Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Saying Goodbye and other business

Today was a busy day.  My word it was a busy day.  But it was also a good day.  And also sadly my last day.  I am wishing I had more time.  Always I wish I had more time.  But I feel as though I've squeezed every last minute out of the short time I have had here and that has been a blessing.

They started drilling the well at Eagles Wings yesterday.  I am so happy I was able to be on site for at least part of it.  I was very impressed with the Living Water International crew and equipment.  I know they will do quality work. 

This morning I was down at the drilling site and also found the property boundary stones with one of the Eagles Wings staff members that also helped with the site survey when the eMi team came.  I spent a bit of time with the kids over lunch hour and before I knew it the day was almost done.

I attended my first Ugandan funeral today which was a very interesting experience.  It was for an older fellow from the village who had passed away yesterday.  I tried to blend in which is a very hard thing to do when you are one of three mzungus in a big crowd of people, and as the burial was taking place this line up of old ladies insisted on coming over and having a long conversation with me in Luganda right while the burial was going on.  I don't know most of what they told me but they all wanted to hug me and started jumping up and down when I said the few Lugandan phrases that I know to them.  One of them told me she was so happy I spoke Luganda! (which I most certainly do not:)

This morning Joan (the lady I stay with) and I found out about a young girl we know that was having to stay home because she wasn't able to afford school fees. So between the two of us we decided to pay for her term which came to about $35 each.  As I was walking along the road today I saw her on her way to school with the widest grin I have ever seen.  All because she got to go to school.  And I was reminded of all the things I take for granted. 

I went to youth fellowship for the last time tonight and it was so hard to say goodbye to all the kids.  Harder than it has been in the past because I know some of them quite well by now.  I hope I will see them again soon.

And so now starts the transition from being flung from one world into another.  In some ways it seems these 2 worlds couldn't be more different, and I will miss this place and it's people deeply, for there are many things I love and leaving will be hard.  My time in this place that is starting to feel like home has been richly blessed.  I feel so very thankful.

Until next time,

Jaimee

Few things make me happier than designing toilets in Africa, but drilling wells might be a close second.

The burial.  I wasn't going to take a picture, but all the locals were taking photos so I decided to as well.

Saying goodbye

I'm going to miss these girls

Monday, October 13, 2014

Love to Dance

Yesterday was busy.  I went to church out at Eagles Wings in the morning and then we went to visit one of the secondary students at a nearby high school.  After I got home I went to go visit Mama Florence the 24 former street children she looks after.  I have been so inspired by them and the work they are doing.  Some of their girls love love love ballet, so last year I was able to give them a ballet lesson.  This year, knowing how much they shared my love of dance, I brought them some ballet skirts, leggings, and t-shirts.  Brandon School of Dance generously donated ballet shoes for each of them as well.  They were so excited I can't even begin to describe it.  The whole room erupted when Mama Florence opened that bag of gifts, and pretty soon I was at the bottom of a 24 kid pile up as they screamed with joy all the way on top of me.  They had been praying for ballet costumes.  How precious is that.  They excitedly put on their new costumes and performed for me and it was so precious.

Today I went out to the Eagles Wings property.  I got to hang out with the kids over lunch which was so much fun.  I forgot how fun it is to be mobbed by excited school children.  I had so very much fun.  I attended an Eagles Wings staff meeting in the afternoon.  The drilling equipment was supposed to arrive today, but didn't.  It is supposed to come tomorrow, so hopefully that will happen.  I am looking forward to going back out there tomorrow to spend some more time with the kids and hopefully watch some drilling.  I have pictures for many of you of your sponsor kids, but will send them when I get home.

Here are a whole lot of pictures as I just couldn't choose.

Until next time,

Jaimee

Fitting Ballet Shoes

Ready for Performance


Aren't they beautiful?

They are so precious




At Eagles Wings today

I want to take him home!

Jotham is so silly:)

This is what it looks like when you get mobbed


Saturday, October 11, 2014

Fun Day at the lake

Today was wonderful, but before I get to that I'll write a short summary of yesterday which was also wonderful.

I spent most of the day relaxing and hanging out with the boys here which was pretty great.  We spent the afternoon playing checkers and being silly and I simply just love being in their company.

For supper, I was going to meet Bill and Ann for supper at a restaurant, and since they were coming back from an out of town trip they asked if Elisha and I could take a boda boda (motorcycle) to meet them at the restaurant.  I said no problem.  So Elisha and I started walking down the street to hail a boda, and Elisha successfully flagged one down. As it turned out, the boda driver had never heard of the place we wanted to go, and Elisha piped up and said he would direct.  I wasn't too sure where we would end up with a 5 year old directing us, so I called one of my local friends to explain to the driver in Luganda where we wanted to go and we made it there without incident.

