What time is it?

There are many ways to tell, approximately, what time it is, without a clock. For instance, if one hears roosters crowing and it is still dark, then the time is somewhere after 4 am but before 6 am, when it begins to get light.
If a certain little bird is making their morning calls to friends, it is likely just 6 am.....unless it is raining. When it rains this bird is a sleepy head and doesn't bother its friends at all.

If it is getting dark outside, then it is likely about 7:15 pm, as the sun rises and sets about the same time each day, every day. I think there might be a 15 minute variation during the year, but that is all.

Are you......

This last week I meet Pat and Cara Aylard, a couple just moved to Kampala to work with eMi EA for the next 2 years. Cara asked “Are you Shanthi's mom?” I was really surprised, until she explained that they had traveled here over a year ago to see about the possibility of coming on staff. As part of that time, they had spent an evening with Shanthi and Chad.

This may be the last time I hear that question here in Africa. Soon eMi EA will have its 3rd director and all the incoming staff and interns will have likely not met Chad or Shanthi.

Changes....just part of everyday living. You just never know when will be the last time for any given thing. The last time to see an old friend, the last time to shop at a store or eat at a certain restaurant or kiss a friend. Makes each moment potentially more precious.

Potatoes

We have real potatoes in the house now. Rachel was at Owino market downtown and bought us honest-to-goodness potatoes....like the Idahos or Russets from home. Most of the potatoes here have thin red skins and are like very large new potatoes.

Now these real potatoes are great for baking, making fries and potato salad, all sorts of dishes. I like them a lot, and only have them about twice a year as they are a bit hard to find.


Count your blessings if you have the kind of spuds you want just by going shopping.

Neighborhood update

The neighbor across the street fixed up their place with the proceeds from the sale of land next door totheir plot. First, one of the brick houses got plastered and a wide veranda added to the front. Then a new brick house was built,with an iron sheet roof. The man who will live there, Martin, will park his boda in my compound. We will trade for boda rides I think.

They dug out an area and planted grass. I don't know if they will put in flowers or not. Guess we'll know later.

The big building project adjacent to them is going steadily. Workers come 6 days a week,often even in the rain. The foundations have been dug and flooring in part poured. It looks as if it will be a large apartment house.

AND our main road, Kiwafu, has been graded from the busy Ggaba Road (which is tarmaced) all the way around past the quarry and up to Tank Hill Road where the tarmac ends! There is a rumor out that Kiwafu will also get tarmac on it soon, after the water pipes have been dug up and replaced and the electric poles moved that are in the road right-of-way. Since the pipes are in place from Ggaba Road past my place now and they have already been working up the hill by the quarry, perhaps the paving will happen by the end of August.

Tough love

Erna was very upset when she picked us up and had been crying. A few hours earlier she had taken a baby boy for a doctor's checkup. The tests found that he was healthy and negative for many common diseases here. At about 5 months of age, he was well nourished and sought out adult contact, with eyes and hands.

He lives, for the the past 10 days, at Nsambya Babies Home, where Probation had taken him in the middle of the night. The baby was “found on the street” in downtown Kampala after midnight by a pedestrian and turned over to police, who called in Probation.

So why was Erna crying? This baby had been well cared for and loved by someone, who was likely missing him very much. Erna had hoped to begin to foster him, but with the doctor's findings, now was having to place radio ads, in addition to the newspaper ad already running, to try to find this little guy's real mom. She couldn't imagine the mom voluntarily giving him away and hopes that some how, through God's grace, that baby and mom can be re-united.

While she and her husband have 2 kids of their own and have an adopted one as well, they have room in their hearts and lives for more. If no parents surface for this little guy, she is hoping he will join their family too. In the meantime, she has to pray that God opens a way for the real mom to hear the ads or read the paper and know that her son is safe and waiting for her to come.

Half Done

On 9 May we are half way through the performances of Sound of Music. The audiences are loving it and each seating is more than 80% sold out!! For each of the 40+ actors there are at least 2 others behind the scenes working to ensure it all comes together smoothly and on time. With the intermission, it runs about 3 hours each performance.

My job now is repairing what gets torn or broken. I sit in the back hallway near a changing room. I am the only one not running around, in a hurry or practicing lines or music. It seems that I offer a moment of calm in the midst of the storms, and the occasional neck and shoulder massage.

Since no 2 productions are the same, there is lots to learn, and to pay attention to. The actors work hard at remembering their lines, timing and positioning on the stage. I expect by the last performance we will have it all organized and smooth.

This has been a good way to meet and get to know people I wouldn't meet otherwise. Miriam and Rachel are helping with the costume changing for the girls. Eric helps out when he can, but his classes on Sat. come at times when we have performances.

Some cast members live out our way so we are able to have rides to and from the theatre. This is a huge blessing since going by matatu would involve about an hour each way and at least 2 route changes, if we could even find one after 10:30 at night when we are done.

As a treat on Saturday the girls and I went to eat Indian food between the performances. The food was fast and very tasty. We will do it again next week. Have to try out some other dishes. But we know the chicken curry and chicken and goat byranis were excellent.