In Kampala

Aunt Susan, my cooking teacher, got married on the 13th of Dec. Her introduction was on the 12th. It was good to see what a true introduction is like since we were with the groom’s family last time and had a shortened introduction since we got there so late. Abby and I were in one of the groups that got to go out and welcome the visitors. We had to get into our Gomesi. The changing area with an open room with no windows to close and no door since the house was being built. We got changed out in the open with different people walking by so that was interesting. Different groups of women go out and kneel to welcome the groom’s family. The aunt of the bride then goes and finds the groom within the visitors and place a hat on him so everyone knows that he is the groom. Then the sister of the groom goes and finds the bride and gives her a basket of flowers so everyone knows that she is the bride. The groom’s family then needs to bring in the dowry and they explain what they brought for the bride’s family. After much talking and the cutting of the cake, the groom’s family is feed. We got there at 1 PM but the introduction did not begin until around 5 PM. We left around 10:30 PM and they were just beginning the dancing. They requested that I dance before we left so I danced a couple of dances and they were so excited to see it, but it’s really hard to dance in a Gomesi.
On Sat., the wedding was supposed to begin at midday but it did not begin until 3 PM. I’m glad because it gave me some time to spend with some of my friends who were in the wedding or who had come for the wedding. The reception was about a 30 min. drive from where the wedding occurred. Osborn had promised all of the children still at the school that they could go to the reception so we had 34 people in a van that is supposed to only carry 14 people. Most of us had a child on our lap, but it was good to see that they got to enjoy the day too since Aunt Susan was almost like a mother to many of these children. The reception was only in Luganda so Abby and I were lost most of the time. We got to the reception around 7 PM and left around 10 PM.
I was able to travel back to Kampala with Osborn when he left on Sunday. It has been nice being back in Kampala and spending time with many of my friends. I have also had some days just to relax. I have read 3 books already and I’m working on another one. It is good to sleep in and not have to worry about teaching some. It is a good way for me to recover and continue getting stronger from being sick. I get to begin my first full year in about three weeks.
One of my friends invited me to a Christmas Cantata that his church is putting on. It was very nice to go because it is helping me think that Christmas is only about 3 days away although I still am having a hard time believing that it is December. I am making program (plans) with some of my friends for the holiday season. They have been good about helping me feel at home, but it still is strange to be away from my family for the first time in my 27 yrs for Christmas.

Term is over!

We began exams on Thursday, 20th Nov., but they were the minor subjects like Religious Education and Agriculture. We continued with one exam a day the following week and I got to monitor on Mon., P5 Social Studies; Tues., P6 English; Wed., P4 Mathematics; Thurs., P1 Luganda. On Thursday only Nursery-P2 took their exams because the middle and upper primary pupils were preparing for Open Day. P3-P6 finished their exams with Science on Mon., 1st Dec.
Open Day was a great success! The pupils had a lot of fun and many of the parents came to watch their children. We began the day with a couple of football matches which of course began almost 1 ½ hours after they were supposed to. After the matches, the rain decide to come. I looked over and one of our tents had lost four of its legs so it was going to blow away. I called Abby and we went running over to try and hold it down until we could get the legs back on. We then started pushing the rain off the sides when it would build up. I was soaked from head to foot and my nice new shirt was dirty and it was only about 12:30 PM. The rain let up in time for us to serve lunch to the visitors. The pupils’ lunch was not ready so we did athletics to fill the time. Since I am the secretary I had to be there to record all of the scores. We had some of the secondary teachers as the judges, which was really good since the teachers were intense about their house winning. After the American visitors had eaten, we had the Top graduation which was really cute seeing children about 5 yrs old with graduation gowns on. We finally feed the pupils around 3:30 PM. We ended the day with songs and dances which were really interesting and also had an outside judge as we did not know how to judge it. The Apostles ended up winning and they were so excited since they were not sure they would win. Everyone was excited with the day and was happy to have such a great day. To the left is the Apostles' teachers and a few of their pupils with their cake and goat.
That evening I did not feel well, which is to be expected when I did not have time to eat or drink throughout the day. I drank a lot of water that night and ate a little but was so tired I went to bed soon after. The next day I was so out of it that I slept all day with only waking up to use the toilet and drink water. The visitors left and told me to take care of myself. I began to feel better one day and the next I would feel really bad again. Finally on Wed., 3rd Dec. they took me to Masaka town to go to the clinic. I was admitted and placed on 3 drips with extreme malaria and a bacteria infection too. I was given tablets (medicine) and sent home on Thursday. I am recovered now and I thank all of you for your prayers for me.
Since I was sick all the last week, I missed compiling the marks and deciding who would go to the new class and who we would hold back. I found out that 63 of my 94 pupils were promoted. I am curious to who those pupils are but I will find out in time. I asked certain pupils, who came to my room to see me, how they did and all of them passed which makes me feel good.
Currently there are only about 10 children at the school, but these are children who have no place to go. They are very helpful and did a good job taking care of me while I was sick. I am figuring out what I will take with me to Kampala early next week for a month of holiday. I am looking forward to spending some time in Kampala and going to Kenya over holiday. It is hard for me to think that it is December as it is the same weather today as when I came here almost six months ago. I guess that is part of life on the equator but it is different than what I grew up so I have to keep remembering that it’s December. I pray that things are well with all of you! God’s blessing and hopefully I will be able to write me often over the holiday, not that much will probably happen.

