Spring Happenings

For the last week and a half I’ve been visiting Mombasa and Action Ministry Know Think Act’s other ministry partner that works in a leper community. I’ve been staying with the Sasser family, Know Think Act’s international coordinators who live and work in Mombasa with Action Ministry. It has been a great opportunity to take some time off and relax, as well as spend some time getting to know Action Ministry. While I’m having a great time in Kenya enjoying the beach and the seafood, I would love to share with you some of what has been going on with me in Kaihura for the last month or so.

I have been spending a lot of time working in the Village Art Café helping them improve their customer service, and consistency with their products. It’s been nice to get involved in a new project and it will be great to see the café improve and become more profitable! Who knew so many years of working in a restaurant would become useful in Uganda?

A lot has been going on at the baby house at Home Again. Baby Gladys has been sick, and had to be taken to the hospital, she was having some trouble gaining weight, but the doctors prescribed her a special formula, and she appears to be slowly recovering. Even more recently the population at the baby house increased by three, a few days before I left for Kenya, Faith, myself, and a few others were called on to pick up three triplets whose mother had died during childbirth. So Eve, Eleanor, and Esther are the newest, littlest, members of Home Again. 

Some of you may have heard Everest’s story, but for those that haven’t: Everest was found in his home in terrible condition, he is paralyzed from the chest down, but his legs had been left in terrible condition, with open wounds that rats were eating on during the night. Everest was brought to the clinic where his legs were cleaned and treated. As he continued to heal Everest stayed in Kaihura, and began to help with basket making for the Village Art craft shop, he loves to do craft work and his products are beautiful. Recently Everest went to Kampala to a school that helps paraplegics learn to live more independently, and while he was in the city he was also fitted for a wheelchair that will help with his previously, very limited mobility. I got a call from Faith last week saying that Everest was coming home, so I am very excited to see him in his new wheel chair when I get back to Kaihura.

This next week is my last in Kenya, and I’ll make it back to Kaihura just in time to spend Easter with friends there. Coming back into Uganda will be the last time I have to renew my visa, which is a bittersweet thought. Even so I am very excited to see what God is going to do my last three months in Uganda, and will continue to do as a return to America. I want to thank you all for your continued love and support for me, while I am living and working in East Africa, it is very much felt and appreciated. 

Getting to Know Action Ministry!

A few days ago Katie, Chris and I visited Blessed Camp for their weekly planning meeting with some of the Action Ministry staff. It was great to get to know their staff and hear their vision for Action Ministry.

Right now Action Ministry consists of Action Church, Action Clinic, and Action School that teaches 1^st through 3^rd grade. Action Ministry was formed to minister to the community of leprosy victims that live in an area south of Mombasa. It is so encouraging to see how much the Action Ministry staff has done for this community, and how invested they are in bringing the love of God to those who suffer from leprosy, when much of the rest of the world had written them off.

It was super exciting to hear what future plans there are for Action Ministry, from income generating projects to leadership development classes, I’m so excited to see what God has in store for Blessed Camp and Action Ministry! Who knows exactly what the future has in store for Action Ministry, but whatever it is I am so glad to be partnering with a ministry who loves God, loves people, and is committed to making a difference in the lives of those around them.

A Week in Mombassa

A week ago armed with my passport and a ripped duffle bag, I hopped on a plane and headed over to Mombassa Kenya to spend some time hanging out with the awesome Sasser family, and visit Action Ministry Know Think Act's other ministry partner.

Thus far it has been a great trip! Mombassa is a coastal city, and the Sassers live right on the Indian Ocean, so there has been lots of swimming, and floating around in the very warm waters. I couldn't have wished for better company to enjoy the beautiful scenery with, Chris and Katie Sasser and their boys are super laid back, easy to talk to, and just fun to be around. I am so thankful for the amazing people God has put in my life during my time in Africa. 

One of the cool things about this area are the Massai that you can see walking around in town, or on the beach. On Sunday we were at a restaurant where we got to see some traditional Massai dancing, while I felt pretty touristy, it was awesome to be able to see something so completely different from anything else I've ever seen, and something that I know can only be seen in this area of Africa.

Tomorrow we are going to visit Blessed Camp, the leper colony that Action Ministry works with, bringing education, medical care, and God's love to people who society had labeled as outcasts. I'm super excited to see all that has been done at Blessed Camp, and see how God is changing lives in that community! 

Market Day!

A few weeks ago I was in a little bit of a slump, so in attempt to unslump myself I took the day off and had a proper market day! A market day was just what I needed to boost my spirits. In case you have never been to a market in Uganda I try my best to give you an accurate picture of what a day of retail therapy looks like for me.

Well my day started off pretty well because I woke up in my newly cleaned room. My room had seriously gotten out of control, this probably won’t come as a surprise to most of you, but I’m kind of messy. But on day my room was in a downward spiral of disgusting. However, after finding ants in my bed, I had had enough! I spent all morning cleaning, and now my room is sparkle clean, and will (hopefully) remain clean. So when I woke up to a clean room, it just started my day off right.

The market, my friends and I had decided to go to was outside of Fort Portal so that meant we had to get a taxi to take us the 40 km into Fort Portal. Usually taxis are crowded and hot and slow, but miracle of miracles we were able to hail down a private car (with leather seats!) and rode peacefully, and speedily into Fort Portal. I really cannot emphasize how awesome this ride in was, often when I get in someone’s car for a ride there then ensues some serious creeping, persistent (unwanted) flirting, and even a marriage proposal, which are made even more awkward because you are usually stuck alone in a car with this person for 45 min to an hour. The guy that gave us a ride in yesterday, is apparently one of the few not creepy Ugandan guys, and did not bother us at all!

Okay, back to the market. We went to a market that is a little further away from our normal market, and it was well worth the extra travel time.

This market was huge and a decent amount cheaper than our normal market. Maybe I should back up and describe the markets here: a giant conglomeration of stalls and tarps with piles of things on them, selling clothes, shoes, veggies, cookware, bags, fruits, etc. Usually filled with hundreds of people buying and selling things, and always trying to rip white people off.

Even though everyone will try to charge you a ridiculous amount of money for what they are selling, just because you’re white, I still usually come away with some pretty good deals, like yesterday I bought a dress that was originally from H&M for $1.20! Although I bought a couple of new clothing items yesterday, what I was really happy about was all of the fruits and veggies. I never really realized how lucky I was in America to have access to basically any fruit or vegetable I could ever want. In Uganda, that is not the case. In Kaihura your options are tomatoes, onions, sometimes carrots, sometimes, potatoes, sometimes, eggplant, sometimes avocado, sometimes peppers, and on the rare occasion cauliflower. Fruits are usually just pick from someone tree and given to you. Of late the veggie selection in Kaihura has been dismal, like only onions and tomatoes. While I love both of these foods, there is only so much you can cook with just the two of them. Yesterday at the market though we were able to buy carrots, peas, garlic, avocado, mangos, and passion fruit (there were also a ton of other produce options, but those were the ones we needed).

Basically yesterday was just a great break from everyday life, I got out of my slump, we made samosas for dinner last night with some of our veggies, and I've got a new dress. An all around win!