Wedding, HoH, Christmas

It’s been a long time since the last post.  It feels like we’ve been busy, because we have, but it’s hard to say what has been accomplished in that time.  I think it is part of our western culture; we’re goal oriented, and we set about our tasks with specific objectives in mind.  I’m that way to a fault, often at the expense of my relationships.  That’s not the way things are here; between Africa time, lack of resources, lack of motivation, relationships, and distractions; we can feel busy, but outcomes are different.  That said, here’s some of what has been happening in our lives.

The beginning of The Introduction.  Bride and her attendants are huddled together, plenty of speeches to follow...

The wedding is about to begin.

After the washout at the introduction, bride and groom meeting remaining guests.

Building a foundation and 'pouring the slab'.  Use those hammers to make big rocks smaller.
  Kitchen and existing home are behind.

Boy: "Can we burn the ends of your hair?"
Girl:  "It doesn't work with their hair."

Christmas dinner.

We attended our first Introduction and wedding.  There is a couple here on the base, he Canadian and she Ugandan, who were married two weeks ago.  She is from western Uganda, so that’s where the ceremonies were held.  The Introduction is a big deal and is more traditional, while the wedding is important, but has become more ‘westernized’.  We left here at four in the morning for the seven hour drive (three small rental cars, five people in each, no more comfortable than the other modes of transport…) to the bride’s hometown so that we could get there in time to clean up before the introduction which was to start at one(ish).  The introduction ceremony was held at her parents’ cattle farm which is very nice and scenic.  There were over 1000 people there, including friends, family, and nearly everyone from the local village.  It was a catered event (as was the wedding reception), so first everyone was fed; buffet style and quite the spread.  (Apparently in this part of Uganda the food comes after the ceremony, but there it was the other way around.)  Once everyone had eaten and was seated the introduction begins:  There is an emcee (I’ve learned that microphones and PA systems are well liked here) who speaks continuously as the families, special guests, us included, and the groom come ‘in’ and take their seats.  Finally the bride and her escorts, all covered to disguise their identities, are ushered to a mattress in the center of the crowd where they squat down and will remain for most of the rest  of the ceremony.  The groom is then presented with traditional gifts, which of course are explained as they are presented, and then the ‘speeches’ begin.  The speeches are given by family members, pastors, friends, that guy in the market that may have seen the bride or groom one time, and seemingly anyone who might have something nice to say, hand them the microphone.  I’m not sure when they were going to end, but after 2-1/2 hours the sky opened up with a deluge, and that was the end of the ceremony.  There was supposed to be some fanfare of the groom trying to pick his bride from amongst the covered bridal party, but instead everyone scattered into the rainstorm, and the gifts and other things that could be gathered into cover were.  When we tell people who weren’t there the ceremony was cut short by a rainstorm, without exception the response has been: ‘That is a blessing’.  I take it to mean the speeches probably would have continued indefinitely, but some say the rain is a good omen for the marriage.

The next day was the wedding which was to start at ‘midday’ in the church.  Some said midday was around twelve, others closer to one.  I’m still not sure, but when we arrived around 12:15 the church wasn’t very full, but there was an emcee trying to fill the time with explanations of what was happening and what would happen.  And at 12:50 the bride and groom were standing together ‘at the altar’ before the preacher.  It was a very typical wedding, except that anyone with a cellphone or camera was welcome to photograph every aspect of the event and were continually around the couple, getting between them and the preacher and the ‘official’ photographer and videographer.  The reception was held at a hotel about five miles away, and we rushed there right after the wedding since our driver was the emcee and wanted to be there before the guests and wedding party arrived.  It wasn’t really necessary though, since the reception wasn’t done being set up, and it was about three hours before the emcee was needed.  More speeches, the children’s choir singing and dancing, gift presentation, etc.  We eventually got on the road about 7:30 for the long drive home.

I’ve still been busy with Homes of Hope, much of the last ten days ‘helping with’ the foundation and slab for the home a team from the US will be building next week.  We don’t do ‘em like this in the states.  Let’s just say ‘work smarter not harder’ wasn’t in play on this job, and it’s a good thing this isn’t going to be a complex house it’s not going to be subject to a lot of stresses.  Also be thankful for delivery of proper materials and concrete, because that doesn’t happen here.

 

This was our first Christmas abroad and the first without any family.  The climate and environment don’t really set the ‘Christmas mood’, but through the efforts of some people on base, it was actually very nice.  On Christmas eve we visited one family’s home for tea and snacks, then later another’s for more refreshment, and then that evening there was a bonfire, caroling and sharing of scripture with several families represented.  We started Christmas day with calls to our children and Lucy.  Later we had lunch with a Ugandan family, then went to another home for dinner.  Those hosts, a Canadian couple who are running a school here, outdid themselves for all of us (another couple and a couple of students and staff from their school).  Stuffed chicken, veggies, mashed potatoes, and several desserts, all served with special attention and cheer.  It was a very nice day with barely enough time to miss home.