Coming to the end of term

The P7 members did their final exams (Primary Leaving Exam otherwise known as the P.L.E.) on the 7th & 8th of November. They were so excited to be done with school. They stayed around for the weeks and had a football match with the other members of the school on Thursday of that week. On Saturday, 12th Nov. they had a party to celebrate being done. On Friday they were making their preparations and they wanted me to take pictures of them cutting up their goat. They were so excited and happy about getting to celebrate with people.
They invited all of the teachers at the school and other people who work around the school. Osborn was the Guest of Honor but he had gone to Masaka town to get some things for a building that they are separating into different rooms for Abby and I to live in so he did not come until around 3 PM when the party started at 11 AM. The party was so much fun and it was good getting to celebrate with the P7 pupils before they left the school. The food was really good as they gave us goat, rice, and matooka along with a bottle of soda. They also gave us some performances and then HM Rogers and Osborn both gave a speech. Osborn opened the dance and it was great to see him having fun with his children. We took a picture of all of the teachers, P7 pupils and invited guests. Afterwards, Osborn told me to go back in and dance with the pupils. I did and I danced with many pupils and secondary students until they turned off the music almost two hours later. It was awesome to just enjoy dancing where they are having fun and not having to monitor the behavior of the youth. The behavior of these children is so different than those in America. I was the only teacher besides the one running the music and there was no fear that the children were going to try and dance inappropriate. I danced with many different people and never once did someone try to touch me more than on my hips or the middle of my back which is different than school dances in America.
I talked with Osborn some about my plans for the holiday and I think I shall try and go to Kenya for a week to see some friends because we have from the 12th Dec. until the 12th of Jan. for holiday. It will be my first time not with my family for Christmas so that will be a new experience. It has been interesting for me to notice things about holidays. The other morning I woke up and realized that the next day was Veterans Day but we don’t celebrate most American holidays here so that is different.
Yes, I have heard the Obama will become the next president of America. I had forgotten that the elections were coming up until I was in Kampala a couple of weeks ago and they were talking about it on the news. The people here are very excited that a “black” man will be the next president of America. It is hard to explain to people why you may not have voted for him since you are in a country that is full of blacks but most of them are open to hearing your explanation instead of just getting mad at you.
We are preparing for our Open Day that will occur on the 28th November. Every day from 3:40-5:15 PM the different houses work on their song/dance and their athletics. It is great to see the children having some time to play and get out some of their energy. It will be an amazing day of competition because we already are having some competition each week with their sanitation, smartness, academics, English speaking, and discipline. We will have some visitors from America here to enjoy the day with us also.
We begin final exams on the 24th Nov. and will have one a day for the first four days of the week. The two weeks after that we will sit as teachers and discuss which children should be promoted to the next class and which children we will encourage to repeat the class. There is a lot of stress on teachers as they are trying to finish up the syllabus before the end comes.
Since the P7 party we have spilt my P5 class into two different classes to help improve the promotion rate. As of the end of Sept., only about 30 of my 94 pupils would have been promoted to P6 next year. I now only have 48 pupils in my class which is a much easier number to manage and see who really understands the concepts and who needs more help. The other half of the P5 are being attended by the P7 teachers in the classroom that has been occupied by P7 before their exams since many of them only had one class after P7 left. We are hoping that we will be able to promote at least 50-60 pupils, but it still seems like a small number.
For Open Day, Abby and I have decided that the money, that we help provide the school each month with, will go to mainly buying t-shirts for the teachers. We will be getting an uniformed t-shirt that can be worn at Open Day and other such events where we want the teachers to look uniformed and smart. Each shirt is Sh. 10,000 (about $5.50) and the teacher are being asked to pay Sh. 2,000 (about $1.10) and we will cover the rest of the cost. They will be collared shirts with the school logo and motto on them. The children are buying caps at Sh. 300 (about $0.06) for Open Day. The caps are made for each house so it will be easy to see which children belong to each house.
This last Saturday the children who are fully sponsored by the school dug (weeded) in the garden (and I forgot to bring my camera to take pictures but I‘ll get some on another day). Every Saturday they are they are supposed to work in the work as “payment” for school. The garden has corn that helps provide lunch and breakfast for the children. I got bored at the school since I don’t teach most Saturdays so I went over to see what they were doing. I ended up changing clothes and then digging with them until they finished. It was a good feeling to do something physical and knowing that I was doing something for the food that I eat for lunch every day at school. The children kept asking if I was tired and I did not get tired but I did get a blister on my hand. They have invited me to work with them every week and I think I will try and do that. It is great getting to spend time with the children and getting to know them more. Many of them are the children whom I have taken their stories so I know them better than most of the children.
On thing I have noticed recently is that when they are digging, playing football, or running in P.E. the children take off their shoes. I was bothered by it for a night but as I was thinking more I about it I realized that many of these children only have one pair of shoes and if they spoil them (ruin their shoes) then they will not have anything to wear. I took off my shoes when I was digging with the children because they kept filling with dirt when I had them on. I keep thinking if there is anything that can be done to help the children get more shoes. Here in the village you do not have to have shoes to go to school, which is good because at least half to two-thirds of the school does not have shoes, but in the city you MUST have shoes or you will be chased away from (not allowed to come). The children are supposed to wear black shoes as part of their uniform but we do not discourage the children who wear shoes of any kind. Some of the children come from 1-5 km (0.61-3.1 miles) and many of them walk that distance but some of them have bicycles.
I had a good talk with some of the secondary boys on Saturday after I finished digging. They wanted to know where I had been and they were very surprised that I had been digging and they did not believe me until I showed them my hands and feet. They then invited more to a dance that was going to happen that afternoon to celebrate the end of the year for S.2, although they start their exams today. I went and at first it was only secondary students. Once I arrived they allowed the primary pupils to come in and dance. I had a lot of fun again and it is good to just enjoy being with the children and having fun with them.
We are busy preparing for our visitors, our final exams, and the Open Day. It is beginning to keep me busy and the children are having fun spending time with me doing athletics. They are surprised by me dancing and that I enjoy doing athletics. It makes me want to begin training more so that I can do more physical work around the school and with the children.

