Sorry!

Wow, sorry I've not lived up to my own expectations of writing another blog soon. Our laptop has been down for some good time. First we had to get it cleaned for viruses and in the process lost almost all photos. Now it has stopped booting up all together so we'll probably lose all documents now. It's not really practical for me to write blog updates at the internet cafes because it adds up to a lot of money.

So we're here, alive and well in the dry heat of December. Yes, I'm totally confused about the holiday season! It's so different. I'll try to be posting short updates for the time being until we can get the computer fixed again.

We miss everyone back home very much and hope you have a great holiday season!

History

This blog was actually written about a month ago and many things have kept me from posting until now. For example, as I was posting it there were riots breaking out in the street so we had to leave before it was posted. Life has just been generally inconvenient lately so this is the first I've been back to the blog since early September. Just enjoy thinking of it as an historical account! I will try very hard to post another update very very soon so that you will know the current situation. Thanks for reading!

Once upon a time...


...We had a big reception as a way of celebrating our marriage with friends and family here, and introducing me to the family members I’ve not met. It is indeed a very big family! As Uncle Manzi was introducing the family to me he would say something like, “All the girls who are a part of the Rabichwamba family, stand up.” Then about 25 of my cousins stood up! It was great to finally meet most of the aunts and uncles and see everyone all in one place. It was also good for Michael’s family to meet Rev. Henry and some of the USP staff. We really had a great time dancing, giving speeches, and eating great food and of course, cake.

The day was basically a success, except for the fact that we, the guests of honor were about 3 hours late to our own party! We were going to get ready from the family home in Kampala but we decided to go to a nearby salon for my hair instead of doing it ourselves. We told the guy we only had about 30 minutes and we thought he would do something simple and fast. 2 ½ hours later, my hair was done! He did a great job and was going as fast as he could, but he really put us in a tough position. Our party was starting on the other side of town and of course, I couldn’t leave with my hair halfway done, so we had no choice but to come very late. Once we got to the party everything was fine, but the morning was so stressful.

I’ve finally started teaching at the music school, but only one day a week for now. Originally they told me I would have ten students and more would come in September, but many of the students weren’t so committed or serious about lessons, so for now I’m only teaching 5 of them. So far it’s been a good experience because they are all at different levels. One of them is almost as good as me so sometimes I feel like I’m not very helpful, but it’s fun to teach him because he can play more interesting pieces. My youngest student is 12 and she is a talker! I can see that it’s going to be a challenge to get enough playing/teaching time in with her.

I’m glad that I will be around for a while because the students all have great potential. I would love to help them go far in improving their playing skills. I think now that they will have more consistency in their lessons they will improve quickly. The school usually just brings in visiting teachers whenever they are available, and these foreign teachers are usually only around for about a month at a time. If no one is visiting, they simply can’t offer cello lessons. One of my students wanted to know how long I was staying because she’s been playing for seven months, but she’s already had 6 different teachers. No wonder she’s struggling with basic techniques! I’ve also had about 6 different teachers, but in the last 12 years! So I hope with some stability, she will be able to improve quite a bit.

Michael is still looking for a job, but we’re hoping that one of the hotels he applied to will call him soon. One restaurant manager almost gave him a job, but apparently he was “overqualified” so they didn’t hire him after all. Ridiculous, I know. So for now we’re just trusting God that things will stabilize soon with jobs and finances.

Otherwise, we are still enjoying newlywed life, we enjoyed the beach again on Sunday afternoon, we love our church, and we hope to get more involved and connected there soon. We’ve been attending Deliverance Church in Mukono for about 2 months now and we’ve really been blessed by it so far. One of the things we’ve loved about it is that the people there are so genuine in love and faith. The church has many ministries including outreach programs, ministry to the less fortunate, etc. The music is lively and Spirit led, as well as the preaching. They really emphasize acting upon the word and doing the things we learn about in the sermon.

