Dear family and friends,

First let me greet you and welcome you in the traditional Ugandan fashion. It is almost required upon doing any business transaction or socializing in any length of time to first have many pleasantries passed before actually saying how are you etc…. I am not so good at this especially in business…yesterday my girlfriend Jenessa and I went to Kampala on a pleasure trip…meaning I was on personal business…went to lunch (great Indian food here) and had a great time. In the process, I needed to purchase a printer for my laptop. Can you imagine…12-15 computer stores smashed in between hardware, electronics and a variety of other businesses. You can’t just walk in and say excuse me, how much for that HP printer or that one there….it is a song and dance at each location. Oleoltio sebo, …..belungee, belungee. Weebalee emirimu…calle. Nze Jenessa, mbeera Ksana, nkola New Hope Uganda, far away in the village..this is my friend senga Desiree’…(hellos….introductions….where we live and work….) all very slowly like we have all afternoon….nodding, smiling…then…what are you asking for this….and then another 10 minutes of bartering about mzunga prices etc….and so you go down the street…..if you come back to the store finding they were the better price…you start all over and never get back to the best deal…it as a process and we americans have little patience for this kind of shopping…especially on a personal day..dodging traffic as you cross the street. Pedestrians have no right of way..in fact I think you become target practice for most vehicles…they actually speed up to see if they can catch you..it’s crazy. I was successful at my 5th shop or so and it will make my life much easier in scheduling workers and making new menus for the teams…and then printing them!!

So, let’s talk Matooke…I had mentioned they are in the banana family and they are very green and we peel them, steam them and eat them at many meals….last week I had bought a “bunch” which is an entire arm off a tree..with about 15-20 hands (what we call bunches) Within 2 days it started turning yellow and all the girls in the kitchen were quite upset..it was spoiling so fast. They warned that now we would have to cook it today or it would be all bad. So we did except for a few bunches that I was going to bake with. Come to find out the next day it was really yellow and I was peeling and mashing when I decided to take a bite…..and oh my gosh…it was a banana!!! Just like home!!! After freaking out about my discovery and talking to Nancy…she corrected me and said…oh you must have bought a D7 hybred…translation….someone came to the country and cross bred our “bananas” with the matooke plant and so we have this hybred that is shunned in most families, because it is not matooke and not bananas…who knew? LOL

Well, I have to also tell you about my latest adventure! Last week a notice showed up at the admin building bulletin board stating “All staff, children etc were to report to the Enterprise fields on Tuesday 8am sharp to help with harvesting the maize. Mandatory…Bring water, nails and knives.” I was so excited…I rode a boda to the hardware store in Kiwoko and bought bag of big nails and pulled out my work gloves…ready for the day. On Tuesday morning, Fred, Rukundo and I started walking to the fields together (about 20 minutes) about half way there some boys passed on bikes and Rukundo asked them to give us a lift. So we all got on the back of the bikes, I was sitting side saddle of course in my skirt. We had not gone very far when my boy went past the other two..I thought ohh he is showing off….then we started going faster and faster…I was hanging on about to be bounced of when I let him know I was concerned…please stop or slow down…but no response…so I am thinking surely he knows I am frightened even if he doesnt speak english…but we kept going faster down hill. That was when I noticed that he as not pedaling but took a quick look back at me and he too looked a little scared….ohhhh…WE HAVE NO BRAKES…my concern turned to asking God to spare us as I hung on for dear life. When we turned the last bend, I could see the maize fields and bunches of people getting ready to harvest…someone screamed ( I really dont know who..but it could have been me) and the crowd split like the red sea. The look of shock on the few that I did see..made me a little more concerned. We then passed the acres of maize fields and headed to the bottom of the hill…again not knowing how we were going to stop until he finally left the road and the fresh maize stalks started crashing and we catapolted off the bike and came to land half buried in the fresh earth. I immediately grabbed my water bottle to wash the dirt out of my eye and mouth and I was spitting blood…drenching myself…I think a knee was actually showing…oh, my…it was quite a scene. Fred and Rukundo came running down the hill and helped pick the debris out of my eye. I was thankful that the 30 nails in my backpack had not impaled me and I was able to walk away. The young man that was driving had dissappeared by the time I could see anything. I even helped harvest but was quite sore in my left hand and my right eye was almost swollen shut by the end. (by the way you only need one nail or a knife to harvest maize..not a sackful) LOL Uncle Jeff later told me one of his students came to him and said…I think I am in big trouble…Jeff said, Why what has happened…..the boy says…. I have crashed my auntie…we laughed hard about that!! I said.. did you ask him why we went all the way to the end of the road, instead of crashing at the top of the last hill……He said yes, I actually did. The boy said he wanted to take me to the “softer” green maize at the bottom…obviously not thinking abnout the momentum we picked up traveling to the bottom of the hill. I do commend the boy…he kept us upright for a long time and we were totally out of control most of the way. I did go to the clinic later that night and got some pain medication, woke up feeling much worse than the previous day and my left hand is just now recovering. My eye has stopped weeping and the swelling has gone down. The boys now think I am pretty tough. So long story short..pray for All travel mercies, on foot, bike, boda and by car…it is a dangerous place here.

