Fwd: Uganda Week 5

This is a copy of the email I sent out on June 27th, as my "Uganda
Week 5 Update." Enjoy!!



Hello Dear Friends & Greetings from Uganda!!

I hope this email finds you all well. Regina and I have had another
busy week and we are finding it hard to believe that we have already
been here 5 weeks; this means we only have 5 to go!

So, I've figured out the joke, "Why did the chicken cross the road?"
…Ready?! Because it didn't want to get hit by a boda-boda! Haha, okay
so that probably wasn't as funny to you as it was to Regina when I
said it. (A boda-boda is a motorcycle taxi!)

Here are some events from our week:

Last Friday we took the opportunity to visit the hospital that is run
by the parish. It does receive government funding, as pretty much any
service in Uganda. I was quite impressed with the facilities. It is
mostly run by Sisters. Currently there are three doctors, but they
hope to soon have at least five working in this hospital. They have an
administration wing, an out-patient wing, a couple of pharmacies
(different for different types of medication), a women's ward, a men's
ward, a children's ward, a maternity ward, a surgery room, and a
recovery area for post-surgery patients. It seems to be in good hands.
There is also a government-run hospital not too far from here. Fr.
Matthias told us that it is not very good and does not have the
medicine most people need. Those who visit the government-run
hospitals are sent to clinics to get their medication. Better care is
provided at the church-run hospitals. We also saw two of the Germans
we had dinner with working at the hospital! One of the things I was
less impressed with was the way they handled medical waste. We
witnessed waste such as used needles and blood samples be gathered
into a wheel barrow. I'm not sure what happened to it after that, but
I was a bit appalled, yet not completely surprised with the handling
of the medical waste.


On Saturday, we woke up very early and made our way to the Equator.
Br. Christopher accompanied Regina and me on this journey! We took
public transportation to get there and it took us about 3 ½ hours.
Here, the most common form of public transportation is called a
"mini-bus." This is a taxi bus; imagine a 15 passenger van that is at
least 15 years old and you've pretty much got it. I'm not even sure
how to describe our experience other than insane. There are taxi parks
in Kampala where probably 50 taxis in a small, unpaved parking area
with different signs as to the destination. It was an interesting
experience to say the least. Once we were at the Equator, we took our
obligatory photos at the spot and then looked around a bit. In
addition to taking some photos, I took to opportunity to call the
Hogs! I know you Arkansas fans will be proud. And yes, I even have a
few photos of the event!  Once we were finished at the Equator, we
made our way back to Kampala. Once in Kampala, we met our friend
Cosmas (one of the seminarians) and his mother cooked us lunch! When
we were walking up the hill to his mother's house he told us how
honored they were to be able to have us for lunch. He then warned us
that it is just a simple home and shared his hope of being able to
provide for us everything we needed. He was right; it was simple home.
But it was filled with so much love and hospitality. It was probably a
9x18 ft (at most) room, with one window and a door. It was made from
brick and concrete and there was a curtain hung to separate the bed
from the rest of the home. She has seven children all together and
there are still a few of them living at home. I could tell that she
was by no means wealthy and yet we had a meal that, based on what I
have heard people say, was no cheap meal. It was not necessary for
them to welcome us in, but Cosmas knew we were going to be in town and
they wanted to be able to provide a place for us to rest and have a
meal. I have always enjoyed getting together with people over a meal,
but I am beginning to see meals as something that is holy. (I guess
everything in our lives should be holy…but what would it look like if
we viewed our food and our meals together as a type of spiritual
discipline?). After eating Regina, Br. Christopher, Cosmas, and myself
went to "the beach." Okay, so it isn't really the beach but that is
what they refer to it as! We went to Lake Victoria! It was already a
pleasant day in Uganda, but walking next to the water gave us some
much needed breeze and the view was beautiful!! Next, we made our way
through Kampala to visit another set of craft markets. After spending
another day traveling, particularly in and through Kampala, there is
one thing I can tell you for sure: I would NOT want to be in Kampala
by myself. It is HUGE, it is DIRTY, and it is CROWDED. The people
don't care if they run you over by foot, by car, by boda-boda, etc. as
long as they get to where they are going. Luckily the two times we
have been we have had wonderful friends who make sure we are with them
at all times. They are very protective of us and we are both very
grateful for that! It was a VERY long and busy day, but it was a great
one filled with adventure! To give you an idea of how long it was, we
left the parish at 5:30 am and returned at 8:45 pm (just in time for
dinner!).
While in Kampala, I had my first experience with a public restroom.
They are known as a "pit latrine." It is literally a concrete hole in
the floor; men, you have it so easy!

