Mid July 2011

Yesterday was one of the days that make me want to cry for so many reasons.  The schedule got changed so the women are coming to Hope House on Friday.  So I stayed home to work on receipts.  I got a frantic call from Caitlyn saying that I needed to take some boys to the clinic.  She was at a soccer field in Kampala with 150 street boys and a team from South Carolina that are doing a VBS (sort of).  So I hopped on a boda and sped over there.  Two of the boys were VERY sick and two others had nasty eye infections.  I took them to the nearest clinic, in a taxi with an uncle.  Scary place.  Fairly clean but I didn't see any sterile needles.  One boy got a Malaria meds injected right into his vein.  It took her five times.  The other boy got four meds including Cipro and two other antibiotics that I didn't recognize.  Plus Malaria meds to take.  The bother boys got antibiotics and eye drops.  while I was waiting to pay I leaned on what I thought was a wall and fell backwards and landed flat on my back.  Everyone at the clinic started to panic and wanted to give me an injection and I am almost crying saying no, I have my own pain killers, please no. The boys are all saying get the injection jajja.   It really was pretty funny. So we took them back to the VBS.  Everyone took their meds and I started to do medical care.  Nothing like doing medical care on street boys to put a little back pain into perspective.  The worst part is their feet.  Most of the time, they have no shoes so their feet are covered with sores, ingrown nails, and jiggers.  Jiggers are a little insect that bores into your feet and makes a mess.  The boys just love having some personal attention.  I did that for an hour or two and then when everyone was finished I started to leave.  And ran into a low beam with my head.  REALLY Gina!  God must really need to teach me a lesson, I know I am hard headed but can't I learn an easier way!  I went home.  Took a Valium, and started to rest.  Abby called me and asked me to please get some sun glasses for the two boys that had eye problems.  So back on the boda and down to the nearest market Nattette.  It is about a mile away, usually I walk, because I love the walk, but not today.  Got the glasses and five big puffy coats for our boys and three pillows.  You KNOW you need big puffy coats when it gets down to a chilly 70 degrees. HA!  I had bought five others last weekend so almost every boy has one.  I also bought 6 "jumpers"  hoodies in American English.  Feeling great because of the Valium.  Go home.  I haven't been home 15 minutes when Amanda comes in crying and doubled over in pain.  Drop everything, get another boda go to The Surgery (that is the name of the clinic where we go)  She is on fire and crying!  Got there she had to wait about 30 minutes but then she saw a doctor.  They did an ultrasound on her and ran all kinds of tests. She has a fungal infection but they could not find the source of her pain. She has a pic line in and we are going back today.  (Only tylenol and Ibuprofen for me today!)  I also looked up the clinic where Embasy people go.  So I told her the next time I am taking her there.  It is called Kampala International Hospital. So God put my back pain in proper perspective for me.  I needed that.  Truly was feeling sorry for myself.
May God never have to use a 2x4 on you to get your attention.  I love you all!

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!

Mid June Update

I hope this day finds you doing well.  Last night we celebrated the birthdays of two boys, Shafik and Kataregga Derick. We had so much fun.  Birthday cake, popcorn, pineapple, and soda.  Today is Amanda's birthday so she was a part of our fun as well.  The boys are all doing well.  None are sick although we have gone through the Flu and Malaria.  The boys have been back in school for almost a month and most seem to be doing well.  Some are still struggling with reading.  It is hard for them because they are older than they should be.  Big Bashir is almost 16 and he is in P-5, fifth grade.  But he has a great attitude..  The majority of our boys are in P-3.  The school does not provide ANY books so I have been buying them books to use.  That will allow them to work better at home.  They are very diligent with their homework.  We have had a team here from Colorado and they came and spent an evening with us.  52 people!  

