Saturday, 6 November 2021

Last night, I was joined by my friend, Akizza Robert. (For those of you who have been following along, this is husband of Zam and father of Praise and Noah.) He wanted to stay closer to the wedding venue without having to work all night at Rock Ministries, so he stayed down the hall from me overnight. 

This morning I woke up ready for the wedding, but my shirt looked like cooked bacon, so I called Laundry at the Tick Hotel. In less than ten minutes, my wedding shirt was pressed and looking great. Have I mentioned how much I like this hotel? 

I had breakfast with the Best Man of the wedding, Robert. I always love his company, but today, “goodbye” was on the minds of us both, and it got a little mushy. In the middle of his sentimentality, he did say something I will have to remember. He said I have a special way of making family wherever I go. I have never thought of it that way, but it certainly is an answer to my prayers that the Lord would expand my circle of influence, and help me to glorify Him in it. This is happening here. 

After I bid Robert farewell to go do his Best Man duties, I met with Dr. Jane at the hotel lobby. At a price even cheaper than the local favorite Test-and-Fly, she conducted a PCR Covid test and took the sample to a nearby hospital for testing. By the time I got back, my results were printed and waiting for me at the hotel lobby desk. 

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and everyone looked stunning. It was very much a worship and praise service with two people getting married in the mix. Peruth’s brother gave her away on behalf of the family, and Pastor Gitta was a great host, though he looked excited as a little boy on Christmas morning. At the end of the formal church wedding, we all climbed in cars, busses, vans, taxis, and Bodas (motorcycle taxis), to move to the reception location. 

As we arrived at the reception venue, it began to rain. Pastor Gitta’s generous open invitation met with hundreds of attendees, but covered seating for only some, so it was fairly uncomfortable for a few late-comers until the sun came back out. The rains in Uganda are like the ones in Florida, here for a few minutes, but wait awhile and the weather will change. The mud was the only residual trouble from the rain, and we all got red-clay-stained at least up to our ankles. We worshiped, danced, laughed, and had a great time. When the RG team was presented, the kids urged me to speak, so I proclaimed a blessing and even asked God to give Gitta and Peruth twins (a common Ugandan blessing). As I was preparing to leave, I was captured by Roy Kasozi, who demanded I come and dance one time in the spotlight before I leave. I had warned folks about what would happen if they did that and, true to my word, I tied my sport coat around my waist and did my best Kikkanga <chē-kän-ga>, a traditional Ugandan dance with a lot of shaking of the hips, which are always adorned with some kind of wrap, usually a fur. It was a hoot! And I left there a dancing celebrity. 

There wasn’t room in any of the vehicles, but I found the bus with the RG kids and we piled ourselves in making room where there had been none. Several sweaty minutes later, we arrived at Rock Ministries Kitetikka, where the kids were staying and where many others were staging to go home. Best Man Robert found me a willing driver to drop me off at the Tick Hotel on his way, and I missed the opportunity to say a final farewell to a couple of my close-knit group, but jumped in the car as it was leaving. There had been many sad farewells, and sweet embraces, but this expedited transport hurried up the process, even though it was like tearing away a patch from cloth. 

I thanked my willing driver, James, as I got in and he said, “Who am I to drive such an important person?” It reminded me how I often underestimate my worth as well, thinking I am not worthy to carry the message of the Gospel, or I am not worthy to visit with some important type person. As I preached to James, I heard the Spirit teach me, “Our Creator died for each of us. We are the same importance and value!” On the way to the hotel, I was chatting online with several of the RG kids and nurses, cooling off with the window open and the warm, Uganda breeze drying me and my sweaty clothes. As the car slowed for a traffic jam, just like lightning, a thief reached into the car, snatched my unlocked phone, and was gone in an instant. My police instinct was to jump out of the car and chase after him, but as I leapt from the car I found no sign of the thief anywhere. He was gone just that fast. We stopped at a nearby police station and reported the crime but, as a former police officer, I was well aware nothing would come of it. An investigator with an AK-47 on his shoulder said he would track it for 200,000 Uganda shillings, but I knew I could erase it remotely if I could get to my laptop quickly, so we left, but with the investigator’s phone number in case I changed my mind. 

