Uganda 2025 Day 4

Uganda 2025 Day 4

Today I woke up at 3:45 to say goodbye to the Ugandans as they are driving to Karamoja. Only one or two were there at that time along with Mama Esther and Sarah who were cooking breakfast. I asked if I could help and Sarah put me in toast duty. I forgot with their toaster you have to cancel the toasting and check it, so four pieces were a little black. Mama laughed because she smelled it right before they popped up. She reminded me about canceling the toasting to check it. The other problem with the toaster is it has no color and then is medium to dark brown right away.  Many of my team members were waking up or finally coming out of their rooms while I was doing the toast. I could not figure out why at first, but realized it is because most of them went to sleep around 7pm. When I was done with the toast most of the Ugandan team and our team were awake. We helped load the supplies and then the guys ate breakfast. While they were eating Mama Esther and Sara gave me instructions. Mama had hard boiled eggs ready on the stove and told me to leave them there until our team was having breakfast. She also had me make more toast. I was trying to wash their dishes, but Sarah said I could only wash the mugs and spoons because we would need them for coffee and tea. The rest I had to leave for Harriet to wash as she was getting paid to do it. Because almost our whole team was awake, we had breakfast at 7a instead of 8. Harriet arrived right after we were started I told her the instructions I was given and she said “ yes chef.” She was joking around with me and it was funny. Not long after breakfast we had morning worship and instructions. during worship JoAnn was shown by God that one team member had spiritual gifts that she has not opened yet and The Holy Spirit was waiting for her to open during this trip. Then one of the girls shared about the first miracle of the trip that happened a couple days before she left her house. One if her friends has been sick for years and would need to sit in a dark room alone for a long time when she was dealing with part of her problem. One night a couple days before we left, God woke her up in the middle of the night and told her to make coffee (I think that is what she said). The friend did this even though she was in agony when she walked, but this time, God had healed her muscles and she walked just fine. She was 100% better from all the problems she was having before. It reminded me of this 14 year old boy in my church who collapsed while playing with his friends. One of his friends did CPR on him until the medics arrived at the house. Then they shocked his heart back into rhythm. He had to go to a children’s hospital that specializes in heart problems. The young man had this happen on a Monday, was out of the hospital by Friday, and went to church on Sunday. The doctors can’t find a reason for what happened to him. There is a chance he was in that hospital for the purpose of God’s kingdom. While there, they met a siek (?) Indian who was able to talk to the family and be encouraged by them as she had just become a Christian. Also, while the grandpa was visiting, he talked to another person about Jesus and salvation. It was not an ideal situation, but God put that family where he needed him for at least those two people. I love seeing God use people!

After worship and instruction we went shopping. The reason we were able to do this is because we finished almost all the clinic prep faster than expected. There is a little we need to do and JoAnn said we could do it in Karamoja. First we went to banana boat which is a higher end store, but people can use a credit card there is they want and buy other African gifts at the market. While there, many of us also went to CJs to get drinks. I ordered a lavender iced tea. Some of the other girls asked to try it and they loved it. One even said she would take it if I decided not to finish the drink. Everyone got up to leave, or so I thought, and I was walking with our drivers Moses and Frank to the vans. I think people went to the supermarket. From there we were going to go to the market, but as we sat in traffic for a long time, we decided to stop at phase 2 for lunch first. This was a good change because half the group decided to go back to the guest house and the other half went shopping. Chelsea and I stayed together in the market. I have been to it 7 times and it is still intimidating. Everyone begs you to go into their stalls and you also have to barter. In the third stall we went to I wanted to buy Angel ornaments that I get every year. Chelsea decided to look at the shop across while I was there. The shop lady pulled down all the ornaments and separated them for me. There were four styles mixed together to choose from. I believe one was praying, one holding a star, and one holding a piped instrument (maybe flute?). She proceed to say it is like Luke 2. After decided to buy one of each I asked her to remind me if the passage was Luke 2 and she say yes. Then she proceeded to pull her Bible off the shelf. Just looking at it made me so happy. It was falling apart. The pages were all bent and falling out. It looked well read. She said it is the from the passage of Jesus birth when the angels appear to the shepherds. Chelsea had come back by this point and we talked to her more. Chelsea also bought something from her. The lady gave us like three or for hugs and said God bless you and other things too. Right before we left she gave Chelsea a free Angel and she gave me another one for free. The next stall we went into and bought items at, the lady was very nice as well. We did not talk to her as much, but as we left, she gave us both a free bracelet. I don’t think this has ever happened to me and it did twice in a row today. I am still in shock! We were in a hurry to get back to the van, but nobody was there. So, I went back in to the first stall we stopped at and I got a dress that I was thinking about buying. Chelsea went to a stall next to it and bought a painting. Then we went to the van. This did not take long, but by then everyone was in the van and Moses was looking for us. Jen called him so he could come back. From there we went back to the guest house. Dr David and Bethany had arrived while we were gone. 

Ivan and his wife, Linda, were also at the guesthouse when we arrived. Linda came to take orders from anyone who wanted custom made clothes. I buy at least one item from her every year. We ordered probably 12 items or more between everyone. She said within the 3 days of Karamoja clinic she would purchase all the fabric and have all the clothes sewn so we can have them when we arrive back on day 4. She is so good at this! She was still helping Jen with clothes when it was time for dinner. When some of us were done, I helped clear their dishes. I set some by the sink to while I went to scrape food off another plate Ann’s I told Harriet not to touch them. She said ok chef again. While I was washing the dishes Silas asked if he could help me rinse them and put them on the drying rack. I asked how long he worked for the guest house and he started at the beginning of 2025. He usually helps with grounds keeping and maintenance, but is helping Harriett in the kitchen while Mama Esther and Sarah are gone. Then I learned he is Martin’s brother.

When dishes were done, Chelsea and I were talking to another young man. He is in university and studying to be a teacher. He is a friend of John Basco. They went to high school together. We had to cut our talk short because it was time to practice the dance moves for kids church. He joined us after a couple songs. This year we had 6 new songs and one that I knew from past years. When we finished we went to our rooms and packed for the trip to Karamoja in the morning. I went to bed around 10:30p.