Changes

I was reviewing my notes and discovered I did not tell you about the changes to the CoVid-19 restrictions.  President Museveni (President of Uganda) addressed the nation and reminded everyone that the restrictions are still in place and we should not become complacent.  Shortly after that Uganda reported its first death due to CoVid-19. 

Meeting and group size remains at 5.

Social distancing is still in effect.  Together with that, do not shake hands when greeting, despite the cultural tradition to do so.

Face masks – wear them.

Bota bota – they can now carry passengers.  This is the least expensive motorized way to travel.  I am sure I will eventually take advantage of this change; however, for the moment I am still walking to and from town.

Churches – national leaders are meeting with the president’s team of scientist to discuss how they might be able to open.  No dates as to when we might expect an announcement, no clues what options are being discussed.  Still, it is good to hear the discussion is occurring.

Airport – still closed.

Curfew – changed to 9 p.m. vice the 7 p.m. previously in effect.

What changes have you experienced?  What restrictions remain unchanged?  Your comments are welcome.

Familiar?

Today I am being blessed with signs of the familiar.  Breakfast was French toast.  The bird is back knocking at my window.  (It spends more time just sitting on the windowsill now and just knocks occasionally.)  The sky is a Pacific Northwest overcast gray.

I am in the northwest; it is just the northwest of Uganda.  Never mind the calendar, it feels like a mid-spring morning.  There is a slight chill in the air, but it is not cold.  Some are wearing hoodies or jackets, others are not.  Being this close to the equator does not mean we are hot all the time; I am told this is the coldest part of the year, the time of the year when we are colder than my native Pacific Northwest USA.

TPM small groups

Back in March we held a Transformational Prayer Ministry (TPM) seminar.  During the seminar we promised to form small groups where participants could learn more about TPM and practice the concepts. 

I am part of the small group that meets in Mugujai.  Today we were blessed as Jesus gave a member of the group a question that allowed us to understand the topic better.

The group has agreed to keep personal details confidential; however, I can say I enjoy our meetings and I find them helpful.

Elections

It is election season in Uganda too.  It was delayed by the lock-down; however, it is in process now.  It is being referred to as “scientific elections” because the restrictions on gatherings have not been lifted.

I received a copy of the elections road map when I visited the mayor last week.  A friend, who happens to be a pastor and a refugee from South Sudan, is also interested in what the road map may reveal.  Today we plan to get together and go over it.

So far, I have learned

• People are elected for 5 years
• Local offices like LC1 and LC2 (see previous post entitled ‘courtesy calls’) are voted for by lining up behind the candidate of your choice on election day.  I do not know how they are going to do that with corona virus group size restrictions.

Solar power

The funny thing about solar power is the battery can be empty even when the sun is out.  That is what happened this morning.  The last several days have been cloudy so the charge on the battery was not that much and the security lights for the house over night had taken it to low to use the outlets in the morning. 

Fortunately, the battery is charging now.  Several neighbors count on me to charge their phone or laptop.  I discovered the problem when I tried to charge the phone of a neighbor.  The power level is up now, and that phone is charging. 

Football

Soccer (called football here) is popular.  When I arrived in February, I was asked which team I was for.  I was not allowed to pick the Sounders.  They are not in the English premier league.  I settled on Chelsea.

The English premier league concludes on 26 July this year.  The way they finish is for every team to play on the same day at the same time.  That is ten games, there are 20 teams in the league.  It makes it hard to follow several games on the radio at the same time.  This year there were two games of interest because finishing in the top four means the team is invited to play in the champion league (an international league whose play begins after the national league’s [English, Spanish, French, Italian, …] season ends).  There were three teams within a point of each other, Manchester United and Chelsea were tied but Manchester was ranked 3^rd because of goal differential, leaving Chelsea 4^th, and Leichester was one point back in 5^th.

Fifth place will not be invited to play in the Champion league.  Manchester United plays Leichester with the winner getting three points.  Chelsea plays a team called the Wolves.  If Chelsea wins, they move on to the Champion’s league.  If they lose, then they need Manchester United to win to allow them to stay in 4^th and advance.

Kakwa culture

I am still learning about the Kakwa culture.  Praise God!  There is probably more to learn than I can imagine, and I pray that I keep learning.

Today my watchman told me he was going to a marriage program in Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo not the Republic of Congo.  The Democratic Republic of Congo is the only Congo that shares a border with Uganda.)  At first, I thought it was a marriage seminar.  Later, as he was finishing up here and preparing to go, I learned it was a marriage celebration.  He was going first to his field in Congo, his wife will join him there after selling some greens in the market, and then they will go further into Congo to attend the celebration. 

Just as he was about to leave, he asked me for a cavara (plastic bag, yes, they still use plastic here – by the way, I have not seen a paper bag here).  He had just finished checking the garden one last time, so I thought he wanted to take some greens as a gift.  Just the opposite, Kakwa culture is more like some of the First Nations of North America, the person celebrating gives the gifts (instead of receiving the gifts).  He wanted the cavara to put in his pocket so that he could be prepared if a gift came his way.  From the sounds of it, such a gift is likely to be food.

Kingaba

Today we visited Stephen and Christine and their family in Kingaba.  They are struggling but they are trying to be fine.  The lock down has not treated the poor communities well.  Fortunately, their garden is producing so they have something.  They also have their faith. 

It was good to meet after four months.  If movement continues to be allowed, we will meet again soon.

picture from TPM seminar in March

Greens

There are many types of greens that are used here.  Moses has planted three different greens for this growing season.  It is common to plant multiple items in the same area.  In the first picture (right-hand side) there are two different greens growing together.  They should be ready for harvest in early August. It is a different green in the two beds on the left-hand side. 

Garden, upper area

This second picture shows some of the other plants we are growing this season.  More greens.  We use a lot of greens in the sauces for the keyo (pronounced eee-lo).  He was planning to add potatoes to this area.

Garden, side yard

Officer in Charge, Bugutu prison

Today we made the courtesy call to the officer in charge of Bugutu prison.  He remembered me and he remembered our prison ministry from before the lock-down.  He told us that all the prisoners that were there before the lock-down have been transferred to the main prison in Arua.  He now has prisoners from other districts of the West Nile region.  I understand why the prisoners here are from other districts, so they will not know the environment making escape awkward. 

I have received some donations earmarked for my special project, helping with masks.  I talked with my LC2 (see yesterday’s post for a definition of LC2) about this project because the government has promised to distribute masks to Ugandan citizens age 6 and above.  They are going district by district beginning with the high-risk districts.  Thankfully, we are not a high-risk district.  Unfortunately, that means the masks have not reached us yet.  He told me to focus on the prison and maybe the hospital, areas that are likely to be missed by the government’s distribution.  In this way I will not be competing. 

We mentioned the mask project during our courtesy call and delivered the first batch.  They were gratefully received, and I was promptly informed how many more would be needed.  I already have an order in with the tailor for a second batch.  Tomorrow I will double that order.  A big thank you to everyone who donated to make this project possible.

During the visit we also learned that we will be able to go back in and resume the Bible study when Churches are opened in Uganda. Last night, the president of Uganda addressed the nation. In his addressed he mentioned that there are discussions going on regarding how and when to re-open the churches.