Monday, June 11, 2012
A Return to Blogging
I wanted to make a return to the blog world..... But was not sure how after being absent for over a year. In the end, I decided to just jump back in. This last year has been crazy, but in a good way. After returning from Uganda a year ago I met and married the Man of my dreams (that deserves its own post) and now am only a couple weeks away from meeting our 1st baby. I originally began this blog to keep friends and family updated about my trip to Uganda, but now I think it will mostly just be a journal of everyday adventures as I continue to Seek His Kingdom in this season of my life, where the Lord has planted me.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
A Basket of Avacados
(Most of the wording in this post came either directly from Miria or from her mom. I just filled in the gaps.)
"I was at school, waiting to take some porridge. All of a sudden some of the other kids ran up to me. They were saying, "Miria! Come quickly, there is someone here who wants you." I ran out from behind the school to see what was happening. I saw a white girl standing there in the yard. She walked past all of the other kids and came directly to me. They told me that this lady had picked me, and I was going to be her daughter, and she was my mommy from America. Out of all the other kids, she had picked me! .Then she told the other children "Go back! I have picked Miria, and I want to be with her now." I was so happy. That day, as soon as school was over, I ran straight home to tell my sister and my brothers and my mama about this white lady who had come all the way from America just to see me. A few days later, she came to my house and brought me some wonderful new toys, and a dress, and a book to write in.
Now my white mommy has been at the school for a month. I have seen her almost everyday. But last week the term ended for school, so I am not there everyday and I miss seeing her. Today my mama said that I could take my report card from this term to show my white mama how hard I have been working in school. This term I finished 5th out of 40 children in my class. My mama said that I needed to show my report to my white mama so that she would know that I am working very hard to earn the education that she is giving me. Me and my brother helped my mom to pick a bunch of avocados and put them in a basket to bring to my white mama. I put the basket on my head and me and Jonah started off for the school. It is a couple miles away from our house, but I am used to walking that distance to go to school each morning, and to get water from the borehole. When me and Jonah arrived, we gave her the avocados, and then we sat on the porch to talk. Moses came out to sit with us and translate what my white mama said to me. He told us that something very sad had happened. My white mommy had a Jjajja (grandma) in America, but last night she left to be with Jesus. I was very sad for my white mommy. I told her how sorry I was and I gave her a big hug. I think it made her feel better, because she smiled at me a lot after that. I asked her if she would please walk home with me and Jonah, and she said yes! I was very happy. I asked her a lot of questions. I wanted to know what it is like in America, and what kinds of food she ate. She told me that she eats chicken there the same as we do! But she doesn't eat cassava. She said she likes Matoke, and mangoes, but she did not like Jack fruit very much. Jonah asked her if she knew how to drive a motorcar. He thought she would know how to drive an airplane too, because we thought that all Mzungus knew how to do that, but she said no. Jonah wants to be a pilot when he grows up. I told my white mama that I want to be a doctor when I grow up. When we got back to my house, my mama was very surprised that my white mom had walked all the way from the school to come see us. Moses had come too, he was helping us talk to each other. My little sister Lydia came running as fast as she could and threw herself onto my white mommy. She was very excited! We showed my white mama our new piglets, and their mother. And the puppies, and our two baby goats. One is mine and one is Lydia's, to take care of. Then my mama brought chairs out, and we all sat down. My mom prepared some matoke and yams for our supper while we all talked. Lydia felt left out, since I had shown my report card to my white mom, so she ran and got hers too. And she brought out the picture that her sponsor from America had sent her of their family. Lydia is so funny. She said she wanted to tell her family in America that she would like to send them some matoke. I told my white mommy that I had put the things she gave me in a safe place and was taking very good care of them, so that they would not get damaged or messed up. Then my mama started talking. She told my white mama how grateful she was for the opportunity that she was giving her daughter. She said that a lot of people like to promise things, but don't help, or follow through with their promises. But this white lady had not only provided her daughter with an education and an opportunity for a better life, she had also come all the way to Africa to see them and to be with them. And then my white mommy said something amazing. She told us how grateful and happy she was to be a part of our family. My mama was so amazed by this that she jumped up off of her mat, ran over, and gave my white mama a big hug. I am so happy that I have two mama's now, an African mama and a white mama. I asked how long my white mama would be here with us in Africa. I wish that she could stay with us forever. But she said that she had to go back to America on Tuesday. I told her that I was going to be a brave, grown up girl and that I would try not to cry any when she left. I asked her to please come back really soon to see me again, and I also told her that when I finished all of my school I wanted to come to America to visit her. And then it was time for my white mommy to go back and get her supper, so I walked with her down to the road and gave her one last big hug. See you mommy! I told her. She smiled and waved goodbye, and then turned and walked back down the dirt road."
