Uganda #2: Blessings Galore

Banana trees. Mosquito nets. New languages. Nothing but green for miles. Intense rain. No shower. 11 children. And this is only the beginning.

I’m not sure how to even begin describing the last week to you. Just know that anything I tell you is only a fraction of what I’m actually experiencing but could never fully explain. But let’s get right to it. Friday afternoon was spent in Kampala; Anthony and I took a “taxi” (14-seater van in which is piled as many people as humanly possible) and I experienced some of the craziest, daring driving of my life. It’s very difficult to describe Kampala in general. There are people EVERYWHERE doing a million things, dressed in a thousand ways – some women carrying water or sticks on their head, others dressed in jeans. Some wearing traditional African dresses, some wearing shorts and a t-shirt. The diversity is enormous. And it was Friday, the busiest day of the week, according to Anthony. We went to the bank so I could exchange some money. We ate at a local Ugandan restaurant where I got my first taste of local food, which is very good!! If you were at my fundraising dinner back in November, some of the food my mom made was pretty much what I ate that day. There was matoke (mashed plantains – surprisingly one of my least favorite things – they’re just kind of plain), a sauce with peas (the staple foods here, typically made of grains, millet, etc. are usually served with a sauce to give them more flavor), chicken stew, millet bread (which I cannot for the life of me think of the Ugandan name for – which was a bit crunchy and also not my favorite), and chapatti (these kind of tortillas made of wheat – and my personal favorite so far). I tried it all and for the most part was very satisfied! I drank a Coke as a throwback to my US homies.

We also bought a SIM card and phone minutes for me (Anthony sold me an extra Motorola phone he had for much cheaper than I would’ve had to pay for one normally) and then I decided I should look for a fan. At the guest house I was staying in Kampala, the fan stopped working in the middle of the night and I thought it might be a very good investment to buy one for my time in Tororo. (It turned out that the electricity at the guest house went out in the middle of the night so it wasn’t the fan that was broken, rather the power going out.) So I went and found a box fan, the kind that stands on its own or sits on the floor, for like $25. It would turn out to be a very excellent investment indeed :) While we were out that afternoon I also experienced my first Ugandan rain – delightful. I had seen it coming earlier due to those huge imposing Lion King clouds on their way in. It only rained for a bit but it felt wonderful – it was probably 85 and quite humid so it was a welcome change. I spent the rest of that day checking emails and catching up on things back at the computer center/Anthony’s office, got to the guest house around 9 and promptly fell asleep.

Saturday morning I got woken up by an INTENSE thunderstorm around 4am. It was so loud – not just the thunder but the massive amount of rain – I couldn’t fall back asleep again. Welcome to Africa!! That morning Anthony and I hired a car to drive us the 4 or so hours from Kampala to Tororo, where I’d be living. Hiring a car is expensive, but it’s more private compared to the 14-seater taxis, and we both had a lot of things to carry with us so it was good we hired a car. The trip was an adventure in itself; lots of potholes, bad roads, crazy traffic (especially getting out of Kampala; it’s an absolute nightmare). At one point we hit a blockade in the highway and had to take an alternate “route”, lol this consisted of a muddy back road that went through small villages and it was just a crazy, unpredictable drive. However, we survived so it’s a fun story to tell. I wish I could have videos and pictures of all these things; it’s just very hard to get across the adventure of it all.

