Grrrrrrroooooooooooooooowl!

Well, I'm a total slacker, it seems. Either that, or I've been so involved in the work here that I just haven't had time to blog like I want to. Let's go with the second one.

On top of that, I'm leaving the internet behind for the next three days in search of the elusive lion's roar. No, that's not a metaphor. I'm going on safari. In the two years I lived in Botswana, even though I spent a good deal of time in the bush and on safari, I never heard a lion growl. Hopefully all that will change in the next three days.

Lori and I will be traveling up to Murchison Falls National Park with a local safari group for a much-looked-forward-to holiday in the wild. I'll be back in internet range on Friday evening.

I've decided not to go to Gulu after all, so thank you all for your prayers regarding that. It just didn't feel right to me. So after safari, I will be going back to Jinja for a little less than two days, then back here to Kampala for three, and then I will be flying out. IT'S SO SOON!!!! I have alot to do between now and the 24th, but I will do my best to keep you all in the loop. I have several blog posts knocking around in my much too full noggin right now, so I just need to get them down in print.

Thanks again for everything you do for me. I would not be here, having the time of my life, without you.

A

Bouncy Flouncy Trouncy

Yay for video number three! This time, it's all about transpo. So put your feet up, take your Dramamine, and enjoy a little tour of Uganda.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

As promised, this post is nothing but things you can pray for. Lucky!

You can thank God with me that I have been healthy--completely healthy--the entire trip so far, and that I have been safe as well.

You can also thank God for his goodness in protecting mine and Lori's relationship and in providing such gracious and giving contacts here. I have been showered with hospitality and good will.

Also, you can thank him that I've been able to do everything I wanted to so far--meeting and spending time with orphans, recording their stories and writing up extensive daily notes to help me in the writing process, getting enough rest, and of course being faithful to post blogs and videos.

Things you can ask him for include:

Good contacts in the second half of the trip.
Continued health and safety.
Creative, mental, physical, and spiritual stamina.
The ability to focus and stick to the task at hand.
Wisdom in spending the remainder of my funds.
Rest and refreshment.
The ability to interview well and the social energy to enjoy the children and young adults I'm spending time with.
Fresh eyes to see the extraordinary things around me that threaten to become commonplace with familiarity.
Humility--the ability to respond well to God's leadership in all things.
Single-mindedness and selflessness.
A spirit of giving and compassion.

Some specific requests for this week are:

A good day with Julius and his siblings on Friday.
A good day of interviews at Father's Divine Love Ministries on Monday.
That I would make good connections in Gulu and would be able to go, or that I would have wisdom to know whether or not to go. I would be alone for this trip, and am a little wary.
A good day of worship and rest on Sunday.

Again, thank you all so much for your faithfulness in prayer and for your friendship and encouragement.

Oh! And expect a video tomorrow! :o)
A

Status Update

I thought it might be appropriate, now that I'm right around the halfway mark on the trip, to give you guys a quick status update. I have about 2 1/2 weeks to go, and a little less than two weeks already under my belt. It certainly seems like I've been here much longer!! In a good way...

So far, I've spent lots of time with a boy that I always knew would play a prominent role in the book. His name is Julius and he lives with his three younger siblings in Jinja. I've had the chance to spend two days with him so far, and plan to spend another day with him in the coming week to hopefully see his home and his school and meet his siblings.

I have also spent some time with some girls from an orphan rescue ministry called Dwelling Places--primarily a girl called Harriet. Today I will be spending the day with Harriet and her brothers Sam and Joseph as we go out to another orphan home called Watoto to visit their younger siblings. Please pray for us to have a good time, and also for good interviews.

Next week I plan to connect with a man named William in Jinja who runs a small home for AIDS orphans, and also a man named David Livingstone who runs an orphanage outside Jinja. On the 16th I will leave Jinja for good, so please pray that this will be a productive week.

I will be coming back to Kampala on the 16th, and will be leaving the next morning for a 2 1/2 day safari with Lori at Murchison Falls game park. Upon leaving Murchison Falls, I hope to find my way to Gulu in the north to meet with some orphans there. I have no contacts in Gulu as of yet, so please pray that the logistics will work out, or that I will be able to modify the plan to make those days productive.

I plan to leave Gulu on the 21st to return to Kampala. On the 22nd, I'm hoping to meet with a girl named Jackie whose parents were burned to death by the LRA, and on the 23rd I will go to a village south of the Equator to meet some orphans and the grandparents who care for them. Lori will be joining me to evaluate a well project in the village.

