Just as quickly, you are greeted by the smells of Uganda. The diesel fumes flooded our vans, raw sewage and trash piles ran down the ditches on either side of neighborhood streets,fish dry in nets to be sold for a daily salary, body odor from the constant crush of people(personal hygiene a constant battle with dirt floors in their homes and dirt roads slinging mud or dust depending on the season; and washing themselves
and their clothes in the polluted waters of Lake Victoria),
and foods cooking on almost every porch or at street vendors everywhere constantly bombarded systems.
Goats and chickens are left to roam at will in order to feed on whatever they could find which also meant they would leave their droppings at will also.The mixture of smells was completely overwhelming.
One smell, however, I didn’t miss from the US was cigarette smoke.The people of Uganda don’t smoke.Whether it is from lack of money to buy them or the desire to use all available space to grow foods to eat rather than grow tobacco, it was a welcome change.
Africa is a country which is best experienced with all five of our senses.Immediately upon landing in the country you are bombarded by the differences.The many sights, smells, sounds, tastes and feelings of Uganda were overwhelming to our systems. Never mind the fact that we had been in the air for 17 1/2 hours and in several different airports another 6 1/2 hours waiting for those flights.
You see the differences in just about everything around you; the color of skin, the crowdedness,
the abject poverty,
bicycles used not for exercise but as a primary means of transportation or transport of goods to
market or home again; the beautiful flowers juxtaposed against the mud and thatch roof huts or corrugated tin homes,
the traffic which seems to come at you from every direction with no rules whatsoever; or military with guns on almost every street corner.
Large, modern buildings were placed amidst the poverty of very small shops which doubled as their homes.Even after two weeks we were not surprised to see something completely new to us.
Over the next few days I will be sharing with you some of my thoughts on our trip to Uganda. The exercise of processing it all will, I'm sure, go on for months but I didn't want to wait to begin putting it down in black and white. I can tell you that the experience has changed me. Just how much I am changed remains to be seen. I hope never to go back to the whine-y, selfish, self-absorbed person I was. I hope to continue along the path I've started to make at least a small difference in the lives of the people I encounter along the way.
"Overwhelmed" is the word which frequently comes to mind as I prepare for this Ugandan adventure. I'm not at all nervous or apprehensive about the trip itself. I'm overwhelmed with the generosity of God's provision through our friends from across the years of our lives. I am overwhelmed with the burden of how I am going to be a blessing to these Ugandan people. I am overwhelmed by the privilege of being used by our wonderful God to be His arms and legs, His hands and feet, His eyes and ears. I am overwhelmingly humbled by His call.
I feel like a kid at Christmas. I am about to burst with excitement. I am already nearly completely packed and let me tell you that NEVER happens with me. I'm the one usually scrambling around throwing things in the suitcase the morning we leave. I have all 60 tote bags(see last post) completed and ready to be packed tomorrow night with all the other gifts we are taking with us. It just can't get here soon enough.
I guess you could say I'm overwhelmed with excitement!
We leave for Uganda in 12 days. We are so excited we can hardly function. It's a good thing we have about finished up all of our preparations!
One of the things we know we will be doing while there is making home visits on behalf of the TAPP centers in Kampala. TAPP stands for Tumaimi (Ugandan for hope) AIDs Prevention Program. These centers reach out to those who are suffering with the HIV/Aids Virus. We will be taking toiletry items along with us as gifts for these home visits. These items were placed in gallon size ziploc bags last time the group from our church went. So, being a quilter, I decided to use up some of my stash to make tote bags to gift the items in. Also, in my stash are several panels from Block Party Studios that contain scriptures and phrases of scriptures from Psalms called Comfort of Psalms. I sewed one of these saying on the front of each tote bag. I am pleased with the way they turned out(not the photography though) and am excited to use these items to share my love with these women.
We are so blessed here in the US. We take so much for granted. This little project is nothing and will do nothing physically to change these women's lives. I can only hope it will be a reminder after we leave that they are loved by a God who connects us all through the love of Jesus Christ.
Can I just tell you that most days I absolutely love living in the midwest. Today, August 30th, the temperatures here are in the 60's. We are supposed to have a high of 69 degrees. It is too cool here for shorts. I spent the firsts 45 years of my live in Texas and NEVER did we have a day in August that didn't require shorts, tank top and flip flops. NEVER!! This is wonderful!!!
You may have noticed that I changed my profile picture. The one I've been using is four or five year old. As a fund raiser for our Uganda trip, we took and sold photos at our church. My only complaint with these pictures is that my sons weren't here to be included.
But then you already know that about me, don't you. I have told you before that I love to travel but this next trip I'm taking comes from a burning down deep in my heart. Something many of you may not know about me is that I have a bachelor's degree in Christian Missions from East Texas Baptist University. As long as I can remember, I've always had a special place in my heart for missions and missionaries. Yes, it's every parents nightmare...their daughter going to Africa as a missionary. I, however, am taking my daughter along with me on this adventure.
Our church has partnered with a missionary family in Uganda, Africa for the next few years. We will be the second group to travel to Uganda through this partnership to help them. There are 14 of us, as it stands now, that will be leaving September 13th for two weeks of service. I will share more detail in the days ahead. Please pray for Hannah and I as we prepare for this great mission adventure.
Thanks for stopping by!
P.S. The image of the African continent is borrowed from a google search.
Well, I'm back from my unscheduled blogging break. Where did the summer go? It seems as though we just celebrated graduation and now it's August. We have had so much going on around here and I've had so much to share that I find myself completely overwhelmed by it all. So, I just didn't post. So, where it start?????
I guess we should start by saying that our sweet daughter and Rudy finished up their schooling. Yes, it was a 6 week course. I know you didn't get any updates either. Just suffice it to say, they are both very different now. Our girl has had a taste of independence and found it much to her liking. Our Rudy is now a well-behaved (well -- almost!!!) puppy. He has learned so much and seems somewhat lost now that he doesn't have a full scheduled routine anymore. And, just like a kid who finds himself in a new setting he's trying all the limits and failing. His "mama" is a strict one and doesn't let him get away with anything. Aren't they cute??
After dropping them off at school, hubby and I jumped on a plane for Wyoming. It was some of the most amazing scenery. I took hundreds of pictures and would love to bore you with them all but I'll just post a few. I know you're saying, "Whew, dodged that bullet!!".
These are the Grand Tetons taken with my phone. I just couldn't get over how beautiful the snow-capped mountains were.
These three are of Wind River Canyon just out of Thermopolis. It is an Indian Reservation and just pristine and gorgeous.
I have loads more news and pictures to share. But this one was just to get my blogging feet wet again and not overly bore you!! Thanks for stopping by!!
fish dry in nets to be sold for a daily salary, body odor from the constant crush of people(personal hygiene a constant battle with dirt floors in their homes and dirt roads slinging mud or dust depending on the season; and washing themselves
and foods cooking on almost every porch or at street vendors everywhere constantly bombarded systems.
Goats and chickens are left to roam at will in order to feed on whatever they could find which also meant they would leave their droppings at will also. The mixture of smells was completely overwhelming. 
One smell, however, I didn’t miss from the 
