfish, eels, manta rays, barracuda and even the odd shark. It was quite a scene. After each grabbing a pair of flippers, a mask and snorkel, Sarah and I made our way to our very our rustic wooden boat and were off to find some dolphins. Now in comparison to the vastness of the ocean you would think that finding a very specific mammal would be almost impossible, and SJ and I even began to think that this trip was simply going to amount to an expensive boat ride. But after searching for about 30 minutes we had our first dolphin sighting. At that moment our “captain” and his “first mate” were shouting at us (nicely) to get our gear on and get ready to jump in. This chasing and jumping in was abrupt news to us, but I was not going to miss out on jumping into a school of dolphins. Sarah opted out of the first go but was ready and eager on the next one. So…I quickly geared up and before I knew it we were along side the school of dolphins and I was jumping overboard. Once I hit the water I began to swim as hard as I could in the direction of the dolphins. As the whitewater from my not so eloquent dive and the boat passed, I could roughly see about 25 dolphins underneath me. It was an exhilarating sight. Now clearly I could not keep up with the school so I surfaced and was picked up by our boat only to repeat the process 3 more times with SJ by my side. It was quite an experience.
After a wonderful getaway we made our way back “home” to Uganda on Friday. Saturday was the 24th birthday of yours truly and I had an absolutely wonderful day planned by a wonderful wife. I awoke to a pancake breakfast and the gift of a new iPod Touch. I was very surprised. I have a very sneaky wife. In the afternoon we had George, from the babies home, over and had a fantastic time. We played, decorated birthday cookies and had supper. It was fun to have George over, check out the pics on Facebook. The evening ended with Sarah, Susy, Beth and I watching the new “Sherlock Holmes” movie. What a great day!
I have written far too much and if you have read this far your eyes probably hurt…so until next week.
We arrived on the island Monday afternoon and were greeted by 34-degree heat and what seemed like 100% humidity. Waiting for us outside the airport doors were two Tanzanian gentlemen holding a sign that read “Coral Rock Hotel”, which was to be our home for the week. They led us to our transport which was nothing special, an unmarked 4x4 SUV. We loaded our gear, hopped in and were off on our hour drive clear across the island (east to west). We first passed through Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar. This “city” was busy with people shopping, working and just hanging out and is apparently the birthplace of Queen’s former front man Freddie Mercury. Zanzibar by the way is a very remote and underdeveloped island whose main industry is tourism and fishing. Zanzibar also is an island without power. Lanterns and generators are widely used and therefore, needless to say, the people and businesses go through a heap of petrol (gasoline). So…on our way through Stone Town we stopped a very random, run-down gas station and picked up 8 large jerry cans full of petrol. This made our hour drive across the island less enjoyable.
Our hotel was located on the Southwest coast in the remote village of Jambiani. There was actually very little separating our hotel from the village itself, which made for a neat experience. We had a little beach bungalow overlooking the beach, which unfortunately due to a recent storm was covered in seaweed, and the beautiful Indian Ocean. The ocean was brilliantly blue in color and crystal clear. At around noon everyday the tide would go out about a kilometer creating a very large beachfront full of little pools and coral to explore. These pools were home to many tiny fish, crabs and starfish. At around 4 in the afternoon the tide would make its way back in, until noon the next day, right up to our front door.
During our stay we explored the beach, snorkeled in a little channel, did a lot of relaxing and reading and embarked on a dolphin tour. The dolphin tour was located on the island’s most southern tip, about a half hour drive from our hotel. At 5:30 in the morning one day, before the sun rose, we made our way to Kizimkazi. When we arrived at the beach we experience a scene right out of Jesus’ day. Coming into shore were dozens of large, rustic wooden sailboats, which had been fishing all night and were eager to show off and sell their catches. The beach was lined with tuna, marlin, kingfish, eels, manta rays, barracuda and even the odd shark. It was quite a scene. After each grabbing a pair of flippers, a mask and snorkel, Sarah and I made our way to our very our rustic wooden boat and were off to find some dolphins. Now in comparison to the vastness of the ocean you would think that finding a very specific mammal would be almost impossible, and SJ and I even began to think that this trip was simply going to amount to an expensive boat ride. But after searching for about 30 minutes we had our first dolphin sighting. At that moment our “captain” and his “first mate” were shouting at us (nicely) to get our gear on and get ready to jump in. This chasing and jumping in was abrupt news to us, but I was not going to miss out on jumping into a school of dolphins. Sarah opted out of the first go but was ready and eager on the next one. So…I quickly geared up and before I knew it we were along side the school of dolphins and I was jumping overboard. Once I hit the water I began to swim as hard as I could in the direction of the dolphins. As the whitewater from my not so eloquent dive and the boat passed, I could roughly see about 25 dolphins underneath me. It was an exhilarating sight. Now clearly I could not keep up with the school so I surfaced and was picked up by our boat only to repeat the process 3 more times with SJ by my side. It was quite an experience.
After a wonderful getaway we made our way back “home” to Uganda on Friday. Saturday was the 24th birthday of yours truly and I had an absolutely wonderful day planned by a wonderful wife. I awoke to a pancake breakfast and the gift of a new iPod Touch. I was very surprised. I have a very sneaky wife. In the afternoon we had George, from the babies home, over and had a fantastic time. We played, decorated birthday cookies and had supper. It was fun to have George over, check out the pics on Facebook. The evening ended with Sarah, Susy, Beth and I watching the new “Sherlock Holmes” movie. What a great day!
I have written far too much and if you have read this far your eyes probably hurt…so until next week.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!
Hard to believe that another month as come and gone already! One more day and we will be into Feb – wow! We have had a good week.
On Monday I went into town to spend the day/night/day at the babies home in Kampala. I was back on as nurse☺ On Monday we went to the hospital to pick up two abandoned babies. One was a little boy, 1.21 kg, who was born at a hospital outside of Kampala and because of his size was transferred to Kampala. He made the transfer and his mom did not. She has not shown up at the hospital and no one can find her. We named the boy Evan, which means warrior. We also picked up a little girl weighing 680 grams (1.5 lbs), the smallest yet to come to the home. She is a miracle. She was born in the community and found on the road by the police. She survived being abandoned and her time at the police station before making it to the special care nursery at the hospital, before coming to us.
I have to share a bit about the special care ward at the hospital with you all. There are about 50 babies in one VERY small unit. The nurses on duty range from 1 or 2 depending on if it is the day or night shift – very bad nurse to patient ratio. The nurses don’t do any of the hands on care like bathing, diaper changes or feeding. All of these things are the mom’s responsibility. So if you have no mom these things don't happen. The moms wait out in a tiny, stinky, hot hallway until ‘feeding’ times when they are allowed in for feeding and care and then when they are done go back to the hallway. As for equipment the hospital has oxygen, an old school version of a CPAP machine, a few small portable monitors, about 20 incubators and a couple bili lights. Syringes are often on short supply and when they run out they just reuse them. The monitors are nice to have, but monitors are only as good as those who can respond to them and with two nurses you can only imagine how much they get responded to. About half of the incubators don’t work and the ones that do work are often missing doors etc. There is a bucket by the door, sometimes it is empty and other times you see many bundles of what look like rolls of blankets. The bucket is where they put dead babies, I assume it gets emptied at night. When we were in the hospital to pick up our two babies on Monday the bucket was full.
The ward was busy on Monday when we went to pick the babies up. It was feeding time and so the moms were in the unit. You have to take your shoes off at the door – everyone does. It grosses me out just thinking about it – hospital and no shoes is not sanitary. Anyway, we walked into the unit, to the back, where the level three babies (the sickest ones) live. Looking for our kids you just have to look at the incubators that have white tap laced across them saying ‘I am abandoned.’ They do this so that moms of other babies may see it and feel pity and take time to feed the baby. Both Ava and Evan where in incubators. Ava’s was even turned on, however the doors where your arms go in were broken off so the heat was not staying in. Evan’s incubator didn’t work, so he was essentially lying in a fancy box. We got everything together and left quickly. The whole time we were there I could hear a baby doing the death moan…I couldn’t see him, but I could hear it. As we were leaving we passed a little baby probably a little less then a kilo lying in one blanket on a metal cart moaning with every breath….heart breaking! I wanted to warm, feed and love him. All he needed was a little attention and maybe CPAP, but the incubators were full and the nurses were busy and I’m sure he didn’t make it much longer. Hard stuff to take process. There is no one to blame for such chaos. It’s not fair for the nurses, a 1 to 25 ratio is not fair. It’s not fair for the mothers, they have no education as to what they should be doing. It’s definitely not fair for the babies, that just because they were born in a third world country as sick or premature that this is what they must face. Heart breaking…and it makes me ask myself what am I to do? I feel blessed with the skills and knowledge I have in working with prems. I have had good schooling and fantastic mentoring as a NICU nurse. I have so much more to learn, but the little I do know I feel can go a long way. On Monday, I had so many different emotions, mostly helplessness. We left the special care ward with our two prems and I thought to myself, little steps. For right now I can provide care to these two little people, to the best of my ability….this is a start!
Another baby died this week at the Bulrushes. He was only at the home for just over a week. He was very badly malnourished. He was about four years old and weighed just over 6 kg. That is bad enough, but on top of that he was badly burnt across his entire trunk of his body. It is incredible that one little body can survive and suffer through so much. He died on Friday. He was loved for the last week of his life and will suffer no more. His name was John, he was the first baby that I have seen at the home that would not smile. He had no joy. He now can experience abundant joy!
This country has so much beauty in it and yet there is brokenness everywhere! I guess this is true with most countries, it’s just the brokenness shows itself in different forms.
