Obama in Uganda

I have never met so many die-hard fans of somebody that they know little to nothing about. It seems that all of Uganda is in love with Obama. I think it is hilarious. It is honestly amazing the random stuff that you can get. One of the boys I am teaching has a holographic Obama belt buckle. I have also seen Obama posters, satchels, key chains, and many poorly printed t-shirts. While riding a boda boda the other day the driver asked, in broken Ugandan English, if I voted for Obama and told me that he is a good man. He also informed me how much he likes Americans because they see everyone as the same (referring to skin color). I have not experienced as much of the distaste for Americans as I thought I might. From what I am noticing here it seems that mostly only people from other highly developed countries think Americans are cocky, ignorant, jerks. I suppose both groups are correct in some instances. If anybody has an interest in Obama paraphernalia get back to me, I might be able to work something out for you.

The different dialect of English used here makes everything pretty entertaining. Going to restaurants and reading the menu is great fun. Today we noticed that they had Spare Robs at the place we were eating. Obviously, you can’t pass up the opportunity to question the waitress about their Spare Robs and if this over-abundance of Robs is a problem just locally or a national issue. Thankfully she understood the error in the menu and laughed with us about it. Another interesting food option are several different entrees covered in “mayonnaise sauce”. As for me and my house we will not eat anything in mayonnaise sauce. I’m not sure if that sounds appetizing to anybody else, but it sure doesn’t to me. Lots of places don’t actually have everything that is on their menu at any given time. Tyler told me this and told me that you should ask about which items they don’t have. He then demonstrated at a nice hotel restaurant.

Tyler - “Do you have everything that is listed on your menu or are you out of any items?”

Waitress - “We have everything”

Tyler - “Ok great I will have the pork chop”

Waitress - “I’m sorry we are out of the pork chop”

Fantastic! I love it. These instances are great when taken with good humor, but I think over time they can wear on a person. I hope the Holy Spirit will never let me get to a point where I cannot laugh about these encounters.

Creativity and Resourcefulness

So here are my boys. A week or so ago I started working with them daily. They are great and excited to learn. I began by going through the tools that I brought from home.

Hammer and tape measure - everyone knew what it was.

Saw, square, and level - a few knew what they were, but I’m not sure anybody had ever used one before.

Chalk line, utility knife, crescent wrench, vise grips, hole punches, and hand drill - I don’t believe anybody had any idea about these.

It has been fun teaching them how to properly use each item and they are quick learners. At least it seems that way. It will become obvious if I am mistaken once we start building. The area that I have found to be the most problematic is math. In general I think that Uganda does a poor job with education and it is apparent with simple math. Obviously, I’m a certified genius when it comes to simple math, but even if I were average I’d be about 10 steps ahead. I’m still not sure how much time and effort I want to put into re-teaching math to these boys, but we have spent a decent amount of time on it so far and I figure that it is so foundational when working in construction that it deserves the attention. I have not thought about the terms numerator and denominator in probably 15+ years. I have done mental math for so long it took me a while to remember how it was all taught to me. This has also been an issue because I have found that teaching techniques are often different from back home.

They have started to clear the land that the playground will be built on and I’m getting excited. Elisha (my nephew who loves heavy equipment) would be disappointed in their land clearing techniques. Instead of bulldozers and skid loaders they have one man with a hoe. Give him long enough and he will accomplish the same goal.

Pray that the Lord will bless me with creativity and resourcefulness in the next month as I start to plan.

Serving His Children

The photo included here is of children getting beans, rice, and an orange at Renee’s house. Renee is a young woman from the states that has become close friends with Katie and has her own organization here in Jinja (www.servinghischildren.org). She is working towards the same goals as Amazima and is a very sweet girl. One special thing she does is take in malnourished babies and rehabilitate them so they can rejoin their families. Obviously, in situations like these there is health education and follow up to make sure the kids are doing well.

Anyway, there are about 900 or so kids that come every Tuesday and Thursday to get a good nutritious meal. I spent last Thursday out there and helped serve the kids.

This just hit me as I was writing about the kids at the program. I want to tell you about their tattered clothes and their dirty feet yet for some reason it does not feel right. Since being here I have seen buses of whites driving around on what appears to be a “poverty tour.” And I have met people that like being here based on the attention they get and the stories they can tell. I don’t want anybody to read any words I write and think “oh look at the adventure he is on” or “what a sacrifice he is making.” As for the adventure, I am for sure on an adventure, but I pray that anybody that reads this will not think about me, but instead about God and the adventure he can lead you on in your own life. And as for a sacrifice, I promise you that it is easy to love these children. They are beautiful beyond description. I know that each and every one of you has many people in your lives that are much more difficult to love. Anyway, I will try and tell you about what is going on, but please don’t think me pompous or prideful, and know that I relate my stories to keep you informed because I know you love me and hope that maybe something I am doing might impact you and your relationship with our Creator.

