Going home

We've had a great trip home and are almost, but not quite, there. We spent four nice days in Finland with our friends. Finland is the anti-Africa, not in the sense of being against Africa, but of being its opposite: clean, finished, organized. Pauli and Tiina and their kids are as wonderful as they ever were, and we enjoyed the time to reconnect with them, this time on their home turf rather than ours.

We then spent most of a week in Providence, R.I., where Paul delivered his paper about his invention and participated in his professional conference. I lived it up - got a pedicure, shopped at the mall across the street, went out for coffee. We were near the Italian section of town, which reminded me of Ocean City NJ, which made me both happy and sad. Paul wasn't working all the time, so we ate out at some good restaurants and walked around Providence, which is a pretty city.

Now we're in Montgomery, AL, visiting the church which was the principal supporter of Paul's project in Ngenge. The people, only a few of whom we had met before, have been welcoming and helpful. Today we toured downtown Montgomery and saw sites associated with the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. The weather is in the mid-90's and humid - definitely hotter than Uganda. Tomorrow Paul will preach in the morning service and we'll show slides of our time in Uganda in the afternoon.

Then we're going home!

Goodbye Uganda

I feel like I should say something profound here, but I don't know what it is. Our time in Uganda has been fascinating, discouraging, fun, challenging,rewarding - all of which we expected but didn't know how it would play out. Now we know. We have years' worth of impressions that we've packed into nine months. I know we both hope we take time to reflect on what we've experienced when we arrive home, and I think we will. But for now, we're anticipating stepping onto that British Air flight at nine tomorrow morning, settling into our comfortable seats, and flying back to a different world.

Thanks again for all the love and support we have received from our friends and family. It's been fun communicating with you through this blog, and though I don't anticipate continuing it for long once we return home, I'm sure we'll have a few thoughts and pictures to put up.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace,"

Karen

Road work and brick making

As part of the ongoing work on the "mansions" next door to us, the owner has had some roadwork done on our corner. The dirt road was graded, and gravel was put down. Some laborers put a tack coat of tar down for the gravel.



Almost all houses in Uganda that aren't mud and thatch are made of brick. This photo shows how the bricks are made. They are formed, then set out in the sun to dry. After that they are stacked up in this sort of semi-pyramid, which is then covered with mud. Straw is piled on top. A fire is lit inside, and when the straw starts to burn, the bricks are done. You see these brick hives all over as you drive. The house is plastered inside and out for a finished appearance.

John receives his wheelchair

This sequence of photos shows John on the day he received his wheelchair. He was completely surprised, saying "I didn't even ask for this."

• In the top photo, he's listening as they translate the note that we wrote to him. Our brief message reminded him that God cares, and though he used us as the means to provide the wheelchair, it was truly a gift from God.
• Then he moved toward his new chair, stopping along the way to untie and remove the cushion he had been using.
• He was able to lift himself onto the chair without too much trouble and spent a few minutes examining it.
• The trike wheelchair takes some practice because you steer it with your hands while meanwhile spinning the crank. Initially, some of the villagers pushed him to help him get used to it.
• Before long, John had mastered it and left the man helping him far behind.

We hope it's a new chapter in his life.

Paul