being on duty & library

The week of Oct. 13-19th I was on duty at school. That means that another teacher, Tr. Ronald, and myself were in charge of making sure that the compound was cleaned every day, that the cook had firewood and water to cook with, and take attendance. In addition, whenever a teacher or pupil had a problem, we were the ones who they came to. I also had to serve breakfast (porridge and a doughnut to each teacher) and lunch (posho and beans to each teacher). It is hard sometimes making sure that each teacher had gotten food, but it was a good experience. It was a lot of work and I was very tired every night. I had to be at school at 6:45 AM and I went home around 6:00 PM every day that week. I am glad that the week is over. At the end of the week, I had to write a record on what occurred during the week for the school to have. The teachers receive 5,000 shillings for the extra work that they do that week.
I had one really interesting event happen while I was duty. I was in the P1 classroom taking attendance on Thursday. The class teacher had her baby on Sunday so she was not here for the week so her assistant teacher was in class all week. The assistant teacher was in talking to the HM so I was the only teacher in the classroom. As I was finishing counting the pupils, they started screaming and running for the door. When I looked up, I saw that the electrical wires had started smoking. I was not too concerned but I knew that the pupils needed to get out of the classroom. The pupils had panicked and were pushing each other to get out of the class. They caused such a jam at the door that no one could get out very quickly. They were pushing each other down and stepping on each other. Once the pupils got outside the classroom they stood close and the other teachers had all come to see what was going on. Tr. Ronald had gotten the fire extinguisher but there was no need to use it since the fire went out by itself. It shows me how little these pupils and teachers know about fire safety. I was concerned about getting the pupils at a safe distance just in case something happened. The teachers finally were able to get the P1 pupils into another class and got the other pupils back to their classrooms.
In addition, we had a man from the Dept. of Ed. who came and looked at the school. He had come about a month ago and looked at the classrooms but this time he wanted to look at the dorms. He had brought some papers from the Department of Education and Sports and from the police about the 33 school fires that happened in Uganda from April to June of this year. The government had placed many requirements on the schools and if these requirements are not met then they can put us on probation or close the school. When he looked at the dorms, he was not happy about the conditions and warned us that someone from Kampala will be coming to check on the school sometime during the term which means any where from today until 12th December. HM called Abby and I into his office to discuss the situation. When HM talked to Pastor Betty, he asked if some of the older girls could move into the house for some time because they will check the dorms but not the house. On Friday (17th Oct.), Abby moved back into my room and we will be living together for some time. On Sunday (19th Oct.), the girls moved into the house and 8 girls moved into the room that Abby was living in.
We have been without power a lot lately because of the rain and it effects a lot of things. The rain here is helpful because it provides water for drinking, cooking, and farming, but it also is damaging because it is such a hard rain and causes lots of erosion. . I has been raining almost every day since I have come back from Kampala and it rains for about 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours. Thankfully we have the generator at night so that makes it easier to cook, bath, and do other things around the house with light instead of in the dark. Last week we were without power for almost 3 days. They turned on the generator around 7:00 PM and would turn it off again around 9:30 PM after preps were done. They then turned the generator back on around 4:00 AM for the morning preps. I heard the generator every morning when it was turned on and I got up every morning to turn off our light because there is switch to our room in the general living area and someone would turn it on out there. They normally would not turn on the generator but the Senior 4 students are taking their final exams, and the Primary 7 pupils are going to take their final exams on Monday and Tuesday so they want to make sure these pupils have plenty of time to study.
On Friday, 24th October, we had Visitation Day at the Primary School. It is a time when the parents come to the school and talk with the teachers about how their child is doing. It is like Parent-Teacher Conferences in America, but the pupils still come to school. In the morning, the pupils did revision work and then were able to read some books until lunch time. In the afternoon, we showed a film. I was in with Tr. Siraje listening to him talk with our parents all day so that was interesting meeting some of the parents. The pupils were so excited about having their family come visit them. The parents of the boarding pupils brought money for spending, and food for their children. As I was thinking of this day the next morning, I was thinking how the pupils without parents feel about days like this. It happens every term, but you can tell that it is hard for children without parents as they see their friends’ parents coming and visiting.
We had a revision workshop last Saturday. It was an interesting day. We had teachers from every subject talk about how they would revise with their pupils. HM would talk a little between each teacher. It was a hard day for me because many time I felt like the HM was putting down his staff for not doing proper revision with their pupils. He was saying that if we really did revision like it was presented then our pupils would do better in class. I was realizing that almost all of the presenters were from P.6 and P.7 who only have a max of 44 pupils compared to the other class who have 92-116 pupils. HM wants us to spend time going over questions and doing revision, but I wonder how we are supposed to get through the syllabus when we are doing so much revision. It is something that I am still struggling with and I’ll just have to see how things go in the future.
On Monday, I started organizing the books in HM’s office and cataloging them. It is amazing how many books we have that cannot be used by the primary pupils. Tr. Abby and I are discussing what we can do with the books that cannot be used by the Primary School. I cleaned all of the books and organized them so it looks really good. I have started cataloging them so we know what books we have and hopefully by the beginning of the new year, I will have done all of them and then we can do a library where the pupils can actually check out books and take them home. As I was organizing it made me wish that I had studied to be a librarian and had supplies to do maintenance on the books. I am thankful for the experience that I have dealing with libraries so that I have an idea how to catalog books and care for them. These teachers and pupils have no idea how to care for books which is hard when you are taught at a young age how to treat a book properly. Abby and I are thinking of talking to the teachers about how to treat books and what rules we give to pupils so they will understand and try to treat the books the same way. The picture to the left shows what the library currently looks like. The books that are standing are ones that I have cataloged and the ones that are laying down I have yet to catalog. It will be a long process but I’m looking forward to it.
Yesterday, I traveled to Kampala to pick up a package that my parents sent me. I am amazed at God’s awesome hand more and more every day. I got my hair done Thursday night in an Ugandan style and it took FOUR hours to do it. We did not completely finish it so we need to redo some of it when I get back, but it was 12:40 AM and I was leaving early in the morning so we decided just to make it look okay enough for me to come. It is nice because it should be able to stay in for about 2 months so I will not have to worry about doing anything to my hair for that long which is really nice. I got up around 5AM to catch the taxi early in the morning. Tr. Ronald took me on Pastor Kato’s motorcycle around 5:40 AM. We got to Kiwangala as the taxi was filling at the petrol station. It was nice timing and I was able to get on as soon as it finished filling and then we went on our way. The toughest part was getting into Kampala and having to wait for about an hour to get out of the taxi because we had to park before they would allow us to unload.
God’s creation is amazing and breath taking at times. As I was traveling the sun was coming up and it was the best sunrise I have seen here. In addition, there are valleys around where I live so we would come over a hill and the valley would be filled with fog that was truly breath taking. It is at times like that I marvel at God’s plan to make us the way He did and blessed me with eyes to see the beauty of His creation.
I picked up my package and was so excited because my parents did not tell me what they had sent me. I went to lunch with a friend after picking my package so as we were waiting for our food to come, I opened it. I felt like it was Christmas but early. I was so excited to see a few new clothes, some red marking pens, a few sewing supplies, and some candy. It was so nice to see Skittles, and Butterfingers, along with some trail mix. One of the hardest things here is getting sweet (candy). There is a limited variety and nothing that we have in the states so it was great to eat candy that I am familiar with. I shared a little of it was my friends, Hezron and David and they were intrigued by the new candy. I treasure hearing for any of you, whether it is in an email, letter, or package. It is great to know how people are doing in the states. If you send me an email or letter I will write back, but it may be some time before I am able to get to the internet or the post office to send you something since I only go into town once a month. I pray that you are all doing well. God’s blessing!

