The Girls

Hey Everyone!!!!

As promised here is another blog!!!!!!

Since my life has slowed down...actually, my life hasn't slowed down, it's just that the stuff I'm doing now is not very photogenic. I don't think you want to see pictures of the stacks of information that I'm going through to write job descriptions, concept papers, manuals, etc, etc...ect. So I decided to introduce you to the girls of the house. I caught the girls washing when I took the pictures.

Esther

Left to right: Christine, Joana and Naomi

Juliet

Naomi

I stay in a room at Faith's house (the Director of Bringing Hope to the Family); Faith's house is always full of people who come and go: visitors, family, missions teams; but the girls always stay. There were 5 girls here when I came and now there are 8 girls staying here. Three of the girls (Christine, Esther and Liz) are Faith's nieces. Most of the girls are here because their parents can't provide for them, and they range in age from about 6 to 15...I think. In Uganda age and birthdays are not very important.

Many times, I come into the house, and they are singing. The other day I came in and the younger ones were singing the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song in their broken English. It was AWESOME!!!!! I don't know where they learned it, but I decided to join them. So here we are in the middle of a village in Uganda singing the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air song. Absolutely hysterical!

This event led to a repeat concert the next night, but it became so much more. The girls (Christine, Esther, and Liz) decided that they were going to teach me Rutoro; a great gesture, but they speak only broken English and, as I found out later, poor Rutoro. So we enlisted Juliet to help. I now have a list of many Rutoro phrases that, I'm sorry to say, I haven't been practicing.

Juliana and Liz with Andre

Today, Liz and Juliana decided that I needed to share my room with them. So they came in and went though some of my things asking what is this? and what is that? Then they found "Andre" (my garden gnome...a spoof off of Travelocity.) Juliana said he was Father Christmas; Liz decided that he was a sculpture of my father. So, I showed them pictures of my family and what my father really looks like. Liz promptly decided that Andre was my grandfather instead. I haven't been able to convince her differently. :0)

Talk to you again soon.

Love,

Joyce

New Places

Hi Everyone!!!!

Sorry it's been soooooo long since I've written; sometimes it's difficult to find something to write about. Life isn't always exciting and blog worthy. I still find it ironic that I'm writing about my life and people are reading it...but that's just me. Thanks for your support! :0)

Life has slowed down since Dorcas is on break. I'm still in the process of doing some technical writing for Bringing Hope to the Family. It's a slow process.

This last week we took a trip to Rwanda, so I could renew my visa; it was an adventure. Katie, Chris, Kolby, Logan, AJ, Ana and I piled into the Pajero and took off on the adventure.

Me at the equator.

Rwanda is the land of 10,000 hills... literally. All the roads were s-curves up one side of a hill (small mountain) and then s-curves down the other side of the hill; then repeat this for 350 miles...it took us 12 hours...long day in the car.

Me, Katie and Ana in the Pajero.

We were making great time until we stopped at Kibale (a city just north of the Uganda/Rwanda border). Quick service is foreign concept in most restaurants in Uganda...the Little Ritz is no different. It took 2.5 hours to get our food...but in their defense the food was pretty good.

Next stop...the border. 1.5 hours later, 4-5 places to check-in and removal of window tinting and we were across and into Rwanda. Rwanda is a beautiful country, very clean and orderly, but they don't have many tourist attractions other than gorilla trekking and volcanoes. But if you like beautiful scenery then Rwanda will satisfy you. Their terrace farming is amazing; I've never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world.

Kigali, Rwanda in the morning mist.

We stayed in Kigali, the capitol, the first night. The city is built on two hills. It has beautiful views. The next day, we went from Kigali to Gisenyi on Lake Kivu. The drive was beautiful; we passed by the Volcano National Park and saw some smoking volcanoes.

Terracing on the road to Gisenyi.

Bamboo forest and road construction.

Lake Gisenyi is nice. It is a little hazy, but the water is warm; I think it's due to the closeness of the volcanoes. We spent the next day at one of the nice hotels using their pool and private beach. I decided not to swim in the lake...as we were driving to the hotel there were about 10 people bathing in the lake, so I decided swimming in the lake wasn't necessary.

We only spent one day in Gisenyi, then it was back to Uganda. AJ and I ended up getting sick on the day we came back, which made the trip even more memorable. LOL! All in all it was fun exploring a new country, and doing it with great friends made it even better.

