Wednesday morning at the bakery - 7/2/08

It's Wednesday already and the computer is open and the power is on and the internet connected so I'm giving it a try!!! It has definitely become the dry (hot and dusty) season- nites are still O.K. though!

Sunday was one of those great days that come every so often - kind of like a good golf shot - that keeps you going. After I did my blog I was wandering around and Doreen wanted to go to the festivities at St. Peter's High School (St. Peter's Feast Day - Ugandans will celebrate anything! - it is a BIG deal). I said I'd take her - quite a job pushing her wheelchair over the gravel roads and up the hills. She wanted Proscovia to go too so we had one in a wheelchair and one with a crutch and a muzungu pushing! The school is NOT handicapped accessible and had to have some men carry her chair up to see anything. The Sisters wanted me to stay for the big buffet - there were a lot of guests (sometimes it pays to be a muzungu). I said I was with the girls so they offered to get the girls plates, too - chicken, beef, rice, matoke, the works..and a soda! They really enjoyed it (so did I).

We got back to PH about 6 and a car pulled in - I recognized them as the group that had put in a new water system at St. Peters (also, part of the celebration). Their driver had been a volunteer at PH in '96 and wanted them to stop here (providential?). They want PH to apply for a new water system - which we desperately need. Don't know if it will work out, but it's worth a try.....might incorporate a whole big system w. the hospital and convent!

Went up to see Hollly (she feels better but is calling the PC nurses on Monday a.m.). Bad news was that she just got a call from her mom on Saturday and her mom is having a double mastectomy on July 8 - please pray for her (as well as for Corky's neice Melanie who is having a double mastectomy in July also). Apparently she was in for her regular mamogram and they found a lump - they are hoping it is still contained but won't know till after the surgery. Holly is thinking seriously about taking a trip home to be with her mom. Bad week for her.

Monday's English class was O.K. - the kids are starting to get slack about getting there on time. My least favorite Ugandan phrase now is "he's coming"....means they are around but stalling. I go flush them out of the dorms. We are working on past tense and more vocabulary. Most are doing well...a few don't try but very few...it's quite a privilege to go past primary school in Uganda.

Went to Mukono after class to get the forms from the Water Grant people - they have their office there. Did a little shopping, too. Looked at a bike....really want one, but hate the idea of wrestling it to the matatu...they will put it on the roof, no problem...just can't make up my mind.

Am enjoying Sr. Goretti - she's very level headed and easy to talk to. She's really had her hands full since she started Saturday. There are some girls having problems (adolescent girls in a dorm together is trouble everywhere!), money problems, and the rest. She's trying to "shape" things up - yesterday she was after the boys for urinating right outside their dorm door - the buidling was built w. a flush toilet system but there's no water so it's boarded up. They are building a new latrine behind the dorm, but no enough $$ to finish it....and it's still hard for the handicapped boys. She got her gum boots on and made them clean the area....she's really getting into it!!! I avoided that job detail!

After my smart talk about not many bugs - on Monday, the power was out till about 7:00 - I was busying myself w. my landern/candle, flashlite routine and one of the Sisters stopped by just as the power went on and saw a huge line of ants along my wall!! And they were the stinging kind! I got out the DOOM and killed them - swept them up and wiped the floor - but got a few bites. I kept sticking my feet into a bucket of water to get them off!!! You see them in long lines outside - moving from one nest to another, often w. their eggs - for hours and sometimes for days. But my house is not an ant superhighway!!!

Made myself a mini pizza Monday nite - cooked tomato and onion w. oregano, put it on top of a chipati (flat bread made on the street - love them) w. some mozarella cheese (from Mukono) and warmed it in the frying pan. More like a hot pocket but very good - served w. cabbage salad w. oil and vinegar dressing (lettuce is rare)..pretty nice!!

Tuesday we had our monthly CBR meeting - I think it went well. Sr. Goretti wasn't aware of the program so we talked a lot. I'm never sure what they think of my ideas and agenda! There is litle we can do till we (hopefully - and I am hopeful) get the grant $ and hear from the Italian Doctor but we need to keep going. It's hard to say "No, we can't help" all the time. We are planning a Sunday afternoon visit to a local village in July to start having educational sessions telling people that they don't have to hide disabled children - that they can go to school and be helped.

Divided up the math class - it went better. One boy brought sticks to use for addition - he got his paper done, too! Some work so hard. I don't know if I'd crawl to class or use sticks to count in class. I brought the soda bottle caps to use so maybe he thought it was O.K. The "advanced" group did O.K. but struggled w. simple story problems - will keep trying. I had fun though! We were there the whole 2 hours...some were done, but many stayed to re-do their papers.

Holly went to Kampala to the nurses and the doctors - they did an ultra sound and didn't see any gall stones but they could have passed. She talked to the powers that be about going home and they were very sympathetic so think she's going for 2 weeks. Shari taught Public Health this a.m. and did a great job. We decided last nite to do "Self-Esteem". Had them write 3 things about themselves on cards and Shari read them and they had to guess who it was....very funny. THey struggled with the idea of adding some traits about the other students(we had lists on the board to choose from), but they got the concept. On my list , I had "smart", "likes to be on time" (by that time they got it)..."talks very fast"....it was fun! They are never sure how to take us....actually, having 3 muzunzu teachers is pretty high class!!!

When I finish here I am going to talk to the Head Sister at the hospital about collaborating on the water grant - then talk to another Sister up there about selling shoes in the Sister's store in town (Sr. Specioca is in charge of the store). It's a stationery store and has extra room and we need to move some shoes. Am thinking of offering a small commission - esp. if they can bargain the price up! They've added a really nice men's sandle. Boys are doing well. Thanks to Anne we are going to get some fabric for the tailoring kids, too. Things are really going well....always fun to have some new projects!!

Proverb for the week: 25:25 "Like cold water to a weary soul, is good news from a distant land". Good one for here! Love the letters.

Please pray for Melanie and Holly's mom with their surgeries this month. Very tough times for them. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers for me. Will try to add on Sunday, but helps knowing I've got something done for the week...off to work!