Another Leslie Perspective

I was planning to do an in depth post tonight, complete with pictures, but my brain is wiped, and I really, really want a shower and shave before bed.  We have power tonight, which means I can get warmish water to wash off the red dust of the day.

Instead, I'm going to share another of Leslie's recent emails:

It's late now and the days are so full - we are all exhausted by 8pm... some days we have no electricity, some days no running water, some days I change a lot of diarrhea diapers, some days I throw away diarrhea underwear, some days there's time to make it to the market for vegetables, some days we just borrow milk from neighbors, some days there are people standing in our living room pleading for money, some days I wonder if I have enough energy to brush my teeth before bed - never mind a shower!, some days I sit out on the library hill and enjoy the grass and cool breeze, some days I get excited about meat for dinner... all of these days I am reminding myself to go slow & steady... just one day at a time & we'll see what it brings...

Surely it is God who saves me
I will trust in Him and not be afraid
For the Lord is my Stronghold
And my Sure Defense
And He will be my Savior.

New House Snippet

Leslie sent the following email out a few days ago.  I thought others would enjoy this snippet of our life:

Yesterday was moving day to our house up the hill... exhausting!  But all in all, a really good day with some funny stories to go with it.  The guys who came to help us move put 50 lb trunks and suitcases on their heads and hiked it up the hill like mountain goats - Travis was impressed!  He offered to load it all in the van and drive up, but "No," they said, "this is faster."  My househelper, Sharon, arrived at 10am and that girl is a work-horse like I've never seen - in an 8 hour day, she went to market, bought rice, beans, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, etc... charcoal and a large knife, came back, hand sorted and picked through all the rice and beans, and cooked over two little stoves in our back yard house (like a garage for workers to sleep in) - the food was excellent - so much for the rice-cooker I bought in Kampala - don't think I'll be needing it after all!  After lunch, she scrubbed the entire bathroom with an SOS pad, then mopped the entire house (when I say "mopped" I mean on hands and knees with rags - our floors are dirt and concrete)  She washed up all the dishes from lunch and scrubbed the kitchen sink and shelves!  She came back again today to do the same - washed and hung up all the laundry by hand (probably 4 loads worth), cooked lunch again, washed up all the dishes, mopped floors again and washed windows, including scraping off splattered paint with a small knife!  Her wages are about $50 per month and she is one of the higher paid house-helpers b/c she is so diligent and reliable and trustworthy.  I am feeling a lot better about life here in Kabale now that we have Sharon - what a jewel!  I hope to send a photo of her soon so you can know her too.  The funny & sweet story from yesterday is that after all the men had moved everything - including heavy furniture from the other house we were in - they were all sitting around the living room and front porch and Travis didn't know if they were waiting for lunch or to be paid, or what... so finally he asked Jovahn (our friend and vice-principal at BBUC) and Jovahn said, "they are waiting for you to pray for them!"  Travis clarified, "you mean pray - not pay?"  So "the Reverend" went in and prayed a blessing over all of them and then they left.  So today we have some crazy curtains and some crazy plastic mats on the floor and a crazy wall clock to go with it -  this house is really making me laugh, it's going to be so mish-mash white-woman tries to make it work in Africa!  Today we also got out our iPod and speakers so we could listen to some music and that was refreshing... I was thinking about the words from one of the worship songs, "We give all honor and thanks to Your Name, We trade our sorrows for garments of praise!"  Tonight we saw 2 crested cranes - the national bird of Uganda - it's on the Ugandan flag - right outside our front door in the top of the tree... ran in for the camera and they took off.

 And now for some pictures:

Hiking up Rugarama Hill, where we live...

A little farther up the path...

And farther...

Even farther...

Almost to the top

Kids on the grounds of their new school

Anyone want to raise funds for a new playground?  Anyone?

Lord of Chaos

"Dad, I think we're stepping into chaos."  Jesse said this to me our first morning in Kabale as we stepped out or door.  The day before we had made the 8 hour drive from Kampala to Kabale.  Don't let the photo fool you; while the drive is beautiful (especially once you get into the district of Kabale), this is about the only nicely paved portion we experienced it.  The rest of it is pitted with potholes of remarkable size, plus countless numbers of bumps, ridges, stretches of red dirt, and no Mickey D's for easy bathroom stops and snacks.  The kids, as has become usual, did great!  Chatting, playing DS, listening to me tell stories, looking out the window, snoozing in laps -- until midnight!

One highlight was the stop at the equator.  It was hot, dusty, and fascinating! For 10k Ugandan Shillings (about 5 bucks), a Ugandan fellow will talk to you about the equator, and then take you to three basins: one south of the equator, one north of the equator, and one right on the equator.

Our long standing question about water swirling in the toilet was at last answered: the water does rotate in opposite directions! Even within a few feet of the equator! And most surprising and fun, right on the equator it goes straight down.  No rotation at all!

Back to the chaos.  Jesse was referring to something we learned at MTI called the Transition Bridge.  We begin on land at "settled," begin crossing the bridge through "unsettled," and right smack dab in the middle is "chaos."  Confusion, weariness, lack of order, extreme difference, emotional turbulence.... 

Chaos.  And that has definitely been a part of our experience these first few days in Kabale.  What stories do we tell?  Georgia falling out of a tree from about 10 feet (she's okay and recovered)?  Living in our transitional home (ours isn't ready yet) with dirty floors, no hot water, occasional electricity, little to no food for cooking?  The challenge of strange accents, miscommunications, temper explosions (mine), flowing tears (Leslie), yelling and biting (Julia)? The reality of being content with accomplishing only one thing per day, if that? Things already going wrong with our "new" van? Driving on the opposite side of the road amidst a swarm of bicycles and boda-bodas (motorcycles)? Hearing the local mosque blaring out misguided prayers all day on the last day of Ramadan?

