New Home and a New Perspective

Last week I moved into a room  in an apartment that Abby and David Kakeeto rented close to their house.  It has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting room, and indoor plumbing.  I love having an indoor sink.  The apartment is located over the garage of a wealthy Ugandan. The view is wonderful and I even have a small balcony.  The timing of the move was perfect as well.  I am trying to get settled before I go back to the US in October.  This week we will be buying a computer and setting up a real office.  I am nervous and excited.  I really want to go home.  AND I already have plans for when I get back here as well.  These last few weeks have been pretty stressful for me as they were too busy and I got way behind in my sleep.  I love the quiet here at the apartment but I also miss the constant movement and noise of living with the 16 boys.  I had an interesting thing happen on Saturday.  I took Emma (Emmanuel) with me to Kampala city to run some errands and I took him to lunch.  We were getting phone repaired.  Emma said something to me and he called me Jajja (of course) and the man said, "Jajja?  Is this boy yours?"  Emma looked up at me and waited for my reply.  I said yes and he just burst out in happiness.  The power of being part of God's family together, makes our bond even closer.  I don't really call the boys "my boys."  I stopped feeling like people were "mine" when Jeff was so sick, close to his death. My prayers changed from "Please heal him" to "Please don't let him suffer" to "Father, he is Yours not mine, You love him more than I can imagine, your will be done in his life."  Something inside me changed.  It was peaceful but also bittersweet.  Even my daughters and son are not really mine, they are the children that God blessed me with and gave me the privilege of being their mother.  I remember when I admitted to someone that even today I have a hard time praying to God about healing people physically.  Not that God isn't good, because I know He is.  Not because he isn't all-loving, because He is.  But because he knows the end and I don't.  For me it is acknowledging that God has ALL of the power to heal, and in His sovereignty, sometimes He chooses not to heal.  I can pray with all confidence for God to heal broken hearts and give spiritual healing.  But healing for AIDS, cancer, etc?  God may not answer that prayer the way I want him to. There is peace there but for me it came at a cost. Two of the women in our program are not doing very well.  I pray for their hearts, their minds, their souls, their families and when I say Father your will be done in the life of these women and in their bodies, a lump comes to my throat.  Missionaries are not supposed to feel that way are they?  How does that relate to Emma?  Because I was encouraged by him and seeing the sweet smile on his face and the pride in his eyes when I acknowledged him to a stranger.  Thank you God for Emma, thank you for the women, Rose and Gertrude.  Thank you for making us family.  Thank you for making us yours.  Father, your will be done in all of our lives! Amen!

Early July 2011

This month has flown by. I have been busy doing some new things that are so exciting.  As you may remember the other missionary, Amanda, and I and shared the responsibilities for Hope House, the program for prostituted women.  Amanda has been training me to be able to buy the jewelry from them to send to the US (harder than it seems-HA) Last week was my first week of going solo.  This means that Amanda will focus on the street boys and I will focus on the women.  Because of my age, it is a really good fit.  I started teaching them salvation through faith alone two weeks ago.  So many churches here teach a conditional salvation, you do well and God will love you, you mess up and he no longer cares.  For women who have prostituted themselves out of desperation and misery this message is very damaging.  Actually it is damaging for anyone!  Also I spend lots of time with our boys at home.  As you know I have really bonded with the older boys.  I would love to begin counselling them on becoming men of God and I think working with Uncle Steven would work.  If you have any suggestions of curricula that would be awesome, or even a good place to start.  These boys have been exposed to such horror.  Many have been sexually assaulted and all have had to deal with rejection and abandonment. Please pray for me as I need wisdom.  We have a summer intern here named Caitlyn.  We all call her Cate.  She is 20, from CA and a barrel of laughs!  Some of you know that I had the bright idea to take a couple of college courses while I was home.  Since I don't have formal training in counselling, or childhood trauma I needed to take some basic courses.  I took Abnormal Psychology and Race and Ethnicity.  In my mind I thought I would easily be able to finish either before I left or shortly after returning to Uganda.  WRONG!  Needless to say I took a two day "holiday" at a guest house in Kampala and finished my coursework.  We have both internet and electricity problems in Wakalyga where I live.  But I am done.  The courses were actually really interesting.  

