Daily Monitor 16 June 2010

Look who got press this week in the Daily Monitor one of the daily papers here in Kampala.  Daily Monitor wrote an article about the Mukono water project and included a picture from the turnover ceremony.  Date June 16, 2010.  Great article even if they didn't get the name of the church right. We also got coverage on the radio and national television for the turnover and many people have mentioned they saw us on TV this past week.  We pay for press coverage  for radio and television but this newspaper article was a surprise.  (you can't miss elder Barlow, he is the one that doesn't look Ugandan.)

It was a big day for Mukono/Buikwe water project.  It was time to turn the project over to the community.  This was to be a big day.;

We arrived at Kasoga Church of Uganda Primary School at 11:00 am to be greeted with quite a crowd. Four tents had been set up with 400 chairs. School children were everywhere in their bright school uniforms and many dressed in costume in preparation for the program.

Eddie, our contractor, had told us it would be a long day with many speeches and he was right. Although the reason for being together was to turn over the water project to the community it was very evident that the new district was going to take advantage of the situation and celebrate the organizing of the district at the same time. Everyone had something to say. Each speaker acknowledge in English the great gift of service that the church had given to the community and then switched to Lugandan to speak about the district and the plans for the future (kind of like a political rally).. Many dignitaries spoke including a representative of the President of Uganda, a member of Parliment, the District Chairman and the Bishop of the Mukono ward.

Rep. Office of the Pres. of Uganda, Semakula Betty

                                                 Bishop Fredrick Kyambadde Mukono Ward

Eddie Mutebi, Water Contractor

                                                              Buikwe District  Chairman 

                                                                   Member of Parliment

In the middle of the program it started to rain hard. Everyone was scrambling to get under cover as the speeches went on.

It ended up hailing and the program stopped while everyone took cover inside the school or their cars. We jumped in the truck and ended up with 6 steaming bodies in our truck while we waited for the rain to subside.  We were all soaking wet but so was everyone else. 

Eddie had not given his speech yet and his new suit was now soaking wet. When it rains the men roll up their pant legs so their pants don’t get muddy.

The rain finally did subside and we all regrouped back to finish the program. It was Eddie’s turn to speak and he got up and started speaking and one of his workers came running out on to the field and turned down his pants as they were rolled half way to his knees. Hard to be dignified when your pants are rolled half way to your knees. but he did have on his new suit and he looked mighty fine.

Primary school sang "Thank you for the hygiene training."

There was some great native African dancing with beautiful costumes

(some people found their own entertainment - labels from water bottles)

This little guy followed me around all day.  He wouldn't get to close but he was always there.  Hegot carried away dancing when the music started and I got a video of him really getting into it.

Interspersed among the speakers, the children from different schools performed with song and interpretive dance about the training they received with the gift of water. They sang about learning the importance of washing their hands and drinking only clean water. About learning what causes illness and how to stay healthy. All was in Lugandan but we could certainly enjoy the singing and dancing even though we couldn’t understand the words.

After about 4 hours we adjourned with the dignitaries heading to the school latrine for the turnover ceremony.

The District Chairman did the honors and was very complimentary about the gift of sanitation as he accepted the project from the church with the understanding that now it was the communities responsibility. He washed his hands at the hand washing station which is a 5 gallon bucket set in cement with a tap. The children will keep the washing station filled with water.  The latrine is a 5 stance latrine with 2 for boys and 3 for girls.  The boys side has a trough which didn't seem very good to me but that is so that the latrine can accomodate many boys during their breaks and eliminate using the bush.  

We then went to see the rain catchment system with the 10,000 liter tank that will provide water for the school children. This school has 630 students so the tank and latrine are a great blessing. This school received a 5 stance latrine, a hand washing station, a rain catchment system with a 10,000 liter tank and an existing tank that was not functioning was repaired so they have two tanks to service the 630 students plus faculty. This school represented the 18 schools that received latrines and water catchment systems throughout the district.

We treked to a spring and held another turnover ceremony.

When we returned to the school everyone was being fed refreshments, all 800 attendees, which included, rice chicken, beef, matoki (mashed bananas), irish potatoes pureed peanut sauce and coke or orange fanta.

