Roofing part2

They have started putting the iron sheets on the roof next door.  They are nailed directly to the joists mentioned in the previous post.  They have roofing nails, but the collar is metal, not rubber like I saw in the US.

The way they roll the sheets to make them easier for transport makes me think they are not iron.  They are thin, but the flexibility (and ease of cutting it to the right shape) makes me think they are really aluminum or tin and ‘iron sheet’ is just a name.

One unused ‘iron sheet’ and several partial pieces after the first day of roofing.

The new house as seen from my yard.

Roofing

Termites are common around here.  The Ugandans call them white ants and they like to collect them, cook, and eat them.  As a result, there is little interest in killing off the termite hills.

Houses are built out of mud bricks or concrete block with cement as the mortar in either case.  The joist for the roof are another matter.  They are wood.  I have seen them rough cut a beam from a teak tree using a chain saw.  I have neither seen nor heard of a lumber mill in country, but I want to believe that there is one, somewhere.  The roofing joists are built on site, not prefabricated like they are in the US.  Yesterday the team “painted” the joists with used motor oil.  The termites do not like teak.  They also do not like used motor oil.

Barter System

A member of the construction crew building the house next door asked Moses to help him.  He had guests coming and needed a chicken to serve them.  He promised to pay Moses back the next day.  They agreed on a price and Moses gave him a chicken.

For the last three weeks Moses has been asking for his money.  He keeps saying the boss has not paid him.  Moses noticed the boss was on site today and plans to inquire directly.  Meanwhile, new supplies have arrived, and construction has resumed, indicating a fresh supply of money for the project.

I have noticed a substantial amount of buying on credit here in rural Uganda.  Apparently most people make good because the system continues; however, this is not an isolated story.

Greetings

I think I have written about greetings before; have I talked about the youngest generation?

I walk to the home of the leader for Truth is Light ministries for morning devotions.  Along the way I pass many youths that are too young even for nursery school.  At first they were nervous, even scared when I walked by their homes.  Currently I am the only white person in Koboko’s West Division.  After a month, most of them would wave to me as we greeted each other.  One day, a little one came running.  Down the dirt path that led to his house, out to the road where I was walking; he held his arms up as he ran to me.

He father tells me his name is George but they call him Ukey.  Now Ukey looks forward to giving me a hug as I go to morning devotions (which he calls work), and again when I return.  Handshakes are common, Ukey is my only hugger.  He noticed that others shake my hand, so after the hug he shakes my hand too.

Burials

I received an invitation to attend a management meeting for the new nursery school at St. John.  The night before the meeting I received a new text message saying the meeting was moved to Friday because of a burial service.  Burial services are typically the day after a person dies, sometimes the same day.  The culture is to move any meetings and change any plans to attend a burial.  St. John Birijaku has had several people pass away this week, impacting several families but not those with close ties to me this time.

Unfortunately, the new date for the meeting has numerous conflicts.  I will be attending the graduation of the South Sudan Evangelical School of Theology in Mugujai, they asked me to speak.  The reverend will be attending a meeting for the formation of a new diocese for the Church of Uganda.  Others have conflicts too, so that meeting will probably be rescheduled again.  Hopefully, it will not be preempted by another burial.

More Activity

This week there are several things going on that are not part of the normal routine.  Stephen Awayi, a local evangelist, just returned from ministry that took him well past the boarder into D.R. Congo.  He came with another member of the Church.  Denis comes from Busia on the boarder with Kenya.  He will be staying here (Northwestern Uganda) and learning the work of an evangelist for a while.  He is also interested in prison ministry, so he has joined the team.

The head of our children’s ministry is a refugee.  He is registered in one of the camps.  (I am near the border, but all the camps are at least 50 miles from the boarder to make it difficult for warring factions to disturb them.)  He would stay in the camp, except he requested to stay with another member of the ministry (who agreed) so he would be available to work with the ministry.  He needs to return to the camp periodically and this is one of those times.

The South Sudan Evangelical School of Theology holds classes in Mugujai for a week at a time (intensive studies for current and prospective clergy in the Free Charismatic Church).  They do this several times within the year.  This week’s class will end with the annual graduation.  Because several of the bishops who lead the school also participate in (or request the ministry of) Truth is Light, I have been asked to give the sermon for the graduation.

Meanwhile, all the regular activities continue.

Planting season

It is an unusual sight traveling through the villages to reach Mugujai.  During the dry season some of the old plants are left in the ground until the soil is soft enough to till again.  The transition from the first to the second growing season is not set.  Some farmers are still waiting for the first crop to be ripe, while others have found theirs was ripe, have harvested, and planted again.

That’s what make now unique.  The old plants have been pulled out (everywhere) and burned along with the weeds, and the fields are either bare, or low – filled with young plants.  It is easy to see tookels and brick houses hundreds of meters away, usually hidden by corn (maze), sorghum, and a variety of other plants, and the surrounding countryside.

Future Neighbor

A new row house of three rooms is being built just outside my yard.  It had not been worked on for almost a month now.  Today a truck arrived carrying lumber.  They asked permission to offload it into my yard because I have a fence and a lock on the gate.  I gave permission.  A work crew arrived and began working on building the joists for the roof.  In this part of Uganda, they are not manufactured at some company and delivered ready for installation, they are built on-site.  Today they put a wood beam on top of the brick wall and strapped it in place.  Tomorrow they will begin building the joists, nailing them to this wood beam.

Multi-language environment

I managed to get a public car back from Mugujai (to Koboko) quickly this week (unusual).  A little farther, the driver stopped to fill his last seat.  He spent some time talking with the family members that were seeing the passenger off.  As we drove, he asked her, in English, why she wanted to go to Gulu so late in the day.  Vehicles leaving now (from Koboko) would not reach Gulu today.  She explained that a family member was sick, and she was called to come help.  She had been doing the same thing in Mugujai and had to wait for the family to release her.  The family in Mugujai is Kakwa, but the members in Gulu are from another tribe, that became part of the family by marriage.  I have the impression that the reason the family members spent so much time talking to the driver is because she does not speak Kakwa, only English and the language of the tribe in Gulu.

Farming

The wet season has returned, and we are receiving at least a drizzle four times a week.  We have been blessed in Koboko; the rain is frequently during the night.  The farmers, which is not everyone, but it seems like it is, are up early working the soil.  I have seen a tractor in town.  Usually it is just sitting in front of a bank.  Most of the farmers work the ground with a heavy bladed hoe.  A quarter acre, full acre, it does not matter.  They just invite family or neighbors to help, and in turn they help them.  Breaking ground that has just been softened by the rain, weeding, second weeding to remove the now dried weeds, planting, all by hoe, not a shovel, nor a tractor.  A few patches of ground already show plants, planted from a nursery bed, mostly the landscape is freshly turned soil right now.