Lastly, my friend Jenessa text me the other day…come quick..snake… So I had to run down to see it. Well, it was only aout 12 inches and very small…a little disappointing actually…but it was identified as a black mumba. The fastest, most deadliest snake on earth! Then I find out, she had a little six inch one last month.. and found a large shed on her property. Translation…we think she has a nest of black mumbas!! Yikes….I may not be so good of a friend, I now only travel there in the day! All this talk about snakes, finally hit the shop where her husband John works and then I find out that Uncle Robert (my neighbor) has seen a 8-10 ft black mumba snake twice just across the path from our homes. That is the path I take my refuge to the incinerator….that my houseworker now does….its ok…call me chicken…I do pray for her everyday that she takes my trash….and I am sure she would handle it much better. When I found out how big it was, at first I thought…well, I would see that coming…its ok…then I found out they like to hide in trees and drop down on their prey…I decided give my houseworker a raise…..

Well, I hope you stay tuned, I have asked my brother to send me the CD I need to download pictures which would enhance my tales….but I hope I can keep you entertained until then! I found out mail only takes 2-3 weeks now and 1 out of 3 actually arrive…so pray it comes safely! I miss you all and really appreciate your prayers, your support and your emails, comments and facebooks! I am definetly living life to the fullest these days!

God Bless,

Desiree’

Before the fourth of July was celebrated in America, we gathered all Americans available in Kasana and had a great BBQ, complete with a baseball game. We sang the national anthem and did some crazy dances, like the chicken dance, and the electric slide etc…. I had noticed a couple of families missing and inquired why they had not joined us…..only to be reminded that they were Britains and would not be celebrating the day…oh yeah! OOPS. Are we certain Pastor Daniel is a Brit?? No fireworks here but we had a great day, I hope you all did as well. I did have a rough evening (9pm) wondering what my family and friends were doing as it was just noon in Colorado. So I called and talked with my children and that helped me sleep! I really miss everyone so much, but the days are flying by. I stay very busy with the guesthouse and have been to several compound meetings, budget meetings, fellowship meetings and staff meetings!! In between all that I cook most of the time or I spend time in my family unit. ( I also love to nap…)

The design of Kasana Child Care center is that the center of the wheel is a big field surrounded by classrooms on two sides and a church on one side. There is a dirt path around this and several roads :spokes: off the main path. Each spoke leads to a couple of staff houses and then the family group. The families consist of a head (mom/dad) and children of all ages. I live on the Pacific family spoke and we have 20 children in our family. Rakundo is the family father and there is another lady (forgot her name) that helps him with the five little ones in one hut. One hut is for the six older boys, one hut for the six older girls and then two young men live in one, the oldest girl is away at school. There is a larger hut in the middle of their compound where the family meets for meetings and meals. We have game night on fridays and they love to play cards….though it was tough starting out as they tend to change the rules as you go and they call the suits by different names….the clubs are flowers etc… I have now graduated to balancing a two liter bottle on my head!

