CSJs in Gulu

DRY SEASON JOYS AND SORROWS

2012-02-02T11:15:00.005-06:00

It's February in northern Uganda and very much the dry season with dust, wind, and searing heat. But surprisingly there's unexpected life! We've been in this house since late May of 2010. A year and a half was all it took the banana tree and papaya tree to start production! Lobolo lotino matino-little bitty bananas are sprouting! And the papaya are serious! Everything else is pretty much dried up and going to seed except for the peppers which have just gotten smaller and smaller trying to hide from the scorching sun.

Obita Charles, our yard man who is responsible for nurturing all these wonderful growths came in Monday with a very sad story. He told of the Alero fire on Sunday which overran and killed his sister Lalam and her two children, the oldest and the youngest. Fires are set to burn the fields after harvest but the wind had blown very strong all day Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday and somehow a fire got going. It also overran the land of Richard Komakech, our pastoral office secretary, and burned up one of his huts. People suffer so very much.

So, life and death it is. We rejoice and also ask God's blessing and consolation especially on Obita Charles' family.

2011-12-11T02:38:00.013-06:00

FAREWELLS

by Pat Murphy, CSJ

The coloring in the title bears witness to to the mixture of joy and sadness in "farewell." The greys denote the aspects which make it difficult to pull up roots; the greens are for hope; the reds, oranges and yellows are for the joy of returning home; and the blue is for ambivalence!

At the end of November most schools in Uganda finished the school year. The two schools where I have been working are no exception. Aware that I am departing for the USA and will not be returning, they wanted to celebrate my time with them over the past three plus years.

Christ the King Primary Teachers’ College faculty and students really wanted to celebrate my leaving on November 20, their feast day, but that was not possible since I was still in Kampala, having picked up Sisters Susan and Liz in Entebbe late the night before. Six hours travel time over these roads at night is not recommended! Therefore, my celebration was the following Sunday, November 27. They included singing, dancing, drama, speeches, awards, gifts and food. Sisters Liz, Marion, and Susan were each invited to help give out some of the reward certificates. Included at the end of this post is a brief clip of one of the dances… These students burn up a lot of energy!!!

One of the touching moments came when the group of young women from one of the classes gave me a gift just from them… It was a simple loaf of bread, wrapped beautifully. Sr. Martha, the Principal, knew they had little money and suggested this.

Another gift, quite special to me, was a piece of paper on which was typed a message explaining the Acholi name I had been given by the faculty. “Because of your free integration with us, regardless of age, sex, race, status, etc we have decided to honor you with the name Adyero. The name which is rarely and clearly given out by Luo community especially by Acholi tribe because of its distinct and excellent connotation (one who has prioritized, sacrificed his/her time, items, life etc in doing something for the benefit of the dear ones). We shall truly and sincerely miss you having left, but what you have done to us, left behind with us will continuously remind and make us imagine you at all times.”

A second party took place on December 2. I was asked to arrive at St. Joseph’s Primary School around 4:00 PM, but was not told that we would not remain on the school grounds. We were entertained by a group of the students practicing for a wedding the following week. The young ones practiced, too! A taxi came around 5:15 to take many of us to town. I was the guest of honor at their first annual end-of-the-year-party. It was all quite lovely, from the setting in a garden to the special appreciation given me by members of the board, the parent group and the head teacher. The dancing (several local Acholi ones in which everyone got up and joined in!) started after dinner, so I wasn’t home until about 11:00 PM … way past my bedtime! (It was too dark by then to take pictures!)

The most difficult farewells, though, are the ones where sponsored students stop to say their good-byes. I have “mothered” many of them for the past three years, providing advice and a shoulder to cry on besides paying their school fees with the money many of you send to the mission office. These tears remind me of my humanity. And, of course, I am reminded constantly of the tremendous needs of the people here, and their great appreciation of every little thing offered. They may not have much in the way of material possessions, but their hearts are big enough to embrace all of us.

Thank you for all of your contributions to the welfare of this Gulu community where we serve church, education and health!

2011-12-09T12:32:00.005-06:00

Chicken, anyone?

Handing over a chicken as a gift is meaningful. We have seen Jo get a chicken and Marion, also. This time it was Pat's chance.

We had become familiar with Komakech from our first couple of years here in Gulu. He is a cook at the Archbishop’s place. At some point in time, he had brought his little girl to Jo Ann at St. Mauritz Health Center, close to his home. Jo discovered that the child was not in school because she had many fears. Well, through this contact the child was befriended by a teacher and counselor at St. Mauritz Primary School, and the young Merriam began attending regularly. She is now doing very well and seems to be much happier.

Since Komakech could not afford the school fees of about $8 to $10 three times a year, for the past two years we took over those payments out of the Education Fund. Komakech showed his gratitude by sacrificing one of the chickens he raises “on the side.” He could get possibly 20,000 or even 25,000 shillings if he sold it. Pat is the one usually passing out these school funds, so she got to accept the chicken. As you can see, the chicken was more fearful than she was. In order to accept such a gift you must at least touch it! She was brave enough to hold it! It did not poop on her, either, for which she was very grateful.

Pat accepted the chicken in your names, all who contribute towards the funds we use in the works we do here. Thank you!

2011-11-10T04:51:00.004-06:00

Termites (White Ants)

Did you know (or care) that there are 2,800 known species of termites on earth and possibly over a thousand more than that?

Termites are rampant in this part of Africa, but I have no idea as to which species is most common. There is one area between Kampala and Gulu that looks like it “raises” them on purpose! There is one “ant hill” after another as far as you can see. I read about them on Wikipedia. There are many fascinating facts about these creatures… For example, a mature queen can produce 2,000 eggs each day, and the front portion of her body is the same size as other termites, but her “abdomen” is enlarged through myriad matings!

We had a “termite hill" growing along the inside wall around our new house. On 4 November Obita took a tool to it and knocked it off the wall, then dug underneath the wall to find the queen. The queen is protected by the other termites and lives in a special chamber. Apparently, when the queen is gone the other termites get depressed or something and stop working. So I am describing what you are about to see….

When Obita dug under the wall he found this “house” of holes in a protected area (photo 1). Obita saved the chamber so that Marion and I could see the queen when we got home from our ministries. He carefully used his knife to open it (photo 2). He wanted to protect the queen from damage. When we finished our viewing, he put the chamber back together to take it home. His chickens will eat the small termites; he saved a few of the larger termites he found in the nest for roasting and eating by his family. Even the queen is edible, but Marion and I passed on that part!

Photos 3 and 4 show many termites moving around the chamber. It is easier to distinguish the “workers” (white ones) on photo 5, which also shows the king… The king crawled out of one of the holes just as Obita was about to put the chamber back together. The king is the dark termite near the fat end of the queen. The small termites with very dark heads are “soldiers” according to Obita; they cut the vegetation that is needed for food or building and guard the queen’s chamber. The worker termites carry that cut food and water from some source, which could be at a distance) to continue the building and to nourish the queen. (They all require a great deal of moisture and general humidity.) The workers also build onto the nest and carry all the eggs that are laid to new spaces in the termite hill. It is also their job to take care of them till they mature into the “nymphs.”

Oh, the queen does nothing but propagate! She has no wings and can barely crawl around. The one we found is a young queen; I’ve seen one at least three times this big! The king termite is the large dark one near the end of the queen; his task is mainly to keep the queen producing eggs! Those small white blobs are the eggs. I’m not sure what the larger white termites are doing, but they probably have special tasks.

Even though I am not fond of them, I can say this: Isn’t nature amazing and wonderful?

PILGRIMAGE TO PAIMOL

2011-10-23T12:56:00.002-05:00

Thousands of people trek to this remote area called Paimol every 20th of October to honor the Acholi Martyrs, Blesseds Daudi Okello and Jildo Irwa, teenage catechists who were killed there for their

faith in 1918.

This year Marion accompanied a bus of catechists and others who went up the day before. There are no accommodations, not even a trading center but only a few vendors and open-air tents put up by the planning committee. Just as she was leaving, someone offered her the loan of a tent! Having settled in and after a wonderful supper of liver and fries prepared by Catechist Elisabeth, the group walked to the small shrine on the site of the original grave. In this sacred space they prayed heart-felt prayers of thanksgiving and petition including a prayer for Lynne Cooper, friend of the CSJ's and friend of Uganda, who recently learned she has pancreatic cancer.

Conversations ebbed and flowed all night as people were too cold to really sleep. In the morning the people dressed up and polished their shoes! Marion had come in her old clothes and scuffed sneakers. Oh well! She added a fringed scarf, changed out of the shirt she slept in to a real jacket and greeted the morning. Somewhere Elisabeth found a fried egg to stuff into her stash of chapati's and some tea!

Marion took picures while the catechists helped to arrange the space and then took their seats in a special section--ordinarily they are not acknowledged, but today was different. By Mass time at 10:00 there must have been about 3,000 people. Catechists were now so crowded some of the people Marion came with stood throughout the three hours. The Archbishop of Kampala had the Mass.

So what does Pilgrimage really mean?

It's casting your lot with people moving in a direction in search of holy

ground to deepen their faith and pour out their needs before God;

it's knowing this particular story of these two young catechists who are

shining stars for a people who have suffered unspeakable violence and

whose children have lost their innocence;

Pilgrimage is a recovery of a sense of the living God who literally walks

with us, feeding, protecting, and loving us along the way;

Pilgrimage is the mingling of the festive celebration of the Mass with the

dance, dress, music and uulations of the Acholi people.

It's the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in a church with the back half

full of the mats of the pilgrims;

it's the voices of excited children staying up late and the exhaustion of

people trying to sleep wrapped up against the mosquitoes and cold;

These martyrs are very special--both of the Acholi tribe but one from the Payira Clan and one from the Labongo Clan. These clans had a history of fighting and killing one another. Yet, these two young catechists lived, worked, and died together giving us a compelling testimony in the power of the Spirit of Jesus to establish a kingdom of love, justice and peace here and now.

So we came to slip in between the memorial of this 1918 event and our own everyday lives. None of us are exactly the same. What reconciliation, blending, witnessing are we being called to? What mystery has God deepened in us?

2011-10-20T12:13:00.002-05:00

16 October
Before you throw that food away….

As you can see from the photo, we have this tall grass growing along the road just outside our chain-link fence; it shields us from the eyes on the road. The grass is called "lum otok" and is generally used for feeding cattle. The cattle herder moves a group of cattle along until he/she spies good feeding ground, then stops and lets the cows graze. Well, as I was walking home from teaching at the primary school about 4:00 PM on Monday, I heard some rustling outside our gate to my left. I walked over to see what was hiding there. I saw a person stand up. At first I thought it was a child, the form was so small. But no, it was a woman, probably around 40 years old but looking much older.

I tried to communicate with her with gestures since my use of Luo is so poor. My first thought had been to ask her not to take so much that our privacy would be compromised. But then I became ashamed of my selfish thinking as she explained in gesture and with the word "cam" (which I understood) that she was taking it to feed herself and her family.... I think that was all she had to eat! …the food usually given to cattle!

The next day I related this scenario to Ayella John, the man who drives me to the college each morning. He was shocked and saddened also, to think that his "neighbors" would be suffering like this. He posed for me so I would have these pictures for the blog.

I'm not sure I’ve captured the sadness I feel. I am teary-eyed again at the thought! ... I wonder how many others out there beyond our gate have the same problem with not having proper food while we have a garden of plenty. We have the land and we can hire others to do the work for us, yet we are the ones who benefit with good food. What is God asking here?

2011-10-12T13:39:00.002-05:00

Autumn in Gulu

I do miss the autumn colors and aromas of the Midwest USA! The foliage in Uganda in early October is missing the frangipani flowers (we called them plumeria in Hawaii) and some of the trees begin to lose some leaves. I only recall ONE tree that was ever totally without leaves, and that only lasted a couple of weeks. Our garden has been recently replanted with a few things, but the lush period is over. Although we are still in our rainy season here, it seems to be warmer than I recall for this time of year… mid to upper 80’s in the house, but feels much warmer when outdoors. I think it’s because we are so much closer to the equator. Anyway, thinking back to your recent summer and the tales told from then, we are still quite comfortable!