Today, we took all 72 Eagles Wings Family children out to Lake Nabugabo for the day.  It was so wonderful.  Everyone had an excellent time and I wish I could have taken even a fraction of that joy and captured it in a bottle. We went swimming in the lake which was so much fun.  Supervising 72 children that can't swim was a bit crazy, but I won't soon forget all those squeals of joy.  We also did relay races and the boys played a football (soccer) game, and then we gave each child a winners medal at the end of the day.

I took several hundred pictures and haven't yet started sorting through them, but I'll try and post them eventually.  For now, here is one of my favourite.

Playing Relay games.  I enjoyed watching Mama Sarah (middle left) as much as the children.  She exudes this radiant joy and was cheering louder than many of the children.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Ballet or Barley?

How do I even put these last few days into words. Yesterday the boys here and I played with some enormous bubbles and they loved it.  It was so special to be right in the middle of all that joy.  Some of these boys grew up on the street so for them these moments are part of a childhood they never had. The road to redemption is not an easy path for these boys and despite the many challenges I have been so encouraged by the work here.

Last night as I was up at Youth Fellowship and sitting between two boys.  Here is how the somewhat humerous conversation went.

Boy 1: "Do you have ballet in Canada?"

Me: "Why yes, I did ballet for many years, who told you?"

Boy 1: "I studied it in school, I studied about many of those crops.  Is it related to wheat?"

Me:  "Oh you mean barley, yes we do have barley in Canada"

Boy 2: Starts doing pirouettes. "It is very nice you have ballet in Canada."

Me: "Can we please clarify if we are talking about ballet or barley?"
 
This is just one moment that makes me realize how much I love the challenge of being in another culture. In the end I concluded that one of the boys was talking about barley and one about ballet.  And then after one of the rough and tough street boys, who is a very talented break dancer asked me if I would please come give him ballet lessons.  So I am scheduled to go give ballet lessons next week, to a demographic far different than anyone I have ever danced ballet with.  I love it!

That is all for now,

Jaimee

This picture is a few days old, but we got to go visit Batcher in Kampala.  It was so nice to see him again!

Fun with bubbles.  I had such a wonderful time with these boys.






Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Welcome Home

It is so good to be back here in Masaka, it has felt like coming home.  I have loved seeing all these people again and yesterday was so much fun. I spent the morning here at Joan's and we tried out the childrens parachute I got and the boys here had so much fun.  At least some of them did.  A few others may have thought they were too cool for such a thing, but I think they had more fun than they were willing to admit.  And I'm glad we got to test it out before all the Eagles Wings Children arrive.  We are taking all the Eagles Wings kids to a nearby lake on Saturday and it's going to be so much fun.

Already, my time here is going by too fast as it always does.  It is going to be a busy week and a half.  The well at Eagles Wings is being drilled early next week, and I'm looking forward to spending some more time here with Soweto Youth Fellowship as well.

I got to be there for the twins first experience with ice cream. They loved it!

Monday, October 6, 2014

Running the race with endurance



Well I really did it.  I ran a race in Uganda.  And in some ways it was better than anything I could have ever dreamed of.  I arrived late on Saturday night, got a few hours sleep and then was up early to make it to the race site in time.  I was so thankful for friends to drive me there and cheer me on at the start and the finish.  As I was walking over to pick up my registration kit these three Ugandan guys passed me, and I’m not even joking they looked like they could have won the Olympics.  And I was wondering what the heck I got myself into.  I was very impressed by the level of organization displayed by the run organizers and it was such a blessing to be part of such an event.

The weather wasn’t too hot with some rain showers, so it actually ended up being quite ideal for a morning run.  I was worried I would be last across the finish line, but I actually think I was somewhere in the middle of the pack.  Although there were a lot of really fast people in front of me.  There were a few hills that I thought might do me in, but I was sure happy that I had ran a 10 km a few weeks back in Birtle with some nasty hills, because that helped prepare me mentally.  Both times, I refused to walk even one step up those hills even though my body and my mind were battling with me to quit.  I was reminded what it means to run a race with endurance and the kids I was running for inspired me to do my best.  It was almost dream like to be running through mud huts and red dirt roads along with other people.  Usually at a race there are people along the way cheering the runners on.  And to be honest sometimes these people give me the inspiration I need to put one foot in front of the other when all I want to do is lie down and quit.  This time, there were village children in tattered clothes jumping up and down as we passed by saying things in Luganda that I couldn’t understand with excited eyes and happy smiles as they put out their hands for high five’s as we ran past.  What better inspiration could I have asked for?

