Nearing the end of the trek...

My last few days are wrapping up in Uganda. I will be heading to Kampala on Friday and staying until I leave Saturday night. This last week has been very busy. I visited a parish very far away in a town called Chigerama. The people in this village, because it is so deep in rural Uganda, have rarely (and a few never) seen a white person. They were overjoyed to see me. An elderly lady came up to me and gave me three paw paws, what were her supper for that night. She wanted to give a gift to the visitor. The people here know how to love; it is something I think we tend to lack in the U.S. How many Americans do you know who would give all they have to eat to someone, who they KNEW had more than they did?  I sure wouldn’t. I am too selfish, and sometimes towards those who have more, I'm jealous. This lady is a much better witness to God then I am and probably ever will be. I will try to do my best to always remember that moment. 

After that we had Mass, and there were around 400 people in attendance. This seems small to African standards, and to American ones! When I asked Father why there were so few, he said the ones in the church now are the Legionaries of Mary (a type of total consecration) and they were praying at the church Monday till Thursday, the Feast of the Assumption. That’s hardcore. They would sleep outside, under trees, on straw. They are some of the most faith-filled people I have ever met. Not one of them spoke English, but through Father translating we talked a little; they were sad we couldn’t speak in the same language. Another elderly lady, they are called muzei (old person) here, told Father to tell me I was handsome. Most people in that area have only seen white people who are movie stars in pictures, so they think we all resemble them; it is hilarious. 

Then, I drove myself back to the parish. This was not a pleasurable experience! Driving in Uganda would be scary on good roads due to the skill level of other drivers. They do not have good roads though, many are just enlarged walking trails that will barely let two cars squeeze by. The left side is a mountain and the right side is a 100ft drop off with no guard rail. Talk about white-knuckle driving. To top it all off I had no clue where I was going and had to follow a map drawn by hand in 2 minutes. I made it, but I was worried for a while. I had to get back to be with my class before they left. They had a Mass and then said goodbye to me.

 My class has been wonderful to me; they made me in art a plate and fruits from natural materials around to thank me for being their teacher. Our school is one of very few in the district who did not strike, and it shows in the quality of the students. Next time I go, and I advise anyone who does go to also do this, I will not allow begging. It is something very prevalent here, and my students never did outright, which was good, but they hinted at it. I ignored it when I should have used it as a teaching opportunity. I want to start a couple schools and this school to be pen pals, I think it would be great for both to learn about another culture by writing letters or through email. I will tell them before I leave though that if they beg, we cannot continue as pen pals. I do not want it to be about that; I want it to be solely learning about other cultures.

I have also visited the orphanage called the House of Love again. The conditions leave something to be desired, but they do what they can as a staff. Only 6 of the 26 kids were there, the others still had exams. I brought some tootsie rolls and cookies to them and they were the most polite kids I have ever met. The girls all curtsied and said thank you and the boys said thank you, sir. It was adorable. I talked to one little girl, Grace. She is 8 and in her second of three years of nursery.  She was an adorable child, but her chances of being adopted are very slim. Not many people adopt children older than toddler age from Africa. I will be praying for her to find a family.

Today I went on a chimp trek. We hiked for about 3 hours in a Rainforest, and finally found some chimps. I spotted a big shadow moving in the forest and asked our guide what it was. She said, "it’s a chimp!" Then we were off, we went on a light jog through the bush, which had no trail. I was tired, but a muzei that is also here from Belgium is 68! I have no clue how he did it. He is a tough man. We followed the chimps for about a mile and a half and then they started climbing. We stood underneath and tried to get photos, which did not all turn out well, but just generally watched the chimps jump around, swing on vines, and eat figs. 

Another group came to watch so we started back to the car to give them room to see. It was a 1-hour walk back to the car and by this time the muzei was not doing well. He was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. The seminarian and I decided to hike ahead at a faster pace and bring the car back for them. We had a 2 or 3 mile hike on the road, after going up a quarter mile through thick forest. TIA. We emerged from the bush onto the main road and a man herding a cow gave us a very strange look. I bet he had never seen two muzungu come out of the forest looking half dead before! He told us the way to the car and we started hiking. We made it to the car and drove back to get the rest of the group. Driving to the parish we pulled over to cram two more people into the car. In Africa if there is any possible way, you let people you know ride with you in the car. Few people have cars, so there is seldom one or 2 people in a car. Usually its 8 or 9.

I have also visited the house of one of the teachers of English at my Uganda School. He is 21 and brought me to his parents to see them and say hello. His mom said in the local dialect, "I can't believe a white person is in my house!" She was so joyful and welcoming. The teacher went to show me some of the local foods growing in their garden and when I had gotten back they had set a table with rice and a mix of cabbage and tomatoes for me. They had also gone out and bought two sodas, which are very expensive to these families. This is a family that cannot afford electricity even though most of the village has it. When I was leaving they loaded me down with sugar cane, mangos, bananas and a bottle of water. TIA.

I am running out of time for typing this. I have to meet some teachers at the school very soon. This will most likely be my last post before heading back to the States, but I will have one or two more in the U.S. Thank you all for the prayers and being on this journey with me in spirit!