So that's the plan. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed yesterday, because right now I don't feel like I have anywhere near the amount of information that I need. Please pray that I will trust that the Lord has a plan, and that He will carry it out in His own time and way. I must just be fluid and obedient. You can also thank Him with me that I have been entirely healthy and safe for my entire trip so far. Literally nothing has gone wrong! I feel very insulated from trouble. I am confident moving about by myself, and have had no trouble at all with anything, really. I know that so much of that is due to your faithfulness to keep praying for me. Please keep it up. I hope to have the time soon to be able to write a blog just of things you can pray for me. Maybe when I get back from Watoto this evening.

And look for another video soon.

Hug yourself for me!
Amanda

Anecdotal Antidote: Stories from Africa to Cure What Ails You

I left Jinja the day before yesterday. We came over to Kampala because Lori had some meetings and I had some interviews with a few kids from a home called Dwelling Places. I didn't have a chance to wash my clothes before I left, so I just packed like I normally would, except that I put the clean clothes in my bag, and I carried my dirty clothes in a plastic bag. The dirty clothes far outnumbered the clean. In fact, I had only one day's worth of clean clothes left.

So we got to Kampala late and went to bed and then I got up early yesterday morning and went to my day of interviews (which went pretty well, thanks for asking). When I came back last night, I was filthy from a long sweaty day on dirt roads, so I showered, put on my pajamas, and went outside to the clothes-washing tub to wash my clothes. I'm getting pretty good at washing clothes by hand, by the way. I washed everything except the skirt I was going to wear to church tomorrow and my long-sleeved t-shirt--and the only reason I didn't wash it was because it had gotten covered up and I didn't see it. When I finished, I had one of my many African "Oh crap" moments. I suddenly realized that all my clothes were wet. And they stayed wet all night long, hanging from my headboard, from the dresser shelves, from the mosquito net, and from the curtain rod. And they were still wet this morning when it was time for me to get dressed. So...today I'm wearing a long sleeved t-shirt and my Sunday skirt. Not exactly my finest fashion moment.

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Lori and I went up to a place called Bujagali Falls on the Nile earlier this week for a little rest from the madness. We spent all day just hanging out and doing nothing in an open air cafe on a hill overlooking the river. While we were there, the owner of one of my favorite restaurants came in with his mom. I was excited because I had wanted to meet him. He's from Iceland and seems to be a pretty interesting fellow. He proved me right when I asked his name, and instead of just telling me, he lifted up his shirt to show me his name, Ellert, tatooed in huge letters across his stomach. I will never, as long as I live, forget that man's name.

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I find it very interesting that when children here see us white folk, two words normally and almost universally come flowing forth from their little lips. The first word is "muzungu" which is the Luganda word for a foreigner. That's to be expected. But the second is always a little confusing; after they say muzungu, they say "bye." So I am greeted several times a day with "Muzungu Bye!" It makes me wonder if they hear muzungus saying "bye" more than they hear them saying "hello." At any rate, I greet people by saying "bye" every day.

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And finally, I learned the meaning of the phrase "white knuckles" the other night. Lori and I had just arrived in Kampala from Jinja, and had to take a matatu (minibus) to our guest house from the city center. So we walked down with all our stuff to the bus stop to wait for the matatu to come by. After standing there for about fifteen minutes with no matatu in sight, Lori gave me the look I'd been dreading. It was the look that said, "It looks like we're gonna have to take a boda boda."

A boda boda, for those of you who haven't already guessed the worst, is a motorcycle fitted with a tiny backseat upon which Uganda's bravest choose to sit daily, the wind and dust whipping around them, their unprotected bodies hurtling along crowded streets at 40 miles an hour, hovering a mere foot or so from asphalt, dirt, and rocks.

Now I don't mind the bodas in Jinja. My first boda ride was with Lori (yes, there's room for two passengers on a boda) on the way back from Ellert's restaurant. It was late at night and the dirt roads between there and our place were all but deserted. Only slightly terrifying. My next boda ride was out to Bujagali Falls. It was during the day, there was a little more traffic, but much of the ride was on village roads. Ok, no problem.

But my first boda ride without Lori was in Kampala, at night, with all my worldly possessions on my lap. I closed my eyes at first, determined not to see the calamity that certainly awaited me. But eventually I opened them because I decided I'd rather see it coming. I did alot of praying, and alot of plotting about exactly how I would try to position myself when I fell off. I was actually more concerned for my computer, which was at the time held in the vise-like grip of my knees, than I was about myself. I thought about my elbows alot, wondering how extensive and permanent the damage to them would be, since the plan was to shield my computer with my body, specifically the forearms. I thought about my elbows when the driver, unsatisfied with the speed of a truck in front of us, chose to leave the road for the dirt trail over the curb that people use for a sidewalk. I also thought about my elbows when he slid on gravel trying to get back on that road. And I thought about my elbows when he decided that traffic was moving too slowly on our side of the road and opted instead for weaving through oncoming traffic for a good half-mile.