We arrived in Tororo in the afternoon, around 4 o’clock, and Anthony took me to my host family right away. I had heard the father was a pastor and there were a lot of children; that was the extent of what I knew about the family. Well, a lot of children is right. I was greeted by probably 8 or so kids; after a while I just stopped counting! I was overwhelmed by it all; obviously you are a complete stranger, you are the only white person (mzungu) around, you are coming into an entirely new situation. Some of the children (they seemed older – probably closer to my age) helped carry my things in. I soon learned the parents were gone at a wedding and wouldn’t be back until the evening. The family had me sit down in one of their armchairs, the place of honor, and all greeted me in the traditional Ugandan way, which means everyone shakes your hand, and the women all kneel in front of you while shaking your hand. At first I didn’t understand what was happening and it definitely caught me off guard to have everyone kneeling in front of me, but once Anthony explained that was the traditional way of greeting it made a lot more sense.
After a few minutes, a few of the older children showed me my room and we ended up sitting and talking for a long time. The one I immediately connected with was Regina, the Okello’s oldest daughter who currently lives at home (they have 10 children, 5 of whom still live at home), who is 19. Her English is great and I was able to talk to her very easily. Caleb, their son who is 16, also sat in the room with us and mostly listened, but also talked a bit, especially whenever I would ask him anything. The other one I got to know the first day is Fred, who’s 24 and is actually the Okello’s nephew, but he’s lived with them since he was 14. One thing I learned very quickly is that the Okello’s (who I actually shouldn’t even call the Okello’s – they don’t have surnames/last names in Uganda; everyone has a given name and a Christian name [usually a Westernized one or a Biblical name] so they just go by those and not family names) are an incredibly accepting and loving family. They’ve taken in several of their nephews, nieces and grandchildren whose parents have either died or can’t afford to take of them. I am still trying to keep track of everyone who lives or visits here and keeping it all straight is sometimes hard! But everyone in the family gets a good laugh out of it so it’s all good! But yes, one of my favorite things about this family is the fact that they will take in anyone who needs help or needs a place to stay. Imagine a family who already has 10 children of their own who are either living with them or being supported by them, several grandchildren and nephews living with them, taking in yet another person, someone who they don’t know and is a foreigner, to boot! I mean it just blows my mind.

Another incredible and overwhelmingly generous thing about this family is that they have rearranged their whole house and living situation so that I can stay here. The parents MOVED OUT of their room to give me the biggest room that has its own bathroom. THEY MOVED OUT OF THEIR ROOM. Are you kidding me? I almost had a heart attack when Regina told me that, of course she told me in the most nonchalant way, as if it was obvious and common that someone would do that for a visitor. So everyone else has had to shift around so that I can have this room to myself (which of course they would have no other way). The parents moved to the room the girls used to sleep in, and I know everyone else moved around, it’s just all still a bit confusing to me! But then 3 of the children (when I say children I mean anyone from their kids in their 20s to grandchildren to nephews – it’s just easier to say children, savvy?) are sleeping on foam mattresses in a room connected to the living room. I mean, when I think about how much this family has sacrificed so that I’ll feel comfortable and welcome I just can’t handle it. It’s incredible, and I feel blessed beyond even being able to describe.