This is actually Elder Barlow's plate of food that he was given.  The peanut sauce is ground nuts cooked in banana leaves - the chicken is boiled - potatoes are roasted - bananas are mashed and cooked in banana leaves.  there are many varieties of bananas here and this one is much like planteens but  ? different - no way to get out of eating as it would be a great insult and besides they ushered us to the front of the line and everyone watched what we ate.

We left the school around 6:30 and didn’t get home till 11:00 PM due to a huge delay on the road because of a broken down truck which couldn’t get off the road.

Friday we turned around and did the same ceremony again for the other half of the project (project is spread over a large area and needed two ceremonies in order to include everyone.) This ceremony was held at Najja Parents School and was equally as impressive but only lasted 3 hours.

These are dressy affairs as everyone cmes in their Sunday best.

   

The native Ugandan dress is called a Gomesi a brightly coloured, long printed dress with puffed sleeves that reach the elbows. It is held in place by an ornate belt/sash, which is placed on the woman’s hips and is tied with a bow in front.  It contains a lot of fabric. 

One of the children’s songs at this ceremony was rather impressive as they sang about saying no to abortion.

Another song was sung in English about the gift of water “Thankyou for the Gift”.

Another group sang, "Who Will Stand For Africa!"

 

Another, "We welcome you, We love you!"

Two great days celebrating the gift of clean water. 

80,650 beneficiaries

That is what it is all about.

Memorial Day

Usually we just ignore holidays while in Africa and try to live in the schedule of life we find here. But yesterday both Farrell and I thought all day about family and friends and all the pleasure and joy of living in the good ol' USA.

I wish everyone could live outside of our great nation for a while and have the opportunity of really missing the basic goodness of the a place that we call home. It is so much better to fill your glass half full instead of half empty, to spend your time building instead of tearing down, to support the positive and let the Lord take care of the negative. Never forget there is a plan. . .

"The Standard of Truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame. But the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, until the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah will say, ‘The work is done." (Joseph Smith)

"Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves." (GBH)

"Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight." (GBH)

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." (GBH)

"Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine." (GBH)

Got to love Pres. Hinckley and his to the point attitude.

There is not a day goes by here in Africa that someone doesn't tell us that their life goal is to go live in the US. There is a reason for such a desire. We have just become complacent about the life we are allowed to live in our homeland.

So this Memorial Day I salute all those who love America, all those who are working hard to make it a "promised land", all those who vote, volunteer, serve their country and have gratitude in their hearts for what God has given us.


Shame on you who waste your time finding fault, who fuel the fire, who exaggerate the negatives, who perpetuate the rumors and half truths.

So today on Memorial Day I find I have great love for my country, for all those who are seeking to make it better in a positive way, who spend their time in good works.


So, let's go do some good!

Good things happening this week!

Good things this week

We had two baptisms in our ward this week. Elder MacMillan and Elder Andika had a baptism. Sister Carline Tausi Mbatudde.was one excited girl to get baptized. She is a delightful 20 year old who said she did what the scriptures told her to do and prayed to know if all she was being told was true and she got a tender witness that the church was indeed true and if she were to be baptized her life would change for the better.  Carliine was baptized by the Bishop Ojambo.

She bore a tender testimony of how much she loved the scriptures and how she felt so complete when she was reading them. Carline’s mother came to the baptism and expressed her happiness for her daughter as she had seen a change in her, a change that is helping her focus on her future.


Elder Amott and Elder Glad have gone a while without a baptism so they were pretty excited to get Sister Joanita Nagayi to accept the gospel.

Sister Joan was very excited about her baptismal day. She stated that she felt so good inside now that she was baptized. She said she has always been a good person and tried to do good but now she felt her potential was greater and she could accomplish anything with the blessings of the gospel.  Joan was baptized by the first counselor in the bishopric, Sam Katumba

Elder Amott held Sis. Nagayi baby during her baptism

Sister Joan had her two sisters with her and both attended Young Women’s class. I had given the girls a challenge to read the Book of Mormon with me as part of their Personal Progress. There were three members in the class and 4 investigators so it was a good thing I brought some Book of Mormons. I gave them a book, a red marking pencil and a tracker to keep track of what they read. Can’t wait till Sunday to see if they did some reading.

Now more news!
Monday we were sitting at the computer thinking about going to bed and an envelope comes flying under the front door. (there is quite a gap all the way around our front door) When we opened it up there were keys to a new car and a note from Elder Rothy, the financial officer of the mission.  He lives across the hall from us.