Back at the hotel, Regina was very sympathetic, but said she had lost eight phones in similar circumstances. Message to travelers: don’t use your phone where it can be snatched, and keep your windows half-way up! Being without mobile communication left me feeling like the “goodbyes” were abruptly ended, and the conversations I was having were interrupted by someone who, for all I know, was harvesting my data as we speak. All the wedding photos, videos, and notes I took would be lost forever. I signed into my Apple account from my hotel room, was heartbroken to confirm that none of my photos had uploaded to the cloud, and then promptly sent an “Erase iPhone” command to the handset. Ouch!

Sunday, 7 November 2021

It is departure day, but I have some business to attend to. I got as many phone numbers as I thought I might need for my journey and wrote them on paper. Then I walked to a few nearby banks until I found one that would accept my ATM card. A few keystrokes later, I was on my way to the local phone service center. When one center said I needed a Ugandan ID to get my SIM card reactivated, I got directions to the next nearest service center, where I was helped with just my passport. I bought a cheap handset and a new SIM card with my old number on it, and spent the next couple hours figuring out why the darn thing wouldn’t start up. After lunch, I took it to one service center, where I was told to take it to the center where I bought it. A long Boda ride found me at the locked doors of the very service center I had visited hours before. Disappointed, I returned to the Tick on my fourth Boda ride of the day. 

If you are imagining a pretty day on the back of a motorcycle, you have the wrong picture in your mind. First, imagine the roads slick with recently moistened red clay. Next, picture six lanes of traffic on a road built for two, and a steep drop-off at each edge, where rocks line the drainage ditches, each between two and four feet deep. Then, add in pedestrians of every size, shape, and purpose. I am almost sure I clipped a man with a wheelbarrow with my knee as we squeezed between him and a cement truck. Especially for an American control-freak, this was an exercise in managing terror. 

At the hotel lobby, Owen kindly put my new SIM card in his own phone and discovered it was functioning but not yet active. He explained that the mobile carrier has to go through a process of terminating service on my line in the other SIM card before it can activate the new one. Just activation can take thirty minutes, but disconnecting from the old one may take 12-24 hours. So, my line may be renewed, and the mobile money I had on that account may be restored, but I may not know it until I return to Uganda and again reactivate my phone. So, there is today’s lesson in patience and contentment. I’m still working on forgiveness for the thief too. 

It’s time to pack. I have four hours in which to do it, but I want everything ready to go when the time comes. I may not have Wi-Fi again until I reach the U.S. so I’ll load this now. 

My reflections about this trip center around how totally worth the hassle of delayed flights, a trampy New York ghetto hotel, lost luggage, no laundry, misunderstood intentions, theft, and danger it really is to be in Uganda and meet with the wonderful people whose company I have enjoyed these six weeks. I have seen firsthand how universally we humans tend to doubt ourselves, our positions, and our value, and how much we need to be reminded that our Creator found us worth dying for. I have learned some valuable lessons about what to do and what not to do, and have found myself at home among the Acholi of the north and the Buganda of the south. God is glorified everywhere I go, even in dark traffic jams. The children and staff of RG really need a friend, and I have even more calling me their father figure than I did in the spring. I cannot wait to return and love on these fine folks again!

Sunday, 17 October 2021

Today was supposed to be another day of leisure, and it was, but with a lot packed in it. At 9:00 we began church. One of my sponsored children, Vivian, led worship, and several of my friends did a special musical presentation. Pastor Gitta preached a great sermon and then invited anyone who wanted prayer up to the front. He then invited the the spiritual director, Eunice, and me up to do the praying. I’m always up for prayer, and praying for the children, staff, and visitors of RG was an honor.

After church, I went to the house where my sponsored kids live and talked to their house aunties (filling in for their house mom who was away). I was invited to lunch, and when I asked if I could bring anything, the kids all begged me to bring ice from Team House, where they know there is one of the only freezers in the compound.

I spent some time with the adult kids for awhile, and even went to the gym to watch a little football (soccer), then dismissed myself at about 1:30 to go to the pod house where Vivian, Daniel, and all their housemates were preparing for lunch. In the tradition of Ugandans, Vivian poured water over my hands for washing, then served me, her guest, first. Ugandans always seem annoyed when I refuse to eat until they have been served, but this group is catching on. Theirs was ready fairly quickly, and we all sat down to eat, Daniel and Vivian with me on the couch, and the rest at their school tables. There was chicken, chapati (fried flat bread), rice, beans, and greens, and way too much of everything was placed in front of me. I did my best to share, but they would have none of it until I was completely finished. Then I called the other kids over to refill their bowls from my little coffee table. Most were so excited about their ice water, they couldn’t focus on food, but we managed to clear the aunties’ cooking.