Application is seriously emphasized, for example, a few Sundays back, the pastor was talking about giving and being free with our money and possessions. It wasn’t a planned thing, but he just got so fired up about it that as he was encouraging us to go out and be givers to those around us, he just had everyone stand up and give something to someone else in the church! It was incredible! The pastor gave someone his tie and his watch, Michael gave someone his sweater because it was a very cold morning, and I hadn’t carried anything with me that day so I just gave someone a hug! It’s just really refreshing to go to a church with people who are genuine and want to act on their faith.

We will be joining a home cell soon, (a small group) and this coming Sunday I’ll be playing for offertory for the first time. Michael might be joining the choir in the near future too, so we’re excited to be joining the people there in ministry.

Tooth Fairy Vs. The Rats

I don’t know when or where the whole tooth fairy idea came about, but this week I learned from our neighbor boy that they have a very similar myth here in Uganda. Since he’s of the age of losing teeth, he started telling me how when he loses a tooth, he puts it in the corner of his bedroom and while he sleeps, a rat takes the tooth and leaves some money. I was so amused by this and I started to tell him how we do the same thing in the states only our parents tell us that there’s a tooth fairy who leaves us money. I almost told him how eventually, kids figure out that it’s really their parents who give them money, but then I realized he still hadn’t figured it out and there was no way I was going to spoil it for him!

This boy is quickly becoming our friend as he loves to come by to “converse” and see what we’re doing. When he wants to kick a ball around, he knocks softly on the door and asks me, “Is the neighbor in?” It’s so cute how he doesn’t call Michael and I by name, just “neighbor”. This boy has incredibly good English, in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him speak in his native language. Once he starts talking, it’s hard to get away. One day after talking with him for some time I went inside to continue some work. When I came out a few minutes later he was there waiting and he said, “We are still conversing.” Some of the things he talks about cause me to think that I’m talking to an adult and then I remember that this boy can’t be more than 7, maybe 8 years old! I look forward to getting to know him and his family more in the future. We visited them once and they’re a great family. Lately we’ve gotten into the habit of gift giving...like the other day, Michael baked some bread rolls and told the boy to give them to his family. Immediately after taking them over, he came back with some bananas for us!

After some motherly nagging, I’ve finally made an apartment video tour as promised, so at the end of this post there is a glimpse of where we are currently living. Unfortunately my camera doesn’t record sound so it’s a silent film. Basically right now we have more space than we know what to do with. We’ll fill it up eventually but we decided just to get by with the basics until we are both working. Decorative things, and plants and flowers will come later, and we’re even doing without a fridge and a dining table for now. Those things are such necessities in the US, but it’s so easy to live without them here in Uganda. Most people don’t have them and would probably feel awkward anyways as eating at a high table is very Western. Our second bedroom is lacking beds right now but eventually we’ll be able to host visitors overnight. I can’t really compare the floor to anything in the US, but it’s basically a smooth, polished cement.

Anyways, we’re just enjoying having the place to ourselves and hosting visitors whenever they decide to come over. Our place has become quite the hot spot on Sunday afternoons! The last couple of weekends we’ve had 6-8 friends/sisters/cousins over at a time. I’m really loving Michael’s friends and family so much...we have the best time together eating, dancing, playing games and watching movies. I never expected to have such close friends this early on, but I’m so thankful for them.

Last Saturday we were tired of sitting around the house so we went to the beach in Entebbe with some friends. The waves were so good at Lake Victoria that day and we basically spent the whole afternoon jumping in the waves. I assumed that because this beach was the closest one to the airport that there would be a fair amount of tourists there...I was wrong. All eyes were on me and even when I was in the water everybody wanted to swim close to me. Maybe those who have a more outgoing personality would enjoy this but those who know me well won’t be surprised to know that this made me very uncomfortable! One high school boy even asked Michael if he could take a picture with me, as if I was some kind of celebrity! Thankfully I have a great husband who kindly said "no, sorry, this is my wife."

It just cracks me up because so many people on the street here look at me as some kind of big, important, celebrity and sometimes I just want to tell them how incredibly normal I am! It’s not easy to get used to this when the last thing I want to do is be the center of attention. It really gets to Michael too. Now he just stares right back at people, which makes them quickly look away in shame. We’re learning that if you don’t want to be stared at, you just have to stare back, because almost nobody wants to be stared at!