I digress; enough about me…Matt had a good week. Working hard at the production unit. He is still pretty consumed with all projects babies home. He has also been starting doing drawings for their new projects. He is very good at this. He did one at home yesterday, he is a perfectionist in many ways and because of this has pretty perfect drawings!
Matt also started with his volleyball on Sat. He had over 20 kids out. We had brought two volleyballs over from Canada and it’s a good thing. He headed out yesterday to practice with his two balls and those were the only two balls they had for the entire practice☺ He said that the kids have never really played volleyball at all so he started with the basics. They didn’t even have a net, next week they will. They practiced for over two hours and Matt said that when he was done a few kids stayed longer to play. I think Matt loved being active – he misses volleyball.
I think that’s it for this week. Tomorrow we are off to Tanzania for the week. It’s VISA renewal time again and we have picked a tropical destination…African style! We will get to swim in the Indian Ocean! We are excited about a little R&R!
On Monday I went into town to spend the day/night/day at the babies home in Kampala. I was back on as nurse☺ On Monday we went to the hospital to pick up two abandoned babies. One was a little boy, 1.21 kg, who was born at a hospital outside of Kampala and because of his size was transferred to Kampala. He made the transfer and his mom did not. She has not shown up at the hospital and no one can find her. We named the boy Evan, which means warrior. We also picked up a little girl weighing 680 grams (1.5 lbs), the smallest yet to come to the home. She is a miracle. She was born in the community and found on the road by the police. She survived being abandoned and her time at the police station before making it to the special care nursery at the hospital, before coming to us.
I have to share a bit about the special care ward at the hospital with you all. There are about 50 babies in one VERY small unit. The nurses on duty range from 1 or 2 depending on if it is the day or night shift – very bad nurse to patient ratio. The nurses don’t do any of the hands on care like bathing, diaper changes or feeding. All of these things are the mom’s responsibility. So if you have no mom these things don't happen. The moms wait out in a tiny, stinky, hot hallway until ‘feeding’ times when they are allowed in for feeding and care and then when they are done go back to the hallway. As for equipment the hospital has oxygen, an old school version of a CPAP machine, a few small portable monitors, about 20 incubators and a couple bili lights. Syringes are often on short supply and when they run out they just reuse them. The monitors are nice to have, but monitors are only as good as those who can respond to them and with two nurses you can only imagine how much they get responded to. About half of the incubators don’t work and the ones that do work are often missing doors etc. There is a bucket by the door, sometimes it is empty and other times you see many bundles of what look like rolls of blankets. The bucket is where they put dead babies, I assume it gets emptied at night. When we were in the hospital to pick up our two babies on Monday the bucket was full.
The ward was busy on Monday when we went to pick the babies up. It was feeding time and so the moms were in the unit. You have to take your shoes off at the door – everyone does. It grosses me out just thinking about it – hospital and no shoes is not sanitary. Anyway, we walked into the unit, to the back, where the level three babies (the sickest ones) live. Looking for our kids you just have to look at the incubators that have white tap laced across them saying ‘I am abandoned.’ They do this so that moms of other babies may see it and feel pity and take time to feed the baby. Both Ava and Evan where in incubators. Ava’s was even turned on, however the doors where your arms go in were broken off so the heat was not staying in. Evan’s incubator didn’t work, so he was essentially lying in a fancy box. We got everything together and left quickly. The whole time we were there I could hear a baby doing the death moan…I couldn’t see him, but I could hear it. As we were leaving we passed a little baby probably a little less then a kilo lying in one blanket on a metal cart moaning with every breath….heart breaking! I wanted to warm, feed and love him. All he needed was a little attention and maybe CPAP, but the incubators were full and the nurses were busy and I’m sure he didn’t make it much longer. Hard stuff to take process. There is no one to blame for such chaos. It’s not fair for the nurses, a 1 to 25 ratio is not fair. It’s not fair for the mothers, they have no education as to what they should be doing. It’s definitely not fair for the babies, that just because they were born in a third world country as sick or premature that this is what they must face. Heart breaking…and it makes me ask myself what am I to do? I feel blessed with the skills and knowledge I have in working with prems. I have had good schooling and fantastic mentoring as a NICU nurse. I have so much more to learn, but the little I do know I feel can go a long way. On Monday, I had so many different emotions, mostly helplessness. We left the special care ward with our two prems and I thought to myself, little steps. For right now I can provide care to these two little people, to the best of my ability….this is a start!
Another baby died this week at the Bulrushes. He was only at the home for just over a week. He was very badly malnourished. He was about four years old and weighed just over 6 kg. That is bad enough, but on top of that he was badly burnt across his entire trunk of his body. It is incredible that one little body can survive and suffer through so much. He died on Friday. He was loved for the last week of his life and will suffer no more. His name was John, he was the first baby that I have seen at the home that would not smile. He had no joy. He now can experience abundant joy!
This country has so much beauty in it and yet there is brokenness everywhere! I guess this is true with most countries, it’s just the brokenness shows itself in different forms.
I digress; enough about me…Matt had a good week. Working hard at the production unit. He is still pretty consumed with all projects babies home. He has also been starting doing drawings for their new projects. He is very good at this. He did one at home yesterday, he is a perfectionist in many ways and because of this has pretty perfect drawings!
Matt also started with his volleyball on Sat. He had over 20 kids out. We had brought two volleyballs over from Canada and it’s a good thing. He headed out yesterday to practice with his two balls and those were the only two balls they had for the entire practice☺ He said that the kids have never really played volleyball at all so he started with the basics. They didn’t even have a net, next week they will. They practiced for over two hours and Matt said that when he was done a few kids stayed longer to play. I think Matt loved being active – he misses volleyball.
I think that’s it for this week. Tomorrow we are off to Tanzania for the week. It’s VISA renewal time again and we have picked a tropical destination…African style! We will get to swim in the Indian Ocean! We are excited about a little R&R!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Just Another Week at the Office
All in all we have had a fairly uneventful week. We are still loving having our own little apartment here at Suubi. The babies home has kept me busy over the past week. Everything is slowly coming together. I never know what I’m going to get when I walk into the building in the morning…makes for interesting days☺ The building continues to be worked on, the more I walk through the better is it looking, give it six months and it will look great!
The babies are doing well. I have a cute crew out here! Toddlers are such a different world for me. I love the toddlers but am finding myself really missing my prems!!! I like toddlers, but I have found that I am passionate about premature babies…weird I know, but also nice to solidify my job choice☺ I find myself getting phone calls from town about new sick babies or prems and being slightly jealous that I’m not there to care for them. But back at the home front, I really do have a lovely group of kids and nannies and all is well at Suubi Babies Home!
Matt remains busy making cabinets for the babies home – they look beautiful! He also has a found a new opportunity to coach a little volleyball while we are over here. He met today with Coach Ken and he will start next Saturday with practice. The boys he will be coaching are middle school aged. He is very excited about getting to play a little volleyball again!
Side note for those of you who know Meg…she reached 3 kg this past week!!! She has quadrupled her birth weight in 4 months! Feel free to have a party in her honor!
Blessings to you all!
The babies are doing well. I have a cute crew out here! Toddlers are such a different world for me. I love the toddlers but am finding myself really missing my prems!!! I like toddlers, but I have found that I am passionate about premature babies…weird I know, but also nice to solidify my job choice☺ I find myself getting phone calls from town about new sick babies or prems and being slightly jealous that I’m not there to care for them. But back at the home front, I really do have a lovely group of kids and nannies and all is well at Suubi Babies Home!
Matt remains busy making cabinets for the babies home – they look beautiful! He also has a found a new opportunity to coach a little volleyball while we are over here. He met today with Coach Ken and he will start next Saturday with practice. The boys he will be coaching are middle school aged. He is very excited about getting to play a little volleyball again!
Side note for those of you who know Meg…she reached 3 kg this past week!!! She has quadrupled her birth weight in 4 months! Feel free to have a party in her honor!
Blessings to you all!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Life in Suubi...
We have lived on Suubi Mountain for a little longer than a week and it has been wonderful. Both Sarah and I are able to walk to work, which means I save myself 4 per day that was previously spent in a matatu with 14 of my not so close but close in proximity friends. Sarah saves herself a ton of money by not having to take special hires to work. Avoiding the taxis alone makes the move worthwhile. We have also been able to enjoy peace and quiet, which Kampala knows nothing about, and fresh air, which is also scarce in Kampala. Cooking for ourselves has been another perk since moving out to Suubi. We definitely missed cooking and eating what we want when we want. Shopping is especially challenging in a foreign place with foreign currency without a personal car. Side note – a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese cost about 10 000 Ugandan shillings which is equal to about 5 US dollars. Luckily for us a few boxes made their way into Dan’s suitcase when he came to visit.
Another perk of living on the mountain is that we are now close to and have time to visit and have guys from the shop to our new home. Yesterday Sarah and myself met up with a fellow named Richard, for you faithful blog readers you will remember that Richard was the man to teach me to take the taxis to and from work. Richard and his wife Agnes recently gave birth to their first-born child Lillian on December 21st. Sarah and I, well really just I, mentioned that we would like to meet Lillian and sure enough 4 weeks later there we were in Richards living room meeting Lillian and Agnes. This was the first time that I was able to see where and how my “co-workers” lived. It was a neat experience and I was actually quite surprised at how nice Richard’s house was. It was a simple 2-room place, a bedroom and a living room (cooking is done outside), complete with furniture and a stereo. They were thrilled that we would take time to visit their home and their daughter and at one point left us alone in their house as they went out to buy us soda and cookies. Ugandans are quite hospitable people. Today I was able to have Rashid over to our new how for the afternoon. We took it easy, chatted, looked at some pictures of Canada and our family back home and played some cards. In just 60 minutes I was able to teach Rashid how to play Crib. He beat me his first time playing let alone seeing Crib. Beginner’s luck I guess.