When I finally arrived at the guest house, I had to concentrate to unweld my left hand from the bar on the back of the motorcycle. I may be scarred for life. But at least the scars are only mental...and I got them all for the low low price of $1.20. Uganda: Terror for Less.

Number Two....Like Lightning

Now that I figured out how to make, edit, and upload my videos, the second one went much more quickly. I hope you like it!




I'd also like to ask you all to pray for me this weekend. I am going back to Kampala to meet some orphaned girls who are involved with an organization called Dwelling Places. I have several interviews to do tomorrow and will hopefully be spending the weekend with them. Please ask for emotional and mental stamina for me and that God would loosen the girls' tongues and hearts to share the story that he would have told. I find that the interview process is extremely tiring for me. I appreciate you so very much! Thanks for your prayers and love!!

In Denile

I stuck my feet in the Nile River the other day. It wasn’t exactly what I imagined. From where I stood, I could look upstream all the way to the source of the river. But this river doesn’t begin as a spring on a mountaintop somewhere. It doesn’t bubble and babble its way through fallen leaves and over forgotten pebbles. It doesn’t slowly gather speed and volume over hundreds of miles, turning from a spring to a brook to a stream. This river begins as a ripple and a current change in the world’s largest lake. At its source, the Nile River is about 150 meters wide and its current is already dangerously strong. Standing at the source, you can look out over the great waters and see the very spot where the lake gives way to the river. In fact the waters of this mother of all lakes actually break in waves over the surface of the river and find themselves swept downstream and all the way to the Mediterranean.

I never really expected to stand in the Nile River, and I certainly never expected that if I did, I would be looking around at lush green hills covered with banana trees and clear blue skies. When I imagined stepping in the Nile, I imagined pyramids and camels. I imagined baby Moses floating in a basket among the reeds by Pharaoh’s palace. I imagined sand and dust and six thousand years of history enveloping me into its story.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my imagination lately. I do a lot of imagining—imagining places I’d like to go, imagining what my life could be like, imagining who I’d like to be. But I have discovered over and over lately--now that my life is much more fluid and much less structured than it used to be—that the stuff of my imagination is never quite good enough. It is never big enough or extravagant enough or exciting enough. God’s imagination is always trumping mine! He is always giving me bigger, more extravagant, more exciting things than I could have imagined myself. Sure, His imagination involves the unconventional, the unexpected, and occasionally the downright bizarre more often than not. But who ever said that the conventional, expected, “normal” way of life was the life that we, as followers of Christ, were meant to live? I find that as I stop questioning God’s sanity as he unveils his imagination in my life, the more fulfilling, the more exciting, the more alive my life is. As I let Him be the Great Storyteller instead of trying to write my own lame-o stories, I find myself neck deep in adventures I never dreamed of.

My dreams of the Nile River were different from what I found. You see, as the Nile flows up through Sudan and finally to Egypt and into the Mediterranean, it becomes more and more polluted. It is so polluted, in fact, that visitors to Egypt are told that under no circumstances are they to allow the waters of the Nile to touch their skin. Wading in the Nile in Egypt is not an option. Looking at the pyramids while standing ankle deep in this mythical river is simply not possible. But here, in Uganda, at the very source of the Nile, I can enjoy the cool Ugandan breeze on my face as it plays over the water; I can hum along to African jazz as it plays in the café behind me; I can enjoy the gentle sway of the banana trees across the river; and I can do it all with my feet in clear, clean river water. It isn’t the Nile I imagined, but it is unexpectedly and infinitely better. I never expected the story of my feet in the Nile to go quite like it does. And I never expected the story of my life to look quite like it does. But the more I let go of my puny imagination and get swept up in His, the more and more I find myself standing in a Nile River I never imagined--standing right in the river instead of on its banks.

Live and In Technicolor

You can all stop holding your breath now. Video number one is finally here!! Believe me, I am far more excited about this than you are. It has been a steep learning curve, but I think I've got it. I hope you enjoy. I will try to make a better copy and put it up tomorrow. But until then, turn your head to the side, squint, and maybe, just maybe you'll be able to see Africa like I've seen it this week!



And yeah, there was no Ethiopia from the air. Technical difficulties. :o)