It’s good to note that not everyone’s garden is finished for this season…. Last week we were on our way home from Kampala when our driver asked if he could stop in Luweero, one of the towns along the way, to get some pineapple. Picture the car slowing down and more than a dozen vendors appearing at the windows, running along the side of the car, holding the produce or cooked foods they want to sell to you! Even when you shake your head “no,” or say “no thank you,” they persist. Well, once the car stopped, Marion got out of the car and found a vendor selling pineapple at 5 for 5000 shillings. (5000 shillings is less than $2.00.) Although we could never eat all of that before they went bad, we can always find someone around us who would love to have one. Just look at them…. Golden and ripe! Wish I could invite you to taste as well, but you’ll have to use your imagination. These are fresh from the field, sun-warmed and delicious!

2011-09-23T09:14:00.003-05:00

Gulu in Print

On Monday, September 19, 2011, the Syracuse Diocesan newspaper, "The Catholic Sun," printed an article about Le Moyne College and St. Josephs' Primary School here in Gulu. I am featured in the article because I have been instrumental in helping with the project which created books for the use of the children here. I am posting the link to the article. I think the article is pretty self-explanatory.

http://www.thecatholicsun.com/sun-september-22-2011/sisters-class-partners-le-moyne-with-uganda

You should see the books and the children with those books! The young man holding the book in the newspaper photo is the same fellow whose photo I had taken back in 2008 when he was in P4. That photo was printed in one of the books (bottom left corner as you view it in the paper).

You should have seen his face and those of his classmates when he realized his picture was in the book! I didn't have my camera on, but it would have shown only the "bottoms-up" view of many kids who were climbing on the desks to see over the top of others who were closer!

I'm posting a few photos since only one got printed in the paper. What you really see is the intensity of interest and joy at handling a book like this! Thanks, again, to Sr. Diane and all those Le Moyne students who dedicated so much time and energy to this project! "Apwoyo matek!"

A Day to Receive!

2011-09-09T12:14:00.001-05:00

Some of you call us “missionaries” because we live and work so far away.

We read stories of Daniel Comboni and the Comboni Missionaries who carried the Catholic faith to Sudan and eventually Northern Uganda 100 years ago. We read of the extreme privations of these early women and men; and that many of them became martyrs. They had no internet, no Skype; only their love for the people and their faith in a God of love and mercy.

But coming when we were mid-60ish and early 70ish, for a project of only some years, we feel we are here seeking a simple solidarity.

Isn’t the missionary is the one who gives—gives it all if need be? We contribute only small talents and services that occasionally grow into bigger things with the help of people here and at home.

Actually, it’s the spirit of receiving that leaves us in awe of this mysterious call to come to Uganda.

A recent “Day for Receiving” started with a catechist arriving on his bike with a beautiful—one of those bronze-colored with blue-green highlights—rooster, a gift to express his family’s thanks to Sr. Marion. She knew enough to take the rooster in her hands and then put it on the floor, wondering how was this creature going to get home. After a short period of calm, this rooster, being a rooster, began to announce his presence. Next thing, a big white rooster from the area arrived outside the door ready to fight for his territory. Marion shooed that one away, several times, but they kept calling to each other until the lady in the next office said, “Let me put that in the kitchen for you until you are ready to leave”—thereby closing the door and putting an end to the crowing.

Marion opted not to try to carry it home in a box but to call our cook Esther to come and see what to do. After a ride home in her bicycle basket and her skilled handiwork, the bird was ready for the oven.

In the afternoon, Marion sat in on one of the lessons at the Catechist Training Centre given to a group in residence, knowing she was to teach them the next day. The catechist on the end of the row offered to translate in Acholi for her. This he did and even read a Bible passage that was being studied [from his English version!] Marion almost said—"I get that part!" and then decided to just receive it all. And today he came forward and translated her teaching for the entire morning.

“Missionaries” or “Solidarity-seekers” cannot give without also receiving! Thank God!

2011-08-27T06:50:00.010-05:00

Hope Springs Eternal

End times….
Well, term 2 of the 2011 school year came to an end, and term 3, the final term of the year, will begin September 5. This will be my final term to teach here in Gulu since I will be returning to the states in January of 2012.

For both St. Joseph’s Primary and the Teachers’ College, the first few days are given over to exams. This seems like a waste of instructional time to me, but it is the system here. This score along with the mid-term and final exams provide their grade for the term… No homework grades, no attendance required, no participation score, etc. Just those three grades.

However, there are a few issues that have me in a very positive frame of mind!

Improvements….
One of the three major problems we have in this computer lab is power. When the electricity is off (which is quite often), we cannot have computer classes. With so many students needing to have time in the lab, this works havoc on a schedule. From what I understood there was money in the budget to change this situation. After much research and consultation with the computer gurus in the area, I wrote a proposal to the school board asking for funding to get a backup system. They have now approved this project; I am simply waiting for the money to be released so I can order the parts! We’ll have an inverter with six batteries, automatically switching when the electric is not available!

The second problem is that the computers are not networked. This project isn’t nearly as expensive as the first, but the school could not provide any more funds. Therefore, I made a request for funding from a group in another country. They said YES! Now, two of our problems have been solved.

The third problem is that we do not have access to the internet. While this is still an issue, there is the likelihood that the government might provide access. A gentleman visited us a few weeks ago asking how our internet was working. When he discovered that we had none, and that their records indicated that all was well, he took some notes and left us to believe that this would be remedied. His group had donated ten computers several years ago, so before he left I asked if he could also look into getting us ten more! No harm in asking!

As this final term approaches, I am hopeful that at least some part of this project will “happen” before I am gone from Gulu. Please pray with me that the pieces fall into place quickly. I fear that the wheels will stop if I leave prior to the completion.

Holiday classes….
During the recent break between terms I offered a week of computer classes for the teachers at the college. Four of the eleven attended. One of the ladies in the office came part of three days, also. That allowed me to give each of them a lot of one-on-one time. We spent the first hour and a half on Microsoft Office Word. Since the other applications have so many of the same commands, this made Excel and PowerPoint seem easier to them. We spent one hour each day on each of those.

Those of you familiar with Word will also know about that little icon called the “Office Assistant.” After explaining that they should feel confident to ask this character any questions they had, this one fellow took me literally. As I walked around the room I noticed he was asking the assistant a question. However, the question he asked was “What should I write about for my PowerPoint project?” I guess I needed to be a bit more specific! We all had a good laugh!

One man wanted to know where he should “sign” to indicate he had attended class. I was puzzled, but was told they are used to being PAID to attend workshops! So the next day I made it very clear that they were not going to be paid for attending, and I was not going to be paid for teaching! I wondered how many would show up the next day…. Everyone came! We developed a good rapport among us in this small group, and they learned HOW to teach in a practical way, rather than simply tell the students what to do! At the end of the week, several of them expressed their appreciation and enthusiasm for all they had learned. Hopefully, I can do this again in December when the school year is over…. If they want to continue, I am certainly willing…. It would be my last chance to impact their future!

The Gulu Garden - August 2011

2011-08-21T08:19:00.009-05:00

Good food for Jo's return....

Well, actually, we had some good food from our garden BEFORE Jo's return. But let me back up in time....

Before Jo left for her visit to the USA, she carefully read all the seed packets for directions. How deep should this be planted? How long before harvesting this particular crop? How much sun and water is needed? How should the soil be prepared? Jo then took a calendar and marked what crop to be planted on which day; she even said when to plant a second or third time so that this vegetable will continue to be there for our enjoyment instead of all of it coming at once. The garden also had a plan... She drew a picture showing where each planting should be.

Now with all of that planning one would expect that she would have all these crops available when she arrived back here in Gulu. However, Mother Nature had her own ideas. After all, this is Equatorial Africa! A few things were ready long before Jo returned to us. Marion and I truly enjoyed the best of the cantaloupe! We sent photos back to Jo periodically, and some of those are included here for YOUR enjoyment. While Jo sweltered in the Mid-west heat and humidity, her garden was growing under the care of our yard man, Obita Charles and a pleasant mix of sun and rain! He has been very proud of his work, as well he should be! Obita has never had cantaloupe before, but here he is enjoying it. He even took some home to share with his family! See, we are "feeding the dear neighbor!"

Look at the beans! None of us are tall enough to do a good job of harvesting the top sections, but these vines are extremely productive. The small golden pear tomato vines are like the Energizer Bunny -- they keep going and going and giving and giving! There is a green, leafy vegetable called "do-do" which is similar to spinach, and is spreading beyond the boundaries set for it. We also have carrots, peppers (all colors), broccoli, various kinds of red tomatoes, squash, radishes, zucchini and now onions! You can't beat home-grown vegetables (especially when I don't have to grow them!)

Would you care to join us for dinner one of these days?

TEAM AFRICA'S CHILDREN

2011-07-03T11:10:00.003-05:00

On the final day of the Catechists' Workshop, June 25th, twenty of the fifty-five Team Africa "Ties That Bind" children of catechists who receive school fees, arrived to meet the visitors and work with Catechists Albino Ochola and Mrs. Elizabeth Lalam Okello to put on a program to express their appreciation.

Arop Lawrence said, "I joined Minakulu Technical Institute last year after I sat my Ordinary level examinations. Something happened miraculously and unbelievably, i.e., I got a government sponsorship for a good two years, which means that Team Africa will only have to pay half of my school fees!" In his words of encouragement to the other students, he said, "In my opinion, success is a journey, not a destination. The road to success is not straight. There is a sharp corner called failure, a road bump called confusion, a speed governor called exams, caution weights called teaching and round-a-bouts called friends and enemies. But if you only have a spare tire called determination and confidence, and an engine called perseverance, insurance called prayer, then you will make it!" Sr. Marion adds that this student was very sad when it seemed that his grades would not admit him to advanced level and he opted for technical school in motor vechicles training. After first term he arrived grinning from ear to ear with his technical drawings and big news.

Two girls, Adoch Pamela and Amato Colline Atoo, from the new Ocer Campion Jesuit College sang their original song. Their refrain was, "If you drop an egg, it will break!" to various verses about life and school.

In the small group picture, Lawrence is seated to the left; Pamela, and Amato are standing; and Akumu Daniela and Okumu Philip seated.

JUNE16-28: TEAM AFRICA COMES TO GULU

2011-07-03T11:01:00.003-05:00

Denverites Marcellina and Albert Otii along with Margaret Wright [original 2004 and 2007 groups] and Jim and Toni Philips [2009] arrived with heavy bags of goodies: bookbags for the catechists, Bibles and dictionaries for their children, toys and "pillow-case" dresses for St. Jude Children's Home and a case of tools and ready hands to assist with needed repairs at the home.

The emphasis was on the Catechists. Joining hands with local presenters, the team embellished skills in communication and problem solving. A highlight was the "table" where they modeled a real problem-solving meeting.

Then each of the working groups, showing a lot of enthusiasm, presented at this same table. By the time Friday the 24th arrived, Team Africa could go on to Pawel to visit Marcellinaís paternal family site and the Catechists could get down to their business of getting the First Annual Meeting of the Gulu Archdiocese Catechist Association [GACA] up and running. There were a number of issues but the group carried on through the day until "owning" their Constitutions. By 7:15 PM, Marion excused herself to hurry home before it was totally dark. [Unlike many Africans, Marion can't see in the dark without a torch!] The meeting ended shortly afterwards.

SYNOD IN GULU: A Conversation for the Future

2011-07-03T10:41:00.004-05:00

On May 9, 2011, about 144 participants representating all 25 parishes gathered at Lacor Seminary to begin a two week conversation with the theme, "Called to Build a Church Rooted in Christ's Love and Truth." Men, women, and youth [cleric, religious, and lay] lived together for the two-week period.

Why a synod? Standing on 100 years of Catholic faith and torn by over 20 years of insurgency, the time was ripe for looking at roots and reality. It was time to enrich that reality and discover new shoots, while thinking and acting together. This Second Archdiocesan Synod closed on May 20 with the Centenary celebration the next day.

After that, a small Secretariat group took the materials and asked two questions, "Have we clearly caught what was said?" and "How can this come to be?" More sitting, pondering, and careful attention to structures that could bring the resolutions to life. On Trinity Sunday Archbishop John Baptist Odama promulgated these acts and the booklet is now at the press!

Next comes the implementation phase.

Voices heard along the way: "I have never reached Lacor Seminary before." "We need more time for discussion." "I'm learning so much." Marion felt her energy being renewed at an exhausting moment in the Secretariat work when Mr. Philip Odwong, a seasoned lay leader from Kitgum Mission Parish, said, "This is our opportunity to change things, to put things right!" [Philip is on the extreme right in picture.]