After the race I was able to take a boda boda (motorcycle) over to visit one of my favourite eMi families.  It was such a blessing to be able to spend a short amount of time with them.  As I was on the boda on my way over, these guys on this other boda kept on racing up and yelling things at me, and I realized that as I was riding in a skirt and it was windy out, perhaps I was showing a bit more mzungo thigh than was appropriate in this culture.  So I tried to tuck my skirt in a bit better, ignored them and carried on.  I love riding on bodas, they are so fun:)

So in closing, it was one of my favourite runs to date. I hope it will not be the last in this place I love.  Today I am off to Masaka and am so excited to see all people I love there.




Thursday, July 31, 2014

My Run For Eagles Wings Children's Village

https://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=38456

“The best way to find yourself
Is to lose yourself in the service of others." 

-Mahatma Gandhi

I am so excited to run a 10 km race in Uganda on October 5! I expect running in Africa to be much the same as visiting it; full of challenge and adventure, and to run in a place that I love so very much. . . there just are no words.

I'll be raising funds for Eagles Wings Children's Village, an orphanage that I have a longstanding relationship with. I am not just running to cross this off my bucket list, I am running for these children that I love so deeply. I run so that I can raise funds and awareness so that the world they live in might become just a little bit better.

Will you join me in this by sponsoring my run? Funds raised will go towards a much needed latrine for the elementary school and any remaining funds into the general fund to help provide care for these precious children. As a water and sanitation engineer, latrines make my heart happy. Especially knowing that these children will have a safe and sanitary one to use, a privilege 2.5 billion people around the world don't have. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart.

Donation Options Include:

Donate On-line here. A Digital Canadian Tax receipt will be issued immediately after you donate.

By Mail:

Cheques with "Jaimee's Run" in the memo line can be mailed to

Eagles Wings Children’s Village
712-133 Niakwa Road
Winnipeg, MB R2M 5J5
Canada

American donors: If you wish to receive a tax receipt please see donation instructions here.



Eagle's Wings- Masaka, Uganda from Halle Project on Vimeo.



Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Wrestling through life



Some days I wish I could trade the challenges of living in North America for the challenges of being a foreigner overseas. And perhaps someday I will, but for today I remain here and wrestle through what it means to live here after being there.

I sit and I wonder just when it was that those of us in the North American church lost sight of what really matters. When did the service become more about the show than about seeking and knowing, when did the music become more about notes and rhythms than about worship or about really trying to live the words that we sing, and when did being right become more important than dying to self, even if it means burning bridges rather than building them. And I wonder, if those of us inside the church can’t be the stewards of God’s very grace, than who will? If we choose to love only people who love us back, to be generous to only those who have something to offer, than how are we different from anyone else? No one said this would be easy.

I hear the things people argue about and it all just seems petty. When you have met a Mama with empty arms in Rwanda because every single one of her children met the wrong end of machete, and yet here she stands, surviving when maybe she didn’t even want to. And you talk to another Mama who tells you that her two year old asked her if she wants to know what dead people look like, because after 24 short months of life he saw with his own two eyes those blood soaked streets in Rwanda. And then there, right in the middle of the genocide memorial is a life size photo of a child whose last words were “Mommy, where can I run.” Later that week I sit with a group of children and they squeal with wild joy as they play with my hair. So excited they are that they jump up and down and laugh at the strange way my hair feels in their hands. Joy and pain, side by side inside me, and I’m reminded that life is a paradox. Both extremes right there in the same place and I marvel at the thought that I ever saw anything as black and white. 

I sat there in Northern Uganda and saw the aftermath of war and I realized that rehabilitating a child soldier is so much more than I read about in books. It takes more than a gun burning ceremony and a certificate that says “rehabilitated” for these young people to piece their lives back together. Sometimes they choose to return to war and the only life they know, but if they don’t it might take every single day of the rest of their life to fight the battle to rebuild. I remember the ones I met; they had vacant eyes that had had the life sucked right out and I hope that someday the light will return. That their smile will reach their eyes and their joy light up the room.

