How do you say goodbye to kids that you have taught you more in life over three months more than then you have ever known? What do you say to the question of “are you going to come back” when your heart screams “January” but your head says, “you have no money or job”? The first 10-20 verses in basically all of Paul’s letters in the New Testment mean a whole lot more to me now. He says things like “I always thank my God for you” and “I have not stopped giving thanks for you” Take Corinthians, Paul lived and worked there for 2 years and then dropped it all to continue to follow God’s call. I think I may have just found a little taste of what that rollercoaster is like…
12-4-10 Spend the whole day with the kids just hanging out. They have these “holiday packets” which are pretty sizeable homework packets that they have to do over their “Holiday,” so I help out with some of those. After the day is almost finished I’m eating dinner up with the kids from the Love house and they say that they are going to prayer. I’m not really sure of this program because most Saturday nights we watch a movie but we have watched the last two and will kill the battery if we do it again. So we head over there and on the way there I am thinking about how we only have one full day left with the kids when I walk into a kerosene fire lit room with about 20 kids (so far) literally jumping for joy, dancing and singing about how good God is. I can’t even believe it. In 36 hours these kids will be back in places they don’t want to be, with not enough food, and really hard work ahead of them for almost 2 months and this is the scene. Once again, I am blown away by how much a 22 year old can be taught about his Savior from 10-14 year old kids who have been through the worst of the worst and still are facing daily back breaking work and beatings from relatives that don’t want them, and it looks like a party. This is a real living God. After our Dance party I head back and go to bed.
12-5-10 Last full day with the kids. The girls take a trip into town with our other Mizzungo friend “Lauren” because she is apparently leaving, and me being my always-informed self, find out after words. Sorry Lauren if you read this. It was great meeting you. Do anything and everything with the kids, play cards, sort rice, give them my phone to take pictures with, play their version of checkers and listen to a story from Akello Scovia. Still blows me away that these kids lived through the things that they did, but more importantly that they are so full of life and joy now even after. Girls run into a few problems in Bewyale but eventually make it back. Rose shows up around 3 and its always a treat to see her. The girls and I join the kids for their meeting with Rose for a little bit but it is all in Acholi so we bail out and get some dinner. Eventually the kids finish their meeting around ten and I head up for my last night of sleeping at the houses.
12-6-10 It had to come. We wake up early (6am) and the kids start doing some few chores to help get the houses in shape. I start my morning hanging out at Mercy before heading over to the next house, Grace. I don’t know what time they are leaving at but I want to go to each house for some time. After Grace is Hope and then Love. As I am walking up to the Veranda of Love the 3 buses pull up to transport the kids. I walk up asking the question, “how are you?” Most of the time the answer is “I am fine,” Today; “I am not fine.” Also me. I cant even take standing there with them for more than 2 minutes. I leave before I start crying as you can see in the composure on the kids what’s going through their head. I leave and head over to hang with some of the others gathered. After about 20 minutes the kids start to bring their stuff out to the vans. Now it hits me, this is happening. Its not just an idea or a maybe or a date or words anymore, its physical and emotional life. We create a line and hug each kid as they load into the first van. I am doing fine and then one of my favorites comes through, Apiyo Stella. I break. “Don’t cry otherwise I will cry too,” she says to me. I Eventually I get ahold of myself just long enough to look up and see another one of my favorites, Apiyo Kevin. (Kevin is a girl’s name in Uganda FYI) Eventually they load into the van and I realize this is just the first of three. Then next two I do better with only breaking once when another favorite, Kwotek Simon, comes through. For the last two months things have been so good that I have said almost daily, how can this be life. How can this be life has a whole new meaning right now. All of the kids get loaded in and then in typical African fashion it takes literally 45 minutes for them to leave. Nobody is ever sure what the delay is but it always takes time. We go around to the windows telling the kids we love them, that we will pray for them and that we will miss them. The first van leaves. The second van leaves. The third van starts, then stops. This van is loaded with all of our favorite kids too. We then spend the next 10 minutes, which feels like forever sitting, watching waiting for it to all be over. The whole time I keep stealing glances to Apiyo Stella but she always catches me so I try to hide my pain with a smile but she can see right through me. I know that she knows and she knows that I know that she knows. Finally the van leaves and it is all over. I head back to the hut and lay and think for the next hour or so. How can this be life? Amidst all the pain and fear of never seeing them again, I reach for my bible and seek my rock and my salvation. God is good all the time.
-Collin
Monday, December 6, 2010
Offical Last Blog
How do you say goodbye to kids that you have taught you more in life over three months more than then you have ever known? What do you say to the question of “are you going to come back” when your heart screams “January” but your head says, “you have no money or job”? The first 10-20 verses in basically all of Paul’s letters in the New Testment mean a whole lot more to me now. He says things like “I always thank my God for you” and “I have not stopped giving thanks for you” Take Corinthians, Paul lived and worked there for 2 years and then dropped it all to continue to follow God’s call. I think I may have just found a little taste of what that rollercoaster is like…
12-4-10 Spend the whole day with the kids just hanging out. They have these “holiday packets” which are pretty sizeable homework packets that they have to do over their “Holiday,” so I help out with some of those. After the day is almost finished I’m eating dinner up with the kids from the Love house and they say that they are going to prayer. I’m not really sure of this program because most Saturday nights we watch a movie but we have watched the last two and will kill the battery if we do it again. So we head over there and on the way there I am thinking about how we only have one full day left with the kids when I walk into a kerosene fire lit room with about 20 kids (so far) literally jumping for joy, dancing and singing about how good God is. I can’t even believe it. In 36 hours these kids will be back in places they don’t want to be, with not enough food, and really hard work ahead of them for almost 2 months and this is the scene. Once again, I am blown away by how much a 22 year old can be taught about his Savior from 10-14 year old kids who have been through the worst of the worst and still are facing daily back breaking work and beatings from relatives that don’t want them, and it looks like a party. This is a real living God. After our Dance party I head back and go to bed.
12-5-10 Last full day with the kids. The girls take a trip into town with our other Mizzungo friend “Lauren” because she is apparently leaving, and me being my always-informed self, find out after words. Sorry Lauren if you read this. It was great meeting you. Do anything and everything with the kids, play cards, sort rice, give them my phone to take pictures with, play their version of checkers and listen to a story from Akello Scovia. Still blows me away that these kids lived through the things that they did, but more importantly that they are so full of life and joy now even after. Girls run into a few problems in Bewyale but eventually make it back. Rose shows up around 3 and its always a treat to see her. The girls and I join the kids for their meeting with Rose for a little bit but it is all in Acholi so we bail out and get some dinner. Eventually the kids finish their meeting around ten and I head up for my last night of sleeping at the houses.
12-6-10 It had to come. We wake up early (6am) and the kids start doing some few chores to help get the houses in shape. I start my morning hanging out at Mercy before heading over to the next house, Grace. I don’t know what time they are leaving at but I want to go to each house for some time. After Grace is Hope and then Love. As I am walking up to the Veranda of Love the 3 buses pull up to transport the kids. I walk up asking the question, “how are you?” Most of the time the answer is “I am fine,” Today; “I am not fine.” Also me. I cant even take standing there with them for more than 2 minutes. I leave before I start crying as you can see in the composure on the kids what’s going through their head. I leave and head over to hang with some of the others gathered. After about 20 minutes the kids start to bring their stuff out to the vans. Now it hits me, this is happening. Its not just an idea or a maybe or a date or words anymore, its physical and emotional life. We create a line and hug each kid as they load into the first van. I am doing fine and then one of my favorites comes through, Apiyo Stella. I break. “Don’t cry otherwise I will cry too,” she says to me. I Eventually I get ahold of myself just long enough to look up and see another one of my favorites, Apiyo Kevin. (Kevin is a girl’s name in Uganda FYI) Eventually they load into the van and I realize this is just the first of three. Then next two I do better with only breaking once when another favorite, Kwotek Simon, comes through. For the last two months things have been so good that I have said almost daily, how can this be life. How can this be life has a whole new meaning right now. All of the kids get loaded in and then in typical African fashion it takes literally 45 minutes for them to leave. Nobody is ever sure what the delay is but it always takes time. We go around to the windows telling the kids we love them, that we will pray for them and that we will miss them. The first van leaves. The second van leaves. The third van starts, then stops. This van is loaded with all of our favorite kids too. We then spend the next 10 minutes, which feels like forever sitting, watching waiting for it to all be over. The whole time I keep stealing glances to Apiyo Stella but she always catches me so I try to hide my pain with a smile but she can see right through me. I know that she knows and she knows that I know that she knows. Finally the van leaves and it is all over. I head back to the hut and lay and think for the next hour or so. How can this be life? Amidst all the pain and fear of never seeing them again, I reach for my bible and seek my rock and my salvation. God is good all the time.