One Sock Short

I don’t buy it. I used to think that washers and dryers were sock eating machines, but yesterday I found myself coming up one sock short as I was laying them out to air dry. Even here in Uganda where we’re washing clothes by hand, we still end up with an incomplete pair! I don’t care what you say, you can’t blame the washing machines for stealing your socks.

I apologize for taking so long to write another update...I think there is a way that stability and routine will help solve that problem in the future. So much has happened in the last few weeks so I’ll try to just give a “quick” recap...we’ll see.

-We celebrated our 1 month anniversary on Tuesday, the 16th, but it feels like we’ve been married a lot longer!

-We’ve booked an apartment in Seeta (pronounced “Say-tah”), the town next to Mukono. We haven’t started occupying it yet because we’re still buying furniture, but we’re planning to make this Saturday our moving day. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I get some! In the meantime we’re staying with a friend of Rev. Henry named Rachel. I couldn’t stay at Reverend’s house anymore because we discovered that the cold/flu I thought I had was actually a result of staying in that house. I’m allergic to something, possibly bats, the furniture, who knows? All I know is that I begin sneezing and coughing almost immediately upon entering the house. So Rachel has been kind and generous enough to let us stay with her until the end of the month. It’s really a pleasure too, because she has a 6 month old baby named Jed who is just the happiest and most peaceful baby I’ve ever seen!

-Last week I applied to the Kampala School of Music to teach cello lessons and a week later I already have the job! I won’t be starting until August 10th but they assured me I have the job. This is definitely a God thing because it was just way too easy! I met the administrator a few weeks ago and talked with him for about 5 minutes. He told me to email him my resume and after seeing it he told me to call him. When I called he said we should meet to discuss a few details, but then called back a minute later and said that the visiting teachers are leaving in August so just come August 10th – that’s your starting date. Way too easy!!!!! Also, they apparently provide housing for their staff, so we may be getting even more help in that area in the coming months.

-I’ll be talking soon with some of the USP staff about ministry opportunities in the area so that I can start volunteering and serving somewhere soon.

-A couple weeks ago we had a family reunion of sorts for Michael’s Mom’s side of the family. We all met in Jinja at Grandma’s house and feasted! We ate in the traditional way of only using our hands, and it was quite entertaining for the kids to see an American eating this way! After feasting there was dancing of course, and I really got a kick out of watching the older folks jump up and dance. I think what really made it hilarious was actually the song that everyone first started dancing to – the new hit song in Uganda that is about bread and butter! The first time I heard it I couldn’t stop laughing because it’s these guys singing to their girls, “You are me bread and me buttah, me bread and me buttah”. Imagine your whole family getting up and dancing to this song...quite entertaining.

It was great to see Michael’s mom again and spend that weekend with her. My baby nephew Okello apparently doesn’t remember me at all from last year because he cries and hides every time he sees me! Hopefully he’ll get used to me as he gets older!













It’s official...we’ve deemed this the picture of the week! On our way back from Jinja we passed someone transporting goats in a most unusual way. He strapped 2 of the animals to himself and even made the boda driver carry one as well! Needless to say, they were ashamed.

Life is still a little bit hectic right now but God is providing for us all the time and I think life will be taking shape more in the next month or so.

Home Again

It’s good to be back in Uganda...I never realized how many little things I missed! Simple things like the natural sounds you hear at night, African tea, the sweetest pineapple on earth, and even Blue Band! Blue Band is basically the only brand of butter here and it’s so much sweeter than ours. Of course, I missed the people most of all. It has been amazing to see everyone here. In fact, it feels like I hardly left even though it’s been a year.

We arrived around midnight at the airport in Entebbe completely exhausted, but excited to be home. The most exciting part about our arrival for me was discovering that my cello was completely intact and even tuned to the same pitch that I left it in! I had heard so many horror stories about people putting their instruments under the airplane with the rest of the luggage and finding them crushed when they reached their destination that I swore I would never check mine as baggage. I was planning to just ship it through DHL but apparently something of that size costs about $2000 to ship that far...not an option! Since we found this out the day before we left for Uganda, we had no choice but to check it with the rest of our luggage and trust that God would get it there safely. Needless to say, God came through for us again! A big “THANK YOU” to all who prayed for it!