This past Sunday was Thanksgiving at Kasana…(not the turkey holiday) they have celebrated it around July 12th for the past 14 years or so…It is a time of thanksgiving for their freedom from war. This year they decided to take an offering and then plan a trip to Amoria in the northern region to present our gift to them. (the MSC team had members go there during their visit in June) It is a war torn area much like Kasana was 20 years ago. We represent many tribes from all over Uganda and this will be a time of peace offering and blessing that will heal wounds on many levels even among those here at Kasana. Some traveling there have come from that area or was rescued from that area. So anyway…last week we all meet in our family groups and made flags, many flags and then we talked about what to offer….chickens, money, clothes, shoes…whatever you wanted to give to help the people in the north from the Acholi tribe…(movie War Dance is about this tribe) So on Sunday…with precise orchestration…we gathered at the top of our circle at 9:30 am watching for the flag on the water tower…which signaled the grand parade…..we walked around the circle two times, singing and yelling to see who could be the loudest…the band was playing at full speed, blasting across the field…we were waving flags, palm branches, sticks, tree branches, pillow cases…whatever you wanted to wave….causing quite a scene! It was incredible…then on signal we all paraded into the canopy of the church area and sat in our designated family group area, it was quite spectacular actually. I have lots of pictures and a small video of Rakundo dancing down the street and our family flags…party on!
Wow…I really wish I could share pictures but you will need to come to the four day film festival when I return…LOL…I think I have taken several hundred pictures already! I really wish I could figure out the downsizing image thing…help! (Beam down Scott please..) At church service we gave thanks by family and then by tribe…we thankfully had an overhead for the six tribal languages that we sang our songs in….wow I think I will just stick with learning one tribe!

Well, after church we had a family feast together and the whole church was served- beans, rice, matoke and gnut sauce….all on the school plates…thankfully I was not on the crew for this one! We ate in the big circle of lawn and just spent time together as a family…some taking naps, while children raced around and played about. We as Americans have lost this tradition of family…which is really unfortunate for us. It was a grand time….minus the apple pie!

My position at the guesthouse is amazing…they are actually trying to change the image a bit and welcome any travelers as a bed and breakfast, willing to serve anyone that wants to come and stay. This means to be very flexible on my end and to have a better stocked freezer to accomadate. But this also makes me smile…even though I have owned and operated motels, I have always wanted to run a little bed and breakfast…to welcome new faces each day and to serve them and bless them with hospitality and food…it’s been my hearts desire for a long time but I could not make it happen….. and now…I have traveled all the way to Uganda and He has given me a bed and breakfast to run…it is so God. He is amazingly faithful in our lives when we lay down our lives for Him and completely surrender our plans….He knows the plans he has for us and they are always so much greater than anything we can orchestrate. So I work hard and long days, but its very rewarding and I rest in His arms at night…completely satisfied and content with where He has called me today. Have you ever wondered if you are at the right place at the right time in your life?? Ask Him. Is this where I am suppose to be today…then give Him full reigns on what happens…hold on tight after that…He just might test how flexible you are, how serious you are and how committed you are…it’s kind of like praying for patience..LOL Be ready to get thrown on the potters wheel and taken for a ride…but what a beautiful vessel we become in His hands.

I so appreciate everyones prayers and comments, I will try to be more reliable in posting updates. I miss everyone tremendously and yet there are days that I could totally see living my entire life right here….then I think really hard about that and know that I have a family, and friends back home and wish I could drop in tonight and see everyone. It would be totally awesome to come home for the weekends and go to church…then zip back to my guesthouse…LOL

I am adjusting well to life in the “jungle” … I walk across the compound barefoot and even without a flashlight at night, have killed many creatures at my latrine,…. I even took my clothes out of the garment bags…but not ready to sleep without a mosquito net…and still trying to remember my malaria pills! Thanks to steamcleaning the church…I can even carry two jerry cans full of water….it’s amzing how we get trained for our next assignment…I am curious what living in Africa is training me for….The roosters start at 3 am and I have to be up at 5 to go to Kampala in the morning to shop for the next team…so sleep well and live life to its fullest wherever you are.

Blessings,

Desiree’ XOXO 2u

Wow I can’t believe it has already been almost a month of living in Africa. I must say that I am really getting some exercise walking around the compound and just living in general is a workout. I lift 5 gallon jerry cans and fill my water filtration system about every other day. You always need to drink filtered water, even using a water bottle to brush your teeth. Tonight I went to my family group and the girls were teaching me how to balance a water bottle on my head…they easily carry the jerry cans on their head while holding a baby, it truly is amazing. I put my hair up in the water bottle “Awana Style” and they cracked up.