-Collin
12-4-10 Spend the whole day with the kids just hanging out. They have these “holiday packets” which are pretty sizeable homework packets that they have to do over their “Holiday,” so I help out with some of those. After the day is almost finished I’m eating dinner up with the kids from the Love house and they say that they are going to prayer. I’m not really sure of this program because most Saturday nights we watch a movie but we have watched the last two and will kill the battery if we do it again. So we head over there and on the way there I am thinking about how we only have one full day left with the kids when I walk into a kerosene fire lit room with about 20 kids (so far) literally jumping for joy, dancing and singing about how good God is. I can’t even believe it. In 36 hours these kids will be back in places they don’t want to be, with not enough food, and really hard work ahead of them for almost 2 months and this is the scene. Once again, I am blown away by how much a 22 year old can be taught about his Savior from 10-14 year old kids who have been through the worst of the worst and still are facing daily back breaking work and beatings from relatives that don’t want them, and it looks like a party. This is a real living God. After our Dance party I head back and go to bed.
12-5-10 Last full day with the kids. The girls take a trip into town with our other Mizzungo friend “Lauren” because she is apparently leaving, and me being my always-informed self, find out after words. Sorry Lauren if you read this. It was great meeting you. Do anything and everything with the kids, play cards, sort rice, give them my phone to take pictures with, play their version of checkers and listen to a story from Akello Scovia. Still blows me away that these kids lived through the things that they did, but more importantly that they are so full of life and joy now even after. Girls run into a few problems in Bewyale but eventually make it back. Rose shows up around 3 and its always a treat to see her. The girls and I join the kids for their meeting with Rose for a little bit but it is all in Acholi so we bail out and get some dinner. Eventually the kids finish their meeting around ten and I head up for my last night of sleeping at the houses.
12-6-10 It had to come. We wake up early (6am) and the kids start doing some few chores to help get the houses in shape. I start my morning hanging out at Mercy before heading over to the next house, Grace. I don’t know what time they are leaving at but I want to go to each house for some time. After Grace is Hope and then Love. As I am walking up to the Veranda of Love the 3 buses pull up to transport the kids. I walk up asking the question, “how are you?” Most of the time the answer is “I am fine,” Today; “I am not fine.” Also me. I cant even take standing there with them for more than 2 minutes. I leave before I start crying as you can see in the composure on the kids what’s going through their head. I leave and head over to hang with some of the others gathered. After about 20 minutes the kids start to bring their stuff out to the vans. Now it hits me, this is happening. Its not just an idea or a maybe or a date or words anymore, its physical and emotional life. We create a line and hug each kid as they load into the first van. I am doing fine and then one of my favorites comes through, Apiyo Stella. I break. “Don’t cry otherwise I will cry too,” she says to me. I Eventually I get ahold of myself just long enough to look up and see another one of my favorites, Apiyo Kevin. (Kevin is a girl’s name in Uganda FYI) Eventually they load into the van and I realize this is just the first of three. Then next two I do better with only breaking once when another favorite, Kwotek Simon, comes through. For the last two months things have been so good that I have said almost daily, how can this be life. How can this be life has a whole new meaning right now. All of the kids get loaded in and then in typical African fashion it takes literally 45 minutes for them to leave. Nobody is ever sure what the delay is but it always takes time. We go around to the windows telling the kids we love them, that we will pray for them and that we will miss them. The first van leaves. The second van leaves. The third van starts, then stops. This van is loaded with all of our favorite kids too. We then spend the next 10 minutes, which feels like forever sitting, watching waiting for it to all be over. The whole time I keep stealing glances to Apiyo Stella but she always catches me so I try to hide my pain with a smile but she can see right through me. I know that she knows and she knows that I know that she knows. Finally the van leaves and it is all over. I head back to the hut and lay and think for the next hour or so. How can this be life? Amidst all the pain and fear of never seeing them again, I reach for my bible and seek my rock and my salvation. God is good all the time.
-Collin
Friday, December 3, 2010
Maybe last blog...
This will probably be my last blog, 4 months flies when you are having fun ☺ I don’t know how our internet situation will be once we leave the Land here on Wednesday so I may not be in contact from Wednesday until I get back.
11-26-10
Wake up feeling heavy from the huge meal last night so I decide to work it off by going with Mike for a ride into town to pickup some brick. In town there are lots of people running around with election stuff so the vibe is a little scary but it is okay. After the brick, which is all loaded by hand, I head back to find the internet not working so I just type the ol’ blog and then play cards with the P3 kids that have finished exams. Lunch is mixed in there somewhere and then the kids get out so we go down to the well to pump some water. Its just crazy down there. Everyone is super happy to be done with exams and so it is a lot of fun. We watch “Up” with the kids and they liked it a lot. Before bed
11-27-10
Internet is really bad again but the girls are working through it and we get some stuff figured out. Thank girls because I was just playing with kids ☺ Around lunchtime I post my blog and then eat. After lunch I hang out at the girls’ house and make some yarn deals that they call Whoo-Chee. Hang till dinner, then watch a Nigerian film called Sofia in London. No words to describe it, just look it up on YouTube. Kids love it though. I sleep up at the kids houses in one called Grace.
11-28-10
Suz leaves before church and it are very weird feeling. It just feels like she is in the office or just doing something else not that she is actually gone. We will miss her. One of the dogs here has been pregnant for the last 2 months and she began having her puppies this morning and of all the places, she is having them in the girl’s hut! Church in the morning goes well and then a huge chill fest with the kids. By lunch time it is super hot out, Momma dog has had 10 puppies and one of them died and it still feels like Suz is just on the phone or something. Eventually dinner comes and goes and I get online and get to do some light chatting with my mom because the Interweb is really, really bad. Bedtime!
11-29-10
Get a bunch of small things done this morning; move Momma dog and the 9 puppies to a new location, wash clothes, listen to music, read chat with the teachers about a computer class. Work on some of the film stuff till a new mizzungo shows up. Lauren is 25 and was a teacher in Rwanda for 2 years. Really neat girl. We go and hang with the kids and the girls give Lauren the tour. Eat and chat around the fire with our new friend before bed.
11-30-10
Work some more on the video today and start compiling the really fun shot, which is the kids dancing, 3 cameras and their three mics plus my separate 3 mics, I love it. Watch a movie with the kids at night before bed.
12-1-10
Finish the video stuff for the dance in the morning and it looks really cool and sounds pretty okay as well. Wash clothes before lunch and then after lunch do a computer class with the teachers. Imagine teaching a computer to people that have literally never touched a computer. Actually is pretty fun and they enjoy it. Hang out with the kids after the teacher’s class and spend the night at one of the houses, kids do not have school this week so its been good.
12-2-10
Girls made some banana bread yesterday so we have that for breakfast and its super good. Go to the office and type up some things for the teachers before going back to my room to doze. Eat and then do another computer class with the teachers, this time teaching them a typing program. We have it on two computers so they start to get competitive with each other and its like a kid in a candy shop. After class go hang out with the kids before watching “Flubber” with the kids. They love every time that anyone is getting knocked in the head so this movie is perfect. Bed time!
12-3-10
Do some blog typing this morning and check the internet before heading back to my hut to practice some music. Post blog so rest of the day is the up air.