life in Kiwangala

I stated that I had Malaria. Let me explain what happened so you have a better picture. We went for HM David’s introduction in Eastern Uganda on the 23rd of August. I had stopped taking my Malaria medicine because we do not have mosquitoes in Kiwangala. The area in Eastern Uganda has a lot of bush so they have many mosquitoes. I got bite there and then got Malaria on the 28th of August. I have never been sick like that in my life and I do not wish it upon anyone. I was throwing up, having diarrhea, a major headache, no appetite, and I was very weak. HM Rogers took me to get my blood tested at a Catholic mission clinic which as we were almost there I realized that I had not taken any of needles and I started praying they had clean needles. They took my weight, 51.1 kg, then I saw the nurse within 5 minutes. I told the nurse my symptoms and then she sent me to get my blood tested. My blood results were ready within 5 minutes and then we went to get my tablets, my medicine. The whole thing cost me about 5,300 shillings (about $3.50). The tablets that they gave me were amazing because I felt so much better just after one dose. I am completely fine now and I thank God for the prayers of you there and people here.
The introduction was very interesting. It is a time for the groom’s friends and family to go to the bride’s family and show them that the groom will be able to take care of the bride. They wear traditional dress, a Gomesi, which Abby and I also wore. The people were very surprised to see us dressed in a Gomesi. It is also when the groom brings the dowry to the bride’s family. We also helped carry the dowry from the vehicles to the party. The gifts are carried on the head so that was different but it was an interesting experience. We came back to Kampala on the 6th of Sept. for the wedding of HM David. We were supposed to leave Kiwangala at 8 AM but the taxi was late so we did not leave until 10:30 AM. We got to Kampala about 1:50 PM and the wedding was supposed to start at 2 PM. The wedding did not start until 4:30 PM but it gave me time to see some of my friends here in Kampala. We were then supposed to leave Kampala around 6 PM but we did not leave until 8:30 PM so we got home around midnight. Ugandan time can be frustrating sometimes, but I am learning to accept the time we do things no matter how I feel about it or when I think that things should happen.
I put on a workshop for the teachers at the end of August to discuss the teaching materials that I had brought with me. They were excited about the materials and we had fun learning how to use the material. Since the term has started, I have seen many of the materials being used. The teachers are asking for more materials that will continue to help them. It is hard when you have a class of 42-120 pupils and no textbooks or hands-on material for them.
The beginning of the term was hard for me. We started school on the 9th of Sept., but if the pupils did not bring the requirements (2 rolls of toilet paper, and 2 brooms) then they were sent home until they brought the requirements. I had 70 pupils at the start of the day, but after the assembly where they were sent home to get the requirements, I had 21 pupils out of 96. My teaching schedule is as follows:
Ÿ Monday
Ÿ 9:50-10:30 AM - PE for P1 & P2 (about 200 pupils at once)
Ÿ 3:40-5:15 PM - Computer for P6 (42 pupils - half of them a week on the computers since I have 6 computers)
Ÿ Tuesday
Ÿ 9:10-10:30 AM - Math for P5 (96 pupils)
Ÿ Wednesday
Ÿ 8:30-9:50 AM - PE for Baby and Top classes (about 225 pupils at once)
Ÿ 9:50-10:30 AM - PE for P1 & P2 (about 200 pupils at once)
Ÿ 7:00-9:00 PM - Math Preps for P5 (about 15 pupils)
Ÿ Thursday
Ÿ 7:30-9:10 AM - Math for P5 (96 pupils)
Ÿ 11:40 AM-1:00 PM - Math for P6 (42 pupils)
Ÿ 3:40-5:15 PM - Computer for P5 (24 pupils a week)
Ÿ 5:15-5:30 PM - Math homework for P5
Ÿ Friday
Ÿ 3:40-5:15 PM - Counseling/Career Guidance
Ÿ Saturday
Ÿ 7:30 AM-2:00 PM - school (I teach one subject and each week the time changes when the subject is taught)
These pupils have no typing skills so I am working on just placing their fingers in the right place and using the correct fingers for typing. I have no typing program to help me so I will design a true curriculum next term, but for now I am just getting them exposed to the computer. In addition, my math pupils do not know their basic math facts. I have challenged the P5 pupils that I do preps with, that if they can beat me at addition and subtraction facts by the end of term I will buy them a soda. With P6 I have challenged them that if they can beat all of their classmates in multiplication facts at any time during the term, I will buy them a soda. I will also monitor preps on two Sundays during the term. I will also be on duty starting on Monday for one week which means serving lunch, making sure the cook has water and firewood for the school lunch, making sure the compound is clean, making sure the teachers get water, and dealing with any other issue that occurs that week.
