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| Concrete being leveled |
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| Drinking through a filter straw |
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| Father carrying water from the well |
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| Papa Nap |
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| We are guarded well |
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| digging up some rocks to level |
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| a poster at the school |
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| passing out treats |
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| plantains |
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| passing out candies to school kids returning tot he village |
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| Our Lady's Chapel |
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| Streaks jerseys |
Day 5
The second best thing about the trip is traveling with Nap
and Jeff. Seriously, it is hysterical
listening to them banter back and forth, calling each other out, messing with
each other. I belly laugh at least once
a day. And they say it like they are
dead serious. Father Michael and Father
Henry are the same way with each other. Today at Butterbean (J) Jeff was calling Nap
the Pope because he was in charge of construction today, so they put a pile of
stuff on Nap’s head and gave him a huge stick from the bush, and took a pic of
Father Michael bowing with his hands folded like an altar server would be. My type of humor. It is just awesome traveling with dedicated,
like minded people. I start my day
knowing that whatever problems are ahead of us, we can consult, ask questions,
and find people to get the job done.
So I woke up to the worst news from America and for
Catholics with any faith life. It was
hard to be in a good mood. But Nap found
potatoes at the breakfast line (which we had never braved eating from – because
I have seen where they cook and do dishes).
But he was happy and we were ready to get our jobs done as soon as we
got water bottles.
Construction was getting set up for the floor at least. Money was on its way from the US. Materials were being ordered. Meetings for the day were being set up.
My job was to go to the Delta Center, spend an hour or two
getting the internet figured out, then I would get picked up, get waters and
something to eat and head to the school to help with the floors, get more pics,
etc.
But when we got there, we got to meet Michael and
Hedwig. Their ages are estimates, and
Father has been given guardianship over them.
They live at the Delta, and the cooks also do laundry, clean, do chores,
and each one sleeps with one of the children.
We had brought over a ton of clothes (14 outfits per child) from a
wonderful beautiful woman of God with a bottomless heart. We had a little fashion show for Fr. Michael,
putting the kids in different clothes until we could see what fits the
best. Then Father and Jeff left, and I
started my wireless wifi set up. As soon
as they pulled away, Maria informed me that they have had no power for a few
hours. What?!?
So I would be stuck here for a few hours, doing absolutely
nothing because I could not run the router off of the solar charger because it
was cloudy and about to rain so no solar power.
Ugh. My worst fear – being in
Uganda, left to my thoughts. Instead, I
played with Michael and Hedwig in the grass, took a tour of the grounds and the
acreage. I interviewed all of the people
who worked/lived there, to a materials inventory, took a materials need list,
took a count of all of the pigs in the pig project, reviewed the new addition
to the pig pens, toured the kitchen area, etc.
I sat and listened every person express their thanks, their worries,
their concerns. They have a great
sadness for us and our elections. They
said that they mourn with us. Uganda is
very socially conservative and they of course see what is going on and being
such a conservative Catholic group makes it emotional for them also.
I got to see their little pet monkey and all of their dogs,
try fruits from their gardens, and get a real feel for what life at the Delta
means. After some Jesus time in the Delta
chapel, Maria said that she wanted to take me to the village and then possibly
a Marian chapel. Well it is weird being
somewhere where everyone looks at you weird.
It makes you really comfortable.
After about almost a mile we got to the village, and began walking
around. Maria guided me through rows of
mud houses and half naked children. I
got on my news and started saying hi and shaking children’s hands and giving
them candies, and even adults came out for candies – something that nobody ever
gives them and they sure do not have money to buy candies whether or not they
are even sold there. It was a special
treat for them.
Maria asked a woman if I could learn to skin plantains and
how to cook them. And guess what? I did not slice off any fingers or cut my
palm open, even though Maria swore I would.
She showed me how to cut off the banana leaves from trees, how to people
the stalk from the leaf, and tuck them around the peeled plantains, and then
how they are cooked on the fires, and what they look like when they are
finished. By then, we were through that
part of the village, and the school kids were running down the hills, so we
decided to head to the chapel.
