Signs

Signs and billboards are everywhere, no matter what country or continent you live in. I've started noticing the signs around me and one day a song from way back called "Signs" by a group known as The Five Man Electrical Band, started reverberating in my head. The lyrics are actually quite interesting. Here's the chorus so you can sing along as you read :-)

Sign, sign
Everywhere a sign.
Blockin' out the scenery,
Breakin' my mind.
Do this, don't do that.
Can't you read the sign?  







This sign speaks for itself. He's a popular person here. Enough said.







Now this sign is an interesting one. Mukwano is the name of one of Uganda's largest and wealthiest companies. Their interests are diversified in the areas of real estate, cargo, agriculture and manufacturing.
I am most familiar with the latter as I buy their water, cooking oil and margarine products.

Recently I heard how they got the name,"Mukwano".  I don't know if this is accurate but it's a nice story so I like to think it is.

The man who first started the company was Chinese and during Idi Amin's time he was vulnerable in society and was hidden from danger  by local friends. He was very thankful for that friendship.

Since there is a considerable population who have a more Arabic background, manufacturers are catering to their needs.

This one makes me smile as I can't imagine a billboard suggesting modesty to American or Australian billboard viewers.

There's food for thought here.

This billboard has appeared all over town. If you watched the London Olympics last August, you may remember that Uganda won it's first gold medal in history. Stephen Kiprotich, brought home the honors in the men's marathon.

Someone from the advertising division of  "Mukwano" who produces Aqua Sipi water, very cleverly came up with a way to draw attention to their product.

Uganda is proud of you Stephen.

Not to be left out, Mrs. Kiprotich, is featured here with her husband on the cover of a magazine.

His huge achievement has definitely changed their lives
and is an inspiration to Ugandan youth.

It's good to be able to celebrate good clean victories when doping is so much a part of the sporting world.
















This sign cracks me up. Baroda, is the name of a banking institution. Their slogan, as you can see is "Banking with Passion."

There are a lot of things I do with passion, but banking is not one of them.

This sign really got my attention. Obviously it's a huge problem, not just here in Uganda, but all over the continent of Africa and the world.


Uganda's First Lady has been honored with awards by the Aids Foundation. She began her tireless effort and campaigns in the 1990s to promote awareness and educate the population about HIV/AIDS. 





I am wondering what signs are grabbing your attention as you drive along? I have also been thinking about what the Bible has to say about signs. Matthew chapter 24 has a lot to tell us about signs. I hope you are reading and watching the signs of the times.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign.....

What do you see?

Do you ever look around you, I mean really look? What is it that you see? Today as I was driving to the store I asked God to show me what he sees when he looks down here on Kampala.

Shortly after I asked God, the city skyline came into view. I thought well... it looks modern enough and fairly impressive from a distance but what about all the corruption and greed in government, the lack of concern for the poor ?

What can I do?

All along the way I see people carrying or pushing heavy loads.

Sometimes it's women with huge baskets or bundles on top of their heads and then there is always a man with a bicycle loaded down with bananas, coal, timber or crates full of bottles. It's so heavy he can barely push it.

Life is hard and everyone has to do whatever it takes to make some money to live.

How can I help?

Inevitably I will come across street children, disabled men in wheelchairs in the middle of traffic and young mothers carrying lethargic babies on their backs.

All of them will be begging for food and money. It haunts me. Today two young mothers came beside my car. I offered some lame sugar cookies and a bottle of water. I watched them in my rear view mirror as they moved on to the cars behind me.

I started to cry, "Oh God, do you see that? It breaks my heart, I know it breaks yours."

How do I respond to what I see?

Matthew 9:36 says "When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

Today I'll pray for the Shepherd to have mercy on all I see and that somehow they can know the HOPE of a better future through Christ.

The battle rages on.

Today I could take it no more. 1pm is the time for afternoon prayers and on Fridays there is more than just a call to prayer. It involves a whole message. I stood and listened at my window to the lies and decided I needed to go and see exactly where the message was coming from. I have been hearing this for months and have never really determined the location, except that it's very close.
 I quickly put on my shoes ( feet fitted with the Gospel of Peace ), donned my helmet of Salvation, had no belt but definitely buckled Truth to my being. The shield of faith preceded me as I walked down the road, following the voice. I had already been in the Word of God and prayed my way there. I was armed and ready.