Without words, people remind me that all these stories are about “those people” “over there.”  But imagine just for a minute, that Mama with empty arms, she could be your sister, because her and you aren’t really so different after all. The little boy who had nowhere to run, he could be your son, wide eyed with wonder and ready to take on the world. And the stories, they are right here beside me too. Someone tells me that the little boy that I once taught in Sunday School here on the frozen Canadian prairies, he survived Rwanda, because his Mom ran through the bush for 3 months straight with him tied to her back. The two of them, were the only survivors in their family. I watch him colour, no different from the other kids, and yet not at all the same. 

And you know what? That little boy, the one who spoke to his Mom of dead people, he is now bent over a desk studying at an Ivy League school. But he does not forget. Because 2 years old is old enough to remember all those things he saw, and he wants to go back to Rwanda so he can make it a better place than the one he remembers as a child. And people like him and his Mama, they inspire me to love when it hurts and when it doesn’t even make sense, and to go out every single day and make the world just a little bit better.  


Sunday, May 4, 2014

With eyes wide open

I took my dog out last night.  My mind was busy, and truth be told, as I made the short walk home I was assessing frost heaves in the asphalt. Then for a brief moment I glanced into the skies and saw them. Northern lights. I caught my breath in awe as they danced above me. And I lingered there for some time in silent wonder. Because no matter how many times I see them, they never get old. And as I sat there and watched the heavenly theatrics I wondered how often I walk through life with my eyes down, analyzing faults on the road, when up above me northern lights dance.

Last year when I went camping with my friends, the photographer in the group decided we should stay up until 2 AM so he could get a group shot of us with the starry sky and the Northern Lights above. I have to admit, that at the time, I was tired and cold and I just wanted sleep. But as we made our way out to the beach, I realized why he wanted this shot. Still some soft light on the horizon in the ridiculously long Northern summer daylight, the clear starry sky and Northern Lights above, it was like a little bit of heaven. I won't soon forget that moment or the wonder it beheld. When I was walking with my head down, eyes on my covers, there were others that reminded me to come outside and look up.
 
Right before I went outside last night I was reading a book about the road to Emmaus. About how the disciples walked along heartbroken and defeated because the One they thought had come to rescue them appeared to be dead. They doubted everything their lives had been based upon. They shared all this with the stranger who walked beside them. "There they were, walking with the living Christ, and they had no idea who He was. They were looking past His face and into the abyss that demands proof. They saw His sandals, His hair, His eyes, His robe, but they did not see Him." (Mended, Angie Smith).

I am guilty of much the same. Of racing through life, eyes down, and feeling all alone, when right beside me walks my Saviour. And at times, I do walk with my eyes to the heavens, only to trip and fall on a crack in the road. Instead of getting back up, I stop and focus on what caused me to fall, rather than remembering the lights that dance above.

Last week I went to watch the Watoto Children's Choir. Seeing those kids has special meaning to me, because I've been to Uganda several times, but also because I've been to Watoto. Seeing them in their home context as well as seeing them perform abroad gives me perspective.  As I was watching them sing, there was one little boy, who had shared his story of struggle before coming to Watoto. As he sang the song, his eyes were closed, hands lifted to the heavens, and in that moment, it was only him and Jesus. I didn't want that moment to end because I knew I was witnessing something sacred and because people like him, they know Who walks beside them.

 

Monday, April 14, 2014

All there is to love

I was reminded the other day about how much there is to love in this life. Once a week I volunteer for a couple of hours at the Immigrant Centre, helping in an English class.  This particular day the regular teacher was away and the substitute decided to teach on Canadian seasons. The exercise was to go around the class and ask different people questions. My favourite question to ask the students that day was if they liked winter. Some of them said no obviously, as most of them come from much warmer climates, but the answer of one of the students struck me deep. After the exercise was finished the teacher started telling the class how much she disliked winter. She went on for a few minutes about how the biting cold and the piles of snow made her life miserable, and one students in the class, face filled with surprise, looked her deep in the eyes, and said in broken English, "But teacher, there is so much to love." She went on to explain how she loved taking her children to go sledding, and skating, and playing in the snow. This one, she has traded life in a tropical climate for Canadian extremes and still she finds all there is to love.

You and I? Do we find all there is to love. Do we see the ground beneath us and the heavens above us and give thanks for the earth that surrounds us? For the snow the crunches, the sunshine of spring, and the hope of warmer days ahead?  Or do we look at ourselves and see a life that we hadn't planned on, a life that was supposed to look so much different. Plans that failed, promises broken, tragedy, things beyond our control, loneliness, brokenness, and the list goes on. Because in reality those things are probably present in every single one of our lives. We all have battles to fight. We are all restless and wanting something more. So we can choose, we can choose to either dwell on the biting cold, or look around and see tall there is to love.