Every evening at 6:30 each family group gets together to talk through their day and discuss “family issues” like who needs to slash their part of the compound…translation …mow the lawn. We also talk about keeping their hair neat or it would need to be shaved…the majority of the girls and boys all have shaved heads…someone told me it makes them more attractive…hummm…I have thought of shaving my head but the Ugandans love it and often play with my hair. My friend Ida is lining up a girl to braid my hair so it will be cooler….yeah picture to follow. (I have found out that I need to reduce the size of my pictures in order to download them, but now I need to figure that out with Josh at the internet cafe and I haven’t had the time)

After the MSC team left, I still had Dr Steve from the board of directors staying in room five. So this morning I got up and made him french toast. After serving him, I sat down to eat a piece while he was working on his computer. All seemed well enough, nice conversation and all, until I put a piece of french toast in my mouth and crunched on something that didn’t taste so well…..but what do you do while your talking to the doctor that is on the board…..yeah…just like a real survivor on TV, I didnt miss a beat and just kept smiling and talking, but I am pretty sure I ingested a bug. I was half afraid to actually see what I had bitten into, so thought it best to just swallow and wash it down with mango juice. I then made some really strong coffee and brushed my teeth as soon as he left.

Well, I have already walked through tall grass with sandals, walked home in the dark without a torch (flashlight), balanced a bottle on my head and eaten a bug…..I am getting a nice tan on the parts that are exposed…my arms are turning real dark but I am in long skirts all day so the rest of me is pretty white. I have driven to Kampala four times this month and its not so bad, although I can’t say I am getting used to it….but driving to Denver would be a breeze after this. It’s like riding a roller coaster for three hours…you are definetly ready to walk the rest of the week.

The girls in the kitchen are teaching me Luganda and we have a lot of fun trying to get me to say it properly. Today a man came by and said “well done” in Lugandan….I answered “thank you” in Lugandan … I was pretty pleased with myself that I had remembered yesterdays lesson…..and then he started just chatting up a storm and the girls were cracking up…totally blew my cover and I had no idea what else he had said, they were laughing too hard and would not tell me what was going on….so apparently I know just enough to get me in trouble. Yes, that means continue to pray for the lanquage barrier to be lifted….quickly. Humor has helped break the ice in many situations and we do a lot of sign language when needed. This coming Monday we will have a new team and I will be on my own running the guesthouse. Pray for things to run smoothly as I need to transition some work hours and responsibilities around.

Everyday is an adventure around here and I pray that each of you are living the adventure that God has called you to, in your homes and in your work place or at school. Remember that we are all part of the body and each of us has a unique gifting and calling for our lives, seek the Father and ask Him what He has for you today. Run after Him and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Blessings,

Desiree’

I should really back up and send a heartfelt thanks to everyone that helped me get out of town! From those that have selflessly given finances to help me be able to do this trip, to those that helped me pack and even drive me to the airport. There are way to many to name but the Lord knows and so do I and I would be in fear of missing someone if I started with names. I truly apologize for not getting out proper thankyou notes or even spending time with those that I missed but I am forerver thankful for your grace and love and prayers. I could not be serving in Africa without the support and love of my family and great friends.

Now I will try to catch up and hopefully get some pictures posted by the time I get off. Our internet connections are very touchy and limited in what we can do without getting knocked out of the system…. oh yeah..for those of you trying to reach me on Facebook…I did get on last night but was knocked out three times…It may be more successful if you don’t invite me to do things or send the extra stuff on facebook…just texting would very helpful!

I did get to go on safari and it was so awesome..we seen herds of elephants, giraffes, warthogs, baboons, and many pronghorn antelope kinds of things that Pastor Steve would love to take aim at! On the boat ride up the Nile we also seen crocadiles and many huge hippos…very intimidating when they stand up and start running towards the boat. I was in a smaller boat with about 14 people and very close to the water….quite the adventure!!

I went to Kampala on Thursday with Vicki and Jay and had a dentist appointment to get my tooth fixed. They did an amazing job and nobody will ever know which tooth was chipped. Vicki and I met a friend named Constance at an Indian restaurant and had lunch and then did grocery shopping while Uncle Jay went on some errands and had lunch. I also got a phone outside the supermarket in about 5 minutes..you buy the phone, a sim card, minutes and pow your done all for $123,000 shillings…which is about $60.00…crazy stuff. It is an entire day to just get shopping and a few errands done, we got back just in time for dinner.