That’s how it all went down. I might shoot one more update out on Tuesday before we leave the VOH land but after that I’ll see ya state side. Thanks to all who have been reading or if this is your first time, thank you too. I can but cant wait to see all of you and am very excited to hear about what God has been doing in your life the last 4 months. Love you all,
-Collin
11-26-10
Wake up feeling heavy from the huge meal last night so I decide to work it off by going with Mike for a ride into town to pickup some brick. In town there are lots of people running around with election stuff so the vibe is a little scary but it is okay. After the brick, which is all loaded by hand, I head back to find the internet not working so I just type the ol’ blog and then play cards with the P3 kids that have finished exams. Lunch is mixed in there somewhere and then the kids get out so we go down to the well to pump some water. Its just crazy down there. Everyone is super happy to be done with exams and so it is a lot of fun. We watch “Up” with the kids and they liked it a lot. Before bed
11-27-10
Internet is really bad again but the girls are working through it and we get some stuff figured out. Thank girls because I was just playing with kids ☺ Around lunchtime I post my blog and then eat. After lunch I hang out at the girls’ house and make some yarn deals that they call Whoo-Chee. Hang till dinner, then watch a Nigerian film called Sofia in London. No words to describe it, just look it up on YouTube. Kids love it though. I sleep up at the kids houses in one called Grace.
11-28-10
Suz leaves before church and it are very weird feeling. It just feels like she is in the office or just doing something else not that she is actually gone. We will miss her. One of the dogs here has been pregnant for the last 2 months and she began having her puppies this morning and of all the places, she is having them in the girl’s hut! Church in the morning goes well and then a huge chill fest with the kids. By lunch time it is super hot out, Momma dog has had 10 puppies and one of them died and it still feels like Suz is just on the phone or something. Eventually dinner comes and goes and I get online and get to do some light chatting with my mom because the Interweb is really, really bad. Bedtime!
11-29-10
Get a bunch of small things done this morning; move Momma dog and the 9 puppies to a new location, wash clothes, listen to music, read chat with the teachers about a computer class. Work on some of the film stuff till a new mizzungo shows up. Lauren is 25 and was a teacher in Rwanda for 2 years. Really neat girl. We go and hang with the kids and the girls give Lauren the tour. Eat and chat around the fire with our new friend before bed.
11-30-10
Work some more on the video today and start compiling the really fun shot, which is the kids dancing, 3 cameras and their three mics plus my separate 3 mics, I love it. Watch a movie with the kids at night before bed.
12-1-10
Finish the video stuff for the dance in the morning and it looks really cool and sounds pretty okay as well. Wash clothes before lunch and then after lunch do a computer class with the teachers. Imagine teaching a computer to people that have literally never touched a computer. Actually is pretty fun and they enjoy it. Hang out with the kids after the teacher’s class and spend the night at one of the houses, kids do not have school this week so its been good.
12-2-10
Girls made some banana bread yesterday so we have that for breakfast and its super good. Go to the office and type up some things for the teachers before going back to my room to doze. Eat and then do another computer class with the teachers, this time teaching them a typing program. We have it on two computers so they start to get competitive with each other and its like a kid in a candy shop. After class go hang out with the kids before watching “Flubber” with the kids. They love every time that anyone is getting knocked in the head so this movie is perfect. Bed time!
12-3-10
Do some blog typing this morning and check the internet before heading back to my hut to practice some music. Post blog so rest of the day is the up air.
That’s how it all went down. I might shoot one more update out on Tuesday before we leave the VOH land but after that I’ll see ya state side. Thanks to all who have been reading or if this is your first time, thank you too. I can but cant wait to see all of you and am very excited to hear about what God has been doing in your life the last 4 months. Love you all,
-Collin
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Winding Down the Time
Winding down the time ☹ A big change that came this week was that it is official now that the government is going to make the kids move back into the camps so their last day on the land is December 6th. So we now have two blank weeks. We plan on spending a few days packing at the land after the kids leave, then we are going to do a feeding program in Jinja, Uganda on the 11th of December and then we will be leaving Uganda the night of the 12th. With the upcoming election in February we got some advice that if we do not have any reason to be here, don’t play with fire. So I will be coming back home a little early, like 5 days, and the rest of the girls are going to do some light traveling in Europe for the last few days. So I think my official arrival date is either the 13th or the 14th of December instead of the 19th.
11-21-10
Do the church thing in the morning and we get a warm welcome back. Then spend the whole day hanging out with the kids. I finally break through to the last house which I have never really connected super well with. Eventually a few of the girls from that house and I go down to the well and pump some water. I carry my two jerry cans (plastic containers that weigh 40 pounds when filled) back and have to stop a couple of times. Now I know why the girls only carry one and they carry it one there head. After dinner I go to the kids study time (prep) and work on some English with some of the kids. This upcoming week they have their end of the term exams so it is getting to crunch time.
11-22-10
Slow day, then the kids get out and we hang out. Then prep time before bed. Sounds boring but was a great day, just no highlights ☺
11-23-10
I go with Mike today to pickup some sand because the workers have started building another staff house for the 8 new teachers that will be coming at the end of January. We are opening our school up to the public and adding a few more grades to our school so we thought it would be nice if the new teachers had a spot to live. Have a very good discussion with Mike about culture shock and also the idea that maybe my family should come out to VOH sometime… hint, hint. How that came up is that the kids have been telling me that they have been praying for my family and that next time bring them because they want to know them too. Eventually the kids get out and we have a good time. Teach a bunch of kids math at night and it goes very well. I hope they do well on their test with such a fine teacher ☺
11-24-10
Wake up and have a discussion around breakfast about how to celebrate thanksgiving tomorrow. Apparently I have been out of the loop because a full-fledged meal is already being planned. Sam (one of the workers) and I go out behind my hut and start digging a whole to make a makeshift oven for cooking the turkey. Yes, we are gonna have turkey. After doing some more prep stuff for tomorrow the kids get out and it is time for cards and last second questions before tests start tomorrow. It is Social Studies and English tomorrow. Good luck!
11-25-10
Thanksgivin’! Sam and I work on getting the pit ready. The idea is that we are going to start and fire to heat up rocks. After that we are going to wrap the bird in banana leaves and then the rocks with steam heat the bird. Going to take about 8 hours total. After we get the fire start we slaughter the turkey. Yes, I watched. One good machete to the neck we do just about anything in. We then de-feather the bird, which I helped with and then weighed it. 20lbs. Not to bad. We get that ready and then put it in the pit and cover it. The youngest kids (P3) have already finished their tests, so I play cards with them until dinner. For dinner we have, turkey, pumpkin, stuffing, carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie and no-bake cookies. Maybe the greatest Thanksgiving ever.
That’s it. It was a very good week and I have about 17 days left. I can’t believe how short of a time that is. Tom made it home safely and had a job interview the morning after he got back. He said it went okay but be praying for him for that as he is now doing the job hunt thing with a heavy heart. Suzie is also leaving on Sunday morning and we are all going to miss her so continue to pray for our team and for Suzie as she will have long travel time back to Hawaii. Thanks as always for reading. See you sooner than you think!
-Collin
11-21-10
Do the church thing in the morning and we get a warm welcome back. Then spend the whole day hanging out with the kids. I finally break through to the last house which I have never really connected super well with. Eventually a few of the girls from that house and I go down to the well and pump some water. I carry my two jerry cans (plastic containers that weigh 40 pounds when filled) back and have to stop a couple of times. Now I know why the girls only carry one and they carry it one there head. After dinner I go to the kids study time (prep) and work on some English with some of the kids. This upcoming week they have their end of the term exams so it is getting to crunch time.
11-22-10
Slow day, then the kids get out and we hang out. Then prep time before bed. Sounds boring but was a great day, just no highlights ☺
11-23-10
I go with Mike today to pickup some sand because the workers have started building another staff house for the 8 new teachers that will be coming at the end of January. We are opening our school up to the public and adding a few more grades to our school so we thought it would be nice if the new teachers had a spot to live. Have a very good discussion with Mike about culture shock and also the idea that maybe my family should come out to VOH sometime… hint, hint. How that came up is that the kids have been telling me that they have been praying for my family and that next time bring them because they want to know them too. Eventually the kids get out and we have a good time. Teach a bunch of kids math at night and it goes very well. I hope they do well on their test with such a fine teacher ☺
11-24-10
Wake up and have a discussion around breakfast about how to celebrate thanksgiving tomorrow. Apparently I have been out of the loop because a full-fledged meal is already being planned. Sam (one of the workers) and I go out behind my hut and start digging a whole to make a makeshift oven for cooking the turkey. Yes, we are gonna have turkey. After doing some more prep stuff for tomorrow the kids get out and it is time for cards and last second questions before tests start tomorrow. It is Social Studies and English tomorrow. Good luck!