I did learn a few things about traveling to and from Rwanda. So if you ever travel between Uganda and Rwanda here are some tips: Rwandans speak French...so learn some French, it is very difficult to exchange Ugandan Shillings in Rwanda...so exchange money before you go, Rwanda is more expensive than Uganda...so plan accordingly, and the biggest thing I learned is when renewing your visa, the Uganda border only accepts US$, not Ugandan Shillings...so make sure you take American money with you, or you'll be taken by a money changer at the border. :0)

We had a good time. I was nice to get away and explore a new place.

Talk to you again soon...I promise. :0) .

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

Normal again...or maybe not.

Hi Everyone!!!!!

Life in the village is getting back to normal. It has slowed down some, since the missions teams have gone home.

This week Dorcas finished their term. Finals did not go as well as I had hoped, but in each challenge I learn more about the girls. Many of the girls were taken out of school at an early age to care for sick family members or to care for their brothers and sisters after their parents died. These girls are described as “uneducated;” they haven’t been taught how to study or that they can be successful. This truth became evident in their final examinations. I was sad at first and thought that it was my fault as a teacher.

Then I took a step back and realized that as a teacher I didn’t give them the tools that they needed to be successful. I taught them the things that they needed to know, but I didn’t teach them how to study and retain the information that they were given. I hope to start a study group at the beginning of the next term; maybe through this group the girls will learn how to study and retain the information they are taught. Please pray for these girls and for the staff at Dorcas they are facing many severe challenges financially, emotionally, spiritually and socially.

Since Dorcas is on break, my job here has changed for a little while. I will now be helping Bringing Hope to the Family (Dorcas’s parent organization) write job descriptions and a boilerplate, so that they can have these as reference materials whenever they apply for grant funding or they have new hires. I’m excited to help out in this way, and for the local community to see me as more than the “Cake Baker.”

Just for fun I thought I’d show you my new home. It’s very different from American homes, I miss lying on the carpeted living room floor and taking hot showers from the showerhead, but it hasn’t been a difficult adjustment. I’m thankful for what I have.

The Kitchen

The Courtyard - I stay in a room in the building on the right.

The Showers and Restroom - Showers on the left and restrooms on the right

My Room - It has one less bunk-bed in it now.

I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Talk to you again soon.

Love,

Joyce

Birthday...Ugandan Style

Hi Everyone,

Life has been busy here. An awesome team from California has been here since last week. I’ve been busy teaching and helping where needed. It has been great to get to know all the Californians.

I have also moved to Faith’s house, she is the director of Bringing Hope to the Family. Right now I’m sharing a room with 5 of the women from the CA team. It’s been an exciting time in our room. Today our light was finally fixed so we have light. We’ve been living by flashlight. According to some people I’m now having a more “African experience.” I have left the comfort of an in door bathroom to a hole in the ground and a real bucket bath.

It was a great blessing to celebrate my birthday here. We had the biggest party at Dorcas…I don’t know if it was intentional or if it just happened. I think it just happened. But we celebrated over a traditional Ugandan meal of millet, rice, meat, and my favorite part…a matooke birthday cake, which I didn’t get to eat, but I did enjoy the thought. I did enjoy serving it Uganda style and watching people's reactions. They either liked it or they didn't. After dinner we danced and had a great time.

But the fun didn’t stop there. When we came back from Dorcas the women from California planed a spa night. So, I enjoyed a foot massage and a facial that night; thanks to Kathleen the “Product Queen.” I have never laughed so hard in my life. Thank you to all the California Girls (Kathleen, Christine, Kristen, Anna, Karen, Jackie and Sandy)!

I also had the opportunity to help part of the California team put on a spa day to pamper many of the hard-working women of Bringing Hope to the Family. For many it was the first time to experience anything like it. The next day, I had a few of the local girls ask me to teach them how to give massages. I promised them I would.

It has been a wonderful this week serving with the California team; I’ll miss their laughter, excitement and love for the people.

I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures right now I’ll post them when I get them.

Talk to you again soon.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

The Cake

Hey Everyone!

I know it's been a while since my last post. The internet has been up and down this week; the terrorist bombs damaged the fiber-optic lines in Kampala, so the company has been repairing it this week. We are all well; we live 3-4 hours west of Kampala in the little village of Kaihura, so there is very little chance that we would be targeted.

So life has been good in the village. The first Embrace Uganda team left last Saturday, and another team arrives next week. So this week has been a week to recuperate a little.

Recently Dorcas had their third graduation ceremony; Dorcas doesn't have a graduation every year. They hold them every two or three years. This was the graduation for class of 2008 & 2009, so together they make up the class of 2010. There were 62 graduates in the areas of tailoring/design, nursery school teacher, carpentry/agriculture, general studies. It was a wonderful day for the graduates.