So please, if you are at all worried about me, how I’m doing or being taken care of, DON’T. This family is phenomenal. They have been helpful, welcoming, generous, friendly, and more loving than I could ever have hoped for. I know it must feel like I’m exaggerating but I seriously cannot tell you how amazing these sweet people are and how lucky I feel to be here. For those of you who are wondering, the basics as far as living details in the house are as follows. They have running water in some parts of the house but not others. For example, when I came I found out my sink had running water, but my toilet didn’t, so I would need to have my toilet filled with water from the tap outside every time I wanted to use it. They cook everything on either a charcoal stove inside (it sits on the ground and you have to sit on a very low stool in order to cook) or a kind of grill with firewood outside, for times when it’s not raining and you can cook outside. They don’t have a microwave, oven, refrigerator, freezer, or stove. Nothing you and I take for granted every single day of our lives. They handwash their clothes in a basin of water in the backyard, just using soap and their hands. A lot of the food they eat comes from some land they own and toil themselves. Everything about what they do consists of hard work, patience, and being creative with what you have. It’s incredible to see how they live every day and how you can actually thrive even with seemingly “so little”. They’re beyond grateful for everything they have and are so appreciative of even the smallest things. It’s very humbling and challenging to me. Oh, and the other thing is they do have a water tank and a tap/faucet in the backyard, but the shower had been broken for a while and so everyone just washed out of basins in the bathrooms. The first morning I was here I asked Bishop Okello, the father of the family, about their shower. He said it had been broken for a long time. I asked him to find out how much it would cost to fix and I would like to help with getting it fixed. This was definitely partly selfish; it would be a lot easier and faster for me to shower than to take baths out of a basin for 10 months. But obviously if it were fixed then the family could enjoy it for a long time, so it was a win-win situation. Bishop found out about the shower, it cost about $50 to fix, which I gladly gave them, and yesterday we all took showers! Well, Fred and I cleaned the bathroom first because honestly it was verrrry dirty, but I was happy to do it. If you know me, cleaning is cathartic to me and I don’t mind doing it. So Fred and I cleaned, and we all took showers, and it made me sooo happy to see them enjoying it. It was wonderful. And for fifty bucks. Really? That’s out of control. Also, the food the family makes is really good. Lots of rice, meat, potatoes, posho (a local food), noodles. It’s all very good. They are always making me extra food and giving me the best of everything, it’s amazing. And also, the ones living at home are Bishop (the dad), Mama Margaret (well, clearly), Emmanuel, Fred, Regina, Caleb, Timothe, Job, Steven…. And I think that’s it. :)

I know this is long, and bless you if you are still reading this, but I still have so much more to tell! Haha. I know a few of you will appreciate it and want to know all the details so by all means, continue reading if you are one of those. The other big thing was meeting the kids and seeing the orphanage, that happened on Sunday. There are about 20-25 kids living in 2 rooms, which is really not ok, but it’s all that’s available and affordable right now (if you remember, the kids had a bigger place they were living in until December, but the landlord asked for too many months in advance and they had to leave to a smaller place, and about half of the kids had to move back into the community, most to grandparents’ houses and things like that. To say it was heartbreaking to see where they lived and how little they have is an understatement, and I’m sure I won’t be able to fully communicate that either – you kind of have to be here. So please, come visit! But as with most children, they are very resilient and laugh and play and tease each other and have a good time, even though their circumstances are very sad and at times seemingly hopeless.

Basically Anthony told me that most of the kids were going to be starting in school, but the youngest ones, who are about 5 years old, would be staying at home because they aren’t old enough to start school yet, but he said he would love it if I would consider teaching them in the mornings so that they are still doing things that are productive and getting more exposure to English, etc. So that is what I’ll be doing.. I don’t know almost any of the details yet of how that’s going to work. They have some supplies, actually more than I was expecting, but then they don’t have some things like desks and chairs for the kids, so please pray for that. I’ll be teaching in the garage of the orphanage, so it’s not a lot of room but it could be worse.

That was a very hard afternoon. The night before, Saturday, had been the first night with my host family and I cried that night. It was very difficult to think about how alone I felt, how far I was from absolutely anyone I knew, and at that moment it felt like an eternity before I would get to go back home and see the people that I loved. Sunday was hard, seeing the kids at the orphanage and thinking about how impossible the task ahead of me seemed. I felt very discouraged and overwhelmed. I met the other volunteers who are here, a couple from Amsterdam named Irene and Leon, very nice people. Irene tried to encourage me a bit but I still felt like crying and giving up. Honestly, if there had been a plane there ready to take me back to Phoenix, I think I would’ve gotten on it. It was a hard moment.

However, as always, God is incredible and faithful and beyond good to me. That evening I took a boda boda home (a motorbike that people use as public transportation; it costs $1,000 shillings, or about 50 cents, to take it almost anywhere in town) for the first time, which I’d been dreading a little because it looked scary (traffic is unpredictable, there are no traffic lights, and nobody wears helmets). But it was actually wonderful, the driver didn’t go too fast, and the evening was beautiful. The sun was setting, enormous storm clouds were rolling in, and the wind was wonderful on the back of the boda.