One of the fun activities that I have been doing with our boys is cooking with them every Saturday morning.  This coming Saturday I am going to make noodles and sauce and coleslaw.  I know, odd combination but I only have my local market to purchase supplies.  The boys love it!  I love it too!  I serve them tea and we all try my creations!  HA!  

Thank you so very much for praying for me for my bronchitis, I am almost completely over it!  For me four weeks is a pretty short run!  

Today is computer training for the women.  I have been teaching them how to use a keyboard and how to get familiar with the computer.  Then after the lesson is over I take three women out to lunch.  We have a restaurant that we walk to that has good local food.  Last week I bought medicine for several of the women who had the flu.  HIV and the flu are NOT a good combination.  I want you to know this: that YOU are the ones that make that possible.  Every time I can show love to the women or to the boys it is because of you.  "We" bought Bibles for all of the women.  We take them to lunch.  We buy them medicine.  We make fun little meals every Saturday morning.  Thank you!  

When I teach a Bible study or counsel a boy I know that I am covered in prayer by MANY people who love these precious souls also.  Thank you!

On a very fun note before I close.  I was at Owino, the HUGE market filled with used clothing and other items, looking for school shoes for the boys.  I came across a woman selling sandals and she had a pair of Birkenstock sandals, in my size and they were RED!!! Of course I bought them.  A small thing that made me so very happy.  Nice shoes with a good arch and in a color that I love! 

Thank you again for all of the love and support that you give me, the women and the boys.  May you feel Christ's grace, mercy and compassion in a new and fresh way every day!

Very Early June Update

I figure by the time I get done with this e-mail it will be June 1.  May has just flown by.  Things are going well here.  I have a nasty case of bronchitis, but I am taking cough medicine and a good antihistamine.  I went to the doctor and they drew blood to check and that was fine, so it is probably viral.   I stayed home from church on Sunday and Monday I spent most of the day  in bed watching movies.  Today I went to town to go and mail some letters and to pick up a few things.  Then I came back and went back to bed.  The cough medicine has codeine in it, so it makes me pretty sleepy.  The boys are doing well, they all went back to school on May 23.  The street program is going well also.  I have REALLY enjoyed being with the ladies.  I have been doing a Bible study with them and teaching computers.  I have five keyboards and three laptops so for the last two weeks they have been learning how to manage with the keys.  Tomorrow should have been their first day on the computers, but I am too sick to go.  They are HIV positive and I don't want to give them my bug too. I have also been taking a couple of ladies to lunch on Wednesdays.  So fun. One of the ladies, Beatrice, has a baby that is a week older than my grand-baby and I get to love on him!  One of the older boys from the street got picked up in a riot in the slum and put in prison.  I went with Amanda and Uncle Abdul to try to get him released.  He is out but has to report back in June.  I have decided that I never want to go to jail in Uganda.  It seems funny to me that all of my years of working with kids in AWANA  are now turning into a blessing for the boys.  When we go to Grace house, an orphanage for 50 street boys, Amanda tells a Bible story and I sing and explain the story.  Those that know me well, know I can't carry a tune in a bucket but I do know a lot of kids songs!  There is a former street boy, his name is David-I call him Bead David because he runs the program for making the paper beads, has been hired for the summer.  Bead David is a great young man and loves the boys so much.  He asked me to come and share with Amanda to their little house at night.  Two tiny rooms probably 8 X 15 feet each, no electricity, dirt floors, no mattresses, only cardboard.  There are 40 - 50 boys that sleep there.  So now I have a new audience to sing to.  It is so very humbling.  I don't know how I managed to get such a great assignment!  

While I was in Phoenix I spoke to a Bible study that included Adam Mick the former youth pastor at MVBC.  His Bible study folks were so awesome.  They contributed money and along with another couple of people I came to Uganda with just over $200 dollars to buy a sewing machine, treadle of course.  Here is the cool part... I bought it on Sunday from a guy who works at another orphanage, Uncle Abdul.  Someone had donated it to them and no-one had ever used it.  .  They now can use the money for something that they really need and after I bought some needles, thread, oil, and a couple of spare parts I have about $5.00 left.  God is so good!  I will be using the machine to fix all of the uniforms for our boys, fix clothes for the boys living on the street and hopefully it will be used to train some of the women at Hope House (our program) to sew.  Even a few of the boys are interested and maybe one of them will end up being a tailor!

