I don't know why but since I've gotten here, I've really wanted to tap into my artistic side. I've always liked to draw but here it's gone up to a whole new level and for Christmas my parents sent me oil paints and all that goes along with using them (brushes, canvass, etc...) so I decided that today would be the day to take those paints for a test drive (or I guess paint).
So my picture didn't turn out too bad, I had my door to my office closed, my classical music going, and the artistic juices flowing, so even though my painting wasn't amazing, it was still fun. My painting was a scene of several different fields in the sunset with the back of me looking at it, kind of based off the verse "the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few".
Now for the incident report. As I had stayed somewhat clean during the painting process, I was rather pleased with myself, but of course pride comes before the fall. As I was cleaning off my brushes I found that it took some effort to get the paint out, but being the smart one that I am, continued to try and clean off the plate that I used for the paint, and about 30 seconds later my hands were covered in black paint (as all the colors mixed together make black - in case you didn't know ;)) I ended up having to go to Jess and ask for paint thinner and after a few laughs and a picture that he took of what I did (which for the sake of my pride I'm not going to post) he came with WD40 and some strong soap. I seriously felt like I was about 3 years old and had just gone crazy with paint and I now had to be cleaned up.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Sobering...
So tonight we had our monthly missionary fellowship where the missionaries of the Jinja area get together from all sorts of denominations to just eat food, hear a devo, and talk to people. It's cool to hear that most of them experience a lot of the same trials and discouragements that I am going through and they've been on the field a whole heck of a lot longer than I have.
I was able to spend some time talking to this one girl who runs an AIDS orphanage with her husband. They have 33 kids there and they all have AIDS or are HIV positive. I am just blown away by that because there's so much involved with HIV/AIDS that to have 33 kids who get severely sick frequently and not only that but have had to deal with parents dying or deserting them and also coping with the fact that they have basically been told they're going to die a lot sooner than they though. I have been in Uganda about 4 months and have kind of realized that AIDS is kind of like termites or bed bugs because it's under the surface and you have no idea that it's really there or that there's a problem until you do a little digging. Please pray for these kids, especially this one girl named Lydia, she's 15 and absolutely one of the coolest girls I've ever met in my life, it's one of those things, there's just something special about her and to think that she has AIDS really blows my mind.
I was able to spend some time talking to this one girl who runs an AIDS orphanage with her husband. They have 33 kids there and they all have AIDS or are HIV positive. I am just blown away by that because there's so much involved with HIV/AIDS that to have 33 kids who get severely sick frequently and not only that but have had to deal with parents dying or deserting them and also coping with the fact that they have basically been told they're going to die a lot sooner than they though. I have been in Uganda about 4 months and have kind of realized that AIDS is kind of like termites or bed bugs because it's under the surface and you have no idea that it's really there or that there's a problem until you do a little digging. Please pray for these kids, especially this one girl named Lydia, she's 15 and absolutely one of the coolest girls I've ever met in my life, it's one of those things, there's just something special about her and to think that she has AIDS really blows my mind.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Miroto Pictures
If you want to see more pictures, you may want to check this out.
 |
| Uganda - Moroto Trip |
My Miroto Adventure Part 4
After traveling a while and getting food in Siroti, we decided we may have to stay in Mbale (the place where the AIDS mountain is) because it's dangerous to drive in the dark on Ugandan roads. It's actually a pretty legit little town and we stayed at this pretty nice hotel where we were able to actually have a legit shower an I had my own room and it was so quiet. We had dinner and I had pork chops and applesauce and an orange fanta and it was absolutely amazing. Of course, it's kind of hard to enjoy food when you realize how much people are starving just a few hours away. That night I was able to just rest in my room and then we woke up to have breakfast and hit the road after just a wee bit of car trouble. We finally got back to Jinja at around 10:30 in the morning on Wednesday. I am amazed at how much I was able to experience on such a short trip, I learned so much about ministry and different cultures and I just thank God that I was able to have that experience.
