Things I See (Vol 9)

Welcome to "Things I See."  If you want to see the previous installments, you can click on:

 Volume 1 , Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6, Volume 7, Volume 8

These boys wanted to play soccer in the middle of the city, so the median seemed to work just fine.

Flour from the government.  Each neighborhood has a small building where the flour is stocked, and by showing identification, each family can come and pick theirs up.

Men playing backgammon at a local tea shop.

There is even a park specifically for retired men where they can pay a small fee, enter in, and meet each other during the day.

This looks safe.

Three wedding photography sessions going on at the same time.

(The third bride can't be seen)

Just another fun menu.

A young adult visiting our house one night said he wanted to teach my kids some survival skills, so he duct taped their wrists together to see if they could escape.

Just another normal night in the Middle East.

Attics in America = Roofs in this country

Well...maybe not ;)

The entry way for a Kindergarten.

It's hard for my kids to do online school when the entire country shuts down the internet.

This happens every year at the end of school when there are big tests, and the government tries to control the cheating.

Chips and Salsa were on the menu, so Doug and I got a little curious.  We were a little hopeful, but we knew to lower our expectations.

If you can't tell, we got a plate of Lay's potato chips, and dipping "sauces" of ketchup and garlic mayonnaise.

In case you're wondering...we didn't touch any of it.

Is it because "ham" isn't allowed in this country??

It's like "something" without the "e"

Through the window

I left Arua on January 10^th with Mercy, and I took her to Entebbe where I dropped her off so I could continue my trek to Nairobi, Kenya, to a home school conference.

I was able to use the internet a few times in Kenya, and through some text messages with Doug, I found out that on Friday, January 14^th, we became an official solar-run house (except for water heaters)!

The funny (or not so funny) part, is that now that we have fans and lights at night and we don’t have to eat dinner by lantern light, our internet is not working.

It went out on the 10^th of January, the day I left, and it still isn't back on (today is the 22nd). I've been texting my mom, but I don't think her phone is on. So just in case you are worried about me, Mom, I'm ok. Doug went to town yesterday and bought an internet USB extension from another internet provider to plug into our computers when we have situations like this. Nothing like paying a ton for monthly internet service, and then, not being able to get it. But I can guarantee you, I'm not complaining. I'm still thrilled with the fact that I can be in Africa and actually have internet to contact my family and friends with!

All that is to say…sorry for my absence on here and on emails. I’m trying to catch up.

At the beginning of December, I read "The Help," and it reminded me that there is a part of my life here that was new to me that I haven't mentioned to you.

My mom grew up, as many did, without air conditioning, so they would keep their windows open all the time. It reminds me of how America used to be with people sitting on porches, neighbors really knowing each other, and all the kids playing outside and wondering off for hours on all sorts of adventures. That kind of pasttime is kind of romanticized nowadays in America.

Well, I kind of live in that environment now, but one major difference is that there is always someone outside my window, and it isn't just a neighbor who is one house over, it's the help.

I am so grateful that these two guys take turns watching over our compound and keeping us safe, but I’m just becoming aware of all the things they are privy to through our open windows.

They hear what we talk about at the dinner table.

They might hear private conversations.

They know when I lose my temper with my kids.

They know what my kids are studying in school.

They know when one of our family members is sick in the bathroom.

They know we watch a movie every Friday night.

They know when I’m cooking bacon.

You get the point.

The good news is they hear Bible stories, prayers, real life stuff, and how a family who loves Jesus tries to live by His Word every day.

Just imagine someone listening in on your life…

What would they hear?

June 15

I am WAY behind on blogging because we have not had internet since we returned home. I'm at a neighbor's house right now, but I hope the problem is fixed at our house soon. I will catch you up to date as soon as I can. I'm penning the stories in Word, so I'll be ready to post whenever the internet is up and running. I did add four stories today (below), so that should keep you busy for a while:)

Wireless internet my first night in Uganda??

My entire family is asleep. It is 5:00am Uganda time. 8:00am back in Texas. I really could sleep, but I can't pass up this opportunity of wireless internet. I'll get sleep later.

We are staying at the guest house at the Baptist Mission here in Uganda, and it is nice. Karis asked if we could live here. It's not that nice, but I'm glad she liked it.

Wanted to post my "Praise God" list for the day:

* We were told we couldn't get on the plane without a visa or a return ticket - God worked it out

* Kids were AWESOME on the plane. They didn't open the bags I had packed with all their entertainment goodies ONE TIME. They slept and watched movies. Score!

* Only 1 of 17 bags didn't make it to Entebbe. Pretty good, folks.

* Caleb is getting better and better. Thank you prayer warriors!

* We saw our quad mates from Virginia in the airport in London. It was really good for the kids, plus they sat in the row behind us on the airplane here (I mean who else but God could have arranged that among hundreds of people), plus they helped us carry all our luggage. Score!

* We were able to skype my parents on this awesome wireless internet after we arrived.

* We met our team mates and stayed up until 2:30am visiting. They are wonderful!

Thank you Lord Jesus!