"I was at school, waiting to take some porridge. All of a sudden some of the other kids ran up to me. They were saying, "Miria! Come quickly, there is someone here who wants you." I ran out from behind the school to see what was happening. I saw a white girl standing there in the yard. She walked past all of the other kids and came directly to me. They told me that this lady had picked me, and I was going to be her daughter, and she was my mommy from America. Out of all the other kids, she had picked me! .Then she told the other children "Go back! I have picked Miria, and I want to be with her now." I was so happy. That day, as soon as school was over, I ran straight home to tell my sister and my brothers and my mama about this white lady who had come all the way from America just to see me. A few days later, she came to my house and brought me some wonderful new toys, and a dress, and a book to write in.
Now my white mommy has been at the school for a month. I have seen her almost everyday. But last week the term ended for school, so I am not there everyday and I miss seeing her. Today my mama said that I could take my report card from this term to show my white mama how hard I have been working in school. This term I finished 5th out of 40 children in my class. My mama said that I needed to show my report to my white mama so that she would know that I am working very hard to earn the education that she is giving me. Me and my brother helped my mom to pick a bunch of avocados and put them in a basket to bring to my white mama. I put the basket on my head and me and Jonah started off for the school. It is a couple miles away from our house, but I am used to walking that distance to go to school each morning, and to get water from the borehole. When me and Jonah arrived, we gave her the avocados, and then we sat on the porch to talk. Moses came out to sit with us and translate what my white mama said to me. He told us that something very sad had happened. My white mommy had a Jjajja (grandma) in America, but last night she left to be with Jesus. I was very sad for my white mommy. I told her how sorry I was and I gave her a big hug. I think it made her feel better, because she smiled at me a lot after that. I asked her if she would please walk home with me and Jonah, and she said yes! I was very happy. I asked her a lot of questions. I wanted to know what it is like in America, and what kinds of food she ate. She told me that she eats chicken there the same as we do! But she doesn't eat cassava. She said she likes Matoke, and mangoes, but she did not like Jack fruit very much. Jonah asked her if she knew how to drive a motorcar. He thought she would know how to drive an airplane too, because we thought that all Mzungus knew how to do that, but she said no. Jonah wants to be a pilot when he grows up. I told my white mama that I want to be a doctor when I grow up. When we got back to my house, my mama was very surprised that my white mom had walked all the way from the school to come see us. Moses had come too, he was helping us talk to each other. My little sister Lydia came running as fast as she could and threw herself onto my white mommy. She was very excited! We showed my white mama our new piglets, and their mother. And the puppies, and our two baby goats. One is mine and one is Lydia's, to take care of. Then my mama brought chairs out, and we all sat down. My mom prepared some matoke and yams for our supper while we all talked. Lydia felt left out, since I had shown my report card to my white mom, so she ran and got hers too. And she brought out the picture that her sponsor from America had sent her of their family. Lydia is so funny. She said she wanted to tell her family in America that she would like to send them some matoke. I told my white mommy that I had put the things she gave me in a safe place and was taking very good care of them, so that they would not get damaged or messed up. Then my mama started talking. She told my white mama how grateful she was for the opportunity that she was giving her daughter. She said that a lot of people like to promise things, but don't help, or follow through with their promises. But this white lady had not only provided her daughter with an education and an opportunity for a better life, she had also come all the way to Africa to see them and to be with them. And then my white mommy said something amazing. She told us how grateful and happy she was to be a part of our family. My mama was so amazed by this that she jumped up off of her mat, ran over, and gave my white mama a big hug. I am so happy that I have two mama's now, an African mama and a white mama. I asked how long my white mama would be here with us in Africa. I wish that she could stay with us forever. But she said that she had to go back to America on Tuesday. I told her that I was going to be a brave, grown up girl and that I would try not to cry any when she left. I asked her to please come back really soon to see me again, and I also told her that when I finished all of my school I wanted to come to America to visit her. And then it was time for my white mommy to go back and get her supper, so I walked with her down to the road and gave her one last big hug. See you mommy! I told her. She smiled and waved goodbye, and then turned and walked back down the dirt road."
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Kilombera
If you want to make taco soup in Africa...
 |
| All the ingredients, minus the meat and a bell pepper that you find in the fridge. |
First you must find all the ingredients. There is no cumin in the kitchen at Amani, so you ask if they sell it here in the supermarket. No one seems to know...So you set out with a friend to find some. Fortunately, all the supermarkets around here seem to be run by Indian guys, so they have lots of good seasonings. The only kind of canned beans they have here, though, are baked beans...so you decide the soup can do without beans. You locate a can of corn, and look for some sort of substitute for retell, but all you can find is canned whole tomatoes, so they will have to do. But there is a plus, you find a nice frozen package of ground beef. You need onions, but they don't have those in the supermarket, just the regular market. So you walk outside and flag down a boda. Your friend tries yelling over the street noise to the boda drivers that you want to go to Amani, but you need to stop first at the market. After the boda driver nods his understanding, you hop on and off you go...straight to Amani. You try explaining to the boda man that you need to go to the market first. At this point, you realize that your very nice boda man understands little, if any, English. After convincing him to turn around and go towards the market, your friend passes on her boda and yells "I got the onions!" So you tell your rather confused boda driver that he can go back to Amani now. Once you finally arrive back at Amani, you are ready to assemble your ingredients and start cooking!
 |
| You don't have any corn bread or tortilla chips, but mama Josephine made some Chapatti earlier. |
 | <>
| Chopping the pepper and onions |
I'm sorry for the rather random order of these pictures, I was having trouble getting it to post right....Anyway, stay tuned, I want to try and make my own chapatti soon!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sooo...I am finally getting around to answering some of these questions...
