Melissa's Visit

Hey Everyone!

I hope your Thanksgiving was great!

I just wanted to fill you in on a few things that happened the last week in Uganda. My cousin Melissa came the last week that I was there. It was wonderful to have her there. She did a 3 day physical therapy seminar at the clinic. It was so fun to see the clinic staff practice on each other.

Jane checking rotation

Acrid attempting to touch his toes...We found out that Ugandans are very stiff.

Melissa demonstrating the seated slump test

Little Faith practicing the Sacral Spring Test on Joakim (sp)

Then she went to Home Again Orphanage and helped teach some of the older girls so that they can help some of the kids who are physically challenged.

Playing on the ball

Joyce and Baby Paige

Then we also went to visit Robert, a young man who was hit by a car back in July, and give him some strengthening exercises.

Robert doing heel raises...they were very difficult for him.

Robert doing front extensions

I had a great time showing Melissa the village and having her meet all the people that have become a part of my live. It was such a great experience to share with her.

Talk to again soon!

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

Home

Hey Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to let you know that we're home and doing great. I will post a few more blogs about the last week there and the trip home with in a week. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

It's great to be home!

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

Finals

Hey Everyone!

I'm sorry that I haven't updated the blog for a while. I've been busy trying to finish my to do list before my cousin, Melissa, comes this weekend. It seems, I've been busy in every way.

The rainy season is in full swing, frustrating life and at the same time causing new life to grow. I find it fascinating every time I walk by a crop of corn; it grows like a foot over night. I also find it annoying, every night when I turn on my reading light, I'm constantly swatting at the baby insects that are so small they fit through the mesh of my mosquito net. Hahaha...I'm tired of them flying up my nose or in my eyes, but I refuse to give up reading at night.

Because the rainy season is in full swing, that, as I recently found out, means that I get to walk to Dorcas. It's easier for me to walk through the mud than to dig the car out when it gets stuck. But my walking has not been in vain; I've learned a valuable lesson along the way...if you walk in the grass between the 2 ruts, you don't get so muddy, AND you are less likely to slip and fall on your butt. Words of wisdom.

Pajero stuck in some ladies sweet potato patch.

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Anyway, this last week we also inaugurated our earthen oven. We made flat bread and pizza in it. The pizza was a little doughy in the middle so we had to put it in the gas cooker for a few minutes to finish it. But the flavor was awesome! We'll get it right next time.

Italian style flat bread

Pepperoni Pizza...MMmmmm

My class has also been busy with their final exams. The term is not over, but because I'm going home, I had to administer my exams early. The girls took their theory exams last week, and are in the middle of their practicals this week. So far, they have done very well; I'm excited to see the progress that they've made.

Making Banana Bread

Making Chocolate Chip Cookies

I look forward to being home soon, but I will miss the girls and the excitement for learning that they have. Talk to you again soon.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

Sustainability

Hey Everyone!!!!!!

My time here is getting shorter and shorter...35 days! I'm looking forward to my cousin, Melissa, coming the middle of November. I'm excited to share with her all that is happening here, and to have her work with the people.

The last week has been very busy; not only have I been teaching classes, but Katie and I have been researching how to build earth ovens. One of the major issues here is sustainability, so Katie and I have been looking for ways in which the girls at Dorcas can continue baking even when they return to their homes. After many Google searches we settled on an earth oven. They are inexpensive to make and all the materials can be found locally.

After reading many websites on the subject, we set out to create our own earth oven.

We had a lot of help from the boys at Home Again and from Kolby and Logan. First we mixed soil and fresh cow manure together as the mortar for our brick base.

It was really foul smelling, and even after many washings our hands still smelled like manure.

What a nice looking base (Yeah Dad, I know you taught me better than that)...Hahaha. After we completed our base, we piled a heap of sand and covered it with paper.

Then we covered it with a couple of thick layers of mud mixed with sawdust to help it stay together.

TA DA!!!!!!!

Now all we have to do is wait for it to dry a little more so that we can cut out the door and the chimney....or not...

Shortly after we finished, it started raining (Did I mention that it's rainy season???), and it's rained everyday since. It's so wet that we're still waiting to cut out the door and the chimney. So it might not be the ideal time to build an earth oven, but we did, and I look forward to baking breads and pizza in it...someday...I hope. Hahaha!

If all goes well, we'll be teaching the girls at Dorcas how to build these in the next couple of weeks, and maybe I'll build one at home...when I get there.

Talk to you again soon! Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

The Wildlife

Hey Everyone!

I've had many people ask my what the wildlife is life like here, so I thought I'd show you.

The wildlife is not what people typically think of as "African Wildlife." Uganda does not have any giraffes, and you have to go on safari in a the national park to see typical African wildlife. But that doesn't mean we are devoid of interesting creatures.