Tr. Abby, Tr. Dickson, Aunt Betty, and myself are on the House Committee. The school is divided into four houses, Apostles, Kings, Judges, and Prophets and the other teachers are in charge of the houses. We check for punctuality (pupils getting to school on time), sanitation (their area of the compound and their toilets are clean), smartness (the pupils are clean and so is their uniform), English (the pupils are speaking English at school instead of Luganda), discipline (that they are well behaved in class and during their break and lunch), gardening (their section of the garden is being worked), and academics (we take the top 10 from each class on exams, and how they do on the weekly quiz/debate). It is a lot of work but it motivating the pupils and others teachers to make our school the best.
On Wednesday every week, we have time for sports. So far we have had football (soccer) matches between the different houses. It is great to watch the pupils be children for a period of time. They have so much fun and the other pupils and teachers get into cheering on their house. On Friday every week, we have a quiz/debate. We switch between spelling and quizzes on subject material. They are competing in their houses and there are 5 pupils who are the main contestants, but the rest of the house can answer if the main contestant does not know the answer. They pupils get so excited about it and unless you want to go deaf for a short time each week, you try to stay out of the classrooms when the final scores are totaled and pupils find out which house won.
At the end of the term (28th of Nov.) we are going to have a Sports Day. There are going to be lots of different activities. I am excited to see the pupils having fun. Since I am on the House Committee I will need to make sure that I am knowing which house takes which place so we can have a winner at the end of the day. We are giving out awards to the houses for the different positions that they achieve. I am looking forward to that day since I enjoy events like that.
I was given an assignment to interview some pupils and get their life stories. It is an emotional assignment and within the first two pupils my heart was completely broken. The first pupil that HM Rogers and I interviewed told us that his father and his twin brother have died from AIDS. His mother is about to die from AIDS and he is also infected with AIDS. He said something that will stick with me forever. He said, “I am alone in this world.” A boy of 11 yrs should not have to face such heartache. Our second pupil, a P4 girl, broke down crying before I even asked a question. She is so heartbroken because both of her parents are dead. My heart broke for her and I wanted to hold her and cry with her. I gave her a hug at the end of the interview and now when she sees me she smiles because she knows that someone loves her and is concerned about her. There is also a family of six where the oldest is 18 yrs old now, but their parents died when he was about 10 yrs old so he became the father of the family and was responsible for making sure his siblings were feed and clothed. These stories are so normal here where pupils do not have parents or they do now know their parents. These pupils experience so much heartache and pain but with most of them you would never know because they cling to God and have built a family out of their friends at school. I was thinking of how much I complained about my parents growing up and how much children in America complain about their parents. If American children could experience the life of a Uganda child for one day, I do not think they would complain again. These stories will stick with me for the rest of my life. Doing the stories, I want to hear every child’s story and the story of every teacher. They pull at my heart but I feel so much more connected to the people here as I listen to their stories.
On another note, my brother (Devin) and my father are coming to visit me at the end of January. I am very excited about and I look forward to showing them what life is like here.
At the end of Sept., a few people from Kampala came out to put up the fire extinguishers for the school. They gave only about an hour before people came to inspect the school. They then gathered the secondary students and some of the primary boarders to show them how to use the fire extinguishers. Of course they did it not long before break time so as the pupils were released for break, they came down to the field to see what was going on. It was hard to keep control of the pupils. Here keeping control of a group is very hard. They crowd instead of making a line and they grab at things so it is hard if you want things to be controlled because they don’t know how to do that here.
I went to immigration on Monday to extend my pass. It was very easy and I know God is with it. I went into an office and told the man what I wanted. He directed me to another man who was finishing with someone so I waited about 2 minutes. I went and explained to that man what I wanted and he pulled my file. There was a note saying I had been approved for a 12-month extension. He told me to take it to the cashier for an assessment. It took about 10 minutes for the people in front of me to finish and for me to get my assessment. I then went to the bank and paid for my pass. I then waited for 2-hours for my receipt. I took my receipt back to immigration. They told me to come back on today. I went and had to wait for a couple of minutes while they finished the signing of my form but my pass expires on Sept. 10, 2009!!! I'm so excited about that.