After spending the first night in Entebbe, Michael’s sister Barbara picked us up and had us stay at her house for lunch. She has 4 beautiful boys who I am proud to call my nephews. They were fascinated with my “guitar” and also had fun with the camera. I’m telling you if you just give kids here a little bit of trust and lend them your camera, they will take the best pictures. Here is some of their work...I think you can tell which one is Mr. Personality

Later that day I met some more of Michael’s family that lives in Kampala, and finally ended up in Mukono in the evening at my host family’s new house. My host father from last year, Musumba Henry, insisted that we stay with them until we find a place of our own...how could we refuse?! It’s been so good to be with this family again, especially Enoch. Sometimes he can be just as fun and sweet as he was last year, but other times he really lives up to the stage that he’s in...the terrible two’s. He’s talking a lot more now, and his favorite new words seem to be “motocar, vroom, vroom!” He really only speaks and understands Luganda, but he’s very good at copying and mimicking words and sounds – even when I cough or clear my throat he also does it!

So far we’ve been looking around Mukono and Kampala for cheap but decent apartments. There are definitely plenty of good options but it’s hard to decide where to live when we don’t know where we’ll be working. There’s a beautiful apartment in Mukono with a lot of advantages but we’ll most likely end up somewhere in Kampala. Michael’s friends and family have been so great, looking for places for us...people here really take care of you.

Unfortunately I came down with a cold about 2 days after we got here and throughout the week I’ve had it all – runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, and aches. I’ve been taking more medicine than I knew what to do with and just to make things worse, on Friday I woke up with a very fast heart rate and almost no strength to do anything. I finally went to the doctor only to find out that it was just a reaction to some of the meds I was taking to get rid of the cold. So I guess that’s good news but we spent a lot of money to find out that information and walk away with some basic pain killers and vitamins.

Anyways, we’re really doing fine overall, though still very tired. Michael has been meeting often with his business partners about their travel company, and I’ve been attempting to rest though it’s still not enough. It’s going to take a while to adjust and really recover from the trip, so please pray for rest and strength in these next few weeks while we also look for jobs and housing. God has been so faithful every step of the way and we’re excited to see where exactly he takes us next!

Life comes at you fast...

I apologize for not writing in so long...life has been crazy! We're finally wrapping up the semester and saying goodbye to our families this week Friday. I'm hoping it won't be so hard since Caroline and I are both staying in Uganda for an extra month and will be back to visit our family a few more times in May.

Many interesting things have happened just in the last two weeks. The first weekend in April, our IMME group travelled for 12 hours in a small van over treacherous dirt roads to experience Bwindi, home to one of the largest national parks in Africa. Bwindi impenetrable forest is absolutely gorgeous and famous for being the home of over half of the gorillas left in the world. Though we were lodged at the edge of the forest, we didn't see any gorillas because we you have to pay about $500-$800 to do that and we were just in Bwindi for ministry purposes.

We met some pretty amazing people that weekend, like Dr. Scott, who came to Bwindi about 4 years ago and basically developed a whole health clinic compound out of nothing. His ministry has come so far so quickly and has really been meeting the needs of the people in great ways. We also got to meet and work with Pygmies, helping them build mud houses. It was a little shocking to see the "house" the family lived in before that we were replacing with a new mud house. The old house was basically an "A" shaped roof on the ground, made of sticks and banana leaves with an unattached wood plank as a door. I had to duck to walk in and the amount of floor space was about equal to that of a 3 or 4 person tent. I couldn't believe that it was home to a family of 7.

Church that Sunday was incredible because we just went to a local village church where the service lasted about 5 or 6 hours! Bwindi is home to the Bukiga people who have a distinct drum beat and dance which involves a lot of jumping and stomping, and it made for an unforgettable praise and worship experience. After having lunch we all went and danced with some of the village kids as they sang - so much fun!