This are some of the things Amazina has going on:

-400 kids are sponsored to go to school, receive medical care, receive school supplies, and attend the Saturday program where they have worship, Bible study, and are fed.

-They also feed 1000 kids daily at a school in one of the poorest areas of Jinja. These kids are mostly members of the Karamojong tribe.

As far as I know Renee’s program is similar to the second one. These kids are the poorest of the poor, yet they still have the determination to share a smile and a thank you when they receive their food. The children of the Lord are beautiful indeed.

I encourage any of you to support Renee and what she is doing, financially if you are able, and more importantly in your prayers. She is getting a video made for her upcoming trip back to the States and I will try and get a copy to share with you all. Here is a link to a previous one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PR-7xWFAec

Texas Hold'em Missionary Style

I’ve been here a while now and am getting the hang of things. I no longer need to be babysat, which is nice. I can get from here to there and am starting to feel comfortable. I will hopefully get my own place tomorrow which means furniture and actually feeling like I can unpack. I’m excited.

I ended up with eight boys in the program. To be honest that is fine with me. As any teacher knows, the smaller the class the easier to teach and make sure all students are progressing and learning the material. Originally I thought I was going to end up with twenty. It ended up being much smaller because we have restrictions on who can join. To be in the program they cannot be in school, must be 15-25 yrs old, speak English, and have some basic math skills.

The eight that I ended up with are amazing. I’m an idiot for doubting whether God would provide me with a group of boys that I can handle. There doesn’t seem to be a bad one in the bunch. I have started teaching from 10 till 12:30 each day. It doesn’t seem like much, but as a teacher I have only had to make 1 hour lesson plans that I can repeat. As we progress I assume that I will start extending the time and especially once we start building we will have longer days. Right now I’m getting a feel for their ability and knowledge. So far we have been practicing our measuring and math skills as well as some problem solving. I am excited to see how they are opening up. Throughout the entire process I hope to teach them to be men of God. I honestly don’t know their spiritual status, but I hope that I will be able to impact them in an eternal way. Please pray for me. Being a real man of God can be difficult in Uganda, just as it is in the States, but for different reasons.

One of the weirdest adaptations I’m making is that I am most valuable for my knowledge and not for my work ethic. Dad has done an amazing job in teaching me how to work. If there is one thing I have relied on most of my life, it is that I will outwork the other guy. It is a bit different here. Generally speaking I am wasting my time if I try to do manual labor. There are thousands of Ugandans that are able to do the same grunt work (often times better). So if I flew here to dig some holes I wasted a trip.

Aid and development projects are so different than I ever imagined. They do not need handouts or people to come here to hold babies or build structures. There is an insane unemployment rate here, which means there are tons of people just waiting around to get paid to do any of these things. From my limited time here, it seems that the best organizations are the ones that use locals to accomplish their goals. Obviously, I’m not an expert on any of this, but I am praying that more of the international community (including myself) will better understand the situation and provide educated support that will make lasting changes for the people.

Katie's kids and their monkey

Katie's children have been such a blessing to me. Although, at first I am kind of standoffish, I am deep down a really social being. It has been nice knowing that just a short walk away there are 13 children excited to see me. I have yet to meet their mother, but I know their Father and it is apparent that they are loved immensely by the joy and kindness they exude. Man, I love big families. Growing up I always loved my uncle Paul’s family. The diversity of personalities and how each individual brings different characteristics and blessings to the family as a whole is awesome. If I had the time I would love to describe how each of Katie’s kids has made me laugh or brightened my day. Since I do not, I will just say that they are all awesome. I sat here thinking about the previous sentence for about 10 minutes trying to decide how to sum them up. It can’t be done. So you are left with just the word awesome. Sorry.

Hope you all are doing well. I am praying for you all. Getting away from America’s distractions has allowed me more time with God which means that he is hearing more and more about each of you. I hope you don’t mind.

I forgot a couple of other things. I got roasted on Saturday at the program. I somehow was assigned to dish out rice to the three to four hundred kids and happened to not be in the shade. It was great fun, but I ended up with the ultimate farmer’s tan sunburn. I need to get used to the sun sometime, I guess.

I also won 14,000 shillings in the local missionary Texas Hold‘em game. Hah. Seriously. On Saturday night four local missionaries, Tyler, and myself got together to play some cards. It was lots of fun and good fellowship (I can’t believe I just used the word fellowship). Unfortunately 2,000 shillings = 1 dollar so I only won 7 dollars, but hey, I felt it was a good first showing.

Meeting My Crew

I met some of the boys I will be teaching and working with today. Holy buckets it is going to be interesting. I don’t know much about their knowledge level yet or how quickly they will learn, but just overcoming some of the cultural stuff is going to be hard. Here if you are an employee and you question your boss you are fired. You especially don’t question a white boss. Also, you reply “yes” when asked if you understand no matter if you do or you don’t, to save face. Both of these things will make it difficult to judge their learning and understanding. Also, they are very timid. I mean insanely timid. I’m not sure if it is the boss issue or the white issue, but they won’t look me in the eye and almost never talk. This should be fun!