The new Suubi babies home opened this week and 19 babies and 12 staff joined Sarah. Since much of the construction has not yet been finished this has made for an interesting opening. While the babies could care less and are too busy checking out their new home and surroundings, Sarah has had to deal with construction workers, exploding cookers, bad wiring, power cuts and at times no water…all of this on top of her day to day worries like the babies and the staff. Needless to say, it has been an interesting opening. Amidst all of the chaos God is doing amazing things through both Sarah and the babies home. Sarah is an exceptional leader and will without a doubt get this new home off to a wonderful start.
With the opening of the new babies home, cabinets among many other items are required and that is where the shop comes in. The past week has been quite chaotic to say the least. With cabinets, concrete countertops, railings, shelves and doors for the babies home on top of our regular work load for the villages, the guys have been BUSY working overtime. While the guys work without stress or worry, Gerry and Donna are not as fortunate as they are responsible for making sure everything gets done and gets done well. Please pray the guys work diligently and accurately and that Gerry and Donna might find peace and opportunity to rest. I hope that I am able to take some of the load off both Gerry & Donna and the workers at the shop.
Sarah says that this has become a very long blog so I will leave it at that. Take Care!
Another perk of living on the mountain is that we are now close to and have time to visit and have guys from the shop to our new home. Yesterday Sarah and myself met up with a fellow named Richard, for you faithful blog readers you will remember that Richard was the man to teach me to take the taxis to and from work. Richard and his wife Agnes recently gave birth to their first-born child Lillian on December 21st. Sarah and I, well really just I, mentioned that we would like to meet Lillian and sure enough 4 weeks later there we were in Richards living room meeting Lillian and Agnes. This was the first time that I was able to see where and how my “co-workers” lived. It was a neat experience and I was actually quite surprised at how nice Richard’s house was. It was a simple 2-room place, a bedroom and a living room (cooking is done outside), complete with furniture and a stereo. They were thrilled that we would take time to visit their home and their daughter and at one point left us alone in their house as they went out to buy us soda and cookies. Ugandans are quite hospitable people. Today I was able to have Rashid over to our new how for the afternoon. We took it easy, chatted, looked at some pictures of Canada and our family back home and played some cards. In just 60 minutes I was able to teach Rashid how to play Crib. He beat me his first time playing let alone seeing Crib. Beginner’s luck I guess.
The new Suubi babies home opened this week and 19 babies and 12 staff joined Sarah. Since much of the construction has not yet been finished this has made for an interesting opening. While the babies could care less and are too busy checking out their new home and surroundings, Sarah has had to deal with construction workers, exploding cookers, bad wiring, power cuts and at times no water…all of this on top of her day to day worries like the babies and the staff. Needless to say, it has been an interesting opening. Amidst all of the chaos God is doing amazing things through both Sarah and the babies home. Sarah is an exceptional leader and will without a doubt get this new home off to a wonderful start.
With the opening of the new babies home, cabinets among many other items are required and that is where the shop comes in. The past week has been quite chaotic to say the least. With cabinets, concrete countertops, railings, shelves and doors for the babies home on top of our regular work load for the villages, the guys have been BUSY working overtime. While the guys work without stress or worry, Gerry and Donna are not as fortunate as they are responsible for making sure everything gets done and gets done well. Please pray the guys work diligently and accurately and that Gerry and Donna might find peace and opportunity to rest. I hope that I am able to take some of the load off both Gerry & Donna and the workers at the shop.
Sarah says that this has become a very long blog so I will leave it at that. Take Care!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
New Year, New House, New Role
Well we have had quite a busy week – lots of changes!
Dan left us on Wednesday and we were sad to see him go. We thoroughly enjoyed the time that we were ale to spend together on this side of the world. It was such a treat to have Dan here for the holidays and share with him our Ugandan life. The Ugandans loved meeting him. We will miss him!!!
Our lives are changing a little bit over here in Uganda. As of yesterday we moved out to Suubi village. This is the village that Matt has been making his two hour commute to every day for work. We now live about 5 min from where he works. I too will now be working at Suubi. Watoto is opening a new babies home at Suubi. It is huge and will be able to accommodate more babies then the one in town. The building is ¾ of the way complete and we are partially opening this next week with 20 babies in two units. There will be 8 units in total when the building is complete. I believe that in the end the building will hold 150 babies and toddlers from ages of 4 months to 2 years. We are still waiting on funding and the completion of the construction in order to open the rest of the units.
Amidst the construction workers, painters and electricians we will have 20 babies running around and I will be ‘in charge’. For the next four months (or until they can hire permanent people) I will be the on site administrator for this babies home, this is both a blessing and a LARGE challenge. Please be in pray over the home, the babies, the staff and of course Matt and myself. Matt will remain at the production unit, but since he is married to me and is such a wonderful husband he will often be at the home as well.
As for our new home, we are the 4th and 5th Mzungus to live on the mountain. This contrasts greatly to the guesthouse that we lived in for the past 4 months as it was full of Mzungus. We moved all our stuff out yesterday and will spend today cleaning and settling in. We will be cooking for ourselves again, which I am very excited about! So we need to remember how to cook and learn how to shop for groceries in a different country and in a different currency. Another challenge and blessing is that we are about 45 min out of Kampala. This is a blessing as we are far away from the city, the noise and the pollution. This also posses a problem as now we cannot just pop in and out of the city.
We are excited about the upcoming year. May God be glorified in us! Thank you for you’re your continued prayers - we appreciate them VERY much!
Dan left us on Wednesday and we were sad to see him go. We thoroughly enjoyed the time that we were ale to spend together on this side of the world. It was such a treat to have Dan here for the holidays and share with him our Ugandan life. The Ugandans loved meeting him. We will miss him!!!
Our lives are changing a little bit over here in Uganda. As of yesterday we moved out to Suubi village. This is the village that Matt has been making his two hour commute to every day for work. We now live about 5 min from where he works. I too will now be working at Suubi. Watoto is opening a new babies home at Suubi. It is huge and will be able to accommodate more babies then the one in town. The building is ¾ of the way complete and we are partially opening this next week with 20 babies in two units. There will be 8 units in total when the building is complete. I believe that in the end the building will hold 150 babies and toddlers from ages of 4 months to 2 years. We are still waiting on funding and the completion of the construction in order to open the rest of the units.
Amidst the construction workers, painters and electricians we will have 20 babies running around and I will be ‘in charge’. For the next four months (or until they can hire permanent people) I will be the on site administrator for this babies home, this is both a blessing and a LARGE challenge. Please be in pray over the home, the babies, the staff and of course Matt and myself. Matt will remain at the production unit, but since he is married to me and is such a wonderful husband he will often be at the home as well.
As for our new home, we are the 4th and 5th Mzungus to live on the mountain. This contrasts greatly to the guesthouse that we lived in for the past 4 months as it was full of Mzungus. We moved all our stuff out yesterday and will spend today cleaning and settling in. We will be cooking for ourselves again, which I am very excited about! So we need to remember how to cook and learn how to shop for groceries in a different country and in a different currency. Another challenge and blessing is that we are about 45 min out of Kampala. This is a blessing as we are far away from the city, the noise and the pollution. This also posses a problem as now we cannot just pop in and out of the city.
We are excited about the upcoming year. May God be glorified in us! Thank you for you’re your continued prayers - we appreciate them VERY much!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Guest writer Dan here!
Sarah Jane requested/forced upon me the blogging duties for the week…although, it is great to be here and to be able to do so! As one who also used to read these blogs, it is incredible to actually now be here and experience the things we have all been reading about since Matt and SJ have arrived.
This last week has been very eventful! We had been attempting to get into the Christmas spirit however we could, but it isn’t all that easy when it is sunny and 30 degrees outside, even with Sarah’s relentless playing of Christmas music! We were able to attend Watoto Church’s Christmas cantata, and I think it is safe to say that it was the first time any of us had truly been in the Christmas spirit. It was an amazing performance including actors, dancers, live band and live choir – 200-member cast in total! It was beautifully done, full of Ugandan humor and countless carols with heaps of African flavor! There was a great Christmas message of salvation running throughout the whole evening, which I believe will have an amazing effect as the performance ran 16 times and was viewed by over 2000 people each time! God is doing amazing things through this church.
Christmas eve day was spent working at the baby’s home, and was also one of the first full days that I had been able to spend there. It was great to see Sarah in action, and also to meet all the little faces that have been the focus of so many of their photos. It is pretty easy to get attached to those little critters! On the Eve of Christmas, in our continued quest to feel Christmassy in Africa we watched ‘Home Alone’ …what a classic. Christmas Day was again spent at the baby’s home, and in the evening we were able to attend a Christmas party for all the ‘Bullrushes’ volunteers. It was a wonderful night full of eating, dancing, games, conversation, and more eating – it was quite the experience to be around the world with Matt and Sarah for Christmas, along with so many other individuals from all corners of the globe.
On Boxing Day we boarded a shuttle and drove to the town of Jinja in order to do some camping along the source of the Nile River. The tents were fantastic, and the views were even better. We spent a lot of time lazing around in the sun, reading, playing games, hiking and exploring around. We had the best of intentions to simply relax while we were there, until we saw the video of the white water rafting that is! Sunday was spent rafting for 5 hours along 30 kilometers of the Nile – 12 rapids in total – five of which were grade 5. Each rapid contained three different ‘lines’, or paths of getting through them. They three were: chicken shoot, medium route, and hardcore. Much to Sarah’s dismay, Matthew and I opted for hardcore every time…and she has the bruises to prove it! But in the end we all had an absolutely unbelievable time cruising the Nile and basking in the sun.
