This traditional Ugandan greeting received a big laugh from Jonnes and Gertrude Bakimi when we picked them up yesterday in their "personal matatu" a.k.a. our '94 Crown Vic. [a matatu is a taxi in Uganda, usually a small white mini van]
Despite some pretty heavy duty dental work, the two were ready for a little adventure so we headed to the wilds of Michigan. Gertrude is keeping track of the states she has been to, and she can count Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. Plus I totally think she should count Georgia since they changed planes in Atlanta. Hey, if you're on the ground, it counts!
Reminiscing, catching up, we talked until well past my bedtime last night. As Jonnes tried to recall the name of one child (now grown) that we asked about, he commented that this difficulty stems from the color in his hair (gray) but the hubby quipped the difficulty comes from having so many children! I'm sure no one has an exact count but HUNDREDS of children have found a safe haven at Kasana Children's Center in the 20 years it has existed.
The hubby checked out youtube to see what videos we could find on New Hope Uganda and we actually found several so we all enjoyed watching a few of those and pointing out those we recognized. I loved seeing Gertrude's face light up when one of her sons appeared in a video. Its difficult to be away from your family for weeks at a time!
I'm trying to think of a variety of soft things I can make that Gertrude can eat after all the dental work. Lots of mashed vegetables, oatmeal for breakfast, fruit smoothies and pudding. Any suggestions?
I'll probably be posting throughout the day. As I have time and things are fresh on my mind...
Like Jonnes comment last night that caused us to stop and think. He said, "Most poverty is from the poverty of ideas." Here is a Ugandan who gets really excited when others in his country can see the value of seeing beyond themselves. He's one of the pastors at Kasana Community Church and he loves to preach the Word! And we spent a lot of time talking last night about how the teachings in the Word are often upside down from what we learn in our culture. That when Christians begin to practice what they learn, their communities are transformed by the love they share. He told us stories with concrete examples of this and what a blessing! I think I'll just have to devote a whole post to this topic later on.
Sounds like the masses are waking. Let the day begin!
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