I am so thankful to be doing the Lord’s work. I can imagine how concerned I might be about progress and my success in this project if I were doing it for the organization or for myself. Luckily, I am doing it for the Lord so He is in charge. I will research and plan, work hard, and lean heavily on Him. May I be pleasing in His sight.

The food here rocks. As many of you know, I am not a super big fan of traditional American food. The great part about that fact is that the area that they struggle with here is American food. I’m not sure about the history behind it, but there is a huge Indian influence here. This means there is tons of quality Indian food. Hooray!!! There is also one Chinese restaurant which is great and a superb Thai place. Eat your hearts out Brian and Lisa. I have also tried the street vendor food and some grasshopers from the market, both of which were surprisingly good. I actually plan on seeking out both in the future. The traditional staples are rice, beans, and posho (which is maize flour cooked into a porridge or dough-like consistency). I have yet to have posho, but the beans and rice are just what you would expect.

Thanks everyone for the prayers. I know everyone says that, but I honestly want to let you know I think about it often and it is reassuring that many of my friends and family are speaking to our mighty Lord on my behalf.

My Summer in Uganda

I’m sitting in a room barren of furniture except for a three inch piece of foam that is considered to be a mattress. I have my mosquito net rigged up in a ridiculous fashion due to the concrete walls and almost no tie off points. But I am in Uganda!

Things are great. I arrived and Tyler, my only contact, was thankfully ready and waiting for me at the airport. After several days of interaction I have come to realize that Amizima has a gem in this man. He is brilliant and great at what he does. He has training in international business and a background in NPO’s (non-profit organizations). His most notable asset is his incredible ability to make contacts. He seems to know everyone. Even better, everyone wants to know him. At nights and on weekends he does some work for an investment company back in the States. He connects local businessmen that want to start companies with American investors. I don’t fully understand all of it, but it certainly helps his work here. He is also very discerning in how to help people. He works very hard at enabling the people to help themselves.

His connections will be such a blessing in my project. He has hooked me up with many people with great insights and the support system that he has put in place will be immeasurably helpful. Tonight I ate dinner with a young guy working with an NPO of engineers who has overseen several construction projects. He gave me many valuable pointers on dealing with the local workers and is actually recommending one of his foremen for us to hire.

When I arrived we drove 3 hours through Kampala to Jinja where I will be working. I was put up at a local hotel that was nothing like Americans would imagine. The “rooms” were self-contained hut-like dwellings. It is kind of resort-y, at least by Ugandan standards. Within 10 minutes of him dropping me off the electricity was out. I had not unpacked a thing and spent a good amount of time figuring out where I had put the flashlight and batteries.

I spent three nights in this hotel and worked on getting over my jet lag. I also got insane amounts of info on local culture, Amazima’s inner workings, and just about everything you can imagine from Tyler. I’m not sure how much of it was retained, but it was all appreciated.

On a side note, I don’t believe air conditioning exists in Uganda. Not that I expected to have it, but I expected somebody to.

We looked at houses and I found an amazing place right on Lake Victoria. Unfortunately the people are not moving out until the 25th. I decided it is worth the wait. So right now I’m staying with a young couple from Philly. They have a five bedroom place and actually have 3 other people staying in the other three extra bedrooms. I would tell you about them, but two of them are out of town and I have not met them and one of them just got here today so I don’t know much about her. The couple, on the other hand, is very nice and I am extremely thankful to have a room until my place becomes available.

I was able to go to the Saturday activities that Amazima puts on. Amazima sponsors 400+ kids and on Saturdays they come to an Amazima-owned site (it is actually the same place where I will be building the playground) and get a good nutritious meal, bible study, and some food to take home for the rest of the week. They also have a worship session. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed. This is not an exaggeration. I struggled, behind my big yellow sun glasses, not to cry and hoped nobody noticed.

I was also able to meet Katie’s girls. They are all so sweet. I look forward to getting to know them, although I know learning all their names will take some work. I was able to get to know Jane and Gracie who are the 2 youngest ones here in Uganda. (The youngest daughter, Patricia, went back to the States with Katie.) They both spent about an hour and a half sitting on my lap and climbing all over me. By the way, Jane looks much better than me in my sunglasses. I will hopefully get a picture up of it. It was interesting seeing how well prepared I was for Katie’s house. To be honest, growing up I never felt like I was very good around kids. This past year I was blessed by spending many evenings with Brian and Lisa’s kids. Isaiah, Abra, Elia, Hana, and Em I want to thank you for how much you have taught me. Even the short amount of time I’ve spent with Elisha and Judah has helped. Although I can’t imagine anybody feeling uncomfortable around those two. In all seriousness I thank the Lord for making me an uncle of such amazing kids to prepare me for the interactions with all the children that I will have over this coming summer.

(I need to come up with some catchy sign off like anchormen have)

Good night from all of us here in Uganda, and a special goodnight to any random people who happen to stumble upon my blog.

Bradley Raymond