Currently Matt is still on holidays from the production unit and is trying his darndest to get papers done and books read. Consequently, that means I also am on holidays from the production unit and am trying my darndest to distract him from his schoolwork and go on adventures with me. Sarah is a trooper and doesn’t really get holidays; she’s taking care of several very small very sick babies, prayer is always very welcome.
My time with Matt and Sarah Jane is quickly coming to an end here in Uganda - it has gone unbelievably fast. As I said above it has been amazing being able to experience everything they experience on a daily basis, and to be part of several unforgettable adventures with them. I wish you could all be here and see it for yourself, but mostly I wish you could be here to see how much the Ugandans love Matt and Sarah. To see how the men at the production unit love and respect Matt and how they get so excited whenever he enters the shop. And to get to experience Sarah being her crazy self with the nanny’s and the volunteers all the while teaching them and guiding them along; and to see the faces of the little ones light up every time she enters the room. But then again you all know them very well, and I am sure it doesn’t take much imagine, and you wouldn’t expect any less!
Over and out for me from Africa…Its been a slice.
Sarah Jane requested/forced upon me the blogging duties for the week…although, it is great to be here and to be able to do so! As one who also used to read these blogs, it is incredible to actually now be here and experience the things we have all been reading about since Matt and SJ have arrived.
This last week has been very eventful! We had been attempting to get into the Christmas spirit however we could, but it isn’t all that easy when it is sunny and 30 degrees outside, even with Sarah’s relentless playing of Christmas music! We were able to attend Watoto Church’s Christmas cantata, and I think it is safe to say that it was the first time any of us had truly been in the Christmas spirit. It was an amazing performance including actors, dancers, live band and live choir – 200-member cast in total! It was beautifully done, full of Ugandan humor and countless carols with heaps of African flavor! There was a great Christmas message of salvation running throughout the whole evening, which I believe will have an amazing effect as the performance ran 16 times and was viewed by over 2000 people each time! God is doing amazing things through this church.
Christmas eve day was spent working at the baby’s home, and was also one of the first full days that I had been able to spend there. It was great to see Sarah in action, and also to meet all the little faces that have been the focus of so many of their photos. It is pretty easy to get attached to those little critters! On the Eve of Christmas, in our continued quest to feel Christmassy in Africa we watched ‘Home Alone’ …what a classic. Christmas Day was again spent at the baby’s home, and in the evening we were able to attend a Christmas party for all the ‘Bullrushes’ volunteers. It was a wonderful night full of eating, dancing, games, conversation, and more eating – it was quite the experience to be around the world with Matt and Sarah for Christmas, along with so many other individuals from all corners of the globe.
On Boxing Day we boarded a shuttle and drove to the town of Jinja in order to do some camping along the source of the Nile River. The tents were fantastic, and the views were even better. We spent a lot of time lazing around in the sun, reading, playing games, hiking and exploring around. We had the best of intentions to simply relax while we were there, until we saw the video of the white water rafting that is! Sunday was spent rafting for 5 hours along 30 kilometers of the Nile – 12 rapids in total – five of which were grade 5. Each rapid contained three different ‘lines’, or paths of getting through them. They three were: chicken shoot, medium route, and hardcore. Much to Sarah’s dismay, Matthew and I opted for hardcore every time…and she has the bruises to prove it! But in the end we all had an absolutely unbelievable time cruising the Nile and basking in the sun.
Currently Matt is still on holidays from the production unit and is trying his darndest to get papers done and books read. Consequently, that means I also am on holidays from the production unit and am trying my darndest to distract him from his schoolwork and go on adventures with me. Sarah is a trooper and doesn’t really get holidays; she’s taking care of several very small very sick babies, prayer is always very welcome.
My time with Matt and Sarah Jane is quickly coming to an end here in Uganda - it has gone unbelievably fast. As I said above it has been amazing being able to experience everything they experience on a daily basis, and to be part of several unforgettable adventures with them. I wish you could all be here and see it for yourself, but mostly I wish you could be here to see how much the Ugandans love Matt and Sarah. To see how the men at the production unit love and respect Matt and how they get so excited whenever he enters the shop. And to get to experience Sarah being her crazy self with the nanny’s and the volunteers all the while teaching them and guiding them along; and to see the faces of the little ones light up every time she enters the room. But then again you all know them very well, and I am sure it doesn’t take much imagine, and you wouldn’t expect any less!
Over and out for me from Africa…Its been a slice.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas Letter from us to you!
Happy Christmas from Kampala, Uganda!
It’s strange that this year is NOT beginning to look a lot like Christmas. But, we are tremendously blessed to be able to spend the Christmas season with 65 abandoned/orphaned babies. It’s also neat to be experiencing Christmas in a different country with a different culture. We are all celebrating for the same reason, Jesus coming to the world as a baby, but celebrating differently! It makes me so thankful that Jesus came to the world for EVERYONE all over the world!
Here is a brief update on our 2009 year.
December ’08 – We were privileged to celebrate Christmas three times last year. It was our first Christmas and we celebrated at home in Abbotsford. I worked over the holidays and Matt did some much needed relaxing after his finals. It was a very white Christmas in Abby, which made for some fun trips to and from work. After Christmas in Abby we proceeded home to Lloydminster for Kaminski Christmas and celebrated Nic and Aubree’s wedding in Saskatoon! Finally, New Year’s was spent with the Morgan side of the family. It was a wonderful holiday season!
January ’09 – Back to the grind. Matt began his second semester of his second year of school as well as volleyball! Matt’s team last year was a ‘building’ team as there were only two returning players and the rest freshman, mostly walk ons. It was a character building team for Matt. He handled himself so well, loving and leading them! I was back to work at the hospital caring for sick and premature babies. I love my job and work with great people!
February ’09 – February was the month of visitors at our little condo. We do love visitors!!! We hosted many friends and both sets of parents. Mom and dad Morgan were out to celebrate Matt’s birthday, and mom and dad Kaminski came for Matt’s volleyball finals.
March ’09 – March was a month full of culture and athletics. We started off the month traveling down to Seattle to visit our good friends Thomas and Ruth and together we attended “The Lion King”, an amazing play with breathtaking costumes! The following weekend I ran my first half marathon in Abbotsford, the weather was terrible, plus 3 and pouring rain the entire time. I decided after the run that I didn’t want to do a full marathon, ½ were a perfect length for me☺ We also traveled down to Eugene, Oregon to see Rebecca for a weekend. On our way home from our weekend away we stopped in Portland to see the new musical “Wicked”, amazing! We ended the month with Matt’s volleyball banquet. He received so many awards not only for being such a good volleyball player, but also for his leadership and academics. I was a very proud wife!
April ‘09 – We used this month to spend our tax return. I had terrible eyes and was blessed to receive laser eye surgery!!! Matt finished his second year of school and before he started his summer job we went on a little trip to Las Vegas. Neither of us had ever been and it’s a place everyone should go once. Nathan drove up form LA to spend some time with us. Also in April we said good-bye to our good friends Nikki and Morgan Oliver who moved from Abbotsford back to the prairies. Game nights haven’t been the same since!
May ’09 – May was a busy month. Matt started his new summer job with White Glove Landscaping and mowed many lawns over the summer. A pregnant Correna Oliver came to visit and we went to the spa. Matt spoke at a CBC fundraiser banquet about what it meant to be an athlete at CBC. Our very good friends Phil and Cheryl were married and Matt was a groomsman. It was a perfect day! On the weekend of our one-year anniversary we went up to Kelowna to celebrate the wedding of some close friends from Green Bay Bible Camp. We stayed at the camp, the same camp where we were married at exactly one year earlier. Matt planned a beautiful scavenger hunt, which took me all over camp to places that meant much to us. May was also our last month in our beloved little condo. We packed up and moved out at the end of the month. We miss our little home!
June ’09 – We graciously moved into the basement suite of our friends Eddy and Marlene Becker. They blessed us with lodging for the entire summer and we had our little experience of lower mainland country living. The first weekend in June we went to a local bed and breakfast in the area to officially celebrate our first anniversary. It was a beautiful time of relaxation together! June brought an end to our Sunday School teaching experience. Matt and I taught a kindergarten class of kids at our church. I ran my second ½ marathon in Seattle and I like to think that I have ran a full marathon now as two halves make a whole☺ Matt played in a beach volleyball league in the summer which started in June.
July ’09 – EPIC month involving what I like to refer to as the LOVE TOUR! Somehow I was able to take all of my holidays in one chunk and what a treat this was. I spent the first week of July camp nursing at Green bay Bible Camp. The second week Matt and I were at Southridge Camp. Matt spoke for the week (and did a FANTASTIC JOB!) and I nursed. We love camp ministry! The third week was spent with the Kaminski’s at the family at the cabin. The final week was spent in Didsbury with the Morgan’s. It was the BEST month with family and friends and all things summer!
August ’09 – We spent the month of August getting ready for September. We worked tons and said many good-byes. We also made many to-do lists and crossed them off in preparation for our upcoming 8 months. We enjoyed the last little bit of Canada and summer, and then on August 29 we were off to live the dream!
September ‘09 – April ’10 – We are living in Uganda!!! Check out our blog for more details, there is not enough room here. We have been stretched, challenged, and greatly blessed!
Praying that you all can look back on your past year and see the hand of God over it! May you know that you are loved so much that God choose to send His perfect son to this very imperfect world to be the sacrifice for us so that we might live life to the fullest for all eternity – Merry Christmas!