My Miroto Adventure Part 3
Well, I made it through the night and got up, had my quiet time, and then ate breakfast. We headed down to the pastors house and spoke with some ex-prisoners about how to change people's perceptions of them now that they are out of prison. I wish I had gotten to take a picture, but I hope I will always have this snapshot in my mind:
There were about 20 or so prisoners sitting on mats on the ground under a tree and then we were sitting on chairs. Behind the prisoners there was an old African tree and a line of cattle walking there were also a couple of ladies walking with bushels of straw on their head and also some soldiers with automatic rifles walking by. In the midst of all that, there were tons of white butterflies flying around. It was just such an amazing memory.
After taking care of a couple things, I was able to take part in something that I pray I will never forget. We were able to go into a Kiramajong village which was surrounded by two fences (one is thorns and one is sticks) and they have really short doorways in order to keep people out.
The little kids loved the camera and that's where these pictures are from. It was so cool! Of course afterwards looking at the pictures I was able to really see in their eyes their hunger and it's just so sad!
There were about 20 or so prisoners sitting on mats on the ground under a tree and then we were sitting on chairs. Behind the prisoners there was an old African tree and a line of cattle walking there were also a couple of ladies walking with bushels of straw on their head and also some soldiers with automatic rifles walking by. In the midst of all that, there were tons of white butterflies flying around. It was just such an amazing memory.
After taking care of a couple things, I was able to take part in something that I pray I will never forget. We were able to go into a Kiramajong village which was surrounded by two fences (one is thorns and one is sticks) and they have really short doorways in order to keep people out.
The little kids loved the camera and that's where these pictures are from. It was so cool! Of course afterwards looking at the pictures I was able to really see in their eyes their hunger and it's just so sad!
My Miroto Adventure Part 2
Once we made it to Moroto, we met up with Noah who was a former School of Ministry student and he brought us to this pastor’s house where we had some big momma cokes that they have there because that’s where the second tallest man ever was born. We then went to the prison where we were able to speak with the Officer in Charge (who Jesse knew from Jinja) and Jesse was able to kind of witness to one of the head hanchos who was “religious” but didn’t have that saving relationship with Christ. Jesse then was able to teach about 100 or so prisoners and we also gave them some uniforms because some of them were still wearing torn old clothes.
After the prison, we went and had some local food at the pastor’s house- it was very good and not nearly as sketchy as I thought it was going to be. We then went to our hotel or “guest house”, now by Moroto standards or really most African standards it wasn’t too bad at all, but by spoiled city girl standards, it was “interesting” to say the least – hence the documentation of the spider. They also just had a big bucket of water and a basin in your room for you to bathe in if you so desired. I have to admit all the Dateline specials I’ve seen highlighting the sketchy things that can be in hotel rooms has tainted me for life and therefore it was a night full of prayer and me constantly saying to myself “God is bigger than big terrible spiders”.
We took tea (or in my case, I took coffee) at the guest house and then we went to Noah’s for another big momma soda and one of the best chipates (kind of like a tortilla) I’ve ever had . Jess, Bev, and I were exhausted so as we decided it was time to head back to get some sleep. Going outside, I saw more stars than I’ve ever seen in my life, it was unbelievable! I love looking at the stars more than really anything in the world and I was just in awe! It was seriously like a blanket of stars, you could even see the outlines of the constellations, not just the three stars you can normally see, but all the little ones that make up the whole thing. It was truly amazing!
After getting back to the guest house and spraying about half a can of Doom (bug killer) I read a little bit and then went to bed. It was an awesome day.
After the prison, we went and had some local food at the pastor’s house- it was very good and not nearly as sketchy as I thought it was going to be. We then went to our hotel or “guest house”, now by Moroto standards or really most African standards it wasn’t too bad at all, but by spoiled city girl standards, it was “interesting” to say the least – hence the documentation of the spider. They also just had a big bucket of water and a basin in your room for you to bathe in if you so desired. I have to admit all the Dateline specials I’ve seen highlighting the sketchy things that can be in hotel rooms has tainted me for life and therefore it was a night full of prayer and me constantly saying to myself “God is bigger than big terrible spiders”.