Well, that is a brief overview of what has happened here over the last couple of months. I will try and write again sometime next month. I will not be back in Kampala until Christmas time (I don’t think) so I will not have much access to a computer once I go back to Kiwangala. I pray things are well for all of you. God’s blessing!

Life in Masaka

I only have a couple of mintues but I wanted to let you know that I am still alive. I will write more when I am in Kampala in a couple of weeks, but I'm doing well and I have many stories to tell. Oh, I have now had malaria which is not something that I would like to have again but God was with me and I'm back to normal now. I love you all and I'm looking forward to writing you more. God's blessing!

Teachers

I wanted to include a picture of most of the primary teachers and some of the secondary teachers that we took while the team was here in June. This is the team that I work with and I will try to take more individual pictures and give information about the teachers. God's blessing!

On Holiday

So I am back in Kampala on holiday. We started holiday on Friday and I got here on Sunday evening around 9 PM. I will be in Kampala until Sunday. I had quite an experience getting to Kampala from Kiwangala (the town where I now live). We took a small car (like a Toyota Corolla) and we put 6 of us in the back and 4 in front. I was the only female in the car. Myself and one other guy were sitting on the laps of others in the back. That is the way they travel here to help make more money. My fare was less on the taxi because we sat so many (I think).

These last few weeks have been very good at the school. We gave out the report cards on Friday. It was very interesting because some of the students came late and they were sent home without their report cards and told to come back next Friday. It was a hard day for me since that is not how we handle the situation in America, but I am learning how things are done here.

The past two weeks we have only had P6 and P7 students at the school so it has been very slow and boring. The nice thing is that the P6 teachers have been requesting that I teach some so I taught mathematics for two days and watched how the English teacher taught so I have a better understanding of the teaching methods used here.

I will be putting on a workshop on the 21st and 22nd of August for the teachers on some of the teaching aids that I brought. I am looking forward to starting next term on the 8th of Sept. and getting back into teaching. The nice thing is that P5-P7 students are starting holiday studies today. We will be teaching from 8 AM to 1 PM Monday through Friday and the students will have the afternoons and weekends free from studies. I am taking a break this week in Kampala to see some of my friends and rest before I go back and work until I need to come in October or end of September to renew my visa.

The cooking has been good and a learning experience for me. We are using a gas burner mainly. It takes a long time to cook food and it is different food than we have in the states. I really enjoy all of the food and I am learning a lot.

The other day we bought a chicken (enkoko) for sh. 7,000 which is about $4.50 for the whole chicken. One of the secondary students bought it for us because it was still alive. One of the P7 students was going to slaughter it and I wanted to watch because I have never seen it. The students told me what he was doing and why as he did it. When it came to pucking the chicken, I asked if I could help so they taught me how to pluck the chicken. I took snaps (pictures) so enjoy them. The student then gutted it and had me wash out the inside of the chicken. Two of the students then cut it into pieces for us. It was very interesting to watch and they are telling me that next time I could do it by myself, but I am not sure that I could handle that yet.