11-25-10
Thanksgivin’! Sam and I work on getting the pit ready. The idea is that we are going to start and fire to heat up rocks. After that we are going to wrap the bird in banana leaves and then the rocks with steam heat the bird. Going to take about 8 hours total. After we get the fire start we slaughter the turkey. Yes, I watched. One good machete to the neck we do just about anything in. We then de-feather the bird, which I helped with and then weighed it. 20lbs. Not to bad. We get that ready and then put it in the pit and cover it. The youngest kids (P3) have already finished their tests, so I play cards with them until dinner. For dinner we have, turkey, pumpkin, stuffing, carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie and no-bake cookies. Maybe the greatest Thanksgiving ever.
That’s it. It was a very good week and I have about 17 days left. I can’t believe how short of a time that is. Tom made it home safely and had a job interview the morning after he got back. He said it went okay but be praying for him for that as he is now doing the job hunt thing with a heavy heart. Suzie is also leaving on Sunday morning and we are all going to miss her so continue to pray for our team and for Suzie as she will have long travel time back to Hawaii. Thanks as always for reading. See you sooner than you think!
-Collin
Monday, November 22, 2010
Kenyanzed
Highlights / Lowlights from this past week,
-I got Malaria
-Tom Left for home
-We went to Nairobi, Kenya to renew our visas
-We found out for sure when our last day with the kids is (Dec. 6th, thanks government)
-God is Good
11-12-10
Have some breakfast and type my blog. Try to get a picture of one of the kids, Morris (who never lets me take pictures of him), but the kids sell me out. Do some reading before lunch and after lunch we head into Bweyale with Mike. After getting our things we head back in and get stuck on the road when a huge Road grater tractor is stalled blocking the entire road. After waiting for about an hour and wondering if we need to go back in and get a hotel for the night the thing gets started and we head home. Help the kids out and prep time. Prep time is where the kids go to do some late night studying. It usually runs about 7:30 – 9:00pm. Most kids are there by 8:00pm though. After prep we hit the sheets.
11-13-10
After breakfast I do some shaving and the kids love seeing me with all my shaving cream on. So I then realize that I have almost 2 full cans of cream and 1 month to go, I grab a can of shaving cream, a camera and a mischievous smile and head up to the houses. After a little more than an hour and a whole can of shaving cream, I head to the office, armed with some good pictures for the slideshow tonight. Finish the slideshow and play some cards before setting up for filming the kids dancing. The rain comes so we postpone for tomorrow. Kids still dance just not in the uniforms. Its fun and we grab some food before watching Monsters Inc. I don’t feel well and sleep through the movie but luckily my buddy Tom helps do the tear down so I just go back to sleep.
11-14-10
Brynn and I do some film work in church this morning that goes very well. After church we setup to record the kids dancing again. Bright sunny day. Recording goes pretty well there too. I have a lot of fun just juggling logistics of stuff like that so that part was really fun for me. (Trying to figure my sound around 3 cameras) Play some soccer with the kids after dancing and then head to lunch. Hang out with the kids in the church building and do some “break dance” video of them to Michael Jackson and whatever else is on our iPods that they would know. Grab some food then head out to prep time.
11-15-10
Tom’s last day. We teach both sections of English today because of leaving for Kampala/ Kenya tomorrow which is really great. After lunch we do a quick video segment for a church called Bent Tree and grab some last few pictures to send with Tom. We hang out with the kids and then I skip prep time because Rose has come with a load of beads to send with Tom, so we help her sort those before bed. Im starting to feel a little feverish before bed.
11-16-10
Well morning world, I have Malaria and I’m going to Kenya today. I get some of the pills to take. There are 6 doses twice a day, four pills a time. We jump on a bus to Kampala in the morning and make it there around 2pm. Do some light eating and shopping before heading out to the bus. We say a tearful goodbye and watch as the person we have come to know as family heads for the taxi to take him to the airport. I wonder what’s going through his head right now? We get on the bus and head to Nairobi. Story behind this is that our Ugandan Visa only was good for 90 days and to renew in country to tricky, but not if you leave and then come back. So we are going to spend 3 days in Nairobi. The bus ride is 11 hours of horrible malaria sickness. Probably my worst travel experience so far in my life. The only thing good about the trip was as Brynn would say, “the most great.” At the border, I’m a zombie of sickness, and the girls are trying to figure out the papers to fill out and the woman in front of us in line turns around and says, “do you guys need help?” Her name is Nora, she is a Kenyan Native, that travels to Kampala and Finland often to help out churches. Nora had missed her first bus, so she was not even supposed to be on our bus but, (thank you God) she was. Our bus company was going to leave us at the border because the Visas were taking so long but she made them wait for us. If that is not a TIA moment, I don’t know what is. We make it to Nairobi and she helps us get on our Hotel’s shuttle and makes sure the diver is good and leaves us with, “call if you need anything.” God was just beginning to shower us with his gifts.
11-17-10
We arrive at Heart Lodge, our hotel at around 6am, the place is super nice and I fall asleep almost instantly on my bed. After sleeping on and off for most of the day until around 4pm I can finally feel the Malaria starting to slow down. I just have a fever left that I can’t get to break. The girls get back around 4pm from doing some touring in the city and feeding giraffes. I stay in their room and hang out a little bit before heading back to my room to give the girls some time alone before we head for dinner. It is crazy good, Carrots, Salisbury steak, fruit and a fruit pie desert. After dinner we chill a bit before heading to bed.
11-18-10
We wake up in the morning and meet some of the other hotel guests, Don and Pat. They are a 60s+ married couple from Denver that comes to Kenya about twice a year for 7 weeks each time. Don is a part of Rotary Club and they have been installing libraries and working with a few other programs in Kenya. They have one meeting to go to today at 1:00pm and they normally have a driver that they hire named Paul. But instead of that, they give us their driver and take a taxi to their meeting. Then tonight Don has one more Rotary meeting so we will pick him up for that. Paul take us to a huge slum in Nairobi called Kibera, where they have a program that they work with there called WEEP. Women’s Empowerment and Equality Program; WEEP. The woman we met there who is the director is named Gladys and she tells us that they have 15 women in the program that are all HIV+. They have them come to their center, which is in the slum, and they teach them to sew and make beads and do other craft type things and then they sell them to help them gain income. They also have a spot for the women’s kids to stay during the day if they are younger. It was a very cool to see all these women that are at the very bottom of the social totem pole, smiling and making a living and looking healthy. We heard Evelyn’s, one of the women, story about being HIV+. Once it is known that you are HIV+, you are shunned from your community like a leper. Nobody will touch anything that you have touched or buy anything and they are even nervous to go near your kids. So this center was doing a lot for them because it was changing the whole slum’s idea of what it means to be HIV+. Very cool to see. After we leave WEEP, we go and get some food and then do a “Safari Walk.” Meet an intern named Simon (spelled Symo) who shows us around and points out a bunch of different animals that we would have never seen without him. After the walk we head back to the Hotel to pickup Don for his meeting. While we wait for Don to finish his meeting Paul takes us to an Italian restaurant called Terattora. Nobody is mad about that. Go back to the hotel after eating and picking up Don for bed.
11-19-10
We again ride with Pat and Don to a meeting that they have at 10:30 and then Paul takes us to a supermarket to get food for sandwiches for traveling home tonight. The mall that the supermarket is in is unbelievably nice and it feels like we are in Eden Prairie Center back home. Eventually we go to a park and have a picnic and they go to another market in town. This market is nuts because literally every person talks to you and asks you to come in and just look, “don’t buy just look.” Crazy bartering experience. Eventually it is time to go to our bus station. The ride back is much nicer than the ride there except that we are in the back of the bus this time, think elementary school type huge bumps. But we do get some sleep and we get into Kampala around 8:00am where our friend Shammah picks us up.
11-20-10
Shammah takes us back to “Good African Coffee” where we have some light breakfast before heading over to her church for a bit just to see it. Her church has a couple of programs going today and one of them is that all the compassion kids from the area are there writing letters to their sponsors. After that we head to the bus station and head for home. We finally get back to the land around 4pm and we see the staff and the kids and everyone is happy to see us. It is Saturday so we spend the rest of the day hanging out with the kids. I end up sleeping over at Mercy, one of the kid’s houses, and actually sleep really well.