Marion felt privileged to be involved throughout. She attended some of the listening sessions in the parishes. The team presented what a Synod is, explained the South African five models of Church moving from a "Provided For" to a "Communion of Communities" model and listened to what the people had to say. After this preparation phase she worked with a small team to synthesize these listening sessions into a working document. Then came the work of the Synod tself and the weeks of Secretariat work following. Whew! Take a breath!

The School Saga Continues

2011-06-21T06:03:00.003-05:00

21 June 2011

No surprises here! The Education Ministry closed down all the Primary Teachers' Colleges in the country due to lack of funds.

This past Friday I was out the door on my way to the school truck which transports me to and from the Teachers' College when my phone rang. Sister Martha was informing me that there was no school until further notice. I checked the on-line newspaper to see what was going on. seems that they had only been given the funds to feed the students for 22 days this second term, so our young women were sent home! Again, the whole country could use some organizational skills to make it run efficiently. however, it seems to me that the leadership doesn't really want this to happen because that would mean less money in their own pockets.

So what am I doing these days? I have offered to teach computer to the teachers, but four days isn't long enough for them to decide when they might want me to come.... I am not waiting for them to decide.... I am offering additional time at St. Joseph's Primary School. Right now I am over there in the afternoons, but will add some hours in the mornings, also.

This situation might last until term 3 begins on September 5, or the Ministry might come to some agreement with whoever and start classes again on Monday... Time will tell. Knowing the limitations on my remaining time here, this is very frustrating for me. At least God can make some good come from all of the mess since I can't!

This picture is of my new "do" that Jo started with my most recent haircut. Others have commented that they like it, but if you know me, I won't bother to "play" with it many more days!

Another Youthful Catholic Christian

2011-06-21T05:30:00.007-05:00

20 June 2011

Opiyo Samuel, at the age of 17, was baptized yesterday, receiving the additional name “Joseph.” Because of his persistence in wanting to be baptized, Father Tony Wach, SJ, finally made the arrangements for classes. (Tony is sort of the founder and administrator of Ocer Campion Secondary School.) There were five students for first Baptism and 1 for conditional Baptism. All the newly baptized and two others also received Eucharist for the first time. Samuel had asked me to be his sponsor, and I agreed provided he had another sponsor who would remain here in Uganda. His agriculture instructor stepped in. The other students were all a part of the liturgy, so the music was full of energy.

Samuel was my brightest star among the St. Joseph Primary School pupils I taught two years ago, and earned a promised sponsorship for secondary school from the Sisters of St. Joseph. (Because of the generosity of our donors, three others are also attending Ocer). Samuel was featured in an earlier blog. Despite the many hardships he has already faced, he has much hope to become a priest. He is also interested in becoming an accountant and musician. (He already composes songs that a small group of the boys perform.)

My three boys at Ocer (all are Catholic now) are interested in musical careers so I told them about the young Jesuit Scholastics who formed a group called “The St. Louis Jesuits,” and produced much music for worship (Scriptural) still in use today. Their challenge will be to maintain good values in their music, regardless of type of music! Jimmy also wants a career as an accountant (like Samuel), while Emmanuel is interested in journalism. I’ll be searching the internet for some information on accountants, journalists, and musicians to provide them with a much broader concept of what is available in those fields. Lillian, my only girl, wants to be a religious, but seemed surprised that I wanted her to think about what she wants to do as yet. I pointed out that the three of us who are here in Gulu are all religious, but do different works…. This seemed to come as news to her! Their world is so very small.
Photo: (from left to right) Emmanuel, Samuel, and Jimmy. Lillian not pictured.

Please hold all of our young people in your prayer. Even with a good education, job opportunities are very few and many of our youth just give up or try to move out of the country. We need hope to remain in Uganda!

Centenary Celebration in Gulu

2011-05-24T02:02:00.003-05:00

Growing Together as a Family of God:
Celebrating Our Christian Heritage

The above title was the theme of Saturday’s centenary celebration. The Archdiocese of Gulu, along with the Diocese of Lira, is moving into the second hundred years of the Catholic faith in these parts. The Diocese of Nebbi celebrated in 2010 and Arua will celebrate in 2012.

As we left our compound to walk to the Cathedral we were surprised (and yet, not surprised) by the numbers of police/military and trucks scattered along the way. This was not because of the Centenary, but because Uganda’s President Museveni was going to come. I guess if our US President was attending an outdoor affair, the security would have been just as tight…. As we entered the Cathedral grounds we were all searched. At our gate there was one line for women and two lines for men and children. There were similar stations at every open gate along the fence. I’d venture to say there were a couple hundred military/police (one and the same) milling around. Big trucks had brought them in and they had slept in the various areas the previous night; there were also the President’s private ambulance, and a huge water truck. (You may know that this was one of the weapons used in Kampala to quell protesters… The people were sprayed with water containing pink dye so they could be identified!)

The Liturgy was a true celebration! Dancers, male and female, along with flower girls led the procession from the far side of the Cathedral around to the front gate and onto the grounds where the tents, chairs, red carpet, etc. were set up surrounding the raised area where Mass would take place. Some of the folks present were a part of the Diocese when it was still relatively young. The Comboni Missionaries were the first to bring the faith here, so in a way this was THEIR celebration as well. It was very impressive….

One of the most meaningful features was the presentation of various “gifts” after the Gospel was proclaimed, to symbolically hand over the tools of evangelization. First, there was a very large crucifix carried on the shoulders of about 5 people. Following the crucifix was a Pascal Candle, two Bibles (one in Luo and one in Lango), a chalice, a very large wooden rosary, a large picture of St. Joseph, and a large picture of the two Northern Uganda martyrs (recently declared Blessed). The Comboni Community feels that their role of evangelizing in this area is finished, and at some point in the future the members will be missioned elsewhere.

The Archbishop did a great job of summarizing the contributions and difficulties faced by Daniel Comboni (founder of the Comboni Missionaries) and his first followers. Then he spoke of the trials of the war years, and now, in these days of peacefulness, the problems the church continues to face.

About this point in the Mass the music began again and we all thought the Offertory procession was beginning. Wrong! President Museveni had just arrived. His vehicle drove right up the red carpet, and turned right in front of the altar. The actual Offertory procession then took place next and is always special on such occasions. The dancers again led the folks in. At least fifty people brought baskets of foods on their heads, or carried items in other ways. The colorful dress of both the people and the dancers added to the festive ambiance. As always, the combined choir (Cathedral, Holy Rosary, Lira and 42 students from the Primary Teachers’ College) led the congregation with glorious harmonies. We’re sorry we have no photos, but we expected cameras to be confiscated at the gates.

Another special moment occurred at the time of the Peace greeting. The Archbishop came down from the raised area where the altar and priests were placed, walked over to the special area where President Museveni was seated, and greeted the President, who has not been the best agent of peace. Another high-profile opposition leader present, Olara Otunu, also greeted the President in a sign of goodwill and hope.

At the end of the Liturgy we sang the National Anthem (actually, we mostly listened to it). The Liturgical part of the celebration was over in about four hours, but the speeches and entertainment were to follow. Pat went home at this point, but Jo and Marion remained for the speeches. They said that if they hadn’t known the man’s history with our people even Museveni’s talk would have been “good.” He declared himself as Christian and felt that it gave value to his life.

Ordinarily there would have been a meal for everyone, but apparently not enough money was collected. Therefore, only the elite or visitors from areas outside of Gulu were fed. Many of the people returned to the area later for dancing. We can hear the music all the way down at our house! Fortunately or unfortunately, the rains came and the dancing was over before 10:00 PM. The day was certainly celebrating a spectacular event in history for the Catholic Acholi people and we were glad to be a part of it. We all agreed that this was a great celebration!

Advent - Christmas

2010-12-26T06:26:00.016-06:00

Blessings of the Christmas Season from the three of us in Gulu!

At times there seems to be nothing much to write about, then all of a sudden, there is too much and we aren’t sure where to begin or how much to say without boring our readers! So, here is our best effort… It is divided into sub-headings in case you can only read a bit at a time!

Anniversary

On December 6, 2010, we celebrated 2½ years in Gulu. According to the original plan we would be returning in another 6 months. However, the Archbishop didn’t sign a contract with us until January of 2009, so our commitment of 3 years extends until January of 2012. At that time Pat plans to return home, but Jo and Marion are still hoping that others of you will be interested in coming and that they would be able to remain here longer. HOW ABOUT YOU???

Advent prayer gatherings
For Advent 2008 Marion and Pat (Jo was in the USA) had invited the Sisters in the area in small groups to join them for Sunday Advent prayer followed by “tea,” an afternoon custom here. In 2009 Pat was rushed to the USA at the time this would have been organized, so there was no time to prepare. But this year we decided to try again. We invited the gentleman in the photo, the driver of one of the sisters, to join us. Since we would only be here for three Sundays of Advent, we hosted the folks in this compound for a dinner on December 8. We had hoped to have better attendance, but those who did come seemed to truly appreciate the different approach to prayer, and commented on the depth of insights it brought. Already we have decided to do this again next year based on the positive response this year!

Church meeting regarding the coming elections
One Saturday (December 11) there was a meeting for all the religious in the Archdiocese to point out the role the Catholic Church should play in the elections of this coming February. President Museveni has remained in office for 23 or 24 years, and has kept changing the Constitution so he could stay there. He has said that he should be allowed to stay for his lifetime! (And the good old USA thinks this government is a democracy???) It is known that the elections have not been fair and that he plans to keep his position this time again regardless of the actual results. Our people need to understand their own responsibility; they need to be helped to know how to become informed about the candidates; they need to form groups to give them the courage they need to vote their conscience in spite of the intimidation tactics being used. Whether the church leaders will do anything after this meeting remains to be seen….

Kampala trip
A few days later Jo and Marion headed for Kampala for the American Embassy in Uganda. Both of their passports will expire in 2011, and not knowing the timeline (everything here seems to be in slow motion), wanted to be sure to get the renewal done in ample time. What a surprise! They had early morning appointments the following day, and had the task accomplished that very morning! After a bit more shopping they were back home, having only been gone less than a day and a half.

Visit to Arua
Another few days later all three of us along with four other local people traveled to the city of Arua, just west of our place in Gulu. Bishop Sabino, whom we know well from eating at the Archbishop’s table for nearly two years, was being installed as Bishop of the Arua Diocese. The photo at the left shows OUR view of the installation ceremony! We could see nothing!

However, we were in for a real treat! First of all, we arrived the day before the ceremony. Marion had made housing arrangements with Sherry Meyer of Radio Pacis, a woman she had known many years ago when they were both Principals in Indianapolis. Sherry has been in northern Uganda for over 20 years, and now has quite a lovely setting. Our housing was just across the yard from her home in a structure that has room for 4 separate guests. Each of us had our own self-contained room. There is a Comboni Missionary priest, Father Tonino, who is also in charge of Radio Pacis, and he uses one of the guest spaces when he needs to stay nearby. He was also an important part of our visit.

Now get this… all of our meals were prepared for us by Sherry in her house! Tonino brings back foods each time he visits in Italy, and these were part of our royal treatment!

There is a very large evergreen tree on one side of the house, and the workers had just finished decorating it… This is the only tree we have seen in Uganda decorated like this…. It must be 20 feet tall, and Sherry estimated that there are about 25,000 small lights on it! So on Friday night after a wonderful dinner, they had a trial run of lighting the tree to be sure it was ready for the staff party she was hosting on Sunday! We were able to leisurely sit on her screened in veranda and enjoy the scene without worrying about the mosquitoes!

Sherry is known as the queen of the machines… Over the years she has accumulated nearly every western/European gadget imaginable. She made homemade breads and ice-cream among other things. It was so much fun!

We were taken to various places for tours… Christus Centre was their original ministry, but that has been turned over to the Diocese. Radio Pacis is a gigantic project, which produces and broadcasts two different stations 24-hours a day, and in 5 different local languages! They are responsible for all of the programming! They never seem to be “off duty,” since their phones ring often. They have three levels of electricity: a solar "garden," the electrical company (not much more reliable than ours here in Gulu), and a generator when the other two sources are unavailable. All of this is necessary for the radio to be guaranteed sufficient power. This also allows Sherry to run all her appliances!

This coming Tuesday we will have an opportunity to reciprocate Sherry’s hospitality! She and Father Tonino will be coming to Gulu overnight. Tonino will stay with his Comboni community, but Sherry will stay with us. While our meal and accommodations will be less elaborate, we look forward to having her with us!

Christmas
The three of us had a lovely small-community Liturgy in the chapel across the yard from us. There were about 20-25 of us celebrating. We harmonized on Silent Night, Lo How a Rose, and Joy to the World in English. The proper parts and one song were sung in Acholi.... A nice mix! The homily was also a mix. Amazingly, we could actually follow much of what Fr. Joseph said. When he and Evelyn (the young lady Pat tutors) came to breakfast, he told us he had spoken slowly, hoping we could follow.

Then Christmas afternoon we walked up to the Comboni Sisters' place for a scrumptious dinner. (On their veranda was this Nativity scene, with five "fingers" of land representing the five continents!) First we were treated to a platter of cheese bites, olives, and some sort of vegetable native to Egypt. As an Italian community (however, they have one young-professed from Sudan, and an aspirant from Egypt!) we had an entree of homemade ravioli in a soup and a glass of wine, followed by all sorts of things from their yard: chicken and rabbit, greens and relish and pumpkin and..... can't even remember all we had! Even the vinegar in the salad was homemade! Then we had their own version of tiramisu along with fresh pineapple slices, and another kind of wine; cake followed all of that. We went to watch the Pope on the TV where they served Italian coffee... The stuff that makes your hair stand on end. We had brought brownies made from a box mix that they like.... What an exchange! Our final picture shows Marion and the cake-cutting ceremony!

Jo and Marion went back in the evening to watch a TV concert from Milan. Pat chose to stay home; she just couldn't "go" any more in a single day!

Our weather has been warm, although Christmas evening a breeze picked up; we thought we might get just a bit of rain, but it never materialized in spite of some thunder and lightning. This is the dry season and we would LOVE to get some rain. Fortunately, ours wouldn't be changing into ice!

We hope the rest of this season is filled for you with Christ's ever-newly-birthed presence!

2010-11-07T02:44:00.004-06:00

End of the School Year
November 7, 2010

If you recall, six of the students Sr. Patricia taught in P7 have been sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph through the education donations given by many of you, the readers of this blog. We are happy to tell you that all are doing exceptionally well! Four of those students transferred to Ocer,a new Jesuit school, at the beginning of the second term.

The school year is over for the four who transferred to Ocer Champion Secondary School, and three of these students have stopped by our house, beginning on November 3, to speak of their progress and gratitude for what they are receiving. Without you they would not be in school at all. What follows are the stories of two of these children…

By way of explanation, re-settlement issues are rampant. The government is encouraging people to return to their original villages instead of staying in the larger, crowded areas where people felt safer during the time of LRA invasions. The students we are helping won't even remember these villages since they left them when they were babies or toddlers.

Samuel is a tall, bright, and handsome young man (age 15) who had scored Aggregate 12 at the end of Primary. That score put him in the top division! He greeted me with a big smile and proudly informed me that he thought he had done even better on the exam he just finished. …And I have no doubt that he did just that! But then his face crumbled, and tears sprang to his eyes…. When he left school the previous day and returned to his “home,” it was locked with a padlock; the neighbors told him his family had moved back to their village. He has not grown up in that village, so he is unsure where it is, but knows it is quite a distance. He also knows that he is probably not welcome to join them. As an orphan, his “family” is a drunkard uncle who has been abusing Samuel psychologically, and even helped another relative to steal the money Samuel had managed to save. His heart was heavy from being rejected once again. He had slept on the ground that night, and had had nothing to eat since he left the school the previous day. After feeding him, I asked what he would do now. He was going to return to the school and try to stay in the place he had been staying as a boarder, hoping they would keep him for now…. How will his story end?

The second boy came the following day. Jimmy is also a 15-year-old who has grown about 4 inches over the year! Jimmy is bright, scoring almost as high as Samuel. He thinks he managed to get an Aggregate of 4 on this exam! That is really placing high expectations on himself! I immediately noticed that his affect was not as happy as he would normally appear. When asked what was going on in his life, the tears began to pool in his eyes…. Jimmy does not feel welcome back at his home. Even before he left for school he was not able to live at the home of his mother and father because his cousins had moved in and there was no space for him; he had been staying with his grandmother! But now, another set of cousins from Kampala had settled in with his grandmother while he was boarding at school, and he was told that he should find another place to sleep. Knowing you are being rejected again is very hard for a person to handle, especially if you are only 15. At least his family is willing to feed him when he is around! He is also choosing to go back to school to see if he will be allowed to stay there for now.

Both boys are being encouraged to find a male Acholi adult who might be able to mentor them. (As Americans, we really have no knowledge as to how to help them. Our education funds can’t build them a house or provide them with all of their meals, and the three of us can’t be a parent figure over the long haul.) I am hoping that a mentor can guide them to a reasonable future plan. Both boys have said that they wanted to work during the holiday; they would make bricks and sell them…. This is the season to start doing that. They aren’t lazy, but certainly need emotional support and direction. And, of course, they need a place to sleep and food in their stomachs. Please keep these two young men in your prayers.

Education in Gulu

2010-10-04T01:46:00.010-05:00

… And what is Pat up to?????

This year Pat only teaches at Christ the King Primary Teachers’ College. Sometimes Jo takes her to school on her way to the Clinic; at other times the school’s driver picks her up in the school truck. Sometimes the school truck isn’t working or has no fuel, so Pat doesn’t get there at all. Only three times did she travel by “boda-boda,” the motorcycles with long seats so a passenger fits behind the driver. Because her knee doesn’t bend far enough, this proved rather unsafe!

She teaches mathematics to the Year One students. While she pretends to be teaching them “how to teach” math, she is actually teaching them the mathematics itself. Even those who can get an answer to a type of problem only know the process they were taught, with no real understanding of the math behind the process. It is quite rewarding to see a face light up when a student understands! Of course it is rather discouraging when a student decides she knows “how to,” and sees no value in learning anything else!

Aside from all the frustrations of a system that isn’t working, Pat has been involved in two special tasks. For one of those tasks she worked with the Principal-to-be, Sister Martha, to apply for a grant from the Raskob Foundation. Their goal is to begin a new program for the coming year. Since the students who apply to Christ the King Primary Teachers’ College are too often without adequate background knowledge in the basic subjects, tutors (teachers) must take time (during the two year program that the government supports) attempting to teach those skills. That needs to be done prior to teaching them how to teach!

This new project hopes to provide an extra year of study to supply the students with sufficient background in the basics. Then when they begin the two-year program provided by the government, they can spend their time on “how to teach” the various subjects at specific grade levels. The application has already passed the first stage and will be reviewed by the Raskob Board in late November. The next school year begins the first part of February. Pray with us, please.

Pat has also been involved in giving workshops for current teachers as well as for the student teachers from the College. In the United States teachers simply go to a Teachers’ Store and purchase things needed; or they order from a catalog and the school pays for them. In Gulu teachers have to be as resourceful as teachers who began their careers in the 1940’s and ‘50’s! Pat worked at making Base Ten cubes out of paper and cardboard; she made a 100’s chart and addition chart and a multiplication chart; she made flash cards and place-value charts….

She had the approval and enthusiasm of the heads of the Gulu Education District as well as of the Gulu Municipality when she proposed workshops for the teachers. However, the teachers were not as enthusiastic…. Out of the sixty teachers invited to one of three workshops (according to grade levels), only twenty actually came. In the Teachers’ College, fifty students were expected, and fifty showed up; but only two actually finished the projects with materials provided! However, those who DID participate in the workshops expressed gratitude and appreciation for the insights they gained.

In the next few weeks Pat will be expected to help with evaluating the Year Two students (whom she taught last year) as they use the manipulatives they made in their workshops. This may prove to be eye-opening…. Sister Martha has already decided that next year the Year Two students would have the workshops EARLY in the year so they would have plenty of time to make the manipulatives, and also to practice using them to teach. There is always hope!

2010-09-18T12:53:00.004-05:00

Jo’s Birthday

Not suspecting anything out of the ordinary the morning of her birthday, Jo took herself to St. Mauritz Health Center as usual. She had not mentioned her birthday to anyone there. However, as lunchtime approached, everyone was anxious for her to go to the convent where she usually has lunch. There she was presented with a lovely cake and lots of birthday wishes. After lunch Jo took the rest of the cake back to the clinic to share with the other workers (and even the clients as long as it lasted).

As lovely as this was, they weren’t finished with her yet! As she readied herself to come home, Sister Hellen sat herself down in Jo’s office, which was very unusual. As she began humming, the girls in the office began to march in singing “Happy Birthday.” One carried a card; another held a bouquet of flowers; and the third presented her with a chicken… a LIVE one! As is the custom here, the recipient must hold the gift (or at least “touch” it) for the gifting to be complete. In Jo’s case, even touching it seemed to be problematic since it tended to move each time she got near. You’ve heard the statement: “I discovered I scream the same way whether I'm about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot?”... Apply that to Jo!

(As an aside, it is worth noting that these people are extremely poor. For any of them, Sister included, providing any gift is quite a struggle, especially a chicken! So Jo was pretty overwhelmed.)

On the ride home Jo was terrified that the chicken was getting loose and would fly up and attack her in the driver’s seat! She called Pat on the phone near hysteria! (Well, not quite that bad, but close). She pulled up to the front of the house and opened the back door of the vehicle. The poor little chicken with its legs tied together was more frightened than Jo was! It had “shit” all over the box and then seemed to have rolled in it! How was she to get it out of the car? She gingerly tried to pick up the box, but the chicken flapped its wings again and of course, Jo dropped the whole box on the ground! We eventually got the poor thing out of the sun and offered it some water. (Did you know that a chicken will only drink water when it also has food?)

Shortly after all of this excitement, our dear cook, Esther, arrived and took the poor chicken out of its misery. It was a very nice little chicken once it was dead, plucked, and cut into recognizable pieces. Since we were going out to eat that evening to continue Jo’s celebrations, the chicken made a wonderful supper the following day! Amen!

September 4, 2010

2010-09-05T04:14:00.005-05:00

Humor in language:
Jo wanted our yardman, Obita Charles, to wash our vehicle. She approached him and attempted to ask him politely in Acholi.

“Itye gwok motorcar tin?”
Obita Charles looked at her very quizzically. So Jo repeated it more slowly.
Obita then said “I’m not getting you….”
Jo then said in English: “Would you wash the car today?” and Obita said “yes.”
At this point Jo asked him how she SHOULD have said it…
“Itwero lwok motorcar tin?” replied Obita.

So, what did Jo actually SAY to Obita???
“You are a dog in the car today?” (No, this isn’t a typographical error!)

The Best Laid Plans….
Marion enjoys being a part of the catechetical team that travels to the parishes to give workshops to catechists. They are invited to participate in a catechist association and receive practical and spiritual input. The latest journey was a little too exciting!

Plan A was to visit 3 parishes on the distant side of the diocese staying overnight along the way. One parish asked to reschedule. Then the second parish was getting a new pastor so they dropped out. On to Plan C: just do the third parish eaving the day before. But now the call comes to go ahead with the second parish—Plan D! So after totally confusing the driver with all the changes and very poor Acholi, the group set out an hour late and finally arrived at Patongo by noon with a short interlude at Opit where the driver changed a bad tire.

The 21 catechists enjoyed their workshop with Ventorino Okumu, the Catechist Desk [office] person who was already there. Cultural issues brought up included how to handle an African natural religious practice concerning worship of a mountain spirit. One catechist was fined after going to the garden that day. Another unusual practice was not to bury the remains of people who had been killed. Instead, the practice was to cover them with brush so that the evil spirit responsible for the death doesn’t bother the one who disturbs them. Bones are being discovered in the bush as people go back, so team member Elisabeth had urged the catechists to bury and not leave the people to resort to age-old animal sacrifice.

Two sisters at Patongo [Mary Immaculate of Gulu] offered accommodations to Elisabeth and Marion. Now Plan E: the third parish is not ready after all and there are no accommodations for the men to stay overnight. So the team headed home. The route this time goes past Atanga where Ventorino can be dropped off. Before dark once again there is an unscheduled stop to put the hardy little “donut” back on as the “new” tire shredded.

Resiliance: Elisabeth began to sing in a very sweet voice. Richard, the other team member, commented that one of the sacred songs she sang was one the LRA rebels would also sing so sweetly after doing dastardly deeds.

