The Swing that Phil Built

When we first moved to our "Nile-view" house, one of Phil's first projects was building this hammock-swing. He built it out of eucalyptus poles, rope, and twine from the market. He actually wove the bed of the swing with twine. I'm so impressed with the creative and wonderful things he comes up with. He also built some great mosquito net hanger frames for our beds and a fence around our compost pit (among other things!).

The kids play on the swing for hours everyday. Whenever Evelyn disappears I can always find her down at the hammock - swinging and singing to herself.

Greene Garden

Check out these pictures of our garden!

This is the first time I have ever planted a garden. I found a lot of comedy in having no idea what I was doing – tilling the soil, pushing earth around, sowing seed – but I can't wait to see something come up from under the earth! We planted squash, lettuce, tomatoes, watermelon, leeks, beetsJonathan was a big help, raking out the weeds and sticks, pushing seeds into the soil, and generating endless interesting and hilarious questions about gardening.


Actually, that reminds me of a funny thing Jonathan said the other day. We looked together at a photo of some missionary friends of ours in Egypt. I told him that they had just moved to Egypt and he gasped, “Egypt! But that's a baaaad place.” “Why is it bad?” I asked. “Because the King of Egypt is killing all the babies there.” (Last week we read together about the “boy who survived”, Moses, whom God protected from the King of Egypt's killing spree).

Mt. Elgon Trip

Last weekend I climbed Mt. Elgon, the second-highest peak in Uganda (14,176 feet). What a refreshing trip! Two fellow missionaries went with me on this 3-day backpacking adventure, and we enjoyed getting to know eachother, praying for one another, and marveling together and what a talented Creator-God we serve.

There were no switch-backs on the trail – the trail just went straight up – so the climb was often exhausting and sometimes treacherous. Here are a few pictures.

The man with the gun was our trail guide, Moses. He was an interesting man to get to know, and his story is not uncommon in Uganda. He is a professing Catholic but wants to become a “born again” (they are seen as completely separate religions here). The one thing stopping Moses from becoming a “born again” is the fact that, although he has a wife and son, he and his wife were never officially married (in a church, with a ceremony, with a party, etc.). There are two sad realities about this predicament. The first is that many village churches would probably not accept him and his wife into their congregation because they'd not had a wedding. The second is that Moses and his wife did not have a wedding because they couldn't afford to have one in the way that is expected. It seems that religion can sometimes keep people from knowing God. We prayed for Moses and promised to write.

Many thanks to Em for holding down the fort while I was out, and to our new friends who came by to check on her and the kids.

Construction Photos

Here are a couple of shots of the site. This one is the foundation excavation of what will be an "Aqua Privy", which is a cool sweet-smelling compromise between a pit latrine and a flush toilet. We cast the strip footings on this building tomorrow!


And here is the site for one of the four dormitories on the campus. This will have three big rooms (8 youth per room) with lots of light via clerestory windows and built-in beds and cabinets. Each dorm will also have its own open roofed veranda. That huge mound of soil blocks the view of the Nile.
I often feel as if I'm figuring a lot of things out as we go, but that makes it exciting.

A Saturday Outing

We've been enjoying a nice, quiet, family Saturday today! After a breakfast treat of eggs and bacon we decided to have an outdoors adventure before settling in to a movie and book reading.

Every day we hear trucks drive by our house carrying rafters and kayakers down the hill to launch for their adventure down the Nile. When we heard the squealing brakes today we quickly got our shoes on and hiked down the hill to watch. Jonathan had a lot of fun testing out his new gum boots in deep puddles (we've had a lot of rain yesterday and last night), and the kids enjoyed playing in a kayak as we watched the troops get organized.

Monday (the 27th) is our 7 year wedding anniversary, and guess what?! We (Phil and I) are going rafting on the Nile (level 5 rapids)! Watching today got us really excited!! Wish us luck!!

Talking the Talk

Before moving back to Africa we read so much about the many ways African culture differs from Western culture, and one of these is the African emphasis on community. Part of community-building in Africa takes the form of talking. Africans spend a lot of time talking with one another in a chatty sort of way, with lots of tongue-in-cheek sorts of humor. Bartering for purchased goods is, at least in part, a social event, getting to know people and becoming known, making friends and being a friend.

We have found that the Ugandans we have interacted with love to talk, to joke around and make fun and light of things. Even when asking for a job or demanding a bribe, these folks just want to talk and turn it into a fun conversation. It's a game. All the recommendations to Americans who travel in Africa is to play this game. When a neighbor asks for your shirt, don't be rude and just say “no” - say, “when my shirt has a little brother, I'll give it to you”. That sort of thing. There aren't a lot of distractions and entertainment options here, so you make up for it by playing the game of talk.

Well I've been a bit nervous about learning to play this game, as I've never been too confident as a quick, witty, or eloquent speaker. I remember praying about this specific thing during our orientation back in the States. I really feel that God answered that prayer when I got my way out of a traffic fine by having a lengthy, light-hearted and honestly fun conversation with the group of police officers that pulled me over. I was carring some steel pipes on the back of my truck and was crossing the dam when one of the pipes slipped out on the roadway! I furiously pulled over, loaded the pipe, tied it down, and drove off the dam, but evidently wasn't quick enough to avoid being pulled over by the police. One of the officers filled out the citation while we talked, but by the time we had finished our conversation (which mostly involved them making fun of me for 'driving dangerously') they explained that since I was apologetic for my wrong-doing they would let me off with just a warning – but perhaps I would bring them a soda the next time I passed the bridge. :)

Nile-View House

Apologies for failing to keep up with our blog recently!
Well we're settled into our home now, the Nile-View house. It has its quirks (very low water pressure in the bathroom so you can't raise the shower nozzle over your waist, immense and out-of-proportion hallway, and bats in the attic) but it is otherwise beautiful, quiet, peaceful. The garden is grand and has avocado, mango, papaya and jackfruit trees. Our neighbors have been sweet and very welcoming, and the Nile River Explorers launch their kayaks and rafts just down the hill from us, so we got to see them load up and start their adventure.

I've been taking our car to work every day, but Em has braved public transit to get around with the kids. One day she directed a local boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) driver to our house. Now she can call him anytime for a cheap ride anywhere in town. She wears Eva in the baby backpack and Jonathan rides in front of the driver. Not the safest way to travel, exactly, but the price is right.
We've started to know our neighbors and the folks from whom we buy a lot of groceries and other goods. It feels very good to know the fair prices for things now, so the stress of bartering is subsiding.

Our experience with churches has been interesting. We've gone to a new one each week to get a feel for what churches in Uganda are like and where God might be leading us to attend. We'd really like to worship in our own neighborhood, so this limits our selection significantly. This Sunday we're going to try an Anglican church just down the road. In Uganda there is a distinction between being a Catholic Christian, a Protestant Christian (Anglican) and a “born again” Christian (all non-denoms). Interesting, eh? So after having attended a “born again” church last week and confessing to the congregation that we were indeed born again, I'm wondering if we'll be questioned for attending a Protestant church.

It's good to be back out here on the internet again. We hope to be more regular with these posts and pictures.