So this is a really long one but Kenya was very cool. If anyone ever wants to go there call me. I know a few people there and some really cool spots to see ☺ So now that I have gotten Malaria, I think I have officially been to Africa. The big change for the upcoming month is that the government is forcing the kids to go back to the camps on their break that is coming up. So that means that for the last 2 weeks the kids will not be at the land so we are trying to figure out what we will be doing for the last few weeks because Rose did not think it was a good idea to go to Gulu and try to see them each day. So pray for wisdom for us for what to do and how to handle it especially emotionally when the kids leave the land. Thank for reading!!!
-Collin
-I got Malaria
-Tom Left for home
-We went to Nairobi, Kenya to renew our visas
-We found out for sure when our last day with the kids is (Dec. 6th, thanks government)
-God is Good
11-12-10
Have some breakfast and type my blog. Try to get a picture of one of the kids, Morris (who never lets me take pictures of him), but the kids sell me out. Do some reading before lunch and after lunch we head into Bweyale with Mike. After getting our things we head back in and get stuck on the road when a huge Road grater tractor is stalled blocking the entire road. After waiting for about an hour and wondering if we need to go back in and get a hotel for the night the thing gets started and we head home. Help the kids out and prep time. Prep time is where the kids go to do some late night studying. It usually runs about 7:30 – 9:00pm. Most kids are there by 8:00pm though. After prep we hit the sheets.
11-13-10
After breakfast I do some shaving and the kids love seeing me with all my shaving cream on. So I then realize that I have almost 2 full cans of cream and 1 month to go, I grab a can of shaving cream, a camera and a mischievous smile and head up to the houses. After a little more than an hour and a whole can of shaving cream, I head to the office, armed with some good pictures for the slideshow tonight. Finish the slideshow and play some cards before setting up for filming the kids dancing. The rain comes so we postpone for tomorrow. Kids still dance just not in the uniforms. Its fun and we grab some food before watching Monsters Inc. I don’t feel well and sleep through the movie but luckily my buddy Tom helps do the tear down so I just go back to sleep.
11-14-10
Brynn and I do some film work in church this morning that goes very well. After church we setup to record the kids dancing again. Bright sunny day. Recording goes pretty well there too. I have a lot of fun just juggling logistics of stuff like that so that part was really fun for me. (Trying to figure my sound around 3 cameras) Play some soccer with the kids after dancing and then head to lunch. Hang out with the kids in the church building and do some “break dance” video of them to Michael Jackson and whatever else is on our iPods that they would know. Grab some food then head out to prep time.
11-15-10
Tom’s last day. We teach both sections of English today because of leaving for Kampala/ Kenya tomorrow which is really great. After lunch we do a quick video segment for a church called Bent Tree and grab some last few pictures to send with Tom. We hang out with the kids and then I skip prep time because Rose has come with a load of beads to send with Tom, so we help her sort those before bed. Im starting to feel a little feverish before bed.
11-16-10
Well morning world, I have Malaria and I’m going to Kenya today. I get some of the pills to take. There are 6 doses twice a day, four pills a time. We jump on a bus to Kampala in the morning and make it there around 2pm. Do some light eating and shopping before heading out to the bus. We say a tearful goodbye and watch as the person we have come to know as family heads for the taxi to take him to the airport. I wonder what’s going through his head right now? We get on the bus and head to Nairobi. Story behind this is that our Ugandan Visa only was good for 90 days and to renew in country to tricky, but not if you leave and then come back. So we are going to spend 3 days in Nairobi. The bus ride is 11 hours of horrible malaria sickness. Probably my worst travel experience so far in my life. The only thing good about the trip was as Brynn would say, “the most great.” At the border, I’m a zombie of sickness, and the girls are trying to figure out the papers to fill out and the woman in front of us in line turns around and says, “do you guys need help?” Her name is Nora, she is a Kenyan Native, that travels to Kampala and Finland often to help out churches. Nora had missed her first bus, so she was not even supposed to be on our bus but, (thank you God) she was. Our bus company was going to leave us at the border because the Visas were taking so long but she made them wait for us. If that is not a TIA moment, I don’t know what is. We make it to Nairobi and she helps us get on our Hotel’s shuttle and makes sure the diver is good and leaves us with, “call if you need anything.” God was just beginning to shower us with his gifts.
11-17-10
We arrive at Heart Lodge, our hotel at around 6am, the place is super nice and I fall asleep almost instantly on my bed. After sleeping on and off for most of the day until around 4pm I can finally feel the Malaria starting to slow down. I just have a fever left that I can’t get to break. The girls get back around 4pm from doing some touring in the city and feeding giraffes. I stay in their room and hang out a little bit before heading back to my room to give the girls some time alone before we head for dinner. It is crazy good, Carrots, Salisbury steak, fruit and a fruit pie desert. After dinner we chill a bit before heading to bed.
11-18-10
We wake up in the morning and meet some of the other hotel guests, Don and Pat. They are a 60s+ married couple from Denver that comes to Kenya about twice a year for 7 weeks each time. Don is a part of Rotary Club and they have been installing libraries and working with a few other programs in Kenya. They have one meeting to go to today at 1:00pm and they normally have a driver that they hire named Paul. But instead of that, they give us their driver and take a taxi to their meeting. Then tonight Don has one more Rotary meeting so we will pick him up for that. Paul take us to a huge slum in Nairobi called Kibera, where they have a program that they work with there called WEEP. Women’s Empowerment and Equality Program; WEEP. The woman we met there who is the director is named Gladys and she tells us that they have 15 women in the program that are all HIV+. They have them come to their center, which is in the slum, and they teach them to sew and make beads and do other craft type things and then they sell them to help them gain income. They also have a spot for the women’s kids to stay during the day if they are younger. It was a very cool to see all these women that are at the very bottom of the social totem pole, smiling and making a living and looking healthy. We heard Evelyn’s, one of the women, story about being HIV+. Once it is known that you are HIV+, you are shunned from your community like a leper. Nobody will touch anything that you have touched or buy anything and they are even nervous to go near your kids. So this center was doing a lot for them because it was changing the whole slum’s idea of what it means to be HIV+. Very cool to see. After we leave WEEP, we go and get some food and then do a “Safari Walk.” Meet an intern named Simon (spelled Symo) who shows us around and points out a bunch of different animals that we would have never seen without him. After the walk we head back to the Hotel to pickup Don for his meeting. While we wait for Don to finish his meeting Paul takes us to an Italian restaurant called Terattora. Nobody is mad about that. Go back to the hotel after eating and picking up Don for bed.
11-19-10
We again ride with Pat and Don to a meeting that they have at 10:30 and then Paul takes us to a supermarket to get food for sandwiches for traveling home tonight. The mall that the supermarket is in is unbelievably nice and it feels like we are in Eden Prairie Center back home. Eventually we go to a park and have a picnic and they go to another market in town. This market is nuts because literally every person talks to you and asks you to come in and just look, “don’t buy just look.” Crazy bartering experience. Eventually it is time to go to our bus station. The ride back is much nicer than the ride there except that we are in the back of the bus this time, think elementary school type huge bumps. But we do get some sleep and we get into Kampala around 8:00am where our friend Shammah picks us up.
11-20-10
Shammah takes us back to “Good African Coffee” where we have some light breakfast before heading over to her church for a bit just to see it. Her church has a couple of programs going today and one of them is that all the compassion kids from the area are there writing letters to their sponsors. After that we head to the bus station and head for home. We finally get back to the land around 4pm and we see the staff and the kids and everyone is happy to see us. It is Saturday so we spend the rest of the day hanging out with the kids. I end up sleeping over at Mercy, one of the kid’s houses, and actually sleep really well.
So this is a really long one but Kenya was very cool. If anyone ever wants to go there call me. I know a few people there and some really cool spots to see ☺ So now that I have gotten Malaria, I think I have officially been to Africa. The big change for the upcoming month is that the government is forcing the kids to go back to the camps on their break that is coming up. So that means that for the last 2 weeks the kids will not be at the land so we are trying to figure out what we will be doing for the last few weeks because Rose did not think it was a good idea to go to Gulu and try to see them each day. So pray for wisdom for us for what to do and how to handle it especially emotionally when the kids leave the land. Thank for reading!!!