Night-gift: At one point Marion heard something unusual and asked, “What’s that?” ”Yingo Bells.” Yes, frogs that sounded just like jingle bells! They were along several stretches of the road. Ventorino remarked, “They own the night.” We made it home around 11 PM, thanks to our skillful driver. Hopefully, communication and planning will make for a calmer trip next time!

Love at First Sight
One day as Jo was walking into the clinic at St. Mauritz she noticed that several people were already sitting on the bench in the hallway waiting to be seen. But one man jumped up and came over to her and gave her a great big hug, saying “I found you! I have come here to see you!”

Then Jo realized that she recognized him. She had taken care of him during the time she was working at the clinic in Gulu Hospital (which closed). Jo had told the patients where they could find her in the future, but either this gentleman wasn’t there or he didn’t understand her explanation. Apparently, another patient told him where to find her. He was certainly overjoyed to see her again!

What a great way for Jo to begin her work day at St. Mauritz Health Center!

2010-08-20T13:26:00.003-05:00

A Centenary Happening:

In early August, Marion attended part of a “Symposium on the Centenary of Faith in Northern Uganda.” Representatives from Gulu, Arua, Nebi, and Lira dioceses were there.

Dr. Fr. Fidel Gonzales-Fernandez, Comboni Church History professor from Rome, presented early evangelization to Africa. Sr. Kathryn Pinkman told about the sisters coming from Khartoum by camel - 90 days of travel! (And we think the 24-hour plane travel is an ordeal!)

Auxiliary Bishop Sabino listed current challenges, including new colonialism, economic exploration, war, under-development, tribalism, nepotism, witchcraft, superstition and corruption. He called for responding in the missionary spirit of Daniel Comboni which includes inculturation. At the Mass Archbishop Odama announced that he has sent a letter to Rome asking for additional missionaries.

Our Gardener

Since the previous installment about our carbon footprint and the garden in Gulu, you can see from the photos how much God (and humans) has done to our earth! In the picture is our chief yard man, Obita Charles. This young man has a wife and four children, three of whom are in school. The five year old has had malaria twice since Obita started working for us. …And, yes, they do use bed-nets, but they are outside all evening UNTIL bedtime.

When our house was in the finishing stages and most of the workers had completed their various tasks, Obita was faithfully leveling the part of the yard nearest to the gate. He worked very hard in the hot sun, all by himself, to finish the task given to him. We were impressed with his work ethic. His work day began at 8:00 AM and finished around 6:00 PM, with about an hour and a half for breaks.

As we moved into our new house, Obita approached us and asked if we would consider hiring him during the three months that Brother Mike, his boss, was out of the country. He would have no employment during that interim period. After the three of us talked it over, we agreed that there was much to be done in the yard to make it the way we would like to enjoy it. We only have him working about five hours a day, but we are pleased with the results. Just keeping the grass slashed is a major work! But Obita’s first love is gardening.

Obita has many good ideas that we might credit to education; with him it seems to be just common sense. When his five-year-old refused to take his malaria medicine, Obita told him a story about two children who got malaria…. One boy refused his medicine and died; the other took his medicine and grew up to be a doctor (or some fine profession). Obita’s son immediately chose to take his medicine. Obita is also involved in working with the youth in his village. He and a group of the adults are attempting to gather the young people in their village who are not in school and are not working, to help them see what they can accomplish and why they should be working at making their village a pleasurable place to be.

We really do appreciate his efforts in our yard as well as in his village. He attempts to share his knowledge of plants, creatures around us, and even helps us “read” the sky when we try to decide whether or not it is safe to put out our laundry. He certainly has added a lot to our lives!

Gulu's Garden

2010-07-28T04:18:00.005-05:00

The Ugandan Museum in Kampala is quite impressive with the number of artifacts displayed.They have also added a very modern up to date display on energy. I was impressed but not surprised with the very small size of Ugandan's carbon footprint while embarrassed but not surprisedby the very large footprint of the United States. Granted I am comparing a developed country to an undeveloped one and that may not seem fair. However I guess the point I’m trying to make is that the poorest in our world are the least responsible for climate change and are often the hardest hit. Disease, declining crop yields, shifting seasons and climbing temperatures, and natural disasters are just a few of the consequences that can devastate the most vulnerable of countries and communities. Sometimes feeling overwhelmed with the size of the problem can leave us paralyzed. But the smallest changes that we make in our everyday lives can make a significant difference.

I do think about all the carbon dioxide we are releasing into the atmosphere when using our car. Most folks here are walking or biking to their destinations. I read that for every mile walked or biked one pound of carbon is saved. The people of Gulu and the surrounding area are saving a lot of pounds of carbon every day.

Now that we are enjoying our new home, we are trying to do the little things that over time we hope will make a difference. We have solar panels on the roof top that heat the water for our showers . Decadent I know but oh so nice! All the light bulbs are compact fluorescent and used only when necessary. We have a garden that we planted in June. We’ve been enjoying the lettuce for a couple of weeks and /but the radishes are gone. The radishes were either Super Seeds or I left them in too long. You’re right - they were in too long! But we did enjoy. The broccoli are struggling – we hope they make it. But we should have lots of carrots and tomatoes when it’s time. I’m a little leary about the green peppers but time will tell. And of course we buy locally with at least weekly trips to the market with our canvas bags.There is no such thing as recycling here, so we do the best we can. We try to use what we can and we burn what we can. At the other end of the garden we have dug trenches for trench composting and it’s working very well – nothing to attract the flies. It’s a great way to rid ourselves of the waste and to revitalize the soil.

In addition to our flower garden we have also planted both mango and papaya trees. So we are trying to do our part knowing that as these trees grow they will store carbon to help slow the pace of climate change. And in the meantime they will absorb carbon dioxide and use it as an energy source for producing the oxygen that we all depend on.

Something as simple as the plastic bags that the bread comes in can present a problem – how to recycle? I take them to the clinic! No health facility has charts – each person has a 5X8 Exercise Book that they carry around and bring to the clinic with them. This is what the health professional writes in and hands back to the patient. Well you can imagine the condition of some of these paper books – some I’m not even able to read. But the folks love the plastic bags that I leave out in the clinic for the taking.Believe me they are well used! Our hope is that we will not contribute in any way to enlarging Uganda’s footprint – during our stay in Gulu!

Visit to USA

2010-07-01T02:32:00.008-05:00

Hello USA!
On Sunday, June 27, the three of us again traveled to Kampala. After eating lunch, Pat and Jo settled into their rooms at A.R.U. while Marion enjoyed some fresh air on the grounds there. Around 6:00 PM we again got into the car to take Marion to the airport. We are never sure how long this trip might take, since traffic and road construction are rather unpredictable. However, we reached Entebbe and the airport in good time, and Marion had no problems getting through the various steps of passing through security and getting a boarding pass (can't do that here by internet). This was quite a relief as we all had memories of the evening we tried to get Pat on the plane last November! It was so nice to take one of us to the airport when it wasn't an emergency!

Jo and Pat went back to A.R.U. and ate some crackers in Pat's room; it is nearly impossible to find "real food" that late on a Sunday evening. The following day Pat and Jo did the shopping. Besides the normal items we get, we priced some stoves. Marion had tried to get one in Gulu, but the store keeper couldn't produce one that only used gas (propane). We had also looked around Kampala, but hadn't selected one as yet. But today was the day! After eating lunch, Jo went back and negotiated the price on the one we wanted. The men carried it down to the car which we had moved near the door of the store. ...And then we were off for Gulu.

Our next problem was getting the stove OUT of the car and into our kitchen! We called Fr. Joseph, the priest who had been so helpful in getting this location for our house. In only a few minutes two young men arrived and lifted it as if it were light. Right behind them came Fr. Joseph! He wanted to welcome us home and be sure the stove was moved all right. We are so very blessed with this man!

We still don't know if the oven works since we need to get a wooden stand to raise it to a reasonable height for comfort, and install the "legs" on the stove itself. Then we need to get the regulator and hose to connect it to the propane tank. We are still using the two-burner set from the old house, but the regulator and hose must be returned with it soon.

The other pictures we are including here also help you realize that we are doing OUR part to be earth-friendly.... While there is no recycling program here, Jo uses compostable refuse in her garden. We burn anything we can, and bury the rest. Thus the recycle bins! The clock looked so blah against the wall that Pat used some paints to spruce it up.

Marion will say goodbye to the USA on August 2, arriving back in Gulu the next day. Yes, it takes at least 24-hours between Kampala and St.Louis. Remember that we are always looking for others to join us in our ministry to the people of Gulu.... WOULD YOU LIKE TO RETURN WITH MARION? The invitation is there for you to consider!

House Blessing

2010-06-24T03:39:00.010-05:00

After over two years in the small house in the Archbishop's Compound, we finally have our own place to call home! On June 12 the Archbishop came and blessed the house, officially naming it "St. Joseph House." The blessing began outside, on the porch where early comers had been waiting.

Archbishop John Baptiste Odama had made a special effort to be here by 4:00 PM on Saturday, knowing that Susan and Patty were leaving right after Mass the next day. He traveled from Kampala, leaving behind a special party for one of his fellow Bishops who was celebrating 25 years as a Bishop, choosing us as his priority.

Using a special type of grass (cattle grass for blessings of "wealth") and native branches, the Archbishop blessed the bowl of water and sprinkled the outside of the house, walking entirely around it.

He even blessed the garden that Jo had planted in back! When he again arrived at the front of the house, he cut the ribbon blocking the entry to the front door, and entered the structure. He continued to bless each room, first the bedrooms and then each of the other rooms. Meanwhile, many of our guests crowded into the living room and dining room.

The actual prayer of blessing took place next. Each of us had a planned role, although Patty didn't get to do hers. Susan stayed with the Archbishop, holding the book and offering directives. Pat proclaimed the first reading. Marion led the petitions, and Jo gave a brief explanation of our gratitude for the warm welcome the people have continually given us and thanked the Archbishop and Archdiocese for this new house. We sang three Acoli songs, but ended with Sancte Joseph. We all posed for a group photo afterward.

It was a lovely ceremony! The group was then invited to move over to the hall belonging to the Catechist Training Center right next to our new home for a "tea." We served a wide variety of foods some of which are not common to the people here... Deviled eggs, hard-boiled eggs, mixed nuts and mints (brought by Susan and Patty), fruit salad, crackers and cheese, guacamole and chips, along with hot tea and lemonade. A special "cake-cutting" tradition was held... A member of every group represented at the party comes to the cake table and "helps" to cut the first piece! The cleanup took a while, but everyone seemed pleased.

On Sunday afternoon we were able to connect with Bishop Sabino, also, since he wasn't able to attend the house blessing. Besides arranging to meet us for a late lunch, he arranged to have an "entourage" to take Susan and Patty to the airport!

Settling into the New House

2010-06-03T04:13:00.003-05:00

June 3, 2010

Oh my! Our new house is truly beautiful! While Marion went to Kampala to pick up Susan Hames and Patty Clune, Jo and Pat packed things up and started hauling them to the new house. Trying to coordinate our activities with the workers here in the new place created a few problems, but we got through it! We can now laugh at the day that the most disruptions occurred…

Pat was working at the old house and Jo at the new one. The back gate to our new place was locked and we did not yet have key to it, therefore requiring the use of the main road. There is a good distance between when traveling by the main road. A truck was supposed to have come to the old house in the afternoon to take the refrigerator, cooker, and other really heavy items down to the new house. Well, that didn’t happen, so when Esther (our cook) came to the new house she couldn’t cook the meal because the propane burner had not been delivered. She was sent to the old house to prepare the meal. She had to carry the food and pots with her along with her baby on her back! (We were going to have tomatoes, potatoes, and tuna salad with a boiled egg in it.) While the egg was boiling Esther and Pat began to prepare the rest of the meal. OOPS! It’s impossible to open a can of tuna without a can opener - which was at the new house. At this time, we simply gathered everything up, boiled egg and all, and returned to the new house where our meal became more and more simple… Just tuna, tomatoes, and bread! It was adequate.

That was also the day that Marion had to deal with a dead car battery in Kampala, and Susan and Patty missed a connecting flight and didn’t get to Kampala till the next day. In spite of all the inconveniences, we are all doing well, and have many other stories to tell! Thanks for all of your prayers and positive energy. We are praying for all those intentions sent our way!