Love,
Matt & Sarah Jane Kaminski
It’s strange that this year is NOT beginning to look a lot like Christmas. But, we are tremendously blessed to be able to spend the Christmas season with 65 abandoned/orphaned babies. It’s also neat to be experiencing Christmas in a different country with a different culture. We are all celebrating for the same reason, Jesus coming to the world as a baby, but celebrating differently! It makes me so thankful that Jesus came to the world for EVERYONE all over the world!
Here is a brief update on our 2009 year.
December ’08 – We were privileged to celebrate Christmas three times last year. It was our first Christmas and we celebrated at home in Abbotsford. I worked over the holidays and Matt did some much needed relaxing after his finals. It was a very white Christmas in Abby, which made for some fun trips to and from work. After Christmas in Abby we proceeded home to Lloydminster for Kaminski Christmas and celebrated Nic and Aubree’s wedding in Saskatoon! Finally, New Year’s was spent with the Morgan side of the family. It was a wonderful holiday season!
January ’09 – Back to the grind. Matt began his second semester of his second year of school as well as volleyball! Matt’s team last year was a ‘building’ team as there were only two returning players and the rest freshman, mostly walk ons. It was a character building team for Matt. He handled himself so well, loving and leading them! I was back to work at the hospital caring for sick and premature babies. I love my job and work with great people!
February ’09 – February was the month of visitors at our little condo. We do love visitors!!! We hosted many friends and both sets of parents. Mom and dad Morgan were out to celebrate Matt’s birthday, and mom and dad Kaminski came for Matt’s volleyball finals.
March ’09 – March was a month full of culture and athletics. We started off the month traveling down to Seattle to visit our good friends Thomas and Ruth and together we attended “The Lion King”, an amazing play with breathtaking costumes! The following weekend I ran my first half marathon in Abbotsford, the weather was terrible, plus 3 and pouring rain the entire time. I decided after the run that I didn’t want to do a full marathon, ½ were a perfect length for me☺ We also traveled down to Eugene, Oregon to see Rebecca for a weekend. On our way home from our weekend away we stopped in Portland to see the new musical “Wicked”, amazing! We ended the month with Matt’s volleyball banquet. He received so many awards not only for being such a good volleyball player, but also for his leadership and academics. I was a very proud wife!
April ‘09 – We used this month to spend our tax return. I had terrible eyes and was blessed to receive laser eye surgery!!! Matt finished his second year of school and before he started his summer job we went on a little trip to Las Vegas. Neither of us had ever been and it’s a place everyone should go once. Nathan drove up form LA to spend some time with us. Also in April we said good-bye to our good friends Nikki and Morgan Oliver who moved from Abbotsford back to the prairies. Game nights haven’t been the same since!
May ’09 – May was a busy month. Matt started his new summer job with White Glove Landscaping and mowed many lawns over the summer. A pregnant Correna Oliver came to visit and we went to the spa. Matt spoke at a CBC fundraiser banquet about what it meant to be an athlete at CBC. Our very good friends Phil and Cheryl were married and Matt was a groomsman. It was a perfect day! On the weekend of our one-year anniversary we went up to Kelowna to celebrate the wedding of some close friends from Green Bay Bible Camp. We stayed at the camp, the same camp where we were married at exactly one year earlier. Matt planned a beautiful scavenger hunt, which took me all over camp to places that meant much to us. May was also our last month in our beloved little condo. We packed up and moved out at the end of the month. We miss our little home!
June ’09 – We graciously moved into the basement suite of our friends Eddy and Marlene Becker. They blessed us with lodging for the entire summer and we had our little experience of lower mainland country living. The first weekend in June we went to a local bed and breakfast in the area to officially celebrate our first anniversary. It was a beautiful time of relaxation together! June brought an end to our Sunday School teaching experience. Matt and I taught a kindergarten class of kids at our church. I ran my second ½ marathon in Seattle and I like to think that I have ran a full marathon now as two halves make a whole☺ Matt played in a beach volleyball league in the summer which started in June.
July ’09 – EPIC month involving what I like to refer to as the LOVE TOUR! Somehow I was able to take all of my holidays in one chunk and what a treat this was. I spent the first week of July camp nursing at Green bay Bible Camp. The second week Matt and I were at Southridge Camp. Matt spoke for the week (and did a FANTASTIC JOB!) and I nursed. We love camp ministry! The third week was spent with the Kaminski’s at the family at the cabin. The final week was spent in Didsbury with the Morgan’s. It was the BEST month with family and friends and all things summer!
August ’09 – We spent the month of August getting ready for September. We worked tons and said many good-byes. We also made many to-do lists and crossed them off in preparation for our upcoming 8 months. We enjoyed the last little bit of Canada and summer, and then on August 29 we were off to live the dream!
September ‘09 – April ’10 – We are living in Uganda!!! Check out our blog for more details, there is not enough room here. We have been stretched, challenged, and greatly blessed!
Praying that you all can look back on your past year and see the hand of God over it! May you know that you are loved so much that God choose to send His perfect son to this very imperfect world to be the sacrifice for us so that we might live life to the fullest for all eternity – Merry Christmas!
Love,
Matt & Sarah Jane Kaminski
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Road Trip to the North
The Christmas season is such a great time of the year! This year our Christmas will be different, yet somehow similar. How great that all across the world people are celebrating Christmas, Jesus coming to earth as a baby so that He could live and die for us, to save us, HAPPY CHRISTMAS indeed! That being said, there are people and traditions at home that we are missing, but missing is good it means we love. And what a treat to be able to spend Christmas with beautiful babies that we have come to love. There is a song that I enjoy that is fitting for our Christmas this year…
“All I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in. A shoulder to cry on if I loose, shoulders to ride on if I win. So much I could ask for but there’s just one thing I need – all I really want for Christmas is someone who will be here to sing me happy birthday for the next one hundred years. It’s ok if they’re not perfect and even if there a little broken that’s all right cause so am I.
All I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in tell me in. Tell me I’ll never be alone, someone whose love will never end. Of all that I could ask for well there’s just one thing I need – all I really want for Christmas is a family.”
Kids wanting a mom and a dad for Christmas instead of the newest toy really puts things into perspective!
We are so blessed to have Dan here – WHAT A TREAT!!! We have thoroughly enjoyed having a little piece of home here. He has been working at both the production unit and the babies home and has been introduced to many, many people.
This past week we had the privilege of going on an African Safari! It was a great trip. Something Matt and I have been dreaming about for many years! We saw so many animals and let me tell you seeing them in the wild is sooo much better then the zoo! We did two game drives, one in a bus and the other in a 6 seater open top jeep, which was the full experience, 4x4ing through the African tundra with the sun on your face and animals all around!!! We also took a boat tour down the Nile River to Murchison Falls, surrounded by crocks and hippos the entire way! The hotel that we stayed at was right on the Nile River and had great food and great views. In the evening you couldn’t swim in the pool because the wild hippos would often come up and go for a dip☺ It was fun to experience this with Dan!
On our trip up to the Safari we stopped in at Gulu, a city in the North of Uganda that was very badly affected by the war in Uganda. If you have heard of child soldiers or the LRA this is an area where both were very much present. Watoto is opening a new babies home in Gulu, they have already started another children’s village and their little church that is busting at the seams! They also have a ministry in called Living Hope that cares for the woman who were affected by the war. These women were abused brutally, have been left with HIV and often widowed etc etc. Each lady has her own specific story to tell. They feed 900 women ever week, are teaching women skills so that they can make a living and providing much needed trauma counseling for them. Great things are being done!
We also briefly stopped by an IDP (internally displaced people) camp. These are small areas with rows of small huts that became people’s homes due to the war in the north. The government placed soldiers at these camps to protect the people. The ‘war’ in Uganda ended over three years ago and these camps are still quite full. So much is being done, but so much more needs to be done.
In other news Matt is done at the production unit until the New Year. He had his Christmas party today complete with games, speeches, dancing, local food and the Christmas story. This was the first time Matt has ever gotten a sunburn going to a Christmas party.
We received two new babies this past week, both abandoned at the local hospital. They are beautiful little boys, both just born and doing very well! I have heard that the holiday season is a bad for people abandoning babies, so we shall see what the next couple of weeks entails. I took Nellie to church last Sunday. They were doing a kids Christmas cantata for the service. She loved it!
Stay tuned for the tales of the first Kaminski African Christmas!
“All I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in. A shoulder to cry on if I loose, shoulders to ride on if I win. So much I could ask for but there’s just one thing I need – all I really want for Christmas is someone who will be here to sing me happy birthday for the next one hundred years. It’s ok if they’re not perfect and even if there a little broken that’s all right cause so am I.
All I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in tell me in. Tell me I’ll never be alone, someone whose love will never end. Of all that I could ask for well there’s just one thing I need – all I really want for Christmas is a family.”
Kids wanting a mom and a dad for Christmas instead of the newest toy really puts things into perspective!
We are so blessed to have Dan here – WHAT A TREAT!!! We have thoroughly enjoyed having a little piece of home here. He has been working at both the production unit and the babies home and has been introduced to many, many people.
This past week we had the privilege of going on an African Safari! It was a great trip. Something Matt and I have been dreaming about for many years! We saw so many animals and let me tell you seeing them in the wild is sooo much better then the zoo! We did two game drives, one in a bus and the other in a 6 seater open top jeep, which was the full experience, 4x4ing through the African tundra with the sun on your face and animals all around!!! We also took a boat tour down the Nile River to Murchison Falls, surrounded by crocks and hippos the entire way! The hotel that we stayed at was right on the Nile River and had great food and great views. In the evening you couldn’t swim in the pool because the wild hippos would often come up and go for a dip☺ It was fun to experience this with Dan!