-Collin
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Last week of full team :(
Big changes came this past and will be coming in the upcoming week. Last full week with the team because on Tuesday we are leaving to go to Kampala to bring Tom to the airport. We are going to miss him very badly. We were going to go to Kenya for a week to renew our Visas because it is very hard to get it renewed unless you leave the country. But eventually we decided to shorten that trip so that we could be on the land more. Now we will be gone Tuesday to Saturday morning. I am very excited about seeing Kenya though. The last big change is that Susie is going to leave early. She will be leaving the 29th of November. She has a few things that she needs to figure out at home before she moves from Hawaii to Colorado. So decided that it would be best to be home and tie up all the loose ends. But that’s all next week. Here’s how it went down last week…
11-6-10
This morning one of the kids, Apiyo Stella, finds me and tells me “I wash your shoes.” Notice the statement, not the question. After about an hour, shoes that look like they came out of the box again and also some clothes washed; she finishes. The kids here are amazing. After she finishes she says, (again notice the statement) “I wash your clothes next Saturday.” I head up to the houses and do some reading with some of the kids until cards and boxing distract us. Boxing is the Acholi English for boys fighting. Its fun to box 12-year-old boys ☺ Eventually we watch Jungle Book at night. “Now don’t start that again!” that’s for Mallory and Kaitlynn. That night I sleep in Grace in Fred’s room.
11-7-10
Go to church in the morning. They are using the keyboard that the Hawaii team brought them. Unfortunately, they are using this “great” organ setting. Other than that it is fine. After church I grab the camera with the zoom lens and do some photographing. End up chasing after a kid named Okello Morris for about an hour because he will not let me take a picture of him. After pictures we go and play soccer. Mike and Janelle get back from being down at Masaka at the bee school and we are all super excited to see them. Go to the kids prep time before bed.
11-8-10
Have pancakes that the girls make (which are super great) for breakfast. Do some reading in the morning and thinking about the Kenya trip. Load some pictures on the computer until lunch. Teach English to P5 today as well. Eventually go and hang out at Love once the kids are done with school. I also play some soccer before grabbing food and eating at Love with the kids. Off to prep time then I watch “War Dance” before bed. Good documentary about Uganda that is very weird to watch and be living in that culture.
11-9-10
After breakfast Mike and I talk about some bible history stuff because he studied at a school in Israel on bible history. Mike gets more interesting everyday and I am so blessed to know him. Teach English to P6 in the morning and it goes super well. After English we make a final decision about Kenya and decide to shorten the trip so that we can be back for the weekend with the kids. I’m very excited about that. It will be cheaper and we will get more time with the kids. Brynn and I do some filming after lunch. I take a nap before the kids get out of school and then go up and hang at Mercy. Eventually two of the kids, Solomon and Clinton, start “boxing” me. Eventually we finish with me sitting on both of them ☺ The best part about “boxing” is just saying, “I am going to cane you very seriously” Caning is the Acholi English word for beat. Julie has come to the land. I stay down at the fire and eat with Julie and everyone else. Prep time then bed.
11-10-10
Do some filming with Brynn of the kids in school in the morning as well as recording them ringing the school bell, which I think is going to be very cool. Go and talk to Julie in the afternoon and talk to her about recording the kids dancing this weekend. Recording the kids dancing is going to be a big production, 3 cameras, all my mics and all of the kids dancing; I’m really excited about it. The logistics alone are really fun. After the kids get out I go to Hope and tell them stories about Paul Bunyan and about building snowmen. I ask them to tell me a story but they get all-sheepish and don’t do it. Go to prep after dinner and then watch a movie with the staff called “The Expendables.” Tom and I spend the first 30 minutes trying to figure out why it looks poor and sounds bad, then on the screen we see a person stand up; got to love bootleggin.
11-11-10
Learn how to make Chapatti in the morning with Julie before typing up a form for the teachers. After lunch; Tom, Erin Brynn and I talk about how we will be filming the dancing on Saturday and what we will need from each of them. Logistics of recording, I love it. In the afternoon we go up and visit the Local counsel member, Orache Vincent. Super great guy, Mike actually lived in his house for the first 7 months of VOH. He did that because people will see a white person and come and try to take their money but in Vincent’s words “first they had to get through me.” He has 3 boys and 9 daughters. His life is what you would think of when you think of a staple family patriarch, that the whole family respects and listens to no matter what. Very nice guy that Mike and Janelle both speak very highly of. Has always worked to benefit us and always gone the extra mile for us. God is good. Get back in time for the kids to get out of school so I start playing some cards. After a game of cards at Love, I go to Hope and one of the Stella’s proceeds to tell me here life story about being abducted. I did not ask she just wanted to tell me. It is hard for me to believe the things that she says and see her standing her now. I thank her and then eat before prep and bed.
Thought for the last few weeks is this; how can this be life. How is life this good? Why I am so blessed. I have had thoughts about trying to sponsor a child here but the problem, it is $100 a month. For me that is huge, I can’t do that. But slowly God is challenging me not to choose one kid, but a couple. I think he is asking me to sponsor a couple of the kids here. I don’t know what that is going to look like at all. All I know is that is what I am hearing. I am also realizing that at the end of it all, I don’t know anyone who has said, “I wish I gave away less of my money.” I hope I am up to the challenge. Thanks for reading as always and only about a month left, big prayer for the emotions as they are running high even with Tom leaving this week. One of the kids, Joyce, was already crying in prep time on Tuesday, 11-9, because Tom was leaving. I cant even think of what it is going to be like when the whole crew leaves.
-Collin
11-6-10
This morning one of the kids, Apiyo Stella, finds me and tells me “I wash your shoes.” Notice the statement, not the question. After about an hour, shoes that look like they came out of the box again and also some clothes washed; she finishes. The kids here are amazing. After she finishes she says, (again notice the statement) “I wash your clothes next Saturday.” I head up to the houses and do some reading with some of the kids until cards and boxing distract us. Boxing is the Acholi English for boys fighting. Its fun to box 12-year-old boys ☺ Eventually we watch Jungle Book at night. “Now don’t start that again!” that’s for Mallory and Kaitlynn. That night I sleep in Grace in Fred’s room.
11-7-10
Go to church in the morning. They are using the keyboard that the Hawaii team brought them. Unfortunately, they are using this “great” organ setting. Other than that it is fine. After church I grab the camera with the zoom lens and do some photographing. End up chasing after a kid named Okello Morris for about an hour because he will not let me take a picture of him. After pictures we go and play soccer. Mike and Janelle get back from being down at Masaka at the bee school and we are all super excited to see them. Go to the kids prep time before bed.
11-8-10
Have pancakes that the girls make (which are super great) for breakfast. Do some reading in the morning and thinking about the Kenya trip. Load some pictures on the computer until lunch. Teach English to P5 today as well. Eventually go and hang out at Love once the kids are done with school. I also play some soccer before grabbing food and eating at Love with the kids. Off to prep time then I watch “War Dance” before bed. Good documentary about Uganda that is very weird to watch and be living in that culture.
11-9-10
After breakfast Mike and I talk about some bible history stuff because he studied at a school in Israel on bible history. Mike gets more interesting everyday and I am so blessed to know him. Teach English to P6 in the morning and it goes super well. After English we make a final decision about Kenya and decide to shorten the trip so that we can be back for the weekend with the kids. I’m very excited about that. It will be cheaper and we will get more time with the kids. Brynn and I do some filming after lunch. I take a nap before the kids get out of school and then go up and hang at Mercy. Eventually two of the kids, Solomon and Clinton, start “boxing” me. Eventually we finish with me sitting on both of them ☺ The best part about “boxing” is just saying, “I am going to cane you very seriously” Caning is the Acholi English word for beat. Julie has come to the land. I stay down at the fire and eat with Julie and everyone else. Prep time then bed.
11-10-10
Do some filming with Brynn of the kids in school in the morning as well as recording them ringing the school bell, which I think is going to be very cool. Go and talk to Julie in the afternoon and talk to her about recording the kids dancing this weekend. Recording the kids dancing is going to be a big production, 3 cameras, all my mics and all of the kids dancing; I’m really excited about it. The logistics alone are really fun. After the kids get out I go to Hope and tell them stories about Paul Bunyan and about building snowmen. I ask them to tell me a story but they get all-sheepish and don’t do it. Go to prep after dinner and then watch a movie with the staff called “The Expendables.” Tom and I spend the first 30 minutes trying to figure out why it looks poor and sounds bad, then on the screen we see a person stand up; got to love bootleggin.