What was your first impression when you arrived in Africa?
Well, it was after dark when I arrived, so it was hard to get an accurate first impression. One thing that I thought was strange was when Christie stopped in Kampala at a "mall" type of place, there were guards with machine guns standing around to check your car for explosives when you drove in. Hmmmm... I'm not in America anymore! It was interesting (to say the least) driving through Kampala, because on the one side you have the almost "modern" parts of town, with the tall buildings and hotels and billboards, and then on the other side you have the slums with the mud huts, and trash everywhere, and red dirt covering everything.
How is Uganda similar to the US? How is it different?
Hmmm....I think I might have to get more pictures before I answer this one, lol. Some parts of Uganda are similar to the US, (like Jinja) and other parts are completely different. Since Jinja is more of a tourist town (because it's located on the source of the Nile) there are quite a few places in Jinja that are similar to the US. Everything is smaller, though. Like the shops. There are tons of little one-room shops crowded together on main street. For my family- you know that little bent-and-dent store in Magee? I think it's called Martha's? That's what ALL of the grocery stores here look like. Except most are smaller than that.
The things that are completely different- The small villages. You drive into the middle of nowhere, and then turn left into the jungle....And you find all these tiny villages with people going on about their daily lives, with no electricity...no running water... If you've seen Christie's pictures, than you have some idea of what it's like.
Why are there so many orphans in Uganda? What needs to happen to relieve this issue?
This is a tough one. There are a couple different reasons for there being so many orphans in Uganda. One reason is that there has been a war going on in Northern Uganda (and several other African countries) for about 23 years. You can learn more about the history of the war here- http://www.invisiblechildren.com/history-of-the-war Or you can just look up Joseph Kony and the LRA.
What was your first impression when you arrived in Africa?
Well, it was after dark when I arrived, so it was hard to get an accurate first impression. One thing that I thought was strange was when Christie stopped in Kampala at a "mall" type of place, there were guards with machine guns standing around to check your car for explosives when you drove in. Hmmmm... I'm not in America anymore! It was interesting (to say the least) driving through Kampala, because on the one side you have the almost "modern" parts of town, with the tall buildings and hotels and billboards, and then on the other side you have the slums with the mud huts, and trash everywhere, and red dirt covering everything.
How is Uganda similar to the US? How is it different?
Hmmm....I think I might have to get more pictures before I answer this one, lol. Some parts of Uganda are similar to the US, (like Jinja) and other parts are completely different. Since Jinja is more of a tourist town (because it's located on the source of the Nile) there are quite a few places in Jinja that are similar to the US. Everything is smaller, though. Like the shops. There are tons of little one-room shops crowded together on main street. For my family- you know that little bent-and-dent store in Magee? I think it's called Martha's? That's what ALL of the grocery stores here look like. Except most are smaller than that.
The things that are completely different- The small villages. You drive into the middle of nowhere, and then turn left into the jungle....And you find all these tiny villages with people going on about their daily lives, with no electricity...no running water... If you've seen Christie's pictures, than you have some idea of what it's like.
Why are there so many orphans in Uganda? What needs to happen to relieve this issue?
This is a tough one. There are a couple different reasons for there being so many orphans in Uganda. One reason is that there has been a war going on in Northern Uganda (and several other African countries) for about 23 years. You can learn more about the history of the war here- http://www.invisiblechildren.com/history-of-the-war Or you can just look up Joseph Kony and the LRA.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
The other day on face book I asked if anyone had questions for me. I got a lot of good questions, which I will answer in a blog post soon, but for right now I just wanted to share this.
Today I went to the market for the first time. I have been to several of the small grocery stores in town, but I had not been to the market until today. I would have just posted this picture on face book...but I though it deserved it's own post. I asked her if I could take her picture and she nodded yes. She, of course, was very serious while I was taking it. Then when I was done her mom said "show her" so I did. I knelt down in front of her and showed her the picture and she broke out into the most beautiful grin...Africa is like that. It is easy to see the dirt and poverty that is on the outside...and you miss the beauty of what's on the inside. I hope you will all take a minute today to look past the skin of this world, to see more than a little girl sitting in the dirt, and see things the way Jesus sees them. Through the eyes of Love. In this world there will always be sorrow, and pain, and poverty, both physical and spiritual. We can choose to see only the sorrow and the pain of this world, or we can keep our gaze upon Christ, who makes all things new.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)