Last Saturday, Aunt Betty took me into Masaka town to buy material to make a Gomesi (the tradition dress for females) because we are going to an introduction on the 23rd of August. It is a party where the bridegroom is going to meet the bride's family and pay the dowry. I am excited to see what the Gomesi looks like because we took it to a lady to make in Kiwangala last Monday. It will be ready today but I will not see it until I go back to Kiwangala.

Abby and I were talking to Musuba (Pastor) Kato the other evening and we were very amazed at this man of God. He is the pastor of the church next to the school and he lives at the school to watch over us and the students. His name (Kato) means that he is the second born of twins. His mother died when he was very young so he was unable to attend school so he is going to school now to learn English. He told us he is 30 years old and he became the pastor of the church in 1994 so he was 16 years old when he became the pastor of the church. I am blown away by this man every time that he preaches so talks about God. He is a true blessing in my life and a man I know will do everything he can to make sure that Abby and I are well taken care of. A couple of weeks ago in church, he asked the congregation to bring us food. We have been over blessed with people bringing us food so we have been turning around and blessing the teachers with our extra food.

This is all I can say right now, but I will write again this week with other things that had happened and post some snaps. I pray that everything is well with all of you and I thank God everyday for the blessing that all of you have been to me. God's blessing on you today and in the days to come!

IN MASAKA!!!

Well, we made it to Masaka finally a week ago Friday! The students did exams starting the Tuesday after we got here so we were only able to watch one day of teaching. I am teaching in the P5 classroom doing Math and maybe some other subjects. I have 96 students in my class! We did exams all last week and we have been marking them. I corrected the math exams by myself and it was a lot of work. It is amazing to see what these students are studying at such a young age. It gives me a good idea what to teach and what needs to be retaught before the end of the school year in the beginning of December. I am also on the academic committee so we get to check the exams for each level and subject. It is hard work and there are only 5 of us to check all of them and approve or give them back to the teacher to revise again.
Many of the students have left for holiday because we ran out of food to feed them although the holiday does not begin until the 8th of August. It is more quiet around the school now that many of the students have left for holiday. P7 and P6 students do not get a holiday and P5 will get only one week because there is so much material to get done before the end of the year. I will be going to Kampala for a week so I will write more when I can use free Internet instead of paying for it. I pray that things are well with all of you and thank you for your prayers! God bless each of you!!!

Going to immgration tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow we are going to immigration. They currently have our passports and our paperwork. We are praying that we do not have to pay the $900,000 shilling (about $600 in the US). Hopefully we will be able to go to Masaka on Thursday. Oh, if you want to send me letters, they said it would be better if you sent it to our office in Kampala and they would get it to me so the address is PO Box 4428, Kampala, Uganda.

We had a conference this week (Thursday to Sunday) with a speaker from the states. It was really good and God is working in my life because I experienced things that I never had in the states. I know that God is working because I would have walked out in the states, but I felt a peace in my spirit about what was happening.

On Thursday, we walked into town to buy some things that we will need in Masaka. We bought our food and supplies and then walked to buy a dresser. We could not get the dresser that day so we ordered one that they had ready in 3 days for us. We were going to get a boda boda (a motorcycle) to take home, but none of them passed us so we ended up walking home with all of our stuff. I think we ended up walked about 10 miles that day. We were really tired when we got home, but it also felt really good to walk.

On Sunday, we came back to St. Mbuga to watch basketball. The school is divided into 4 different houses and they have different events. They finished soccer last week and basketball and netball on Sunday. It was fun to watch and I ended up staying later to hang out with the students and play soccer and basketball. I had 4 escorts on the way home so I felt really protected and they bought me some really good food.

The food here is awesome and so filling. It is nice to have food that has not been processed at all. I currently have not gotten sick so I thank all of you for praying for me health and protection. I pray that things are well with all of you!!! God's blessing to each of you!

Still in Kampala

We get to go back to immigration again today. I realized that we have been there about 7 times in the last week. We are starting to feel like it is a new home. We went yesterday and got signed off in one department but when we went to the NGO office they said that we have to do some things again. We had to go back to the US Embassy and we have to go there today too. Hopefully we can get everything worked out so we can go with the group that is heading out there on Monday. It is supposed to cost us 900,000 shilling to get everything processed which is about $560 in the US. I'll let you know what is going later how everything goes. Please keep us in prayer while dealing with immigration and the US Embassy.

Got a phone!!!

I got a phone today! The number is 011256756831346 which includes the international code and country code. Please remember that I am 10 hrs ahead of you in the states so I'm writing this at noon and it is 2 AM for you.

I have more time so I'll give you more information on what is happening in my life since I left all of you.

The time in Masaka last week was a great experience but it was also hard. When we arrived on Sunday the students were lined up on the road and driveway to welcome us in song. It was a little overwhelming but a true blessing too.

On Monday, we were able to go to Nambirizii to do some construction and do some crafts with the students. I felt out of place since I had not been at any of the meetings for the crafts and as many of you know that I do not do well with construction. I wandered around taking pictures of the different groups working until on of the Ugandans doing construction saw me watching him so he gave me a job. I was to pound the cement even after the guys had dumped into piles in the room that we were working on. It was a lot of hard work but it was also a lot of fun too.