The most exciting news is the progress that we have made on the house. The walls are roof high and they are framing the roof in.  They have dug the toilets and have laid out the foundation for the kitchen,dining room.  We are very excited about that.  The other news as far as the boys are concerned was culture day yesterday.  We bought all of the boys the traditional long white tunic, called a kanzu.  The boys would have also liked to have a suit coat to wear over it, but at least they had a kanzu.  Amanda, Caitlyn (the summer intern) and I went to the boys school and took them treats during lunch.  They were excited and embarrassed all at the same time.  Not too many families come with three white women.  Davis and Emma had no embarrassment whatsoever.  They wanted to take us all over, show us where things were and hang all over us.  It was really sweet.  I took them Ugandan Moon pies, a new pencil and a pack of candy coated gum.  The gate guard at the school was so drunk he could barely talk in Lugandan, to say nothing of English.  I guess you have to do something to make the time go by faster.  Several of our boys got in trouble for fighting in school, and I wanted to say that maybe if the school guard was sober, he could have stepped in.  But I think we got it all worked out.  Our counselor is going to start going to the school and seeing the three boys that are struggling, during their breaks.  All of us want to see the boys succeed and are doing everything possible to make sure that it happens.  They have all come so far from when Abby originally took them in off of the street.  Like all of us though, they have not arrived yet.  Keep praying!

Some prayer requests are:

1. pray that the counselling will help the boys release their anger

2. pray that they will continue to improve in school.

3. pray for the construction of the home in Bombo

4. pray for the health of the boys and staff

5. praise that the boys' behavior has continued to improve over the last month

6. praise that God has provided all of the funds for the house in Bombo  

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. 

An Emotional Thursday Night

This post is primarily a copy of the entry from an e-mail that I sent the folks that have requested updates.  If you would like to receive updates just email me!  Please skip the letter if you have already read it but pass on to the bottom for current news.  I can't begin to tell you of all of the wonders I have seen.  But first let me describe what Kampala is like.  Let your favorite three year-old scribble on a piece of paper and then imagine that the scribbles are streets.  Then add LOTS of potholes, mud, and trash.  Then add literally thousands of people.  Walking, riding motorcycles and sitting in little make shift vending areas on a tarps or cardboard boxes.  Then put in hundreds of mini-van type taxis and trucks belching black diesel smoke.  And then throw in a little rain.  Whaaalaaa...Kampala!  I have now gone to the prostituted women's program twice.  There are currently thirteen women.  They are making beautiful glass bead necklaces and bracelets.  (soon to be for sale at MVBC!).  They work five days a week making the beads.  Everyday they get fed, make jewelery, and have either a Bible study or counselling.  They have asked me to teach on Thursdays.  GULP!  I saw some of their kids.  So cute!  I have had boys hanging all over me since I arrived.  The big thing now is to laugh when I am taking my Lugandan lesson.  I have to admit though I sound funny even to me.  I have gone to the big market several times as well.  Ridden motorcycle taxis every day.  That is my prayer time, HA!  They are crazy!!!  I spent my first night in the container but they moved me to a little office so that I can be near the computers and where the boys study.  I have a twin bed with mosquito netting.  I am glad that I brought some twin sheets.  My Ugandan friends have all been freezing because it gets down into the 60s at night.  I am loving it!

But really the reason for this note is to tell you all what happened tonight.  The staff went to sing and pray with the handicapped people that live on the streets.  In Kampala a really handicapped person probably can find no work and there is no social security, so they beg.  I saw wheel chairs made of plastic chairs with old bicycle tires, men with leather pads strapped onto stumps to be able to scoot and great joy.  Yep, joy.  Uncle David brought his guitar and he sang with them.  They were all lined up on the sidewalk in one certain area.  Sleeping on their cardboard and plastic bag beds.  So we moved along the sidewalk and he sang with them.  I shook every hand and greeted all smiling faces.  Then David decided that I should share a word with them.  So I prayed three times for their safety and joy and told them that they were my brothers and sisters.  I was very, very humbled.  I spent a good half hour with one woman who had just had a baby a day or two ago.  Tiny and precious.  Umbilical cord stump still attached.  She rubbed margarine all over her and then put baby powder on her.  She then asked me to give her a name.  I thought of my own family and the sacrifice they are making to let me be here and told her to name her Elizabeth.  Like the mother of John the Baptist, and of course my first born as well. I prayed specifically for her.  God is so good. 