Or do I tell the tales of the tender receptions?  The principal and deputy principal of BBUC who sat by Leslie's side at our welcome dinner while she cried?  The stories we heard of how hard they tried to be ready for us, but were thwarted by various circumstances?  Of bananas and peanuts waiting for us?  Of hot water being brought to our door each morning and evening? Of the young German missionary couple dropping by with homemade muffins?  Of being called to worship on Sunday morning by African drums and voices singing unique Ugandan harmonies? The Ugandans who are the family of Ugandan friends we met one week before our departure in Dallas checking up on us? Dinner with a friend in the cool evening in the Kabale hills at an inn with acres of space for the kids to run and play? Of the home that (God willing) we will be able to move into this week?  Of the surprising fun of living together in a small space?  Of our kids being able to run down paths and steps through a gate to our teammates home for play time and movies?

Chaos. Even as Jesse spoke these words, I thought of how our God is Lord over chaos, how he even creates order and beauty out of chaos. And then I turned, closed the door, looked up, and this is what I saw:

"The Lord is in control."  I needed that reminder. Day by day reminders have come that the Lords is in control of this crazy life we've chosen, or that he has chosen for us.  It's the way of the cross, true -- suffering, many kinds of death, sacrifice, radical release -- but that way also leads to life.  And all along the way walks One who has walked this path before.  Reflecting on that has put a new spin for me on the overly quoted verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  What we're realizing here is, in fact, that we can do nothing unless it is through Christ who strengthens us.  Without the one in whom all things hold together (Col. 1), our lives dis-integrate into chaos.

Leslie's dad commended to us 2 Corinthians 6.3-13.  We've read it with new appreciation.  Read it -- and pray it -- with us.

Uganda Week 1

Here are a few glimpses of our first week en route to Kabale.  They only begin to tell the story of the fun, hard, draining, exciting, confusing, scary, tasty, icky, crazy, sobering, uplifting, challenging, faith-building time we're having.

Leslie's and my Dads -- such love we've received!

DFW Airport.  Our final farewell to parents/grandparents -- many tears!

Jesse and Leslie at Namirembe Guest House l in Kampala, our transition place.

Julia demonstrating our new way of bathing.

Georgia with Winnie, our  lovely new Ugandan friend

Outside the Cathedral atop Namirembe Hill

Namirembe Hill

I really should be sleeping, but a quick test of my new mobile modem (which I simply plug into the usb port of my laptop, and I'm connect to the internet) has led to extensive email checking, plus a wonderful Skype call with my parents -- and I'm sitting on a porch at the top of Namirembe Hill overlooking the lights of Kampala, the capital of Uganda!


Our first days here have been both wonderful and rough.  Jet lag is extremely painful for all of us -- the kids even woke the first day vomiting and barely able to get out of bed.  The stark differences and some harsh realities of life in Uganda have been difficult for us, even as we feel very grateful for being here, and are strongly aware of the Father's hand providing for us and carrying us through.


Overriding it all has been the amazing welcome we have received from our Ugandan friends.  I'll have to write more on this later, but we have been received like long lost and yearned for relatives, even by those who only heard of us a few days ago.  We would be in such a difficult, confusing place without these people!


Tomorrow we finish purchases (including buying a van in cash!), and we hope to be on the road to Kabale by Wednesday at the latest.

Here's a great snapshot Leslie wrote in an email earlier today.  I'm off to bed, and will share more soon:

I have been encouraged and amazed by the kids - they are bright and shiny and SUPER TROOPERS - what a gift!  They are carrying us along, not the other way around :0)  Can't wait to send some photos of these early days... imagine our family and the Morrows riding around the bumpy, dusty, diesel-filled, moped & pedestrian crowded streets of Uganda in the back of the ambulance they sent to collect us from the airport... this is how we are making our way in and around the city - no seatbelts (much less seats)... Julia presses her face against the windows and smiles and waves at all the vendors ("hawkers") who come to the window with green-skinned oranges and phone cards, belts, sunglasses, etc... they are shouting, "muzungu, muzungu!" at her... she is so happy with all the noise and excitement and says, "I ride in car!"  Georgia made fairy crowns for everyone yesterday out of long blades of grass and even put one on one of the women who works here in the guest house kitchen.  Jesse was sad when his Nintendo DS battery ran out and he couldn't stay plugged in to the Matrix!  But he's having fun exploring too... trying to catch lizards in empty water bottles - no luck so far.  Lucy is happy hanging out with her "bestie" Mallory.  We are hearing these funny monkey-sounding birds in the background all the time, trying the goat meat and matoke (mashed plantain), drinking spiced tea and coffee with hot milk smelling the smells of burnt trash - there's nothing quite like it!!!  Travis is very strange and must have some Ugandan blood in him b/c he likes the smell - go figure!  Last night was the first night the kids didn't wake at midnight... to their bodies, it is still mid-afternoon, so they are having trouble staying asleep even though they've been up all day here.  (we are 8 hrs ahead of TX time - so your noon is our 8pm)  Travis and I have had success taking the Melatonin - thanks M.E.  That's all from me for now... we will meet some folks at UCU tonight - looking forward to it... with love and thanks for each of you,
~ Leslie