On our trip up to the Safari we stopped in at Gulu, a city in the North of Uganda that was very badly affected by the war in Uganda. If you have heard of child soldiers or the LRA this is an area where both were very much present. Watoto is opening a new babies home in Gulu, they have already started another children’s village and their little church that is busting at the seams! They also have a ministry in called Living Hope that cares for the woman who were affected by the war. These women were abused brutally, have been left with HIV and often widowed etc etc. Each lady has her own specific story to tell. They feed 900 women ever week, are teaching women skills so that they can make a living and providing much needed trauma counseling for them. Great things are being done!
We also briefly stopped by an IDP (internally displaced people) camp. These are small areas with rows of small huts that became people’s homes due to the war in the north. The government placed soldiers at these camps to protect the people. The ‘war’ in Uganda ended over three years ago and these camps are still quite full. So much is being done, but so much more needs to be done.
In other news Matt is done at the production unit until the New Year. He had his Christmas party today complete with games, speeches, dancing, local food and the Christmas story. This was the first time Matt has ever gotten a sunburn going to a Christmas party.
We received two new babies this past week, both abandoned at the local hospital. They are beautiful little boys, both just born and doing very well! I have heard that the holiday season is a bad for people abandoning babies, so we shall see what the next couple of weeks entails. I took Nellie to church last Sunday. They were doing a kids Christmas cantata for the service. She loved it!
Stay tuned for the tales of the first Kaminski African Christmas!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
A Trip to the Zoo
Greetings to all, happy holiday’s (perhaps a bit premature) and we trust that the majority of you reading this blog are enjoying the snow. I think SJ and I are both slightly missing the powdery white stuff. 40 degrees above zero feels a bit weird in December. My internal holiday clock is totally messed up. So please, if you are not enjoying the snow, the ice, the minus 30, the defensive driving and that storms, just think of us sweating our faces off and enjoy it a little for us. That would be great.
Today was also exciting as we were, once again, able to spend a very special day with the children from Nakasongola. Sarah, myself, and two other volunteers (Jess and Edith) were invited to spend the day with the kids in Entebbe. When we joined up with the kids we met them at the Entebbe International Airport where they were enjoying some sodas and watching the airplanes land, take-off and just chill on the tarmac. Something, to many of us, so “normal” and mundane and certainly not worthy of two hours; but something, to the kids, new and tremendously exciting. Another thing that the kids found very exciting/scary were stairs. Yes you read correctly…stairs. The majority of these kids had never scene or climbed stairs before. (you don’t need stairs in mud huts☺) It was fun to be able to experience this with them, they were very cautious in climbing up and down the stairs and held very tightly to our hands for extra support!
Next we proceeded to the Entebbe Wildlife Reserve (zoo). Along with the kids, we were excited to be able to see lions, rhinos, zebras, chimpanzees, monkeys (in and out of cages) and many other animals. After checking out all the animals we enjoyed lunch right on the edge of Lake Victoria. While swimming was tempting, the water didn’t look all that appealing. Sarah and I both stepped in just to say that we had been in Lake Victoria, but that is as far as we went.
All in all it was a GREAT day!
Today was also exciting as we were, once again, able to spend a very special day with the children from Nakasongola. Sarah, myself, and two other volunteers (Jess and Edith) were invited to spend the day with the kids in Entebbe. When we joined up with the kids we met them at the Entebbe International Airport where they were enjoying some sodas and watching the airplanes land, take-off and just chill on the tarmac. Something, to many of us, so “normal” and mundane and certainly not worthy of two hours; but something, to the kids, new and tremendously exciting. Another thing that the kids found very exciting/scary were stairs. Yes you read correctly…stairs. The majority of these kids had never scene or climbed stairs before. (you don’t need stairs in mud huts☺) It was fun to be able to experience this with them, they were very cautious in climbing up and down the stairs and held very tightly to our hands for extra support!
Next we proceeded to the Entebbe Wildlife Reserve (zoo). Along with the kids, we were excited to be able to see lions, rhinos, zebras, chimpanzees, monkeys (in and out of cages) and many other animals. After checking out all the animals we enjoyed lunch right on the edge of Lake Victoria. While swimming was tempting, the water didn’t look all that appealing. Sarah and I both stepped in just to say that we had been in Lake Victoria, but that is as far as we went.
All in all it was a GREAT day!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Rwanda
This past weekend Sarah and I had the opportunity to travel to Rwanda for a short four day get-a-way that turned out to be both relaxing and educational. Our hope for the trip was to get a little time away from Uganda, to see Kigali (one of Africa’s most beautiful cities) and to also learn a little more about Rwanda’s history by visiting the Kigali Genocide Museum. Prior to our departure we prepared ourselves a little by watching the movie Hotel Rwanda, which is by no means an easy movie to watch but a good way to learn and remember what happened in Rwanda 15 years ago. It was at the same Hotel Rwanda (the Hotel des Mille Collines) that we stayed and we had a wonderful stay.
Side note – Before arriving at the hotel we waited 3 hours in Entebbe International Airport (Uganda) before our plane even showed up, and another hour in the Kigali International Airport (Rwanda) before our shuttle showed up. I suppose it wouldn’t be an African trip if we didn’t spend time waiting.
Anywho…back to Kigali. Our stay at “Hotel Rwanda” was wonderful and our visit to the genocide museum was tough but good. It is hard to believe that such atrocities happened in the country of Rwanda in 1994 and the surrounding world did nothing about it, a hard reality to swallow. The museums consisted of four exhibits. The first was pictures, stories and actual items from the Rwandan genocide. The second was dedicated to telling the stories of other genocides that have taken place over the years throughout the world. There were, unfortunately, far more than I had previously known about. The third exhibit told stories of children who were killed in the Rwandan genocide. And the fourth was a self-guided walking tour among gardens and mass graves right there at the museum. Again, it was a difficult museum to tour but a good experience.
I went away from my time in Rwanda relaxed, thankful that I have never had to experience violence like what occurred in Rwanda and many other countries around the world, and sorry for those who have. God’s heart must hurt so much because of what his creation does to one another. May his peace and love come and flood our lives, our world and our future.
Side note – Before arriving at the hotel we waited 3 hours in Entebbe International Airport (Uganda) before our plane even showed up, and another hour in the Kigali International Airport (Rwanda) before our shuttle showed up. I suppose it wouldn’t be an African trip if we didn’t spend time waiting.
Anywho…back to Kigali. Our stay at “Hotel Rwanda” was wonderful and our visit to the genocide museum was tough but good. It is hard to believe that such atrocities happened in the country of Rwanda in 1994 and the surrounding world did nothing about it, a hard reality to swallow. The museums consisted of four exhibits. The first was pictures, stories and actual items from the Rwandan genocide. The second was dedicated to telling the stories of other genocides that have taken place over the years throughout the world. There were, unfortunately, far more than I had previously known about. The third exhibit told stories of children who were killed in the Rwandan genocide. And the fourth was a self-guided walking tour among gardens and mass graves right there at the museum. Again, it was a difficult museum to tour but a good experience.
I went away from my time in Rwanda relaxed, thankful that I have never had to experience violence like what occurred in Rwanda and many other countries around the world, and sorry for those who have. God’s heart must hurt so much because of what his creation does to one another. May his peace and love come and flood our lives, our world and our future.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
a little bit from both of us
A little bit from Matt:
I got a little break from the production unit this past week and spent my days in Kampala. Monday and Tuesday I had the opportunity to make my way to an area called Ntinda, an area I had not visited. There myself and two other workers from the shop installed some kitchen cabinets at a very nice Ugandan home. But my highlight from the week took place on Wednesday and Thursday as I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the Global Leadership Summit, Ugandan style. I was accompanied by my lovely wife, a friend of ours from Australia and one of my co-workers from the shop. For those of you who do not know what the Leadership Summit is, it is a leadership conference that was founded by Bill Hybles, the pastor of Willow Creek church in Chicago. This conference takes place in Chicago annually and is broadcast out to roughly 150 other churches across North America. This years speaking roster consisted of Bill Hybles, John Maxwell, Wayne Cordiero, Gary Haugen and Tony Blair, just to name a few. Uganda has hosted this conference once before and is truly passionate about raising up strong Christian leaders with hopes of turning their country around.
I was quite excited to attend the conference not only to receive some solid teaching on leadership but to expose my friend Frank, the head foreman from the production unit, to these teachings and to a side of Kampala that he has never been apart of. The conference was held in one of Kampala’s finest hotels complete with course material and meals. I fully expected the conference to be very North American in nature and after about thirty minutes in attendance realized that my expectations were way off. The conference as a whole, apart from the Mzungu speakers via DVD, was completely and utterly Ugandan. The praise and worship was in Lugandan, the technical side of things was a little shaky, the lunch was Ugandan dishes, the sessions rarely began as scheduled and the who’s who of Ugandan Protestantism was in attendance and introduced. It was definitely a cultural experience.
At the end of it all I enjoyed some wonderful teachings from some of the world’s top leaders and was truly challenged by what was taught. But most of all I was blessed to have shared the experience with Frank. He listened intently, he took notes, we discussed how what was taught could be used at the shop, he enjoyed the food (as any Ugandan would) and he received a certificate at the end. But what stuck me most was a comment he made. He told me that he had passed by that particular hotel a number of times and always thought that he had absolutely no reason to enter, as if it was out of his “league”. Frank was so excited and thankful that I asked him to come, that he finally entered that hotel and that he learned valuable lessons in leadership that he could take back to his work.
A little bit from SJ:
Within one day a nurse has the ability to have such drastically high moments and such drastically low moments – this past Saturday I experienced a high high followed so closely by a low low – I rest in the fact that our God is sovereign and His plans are best!