When lunch was finished, two of the boys wanted to “help me” return the ice bowl to the Team House freezer. I had taken a couple bottles of frozen drinking water and they were curious about how I got the ice into the bottles, so we had a little physics lesson on freezing water. They brought extra bottles to see if they could do it, and I promised to bring them back tomorrow after they were frozen.

One of the visitors to RG Church was a nurse midwife I know, who had asked me to come to the nurses’ quarters to visit her daughter. I had just enough time to visit with a few of the adult RG kids before making the trek down to “hospital side,” accompanied by K-Morris and Shalom. (The hospital side is in the forward section of the RG compound, and the kids’ side is toward the rear.)

At the nurses’ residence I got to greet several of my friends from the hospital, but we quickly made our way to Rose’s house, where we found Rose and her daughter, Patience, shelling g-nuts (like miniature peanuts). Rose tried to sit me down and wait on me, but I insisted we help with shelling g-nuts, so we sat in the shade and shelled g-nuts while other nurses gathered around preparing various foods: cassava (yuca root), beans, or whatever. We sat and talked until a troupe came looking for K-Morris like he was wanted by the police or something. It turned out to be a surprise visit from his sponsor, whom he loves dearly. I have heard about this fellow, but did not expect to get to meet him. It was a treat seeing other Americans here even if they didn’t stay long. I may even see them again, since they live in the same city as my parents and sisters.

As the time drew near for the evening church service at the Cessnun house, I said goodbye to Patience and Rose, and walked with Shalom back toward the kids’ side of RG on what is lovingly referred to as “missionary row” the road where the homes of the missionaries are situated, the last of which is Team House.

The Cessnun house was crowded, and I was late for the start of worship, but I was welcomed again like family. As more people came, I found myself completely at home on the floor with the kids, my true peer group. The sermon was about the church of Ephesus, addressed by Paul in Ephesians, and by Jesus in Revelation.

Afterward, I stumbled in the dark to Team House and my friends came to greet me shortly after I turned on the lights. About a half dozen of us talked and carried on until the yawns outnumbered the laughs, and I made everyone get out so this old man could get some sleep.

As I started to head for bed, I was faced with one more responsibility — laundry. There is someone who will wash my laundry once a week, except for undergarments, and of course anything I need again before a week is through. So I had a few things to wash before I earned the privilege of sleep.

Monday, 18 October 2021

It must be “Pull-my-leg Day” or something, because everyone was playing tricks on me today, or trying to make me believe something untrue. One said he was leaving forever, another said she was going on leave for three weeks and would not see me anymore on this trip. The good thing is that every one of them was comfortable enough with me to make jokes (a thing Ugandans do not normally do, but especially with strangers). Several at the hospital even said how much they missed me or “You are lost” which is just a shade less intimate than “I missed you” but means the same thing. My friend, Fred, while we were discussing my injured shoulder and my feelings of comparative uselessness, came out and said, “Your presence here is so very encouraging. Even if you do nothing but show up, we need you here!”

I know I asked for prayer for my shoulder, but maybe I’m injured on this trip just to be able to hear the feedback God sent me through Fred.

I worked alongside Doris and Lilian on the day shift and stayed til 5:00 with Miriam and Grace on the evening shift. Miriam was back from a trip to her home, where her parents’ roof had fallen in on them the prior week. She went to help reconstruct the house and see to their safety. After that experience, she is the first Ugandan nurse to tell me her preference was not for a grass thatch hut. Most of the others would prefer them, but I believe she is somewhat traumatized by the near-fatal accident with her parents. There is a brick structure at her home, but it is unfinished. She told me she needs to raise one million shillings (about $285) to finish it and put a roof on it for her parents to be safe.