We took tea (or in my case, I took coffee) at the guest house and then we went to Noah’s for another big momma soda and one of the best chipates (kind of like a tortilla) I’ve ever had . Jess, Bev, and I were exhausted so as we decided it was time to head back to get some sleep. Going outside, I saw more stars than I’ve ever seen in my life, it was unbelievable! I love looking at the stars more than really anything in the world and I was just in awe! It was seriously like a blanket of stars, you could even see the outlines of the constellations, not just the three stars you can normally see, but all the little ones that make up the whole thing. It was truly amazing!
After getting back to the guest house and spraying about half a can of Doom (bug killer) I read a little bit and then went to bed. It was an awesome day.
My Miroto Adventure Part 1
As I was re-capping the first day of my trip in my journal, I was laying in a bed that iwas absolutely terrified to sleep in and had just killed one of the scariest spiders I had ever seen and it was super fast and therefore after I killed it, I felt rather accomplished.
Monday (day one of the adventure) was seriously one for the books. It started out with me waking up at 5 and we were on the road by 6:20. I had my coffee in hand and was ready to go. It was a cool first couple of hours as we drove to Mbale where I was able to see Mt. Elgon which is the mountain where AIDS and the Ebola virus began. Then we drove into uncharted territory for all of us and drove through the middle of nowhere (aka the land of Karamaja). We really realized we were potentially lost as we were crossing riverbeds and driving for long distances and seeing a lot of villages of huts in the distance.
But we were going by the map, so we kept on trucking and while we were driving I perfected the art of drinking a fanta while being tossed about in the car. We finally found our way to Moroto which looked so much like the foot hills of Albuquerque, it wasn't even funny.
The Kiramajong are a group of people who wear the blankets kind of in a toga like fashion or as a kind of skirt and big earrings and their entire life is concentrated around raising cattle which is their determination of wealth. They are primarily located along the Kenya border and are actually the lowest on the totem pole when it comes to the tribes in Uganda. They are known for attacking and robbing people, but as always is the story with a few rotten apples which spoil the reputation of a fascinating group of people. One thing that's difficult is they are going through a huge drought and therefore they are starving. There are UN compounds, World Health Organization, and Food Security programs all over there. Seeing little kids with bloated bellies and really realizing that they are literally starving is just unreal to think about.
Monday (day one of the adventure) was seriously one for the books. It started out with me waking up at 5 and we were on the road by 6:20. I had my coffee in hand and was ready to go. It was a cool first couple of hours as we drove to Mbale where I was able to see Mt. Elgon which is the mountain where AIDS and the Ebola virus began. Then we drove into uncharted territory for all of us and drove through the middle of nowhere (aka the land of Karamaja). We really realized we were potentially lost as we were crossing riverbeds and driving for long distances and seeing a lot of villages of huts in the distance.
But we were going by the map, so we kept on trucking and while we were driving I perfected the art of drinking a fanta while being tossed about in the car. We finally found our way to Moroto which looked so much like the foot hills of Albuquerque, it wasn't even funny.
The Kiramajong are a group of people who wear the blankets kind of in a toga like fashion or as a kind of skirt and big earrings and their entire life is concentrated around raising cattle which is their determination of wealth. They are primarily located along the Kenya border and are actually the lowest on the totem pole when it comes to the tribes in Uganda. They are known for attacking and robbing people, but as always is the story with a few rotten apples which spoil the reputation of a fascinating group of people. One thing that's difficult is they are going through a huge drought and therefore they are starving. There are UN compounds, World Health Organization, and Food Security programs all over there. Seeing little kids with bloated bellies and really realizing that they are literally starving is just unreal to think about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)