Bwindi was great, minus the drive and the salmonella that came along with it. When we went back to school after that weekend 9 out of the 12 of us were sick with diahrea and vomiting - we endearingly called it the IMME epidemic. It was pretty awful...I had gone this whole semester here without really getting sick and here at the end it finally came. A few of us went to Kampala to see a doctor at a place called "The Surgery". It was a crazy experience as we all felt awful and had to wait for several hours. We were actually seen and treated by Dr. Dick Stockley, who plays the part of the journalist in "The Last King of Scotland". He was hilarious and made the whole experience that much better. I developed a high fever that night too, but thankfully the medicine worked for everything and we were all feeling a lot better over the next few days.

So after a crazy week I was thankfully able to travel back to Sipi to visit friends for a much needed weekend of relaxation. It was great to Michael and Reverend Diana again - she was so surprised! She thought for sure I wouldn't make it all the back to Sipi since this program is ending soon, but she was pleasantly surprised to find I had come "home" to Kapchorwa like I promised I would. Some, though not all of you have heard by now that Michael and I have actually decided to pursue a relationship with each other...you know part of the story already, but if you want to hear the whole thing just ask me sometime when I'm back home and I would love to tell you.

I realize not everyone will understand, especially at first, but just know that this is not a shallow fling. It may seem out of the blue to some, but keep in mind, there is a lot more to the story that you don't know. It has been well thought out, talked out, and prayed about.

I actually met a lot of his family this past Sunday as we went to his Mom's house for lunch. I will be staying with her at her house in Iganga district (about halfway between Mukono and Sipi) for most of May, just living there, helping around the house, and also volunteering locally in their community. When we arrived we received an incredible welcome at the local church...I've never experienced anything like it really. As we walked in the doors of the church we found about 30 people from the village clapping and shouting with joy to welcome us. They were just so excited and grateful to have me as a guest in their village, knowing that I would be staying with them for about 3 weeks in May. Michael and his stepdad made a few speeches and also asked me to say a few words as is custom in this culture. Then they all sang and danced in celebration of my coming, and I was just beside myself. The whole thing was totally unexpected and I just kept thinking that nothing like this would never happen in America...Ugandan hospitality continues to floor me.

When we had lunch back at the house, I actually became so grateful for all the intercultural classes I had taken back home in which I learned the importance of food in culture. I was already pretty full from having tea before lunch, but the time came I knew I had to eat and eat well to make a good impression! I don't think everyone there realized that I had already been living with a Ugandan family for the past 3 months and was used to local food like matoke & rice and some kind of unidentifiable meat, so they were worried that I wouldn't like the food. It was so funny because I could feel the stares of everyone the whole time I was shoveling food into my face, conquering the African sized portion Michael had served me. He told me later that the way I ate all of the food really made a great impression on his parents and other relatives and that the conversation they were all having in Lusoga (the local dialect of Iganga) during lunch was all about how well I was eating! Who knew that food could be the major deciding factor of my acceptance into the family!

After a long trip home to Mukono, I was pleasantly surprised to find my family very excited for Michael and me. I was so nervous when I was showing Caroline pictures from the weekend and Musumba walked into the room. Caroline showed him the pictures and said "...Sharon's new boyfriend" to which Musumba responded "Boyfriend? Hallelujah!" I responded gratefully with the usual "amen" plus an extra sigh of relief!

This may be the last post I write for a while as we are leaving for a 10 day trip to Rwanda this weekend. When we return we will basically just be debriefing that trip and the whole rest of the semester, then I'll see my fellow students off at the airport and proceed to Iganga for the month. Thank you all for your continued prayers, I really am missing you all so much.

Prayer Requests:
-For Michael and I of course
-Pray that the details of May would work out smoothly
-Enock is very sick with flu
-Safe travel to Rwanda - its a 14 hour drive across the roads of Uganda

I just can't leave yet

Another good week has gone by...so little time left. It's crunch time now just like any other semester and I am trying desperately not to get too stressed with school while trying to cherish the last few weeks I have with my family. On saturday I spent the day in Kampala with Danielle, Caroline, and Danielle's sister Rebecca. We sort of killed two birds with one stone by spending time with family and studying because we went to this great cafe and had the best time sharing stories, drinking coffee (a mocha frappe!) and even getting some homework done.