Faith in Action

2010-05-17T11:48:00.000-05:00

Every day, when Sister Jo Ann is working at the clinic, she goes over to the convent for the mid-day meal. One day a rather dirty and disheveled woman came through the dining room. She greeted each sister in Acholi as she made her way through the room. The woman then proceeded to the veranda outside of the dining room. A short while later, Sister Hellen got up, took a plate, heaped it with food from their table and took it outside to the lady.

As Sister Jo Ann watched all of this, not clearly understanding the conversations in Acholi, but realizing what Sister was doing, Sister Ursula leaned over and spoke to her in English….. “Jesus is hungry.”

A Job Well Done

2010-05-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

What a joy it was having Lynne Cooper and Jim McCoy, her brother-in-law and good friend of Jo Ann’s here with us. And let me tell you they were serious about coming to work – and work they did. As you have probably gathered by now, to accomplish anything here is quite labor intensive. The tools are very primitive. But they both dug in and were elbow to elbow with the guys. The manual labor and the intense heat brought them home exhausted but they recovered amazingly well and were ready to go again in a short time.

On their last working day they provided the food for the morning tea break. Lynne boiled 20 eggs and ordered 30 chapattis from Alice. She has a little lean-to down the road. Rumor has it that she makes the best! We agree!They also had a little something for each one of the workers – they had loaded their suitcases with builder goodies. The guys just loved having them and were thrilled with their gifts. They want to know when they are coming back –us too!More than anything, we think their presence really boosted the morale of the group. The workers felt proud to be on the job. To have Lynne and Jim from the United States come to work with them , was just the greatest. A job well done on many levels – Apwoyo matek! Many many thanks!

Before Jim left we went on safari to one of the national parks. We saw great wild life including “lions.” What a thrill – generally they are very difficult to find – but there they were up close and personal. It was an amazing outing.

Then of course we had to head to Kampala and to the airport in Entebbe.After seeing Jim off we headed back to Gulu which only takes about 4-5 hours now instead of the 8-9when we first came. The roads are really improving!

It has been great to have Lynne here to experience and share in our life here in Gulu – to see the clinic, the pastoral office, meet our co-workers, the sisters who have been so welcoming and all the friends we’ve made. We had a very festive African meal with Sister Hellen and the sisters at St. Mauritz where I work. They really rolled out the red carpet! Jo Ann and Lynne took some great walks to town and the market which Lynne found very interesting. After walking to town, which took about one and a half hours the 1st time, they took a bota bota home. That is a motorcycle for taxi – Jo Ann’s first- in Africa anyway! But she wasn’t about to go alone –so Lynne squeezed on with her. The next day she graduated and was on her own! Will wonders never cease. All in all we feel very blessed and grateful for and to Lynne and Jim. We hope their time here was as special and meaningful to them as it was to us.

Centenary Celebrations

2010-05-10T17:11:00.001-05:00

On March 20th, Jo Ann, Marion, and “group” drove to Pacwach to celebrate the first of several Centenary celebrations of the Catholic Faith in Northern Uganda; this one in Nebi Diocese. Jo Ann was at the wheel and did a great job. With us was Comboni Sister Claudia and two of the nursing staff from St. Mauritz where Jo Ann works. These delightful young women sang most of the way except when they were busy pointing out wildlife near Murchison Falls National Park—an elephant was atually spotted but some of the other wildlife were only imagined—we think!

The day celebrated the arrival of the Comboni missionaries who had traveled up the River Nile and landed on the west bank near Pacwach. Diseases were rampant and many died. Looking at the thousands and thousands gathered on this day, was awesome indeed!

As the Mass began, a very large flock of birds glided directly overhead in time with the solemn Kyrie, a stunning and beautiful sight!

During the Mass, the arrival of the Word of God was expressed by the Scriptures being danced forward in a canoe, complete with two little boys representing the missionaries. The canoe was accompanied by moving fabric to simulate water and music from the long horns of the Alur people. We were seated to the side of the altar in a tent with an opaque plastic wall, so we could hear more than see. A few people nearby moved to the music with loose jointed shoulders and a staggered walk that reminded Marion of New Orleans!

There was a lot of pomp and circumstance but we were glad we went, especially that we had Sr. Claudia with us who knew all the history. Cameras were banned; we think, because President Museveni made an appearance just as there was an intermission after the Mass. We missed him and a few dozen speeches because our bones had already reached our 5 hr. limit. In 2011 there will be a celebration in Gulu and later on, one in Lyra.

A light rain fell as the Mass ended—locally interpreted as a blessing on the day!

Murangi Harvest Time

2009-11-16T15:47:00.002-06:00

 It's murangi harvest time. [Beans] Whole porches and verandas here and there have been stocked high with bean vines drying. One day last week Marion watched several women at Lok Otyeno (the area where she works) clear out a huge pile of the vines - carrying heaps in a tub on their heads to the place where they were shelling them. They made 4-5 trips each, until the whole porch was cleared. All work here seems to be physically labor intensive, from farming to building!

Pat has finished her P7 math classes. Students took their Primary Leaving Exams (PLE) November 2 and 3. Many attended the 7:00 AM Mass every day recently, and three of the boys waited for her after Mass the morning of the math section of the exams! Apparently, they just needed a little encouragement. She's hopeful they will do well. She has her teacher's class through November, but students (and teachers) get a break in December and January. Pat is looking forward to three instructional books being sent via Rita Marie Schmitz from Fontbonne University to help design a better curriculum for the teachers’ college. That should keep her busy during the “holiday.”

Jo has started working at the health clinic at St. Mauritz, less than a mile outside of Gulu. It’s a large compound with a nursery with over 200 little ones, a primary school with 1200 students, offices, and the priest house is now under construction with hopes that it will be ready by Christmas. There are four Sisters of Mary Immaculate in the convent there and Jo has lunch with them. They have been very welcoming and thrilled that she is there. She is there and very busy every day except Wednesday when she goes to Gulu Hospital where she sees her diabetic patients under the mango tree. There are many, many children that come to the clinic mostly with malaria and typhoid. They get their water from the bore holes but Jo suspects that they haven’t been drilled deep enough. She is going to do some investigating. She was also able to purchase some much needed mosquito nets at a very good price in Lira. This is certainly an important way to combat some of the malaria. The days are long and full but Jo is really loving the clinic, the folks, and the employees.

Next Friday at the Pastoral Office the Catechist Desk Executive Committee-8 people from all over the diocese- will meet to finalize the draft Constitution which is basic to the structure of catechists in deaneries, etc. The Arua office is e-mailing their Constitution for comparison. For some weeks now Marion has gone with Okot William, the lapwony dini [catechist] at Cathedral [who leads the daily morning prayers] to take Communion to the homebound one afternoon a week. She enjoys it a lot. The little old people are so dear, some with a twinkle in their eyes, others struggling. Little old ladies crawl out to sit on their mats. Another man showed us pictures of himself greeting the pope. Birds and chickens move in and out of the huts although most people prefer to meet outside under a tree. These people are too lame or old to walk to church. One man is younger, at home in between surgeries. People have so little and yet make do incredibly well.

Archbishop Odama gave a presentation Saturday on the African Synod. He shared the booklet, "The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace.” He said the real work and recommendations are still to come. This Synod was of the universal church but with the focus on Africa. The presentation was held at the motherhouse of the Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate of Gulu. They had lunch and a party afterwards to honor their major superior who was celebrating her feastday. Marion enjoyed the various skits and dances the women in formation put on.

Sunday at the 7:30 Mass about 100 or so secondary school leaders [8-10 from 11-12 different schools] were commissioned as "missionaries." For weeks prior to this, a couple of the Comboni Sisters had gone to their schools to work with the youths in a variety of religious groups allowed to form on the campuses (like YCS and Youth Alive). They then spent the weekend with the Comboni sisters at the Animation Center. This was pretty impressive and will go a long way in motivating teens to help each other live the Gospel. We've gotten to know two of the Camboni’s really well - Agnes [Italian] who was tutoring us for awhile, and Cypriana [Sudanese] who comes to us to polish her English.

On November 2 there were multiple All-Soul's Day masses. Late in the afternoon there was a Mass in the cemetery behind our compound. It’s a beautiful tradition which honors Medical and nursing staff from Lacor (St. Mary’s) Hospital who died in the ebola crisis who are buried there.
We wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving! We have not yet planned how we will celebrate this year, but it can’t be as wonderful as it was last year when we were surprised (in Kampala) with an old-fashioned turkey and dressing meal!

MADDO Cow Project

2009-10-15T15:40:00.002-05:00

We just returned from our trip to Masaka to see the “Cow Project” first hand. Many of you have probably heard about the “cow project” from S. Liz Peplow and/or Toni Temporitti. Their organization - Microfinancing Partners in Africa - now has an African Partner in Uganda - Caritas MADDO, which stands for Masaka Diocese Development Organization. This cow project began in 1993 with Bishop John Baptist Kaggawa. We had the opportunity to meet and spend time with the very busy but very welcoming Bishop. He is convinced that this is a very sound step forward in reducing the poverty of his people. All people really – the program is opened to all religions and tribes. And it involves much more than the cow project. There is vegetable gardening, health and sanitation, banana management, and then the training and preparation for the cow before a family receives a cow. As you can imagine this all takes quite a commitment of time and labor for the entire family. Not just the husband or wife – but both working together with the children.

Father Peter, the Assistant Director at Caritas MADDO, and two of his co-workers Charles and John took us out into the field to meet some of the participants and see firsthand what was happening. We went to several villages to see the folks. We started by visiting those that were just beginning with their vegetable gardening. This is where they develop several beds for all kinds of veggies. They border them with brick or sticks and then use a process that they call double digging where you dig the earth out and then mix with organic fertilizer as you replace it. It was so interesting to see the creativity that was used in developing the beds using various designs. And they always develop them in such a way that you had easy access for weeding and harvesting. Some of the gardens or designs are called Mandella Gardens and they are simply beautiful.

Of course they have prepared their fertilizer over a 21 day period in a “jerrie can” that is a mixture of dung( be it cow, goat, or chicken)and water. The dung is placed in a sack – probably burlap – and the sack is placed in the can of water and everyday they give it some twists. The way this is done is that the sack is tied closed and the rope is placed around a good sized stick which is picked up and twisted. This solution is placed under a tree away from the sun and covered. It’s amazing – there were no bugs flying around like we imagined there would be and not much odor before it was uncovered and then really very little. Then they use 1cup fertilizer and 5cups water to mix with the newly turned earth. In addition they have what they call the kitchen garden – where scraps from the kitchen are put – nothing goes to waste. It seems like everything is used for something. Oh what a lesson we in the western world can/could learn.
All the folks we met – those just starting, those that have been at it for awhile, those preparing for a cow, right up to those who have their cow – all were so proud of how far they had come. And each so eager to show us what they had done and how. There were single parents, married couples, and those with families – they were young and not so young – and one with more grey hair than ours. Actually she was not an official member of the program. But her neighbor was and she watched very closely and learned how to improve things and she did. All had at least one thing in common - they all wanted to be self sufficient and improve their lives. And it was quite obvious that they were willing to work hard to accomplish this.

As we traveled around, it looked like Masaka would be the “Banana Capital of the World” and it sure could be. It certainly is the crop in the area. However the project has found an improved way of planting them that promotes their growth and health. We could sure see the difference in those that had been planted with this new knowledge and those that had not. They have found that if you dig a hole that is 2ft by 2ft square as well as deep and then plant the tree – the rain water will not run off but slowly seep into the ground and nourish the roots. You get taller, greener, healthier trees and bananas. They also dig what they call “contours” which are like troughs to catch and hold the rain water for slower seepage and also catch any soil erosion. We also saw plastic bottles being used (especially in the dry season) .They fill them with water, put a hole in the top, and place it in the earth again for slower and controlled watering.

Gosh we haven’t even gotten to the cows yet – but first there is extensive preparation. Education is the first order of business. They learn the proper way to care for the cow, how to prepare their feed with special attention given to preparations for feed during the dry season , proper sanitation, and general health practices. This of course not only involves the commitment of time but also money. Money primarily to build and prepare the cows' dwelling. There is need for wood, cement, sand, and stones. The floor of the dwelling is cement except the small area for sleeping. But there is no time limit. And hopefully they are increasing their income from the additional vegetables they grow and sell. It generally takes about a year and a half from beginning the program until they receive the cow.