Two Saturdays ago I made french toast for all of the boys for breakfast.  Last week I made pancakes.  We had so much fun.  I have some photos that I will post on facebook.  This week I am going to make fried rice with sweet and sour sauce.  One of the people from my church, MVBC, gave me money to buy every boy a Bible.  They now have their very own Bible.  I have pictures of that too.  (My camera is with Uncle David right now-but watch for the photos!)  

I have found a new friend, one of the street boys named Joel.  He is new to the street, about 16 and wants to be with me all of the time.  He got beat up pretty badly his first or second week here and he got taken to the clinic by Bead David.  One of his eyes was really damaged and he had drops that were a steroid to reduce swelling and an antibiotic to fight infection.  No-one wanted to give him his drops so I did.  I have put thousands of drops into kid and adult eyes.  I guess the drops did it because whenever I am there he wants to hold my hand and talk to me.  His English is pretty good.  His story is really sad, they all are.  But not many boys want to share with me so soon.  Joel has though, and I am honored.  

The work has begun on the new house on the new land.  They have been digging trenches for the stem walls and clearing land.  Still no water or electricity but the ball is rolling.  The plans are so very nice.  I was supposed to go to the land this week to take pictures and to look it over.  I will be going to the land with the teams who are here to help us build so I need to know the way.  I have been there several times but I have never really paid attention to HOW to get there.  But I am too sick for that too.   Hopefully later on this week.    I love you all so much and I thank you for wanting to read my rambling posts, but most of all I thank you for your prayers. 

The first lap around Uganda is almost over

It is now February 13, 2011 and I have not posted in almost two months.  Where I live now in Wakyliga (outside of Kampala Uganda) has unreliable electricity and for some reason the Internet is hit or miss.  Every time I have tried to post it simply will not load.  Go figure!  But I write a regular e-mail for my friends and supporters and if you would like to keep up with what is happening in Africa, simply e-mail me at ginajaye@gmail.com and I will make sure you get on the list.  So when I booked my return flight to Arizona back in early November I had no idea that national elections take place in November, and who could have predicted the situation in Egypt?  But people here in Uganda are very nervous.  Rioting has been predicted from the opposition.  The current president, Museveni has been in power here for 24 years.  He is a shrewd politician but the opposition is stronger than it has ever been.  The last election, five years ago, brought some violence and much outcry of rigging and unfair practices.  Our lawyer, yes we have one, suggested we stock pile food at the boys home and stay in place during that time.  The election is on Friday Feb 18 and I am due to fly out at 12:15 on Feb. 21.  So I am going to Entebbe on Saturday and will stay in a hotel and lie low.  The boys are not even going to the airport with me, which is a ritual for them.  We have been buying food and other items and will be covered well into March.  There is a LOT of fear here and not the sense of outrage that seemed to sweep through Egypt.  But the fact that the protesters were effective in driving Mabarack out of office gives the opposition some fuel for their fire.  So how am I posting now?  Well I am at a coffee shop that resembles a Starbucks in the rich section of Kampala.  There is great Internet coverage here and the coffee is good too.  So what have I been doing?  Mostly parenting a group of sixteen boys in the home.  I have also been leading Bible study for the Women's project and telling Bible stories and singing to the kids at the street program and in an orphanage.  (kids don't care that I can't sing well, HA!)  I also try to manage the money to run the programs.  I brought a scanner/printer with me and so I scan all of the receipts for reimbursement through our mission organization, GTN.  Which is really funny because printers here are really cheap and you can get your ink re-filled for pennies on the dollar.  Speaking of pennies on the dollar, a DVD costs a dollar here.  Yep, one greenback.  In an "official" DVD store, on the street they are fifty cents.  So I have bought the boys some great movies that they have really enjoyed.  Their favorite so far was Disney Peter Pan I and II.  So I bought them the live action Peter Pan, another big hit and we rounded it off with Hook.  But the movie that has brought the biggest laughs was Beverly Hills Chihuahua.  Go figure.  I was able to get caught up on my favorite show, the closer, and I saw the kings speech.  WONDERFUL movie.  The other missionary and I had a baby shower for one of the women in the Hope House.  It is a program to give hope to former prostitutes.  They have learned to make jewelry, receive counselling and Bible studies, and have formed some new friendships.  All are HIV positive, most have kids.  Beatrice was pregnant when she started the program.  She was so surprised and the women all had fun.  I have been shopping a lot as the boys all started back to school Jan 31 to a new term and most were promoted to a new grade.  All most all needed new shoes.  Their shoes are all second hand shoes from the US that are shipped here, dyed black and repaired if necessary.  They aren't cheap by African standards and you can only take a few boys at a time to the market.  So I have gone a lot.  When I go, I treat the boys that go with me to a lunch out.  A real treat!  I have eaten some very interesting foods.  Nothing bad so far.  I have had fried grasshoppers and roasted goat.  I have had sauteed greens and boiled bananas.  I have basically had no milk for three months.  Until I came to this coffee shop I had only had instant coffee.  But I love the food and you can definitely get used to instant coffee.  Church here has been interesting.  Because I know God used a donkey to speak and allowed even me to become a children's pastor I have tried to hear God's voice wherever I am.  Sometimes it is MUCH harder than others.  I have loved being able to worship with my African brothers and sisters.  MVBC worship will be a little boring after this, ha!  Well I will try to be better about keeping the blog up to date, check out my facebook page too.  Thank you for being a part of my journey!  Love always, Gina