You may wonder why there are no pictures.  I think it would be really rude to take pictures of disadvantaged people until I have a relationship with them and can explain why the photo is important for them and us.  After I have been going to the street programs for the handicapped people for a while, I will take video of them.  You can't help but be blessed and humbled to see people with an internal joy despite such extreme hardship.  I am considering setting up an e-bay store for the sale of the bracelets and necklaces.  I would need a US partner to help me.  I would send the bracelets and necklaces to you and you would have to put them in a package to send.  I think it would be pretty easy with the one postage rate boxes from the post office.  If you are interested in helping with that, please let me know. 
Take care my US family and friends!

A letter from me to my friends and family:

I just wanted to let you all know that I will be sending e-mail updates to anyone who asks.  They will be very personal and I will not post them on my blog.  If you want to receive updates, please let me know in a quick e-mail to ginajaye@gmail.com.  But for now, here is the text of my letter that I sent my friends and familyDecember 3 IS approaching fast.  I basically have everything that I need to go.  I do have a few more fun items to pick up.  I just got an e-mail from Abby and she asked me to bring powdered coffee creamer and peanut m&ms.  Got the creamer covered and I will pick up the m&ms soon.  I have had lots of old necklaces and beads donated.  I have had a lot of fun cutting apart the necklaces and sorting the beads.  One of my gal pals makes glass beads and gave me a whole bag of cast offs.  I am not sure why she cast them off, because they are beautiful.  Thank you.  I have a funny request for you.  Go through your cupboards and if you have any herbal teas that you aren't going to drink please donate them for me to take.  A ziplock bag would do for packaging .  If you are at the dollar store buy a box of fun bandaids and send those.  What kid doesn't love a fun bandage?  Another thing is if you have read a good book that you think I might like, tell me the title so I can put it on my Kindle to take with me.  As you know, I am limited to three bags.  So I am grateful for having a Kindle.  A new laptop was donated, Yay!  (thank you) And I hope to buy a cheap lightweight cordless printer next week.  Maybe black Friday! HA!  My bags are filled with games, and 2 pairs of roller blades, stickers, beads, and some teaching supplies.  I still need to find a roll-up-able (is that a word?) white board surface.I have had days full of fun but days of real sadness too.  I have been in my dream job for almost 11 years now.  Granddaughter number two arrives in February I have just made my new little house feel like a home.  My friends and church family.  In all honesty...very hard to leave.  I have a friend praying specifically that I will find a friend there in Uganda.  (or else I might mother poor Abby to death-ha)  I will not be your typical missionary, Global Training Network, the group I am with believes in the training of indigenous leaders.  They specialize in the training of Pastors and lay leaders.  They have one other ESL teacher in Eastern Europe, and Abby, who is a 20 something Mom to all of the boys in Uganda.  I will be training the older boys to read and write, and to speak English. I will be tutoring the boys, former street kids, because some are way behind in school.  I will be working with prostituted young women and loving them, showing them that are worth being loved, and helping them leave prostitution.  I will assist Abby in bookkeeping.  I will be able to give out LOTS of hugs and kisses and be YOUR hands in the lives of these young people in Africa. I will share with them the love of Christ. I will be counting on you to pray for us and think often of us.  I will stay usually about 4 months and then return to the US for a break and then go back.  I am hoping that I will be taking some young people back with me some of these times.  Am I scared, YES!  What if I say or do the wrong thing, (I know I will until I learn Ugandan Culture)  I will probably see children very, very sick with AIDS or even dieing.  I will put my arms around young women who have been abused, and may feel forgotten.   I will be with boys who have experienced horror living on the streets and are learning to be thoughtful, loving ,young men; future husbands and leaders.  I can not do this alone.  I need your prayers.  Hold my arms up because I know I am weak and the battle is long. 
Gina Jaye