It's been 2 weeks now and the sickness is finally coming. As I sit here, I am coughing uncontrollably but overall, I feel pretty good. My cough is nothing serious, in fact, I am one of the lucky ones. Along with some minor stomach issues and exhaustion, I am doing quite well. Sam has been fine the entire time and makes me mad because he sleeps like a bear in hibernation every night. About an hour ago, however, he drew first blood by kicking a concrete wall by accident and smashed his toenail. No big D, he'll tough it out.
So the team leaves in 4 days, which means Sam and I have 4 days to figure out what the heck we are going to do for the next 3 weeks. So far, we have no plans. Does this worry me? Yes actually, but don't tell Sam. Kyle is joining us on Saturday which will add a whole new element to the trip. I am very excited for him to come. There are so many thing we could do. We figured out that we could rent motorcycles for about $5 a day. Next stop, Kenya!
Here is a quick rundown of some of what we have been doing the past week or so.
We moved from our guest house last week and came to Word of Life out in the countryside. There is an elementary school on the premises which gives us entertainment at recess watching 7 year old's playing soccer the way we Canadians can only dream of.
Every day we take a small bus through the city to a different destination. We have visited 4 orphanages so far, ranging from highly funded and staffed to terribly understaffed and overcrowded with minimal supplies. Many of the children we meet do not even have shoes, maybe a pair of tattered flip-flops that are barely attached to their feet. Yet when we play them in soccer, they still manage to whip us good.
We went to a church last Sunday where we met Erica and Daniel, the Pastor and his wife. We learned that Daniel had been out on the street since about the age of 8 and had worked his way through school. He met Erica while working with an organization helping Rwandan refugees during the genocide. Erica as a young child had watched her mother be impaled by raiders in her village. She hid in a bush and was alone in the forest for 3 days, neither eating or drinking. Out of about 100 or so of her family and extended family, only her and one of her sisters survived the genocide. Now she has committed her life to taking care of orphans. They run a small orphanage with 16 children in a small 3 bedroom house. Our team had the privilege to give them a generous donation.
This week we learned that Godfrey, the maintenance guy here at Word of Life, has a son who was admitted to the hospital. He ended up having to get a spinal tap and at one point was not expected to make it. He pulled through but then the next obstacle for Godfrey was the hospital bill. If he managed to get enough money to pay for it, his family would not eat. As a team we have paid for it.
We have done plenty of slashing here around the grounds. Slashing for those who do not know is what they call cutting the grass. You may have seen it on tv or in movies. We use long machetes with a bent end, similar to a pitching wedge to slash the grass down.
We were supposed to be at a childrens home today painting 3 of their buildings but because of 6 out of 10 people feeling under the weather, we have decided to take a bit of a day off to recuperate.
I saw a biker gang a few days ago. I wish we had our video camera out, it was a sight to behold. There were old bikes, new bikes, sport bikes, harley-type bikes, all with riders wearing their best attempt at a leather jacket. Some had leather jackets with shorts and running shoes, leather jacket with flip flops. There were about 3o of them just cruising through town.
One thing I have been struck by on this trip is the difference between the poor here and the poor of other places. We can walk through an area of people who have absolutely nothing in the way of materials or money and they will smile and wave at us with a genuine joy to see us. The children just want to see us because we're white. They do not ask for anything. It is just a privilege to hang out with them. This can be terribly mind boggling as we reflect on our way of life back home. We have everything and we have a hard time being happy and content. They have nothing and genuinely love life. We have everything and suicide rates are skyrocketing. They have nothing and suicide is unheard of. It makes one feel blessed to ONLY have a head cold, or a bit of a sunburn.
We visited the only Baha'i temple in Africa the other day. It was interesting to say the least. It is a large, beautiful structure with amazing gardens, perched on top of a tall hill overlooking Kampala. Although, I have many more thoughts on this topic, i will choose to end it here.
We went to Dwelling Places, a home for street children two days ago. Our guide, Dina, we learned had been rescued by this organization at the age of 8 after being kicked out of her father's house. Her story of survival is incredible. She has come a long way, graduated high-school and is now trying to figure out how she can possibly go to university. She plans to study human resources so she can work with street children and rehabilitation. For her, the cost of tuition and housing is just too high. She volunteers at Dwelling Places and cannot find a job. Our team is praying about sponsoring her to go to school. We feel it would be a tremendous investment in someone with such a huge heart as Dina. She has the potential to effect many childrens' lives.
Anyway, I should get going, this is getting long.
Sorry there are no photos, our internet is very slow and only available every couple of days.
There is much more going on and I can't wait to tell some of our stories but this will have to suffice for now.
Hope all is well.
Cheers.
Adam
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