Part of the Family

Hello All,
We have had a traveling type of week.  Three of the days since last Sunday have been spent in a car for an average of 11.67 hours (for Jim and I) each of those days!
We took off to Uganda last Sunday to visit our EMI (Engineering Ministries International) office in Kampala.  The sun is up for almost exactly 12 hours and that is the length of the journey so we tried to leave right at day break (6am).  The road was pretty good for about 70% of the trip.  Below is a picture of the road that was not so good:

 

It was like water skiing and crossing the wake!  It gets this way because the trucks are typically overweight and the roads are just not made very well.  Having the car repaired the week before and now having functioning air conditioning was critical to producing non fussing kids!  I would spend that money again if I had to!

Have a Coke and a Smile is no joke!

 

Logistics of travel here are not so simple.  You don't just find a Wendy's and a gas station every other mile.  We ended up stopping at a small restaurant that was gated (safe car) and had a nice bathroom.  But, the menu listed the items with times next to them (20-30 min).  We asked what was the fastest and got no direct answer so we ordered from the 20-30 min section.  Well, over an hour and 15 minutes later, some food arrived!  First hint should have been there were several people there but no one was eating!  But, on the positive side, we had a nice stop and everyone was full so there was no complaining for the rest of the 7 1/2 hour trip!
We have mentioned before how people will sell things on the side of the road.  They will line the street and, especially near the speed bumps, will hold up their items.  In each town the items are different.  We came through honey town, carrot town, potato town, pea town and beet town.  Jim was very excited about beet town and Sallie was excited about Carrot town.  She liked the carrots because they were huge and had the greens attached.

This isn't a great picture, but it gives you an idea of what I am talking about.
We arrived safely (not to be taken for granted) and had a wonderful supper waiting that was prepared by our host family.  Kampala seems like a very organized city compared to Nairobi.  There were curbs and some of the streets had shoulders!
We were able to spend 2 days with the EMI team.  We briefed them on what we are doing and they did the same for us.  We were also able to go see some of their projects.  Here are a few pictures:

The whole EMI team in Kampala

 

Sallie at the African Children's Choir with Ruth and Patience

 

 

Being silly

At the African Children's Choir facility

 

Swimming with the home school group in Kampala

 

What??

 

Lunch with the EMI team

 

Jack Fruit

 

The boys drumming at the African Children's choir facility

 

Sallie melting near Lake Victoria waiting (again) for "fast" food (only 1 hour this time)!

 

 

It was great to get to know the team a bit.  It really gives us a sense of who we are a part of and how we fit in.  We feel like part of the family now!  Thanks so much!

 

As we toured some of the EMI projects, we talked about how difficult it is to help here and how you must be very careful.  There is a book called "When Helping Hurts" by B. Fikkert and S. Corbett.  It gives very good examples of well meaning people that don't consider the cultural differences when they see a situation that they think needs fixing.  He brought up the example of Orphanage A and Orphanage B.  Think about A:  you see the kids dressed in clothes with no holes, they are being fed, they have mattresses to sleep on and a room, and all are going to school.  Then you see Orphanage B:  The kids are running around with holes in their clothes, there is little in the kitchen and the rooms are such that they are sleeping on the floor in groups.  If you were someone coming from the west and wanted to give something to help, which would you give to?  Orphanage B for sure.  But, sometimes all is not as it seems.  The managers for Orphanage B knew some westerners were coming and put away the mattresses, made the kids change their clothes, etc.  Now they know that the sympathy will flow and they will get something.  Where as Orphanage A managers are doing an excellent job with the few resources that they have and are having to struggle some more.  What do you do and how do you discern?  Being here and living with the people is key to that.  Knowing the locals and the situations is so important.  You can't just swoop in and save the day with money or a new facility and then go back to where you came from.  You have to have the whole picture.  That is part of what EMI is doing.  These people live here to support needy Christian ministries and are doing an amazing job.  Please pray for all the people that serve there and that they will continue for many years!

 

We arrived back here late Wed night and were supposed to go on a retreat with our engineering dept here at the hospital on Thurs but we got word that it was cancelled.  So, we slept in and worked out, then received word that it was back on!  So, we left again for a full day in the hospital van with the men of the Engineering and Facilities team.  We had a great day seeing the Geothermal plant at the Hell's Gate National park in Naivasha and the animals at Nakuru National park.  We didn't get back here till after 9pm (Maisha katika Africa - Life in Africa).  Thank goodness that we have a 16 year old that can manage cooking dinner and making cookies!

 

The E anf F team (who is that white gal?)

 

Very cool close up

 

 

Family of Rhinos (the baby charged us later!)

 

Well at the Geothermal site in Hell's Gate.

 

We did some work also this week (how did that fit in)?  We got back and found that the new water supply line that they are laying to reroute around Bethany Kids is bursting at every step.  Seems like every other joint was coming apart.  It finally came right this morning and the tanks are being filled.  But, issues are not finished and I am sure it will be an ongoing problem.

 

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support this week.  We are now anxiously waiting on my Mom to arrive on Sunday night.  We have a driver going to get her so that she can stay in Nairobi for the night.  It is so difficult to drive at night here, that is usually the best thing.  We will go get her Monday morning and can't wait (she has a bag for us as I mentioned before!)  Please pray that she has an uneventful trip!

 

In His Hands,

Jullie T.