Dear Elder and Sister Barlow
Enclosed are your keys for your new 2010 Frontier Nissan. Enjoy every mile! – I keep a suppy of wax and scratch remover in the event you have a mishap. Dents are another topic for another day. Enjoy your relaxing mission in style!
Elder Rothy


Farrell thought it was a joke until we looked outside and saw a brand new silver truck sitting in our parking space. What a surprise. We were not due for a new truck until it was time for us to leave the mission. We had complained about our little red truck as it had no pep and had a difficult time climbing hills and negotiating potholes. It is small and the back seat (where I often ride) is very cramped. So we were very surprised to get a new truck.

Farewell red truck . . .

Seems the AP’s had rolled their truck about a month ago and totaled it so they ordered a new truck to replace it but didn’t want to give it to the young elders.

Yesterday Elder Demery (from Chicago) came down from Gulu to pick up his new companion, Elder Chabane (from South Africa). He was told to come pick up the little red truck and take it to Gulu. They were pretty excited when they picked it up. It looks kinda like a muscle car with a roll bar, a hard body top rack and a bull nose on the front. They were happy to pick up little red and leave their clunker behind.

We are riding in style!

Hanging Memories on the Clothesline

We have great accommodations here in Kampala. We are on the fourth floor of an apartment building of 8 apartments. We have 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. We don’t have air conditioning but we have lots of windows and can open our windows and doors for great cross ventilation. We have a stove that has 2 electric eyes and two gas (propane) burners so we are good even if the power goes out. We have a little washer but no dryer.

Now most people here wash their clothes in a bucket or sink with a great powdered soap called OMO. It is like Oxyclean and works well except on the red mud stains which truly are stains as no matter what you do the mud stains are with you for life.

So, every few days I throw a batch in our little washer and then hang the clothes on a line stretched across our patio. Today when I was hanging out the wash I had a great flashback to my childhood when I use to hang the clothes on the line with my mom. We didn’t have a modern washer or dryer back then but we did have a wringer washer; and I was scared to death I was going to catch my arm in those evil wringers.

But. . back to my nostalgic experience. There I was hanging out the wash and thinking of my mom and all those lessons learned while hanging out the wash.

I remembered having to stand on a wooden box to be able to reach the line, the wooden clothes pins that had to be kept in a bag so they wouldn’t get dirty, the old diaper used to wipe the line off before you hung the clothes, and mom always hoping for a good breeze to snap those sheets and towels in the wind which would assure they were soft and smelled clean and fresh.

(There's a storm rolling into Kampala)

Oh, and then the mad dash out to grab the wash off the line when you saw the storm clouds gathering.

All these ancient memories came to mind as I hung my little one batch wash out this morning. Along with the lessons learned on the proper way to do the wash I started realizing other lessons taught during those times with my mom.

Choose strong anchors for your life:  Hang those clothes by the seams so that they are secure and iit won't stretch the fabric out.

Take pride in your daily work: “I love to have a clean wash with something for everyone to wear – aren’t we blessed Marilyn to have such a beautiful day to do the wash.”

Be prepared: While looking over the white picket fence into the new garden just starting to show the tiny shoots of peas, beans and carrots pushing up through the soil, “Look Marilyn the garden is starting to grow. It won’t be long and we will be canning beans and that will be a good thing because last year’s beans are all gone.”

Patience has its own reward: “Ah, look how pretty the tulips are. Let’s take some in to enjoy in the house. Aren’t we glad we planted those bulbs last fall.

Have joy in being a woman:   Way before woman’s lib mom always looked at her role of mother and wife as a calling, a good place to be, a worthwhile venture.  The wash was a thing to take pride in - a job done well - a service to the family (granted we never appreciated it as we should have).

Just a few of those teaching moments grasped while doing the wash.  Such sweet memories - so many lessons learned when I didn’t even know I was being taught.   Think those day to day chores with your children are just a part of a mother's duties?

Thanks mom for teaching me how to hang clothes on the line.

An Historic Sunday in the South East Africa Area . . .