On Tuesday, I was able to sit in the primary classrooms and watch the teachers to learn more about their system here. I was surprised at how much their teaching methods are like ours but also very different as the classes range from 50-110 students. On Wednesday, I sat in on the secondary classes and got to watch a debate between Senior 1 and Senior 2 on whether girls should have the same education as boys. It was really entertaining and a great English lesson.

On Thursday, I went with the group to Nambirizii again to do medical work on the students. It was an emotional day, but I know that God was in the middle of the whole things. I was mom that day as I held the students who were having to have cuts deep cleaned. It was hard to see the condition of the students' bodies but it was good to be able to hold the students as others dug into the wounds and did what we could for them. That afternoon was a huge contrast to the morning. The students at Masaka put on a talent show for us. It was great and we had a wonderful time.

On Friday, we did the medical work at Masaka. Again I was mom helping with the students who were really bad off. I also got the privilege of working on the hands and feet of the cooks as they have really bad fungus. We left Masaka that afternoon and came back to Kampala.

On Saturday, we went shopping and spend time with the team. We took them to the airport in early evening. It was weird to be still with the Ugandans after sending off the rest of the team. On Sunday, we went to church and then went to St. Mbuga Secondary School for visitation day. It was interesting to see the contrast between since a rich school as that one and the one that I will be working at in Masaka.

This week has been a challenge for me as we have been doing a lot of sitting around waiting for people and things. I was feeling like we were driving around in circles the other day as we were going to immigration and the US Embassy. Yesterday was a good day because we went to St. Mbuga again to spend lunch with the students. We have been walking around town, learning to cook, learning Luganda, and just getting used to Uganda. Goodbye for now and I hope to hear from some of you. I am able to check my email so feel free to write me at teacher.michelle@gmail.com but I"ll only get to it as often as I check this. God's blessing to each and every one of you. I love you and I'm praying for you!

Finally in Uganda!

So I made it to Uganda a day late but we got here on the 21st of June. We had a great time in Masaka with the team that I was working with. We took them to the airport last Saturday night. I am staying in Kampala this week to rest and work on things with immigration and the U.S. Embassy. It has been an adjustment time, but I am doing well and enjoying my time so far. I do not have much time left on my credit right now so I am going to keep it short, but I hope to write more before we head to Masaka sometime next week.
It has been a blessing that I have not thought of home much until this week when things have begun to get hard with dealing with immigration and not being able to move around without someone to escort us and not having transportation. That is all for now, but I'll write again soon I hope.

LEAVING TODAY!!!

So I am sitting in the Portland airporrt preparing to leave for Uganda today. We leave in only a few minutes and it is hard to believe that it is time. Both of my suitcases are 50 lbs each and I have all of my clothes in my carry-on. I also have a backpack so there is concern that I may not be able to take my backpack and carry-on in London. I am not worrying and just praying that God will take care of everything. God's blessing to all of you and I will write again when I get a chance.

1 WEEK!!!

So I am sitting at the Portland airport waiting to go see my little brother for a couple of days before I move next week to Uganda. As I was driving down here today I was realizing that my parents will be driving me down here in a week for me to move to Uganda. It was a weird feeling driving here today and thinking about that. I have mixed feelings about going. I am excited, nervous, and confused all at the same time. I am excited to finally be going over to Uganda and teach. I am also nervous at the same time because I am leaving all of my comforts here in America to go teach in a foreign country where I know very little about their schooling system. I am confused because I want to stay here in the states because I have become so connect to people here, but I want to go to Uganda where my heart is for the people. I am sure that I will continue to have mixed emotions but I know that God will be with me through everything.

2 WEEKS!!!

I leave in two weeks!!! It is hard to believe that it is almost here. I am busy finishing substituting for the school year. I finished at Wheatland Village last week, so my nights and weekends are free to work on things and spend some last time with people here in the area.

I have told some of you that I will be getting a cell phone so people can call me while I am there. The cool thing for me is that when people call me I am not charged for the minutes. I am only charged for the minutes when I call someone. It will be very expense for me to call, so it is up to everyone here to call me (but remember that I will be 10 hours ahead of you). I have found an awesome website where you can buy phone cards to call me for almost an hour for only $5! The website is http://www.uniontelecard.com/ and you then click on Crazy USA. The $5 card will allow you to call and talk to me for 54 minutes! I will let everyone know what my number is when I get it.

I pray that things are going well with everyone and I will write again before I leave. God's blessing!

Leaving in 6 weeks

I was realizing today that I leave for Portland 6 weeks from today. I cannot believe that I fly out in only 6 weeks. I have been planning for so long that it is hard to grasp that it is finally coming (and soon too). There are so many things that I am noticing that I need to do before I am ready to leave. I guess I need to figure out what to cut out of my schedule so that I can have more time to finalize all of my things for my trip. I have sorted most of the school supplies and books that I will be taking, but I need to figure out if I have enough room to take everything that I want to take.
I praise God that I have blessed by so many people that are wanting to support the work that I will be helping with in Uganda. Thank you to all of you who have given finanically and through prayers.

Getting ready for Uganda

Hey everyone,

So, I'm working on my plans to go to Uganda. I leave JUNE 18, 2008!!! I cannot believe that it is only in a few weeks. I pray that things are well with all of you. God's blessing! Be sure to check back here every couple of months for updates on how things are going for me in Uganda.