Soft Power

4/23/10 12:40PM
Uganda; day 115

We are at the end of another week, which brings us one week closer to the teams arrival! Yesterday Kurt and I volunteered with an organization called Soft Power. We heard about them about a week ago and it seemed like a good use of our time. They have a program where you can volunteer anywhere from one day to three months. After touring one of their preschools and their education center I have to say it’s the most organized thing I’ve seen in Uganda. They originated out of England about 10 years ago so they’ve had some time to get things together but I was impressed non the less with everything they are doing. They have multiple projects, they have two preschools, an education center where they offer training for local trades, computers, agriculture and various other things. They also work with 45 primary schools (middle school) they rotate the students through the education center for their special training, and they also refurbish, or if necessary add to the buildings, as well as keep up the maintenance on them. And they do community work teaching family planning, conservation, hygiene and health classes. Needless to say it’s a huge project. They have quite a few universities that participate in their volunteer program and it appears that’s where most of the funds come from, as each volunteer is asked to make a donation to help cover the cost of the work they’ll be doing and they have about 1,000 volunteers a year. So after we toured the facilities we spent a few hours at one of the schools they work with in Bugembe painting a classroom. We got a good tip for making a mud stove for the home that will cut the firewood usage down about 75%. So it made for an interesting day, and a good learning experience.

-Brandi

4/15/10 11:00AM
Uganda; day 107

Well our time since returning from Kenya has been pretty uneventful. We’re back to our daily routines that don’t ever seem to change much here. There are times when I enjoy having free time, and times when I crave the busy life of being home. Once we’re back home I’ll have to find some middle ground between the two.

It feels like we have a very short amount of time left here. It keeps coming up as we try to make different plans that we won’t be around much longer. One of the things about Uganda that you have to get used to pretty quickly is that nothing happens on time here. Now that we’re leaving I think people are starting to realize if we don’t get it done very soon they’re going to be on their own, which seems to have motivated some action from them, though still not enough to keep us very busy.

Our next adventure here will be white water rafting grade five rapids on the River Nile. Kurt and I went white water rafting together years ago on the Kern River in California, it was a lot of fun, but I was hoping for something a little more exciting. Well, I don’t think it gets much more exciting then grade five rapids on the Nile so I’m totally looking forward to this little adventure before we leave.

The team from Cal Baptist University will be arriving in less than three weeks, I love working with teams. I’m really looking forward to being able to do that for our last three weeks here. We will certainly be busier then we are now when the team arrives, which will be nice.



-Brandi

Back from Kenya

4/3/10 10:40
Uganda; day 95

We’re back in Uganda. The trip to Kenya was one of the best trips we’ve ever had. Meeting Paul and his family turned into a whole cultural experience because his family is Maasai, so they live in a Maasai village. We went to the Compassion project center first and were welcomed by all the staff, some of the kids, and a very shy Paul. We spent some time there touring the small compound, talking to the staff and hearing what they do, and looking through Paul’s folder. It was really cool to see his church, and school, and get a feel for what he does during the day. Once we were done at the project we went to his home, where we were welcomed by many Maasai people singing and doing their Maasai dance, they escorted us into the families small home where we got to meet the rest of Paul’s family, and exchange some gifts. They gave Kurt and I Maasai bead necklaces. We gave them the gifts we brought for the whole family, and then I gave Paul his soccer ball, after that he didn’t seem to care much what else we had for him. He held onto it for the rest of the time we were there. After spending some time in their home talking to the family they took us outside to show us the animals that Paul has because of the special gift money we were able to send to them. He has a heifer that he named Moosa and five sheep. The Maasai measure wealth by how many cows they have, so that Paul already has his first cow at six is pretty cool. After seeing the animals we headed back to the project center and had lunch, and then it was time to say our goodbyes. After thanking everyone and giving Paul a hug we got back in the car and started our 4-5 hour trip back to Kisii. We found out we were the first sponsors they’ve had visit that project, I hope that they continue to welcome people like they did us, because it was an unforgettable experience.

The next day our safari adventures began. Edwin, our driver picked us up at 7:30 in the morning to start our trip to Maasai Mara. We ended up going on the same very bad, long dirt road we’d taken to Paul’s home, just a little past his village is the west side of the Mara. We entered the Mara there and drove across it for a couple hours to get to our camp. It was an awesome drive, we saw so many animals right away, including a whole family of lions with nine cubs walking around. Edwin couldn’t believe it, he said it’s not unusual to see one or two lions but to see all of them together in the open is very rare.