I followed the voice right down to the local university campus and saw the megaphone. I stood at the gate ( on reflection, an interesting place for a chance meeting. See John 10: 1-10 ) A man in his 20s asked if he could help me, so I asked a few questions.
 1. How many people  on campus are interested in this message? Answer : About 4% ! Are you kidding me?  79% are Christian.
2. Does anyone object to 5 am prayer? ( I know I do ) Answer:" Well they did protest for a while when students were studying for exams but now they are fine." Let us never be "fine" or tolerate and become complacent  about anything other than Truth.
3. What do you believe?" For me, I was a Catholic but now I am okay with this." ( indicating message from megaphone) So I say, "that's a big switch" He says " the only thing I don't like is too much about the prophet and putting him above God." Now we are getting somewhere. I push a little further and he tells me when his children grow up and are about 10 and can understand, he will let them make a choice. I explain he doesn't have to wait until 10, my granddaughter understood at age 4 !!! I also said he needs to tell them Truth. He had mentioned earlier that all ways lead to God. I told him they did not and that Jesus was the only way. We talked briefly about what happens when you die and that you may not like the choices available for all eternity. He smiled politely and I felt it was time to leave.
I know my words have no power but prayed that this man would be convicted by the Holy Spirit to change his ways before it's too late.
Sometimes it's okay to just simply pray for others and sometimes we have to put feet to our faith and move out. Today I felt propelled into action.

Back to the balcony

One of the things I missed the most while I was gone from Kampala in Dec. was the view from my balcony. When everything in life seems hard and insurmountable I can just go look out the window or sit in my chair  and look at the beauty that God created and know that the ONE who designed every kind of bird and gave boundaries to the waters and let his color palate explode all over the water and sky, is bigger than the sum of all my difficulties.

 In the early morning hours with a coffee in hand, I like to read from one of my devotional books and then commit to memory a promise of God. I have a little paperback book that cost 99 cents and it's worth it's weight in gold. It contains 199 promises. I'm still going over the first 5 as the old brain ain't what it used to be :-(

There has been much rain both while I was away and since my return. It's supposed to be the hot/dry season but it hasn't happened yet.

A couple of days after I arrived I was treated to this wonderful rainbow. Yes. it's a bit hard to see in the midst of the clouds, but then that's life isn't it?

When circumstances are difficult sometimes we can only see grey clouds, but if we look closely there's always a rainbow with a promise of better tomorrows.

Houston Highlights

I am absolutely astounded that my last post was in early November! I could have sworn it seemed like just a few weeks ago. The days have been marching by at an alarming rate.

As most of you know by now I flew back to Houston, arriving there November 29th to be present at my son, Daniel's wedding on Dec. 9th.

 I found out that I had no time for jet lag and got busy preparing for a Bridal Tea on Dec. 2nd that I helped host at my friend, Kaki's house. Such fun with dear, longtime friends who came to bless the bride to be.

It was so very elegant with crystal glasses, bone china cups, finger sandwiches and among other delicacies, cranberry scones with jam and cream.

With the shower over and one week until the wedding I needed to kick it into high gear. No time to think about Christmas at all, kept telling myself, "focus, Kerrie, focus."I loved listening to Christmas carols in the car as I ran around with errands. It was hard going into stores though and just not looking at things that I knew I needed to purchase before Christmas. I was very happy to be able to join my former BSF class for 2 lessons. It was great seeing familiar faces again.

Next was the matter of printing ceremony programs and putting together wedding favors. My talented daughter, Janelle took care of the programs, although it was not without a hiccup. I wish the print paper came with a HUGE label that says watermarked! It's no fun choosing the paper, printing it and then seeing the name of the company in the middle of the program ( UGH ! )

Another sweet friend came to my rescue to help with 150 wedding favors. Thanks to Kathy who happened to be in town all the way from Jakarta :-)

After applying stickers that said
"Daniel and Amber the perfect blend", the Cappuccino mix was  carefully measured and poured into bags. Next came rubber bands and ribbons.

Some sore fingers later, Kathy and I enjoyed a nice lunch and chat at a nearby restaurant.


I so enjoyed being at home with my daughter, son in law and 3 grandchildren. I was able to visit Liberty's school where she attends kindergarten and see some of her activities. Mema was in high demand for story time, hugs and just some extra attention.

Saturday, the 8th dawned and it was time for the wedding rehearsal. The venue was lovely and it seemed like everything was falling into place for the big day.

The flower girl and ring bearers, along with the rest of us get some instructions and it seems everyone is ready.