I met with Auntie Gertrude on Friday afternoon and we had a very pleasant talk about all the details of what I will be doing. We have 18 teams coming by the end of the year and that is the most they have ever had, so I think I will be fairly busy jumping in. I will start hands on this Monday, pray that communications go well with the other workers who do not speak english.

Lat night the team that I came with started a youth camp and we served 300 kids dinner, that was exciting, but even better…they dont use paper plates, so we washed in a big tub for hours! Thankfully this is also a meal that you eat with your fingers, so no forks to wash, praise God! It was a great time and we will be serving all three meals today and doing dishes in between….I am on the kitchen team…go figure! The pots they use on the open fires are big enough to take a bath in and I am not joking…slightly intimidating…my stock pots look like measuring cups sitting next to them. I have learned how to make Posho – which is maize flour in boiling water and you “mingle” it until it is a big ball like sturdy mashed potatoes. I also can make Matoke which is in the banana family…you peel them with a knife and then put them in banana leaves to steam and them mash them in the banana leaves and serve them with a saucer onto a plate…I also make G-nut sauce which is very good poured over anything. They eat very heavy foods and very little vegetables, lots of rice and beans and chipates which are like a fried tortilla…love them!! All this talk about food and I am starving….so I will close and try to add some pictures. We are serving pouridge this morning and I need to get moving…pouridge is made out of maize flour…tastes like grits but looks like cream of wheat…Yummy stuff!

You would think I have gained a hundred pounds but you walk about ten miles a day just around the complex, so I am doing well and in fact may have lost some…who knows when all you can wear are stretchy skirts!! Bummer…I just tried to upload pictures and kept getting errors…I will try to go to the internet cafe this Monday and see if I can fix the problem…or we could fly Scott or Jacob out to help me!

I guess I will end with this in case I loose the internet…I am forever thankful that I have Doom –(insect spray) I wish you could see the picture of the cockroach I killed..it is huge but I have been told…no auntie…they get much bigger here….That freaks me out a little, anyway I am forever thankful that there were only four bugs on my latrine door this morning and I could at least identify two of them. The latrine is where most of the Uganda bug life like to hang out…you see moths the size of your hand and some that look like leaves while others look like bark….ants that fly and other creatures that would need a science book to identify. I woke up yesterday, forever thankful that I sleep under a mosquito net when I realized the black spot on the wall next to me was moving…dont worry I sleep with a can of Doom under my pillow. If I die here I am sure it will be from Doom inhalation…its time to take a freezing cold shower and Doom my house so I can go eat pouridge with 300 kids….life is truly amazing and I am having the time of my life!!

Blessings, love, hugs and kisses to all…I miss everyone and wish you could spend the year with me, its incredible here
Desiree’

Hello everyone!!

We arrived safely and settled in fairly quickly. We unpacked and had orientation of Kasana and then we took off for camp Musana to do 5 days of work. I went unexpectantly to help with the cooking for the team. The camp had breathtaking views and everyone had a great time pouring cement pads, painting latrines and showers and filling in the roadway. I learned how to make some traditional Ugandan meals and spent most of the days preparing meals for the team. We arrived back at Kasana on Saturday evening and I went straight to bed with some pain medication. (I had a minor accident and bashed in my check, split my lip and chipped a tooth) Sundays are mainly spent at church (10:30 until 1pm) and then I had a lunch visit and dinner visit…the whole day is basically fellowship and resting….wow what a concept!! I am feeling much better today and all is healing well. Life is really an adventure here, I have taken a hundred pitctures or more already. I was just able to get internet access today and then had to wait for the power to come on to charge my battery so that I would be able to contact you before going to bed. it is now almost 9pm which is about noon in Colorado time. We are getting up at 4am to go on a safari so I must get some rest soon. I will be going to the dentist on Thursday (about the chipped tooth) and then shopping in Kampala on Friday, so I will not be online again until I return home possibly friday evening. So far I can not connect to email but will work on that and also try to download pictures soon. I miss everyone terribly, it is nice having my team still here for another 10 days or so. Please pray that I can pick up the language soon, as I will need to learn quickly to communicate once I start working next week. We have all been in good health and are having a grand time, I appreciate your prayers.
Many blessings to all,

Desiree’