When I reached home (about a 6 or 7 minute ride from the center of town) I was introduced to Emmanuel, the Okello’s 6th child, who is almost 21. I hadn’t realized I still had more of their children to meet, so that caught me off guard. The family was all sitting in the backyard when I got home, so I went to join them. Let me describe the atmosphere, please. First of all, their backyard is huge, enormous by Ugandan standards. They have a garden and just lots of grass. There are animals: hens, chickens, goats, cows. (I don’t think the goats and cows are theirs, but sometimes they graze in our yard. It’s delightful.) There’s nothing obstructing the view, so some kilometers in the distance you can see into a big mountain range, which is actually in Kenya. We’re very close to the border here in Tororo. So the view is absolutely gorgeous. As I said, there were storm clouds coming in (my first in Tororo), and the family was enjoying the evening breeze and watching the lightning storm over the Kenyan mountains. (YES, it was even more amazing than it sounds.) So anyway, enter me, I meet Emmanuel, I sit down with the family in the backyard, and Emmanuel and I begin talking. (From now on I’ll refer to him as Em, because it’s just easier and it’s what I call him. Actually, anyone here called Emmanuel is usually instead nicknamed Emma… which is interesting since they’re all guys. Culture change yeahhhh.) Em was incredibly friendly and talkative right from the beginning (everyone in the family is very nice, but Em, Regina, and Bishop are the most talkative ones). He started asking me a lot of questions; I did the same. I’m pretty sure it’s cultural for people to kind of stay out of a conversation and just stay quiet if two people have already begun a conversation; or at least it felt that way because Em and I must have talked for an hour with almost no interruption or addition from anyone around us. Em’s just an incredible man of God. I would not have guessed he’s only 20; by the way he acts, looks and presents himself he may as well be my age or older; a pattern I’ve noticed a lot in people here. Em is very disciplined, has a good job working for the local government hospital (he does various things, the main thing right now being going out into the villages nearby with nurses and taking medicine and food and counseling AIDS patients. Yes, legit), and he is utterly in love with Jesus, which shows in every aspect of his life. It’s again an understatement to say that he is a godly man; one who serves and honors and loves God with every part of himself. He has an incredible heart for people, especially children and those who are sick. The more I talked with him, the more encouraged I felt; the more I wanted to stay here and get to know people, invest in their lives, and just give up my needs and desires in exchange for what God wants. I mean, within a few hours my whole perspective got revamped and I just got a good kick in the head, is the best way I can describe it.

So much else has happened, but I think I will end off for now. I have been spending this week getting things ready and more organized at the orphanage, learning the town more, buying some things I’ve needed, and spending time with my host family, who I’m so blessed with. Know that I am praising Him so much for what He is doing; I’m so glad I’m here. Last night Em (who, along with a lot of the other people in the house, have told me that I must stay in Uganda now, as in I shouldn’t go back; and Em said now that I know people in the country, I can get a discounted plot of land here. I love my life!) started talking about how it would be hard to see me leave in December and how he wanted to be one of the ones who took me to the airport. I told him he had to promise to stop talking about me leaving because the thought of that was way too hard.

We’ll see. God knows. Praying you are all well; miss you very much!


PS. Yesterday evening there was a fabulous crazy and strong rain; it lasted about an hour; we were in town when it happened and had to “take cover” as Fred called it, until it settled down. So much fun!! Then when it got safe enough, we took bodas home, through all the mud and potholes, and Regina and I were riding on the same boda. At one point the mud got too thick and the motorbike just kind of stopped and starting falling to the side. Regina and I put our right feet down, which smacked right into the mud. Needless to say I washed about a pound of mud out of my shoe and off of my foot when I got home. Delightful African moment :) my family here laughs when I say I love the rain and want to stand outside in it. On Sunday, my first rain here, Em stood outside with me in the rain to humor me, I think. My host mom kept asking why would I want to be outside?! :)