Our last stop of the day was to meet Esther. A delightful woman who spoke very good English so we didn’t need our interpreter. Esther had two pregnant cows – one due in five days and the other due in October. Because of the animals, she is able to use their waste products (both dung and urine)to provide electricity to her home by means of bio-fuel. Again this costs money for cement, piping, wiring, and fixtures. But with the sale of vegetables and milk she was able to do it. Each cow can produce at least 18-20 liters of milk per day. Esther has enough for her family and much more to sell to the Dairy.

After showing off her animals and gardens, we were invited into her home. She turned the light on and showed us her cooking stove. She was so proud of her accomplishments. Because of her successful involvement in the project she was also able to send all of her children to university. She had pictures and shared what each one was doing. What a success story!

Although our tour was about the process and procedures used to develop the gardens and how to prepare fertilizer and feed, and preparing for the cow – it was so much more. These are not individuals working for themselves but they are a part of a group. And the groups work together. It’s not just about improving their lives but improving and preserving the environment. It’s not just about self-reliance but it’s about helping your neighbor and passing on the gift. It’s not just about generating income but it’s about what this can provide for the family, - it’s about improving nutrition, improving health, sending children to school, improving living conditions. One of the cornerstones of the program is “caring, sharing, and love”. Father Peter talked about how evident that becomes as people work together and want so much for everyone to succeed. All of this fosters a spirituality of community among the members.

The Bishop spoke to us about the goal of developing a’ culture of saving’. The participants are encouraged to open up a banking account. For people living in poverty this concept has never been a part of their frame of reference. But if sustainability is to become their reality, this is the next step. And people are taking that step! Also when they do open the account both the wife and the husband have to sign for each transaction. This not only instills the value of accountability but focuses on building the family unit.

We also were able to tour the Dairy and sample the yogurt. Yumm Yumm!! The Dairy was developed with generous grants so that the members would have a market for all the milk produced. They can bring it to the dairy every morning and evening. They have regular and chocolate milk and vanilla and strawberry yogurt. Their hope for the future is to also offer butter and ice cream. If all goes well they will move into cheese as well.

We certainly were impressed with the people we met, the cleanliness of their surroundings, and the creativity in developing their gardens. What a successful program. We were warmly welcomed by everyone. And are especially grateful to Father Peter and his colleagues for the time they gave to us. We learned much and will see how some of this can be used locally. We are aware of some of this taking place right here on a very small scale. In fact some have gone to Masaka for training.

Late Summer News

2009-09-16T11:29:00.004-05:00

Catechist Workshop in late June
Marion coordinated Denver’s “Team Africa” with Gulu’s catechist leaders who offered a week-long workshop on Human Recovery And Rebuilding Right Relationships. Information and skills were provided on
trauma healing, negotiation, counseling, and mediation. There were presentations on relationships in the family, reconciliation and the difficulties of forgiveness. A brief drama on the Scriptural call from vengeance to love of enemies was presented. Besides enjoying one another and gaining critical insights on how to deal with the many social problems; the highlight of the week was the visit by Archbishop John Baptist Odama to thank the catechists for their critical role especially during the war. Pictures show the catechists at break-tea, listening to the Archbishop, and the youngest and oldest sitting side by side.

Then, Jo Ann, Pat, and Marion invited the Denver Team for home-cooked spaghetti dinner in a very relaxed setting – our home. Another time we went with them to Churchhill’s Court to enjoy some famous tilapia. Picture shows Chia Dell’Olio [a nurse who also had observed Jo Ann at the clinic] and Jo at dinner.

In August, Marion traveled with a Pastoral Office leadership team of Lumko-trained persons who assisted Amuru’s two newly-trained members to put on an awareness day there.

Basketball Camp in late August
Jo Ann, Pat, and Marion went to Kaunda Ground in Gulu Town to encourage Atim Otii, Marcellina’s daughter, who came with friends from the U.S. They sponsored the second annual basketball camp in Gulu. Basketball is a sport that’s little known here, not like the “football” [soccer] that every schoolchild plays.

Fun in Kampala

2009-08-30T14:10:00.001-05:00

Our guide at the tombs, George, was one of a group of marvelous artists. Here he is standing with some of his work, and also with his grandmother, (who was married to the last-buried king) in her home at the site.

The museum had a wonderful section on climate change, including many ideas on renewable energy as well as traditional and cultural displays.

Retreat in Kampala

2009-08-28T15:00:00.002-05:00

On July 22 we arrived in Kampala for private retreats at St. Augustine's in Nsambia and the Foyer de Charite in Namugongo.

Note the window in the chapel.

The storks at St. Augustine's were an amazing presence, consuming all types of waste and debris.

After the retreats we were joined by Toni Temporitti, CPPS, and Mary Lou Bennet, one of her staffers at Micro-Financing Partners. The group had a marvelous time just enjoying one another and viewing the Tombs of the Kings and the Ugandan Museum.

Women's Day

2009-04-23T15:46:00.002-05:00

Every year in March there is a National Celebration of Women’s Day in Uganda. The celebration of the Cathedral women was postponed a week.
The heart of this Women’s Day was the sharing of stories, proverbs, and wisdom. Their stories and insights were shared with great style, humor, and gesture. Women spontaneously came forward as they felt moved to do so. One topic summed it up, “What can we do to empower women instead of crying in the home?” They told success stories and lamented the current condition of children growing up without proper guidance. Education for girls was a big issue. With the schools now being controlled by government-placed teachers, sometimes Catholics are ridiculed as being too concerned with the spiritual; eg, “Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!”

Wisdom was also shared in the form of old proverbs. There was a discussion about who trains the dogs—the men usually, but while some roles may be limited, women can still think and improve things.

The atmosphere was wonderful. Women dressed very smartly and were very happy with having a chance to speak out on anything they wished. They organized a march through the grounds of Sacred Heart School to the Juba Road and on to the “For God” junction. Along the way, students, women, and others cheered. During the march they spontaneously pick branches to wave. At one point, a scene from a traditional dance took place when a man came alongside and did a mock attack—and everybody laughed and kept marching. The mock attack or challenge is also a form of greeting. One woman came up to Marion when she arrived. Marion stood up and danced a bit with her!

An older Sister arrived and used her cane in the same fashion to greet the women. All laughed.

Many uulations filled the air: affirmations, greetings, and general enthusiasm for Women’s Day. Of course, sharing food was another highlight.

An Easier Road

2009-03-10T13:47:00.004-05:00

Feb. 2, 2009
Sister Marion wrote about the events of Peace Week, so we won’t re-visit that, but other items in our lives may be of interest to all of you, our faithful readers.

First of all, we had our second in a series of Vespers and Tea for small groups of the religious who reside in this neighborhood. This time we had the four Comboni Sisters who live and work at the Animation Center, a place for various types of group gatherings. The sisters expressed their appreciation for the experience of prayer “our way.” We felt that their desire to keep the prayer copies was a very positive sign!

Of course our BIG news is that we now have Sister Jo Ann back with us. Although we don’t really enjoy these long trips, this one was joyful! We agree that the trip seems to get shorter each trip because so much progress has been made on the road. Jo noticed right away that there weren’t so many places where the road was absolutely horrible. Maybe the road will be finished before our next trip, ...which isn’t even in the planning stages as yet.

Although we are still in the “dry season” until some time in March, God has provided us with much-needed moisture ever since Jo got back. This means that the roads aren’t so dusty; it also means that our electricity is a bit more temperamental with the thunder and lightning. Marion and Jo like to take a walk after our evening meal before it gets dark (a little after 7:00 these days), but the rain has curtailed that activity several times lately.

Sister Jo Ann is back at the clinic, trying to make order out of chaos, and seeing patients again. They are very happy to have her back to help them with their health issues. At prayer, Jo expressed that how she looks at a patient makes all the difference in how that patient gets treated.... For example, a gentleman who hasn’t had medicine for over a month, who drinks “on occasion,” and didn’t see the Doctor while Jo was gone, could have been seen as a hopeless case. But by noting that at least he came “today,” it makes a difference that at least he is trying to do something. Therefore, she wanted to help him.

Sister Marion is again processing the “Team Africa” funds for scholarships to children of some of the Catechists. She has a good system that takes a student from each area of the Archdiocese. The Catechists and Parish Priest are expected to get together to decide which of the children in that area will receive financial assistance. Previously, some areas had more than their share of scholarships, while other areas had none. Marion met with weak students and families to see how there could be improvements. She has heard stories that make her wish she could serve so many more individuals than the funds can cover.

Sister Pat M. has been attempting to process the scholarships set in motion by Sister Pat Haire after she returned to California. Pat H. had chosen ten girls from Mary Immaculate Primary School who wanted to go to Sacred Heart Secondary School, a boarding school for girls. Neither of us knew about the lengthy decision-making process for choosing which students a school will accept! Testing (called the PLE, or Primary Leaving Exam) is done across the entire country on the same dates (December 5 and 6 in 2008). The tests are sent to Kampala for grading by various teachers, so no school checks their own students. Those results are then sent back to at least two places: the school from which the students came, and the schools they chose as first and second choices to attend secondary. Now all the heads of those secondary schools gather in Kampala to decide which students they will accept, and which students they will “sell” to another school. (The various secondary schools set their own standards regarding who to accept. We still do not know exactly what “sell” means in this context, but the student can then be accepted by a different school). When the heads return to their various districts, they again meet as a group and do final determinations and post the names and “grades” of the students they have accepted.

Without knowing the process, Pat M. had set up dates for the girls to bring their completed applications to her. After sitting for two mornings, not seeing a single one of the girls, she discovered that the girls still did not have their letters of acceptance from Sacred Heart. In the end, none of the original ten girls were accepted by Sacred Heart!!! Now we wait to see where the girls will end up, before we can begin to decide who will receive the financial assistance since each school has their own fee-schedule. We will do our best to honor the needs of those ten girls.

In the meantime, the word got out that we had “scholarships,” so there have been numerous additional people seeking help! The need here is so very great. Students, who are actually “orphans” in the strict sense of the word, will usually receive no further education after 7th grade (called P7). Primary tuition is so little that more parents can afford to pay the fees, although there are still hundreds of young ones not in school. Secondary tuition is much higher, a too-big burden for most families. For those of us in the United States, used to paying a great deal for a good high-school education, the fees seem to be small, but to these people in poverty, even a small amount is impossible to come up with.

One boy is now 21 years of age, lost his parents and siblings during the war, and himself spent time in the bush with the rebels, is trying to find funds to continue his education in S3, sort of the equivalent of sophomore year in high-school. He did poorly in S2 because he was sent home so often for lack of payment. He would then work to earn money and return for the next term. Can you imagine the “holes” in his learning? Can you also imagine the courage and determination that it takes to continue on? Students like him have more resilience faith, and hope than most that you would know in our country.

Students prefer to “board” in secondary schools. Teenage girls, in particular, are often harassed when traveling to and from school which is often a great distance from their village or camp. Conditions at home are not conducive to study, since their responsibilities to care for siblings, to find firewood, to help with the cooking, etc., take them away from studies. Also, most homes do not have a lantern by which to see after dark.

Several students who were in Sister Pat’s math class last term have stopped her on the road, looking for a way to get to secondary school. It is hard to realize that these children will never realize their potential and will be relegated to menial tasks for the rest of their lives.

We encourage you to read “Child, Victim, Soldier” by ........ Dunson (...........Press) to understand the situation through which these families have suffered. I don’t believe there is a single person who has not been directly affected by the recent evils inflicting the region. We seem to be in a peaceful era at present, in spite of the fact that the peace agreement has not been signed. We pray daily for all of our people here in northern Uganda.

Pray for Peace Here This Week

2009-01-12T14:04:00.003-06:00

What to make of the current military/political situation? A very thoughtful person shared the following about how villagers are viewing this current disruption of the peace process. He said that people who can are making two huts—one in the village where they hope to plant and, if possible, one in the camps. However, the government has been tearing down huts in the camps that are vacated in an effort to get people to go back home and to make the remaining huts a bit more spaced out. He also said that many believe the rumors—such as LRA even now are returning to the West Nile area of Uganda—but that for traumatized people, believing rumors is like seeing someone running. So you too start running and later ask, “Why? Where are we running? He said that in four or five months if the LRA have not reached Gulu, then people will believe the peace is holding and get on with their lives.

The newspapers give us strange articles—mass graves of rebels found in Congo and LRA split up into small groups running to Central African Republic with some skirmishes and loss of life. Also, details from the first days of battle such as a convoy being bombed.