There were many speeches and gifts given and in the end there was cake. Only it was served Ugandan style. Normally we (westerners) would cut the cake into pieces and serve them on individual plates to everyone...Not in Uganda.

I was asked to bake a cake that would serve 80 people, so that's what I did. Little did I know that it would serve about 200 people. In Uganda, they cut a large piece of cake and put it on a plate. Then they proceed to chop it into little pieces, so that it doesn't resemble cake any more but a mangled mess. Then they serve it, and each person grabs a handful off of the communal plate and eats it with their fingers. (I'm grateful for forks, plates and napkins.)

Everyone enjoyed the cake; for many it was the first time that they had tasted a typical graduation cake. It was an unforgettable experience.

Here are some pictures of the cake making process.

There was cake everywhere. I burned 1 so I had make another batch. I ended up baking 10 cakes that day.

The cake was actually 8 small cakes put together.

I'm glad that I was not alone making this cake, Amos came and helped me from start to finish. We didn't have an electric mixer so we mixed everything by hand. He decided it was easier to mix the frosting African style...by hand. Thanks Amos; you're awesome!

It is amazing what you can create with a Ziploc bag...that's the only decorating tool we had.

Last but not least, the graduates walking in. They made their own caps and gowns.

Thank's for your continued prayers and support. Talk to you again soon.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

The Food

Hey Everyone,

I've had a couple of people ask me recently what types of food they eat here. Mom and Josue this one's for you:

On the plate are Beans (top left), Millet (bottom center and to the right), and Posho (the white stuff). The only thing missing is the Matoke, a type of cooked mashed bananas. I don't eat it because I'm allergic to bananas, so I can't tell you what it's like.

Millet is made from ground millet and cassava flour. It is a very sticky, flavorless, gel type substance; from my description I'm sure you can tell that it is not one of my favorite things. They usually eat it with their fingers from a basket. They role it into a ball and dip it into beans and/or roasted meat broth (goat or beef usually) and eat it. I have to swallow it whole without chewing it because it gets slimy when it's wet.

Posho is made from cassava flour and ground Maize. It has the consistency of very thick mashed potatoes, but it doesn't really have much flavor. I don't mind eating this; I usually eat this with beans for lunch when I teach at Dorcas. It gets old after a while, but it's food, and it doesn't taste bad.

The beans are very similar to pintos, but they season them with whatever they have. I've had beans with zucchini, beans with greens similar to collard greens, beans with onions. The first bite is always an uncertainty, but they've always been great. The Ugandans and the Mexicans know how to cook beans; Americans need to take lessons.

Mom, please don't make beans everyday when I get home. I miss lunch meat and turkey...turkey especially. I've heard we can get turkey in Kampala, but it's expensive.

Well, I hope you all can appreciate the variety of food that's available in the US. The next time you eat a turkey sandwich with all the trimmings do it with a grateful heart.

Talk to you soon.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

The Road

Hi Everyone!

When I was little my Dad always told me how difficult his life was as a little boy, and how he had to walk uphill both ways to get to school and home again. I always laughed and gave him a hard time about it. Well Dad, this week I've found it IS possible to walk uphill both ways to and from school.

The craft shop had a lot of work that needed to be completed, so I decided last week to move my sewing class from the craft shop to Dorcas. What I didn't realize when I made the decision was I would have to walk uphill both ways (The home I stay at is on one hill and Dorcas is on the next hill. I have to walk through the valley.) . So here are some photos of my walk; it's very scenic. I hope you enjoy it.

The Kaihura International Full Gospel Church (I think I got the name right)

The hill (My path up the hill is on the left.)

A mob of ants crossing the road

The view from the top of the hill

My final destination: Dorcas

My classes have been going much smoother and focused since I moved them to Dorcas. It is easier to teach without customers coming in all the time. This week we did a crash course on embroidery, I will put up those pictures when they finish their projects. Many of the girls did very well, some not so well. But embroidery is not for everyone. Patrick, Principal of Dorcas, asked me if I would teach an Adult Embroidery class, so we'll see if that will come about in the next few weeks.

The next month is very busy; first: Dorcas is having their 3rd or 4th graduation. Katie and I have been asked to make a cake to serve 70 people. We accepted the challenge. So pray that all the cakes come out of their pans without breaking (there is no wax or parchment paper here to assist me). Then in July, there are 2 Embrace Uganda teams coming, so we will be hanging mosquito nets in neighboring villages and doing other outreaches.

Life will be very busy in the coming weeks; I'm looking forward to it.

Thank you for all your support and prayers. I know they are making a difference.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa