Zion!

So I have been in Uganda for 24 days now. Holy Cow!

If you ever have the thought " How can I become more patient?" I've got the solution: come to Africa! It's great, you go to meetings scheduled for 2pm that don't actually start until 4pm. You have a list of things that need to get done in a day and the person in charge never shows up. Taxi rides take 1 hour to go ten miles. Dinner is not served until 9:30pm... I tell ya, this is the place to learn patience!

Last weekend we had the Lincredible opportunity to stay with a host family for two nights. This man is a school teacher and his wife is in politics. They are much better off than most people, but they still don't have running water or electricity. So I had my first interaction with a bucket shower. Yes, I did it and now that I've done it, I hope I never have to do it again!

We went on another hike. This hike was to go see a village that had been affected by landslides in 2010. That is a big problem with many people that live on certain mountainsides. It is quite tragic. Luckily many of the children were in school that day and were protected but upon returning home many of those children became orphaned. I can't imagine what that would be like, but it is a reality that so often affects many people all around Uganda.


Beginning the hike I saw a large rock peak and encouraged everyone to go up there after we reached the landslides. Well, we ran into a "park ranger" on our way down and I asked how far the peak was. He said "It is nearby, I am on my way there. I will take you". So a few of us went with him up a steep mountain trail. 45 minutes later he said "We have arrived". We were definitely not there. When we told him our destination again he laughed and said "oh that is impossible to get to unless you take a machete and blaze your own trail". So note to self, when a Ugandan says something is nearby, don't listen. Lesson Learned. We then went back down the mountain only to be caught in a torrential rain storm that lasted one hour. We stopped in a village and ate chapatti as the storm passed. It was quite the adventure. You can see the rock peak in the back of this picture.

WARNING: The following paragraph may contain disturbing mental images. Proceed at your own risk.  :)

I learned from our host family about a circumcision ceremony that  occurs every even numbered year. In order to pass through boyhood to manhood must go through a three day ceremony. During this ceremony these boys run around the entire mountain day and night to show their strength and then at the end of this grueling exercise they stand with a stick above their head as a man pulls the foreskin and with a machete proceeds to chop it off. As blood splatters everywhere they must remain straight faced for a number of minutes. if they flinch or make some face, they are ridiculed and called a coward bringing shame upon their home. THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS. We missed the ceremony by one month and people are very open about talking about it. I can't believe it.

We worked on our health clinic for three days this week. We are trying to get last minute preparations done before we open this wednesday! I can't wait. So we spent those days painting, building sheds, building bathrooms, making stairs, moving stones, carrying wood, sanding, and gardening. It was quite the undertaking. But many members of the community came out to help because they take so much pride in things that make their community better. It is really inspiring so seem them unite like that. They are so thrilled to have a health clinic in their community and it is rightly called "Zion Community Clinic". Through talking to them and learning more about their culture it is amazing to see the Faith they have and their humility. Many of these people live in huts and live day to day but they dedicate all they have to God. We had a ton of kids working on the clinic. The youngest was 2 years old. Adorable.

One day I stayed behind after dark with some of the villagers to finish painting. Before we could leave the site, they said a prayer dedicating the clinic to God and thanking him for the "white visitors for all their help". I am just so humbled by their gratitude and I can not talk highly enough about them. 

So, things are going really well. It's nothing like what I thought it would be but somehow it is so much better!