Charge Nurse Miriam tried to trick me into staying until the end of evening shift at 8:00 pm, but I finally got her to let me leave at about 5:15. When I got home, I knew the kids at Daniel and Vivian’s house would be missing their ice, so I trekked over there just in time to find the older girls in the house processing a jackfruit. These are terribly messy if you don’t know what you are doing, but are a favorite treat all over Uganda. I was offered a piece and I took it after lying all the frozen bottles on the brick counter. The kids were already checking to see if they could get the water to melt so they could “drink the ice.”

Janet whisked me away and said she was taking me to a special place. I guessed a number of places, and got no hints, but “the tributary” was one of my guesses that she said was wrong. We met several friends we knew on the way back from whatever this special place was, and as we walked nearly a mile I grew more and more curious. Down and down we walked into what could only be a swamp at this level. Then there it was a small creek running through three culverts under the road. “This is the tributary!” Janet announced. She knew I had never seen it, and had always wondered about it. The kids talk about it all the time. It is about as close as any of them will get to the Nile River, since there are monsters in that body of water that will kill you before you have a chance to see them, and a current that has claimed too many of their neighbors for a wise person not to fear it. The tributary was low and, as I tried to ease my way down to it in flip flops, I suddenly discovered it is also very cold. The slippery clay and rocks made for a perfect slide on which I came down with a thud and a splash, but somehow uninjured. We cooled our feet a few brief moments and Janet was already ready to walk the long walk back home. The walk was nice, and I enjoyed listening to Janet tell me about her childhood, and about life struggles that we all have, but which sharing makes them seem less weighty.

When we got back to Team House there was chicken and chips (fries) waiting, so we shared those. As she hurried off to evening preparatory class, Janet reminded me I had promised to return to Daniel and Vivian‘s house, because they had prepared a surprise for me.

At the pod house, I found a margarine tub full of processed jackfruit pieces waiting just for me. Oh, the kids had also rounded up about a dozen empty soda bottles they wanted me to turn into ice for the next day. Their pod house mom was back from a bereavement trip to her home village, and she wanted to watch the videos I took of Vivian’s part at church yesterday, so we all got to crowd in and watch about fifteen minutes of the worship. Of course all the kids were singing along. I am only an earthly dad, so I can only imaging with my finite mind what joy the Heavenly Father must have in listening to His children sing his praises.

When I got to Team House, I did some writing until Preps were over and the kids started showing up, first Janet and Prisca, then K-Morris and Shalom. Shalom brought passion fruit, which she taught me how to juice. That was the second gift of passion fruit juice I got today! First, Patrick, who had borrowed my Nalgene water bottle, had returned it filled with this amazing nectar that his wife, Nancy, had made. They even conspired to hide it from me in the refrigerator at the hospital canteen until it was chilled. Now, Shalom, who is always eager to teach me things demonstrated the magic of this amazing fruit. She says I am well on my way to becoming a true Ugandan.

It got late, and I have a devotional sermon to prepare for, so I’m getting to that and then bed. Or maybe I’ll do that from bed. I’m beat!

Tuesday, 19 October 2021

Today I was again asked to preach for morning devotions. I recalled how we recently discussed the Light of Life which is the Light of man. This week we explored the searching ability of this Light. I described an incident with my laundry, in which I thought my trousers were clean until I wore them in the sunlight and saw the stains I had missed. We read from: Revelation 22:12-16, John 3:19-21, Ephesians 5:13-14, Isaiah 64:6-9, Psalms 139:23-24, and Psalms 51:1-2 & 7. I pointed out: 1) the light of the Holy Spirit exposes our filthiest secrets; 2) We all need Holy Spirit cleaning that comes by the blood of Jesus; and, 3) when we call on the Lord, He will hear us and clean us up.

I closed with this invitation: There is a Light of Life, but our sinful nature makes us hide from it. If you are hiding a piece of you from God’s divine grace, I invite you to bring it into His light. Show Him your filthy stains and let Him wash you whiter than snow.

I contributed as much as I could with my sprained shoulder, and did a lot more talking, listening, and sharing than working, but Charge Nurse Miriam spent most of the day insisting that I should not leave as scheduled, but stay on. It is nice to hear that kind of affirmation, but I will be going to the Capitol on the 29th to attend Pastor Gitta’s wedding.

