TIA: "This is Africa"... that's what people say when their expectation isn't met or is poorly met: the power is out for hours or days, TIA, the water is off for days, TIA, Internet speed? what's that?, TIA, mosquito nets, TIA, lake flies that remind you of the plagues in Egypt, TIA, getting charged a higher price because you are a white foreigner who doesn't know better, TIA..., and then...
beautiful red soil which grows anything you plant in it, TIA, beautiful children who look at you curiously, TIA, big, big smiles with shining eyes, TIA, worship that goes for an hour, TIA, a prayer service that depicts how we should all pray unceasingly, TIA, missionary wives praying once a week for all the needs around them, TIA.
So we have been here for about three weeks and there are so many impressions of life. We have been blessed beyond our imagination. We are sharing a huge house with the Potter's Field Inters/Missionary team. The house is old but beautiful: high, high ceilings, big bathrooms, a terrace that gives a luxury view of Lake Victoria, windows with arched tops, heavy wooden doors. And as it seems with all things here, there is the OTHER side. All the windows are barred, nicely done, but metal bars that prohibit outside entry. The doors are barred with the same heavy metal bars and everything gets padlocked at night or when you leave the house empty. A high fence surrounds the property with razor wire stretched across the top. The German Shepherd watchdog and the night guard or the day guard are always around.
We are blessed to have access to the Potter's Field vehicle and the people at the grocery are getting to know me. I know that: the ground beef smells funky no matter what brand, the bread is really fresh, avocados are dirt cheap, matooke is a green banana that tastes like a potato, cassava is a root that tastes like potato, eggs come in two kinds: yellow yolk and white yolk(really!), broccoli is kind of yellow but still good, milk comes in one liter plastic bags, and the tilapia out of Lake Victoria is fabulous. I am surprised that I can get: peanut butter made in New York, Nutella, Nivea body creams, laundry soap made in Austria, towels made in Germany, and biscuits and cookies made in England.
We are blessed by Calvary Chapel Entebbe. So many people extend their hand out to us both physically and metaphorically. They are glad to meet you and get to know you. I have to listen so carefully because my ear isn't tuned into the Ugandan English yet. I was sitting in service on the first Sunday and I kept hearing the word "fresh". It just didn't make sense, about halfway through the sermon I realized he was saying "flesh". Each person has been amazingly patient with me as I ask them two and three times to repeat themselves.
Our children are blessed by the missionary wives and some foreign families that have other purposes here. Many people we meet are here to study and work at the Virus Institute. There is a play group that we have been invited to that includes a Russian, two British ladies, a Texan and me. Down our street there is a family of seven children who are missionaries from Alaska. There is incredible diversity in this little town of Entebbe. The kids are making friends. We haven't had one major emotional breakdown! We are back to school and so they are focused on that too.
We are so blessed by all of you out there in the wide world of e-mail and Facebook. We are grateful for your immediate response to our request for prayers. For those of you who are new to our loop, we have had plumbing work done that took four days, two water heaters die on us-one upstairs, so we had hot water raining through the ceiling, thankfully nothing was damaged and I ended up with a very clean floor. We really have had power outages that went on for days, and no water for two days. Raoul is still wrestling with the Internet provider.
Our current prayer request: We are still looking and praying for the right car. We are trying to get our paper work together for our work permits. Raoul has been sick with some kind of head cold/sinus infection.
We thank you for all your support, both financial and spiritual. We would love to hear from you too! Our e-mail is usually up and we are glad to stay informed with your lives. Just because you don't have geckos in the wash basin doesn't mean your lives aren't interesting to us.
Goodbye for now, Ingrid.
Raoul here - well, it certainly has been interesting to get our lives started afresh here in Africa. It is not an easy life when one looks at the material comforts but it is a peaceful life. Everything happens at a slower pace and everyone is friendlier and calmer as a result. My first two weeks have mostly consisted of getting our house in order (lots of plumbing repairs were needed) and setting up all the little parts of life like phones, internet, bank, groceries, driving on the left side of the roads, etc. I started this week at CC Entebbe and going forward I will be involved in several building projects (a school, a work shop, a well, a chicken farm), IT support, general facilities oversight, and preparing to teach next year in the local discipleship training school. I will start with one class (lasts about 4 months) in Inductive Bible Study. We are in the process of getting our work permits and finalizing our container to be shipped from LA next month. Lots of prayer needed to make sure it all goes smoothly, for - TIA - you just never know...
We love and miss all of you and send you our love. Raoul.