11-11-10
Learn how to make Chapatti in the morning with Julie before typing up a form for the teachers. After lunch; Tom, Erin Brynn and I talk about how we will be filming the dancing on Saturday and what we will need from each of them. Logistics of recording, I love it. In the afternoon we go up and visit the Local counsel member, Orache Vincent. Super great guy, Mike actually lived in his house for the first 7 months of VOH. He did that because people will see a white person and come and try to take their money but in Vincent’s words “first they had to get through me.” He has 3 boys and 9 daughters. His life is what you would think of when you think of a staple family patriarch, that the whole family respects and listens to no matter what. Very nice guy that Mike and Janelle both speak very highly of. Has always worked to benefit us and always gone the extra mile for us. God is good. Get back in time for the kids to get out of school so I start playing some cards. After a game of cards at Love, I go to Hope and one of the Stella’s proceeds to tell me here life story about being abducted. I did not ask she just wanted to tell me. It is hard for me to believe the things that she says and see her standing her now. I thank her and then eat before prep and bed.
Thought for the last few weeks is this; how can this be life. How is life this good? Why I am so blessed. I have had thoughts about trying to sponsor a child here but the problem, it is $100 a month. For me that is huge, I can’t do that. But slowly God is challenging me not to choose one kid, but a couple. I think he is asking me to sponsor a couple of the kids here. I don’t know what that is going to look like at all. All I know is that is what I am hearing. I am also realizing that at the end of it all, I don’t know anyone who has said, “I wish I gave away less of my money.” I hope I am up to the challenge. Thanks for reading as always and only about a month left, big prayer for the emotions as they are running high even with Tom leaving this week. One of the kids, Joyce, was already crying in prep time on Tuesday, 11-9, because Tom was leaving. I cant even think of what it is going to be like when the whole crew leaves.
-Collin
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Two Week Post!
Sorry I missed last week. Been a bit of a weird slash lazy few weeks.
10-16-10
Work on some computer stuff in the morning until two of the students, Fida and Gloria (one of them) come up and give me a necklace and a bracelet. (I later find out the ridiculousness of the necklace but they just tie it on so I don’t really see it) We then play cards for most of the rest of the day. They teach me this card game of theirs that is kind of like Uno, but the rules are crazy and it seems like they make them up on the spot. After the card game go out and play soccer with the kids, for so long that I miss my Skype date with my parents. Sorry guys. Skype some till internet quits and then setup to watch Shriek with the kids; then the rain starts to come. Tom and I grab our rain jackets and create a shuttle service for the kids back to their homes using the girls’ umbrellas. Really fun because the rain is so thick that if you step in a puddle you can go up over your ankles. We get back dry off and hit the sheets.
10-17-10
Fun Sabbath with the kids that goes a little something like this; Church, then soccer and then some cards. After dinner the team gathers in the girls’ room and we watch “Quantum of Solace” on Brynn’s computer before bed.
10-18-10
Work on some computer stuff in the morning. We are working on getting a computer for the teacher and students setup. So I go through and get all the VOH documents off of it and on to an external hard drive until we go to teach English at 12:20. We teach P5 on Monday and it goes well. We have been reading a book by Roald Dahl called “George’s Magical Medicine.” It seems like the kids are not that good at reading, until you think about the fact that this is there second language. After lunch Mike and I work on smoking out some bees that are nesting in the staff housing. Then we take a team trip down to Ochan Gabriel’s (tangerine guy). Play some darts with the workers until bed.
10-19-20-10
Couple of lazy days. Only teach English to P6 on Tuesday in the morning and install some more of the software programs on the teacher/student computer. Just kinda waiting till we go to Gulu on Thursday. But of course, played some cards with the kids. I love playing that card game of theirs. ☺
10-21-10
Wake up and pack quickly before we head into town to catch a bus to Gulu. Literally get accosted by Taxi drivers looking to drive us there. Mike just walks up and says, “do not take a taxi. Might take you two days because they stop at every small town.” Thanks Mike. We wait for the bus and get on with no problems. Arrive in Gulu and hit up Coffee Hut and feel like we are back in America. Head to Roma and see some of our favorite staff again until we head out for Pizza at Sankofe.
10-22-10
Wake up to omelets and a good discussion about a book we are reading in the group called “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan. We head out to Coffee Hut again to do some interneting and realize we forgot one of our adapters for charging the laptops. But we meet some friends in Coffee hut who let us use theirs. Go and pickup Bright (Rose’s son one in the pink listening to Shane and Shane with me on FB) with Charles (Rose’s husband) from nursery school and it is super fun. Just about every kid there is seeing a white person for the first time I think so they are all super excited to see us. Bright is his normal quiet self but it is super good to see him. Hang out at the hotel until I redo the Skype date with my parents. It goes well and works great; awesome to talk to them. Get some more pizza for dinner before heading back to Roma.
10-23-10
Tom, Erin, Leilah and Suz leave on the bus to go back to the land for the weekend and Brynn and I stay in Gulu for one more day to do some filming for the Beads of Hope project. It is a part of VOH where one of the IDP camps, Koro Abili, makes beaded necklaces out of scrap paper and then they get brought back and sold in the US. Brynn and I see Mike and Rose in Gulu. Mike is up in Gulu because he is waiting for the well company to meet him to test for water for the well on the Gulu land. Very exciting times for VOH to think about already starting a second plot of land and being able to move in even more kids. We eventually head out to the camp and see Azunta and our friends from the camp there and do filming for the beads. It goes very well and we get out of there before the rain comes. Brynn and I do Sankofe for the 3rd night straight and then head back to the Hotel.
10-24-10
Go to Coffee Hut in the morning because the power is finally back on after 2 days of nothing. We talk to Rose and she is going to Obiya IDP camp tonight and we decide to stay in Gulu and go to that camp with here to do some work on the Child Sponsership stuff. We have probably 90% of the 450 kids in the system done with picture and interview but getting that last 10% will be hard. We have a nice and relaxing day of going to the market and getting some of the details of our Kenya trip (in November) figured out before Rose picks us to head out to Obiya. Charles the driver comes with us and it is super good to see him. This is the camp with Oblyia Prossy. She is 12 years old and is in P7. (Most kids are about 14 in P7) She wrote a poem that Brynn and I filmed that is very good. Check it out on Brynn’s blog. We call Prossy the Ugandan Hipster. She is super great and it super fun to be back at that camp again. We talk with Rose about kids like Prossy going to secondary school. (equivalent of High School) Basically it sounds like she will probably not go because secondary school is much more expensive. It is like 300,000 schillings per semester for a good one and 100,000 for a crap one. Also there are three semesters. So when a person is making a salary of about 5,000 schillings a day, (a nicer standard of living) even if they worked 365 days a year, to it will be about half of a years wages to send one kid to a nice secondary school. So what will happen to Prossy, she will probably drop out and try to find work but will most likely get married off to someone. This is why there is such an urgency to get kids out of the camps and sponsored. Every year that passes is one more year that a kid will get closer to dropping out of High School. We just make it out before the rain and Brynn and I make a dash for Coffee Hut for dinner.
10-25-10
Wake up and meet Nighty and Azunta in the morning. Pack up quick and catch a bus back to Bweyale. Sit next to a man named Dennis, who is a very nice guy who is an engineer for a well digging company. Get to ride a motorcycle back from Bweyale to the land. It is really nice to be back at the land and to see all the workers and our friends. (we plan our timely arrival back with lunch) We missed our English lesson though which is very sad but Leilah helped out Erin so it went great. Do some washing of clothes and cleaning of the hut until the kids get out of school and then, yep, up to play cards. After dinner I head out to play darts with the workers. My first game I was on fire and actually won a game. I told them I was practicing in Gulu.
10-26-27-28-10
Couple of easy days. Just do some English, reading and taking some pictures for Les from the Hawaii team for his video that he is making. Once kids are done with school I play soccer with them. Brynn and Suz are both not feeling well so we are praying for them. On Thursday we have another huge snake find. 1.5 Meter longs. It came along the school building and one of the teachers walked out and saw it. All the kids ran out of the classrooms and grabbed the landscaping bricks and starting throwing them at it. Pretty exciting. We hear of a sighting of a huge one, probably 8-10 feet long that is hanging out down by the well. Everyone is pretty nervous about it. Take a walk out to Gabriel’s on Thursday.