Last Sunday we were talking Godfrey about how little time we have left here in Uganda, so he decided he wanted to show us some of the ministries he's involved in. We went first to Besaniya - a children's rehab center. We didn't stay long though because he really wanted to take us out to the school for the blind about half an hour away. We picked up our friend Reverend Esmond and the four of us drove out on one of the worst roads I've ever travelled on...ever. Soon after arriving I realized it was well worth the effort. When you meet these kids and the workers who manage the place you immediately feel so much love from them.

It was one of the most incredible experiences I've had at any ministry in Uganda thus far. These kids are so loving and accepting and really just full of joy. As soon as we met them they started feeling our arms, our hair - anything to get a first impression. It's funny because they are the only ones who can't tell you are a mzungu until you open your mouth and speak! The first few kids we met just held onto our hands the whole time that Godfrey was giving us a tour of the compound, and it made us all want to stay forever. We did getto stay at least for about an hour and join them for an evening fellowship service. Wow, those kids can sing, and once again I was so impressed with the sincerity and passion of their worship. Salama school for the blind is one special place that I think I will never forget.

That was really the highlight of my week. There were some minor excitements amidst the normalcy - Musumba actually sent Caroline and I to the suprmarket after dark for a loaf of bread...we felt so independent, haha! We watched 2 episodes of Andy Griffith last week and it was so funny to hear the heavy southern accents after being here for 2 1/2 months! Mama doesn't like us to whistle after dark because it will "call the snakes," so when she heard the Andy Griffith theme song from another room she was concerned and demanded to know who was whistling!

Enock continues to keep us entertained as he is getting closer and closer to speaking real words. Poor kid - he's probably so confused hearing English and Luganda all the time. He's gettign the tones down quite well and cxan copy almost any sound, but he still doesn't quite form the words. When Mama tells Enock to call for Elisha he copies the exact tone she uses, but al lthat comes out is "aaaya". So for now his vocabulary consists only of 3 words: Amen, Dada, and the Luganda word for hot, it sounds like "jya" or something. He loves to point at my cup of tea and say "Jya!" to make sure I know that it's hot. That kid makes me so happy...I don't know how I will live without him.

It's rainy season now which is good and bad. It's good because we have plenty of water (the tank is overflowing!) but bad because everything gets so muddy. Yet Ugandans work so hard to stay clean and I don't know how they do it! We walk the same roads yet my shoes are covered in mud while theirs stay clean. To me, this ability ranks right up there with their ability to see in hte dark and hear a whisper two rooms awya. Not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous.

Anyways, because it's always so muddy when it pours for hours on end, everything sort of stops and events get cancelled. On thursday we even cancelled our missions class, but since the rain stopped in the afternoon we were still able to have a dessert "BBQ" in the evening as planned. Professor Button and his wife invited our class over totheir house for smores and roasted chocolate bananas! It was incredible, and quite a refreshing taste of America - roasting marshmallows over hot coals while listening to Jack Johnson...praise God for expatriot professors!

As much as I miss home (and I do miss all of you more than you know) I have actually just changed my plane ticket...I love these people and have nothing to do for the next month so I've decided to extend my stay through May 24th instead of May 2nd! I know it won't excite some of you as much as it excites me but I just can't leave these people in a few weeks. I know staying longer wont' make the leaving any easier but I have to take advantage of every opportunity to stay while I can. I don't know the details of what I'll be doing or where I'll be staying for the month of May, but I have a few options and its just a matter of working out the details now. I'll be spending some time in Sipi, some time in Iganga, and some time in Mukono. Besides visiting friends and family in these places I'll be volunteering at some local ministries.

Ugandans are the most hospitable people in the world and a visitor is always welcome, even without an appointment, so don't worry too much about me! Everyone I've talked to so far about staying with them for a few days or weeks was very excited for opportunity to host me and they said they would even be willing to host me for the whole month. So while this will be a challenging experience to be here basically alone, without the school related program, I will still be surrounded by friends and family who love me and know how to take care of people.

Prayer Requests:
-Time management - balancing finals and papers with spending time with my family.
-Getting the details worked out for staying here in May
-Guidance from God about the near and distant future