The chapel is almost 2 miles straight up a mountainous hill
and apparently, Mary is said to have been appearing to parishioners before the
Idi Amin war. And during the war, rebels
attacked the chapel and hid the statue in the jungle. Well after the war, the parishioners were
devastated – at the loss of life, the atrocities, and the loss of Our Lady. She appeared to someone again after the war
to tell a parishioner where she was hidden in the forest, and she is in the
locked chapel now. All the vegetation has been cleared away
around the chapel, but these wild white violet type flowers have popped up
everywhere – a flower I had seen in purple a little bit below, but had not seen
a white one. Anyway, the door was
locked, but when I knelt on the concrete in front of the door, my eyes were a
straight line of sigh through a broken glass panel and could see easily.
I should mention, at this point, that we have walked like
2.5 miles, uphill, to the chapel. It is
2:30ísh, and I have yet to drink anything since 9:30 PM the night before. It is hot, and we are booking it up this hill
because all around us it is pouring. We
are at a very high elevation and we can see the rain rolling in all around
us. I am tired and such a dry mouth, and
feeling a little light headed – a combo of elevation and dehydration. And Maria and I have our voices raised to the
heavens yelling “Papa, please, no rain yet.”
And all around us, the rain comes.
Except there is one circle in the heavens and the sun is shining
straight down on us. We made it to the
chapel dry and it stayed dry even though we were surrounded by wet forests, wet
children, and thunder and lightning.
God listens. Back at
the Delta, I get more interviews done, finish off some work, play with Michael
and Hedwig (Eddy). Dan rides his bike into the village and finds water bottles for
me around 4 PM (probably because Maria asked him to), but I was so excited, I
pull out and 20,000 schillings and praise the Lord for wonderfully kind people. Dan had also previously met us in the village
when he heard that we had gone alone and escorted us up to the chapel and back
down.
Now Father and Jeff keep checking in. We will be there soon I hear. The Delta people are getting anxious that I
am still there by myself, that I won’t eat, that there is no power, and now
pitch black, and we can do nothing. They
are used to it, but they want to go inside under mosquito nets and out of the
elements and they want to eat dinner, but do not want to leave me by
myself. I felt horrible, and packed my
bag, the computer, the modem, and everything so that when Father showed up, I
was ready and able to get out of their hair.
They could not have been more gracious, but they kept asking if they
should get me a poda poda back to the Maria Flo. I promised that there was no way on God’s
green earth that I would touch those crazy motorcycle people and I was just
fine waiting by myself.
When Father shows up, I tell him not to stop, I just wanted
to get out of their way. But then, a guy
from Orange gets out of the car. Excuse me? House call much?!? So they went into town and went to Orange,
but by then, it had been closed for 15 minutes or so. But they saw the guy locking up and knocked
and he entered, grabbed his diagnostic tools and rode out with Father, Jeff and
Nap. So we spent the next hour, testing
the best area to get a good signal (which unfortunately is outside). So now we just go buy a different type of
modem, get a booster, and then I have wireless for the Delta Center to
work. There are 2 priests and a
seminarian living there, plus the work of Anawim, plus the day to day
activities of the catechetical events of Anawim and the youth office that are
run out of Delta. Wireless and better
cell coverage is a must to work with people in America. And since most Anawim people do not have
cars, it is impossible to get to an internet café right when you need to. In America, I had bought solar powered charges,
and a Panasonic toughbook – a military grade laptop great for the
bush/jungle/mountain tops, etc, so this internet was so very important to
Anawim. Previously, Anawim members had
bought Orange to Go sticks, but without the booster, internet was shaky at
best. This should solve some of the
communication problems.
To say, when we finally got in the car to leave, that I was
so thankful, would be an understatement.
I know I was supposed to be there at the Delta alone all day, but the
power was out, and I was not using a hole in the ground to go to the bathroom,
nor was I eating their hard earned food and imposing, and I was almost out of
water, and I get sooooo antsy sitting there, in the dark, knowing they just
wanted to go to bed and I was in the way made me feel horrible. Jeff kept asking, "On a scale of 1-10, how bad
do you want to kill me?” And I told him the truth, “Kill you? You are my
knights in shining armor rescuing me from the worst feeling of guilt and
borderline despair.” We went to our favorite dining go-to, and ordered our go-to,
chips and thin bread/pita pizza.