Sometimes looks can be deceiving, when in fact all three grandchildren were in some stage of sickness with a nasty flu. So thankful for Ibuprofen and Tylenol and lots of prayers.

Rehearsal dinner at  South American restaurant, Tango and Malbec in Houston.
Food was delicious and it was nice to just relax and celebrate with wedding attendants and close friends, some who traveled very far to be with us, like Cameron from Australia and Fadi from Toronto, Canada.




Weather forecast for Sunday, December 9th was not very encouraging. Since my daughter and son in law got married during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 I was feeling a bit anxious about it. Not to fear, God had it all under control. We did have a little scare though for about 45 seconds when pre wedding photos were being taken and several rain drops fell.  As it happened the front that was forecast never came until around 11pm at night :-)

Sometimes, it's hard to wait. Three little people watching and waiting for this "wedding thing" to begin.

And then, before you know it, with the blink of an eye and a few tears shed by the mothers, the vows are spoken and the long prepared for moment is over.

My son in law officiated and was happy to present the new couple, Mr and Mrs. Snow.



I could display lots of photos but of course I can't. Happy times were had by all at the reception and at the end of the day I had lots to thank God for, not the least being my lovely new daughter in law.

With the wedding behind us and the newlyweds off on their honeymoon, it became time to turn my attention to Christmas. I made lots of quick trips out to the stores and tried not to get caught up in materialism madness.

Christmas Day was fun, especially because I was able to spend it with my entire, immediate family, those in the northern hemisphere anyway. It's hard being split between my parents and my children and grandchildren.

Just 2 days after Christmas I left Houston and traveled via the Middle East back to Kampala. My next blog will be about my first week back and life here.

Babies and more babies

Friday I had the opportunity to go to Mulago Hospital with a young German woman, named Tami. We met at Wentz Clinic a week ago when we were both volunteering there. She is a recently graduated midwife and came to Africa a few weeks ago to see if it might be a place for her to come back to in future years after she gains some experience.
Yesterday was an eye opening adventure for both of us as we toured the Obstetrics and Gynecology departments in the largest public hospital in Uganda.

The hospital was founded in 1913, so next year will be their 100th anniversary.

In an average year they see 140,000 inpatients and 600, 000 outpatients. I think these figures may need updating

They do have a private section which is very well equipped and vastly different than the public section.

We had a wonderful tour guide through the maze of wards and buildings of this very large campus. This doctor is in his final year of residency.

We started out in the area where they see gynecological emergencies. The doctor there was so overwhelmed she barely had time to say hello. We peeked behind a screen to a big open ward with no privacy curtains separating the beds and saw lots of women in various stages of undress and heard occasional moaning sounds.

We then made our way though labor and delivery. As we went the doctor told us that there are 30,000 deliveries per year, or between 80-100 per day!!!!!
Any nurse reading this, especially if you have worked in this area, can now pick up your jaws form the floor. They average 20 Cesarians daily. In the main operating room they have 2 tables as very often there are 2 C- sections going on simultaneously. Sometimes there will be 30-50 women and 2 midwives on a ward.
Since there are far more patients than beds, the women can be seen on mattresses on the floor in the hall on just about anywhere there is room. I counted 15 beds in one section that was originally meant for probably 8 maximum. Women are told to bring at least 5 prs. of gloves as staff can't provide them. They must also furnish their own large waterproof pad on which to deliver. Many times due to lack of staff a woman will be unattended for her delivery.  I could go on but I think you are getting the picture.

     
We felt somewhat dazed as we left and hurriedly made a dash for the car as the rain started pouring down. We had lots of time to talk on the way home. In fact this was the worst traffic I have ever been in. We left the hospital at 3:45 and 2 hours later we had only gone 1.5 kms. It was unbelievable.
We saw some interesting sights as we sat in "the jam" as it's called.  This creative guy has figured out a way to carry the frame for 2 small sofas on his bicycle in the rain!

A good part of the 2 hours was spent alongside the golf course. I guess there are some hearty golfers here who won't be deterred by an occasional downpour.

These long horns can't have been to happy in the jam either. They were not able to move at all, horns were locked as they were tightly packed. It's hard to tell but there is a goat up on top with a few riders.
They looked entirely miserable.

After being stuck in the car for 2 hours and the possibility of another 2 looming large ahead we made a decision to pull off and get a snack before the final push for home.

Not to mention the need for "short call" sorry to be graphic, but this is the term used for a visit to the loo or a restroom break.