Most of the base is ‘shut down’ for the holidays, which means normal activities are suspended, but there are still some schools running and plenty of people who didn’t leave, so it’s quiet but not dead.  I’m still busy preparing for the HoH build, as well as other projects and repairs that come up.  Beth has spent several afternoons watching movies with the kids on base, and has kept busy with other things as well.  We are learning we don’t need to constantly push to get things done, but it’s hard to change a lifetime of habit and culture.  Change comes slowly…

Forward steps, backward steps

The more you see, the more you know.   As we spend our time here, we’re seeing and hearing more and more about YWAM, the base, and its operation.  It’s not Utopia (darn), and the challenges and frustrations are probably more than we anticipated, so we try to remind ourselves of why we are here and move on.

It’s a big base, with lots of big plans and ideas (vision), but not enough resources and manpower to follow through.  Not enough, really, to maintain what’s already here, so it seems to be the source of a good deal of frustration.  Of course, there are plenty of opinions about what could and should be done, including my own.  But it also presents opportunity for positive change, and I think that’s what Beth and I get to be a part of.  It also means that the men’s vocational training school and health clinic aren’t immediate realities, the resources just aren’t available for either and it wouldn’t be wise to start another project which can’t be done well.  I believe we’ll see those things at some point, but for now we are filling other roles.  The biggest is building relationship; with staff and students and others we meet and interact with.

One of the successful programs here is a girl’s vocational school.  Most of the girls come from backgrounds which would make it very difficult to finish their education or develop useful skills which would allow them to become self-sufficient.  Many are orphans, or have had to drop out of school, or lived in situations which put them at risk for failure.  They come here to live for a year while learning skills; hospitality, cooking and baking, and others, as well as participating in the base community. We (primarily Beth) are building rapport and spending much time with the girls.  It’s part of the mentoring role which we play and is really the bigger reason for being here.

The most time consuming thing for me has been to try to keep the Homes of Hope block production going.  Unfortunately it’s not been very successful.  Equipment breakdowns, power failures, having to relocate have all interrupted what we’re trying to accomplish.  Basically we’re trying to make giant legos from expanding foam (the kind you seal gaps with).  It requires a consistent high amperage electrical supply for the air compressor and heating elements, specific chemicals for cleaning the equipment, and a clean and organized work area.  None of which are available here, so we try to make due.  We’ve now set up in a chicken coop, but because of breakdowns haven’t got much done in the last two weeks.  It’s obviously not the appropriate technology right now, but since there is a group coming in two weeks to build a home, and the equipment and chemicals are here we’re going to follow through with production for now, and re-evaluate whether to continue the process once the remaining 55 gallon barrels of chemical are gone.

Between the times spent on that I’ve taken on the task of trying to clean and organize some of the storerooms on base.  I’d done one when we had to relocate the HoH operation, and unfortunately it became the catchall for that.  There seems to be a tendency to throw things which are broken or not known what they are, or for, into locked spaces where they get buried and become home for rats, mice, wasps and other critters.  Anything of value or usefulness disappears because of a lack of accountability or knowledge of what’s there.  It’s our hope to restore those things.  Meanwhile I get to go on treasure hunts, and have already used many things to improvise on other projects.

Last week the School of Sustainable Agriculture that was here finished up.  Since the leaders and four of the students were American, and because graduation coincided with Thanksgiving, they decided to treat the base to a Thanksgiving feast; complete with green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie, some local dishes, and beef.  (Turkey and chicken were too expensive.) The girl’s vocational school did all the cooking and serving, and it was excellent, and everyone really enjoyed the evening, including the music and dancing after the graduation ceremony and meal.

This week we’ve moved into what should be our more permanent home.  We’ve taken over the space previously occupied by the Ag school leaders, and prior to that another couple close to our age.  It’s basically a one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and (terribly executed) bathroom.  The other couples have done a good job of stocking it with kitchen supplies and a few furnishings, so we have only a few things to do to make it ‘home’.  Both the other couples have tentative plans to return, so it will be interesting to see how we’re all situated if we’re here together.

"That is a snake!"  (almost as big as the spiders)

some Thanksgiving desserts

some Thanksgiving caterers- vocational school girls

Homes of hope block making arrangement.  Chickens on the other side of the screen aren't happy.

One night in the other place I found a snake in the kitchen.  It was small, maybe sixteen inches, dark in color, and kind of pretty, but we didn’t know what kind it was.  Rather than kill it, I caught it in a bucket to let go because I prefer harmless snakes to mice and some of the other critters that snakes eat.  There were some people in a common room next door and Beth went over to ask if anyone could identify the snake we’d caught in our room.  One young man said he knew about snakes and came over to help us out.  When he came over and looked in the bucket he declared:  “That is a snake!”  We’ve met a lot of people, and I don’t know all their names yet, but I’m calling that man Sherlock.