Introduction Ceremony

Yesterday we attended an introduction ceremony for a professional acquaintance here in Jinja. In Uganda, as in many African countries, when a person marries, he marries a family – not just a person. The introduction ceremony the setting for negotiation about the bride price, as well as for the two families to formally get to know eachother. There were speeches, song-and-dance numbers, presentation of gifts, a meal, and a fashion show in which the bride and her aunties appeared in at least three different beautiful dresses each.

Emily and I were asked to appear in traditional Buganda attire. I borrowed this Kanzu from one of my masons, and Emily had these dresses made for her and Evelyn. Em found this killer tie-dye "fancy shirt" for Jonathan in the market that he was thrilled to wear.

Construction Update

Here are some recent pics from the site. The construction has been going very well, though slowly, and I am getting glimpses in my imagination of the final product.

This is the Kitchen & Administration Building slab. We begin the wall construction in January.

And here is the first of the two Dormitories. The pattern of upper and lower windows depicts how both the upper and lower bunks on each bed get their own window. The solar power system for half of the center will be mounted to the back side of this dorm's roof.

These are the custom truss hangers that we had fabricated at a shop in town. They are situated and tied in place, ready for concrete placement. I actually didn't sleep well the night before we cast this very critical concete ring beam. Cast-in-place hangers like this are a foreign concept here, which made it both exciting to demonstrate and also stressful because the responsibility for the success of its application lies entirely on me.

Safari!

We had the great privilege of going on safari in Masai Mara with our family! These pictures pretty much speak for themselves, but I will say that our overwhelming impression after seeing the variety and creativity of the wildlife on safari was that God is amazing. Such imagination!

[Sweet shot, right? Em's pretty proud of this picture.]

Nursing baby elephant.

In our safari truck.

We watched these two male lions fighting over a female and her kill!

Eva and the Lioness!

We walked right up to these three white rhinos. Amazing.

With Dad, Mom and the chef at a delicious lunch buffet.

My sister, Rebecca, with her husband Kerwyn and kids Caleb, Zachary and Madeline. Thanks for coming all the way from CA! We love you and miss you.

So special for our kids to spend this once-in-a-lifetime week with their cousins!