This past Sat. a few of us rented a car and drove out to Nakasongola for the day. Edith, one of the volunteers from Australia drove the rental care (Australians drive on the same side of the road as Ugandans☺). Edith did a great job at getting us there and back on some not so fantastic roads! We had only a few hours to spend with the kids and we had some things to finish for their sponsorship profiles. Another volunteer that is working with Watoto with us has so graciously volunteered to do the sponsorship profiles for the orphanage during her free time from Watoto – amazing! And we also brought with us the HIV testing kit so that we could finish what we had started a few weeks ago when we did full physicals on the kids. We tested each of the kids, gave them a colorful band aid (which they loved), a lollipop and then Edith prayed over them. I think the kids were very confused as to why these Mzungu’s whom they were coming to love would want to make them bleed and then put there blood on strips…weird concept if you have never had a blood test.
I was expecting the results of the test to be very disappointing. Many of these kids come from horrific backgrounds, from bad home situation, from living in a prison because the police took pitty on them from living on the streets, from homes where both parents and many siblings have died from AIDS. BUT God is soooo good! He is faithful…ALL of the kids were NEGATIVE!!!!! We had a little dance party to celebrate – thank you Jesus!!! It was sad to say good-bye to our precious friends, but what a treat of health!
While in Nakasongola I got a call from the Babies Home asking if on our way through the city we would stop by the home to give IV drugs to Harrison – our newest admit to the babies home. He was septic when he arrived to us and is nearing the end of his treatment and doing well! I said sure as I like to lay eyes on the sick babies at least once a day. When we got there Harrison was looking fantastic. I gave him his meds and then we were about to head back home when Zack arrived back from the surgery. Not to get into too much detail, but he looked terrible. Zack was our 6 week old 1.1kg malnourished little man. I saw him last on the Friday night – just 24 hours ago and I had made the comment to the nannies about how good he was looking and he was gaining weight nicely. Sat evening he looked bad, I assessed him and everytime I touched him I caused him pain. He was a sick little man. I called the bosses of the home to come in. We started his IV and antibiotics. A couple of hours later his breathing was very labored and he was having frequent episodes of apnea and his little heart rate would slow to less then 60 – it should have been above 100/min. We started Zack on all the proper meds, started him on CPAP which gave him temporarily respiratory relief and he even seemed to be on the up swing. Matt and I finally left the home at about 12:20am. Des, the nurse in charge of all Watoto spent the night with Zack. I told Zack before I left that heaven was a great place and not to stay on earth for our sake – Zack’s earth was so full of hurt, pain and neglect for his 6 weeks of life. I didn’t sleep well at all and finally at 6am I got the call saying that Zack had died. Des said that he was doing great – and then just suddenly his little heart just stopped…it was his time to go to Jesus…Zack will never feel hurt, pain or neglect again. We were able to love Zack for the two weeks we shared, but he has never experienced love like he is experiencing now!
Ups and downs…Jesus is in charge of all of them! And so we go on…resting in the fact that our God is sovereign and that we are to be His hands and feet, but he is in control. And I smile when I think of Zack – pain free and loved! And we go back to work – because there are 65 more beautiful lives that need love and care!
I am thankful for the opportunities that God is blessing Matt and I with! May we be faithful to Him in and through all things!
I got a little break from the production unit this past week and spent my days in Kampala. Monday and Tuesday I had the opportunity to make my way to an area called Ntinda, an area I had not visited. There myself and two other workers from the shop installed some kitchen cabinets at a very nice Ugandan home. But my highlight from the week took place on Wednesday and Thursday as I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the Global Leadership Summit, Ugandan style. I was accompanied by my lovely wife, a friend of ours from Australia and one of my co-workers from the shop. For those of you who do not know what the Leadership Summit is, it is a leadership conference that was founded by Bill Hybles, the pastor of Willow Creek church in Chicago. This conference takes place in Chicago annually and is broadcast out to roughly 150 other churches across North America. This years speaking roster consisted of Bill Hybles, John Maxwell, Wayne Cordiero, Gary Haugen and Tony Blair, just to name a few. Uganda has hosted this conference once before and is truly passionate about raising up strong Christian leaders with hopes of turning their country around.
I was quite excited to attend the conference not only to receive some solid teaching on leadership but to expose my friend Frank, the head foreman from the production unit, to these teachings and to a side of Kampala that he has never been apart of. The conference was held in one of Kampala’s finest hotels complete with course material and meals. I fully expected the conference to be very North American in nature and after about thirty minutes in attendance realized that my expectations were way off. The conference as a whole, apart from the Mzungu speakers via DVD, was completely and utterly Ugandan. The praise and worship was in Lugandan, the technical side of things was a little shaky, the lunch was Ugandan dishes, the sessions rarely began as scheduled and the who’s who of Ugandan Protestantism was in attendance and introduced. It was definitely a cultural experience.
At the end of it all I enjoyed some wonderful teachings from some of the world’s top leaders and was truly challenged by what was taught. But most of all I was blessed to have shared the experience with Frank. He listened intently, he took notes, we discussed how what was taught could be used at the shop, he enjoyed the food (as any Ugandan would) and he received a certificate at the end. But what stuck me most was a comment he made. He told me that he had passed by that particular hotel a number of times and always thought that he had absolutely no reason to enter, as if it was out of his “league”. Frank was so excited and thankful that I asked him to come, that he finally entered that hotel and that he learned valuable lessons in leadership that he could take back to his work.
A little bit from SJ:
Within one day a nurse has the ability to have such drastically high moments and such drastically low moments – this past Saturday I experienced a high high followed so closely by a low low – I rest in the fact that our God is sovereign and His plans are best!
This past Sat. a few of us rented a car and drove out to Nakasongola for the day. Edith, one of the volunteers from Australia drove the rental care (Australians drive on the same side of the road as Ugandans☺). Edith did a great job at getting us there and back on some not so fantastic roads! We had only a few hours to spend with the kids and we had some things to finish for their sponsorship profiles. Another volunteer that is working with Watoto with us has so graciously volunteered to do the sponsorship profiles for the orphanage during her free time from Watoto – amazing! And we also brought with us the HIV testing kit so that we could finish what we had started a few weeks ago when we did full physicals on the kids. We tested each of the kids, gave them a colorful band aid (which they loved), a lollipop and then Edith prayed over them. I think the kids were very confused as to why these Mzungu’s whom they were coming to love would want to make them bleed and then put there blood on strips…weird concept if you have never had a blood test.
I was expecting the results of the test to be very disappointing. Many of these kids come from horrific backgrounds, from bad home situation, from living in a prison because the police took pitty on them from living on the streets, from homes where both parents and many siblings have died from AIDS. BUT God is soooo good! He is faithful…ALL of the kids were NEGATIVE!!!!! We had a little dance party to celebrate – thank you Jesus!!! It was sad to say good-bye to our precious friends, but what a treat of health!
While in Nakasongola I got a call from the Babies Home asking if on our way through the city we would stop by the home to give IV drugs to Harrison – our newest admit to the babies home. He was septic when he arrived to us and is nearing the end of his treatment and doing well! I said sure as I like to lay eyes on the sick babies at least once a day. When we got there Harrison was looking fantastic. I gave him his meds and then we were about to head back home when Zack arrived back from the surgery. Not to get into too much detail, but he looked terrible. Zack was our 6 week old 1.1kg malnourished little man. I saw him last on the Friday night – just 24 hours ago and I had made the comment to the nannies about how good he was looking and he was gaining weight nicely. Sat evening he looked bad, I assessed him and everytime I touched him I caused him pain. He was a sick little man. I called the bosses of the home to come in. We started his IV and antibiotics. A couple of hours later his breathing was very labored and he was having frequent episodes of apnea and his little heart rate would slow to less then 60 – it should have been above 100/min. We started Zack on all the proper meds, started him on CPAP which gave him temporarily respiratory relief and he even seemed to be on the up swing. Matt and I finally left the home at about 12:20am. Des, the nurse in charge of all Watoto spent the night with Zack. I told Zack before I left that heaven was a great place and not to stay on earth for our sake – Zack’s earth was so full of hurt, pain and neglect for his 6 weeks of life. I didn’t sleep well at all and finally at 6am I got the call saying that Zack had died. Des said that he was doing great – and then just suddenly his little heart just stopped…it was his time to go to Jesus…Zack will never feel hurt, pain or neglect again. We were able to love Zack for the two weeks we shared, but he has never experienced love like he is experiencing now!
Ups and downs…Jesus is in charge of all of them! And so we go on…resting in the fact that our God is sovereign and that we are to be His hands and feet, but he is in control. And I smile when I think of Zack – pain free and loved! And we go back to work – because there are 65 more beautiful lives that need love and care!
I am thankful for the opportunities that God is blessing Matt and I with! May we be faithful to Him in and through all things!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
November 15, 2009
Last weekend I really got a taste of the poverty that plagues the city of Kampala, the country of Uganda and the continent of Africa, and realized just how complex a problem it is. On the evening of November 8th I accompanied Roger, from New Beginnings, into the downtown slums of Kampala. These slums are home to thousands of men, women and teenagers many of whom struggle with addictions. It is also home to Joshua and Joseph, two young men whom Roger has befriended over the years. Earlier that evening Roger asked me if I was interested in visiting Joshua, Joseph and the many other young residents of the slums and if I would “give them a word”. Unsure of what giving them a word meant and even more unsure of what I was going to say I agreed without hesitation trusting God would give me something intelligent to say.
We arrived after dark and the streets were busy with vendors, avid football (soccer) fans and people seeking an evening meal. The dirt “roads” were eerily lit by candles, kerosene lanterns and the odd street light; hardly a place appealing of an evening visit. With that being said I felt perfectly safe during my visit and even welcome.