And that is where the men of this mission updated me on
their day. They got to the school and
immediately started working. They had to
hack up the existing rock, level it, poor sand, mix the rock and concrete, pour
that. But the workers had 1 wheel
barrows, and Ugandan tools. And what do
I mean by that? They up with a spade
head, and then go to the bush and find a piece of wood to use as a pole. The create stakes for leveling, they go to
the bush and cut sticks to the equal length and mark them off. To create a concrete stamper, the break a
people of old bench, and nail it to a wooden pole from the bush. So how do you get water to make
concrete? You go to a mud pond not far
away and fill your drinking water canister with the water and haul it
back. And yes, Father Michael can carry
water buckets on his head while he walks and has water buckets in his
hands. He did it most of the way back
from the pond.
And apparently while the workers were mixing and pouring,
Nap pontificated to Jeff and Fr. Michael making sure that everything was done
perfectly for this school and to make sure that we are good stewards with the
projects and money that God has bestowed upon us from various means.
Jeff got to play soccer with the kids for awhile, hike
around the land, ate a pineapple for lunch, got a sunburn (thank you anti-malaria
pills), and bantered with everyone.
Father asked for “a moment” and took a well deserved siesta. (I was going to say nap but did not want to
confuse Nap).
And in that day, one room was almost finished, and tomorrow
should go faster. We have an earlier
start than today, and we are in work mode.
I am even going to wear capris so when I am busting water up the hill, I
can go faster. I have absolutely loved
my Adidas Trail Runners. I HATE wearing
tennis shoes with skirts. U-G-L-Y. But tennis shoes have been so comfortable and
necessary on this terrain – through mud, rain, rocks, pig pee, etc…and with that
being said, I will be leaving them behind.
Only God knows what is on those shoes.
And I have been given the homework tonight of typing up all
my notes from my interviews, printing agendas, and meeting minutes for tomorrow
night’s large association/board meeting, and most importantly, as Nap says,
updating the blog. When I went back to
my room, I found my laundry bag missing.
So I am hoping that my laundry is in fact somewhere and is being cleaned
and was not just stolen. I imagine I
will find out in the morning.
Travel Fact #5: Not
only do you get shocked if you turn the shower on and off, but your toilet only
really flushes well once a day. It takes
almost all day for the tank to refill. So if you are not there all day, this is
great. If we were here more, I would be
seriously disturbed. Especially because
the door is broken as is the lid to the toilet.
Also, Jeff was jealous because I have a tv and a fan in my room, but
both are broken and the closet has a huge mess of spider webs. I have not told him yet, I just let him believe
that I sleep in front of a nice cool fan every night. Ha. ROFL.
Our mission for tomorrow is to finish 2 more rooms, get the
gutters up, get the internet up and the Orange Go sticks charged with minutes,
as well as have an awesome meeting with everyone that works for Anawim in our
projects of supporting and raising up youth the heart of Christ. We also need to get mosquito nets for the
beds at the retreat center on the Delta campus.
Parents stopped letting their children come because they fear malaria
and our lack of nets. Also, we have 12
beds with no mattresses, and have a huge demand for blankets for the children
that come. The blankets might have to be
a Christmas project – collecting blankets and shipping them in our cargo
container heading out in January for Uganda.
Donations of old blankets are welcome!!!
Pray for the meetings and for the school work. Tomorrow will be our last day at the school
and we want it to be a wonderful gift from all of the hearts and souls in
Montgomery who support Father’s mission and his service to the school.
We are also supposed to be going to a holy site tomorrow,
the resting place of a priest up for canonization. Apparently all sorts of miracles are being
performed there. And if you could pray
for a Miracle and a blessing up an angel of a child named Peyton.
Much love!
You are drinking bottled water through a filtration straw? ...why?
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