Our camp was basic but nice. It didn’t have any of the luxuries of the larger lodges, or luxury camps, but we had warm showers and flush toilets, and the food was really good. We got to the Mara on Wednesday and left on Friday. We had so much fun watching all the animals, and the only ones we missed seeing were Rhinos and Leopards. We even saw a cheetah, which is also rare. On Friday we started our trip back home at 6:30, it had rained the night before which didn’t seem to be a problem until we got to one of the small rivers on the Mara that had flooded the road. We sat there for a few minutes while Edwin talked to another driver and then a park ranger, I figured he was probably asking how to go to get around it. After he was done talking he looked back and said “there is no other way” I thought for sure that meant we were going back to the camp and would miss our bus home but just as I came to that conclusion he said “do you want to try it?” I didn’t even think that was an option, but it’s his van, if he’s ok with it I’m all for it. So with everyone watching us, cameras ready we went for it. The water came almost all the way to the window on the van, and once we were in the middle it seemed even more impossible then it had from the road but the van just kept right on going and we made it out. Everyone got really excited, including the people from the other side watching us, I’d love to have the pictures they took. We were almost out of the Mara when we passed another safari group and they pointed at the grill on the van with very confused expressions, turned out to be a casualty from the river crossing, we hit a catfish. Out of all the possible animals you could hit on a safari, a catfish would be the furthest from my mind.
After we left the Mara we were back on the horrible dirt road, which was now a mud road. After some pushing, making new roads, and praying we finally emerged onto pavement 2-3 hours later. All of the problems only added to the adventure of the trip. I loved the Mara, the land is beautiful, the animals are awesome, and I hope we get to go again sometime.

-Brandi

Off to Kenya!

3/29/10 10:15AM
Uganda; day 90

Yesterday was a great day! We went to church in the morning and afterwards we headed to a place called Jinja on the Nile with some new missionary friends we met at church. It’s a little resort overlooking the Nile, once you walk through the doors it’s hard to remember you’re still in Uganda. We had a good lunch, and got to hang out with a lot of great people. Just hanging out, playing games and talking is probably the thing I miss most about home so I really enjoyed getting to do that yesterday. We also got to hear a lot of things that people are working on in the area, some of which sound pretty intense. We’re hoping to have a chance to check out the work their doing here when we get back from Kenya.

Today is the day! We leave in a few hours for Kisii Kenya, by this time tomorrow I’ll be talking to Paul and his family. This is going to be such a great experience!

-Brandi

3/25/10 11:00AM
Uganda; day 86

The past week has been a good one, the Wednesday night bible study did turn out to be a good, we went again last night. It’s really cool how much information you can get out of a seemingly simple verse.

This week we’ve been able to start gathering information on how the home can become more self sustainable. It’s one of the goals of Raining Hope to help the people here become less dependent on the states. I got some good information on some local crafts they can make at very little cost, and even found out they will train them how for free. So that was pretty cool, we’ll continue looking for other things they can do while we’re here.

I’ve learned a lot about the children and their families that I didn’t know this week. I’ve been updating their profiles, so I’ve been asking them a lot of questions about their backgrounds, most of them have 6 or more siblings that live in other places. It’s sad to see families split up so much.

I’ve also been getting ready for our trip to Kenya this week, we leave on Monday. I can’t believe how hard it is to find simple toys, coloring books, or story books here. We went all over town without much luck, but I was able to find a few things. Thankfully Paul’s favorite game is soccer, and there are plenty of soccer balls here. I’m so excited that the trip is just a few days away now.

The first school term is coming to an end the second week of April. When the term ends most of the children leave to spend their holiday with families, or guardians. I was surprised to hear the term was ending so soon, it seems like it just started. So the home will be very quite for their 4 week break. The next team from California should be arriving about the same time they get back. Which is another thing to look forward to!

-Brandi

3/17/10 12:07PM
Uganda; day 78

We’ve crossed the halfway point, we only have ten weeks left in Uganda. That’s not very long at all really. The first half of the trip was full of getting used to a new country, and learning a new culture, which I’ve enjoyed doing. Now that all of that is out of the way, I’m curious what the next ten weeks will be like. We have our trip to Kenya in less then two weeks, I’m sure it’s going to be awesome on so many different levels.

I cut Kurt’s hair yesterday, if it hadn’t looked so bad to begin with that would have been a scary thought. But we both agreed even though I had no experience cutting hair it couldn’t look any worse. We were right, it looks much better, not perfect by any means, but better.

We’re going to a bible study at Calvary Chapel tonight, it’s supposed to be a really good in-depth study. We’ve avoided going to town at night ever since our first encounter with it, which was a little unnerving. But now that we’re more comfortable with our surroundings, and the people in them, we’ve decided to venture out more

Unfortunately the situation at the home has only gotten worse in the past week or so. Three schools that the children attend have sent them home because we have no money to pay the school fees. Things just seem to keep getting more behind with every week. We did receive money this week, it was just enough to get beans and firewood, which is a relief.

-Brandi

3/8/10 12:50PM
Uganda; day 69

We woke up last night to the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard, it’s been raining off and on ever since. We went to town this morning anxious to get answers on some things from the states, but still no word. Almost everything was closed for a holiday. I guess it’s national women’s day today. After battling the muddy road to get back to the home we’ve decided to remain indoors for the day.

The needs of the home seem to get more desperate everyday. They’re almost out of food, the firewood (for cooking) is almost gone, and five of the children have malaria now. I feel badly for the foster father here, he has so much on his shoulders right now. I can do nothing but pray, and try to encourage people here that God will provide. I know He will, it is just a matter of time. That brings me to prayer points, for all of you wonderful people that have been keeping all of us in your prayers here are some things to focus on.

-Shadrach (the foster father) pray that his faith will remain strong, and that God will take the burden off of him, and give him peace.

-Pray that the children that are sick will be healed quickly, and that the rest will remain healthy.

-Pray that God will use Kurt and I to encourage, and bring the focus back to him at all times.

-Brandi