December 19 in Uganda

It has been just over a week since I last posted and yet it seems like a year.  So much has happened.  I have now gone to the women's program five times.  I will start doing a Bible Study with them after Christmas.  I was supposed to give a Bible study on Thursday and we ended up having a meeting with them instead.  They have been meeting for about four months.  They receive counselling and two Bible studies each week.  They are fed one good meal.  They have a clean nice place to work in.  They can listen to the radio, talk to each other make bracelets.  They make beautiful beaded bracelets that Abby then buys from them for $2.50.  For the last four months they have received about $2.00 per day allowance.  Yep two dollars.  The staff decided to reduce that to $1.00.  The women were so upset. Several did not come to work at all on Wednesday.  Thus the meeting.  In the end the staff restored their allowances until Christmas.  But after Christmas they will get no allowance, only the proceeds from the sales of their bracelets.  Where is a rich benefactor when you need one?  Abby and the other staff were NOT being mean to reduce their allowance.  But the program is expensive to run with such a young ministry.  So Friday I spent filming some women giving their testimony.  Moreen, a Ugandan staff member will then translate and we will have a short film about the women in their own words.  Saturday we went to the slum to interview a few more women.  Oh my gracious.  It is the same slum that I stayed in for my first trip in April.  All of the women lived in one room.  Several of the women lived in rooms that were no bigger than 8 X 8 feet.  Yet they were gracious and hospitable.  I had the opportunity to pray with each woman.  I honestly had no idea what they were saying while they were talking, but you didn't need language to understand the pain on their faces and the tears in their eyes.  One woman showed us a picture of her husband who had gone mad because of AIDS.  The problem with continuing to live in the slum is that they still have "visitors" come to their houses wanting sex.  They used their own rooms for prostitution.  Most of the women dreamed of returning to their villages to live.  I did take some pictures with their permission and I will add them later. 
But it has not been all work here.  I have had some truly funny experiences here.  I am learning Lugandan.  They boys think it is hilarious.  I am sure my accent is just pitiful.  They love it that I will eat everything that they eat.  Most visitors will not eat everything.  I drew the line on sucking the "meat" out of a fish head.  But I did eat the body.  Probably tilapia.  We have three college students here from North Carolina.  They brought a Christmas tree for the boys and stockings.  So the house looks very festive.  Their church is a really big one and they are the main support behind A perfect Injustice, the ministry that Abby has here. They raised all of the money to buy their land for the house.  They paid for the land this week!  I have also have been able to go the market several times.  Moreen encouraged me to buy some African fabric and have an outfit made.  So she designed me a dress.  I will wear it when I come home in February.  I printed some of the pictures that people have sent me and put them on the wall in my room.  The boys LOVE looking at my family and friends.  Please send pictures.  I will write more later.  It is time for church and I need to go.  I love you all.   Jajja Gina