People here are afraid of just about everything, and Uganda is full of many "scary" creatures; they come in sizes big and bigger. The first on my list of feared creatures is the Praying Mantis. It was about 3in long hiding out between the screen and the window. When I showed the girls in my class the picture they screamed and backed away.

On my daily walk between Faith's house and Katie & Chris's house I pass by another fierce beast...the Hybrid He Goat. This goat is know far and wide as an "evil" beast. The goat and I got into it a few weeks ago, he was in the middle of the path and refused to move so I pushed it a little. He didn't like it, so he decided to ram me. It actually made me mad, and I almost kicked the goat. But, I thought better of it and just stood my ground. The goat finally stopped, and I kept going. The owner was yelling from the other side of the field, "So sorry! So sorry! That goat is a demon; I swear." Now when ever I walk by the goat, he glares at me with his yellow eyes. I think I won. Hahaha!

The next exotic beast is the Baboon. This beast is found not in the wild bush, but rather along the highway to Fort Portal and commonly accepts food from passersby. But beware, if you are not careful, it'll try to hitch a ride.

Next in our list of Ugandan wildlife are the trash eating Town Cow and Stork. These two usually spent their days near the dumpster. Not much to fear here except all the germs and disease that seem to surround them.

Perhaps the most feared beast of them all is...Buff, the orphaned puppy adopted by the Sassers. The sound of his bark causes people to tremble; one flash of his sharp puppy teeth causes people to run in fear. Hahaha! People do run, but I told you Ugandans are afraid of everything. They marvel at the fact that he has a bed and is allowed in the house; Americans treat their dogs much different than Ugandans.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the exotic Ugandan wildlife. I tried to capture more of the gigantic insects that are here, but most of them have stingers; I try to avoid them...not get close enough to take a picture. The big spiders that I share a room with, we avoid each other, and the roaches die as soon as I can kill them. So there are no pictures of them...Sorry. (Not really.)

Talk to you again soon.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

The Joy of Dicing and Slicing

Hey Everyone!

I hope you're having an amazing week. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by...it's almost October. Then it will be November...Hooray!!!!!!! Yeah, I'm just a little excited about going home and seeing my family, my dog and everyone else. Only 58 days!

Wow, that makes me seem like I'm not having a good time. I really am; I just miss all of you.

Last week, I started catering classes (cooking is catering here). The girls are doing very well...turns out, I'm a better cooking instructor than a tailoring instructor. I think the fact that I like to cook has something to do with it. Hahaha!

We have been covering how to read a recipe, kitchen tools, knife skills and sanitation - a very difficult thing to get a cross; clean is a relative term here. I also decided to teach the girls how to double and half a recipe, little did I know that I would have to teach them how to multiply and divide fractions. I felt like I was back in elementary school.

Supplies are limited so there are 9 girls to a cutting board...we've also learned about sharing and patience this week. :0)

Dicing onions...only a few tears were shed.

My TA and translator, Kerungi Moreen, doing what I told the girls not to do...cut on an open table.

Some of the girls showing off their newly acquired skills.

Next week, we will start baking in the gas cooker (gas oven). The girls are so excited to learn how to make cakes and breads. I asked them if they liked cookies and pies; most of them have never had a cookie, and none of them knew what a pie was. So I'm excited to show them what a pies and cookies are.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. Talk to you again soon.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

Being Thankful

Hey Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well, and you're enjoying the back-to-school season.

Stars II, I miss you!!!! I'll see you soon!

I realized this week that my time here is getting very short. I crossed a couple of milestones this week. 1) I finished one bottle of Doxycycline; this might not seem significant, but when I went to pick up my prescription before I left the US the bottles read 1 of 2...quantity 210. I wanted to cry. So, now I have less than 105 pills left. HORRRRAAAAAAAAAY!

2) I realized (literally a light bulb moment) that I have a little more than 2 months left. My mom was right when she said that I would get busier the longer I was here. Mom, you were right. I'm now doing technical writing for Bringing Hope, teaching at Dorcas and teaching at the craft shop. I'm so busy that I forget to take pictures.

I was explaining my milestones to my friend last night, then I mentioned that I needed to write a blog but didn't know what to write about. He asked me what I had learned during my time here?...My first response was "What not to do." But then I had realization 3) Be thankful for the things that God has given you and the things He hasn't.

Being here has shown me that God knows me, better than I know myself. When I was in high school all I wanted was to get married, have kids and become a missionary. But, God in His infinite wisdom didn't give me what I thought I wanted. Now, 11 years later, I'm thankful that God didn't give me what I asked for. I love missions and will continue to be a part of it, but I realized that the life I wanted wasn't the best life for me. God knew that 11 years ago.

I'm grateful for the life God has given me; He has given me the opportunity to go places and do things that I would have never done if He had give me what I asked for so many years ago. My life is not what I thought it would be; it's much bigger...fuller than I envisioned.

So, this week thank God for the things He's given you and the things He hasn't. He knows you better than you know yourself.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa