Your worst nightmare; their greatest joy

These are termites.

You know, those things you spend hundreds of dollars of years fighting against to protect your property.

Thursday, here was "coming out" day - or the first of many so I hear.

The large ones coming out of the ground with the large wings fly away and the small, worker ones left, supposedly die.

As the large ones are coming out of the ground (which they do heavily on one day, and every now and then for a few weeks) the African people try to catch them. Here is one trap built by a small girl outside our gate in the middle of the road. My kids watched.






















Then my kids went back in the compound, got containers, and tried to catch them for fun, but our watchman would grab one and eat it.

Eat it.

Eat it.

Did you get that part?

This little girl (and every kid in the county) was singing the word for "termite" over and over "calling them out" of their hole. This singing went on for HOURS. I wish you could have heard the neighborhood.













I have a small recording of the girl singing, but I think I will have to wait until tomorrow morning to load it when the internet is better.

Here she is eating a snack before she takes her cup full home to her mom.

What a power outage looks like

Earlier, I promised you a picture of Caleb when the power went out in the middle of his hair cut. Here it is.

















I also finally got a picture of a piki. Here is the piki I rode home from church with Karis and Caleb. I was sitting where Caleb is, side saddle, and Caleb was on my lap.














And here is Kylie, with Sandra (a journeyman) on the back.













Since I'm posting pictures, here is one of Awindiri Baptist Church, where Doug spent two nights last week.













And where the ladies cooked their meals.













Since I am already doing random photos - some of you asked about our dogs. They have arrived. The big one (that Doug has his arm around) is Lee. And the smaller girl is Hakuna Matata (Hakuna for short). They came not only with the names, but also well-trained. Our watchmen have commented on how helpful they are patrolling the compound at night.













I also hope to get a picture of the fabric market downtown. There are thousands of crazy patterns to choose from in stall after stall after stall. I picked out a few patterns and had some curtains made for the house. I also let the kids pick out patterns for each of their windows. I had no idea how beneficial the curtains would be on the west side of the house. It really helps cut down on the heat that comes in during the afternoon. It was well worth every shilling ($7 for the material and $2.50 to have them made). I guess I didn't need my mom's sewing machine after all.















My houseworker told me she went to textile school. I don't know what all she learned there, but she has a sewing machine, and she takes material one day and comes back with an item the next.

If any of you would like her to make you an apron, I'm sure I could arrange it :)

Well, that is enough random photos for tonight. I need to go study my Lubara.

A ni Lugbara ti muke ku. "I don't know Lugbara well."

We're still here

We have been without power since Friday at 6pm. The electric company announced on the radio that they needed all weekend with the power turned off to fix some issues.

Well, it's Monday morning (when they said it would be back on), and it is not.

I'm just telling you all this because I don't have power to charge my computer, so I can't write a lot right now. I will try to be back on soon.

I think we will fire up the generator a few hours today to save the freezer. Doug ran it a few hours last night while the baby sitters were here, and we went out for Valentine's. That is why I had some power saved up this morning.

So, we'll be checking in soon...hopefully

I looked at a menu today

One of the journeygirls invited me to get a coke in town, so the kids stayed at the Wafler's house, and she and I started walking.

When we got to the piki stop, there was only one piki (motorcycle), but two bodas (bicycles). I offered to take a boda, so Kelli could have the piki.

Looking back, it was a hilarious episode (that's for you, Kyle)!!

Kelli took off on her motorcycle, and was out of sight.

I didn't realize it at the time, but our journey into town was completely up hill. I was trying to have a conversation with my driver (despite his strong body odor), when I finally had to say, "I will not talk, so you can breathe."

Poor guy.

I probably could have walked up that hill faster than he pumped me, but it was definitely an experience.

When we arrived at the "restaurant," he asked for more money than a boda usually is, and I was MORE than happy to give it to him. He definitely earned it.

I kept thinking to myself, "Why does he wait for riders at the BOTTOM OF A HILL?"

Oh well.

We entered in Christ the King Catholic Church's restaurant (yes, you read that correctly), and there were tables covered with plastic table cloths, plastic flower arrangements, and place mats. Boy, I never knew what a restaurant could do for the soul.

We ordered two Krest Bitter Lemon drinks (Coca-Cola distributes them, but I'm pretty sure they are not sold in the US). Yum! And I tried my first samosa. That is NOT a drink. It is a pastry of sorts. You can get beef, veggie, or potato and it will be wrapped inside the pastry before it is deep fried.

Also yummy!

People were coming in and ordering late lunches and watching soccer on the television, and I had to remind myself I was in Africa. It was quite the escape for me. I can't wait to take Doug and the kids.

Kelli assures me there are other places in town to go to escape, so I look forward to their discovery.

Thanks, Kelli, for two discoveries today: Christ the King Church and the Chinese supermarket.

I went to see him

Doug has been a big hit out at Awindirii Baptist Church.

He's the "new guy."

He texted me last night and told me he was the "entertainment," which probably means everyone sat around staring at him.

At first, he said he was glad that it was dark, and then his next text said that our friend had hung up a light, which revealed a topless, nursing mom.

Good times!

He texted this morning to say his stomach was well. They were served three kinds of sweet potatoes, beans, enya, and something else he couldn't identify.

He texted that he slept ok, and that wearing earphones to block out noises helped.

It was important for the people at the meeting to meet the wives that weren't there, so Pam and I drove out with the kids this afternoon to meet everyone, and we stayed a little over two hours.

There were several women with children there. One woman had twins that were maybe two months old. I'm sure that church is quite noisy at night. Keep Doug in your prayers for tonight, too.

He texted me a little while ago to say that dinner was being served (it was after 9 when he texted). The menu was enya, beans, and "the little fish." We've seen these dried fish in the market, but neither of us has ventured to eat one yet, so I'm hoping he can avoid them. They have an interesting smell and look to them.

Discipleship at the meeting has sort of been suspended, and the topic Doug was going to teach on has been cancelled. It turns out they are getting to some real heart issues with the people, like...salvation!

Apparently, many of the members of each congregation just attends church but they have never made a personal decision to follow Christ. Anyone?

So...it looks like the Gospel might be the subject of the evening. Pray.

Thanks, but I'll pass this time

Too bad Doug doesn't write this blog. He has been invited to have a very African experience. I might have to let him guest write here, or just copy what he writes on his blog.

Anyway, starting now (4:30pm on Wednesday), he has left to join some believers at Awindirii Baptist Church in Arua. Three congregations of churches are meeting there until Friday morning! They are doing extensive Bible study, prayer, and training. This is continuous mind you. He will not be coming home.

Doug will be sleeping on the ground in the church with no mosquito net, and he was told to bring his own pillow, which he declined (because of dirt). Anyway, he took a towel and a backpack for his head, a Massai blanket to cover with, and he will be shown how to have a bucket bath/shower sometime tonight.

I'm sure they will be eating enya (which is ground millet), and Doug took his own water bottle to be safe. I wish I could have fed him a big steak dinner before he left, but maybe he'll learn to like enya :)

Be in prayer for the training and for Doug.

And by the way, Kylie made a recovery yesterday afternoon. She started asking for food, and she had enough strength by the end of the day to join us at the dinner table for the first time in a few days. Praise God!

Giardia (or something) strikes again

For those of you who only read the blog, I wanted to let you know that Caleb and Karis were correctly diagnosed as having Giardia. We went to the local pharmacy, and it only took two trips to get the right medication. Two bottles cost around $2.50 total!!

Anyway, within hours of taking the first dose, they were better. Praise the Lord!

A nurse in Kenya, upon hearing of our plight, has gotten a medical kit of sorts, together for us of things we might need here in Arua, and she is sending it by way of other people. Again, Praise God!

Two days after Caleb and Karis finished their medicine, Kylie woke in the middle of the night with a fever.

She was on the couch all day Friday, but with only a small fever. If the fever spiked, I was supposed to check for malaria, but it never did.

Saturday, she started vomiting a little, and by Sunday, she couldn't keep anything down.

Sunday night, we decided to start the treatment for Giardia, just in case, because it is so contagious (and travels in water). She threw up a few hours after taking it, but maybe some remained in her.

Today (Monday), she hasn't eaten much, but when she has, she has thrown it up. I put her to bed, and up came her tiny dinner. So, she is now in-between Doug and I until I can get her sheets cleaned and hung out in the sun tomorrow to dry.

Please pray that we will discover what she has, that it will go away, or that the medicine we are giving her will treat it.

Sorry for all the "sick" stories. Better ones are coming.


When I download my most recent pictures, I will show you a picture of Caleb with half a hair cut. Doug started using the electric clippers Saturday night on Caleb. He got the back and sides done, and he had just taken a swipe down the middle (reverse mohawk), when the electricity went out around 5pm. It was a fun evening eating dinner while looking at Caleb's hairdo.

Doug fixed it the next morning before church, but it would have been appropriate to leave it. Caleb went on his first motorcycle taxi, and he got to ride in the front. (A reverse mo-hawk would have been cool, right? :)

Doug took Caleb and Karis to church because I was home with Kylie. All three of them got on one "piki piki" (motorcycle taxi). Caleb was in front of the driver, and Karis sat between Doug and the driver.

I wish I had a picture of that.

I also wish I had a picture of the time Kylie and I took a piki to town to get the giardia medicine. Women ride side saddle on the back of the motorcycle, and Kylie was just on my lap holding on to me, while I had one hand on the back of the bike, and one hand gripping my market bag.

It's a wonder there aren't more accidents (or deaths).

New things

I have a new clothes line. That's a story.

The holes were dug, the poles ordered and welded, and then nothing.

After 2 days, I said, "Why are the poles not up?"

My house worker said they needed rocks to mix with the cement.

I asked her where they could be purchased, and she said, "Just over there."

I went to the watchman, and said, "I hear you need rocks." He said, "Yes, I will price them and then get them in a wheelbarrow."

That afternoon, Doug and I secured a wheelbarrow. When we returned, we walked in the gate, and there was my watchman, with a wheelbarrow WITH rocks.

I said, "Where did you get the rocks?"

He said, "There were some behind your wall, and I had a wheelbarrow here."

Communication is going to be fun! I waited two days for rocks, when apparently, there were some behind my wall.

***I also wanted you to know, I finally uploaded a video of some of the wedding music. It is short, but it will give you an idea. It took over an hour to upload, so I'm feeling very proud.

***New things #3: Doug looked in the "Where there is no Doctor" book for Africa, and I believe he has diagnosed the kids appropriately. They have Giardia. Now we have a place to start.

Birthday Boy - #4

We've been so busy with "sick" around here, I forgot that Caleb had a birthday.







In good Armstrong fashion, I wrapped his gifts in plastic sacks. Didn't seem to bother him.




















Caleb doesn't like cake, so he asked me to make him chocolate chip cookies. I made some with a Betty Crocker bag I brought, and some I made home made. 15 people came over, and we had cookies, pink lemonade, sweet tea, and papaya.

He helped me put the candles in the warm cookies.













One of the families here has a tradition of lifting the "birthday person" in the air three times after singing to him. So after Doug prayed over Caleb, we sang, and Caleb got a ride.










"Miss Aunt Pam" as Caleb calls the lady on the left, bought him some beautiful carved African animals while we were in Kenya.













He was pretty excited about them.

After the party, I put them on a shelf for him, but they have not been touched since. I will know when his strength is back and he is feeling better because he will have the rhinoceros attacking all the other animals in a heated battle.

Stool Sample, #1 (January 31, 2010)

Unpleasant topic. I know. But this is my life right now.

My prayer partners know what you may not.

Karis is sick now, too.

And I told my prayer warriors that Caleb was getting better, but today, he went backwards. More vomitting. More diarrhea.

I was told I needed to collect a stool sample to take to the clinic so “they” could identify what was wrong.

Our children were told to tell us when they had to “go,” so we could “catch” the sample.

They kept forgetting.

In desperation, at the end of the day, I spooned some off of Caleb because we had missed all of our chances.

I called a friend to tell her I would need a ride to the clinic.

So sorry. The sample has to be fresh, and they are not open today.

Clean. Scrub. Disinfect my spoon, and wait for tomorrow.

Please pray for both of them. They are getting more and more dehydrated.

**Because of the sickness around here and the fact that things like diarrhea in the bed occur often (and washing machine is not always available), my newsletter will be a little postponed this month, but I'm working on it.

Lunch “out” with Kylie

Our family was invited to my house worker’s home for lunch, but Doug had to stay with the two sick ones, so only Kylie and I went.

We walked behind our house, following Alice through trails never known to me, to reach her homestead. Look at one of the bridges we had to cross. This, of course, would have "insurance hazard" written all over it in America.








She lives up on the hill with her family: both grandmothers, one grandfather, cousins, an uncle, an orphan they’ve taken in, and Alice’s husband and children. There were about 7 houses on her property, and they all work together to get things done.

Some were cooking. Some were shelling beans. Some were making bricks. Some were cutting wood so that they can burn the bricks. Some were cleaning. Some were cooking. People moving everywhere.

They had a beautiful garden of tomatoes, eggplant, cassava, avocados, lemons, and coffee. She sent us home with bounty from everything that was ripe: tomatoes, eggplant, and avocadoes.

She invited us to pick coffee beans from her tree on Friday, but we could not go because of the sickness at our house. Today, she let me take some that were ripe; told me how to dry them (they are outside in the sun for the next week); and then she will help me get the beans out, roast them, and grind them.

I will REALLY appreciate my morning cup a lot more now!

Only Kylie, Alice, and I ate inside of her house. She held water over a basin so we could wash our hands, and then she served us “Mundu” food. She had gone out of her way, to cook food she thought we would like: Irish potatoes, beans, cabbage with carrots, rice with tomatoes, and a wonderful pot of chicken! Kylie and I managed pretty well with our fingers, I must say. Although, beans and rice are a little tricky. I watched Alice across from me, eat with her right hand like a pro. Kylie and I have a long way to go to perfect the “eating with the right hand” thing.

I asked her if her family was going to eat with us, and she replied that they were eating cassava, cassava flour, and chicken later. She even sent ALL the leftovers home with us. I guess “Mundu” food is not much to their liking.

We had our team leader over for dinner tonight since his wife is out of town, and we ate it all again. Yum!

Let me insert here that my team leader’s wife once told me that on Saturday’s they sometimes take all the leftovers, mix them together, and have a meal.

I was secretly telling myself that that would never happen at my house.

Silly me.

I’ve done it twice this week already, and it’s been good.

With no microwave to heat things up, rice and cabbage become a combined stir-fry, or rice and a zucchini/tomato/onion concoction heats up great together. Presto. New meal.

I’ve also never been a cook-from-scratch kind of person. I always follow a recipe.

In two weeks, I’ve been transformed. Each night I will just start throwing things together. It’s working out great, and I have no idea what I’m doing.

My meals are a lot less complicated than they were in the States, and they contain a lot fewer dishes. It’s hot in my kitchen for one thing. For another thing, we don’t have room for leftovers, and it would seem silly to cook a feast of three or more dishes, when my nextdoor neighbors can only afford posho (grits).

First Malaria Test Behind Us

Well, I guess he's not better.

Caleb's temperature has been consistently 101 today.

He is not eating well, and his drinking has really slowed down.

Doug did get him to have a breakfast bar this morning, and our house help made homemade flour tortillas, of which he consumed about one-eighth of one.

We have tried flavoring his water to get him to drink more, but he is awfully lethargic.

He has only been awake a couple of hours today.

He was really awake when Doug administered a malaria blood test.

He didn't like the pricking of the finger with the lancet.

I don't blame him. I need to get someone to send one of those finger prickers that diabetics use to make it easier next time. Seeing a razor blade of sorts coming toward you is not comforting at all.

Even with all of his crying, we struggled to get enough blood for the test. That could be a sign of dehydration.

Anyway, the test of was negative, if we did it correctly. It was a malaria test for the bad one that messes up your brain. So far, so good.

We had family prayer time over him after lunch, and then Doug took the girls swimming, as promised. Unfortunately, the electricity went off for about an hour after they left, which meant no fan on my hot boy.

Caleb is passed out beside me, and praise the Lord, the electricity is back on.

Pray for my sweet boy and the Lord's will to be done.