That student?  The one that found so much to love in winter? She has left a home she knew to start a life unknown here.  I can bet that starting over in a new culture where she spoke very little English has not been an easy transition. But still, she thrives. She comes to class with a sparkle in her eye, because in the midst of all the mire of everyday life, she finds all there is to love.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Hi Again

Hi everyone,

It seems there is just not enough hours in the day to spend with all these people I have come to love.  How is it that I already leave tomorrow?  Time is too short for those who love that's what Henry Van Dyke said. Oh how that is true.  Every last minute I have been enjoying with these people.  I have been asked by several people when I am going to come back to Uganda forever.  I know I'll be back, but I don't know when or how. Perhaps that is the beauty of it.

I am going to the lake today with some of my friends here.  I just love spending time with these people.  In much the same way I just love spending time with my friends from home. There are some things about home I am looking forward to, and many things I know I will deeply miss here.

One thing that people ask me here is whether or not my parents are still alive.  At first it came as a surprise to me because at home that is not something you would generally ask someone my age.  But here I suppose it is all to common for a lot of people to not have parents.

Remember Wasswa that I sponsor?  The one whose Grandfather is not well.  We stopped and gave them some food the other day and the Eagles Wings social worker stopped in for a visit yesterday and found that the Grandmother had not eaten in 3 days.  A gift received in a timely moment, they are a blessing to me and I won't soon forget them.

Anyway sorry this is so short, I must be going.

Jaimee

Some of the kids from Eagles Wings including Anitah and Wasswa

Saturday, February 15, 2014

An Imperfect Offering



Sorry for the lack of updates.  I’ve been so busy, but have been having such a great time.  My friend Rachael and I went to Sipi Falls for the day on Tuesday and it was incredibly beautiful. Rachael is a dear friend to me.  I love her heart, her humour and her beautiful smile. So many days I wish we lived half a street apart instead of half a world apart.  I’m so happy we went.  I’ve been having so much fun hanging out with the youth fellowship here where I’m staying as well. 
 

After the first half of my time here had passed, I had began to think that nothing in Uganda could surprise me.  That I was used to the poverty and the heartbreaking situations that are found around every corner.  But yesterday I realized that was not at all the case.  We stopped to visit one of the little boys I sponsor and my heart was shattered once again. This boy’s teacher had told us he hadn’t been able to attend school in recent days because his aging grandfather was very sick.  Upon arrival at his house, he and his twin sister greeted us and told us about their sick grandfather and invited us in. We entered their humble mud hut and in that moment I was confronted with death in a way that I haven’t ever been before. This grandfather is not long for this world and took great effort to extend his hand from his bed to greet us.  It broke my heart to see this small boy that I love witness his guardian like this.  But I was also reminded that this is reality in much of Uganda, and for that matter much of Africa.  However, this one, he is not just a statistic, he is one that I love. It is so easy to come here and think that all of Uganda needs “fixing.”  But really it doesn’t.  I am the one who needs to be fixed.  All I have to offer is an imperfect offering, me just as I am, and I hope that God can turn that into enough.  These people, this place, they are not a project.  Can I see past all of these differences, past the poverty and right in to who they really are?  To see what makes us the same and also what makes us so very different?  Can I love them without seeing the need to fix?  To offer what I have and to humbly learn from them?  I do hope so. Although I so often feel the weight of humanity on my shoulders, I hope that when I leave the people I’ve met remember that I love them. That I miss them every single day that I’m not here.  We went shopping today to bring this small boy’s family some food.  I know that it won’t make but a small difference, but really what I want is to remind them that I love them with a love that bridges oceans.   

Some days I think I should pull a Katie Davis and get on a plane to Uganda, adopt 13 kids and never look back.  Maybe someday I will. As it gets harder to use my time off to do this work, there are days when I really wonder where I’m meant to be.  But I also love and appreciate the community I’ve built in Canada.  I suppose having such a love affair with both my home country and this beautiful place is a good problem to have. Having two places that feel so much like home can’t be a bad thing can it? Only the Good Lord knows what my future holds.  You and I?  All we can do is wait and see where it is I’ll end up.

 Me and Rachael at Sipi Falls
 Meeting some local children on our hike
 Isn't it breathtaking?
 The third and largest falls
Meeting Jenipher that my small group sponsors from Eagles Wings Children's Village
 Visiting with Wasswa (right) that I sponsor at Eagles Wings.  His twin sister Anitah is on the left.