We eventually found Joshua and Joseph; rather they found us, as it is not an easy task finding a Ugandan in the dark. I was quickly bombarded by names, handshakes and questions. After a meeting and greeting nearly twenty young men Roger told them all to sit and listen to what the pastor, me, had to say. They quickly sat and were ready to hear whatever it was that I had to say. Roger wanted me to mention that the streets were no place for them to live but other than that it was up to me. I started out with who I was and why I was in Uganda and then proceeded to tell them that the God who loved me and brought me to Uganda also loved them and had a plan for their life. I also encouraged those who had families to go home as the streets were only going to bring them harm.
I am not sure if anything I said that night sunk in but I trust God has a great plan for their lives and that he used me to play a small part in getting them on track. I did however come to the realization that getting people off the streets and pursuing something productive is no easy task. You cannot simply throw money at the situation, as they will most likely spend foolishly. You cannot tell them to get a job as few, if any, posses any type of training or education. And you cannot tell them to go to school as most secondary schools in Uganda cost money, money that they do not have or cannot keep. So how does one begin to find a solution to this problem? The only answer that I can think of is to develop friendships. To spend time with them, learn about them, earn their trust and love on them. That in my opinion would be a good start.
Things at the babies home, and specifically in the premie room have been busy the last little while. Last week Sarah received Zack, a 6 week old, 1.1kg term baby who is severely malnourished. We ask that you would all pray that Zack would begin to gain weight and strength so that he may enjoy a normal life. For those of you wondering how Meg is doing, she took her first bottle this past week and is making Sarah very proud. It was a measly 18ml but a huge step for Meg. Outside the babies home Sarah treated herself to a new African hairstyle. Pictures are available on Facebook.
Life at the shop is as busy as always and a little more stressful as Gerry is on a much deserved leave visiting family and friends back in Ohio. While my goal is still to get to know the people that I am working with, much of my time has been spent constructing kitchen cabinets for a job in Kampala. They turned out not too bad if I do say so myself. Those of you interested in the timber kiln…It is currently on its maiden voyage and so far so good. While the sun has not been out much at all the last little while, the timber is drying slowly but surly. With all of the building going on within Watoto much furniture will need to be constructed in the next few months. I am looking forward to learning much. Please pray for continued safety at the shop (God gave us 10 finders and we would like to keep in that way), that my relationships would continue to deepen and that God would give me opportunity to encourage and minister to my new friends.
We arrived after dark and the streets were busy with vendors, avid football (soccer) fans and people seeking an evening meal. The dirt “roads” were eerily lit by candles, kerosene lanterns and the odd street light; hardly a place appealing of an evening visit. With that being said I felt perfectly safe during my visit and even welcome.
We eventually found Joshua and Joseph; rather they found us, as it is not an easy task finding a Ugandan in the dark. I was quickly bombarded by names, handshakes and questions. After a meeting and greeting nearly twenty young men Roger told them all to sit and listen to what the pastor, me, had to say. They quickly sat and were ready to hear whatever it was that I had to say. Roger wanted me to mention that the streets were no place for them to live but other than that it was up to me. I started out with who I was and why I was in Uganda and then proceeded to tell them that the God who loved me and brought me to Uganda also loved them and had a plan for their life. I also encouraged those who had families to go home as the streets were only going to bring them harm.
I am not sure if anything I said that night sunk in but I trust God has a great plan for their lives and that he used me to play a small part in getting them on track. I did however come to the realization that getting people off the streets and pursuing something productive is no easy task. You cannot simply throw money at the situation, as they will most likely spend foolishly. You cannot tell them to get a job as few, if any, posses any type of training or education. And you cannot tell them to go to school as most secondary schools in Uganda cost money, money that they do not have or cannot keep. So how does one begin to find a solution to this problem? The only answer that I can think of is to develop friendships. To spend time with them, learn about them, earn their trust and love on them. That in my opinion would be a good start.
Things at the babies home, and specifically in the premie room have been busy the last little while. Last week Sarah received Zack, a 6 week old, 1.1kg term baby who is severely malnourished. We ask that you would all pray that Zack would begin to gain weight and strength so that he may enjoy a normal life. For those of you wondering how Meg is doing, she took her first bottle this past week and is making Sarah very proud. It was a measly 18ml but a huge step for Meg. Outside the babies home Sarah treated herself to a new African hairstyle. Pictures are available on Facebook.
Life at the shop is as busy as always and a little more stressful as Gerry is on a much deserved leave visiting family and friends back in Ohio. While my goal is still to get to know the people that I am working with, much of my time has been spent constructing kitchen cabinets for a job in Kampala. They turned out not too bad if I do say so myself. Those of you interested in the timber kiln…It is currently on its maiden voyage and so far so good. While the sun has not been out much at all the last little while, the timber is drying slowly but surly. With all of the building going on within Watoto much furniture will need to be constructed in the next few months. I am looking forward to learning much. Please pray for continued safety at the shop (God gave us 10 finders and we would like to keep in that way), that my relationships would continue to deepen and that God would give me opportunity to encourage and minister to my new friends.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
November 3, 2009 – New Beginnings Orphanage
This past weekend we had the privilege of traveling three hours north of Kampala to an area called Nakasongola, which is home to an orphanage called “New Beginnings.” Roger, an Irish man, is the brains, passion and inspiration behind the orphanage. He came to Uganda, saw a need and is meeting that need. The orphanage is small with only 24 children, but is growing all too quickly. New Beginnings is currently under construction building their third dormitory. The kids were beautiful! They have nothing and yet they are FULL of joy! They were so excited to have visitors. Six of us traveled out and we were the first “team” that has come to visit. They treated us like royalty. People have so little and yet are so giving – many lessons to be learnt there!
Our two days were jam-packed!!! We did a lot of playing☺. Matt played hours worth of soccer in the hot sun with the young men of New Beginnings. Another nurse and myself did full physical assessments on the kids, which was their first. Roger was VERY grateful. I had also brought up HIV testing kits…but was sold the incorrect strips☹. I specifically asked questions so that this would not happen, but in Uganda anyone can open a pharmacy regardless of training or education. So the HIV tests will have to be done on our next trip! Auntie Michelle (one of our other team members) brought supplies to do a craft with the kids, which they loved. We had the 24 kids from New Beginnings and then others seemed to appear out of nowhere to craft it up!
On Saturday night after supper we had a dance party with the kids. We danced for about an hour with them and they dance for over two!! Ugandans are born with the innate ability to dance! After the dancing, Roger set up a white sheet in a hut and we sang along to some karaoke – good times!
Sunday we went to church. Real African bush church. We didn’t understand most of what was said, but they did translate the message for us. Summary of the message…get your act together cause we are all dying. They get right to the point here☺. After lunch Roger and the kids took us on a walk around the surrounding area. Uganda really is a beautiful country! The air was fresh and the bush so green and lush compared to the red soil. As we walked many people came out to the bush to greet the six white strangers☺. We saw “real” Africa, mud huts and naked babies! After our walk we were off! It was sad to leave as the kids ran after the van. They each stole a piece of our heart!
It was so nice to get out of Kampala and to the country. The people were SO grateful and appreciative of us. It was a humbling experience. Hopefully we will be able to see the kids again. Hopefully we will be able to get the right HIV tests next time, test the kids and get them on medication if needed. If you think about it, pray for Roger and these 24 kids. God is doing great things – we were so blessed to be apart of it! Also… One of the girls from our “team” is creating sponsorship profiles for the kids (wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more).
After reading over this post I have realized that it covers all of the facts from the weekend, but not all of the different emotions that we felt. I guess some thing’s are for the here and now. I hope that someday you all will be able to experience little pieces of heaven like we experienced this past weekend!
Our two days were jam-packed!!! We did a lot of playing☺. Matt played hours worth of soccer in the hot sun with the young men of New Beginnings. Another nurse and myself did full physical assessments on the kids, which was their first. Roger was VERY grateful. I had also brought up HIV testing kits…but was sold the incorrect strips☹. I specifically asked questions so that this would not happen, but in Uganda anyone can open a pharmacy regardless of training or education. So the HIV tests will have to be done on our next trip! Auntie Michelle (one of our other team members) brought supplies to do a craft with the kids, which they loved. We had the 24 kids from New Beginnings and then others seemed to appear out of nowhere to craft it up!
On Saturday night after supper we had a dance party with the kids. We danced for about an hour with them and they dance for over two!! Ugandans are born with the innate ability to dance! After the dancing, Roger set up a white sheet in a hut and we sang along to some karaoke – good times!
Sunday we went to church. Real African bush church. We didn’t understand most of what was said, but they did translate the message for us. Summary of the message…get your act together cause we are all dying. They get right to the point here☺. After lunch Roger and the kids took us on a walk around the surrounding area. Uganda really is a beautiful country! The air was fresh and the bush so green and lush compared to the red soil. As we walked many people came out to the bush to greet the six white strangers☺. We saw “real” Africa, mud huts and naked babies! After our walk we were off! It was sad to leave as the kids ran after the van. They each stole a piece of our heart!
It was so nice to get out of Kampala and to the country. The people were SO grateful and appreciative of us. It was a humbling experience. Hopefully we will be able to see the kids again. Hopefully we will be able to get the right HIV tests next time, test the kids and get them on medication if needed. If you think about it, pray for Roger and these 24 kids. God is doing great things – we were so blessed to be apart of it! Also… One of the girls from our “team” is creating sponsorship profiles for the kids (wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more).
After reading over this post I have realized that it covers all of the facts from the weekend, but not all of the different emotions that we felt. I guess some thing’s are for the here and now. I hope that someday you all will be able to experience little pieces of heaven like we experienced this past weekend!
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