It has occurred to me that i have met many 'characters' in Uganda over the past year....most have, in one way or another, made me smile and many have certainly brightened my days! One of my favorite is Yubu, my driver. When i first met him, i thought that he was way too quiet and how would I spend so many hours in the van in the company of someone who never spoke unless spoken to. I have known him about 6 months now and each day he breaks out of his shell just a little more. We often find ourselves lost and laughing about it...like how can we not find an embassy or a mall. He often argues with me that he has not been somewhere before and in my complete confusion regarding the streets in Kampala...I will say "oh, you know, next to where we got the good samosas from the man who looked like Buddha and asked if we were gooda" and eventually Yubu realizes he knows exactly where to go! He has been stopped numerous times by the traffic police because no one believes he is 31 and not 13. He says that i am Americanizing his speech...haha...he now says "UH-HUH" and coke rather than coca cola. He has a really funny sense of humor....last week when i asked him the name of a crunchy sweet snack, he said they were called chewchew-whys. i said surely not, but he insisted. However, no one had heard that name and i finally found out they are called 'daddies'. He appreciates anything you do for him or his family, especially if it concerns FOOD! His daughter, Bridgett is adorable and likes to go to church with the mzungu because she knows it means donuts or ice cream afterwards! I love the way unlikely friendships develop, making your life just a little more interesting.
The Desana Uganda Volunteer Team continues to grow....what a wonderful group of dedicated people working together with an amazing vision for the future. Everyone seems to have a niche and we just know we will shine in 2013. i have not made much progress when it comes to my 'dealings' at Internal Affairs. we have submitted for the certificate renewal for Desana Uganda...but the law prohibits me from getting my work visa until the renewal has passed. that being said, i'm sorta up the creek without a paddle. can't work without a work permit and can't get the work permit until the ngo certificate has been renewed. sound confusing? yessireebob! i have spent countless hours with report writers, attorneys, 'people in the know' (who really weren't) and lots of time just shaking my head and saying ' what now'? tomorrow i will check out getting a 'special pass' (no not a monopoly card), an extension on my visa. i cannot head home and abandon the cause because the thought of having to go through this again, would be just too too much!
last week i broke the frame on my glasses and to shell out 180,000 shillings for new ones ($60)...now i seem to have lost them. at least i now know where the optician's office is. i will call on my angels to help me locate the glasses tonight, i have found them in strange places before....surely they are exactly where i last put them! i love knowing i can call on angels. my friend, Art, sees them, i do not....but i often feel their presence and i certainly know they have protected and guarded me many times.
we went to see the RUHU kids today at school....always so much fun to see their happy faces. we brought lunch and bananas and backpacks for everyone. 3 of the boys ran away from school a couple weeks ago, but the school has refused to allow them to come back. it's such a huge adjustment for former street kids to attend a boarding school and to have to sit still and obey rules and even wear shoes! they are all doing a great job! thank you Lord for providing the funds for their educations! we are planning a beach party at lake victoria on Easter sunday. yubu says he can swim, i surely hope so because i do not like being the only adult who can swim. we'll have a picnic and maybe a volleyball game and it will be so much fun for them. they have been asking to go to the beach for 2 months now...last year we went on Easter....maybe it will become our tradition.
i still haven't learned how to make chapatis....the Indian flatbread that is so popular here. it's something i need to master as a really good chapati is hard to find. i did go to the fish market to buy a fresh Nile River tilapia to cook for friends....hmm...what do you mean, 'whole fish'......? i sorta wanted it cleaned and filleted and ready to grill in the oven :) well, ok, why not? add that to my list of firsts....gutting a fish in the kitchen sink....at least i had water yesterday! today.....no water, no power.....and thankfully, no fish! haha each day is an adventure and every moment there is a reason to give Him praise for all the blessings in my oh, so interesting life. Thank you Jesus!
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