I had a meeting with the Primary Nursing Office, Sister Sophie, when my shift ended. She has a burden she wanted to unload. It seemed we both learned a lesson about misplaced generosity and trusting those who would abuse our trust.

I stopped by Patrick’s home as I left the hospital. Though he is on night shift this week, he was up because he cannot sleep with all the noise of the many children around the nurses’ quarters.

On the way down “missionary row” I checked in on the Cessnun kids, who are taking care of each other with the help of several volunteers while their parents are enjoying some rest and relaxation in the Capitol this week. They wore me out with football-style dodgeball (no hands, only feet). When I returned later, the older kids were studying while the littles were watching an animated movie. I joined them on the couch and was even accepted by Silas, the overprotective toddler.

I had my regular visitors at Team House: Janet, Shalom, Prisca, K-Morris, and Hosman. These are the ones I hope to take with me to Gulu on Saturday, when we go shopping in town for supplies for the new apartment. It started with two, but not my whole little circle is planning to go.

Wednesday, 20 October 2021

We had an interesting day today. The hospital staff had an election to fill one seat on the hospital community board. I was honored and alarmed when I was the first nominee. I respectfully declined and, instead, volunteered to be an unbiased vote counter. The trusted me with the tally, and the clinical director thanked me for my prudence. He said I would surely have won unanimously. The staff elected the same man who had been temporarily appointed to the position, but surprisingly, another newcomer, Dr. Evelyn Kembabazi, was runner up, short only two votes out of forty to tie. Dr. Kembabazi (if you can say that five times fast, you are mispronouncing it) has been here only three weeks and has already gained this much respect among the staff. I have enjoyed working alongside her. She is newly certified to practice medicine, and we have much to learn from each other.

I had a chat with Dr. Robert, the clinical superintendent of RG Hospital, about the nurses who are forced to live nearly a mile away from the hospital and walk back and forth to with. They are expected to show for their shift, for scrubbing day, for assemblies such as we had today, and all on foot. I suggested that each one needs a bicycle on which to ride back and forth for their assignments. He agreed, but said it may not get past commit unless the initiative has a sponsor, so we paid for four bicycles, which will be procured on Friday and presented on Monday.

We had a few new patients, and I did my best to help as much as I could with one arm tied to my shoulder in a sling. I often briefly escaped it for emergency use, but usually regretted it as soon as I twisted the wrong way.

It was a very busy day and, with the extended assembly to elect our board member, we started our way behind. Even with three of us nurses on the ward, we did not catch up enough to take tea until about Noon and we ate our lunch, served at 1:00, about an hour after shift change (3pm). That was even after our relief arrived on time at 2:00. It was crazy!

I checked in on the Cessnun kids. All nine were in one piece each.

At Team House I had a few visitors, but I warned them I would not be awake for long. When they went to Preparatory classes, I did my laundry and went to bed.

Thursday, 21 October 2021

Sister Sophie asked me to preach the devotional again today, while several staff are out of town for a workshop.

I spoke on the meaning of “belief” as misunderstood in John 3:16, and I preached on the importance of adding to belief, faith, repentance, and action that proves our faith and exercises it to grow stronger and generate more of the fruits of the Spirit. I referenced John 3:16-17, Hebrews 11:1, James 2:14-17, Acts 26:20, Acts 17:30-31, John 14:12. Afterward, the feedback I got was that the message was well received and too seldom preached in Uganda, where many are content to profess a belief in Jesus as though He were a Heavenly Santa Claus. Maybe Americans need that message too.

We were busy on the ward again today. So busy, many of the treatments were given late even though we were three rather than two. Again we stayed past shift change to handle patient needs before our own, and again we ate our 1:30 lunch well after 3:00 pm though our shift was supposed to end at 2:00. I was able to give some recommendations that were taken and acted upon by Dr. Kembabazi. Being new, at first she questioned a few of them, but learned quickly I am a good resource on occasion.

The other nurses have already begun to threaten to lock me away so I cannot return to America. Every time my departure plans for next Friday come up, they get sad, quiet, or possessive. In the event I do disappear, check Charge Nurse Mirriam’s residence. I might be tied up in there. She is the most troubled by my departure.

The Cessnun kids were all alive, well, and at peace, so I left them to their respective activities.

I found a little quiet time for writing after my afternoon shower. I will post this while I wait for the kids to come over.