10-29-10
Wake up to cows in the Casava fields in the morning. So Mike and some of the guys go out around 4am and round them up into our pen. We find out in the morning they are a neighbors and the cowboy who was watching them was not paying attention. They walked in down by the well and then headed through the camp to the fields. It’s a good thing we had our fence up or they would have gotten into more. But we still need to get the last section done which would just be a fence gate for down by the well. So that makes for an eventful morning. Go and do some typing of the blog before getting online and do my Internet time. Go and do some reading and forget to post my blog. Kids get out of school and we play some futball until dark. Dinner and then just some quality chill time with the kids while they are at prep. Prep is kinda like an organized Homework time. So we usually get to do a lot of one on one teaching which is really fun. Hit the sheets afterwords.
Thanks for reading this far, this upcoming week will be interesting because Mike and Janelle will be gone until next Sunday at least because Mike is doing a Bee Hive school with the agriculture guy Geoffrey. Very excited to taste VOH hunny!
10-16-10
Work on some computer stuff in the morning until two of the students, Fida and Gloria (one of them) come up and give me a necklace and a bracelet. (I later find out the ridiculousness of the necklace but they just tie it on so I don’t really see it) We then play cards for most of the rest of the day. They teach me this card game of theirs that is kind of like Uno, but the rules are crazy and it seems like they make them up on the spot. After the card game go out and play soccer with the kids, for so long that I miss my Skype date with my parents. Sorry guys. Skype some till internet quits and then setup to watch Shriek with the kids; then the rain starts to come. Tom and I grab our rain jackets and create a shuttle service for the kids back to their homes using the girls’ umbrellas. Really fun because the rain is so thick that if you step in a puddle you can go up over your ankles. We get back dry off and hit the sheets.
10-17-10
Fun Sabbath with the kids that goes a little something like this; Church, then soccer and then some cards. After dinner the team gathers in the girls’ room and we watch “Quantum of Solace” on Brynn’s computer before bed.
10-18-10
Work on some computer stuff in the morning. We are working on getting a computer for the teacher and students setup. So I go through and get all the VOH documents off of it and on to an external hard drive until we go to teach English at 12:20. We teach P5 on Monday and it goes well. We have been reading a book by Roald Dahl called “George’s Magical Medicine.” It seems like the kids are not that good at reading, until you think about the fact that this is there second language. After lunch Mike and I work on smoking out some bees that are nesting in the staff housing. Then we take a team trip down to Ochan Gabriel’s (tangerine guy). Play some darts with the workers until bed.
10-19-20-10
Couple of lazy days. Only teach English to P6 on Tuesday in the morning and install some more of the software programs on the teacher/student computer. Just kinda waiting till we go to Gulu on Thursday. But of course, played some cards with the kids. I love playing that card game of theirs. ☺
10-21-10
Wake up and pack quickly before we head into town to catch a bus to Gulu. Literally get accosted by Taxi drivers looking to drive us there. Mike just walks up and says, “do not take a taxi. Might take you two days because they stop at every small town.” Thanks Mike. We wait for the bus and get on with no problems. Arrive in Gulu and hit up Coffee Hut and feel like we are back in America. Head to Roma and see some of our favorite staff again until we head out for Pizza at Sankofe.
10-22-10
Wake up to omelets and a good discussion about a book we are reading in the group called “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan. We head out to Coffee Hut again to do some interneting and realize we forgot one of our adapters for charging the laptops. But we meet some friends in Coffee hut who let us use theirs. Go and pickup Bright (Rose’s son one in the pink listening to Shane and Shane with me on FB) with Charles (Rose’s husband) from nursery school and it is super fun. Just about every kid there is seeing a white person for the first time I think so they are all super excited to see us. Bright is his normal quiet self but it is super good to see him. Hang out at the hotel until I redo the Skype date with my parents. It goes well and works great; awesome to talk to them. Get some more pizza for dinner before heading back to Roma.
10-23-10
Tom, Erin, Leilah and Suz leave on the bus to go back to the land for the weekend and Brynn and I stay in Gulu for one more day to do some filming for the Beads of Hope project. It is a part of VOH where one of the IDP camps, Koro Abili, makes beaded necklaces out of scrap paper and then they get brought back and sold in the US. Brynn and I see Mike and Rose in Gulu. Mike is up in Gulu because he is waiting for the well company to meet him to test for water for the well on the Gulu land. Very exciting times for VOH to think about already starting a second plot of land and being able to move in even more kids. We eventually head out to the camp and see Azunta and our friends from the camp there and do filming for the beads. It goes very well and we get out of there before the rain comes. Brynn and I do Sankofe for the 3rd night straight and then head back to the Hotel.
10-24-10
Go to Coffee Hut in the morning because the power is finally back on after 2 days of nothing. We talk to Rose and she is going to Obiya IDP camp tonight and we decide to stay in Gulu and go to that camp with here to do some work on the Child Sponsership stuff. We have probably 90% of the 450 kids in the system done with picture and interview but getting that last 10% will be hard. We have a nice and relaxing day of going to the market and getting some of the details of our Kenya trip (in November) figured out before Rose picks us to head out to Obiya. Charles the driver comes with us and it is super good to see him. This is the camp with Oblyia Prossy. She is 12 years old and is in P7. (Most kids are about 14 in P7) She wrote a poem that Brynn and I filmed that is very good. Check it out on Brynn’s blog. We call Prossy the Ugandan Hipster. She is super great and it super fun to be back at that camp again. We talk with Rose about kids like Prossy going to secondary school. (equivalent of High School) Basically it sounds like she will probably not go because secondary school is much more expensive. It is like 300,000 schillings per semester for a good one and 100,000 for a crap one. Also there are three semesters. So when a person is making a salary of about 5,000 schillings a day, (a nicer standard of living) even if they worked 365 days a year, to it will be about half of a years wages to send one kid to a nice secondary school. So what will happen to Prossy, she will probably drop out and try to find work but will most likely get married off to someone. This is why there is such an urgency to get kids out of the camps and sponsored. Every year that passes is one more year that a kid will get closer to dropping out of High School. We just make it out before the rain and Brynn and I make a dash for Coffee Hut for dinner.
10-25-10
Wake up and meet Nighty and Azunta in the morning. Pack up quick and catch a bus back to Bweyale. Sit next to a man named Dennis, who is a very nice guy who is an engineer for a well digging company. Get to ride a motorcycle back from Bweyale to the land. It is really nice to be back at the land and to see all the workers and our friends. (we plan our timely arrival back with lunch) We missed our English lesson though which is very sad but Leilah helped out Erin so it went great. Do some washing of clothes and cleaning of the hut until the kids get out of school and then, yep, up to play cards. After dinner I head out to play darts with the workers. My first game I was on fire and actually won a game. I told them I was practicing in Gulu.
10-26-27-28-10
Couple of easy days. Just do some English, reading and taking some pictures for Les from the Hawaii team for his video that he is making. Once kids are done with school I play soccer with them. Brynn and Suz are both not feeling well so we are praying for them. On Thursday we have another huge snake find. 1.5 Meter longs. It came along the school building and one of the teachers walked out and saw it. All the kids ran out of the classrooms and grabbed the landscaping bricks and starting throwing them at it. Pretty exciting. We hear of a sighting of a huge one, probably 8-10 feet long that is hanging out down by the well. Everyone is pretty nervous about it. Take a walk out to Gabriel’s on Thursday.
10-29-10
Wake up to cows in the Casava fields in the morning. So Mike and some of the guys go out around 4am and round them up into our pen. We find out in the morning they are a neighbors and the cowboy who was watching them was not paying attention. They walked in down by the well and then headed through the camp to the fields. It’s a good thing we had our fence up or they would have gotten into more. But we still need to get the last section done which would just be a fence gate for down by the well. So that makes for an eventful morning. Go and do some typing of the blog before getting online and do my Internet time. Go and do some reading and forget to post my blog. Kids get out of school and we play some futball until dark. Dinner and then just some quality chill time with the kids while they are at prep. Prep is kinda like an organized Homework time. So we usually get to do a lot of one on one teaching which is really fun. Hit the sheets afterwords.
Thanks for reading this far, this upcoming week will be interesting because Mike and Janelle will be gone until next Sunday at least because Mike is doing a Bee Hive school with the agriculture guy Geoffrey. Very excited to taste VOH hunny!
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