I certainly did enjoy my cappuccino and chatting with Tami about her  family, her faith and life in Germany. Exhausting, but interesting afternoon.

My busy week

Sometimes it rains and sometimes it pours. This week it has poured visitors. It has been a busy but interesting week.
Firstly, just a brief update on my neighbor Lady R. There has been a momentous change in circumstances. Lady R and her daughter have been granted a reprieve, at least that's what I am calling it for want of a better word. I think Mr. X has definite feelings for Lady R, albeit with wrong motivation, but never the less he wants to continue to support her and her immediate family. Apparently First Lady has been apprised of the situation and has agreed to let Mr. X spend his days and nights in both places as he chooses.
I appreciate your ongoing prayers for this delicate situation. It is my desire to pour into Lady R helping her to know God's truth and to be well equipped for the future path God has intended for her, whatever that may be. Our English lessons will now continue :-)

Last weekend I was able to meet up with and then host for dinner, the Poole family who in August, moved from my home town in Tasmania, to become part of a medical ministry in the country to the north of me. It was a great time of friendship and discussion about all things African!

Wednesday, immediately after Bible study, I drove 1 hour to Entebbe airport to pick up 2 more Tasmanians who flew in to join the Poole family for the purpose of installing a solar system for a hospital and orphanage.

While hanging out at the guesthouse with my fellow Taswegian friends for the afternoon, I couldn't help but notice these impressive Helmeted Guineafowls. Their feathers have tiny black dots.

How about this for an interesting plant? I can't remember the name, sorry. It's such a dramatic looking plant with its vivid red and green colors.















Anyway, after visiting for a few hours I headed back to Kampala in time to pick up another visitor. This time it was a woman named Adrian, originally from Dallas, who is working as a nurse at an orphanage in Jinja, about 2 hours east of Kampala. We had lots of medical things to talk about as she has been challenged in caring for 46 children who are HIV + and it's malaria season.

I drove her to meet the Every Village team that just arrived back from their mission trip to S. Sudan. We spent a few hours hearing all their wonderful stories of ministry. After dropping the ladies off at the guesthouse where the team stayed, my new nurse friend and I headed back to my apartment that I had left 12 hours earlier. Long day!

Thursday morning I helped some of the team do some souvenir shopping before their afternoon departure for the airport. Adrian had to leave suddenly for Jinja due to sickness of one of the staff there.
Thursday evening I was looking forward to a good night's sleep after the activity of the past few days, but it was not to be. At 2 :30 am I woke suddenly to the sound of music blaring. A party boat had pulled up near the shore of the lake and decided they needed to entertain the entire neighborhood. You can't imagine the volume. It went on for an hour so I gave up trying to sleep and read some more of my intriguing book about the famous explorer of the 1860's, Henry Stanley. He's the one who found Dr. Livingstone with his well known words "Dr Livingstone, I presume."

Today has been very interesting also but I am now tired after all that has happened so check back in a few days for my post about visiting the labor and delivery ward at Mulago Hospital.

Follow up from 10/14

Late yesterday afternoon I was headed back to my apartment and saw Rebekah's sliding glass door open. I was about to just go upstairs to my place but something made me go and say hi. As I approached the door I saw a man sitting on her sofa. I quickly apologized and said I'm sorry to intrude. They both immediately invited me in. So in I went, sending up arrow prayers as I sat down.

For the next hour I got to know Rebekah's "husband." I listened intently as I sipped some sort of hot drink. It was not coffee or tea, just can't really describe it, but very sweet. Of course it didn't help that I put 1/2 tsp sugar in before I even tasted it. ( Kerrie, what were you thinking? )

I will call him Mr. X. It turns out he is in his 40s and has a high position at his country's consulate here. He became a Christian as a child through a priest in the Catholic church in Khartoum. This same church was one started by the Camboni's back in the 1600s. If you look back at my blog from June you will see I visited a hospital in Mapourdit. This hospital is also affiliated with the Camboni's. Mr. X started a church there!  He speaks, Dinka, Nuer, Arabic, English and Swahili. He had much to tell me about the history if his country, politics, religious beginnings from the land of Cush and much more.

We will visit again in the future as he wants to share with me health teachings he wrote for the radio. He also has a degree in Journalism and International Relations. A busy man for sure.
Was this a chance meeting? Absolutely not. Can't wait to see where it will all lead.
Stay tuned for the next episode coming soon.

Thoughts from a hurting heart

Have you ever had days when your heart just hurts? No, I don't mean like a heart attack, just a sad and heavy heart.
It's still wet season here in Uganda and this morning, just before dawn, I heard the sound of distant thunder rumbling, lightning was flashing through a gap in the curtains and not long after I heard the familiar sound of the rain against the window. The skies have remained threatening all day and the dark clouds have released their loads a couple of times. I would not do well in Seattle, where's the sunshine?

I still managed to find a short time that I could go onto the balcony and enjoy the birds. Between rain showers they sang their morning songs of praise. I liked the idea of praise even when I didn't feel like it, so I put on my new favorite CD by Selah and sang along. Even though my voice would not be considered a crowd pleaser, I believe God was pleased.

There is so much happening in the world that it's enough to make you miserable on any given day. All the news stories from the BBC ran around in my head, the elections, Syria, a 14 yr. old in Pakistan, 10th anniversary of Bali bombing and on and on. I finally turned it off and turned to God with all my worries and burdens. I prayed for each and every member of my family. I prayed for all the things going on with my organization, Every Village. I prayed for friends and world events. I released all these things to God, after all there is not a thing I alone can do about anything.

Later on when the rain seemed to be done for the day I decided to take a walk. Not exactly a smart idea since the dirt roads are now slippery and muddy. Not sure why, but it seems that boda drivers can't resist trying to knock you off your feet. I can't figure out if they are so busy staring at the Mzungu that they misjudge how close they are coming or if they think they are better drivers than they actually are.

While I was walking, I came across a little girl, probably about 4 years old. She was standing in her raggedy clothes, no shoes and sucking her thumb. At her feet was a baby I'm guessing around 12 months old. She was equally poorly dressed as she supported herself to stand, by holding onto the older girl's hand with one of her little hands  and then grabbing on to the girls lower leg to steady her own wobbly legs.  I looked around for an adult. No one was in sight. My heart ached. I had moved to the other side of the path as I passed them as the baby looked like she was going to cry at the sight of the Mzungu. Unfortunately this is an all too familiar picture around here. Actually, I wanted to take her photo but didn't want to violate her privacy. I want to remember these moments. Children taking care of children.  I think of my own grandchildren who aren't allowed in the enclosed back yard without supervision.


My body and my mind  move on from this scene. I think about all the unfairness that I see here. I feel the anger rising up. Why don't all children go to school, why is there no access to clean drinking water for everyone, why is there so much sickness and poor medical care, why does filthy garbage litter the streets, why is there corruption in government and terrible road conditions?
The answer to all this and more is?
It all started back in the Garden of Eden. God provided everything and it was good. If Adam and Eve had only obeyed that one little rule. Thankfully, He made a way out in His great mercy and grace. So many people all around me need to know that same God so instead of pitying looks and a hurting heart I must continue pray to the One who can change things.
I wonder why you see around you and what are you doing about it?

Bird Watching

As I think I mentioned a few weeks ago I am becoming an avid bird watcher. I love sitting on my balcony, especially around 4-5 pm and watching the birds perched on nearby roof tops, in trees and flying by right in front of me. I get so excited when I am able to spy on them a little closer with my binoculars and then note distinguishing marks so I can look them up in my picture guide to East African Birds. I am placing check marks by the ones I have seen.
Here's what I have so far.

Isn't he beautiful?
This is the Splendid Glossy Starling. I would say he is splendid indeed. There were about 7 or 8 of these guys in a nearby tree. What a brilliant flash of color as they flew off.

Meet the Glossy Ibis.
When I first saw him on a roof top, I kept blinking as I thought the sun was playing tricks on me, but nope, his wings are a glistening green. Such a striking fellow!

So amazing and intricate are his colors and markings.
This is the White-Throated Bee-eater.
I was fortunate enough to see him and a couple of his buddies perched on a tree branch in a small park down by the lake when I went for a walk a few days ago.
I took a few photos but they weren't nearly as clear as this one.

The Black Kite is easily identified by his yellow feet and beak. As a bird of prey he's always on the move overhead. I frequently see him with his feathers outspread and his wedge like tail soaring by.

The last bird on show today is the Pied Crow.
He is very common, but I don't think his appearance can be termed common. What a commanding presence!
He's great at cleaning up litter and likes large insects. I'm all for that.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed getting to know some of these beautiful birds. I just don't know how people think they could have just evolved? Only God could have created such variety with colors and distinct markings.