On Sunday, we went with Fr. Matthias to another mission. We love the
mission churches!! They are so welcoming and, even though the services
are in Luganda, it is clear the Spirit is moving in the lives of the
people who attend. Fr. did translate part of his message into English
and what he said struck me. He was referring to the passage in Luke
where Peter names Jesus as the "Messiah of God" and a few of the
following verses where Jesus tells us that we must lose our life in
order to save it. In his translated portion of his homily, Fr. said
that we must first give up our selfish desires to be able to be truly
happy in the community that we are surrounded by. This struck me,
because I feel like it is true. And while, correlation may not mean
causation, I felt this sentence was true for me during my first few
weeks here. These were the weeks I struggled most. And when push comes
to shove, it was probably because I was being selfish in my
discomfort. I am happy to report that I do not feel like that is any
longer the case. I am very happy here and I am LOVING the (new) ways
in which I have seen and felt God at work. It hasn't been and isn't
easy, but I know that the presence of God is with me always. Sometimes
that bit of truth is all I need to be reminded of. Unfortunately, it
is something I often forget.
Service was supposed to start at 9am, but we are operating on African
time, which means that we never start anything on time. When we
arrived there were only two people there, so the catechist informed
Fr. Matthias about a sick man who had requested that a priest come and
pray over him. So we went to this mans house and witnessed Fr.
Matthias praying over the sick man.
We also witnessed several baptisms! This was very cool to see. I am
unfamiliar with traditional or American Catholic baptismal liturgy,
but here there were five steps.
1) Anointing on the chest, over the heart. The purpose of this
is to drive out any demons the child may possess and to instill the
word of God in their hearts.
2) Pouring of water.
3) Anointing on the head. The purpose of this is to pray that
the word of God would be instilled in their minds and that they grow
up understanding the faith.
4) Lighting of a candle. As new members of the Body of Christ,
all are called to be disciples. This represents them carrying the
light of Christ into the world.
5) Laying of a white cloth over the child's head and face. The
purpose of this was to drive away sin and prepare the child for a pure
life.


I was not feeling well earlier in the week and actually took Wednesday
off from teaching to rest. I feel much better, though I am not yet
feeling 100%. However, the improvement is very much welcomed. Regina
told me that my class at St. Cyprian asked about me and was praying
for healing. It warmed my heart to know that they were concerned about
me! I have really enjoyed teaching here and building relationships
with the students. One of our P1 students came up to me this morning
and said "Thank you for teaching me." I almost teared up; it was one
of the sweetest "thank you's" I have ever received.


This week we were also given African names!! As if the amount of love
and hospitality we have received wasn't enough to welcome us in, this
is a way they show their official welcoming into the family. The name
I was given is "Namata," which comes from the word "mata" meaning
milk. Here, when one thinks of milk they think of a source of
goodness, it is life-giving and the source of life, and it is very
valuable. I also learned that if you are a part of the Ente Clan,
there is a rare kind of cow (not sure which one) that, even if it is
killed, you do not eat the meat. The cow is respected and cared for.
Names are associated with certain clans, and this name comes from the
"Ente Clan." "Ente" means cow (William & Quinten, you will appreciate
this). So I am now apart of the Ente Clan in Africa! Regina's name is
Nonyonja and comes from the Enjange Clan, which is a type of white
bird. They chose these names because of the clans they come from; one
of the comments at our reflection meeting was that we work well
together and the love of Christ is clearly shown when we are together.
The bird of Regina's clan is most commonly found in the field with
cows, and oftentimes sitting on the cow! They wanted to give us names
that reflected that nature of us based on their observations.

Teaching music here has been one of my favorite classes to teach. For
me, music is an important part to how I worship, relate to, and
express myself to God. It has been so wonderful to see the kids get
excited about learning new songs, particularly ones that are about
Jesus! Today, while we were singing, "Jesus Loves Me," I teared up at
the sound of the 80-something beautiful voices singing about the fact
that Jesus loves them. It was an incredible moment. A few minutes
later, while singing, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," I had
an incredible time being able to point to the kids, make eye contact
with them, and smile during "he's got you and me brother/sister in his
hands." Both of these moments were so very special to me and have
helped remind me why I am here!!

Tonight we are expecting a friend of Fr. Joe's from Durham, NC to come
in. She has been a huge supporter of St. Jude Primary School and is
here for a visit for the next few days. Regina and I are both looking
forward to meeting her and to being able to get to know someone else
who has a connection with Uganda!



That's about all I have for you this week! Tomorrow should be a pretty
restful day, which I am looking forward to! This weekend we will be
celebrating with the Diocese the centennial anniversary of the first
ordained priest in Uganda! During the Mass, there will be some who are
commissioned and some who are ordained. I am looking forward to
experiencing this side of the Uganda/Catholic faith.



I want to thank all of you, again, for your support, your prayers, and
your love over the past five weeks and beyond! You all are a true
blessing to me and I hope you know that I treasure each one of you
dearly! Have a great weekend and I look forward to hearing from some
of you soon!!


All my love,
Corey