We got up this morning anxious to go to church. Today was special, no it was history in the making. It was the first time that the members in Uganda would see and listen to a General Conference of our church. Today, all over our region, from Zimbabwe to Ethiopia members were gathering to take part in this historical event. Imagine, every stake, ward and little branch had a TV and a DVD player and were gathering to listen to the prophet speak and for most it was the first time they would see the prophet and not just know him by a picture.


When we arrived at our ward the people were greeting each other, happy to be together and sharing this experience. Our 4 missionaries in our ward were there with investigators in tow and were welcoming everyone. They knew they were having a historical mission experience.

(Elder Andika (Kenya), Elder Amott (Smithfield, UT), Elder Glad (New Jersey) and Elder MacMillan (So. Africa). Very special Elders.) 

We watched the first session. There were many small children in the group but they sat quietly through the full two hours.  - 87 people came to experience this conference.

There was to be a 30 minute break between sessions so we went out into the church yard. After sitting so quiet the children needed a little run and a cookie before they sat through the second session.

We first thought we probably ought to feed everyone lunch between sessions and then realized that if you only eat one meal a day lunch is not a necessity. So we brought cookies and shared them with the children who had not brought a snack with them.

Just as we started the second session the power went out. We waited while they sent someone to get a generator but before they returned the power came back on.

As we listened to the second session we realized that all the talks gave us great comfort. Life is a gift. There are no guarantees and life does bring pain and sorrow but also gives great joy and comfort; sometimes from the same experience. It is all perspective and how much we trust in our Father in Heaven; and how much we rely on our Savior and his great gift.

Doreen, a member of the Young Women’s group in our ward came up to me and showed me her Conference Notebook. Last week I had given each Young Woman a copy of the “Conference Notebook” that Carrie had sent to me. It is a booklet that you write your thoughts and feelings in about conference. There is room to take notes on all the talks and several pre- conference activities to help you get ready to listen. I had noticed several of the young women but none of them had their notebook with them. Then Doreen came up and showed me she had been using her notebook while she watched both sessions. I was so pleased.

I had a chance to meet her mom and I asked her if she was doing personal progress with Doreen. She said no so I took the opportunity to explain to her how good it would be if they worked together on personal progress and experienced the program together.

What a great day! We were really feeling the Spirit and were so glad we could be part of this experience.

As we were leaving the bishop asked if we could help Godfrey get home with his generator. As we were the only car that comes to church it was pretty obvious who was going to help Godfrey.
The Bishop said, “Elder Barlow, it is right on your way so it should not be any problem.” Farrell and Godfrey loaded the generator in the truck with help from the missionaries and we headed out. Now most people don’t drive in Uganda so when they give you directions they are talking from a WALKING perspective. They wait till you are in an intersection before they tell you to turn and have no concept of the difference between a road and a trail.

We started down the road we usually take to go home and then Godfrey had us take a few turns and then a few more. The road got worse at each turn till we were in a rutted trail. Actually we felt quite at home as if we were in the Congo. We were in to the community

(hunger - survival)

and the sights, smells and sounds were right there, we could reach out and touch them through our open windows.

(The Butcher Shop)

We got Godfrey and the generator to his home. The road was so narrow there was only room for one way traffic and impossible to turn around but Godfrey told us to just keep going straight and we would hit the Clock Tower roundabout. Ah. . . we know the Clock Tower roundabout so we were in good shape.

We went straight and kept going straight till we hit a T in the road. No clock tower was in sight. We asked directions and as one man started explaining his ideas another man with great authority told us to go straight and then make a right turn and then when you hit the bridge don’t’ go over it turn right again and then you will reach the Clock Tower. So we followed directions and passed a lovely little church among the shacks and food stalls. We continued on and then we saw the same lovely little church again and the same butcher shop and knew we were really lost.

Now this trek was difficult and we about took out our oil pan twice and on each side of this trail was a big drainage ditch.

So not only did we have to navigate the pot holes but we had no leeway on the sides. We finally saw a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) and asked him how to get to the Clock tower. One of is passengers jumped off and said, “I’m going that way. I’ll show you.” He jumped in the back seat and had us turn around (huh? Turn around where?)

All things are possible.  We got turned around and it wasn’t long before we were at the clock tower.  We were so happy to find a familiar landmark we didn't get a picture of it.   It was only 2 hours since we left the church to haul Godfrey and the generator to his house.  We made it  home, safe and sound.
So there you have it - a very historical Sunday in Uganda.