Here, life appears very normal. People are traveling—two of the priests at the table just went to Moyo, near the Sudan; and the Secretariat of the Peace Week plans to go to Congo after the event.4th Provincial Prayer-Peace Week is fast approaching. On Tuesday about 1500 people from the dioceses of Nebbe and Arua [West Nile] and Lira along with assorted people from Tororo and Kampala will join several thousand here for three days of prayer and talks on the theme, “Combating Poverty and Building Peace.” Marion has the “Programme” broadstrokes because she typed it up as a member of the Central Organizing Committee. Wednesday will be “Political Activism Day;” Thursday, “Cultural Day and Extravaganza;” and Friday, “Spiritual Day.” Because of Archbishop Jean Baptiste Odama’s work with other religious leaders, this year’s event will have a multi-faith approach. Each morning, each denomination [Anglican, Muslim, and Catholic] will begin at their own prayer sites. By Friday, the prayer will be a shared prayer event.

Marion has been reading William Johnston’s “Arise My Love,” on Mysticism for a New Era. He refers to the Oct. 27, 1986, event when world religious leaders came together with JPII at Assisi to pray for peace. They prayed according to their own traditions in twelve separate places. Johnston noted that prayer “rose from the silent and spiritual core where human beings find the deepest union.” He quoted JPII as promoting this event as another way to promote peace. So, we are witnessing here a step toward peace that continues when dialogue is thwarted! No doubt more powerful than dialogue!

We invite everyone to pray in whatever way you wish, this coming Wed., Thurs, and Friday. Pray that lasting peace may come to our planet, and in a special way to long-suffering Northern Uganda and surrounding nations. Pray also that pilgrims travel here in safety and that all goes smoothly.

Sunday prayer and tea. Jan. 11th we had the second in what we plan to be a monthly series of inviting the small religious communities nearby to afternoon prayer and refreshments. Both have turned out great. Three Camboni Sisters from the Animation Center came. One [younger] is from Sudan and the other two are seasoned missioners from Italy. Our entree was deviled eggs and cheese/crackers. Thanks to many of you we had all sorts of special sweet goodies to share! Pat planned this one with vesper elements and sharing of the heart around an excerpt from Ed Hayes’ Gospel of Gabriel on the Baptism of Jesus. reading. The sisters had beautiful, deep sharings. We really enjoyed getting to know them more.

Pat is gathering applications for the Los Angeles Scholarships that Sr. Patricia Haire put in motion for the Immaculate Heart girls going to Sacred Heart Secondary. Marion is gathering Team Africa renewals and applications for scholarships for the children of catechists. School starts Feb. 2nd.Pat is also doing some tutoring in math and computer on a sporadic basis, depending on the availability of the persons interested. She is also attempting some research on diabetes and hypertension for Dr. Alice, but is finding difficulty in accessing the Internet. Once the schools resume in February, she will be more regularly occupied.

Christmas Visitors

2009-01-08T11:19:00.003-06:00

Wulegi gum MABER pi mwaka manyen!

That is “We wish you many blessings in the New Year” in Acoli! Maybe we can be more faithful in updating this blog in 2009???
Here we are again… After Mass and breakfast on December 16, Marion, Pat, and Olanya George (our driver) headed down to Kampala. After doing some of our big shopping for items we can’t get in Gulu, we went to A.R.U. again for overnight accommodations. They weren’t quite ready for us, and it was about dark by the time we managed to get into our rooms. This time we were in the new building where we had self-contained rooms. Wouldn’t you know!!! The power went out shortly after that. It wasn’t so bad, though, since power had returned by the time we finished supper.

We had to rise at 5:00 am in order to get breakfast before we headed off to the airport. We were quite early in our arrival since there was very little traffic at that hour. We tried to get into the general parking lot, but they waved us away. Olanya George then stopped at the VIP lot for directions. They looked at us, and waved us into their lot!!! Was it our white faces that made us important? This was the first time we had been in the “arrival” part of the airport, so we enjoyed ourselves. Anyway, Sister Amy and Father Tom, her brother, arrived safely, and got through passport control and customs. After further shopping and eating, we all arrived back here in Gulu by 7:00 pm on December 17. It didn’t take Amy and Tom very long to collapse into bed, exhausted.

The next few days were a blur of activities and relaxation. Since both of our guests are “into” electronics and the internet, some of the time was spent up at the Catechists Training Center (CTC) where we can usually get connected. There was one day when we had to go into town to an internet café, though. We visited various places where the three of us residents have worked, and some video and oral interviews were taken… Marion was at the Office of the Pastoral Coordinator with Richard who assists the coordinator; Pat was at St. Joseph’s Primary School with Michael, the headmaster. We also visited with Dr. Alice with whom Jo Ann had been working. Some of that information will appear in one of the issues of Connections in 2009.

On Sunday, December 21, we hosted one of the local communities of Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate for Vespers and “tea.” Only two Sisters came (one was away and the other had other plans), but it was a good effort on our part, and was greatly appreciated. Marion planned the prayer to be similar to the formal vespers they are used to, but added in some sharing of the heart. We used “Holy Darkness” for a sung psalm refrain, and one of the Acoli Advent songs called “Bin Jesu, oyot,” Jesus come quickly. We hope to do more of these Vespers and tea affairs with the other communities around us. They have all been so good and welcoming to us.

Around 7:00 am the following morning Amy, Tom, Marion and Pat, Olanya George and his wife, Alice, started off to Paraa Safari Park via a town called Anaka where we were to meet up with Bishop Sabino as our park guide. Sister Jennifer, a Little Sister of Mary Immaculate (and the Bishop’s secretary) came along. Well, at Anaka we were invited to breakfast since the Bishop had just finished Mass. Picture this: fried chicken, French fries, porridge, bananas, eggs, bread, … We really didn’t need lunch after that! But when we had crossed the Nile on the ferry, and were waiting for the ferry to go to the other side, Bishop whipped out his camping cook stove and espresso pot. Jennifer cooked up some instant onion soup (over bread) and Bishop prepared his espresso! No one refused to eat soup! Most of the espresso was left behind as we hurried to catch the boat.

One of the interesting scenes on the trip was a group of elephants near the bank. One had a very young one with her and attempted to shield it from our sight. The group moved away from the river, but one of them turned around, trumpeted and “charged” at us, before backing away slowly! The entire trip was delightful. This was the first time on the Nile for Pat, Jennifer, and Alice.

While the view of the falls from the river Nile was beautiful, the next part of the trip was spectacular. Once we had disembarked from the river boat, we drove a distance to the TOP of the falls. It was too late in the day to see any rainbows, but the power and dynamic of the water was awesome!

Our evening was nearly gone by the time we arrived at our overnight accommodations… We only had time for a quick wash-up before a delicious dinner at 8:30 pm. By the time we took care of the finances there (a story in itself*), it was quite late considering we had to rise again at 5:00 am. After breakfast our real safari began under the leadership of our Bishop-guide.
Bishop Sabino knows the park inside and out because his father had worked there for many years. We were led to many areas that most people would never see, and heard stories that others would never hear. We ate lunch at the place where some of the park rangers live, very near the river in a secluded area. It was quite beautiful in spite of the presence of those dangerous tsetse flies. (None of us seems to have gotten sick from them.) On the way home we did what every Acoli person does… We stopped and visited several places to say hello!
The highlight of the day for Pat came near the end of the ride home… She is so sorry that she didn’t get a photo of it! Keeping in mind that the people of Northern Uganda celebrate Christmas by having meat (and this was the 23rd), the scene was priceless. There was a young man on a bicycle with a load of firewood strapped crosswise on the back. Sitting on top of that was a goose, tied and facing forward, turning its head left and right as if it were a sight-seer! Innocent, beware!

Christmas Eve passed in a blur… None of us can recall what happened that day, except that Marion found a fine piece of meat at the market! Christmas Day was a “lay low” day for all of us. There had been no Midnight Mass here at the Cathedral because most of the people walk great distances. Marion and Pat went to Mass at 7:30 am, where their regular church community would be. Archbishop Odama was the main celebrant, and the place was filled. With standing room only, many of the children were sitting in the sanctuary; at the end of Mass they then followed the Archbishop out in procession. They feel very close to him, and he to them! Tom was the main celebrant at the 10:00; Amy participated at that celebration.

At some point of that afternoon we all found our way to the CTC to connect to the internet. Usually, we have breakfast and lunch with the Bishops, but today we ate at home. Everyone pitched in for the main meal. Marion cooked the meat for about three hours on the “cigirit” (brazier). It was delicious and tender. The roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, cauliflower, and cold “disked” carrots were followed by a fresh fruit medley coated in vanilla yogurt! Truly a wonderful feast!

Before we had all separated (Tom was staying at the next door compound), we had two phone calls. One was Susan (in Minnesota) wishing us a happy Christmas, and the next was from Jo! We are certainly looking forward to her return! The day couldn’t have been nicer!
While the day after Christmas in the U.S. may be the day to return gifts and look for bargains, that isn’t so, here. Rather, it is the traditional day for all the sisters, brothers, and priests to gather at the major seminary for an all-day picnic. Each community is invited to bring some food. Marion fixed a large pot of spaghetti and meat sauce (fortunately, we had found the makings in Kampala). There was more food than you can imagine. It was a great way to meet more and more of the religious members who serve in this Archdiocese. Folks even came from some of the outlying regions. The music ranged from Handel’s Messiah to Country Western, with some traditional African pieces included! Most of us tried our feet at dancing!

Tired and happy, the four of us were sitting around the kitchen table around 8:00 pm, when we heard a voice outside calling “Sister.” Due to a miscommunication, we did not realize that the Archbishop and Bishop along with three of the priests were waiting for us to join them for supper – another one! We had understood that this particular dinner was to be the following Monday night! Needless to say, we weren’t very hungry, but we did our best. After dessert Amy, Marion and Pat did their best rendition of “Lo, How a Rose” for entertainment. (We had practiced it several times, but that was before eating … two dinners!) While it wasn’t the best we had ever done, they were all duly impressed. Then Marion brought out the bag of gift books she had prepared from her collection. One book had been specially selected for each of the men, with a short explanation as to why that book was chosen for them. That, too, was a big hit. They were all touched!

The full day was not quite over… As we left the dining area in the dark, Pat went first, then Marion, and then … Well, almost Amy. At that point Amy missed the drainage ditch and fell, twisting her foot in some way. We managed to get her home, elevated and iced the foot, and got her to bed. By morning she was convinced that there were no broken bones but there was pain (no swelling or bruising), but what it was, remained a mystery.

At breakfast on Saturday, Marion realized she had broken off part of a tooth, but she had a meeting to attend. Pat did the grocery shopping and then tried to find a pair of “walking sticks” (crutches) for Amy. It took about two hours to find a place that both had them and was open on Saturday. The physical therapy personnel even offered to come home and measure Amy here, but Pat declined. So Pat had to lie down and get measured! Then they subtracted the three inches we had determined was the necessary difference for Amy. When they brought a few example pieces out, Pat knew that they were still too tall, but without the patient they wouldn’t cut any more off. That would have taken at least another hour or two. Then came the bill…. Would you believe that for a pair of heavy, sturdy, hard-wood, hand-made crutches they charged 6,000 shillings? That amounts to about $3.84 in U.S. currency! That says a lot about the economy here! Pat had tried in vain to contact Dr. Alice that morning. She wanted to get some help in locating crutches. Well, later that afternoon, about 4:00 pm, Dr. Alice stopped by the house. She had seen the phone messages and offered to check on Amy. She stayed about a half-hour, filling us in on many aspects of Acoli history and politics. She felt that Amy would be alright within two days. She also gave Marion the name and location of a trustworthy dentist who works both here and in Kampala. How’s that for a friend!

On the 28th, we all headed to Amuru for Mass and a children’s party after Mass. We were again welcomed very warmly, with lots of “Apwoyo’s” and “Apwoyo matek!” That means they thanked us profusely for being willing to come and share with them… And that was before they knew about the party! The youth group had been prepared to organize the crowd of children. At an early count, there were nearly 500 children present under the age of eight, all standing in about nine lines, very orderly! It didn’t take long for many of the neighborhood children who were NOT at church to hear about the cookies and drinks being passed out! The numbers swelled. Marion’s friend had donated funds for this party; jump ropes and soccer balls were available (and supervised so they wouldn’t walk away!) so the children continued to have a good time for a while. We were then hosted by Father Santo for a delicious dinner at the rectory.
Monday, the 29th was the last day that Amy and Tom were with us in Gulu. After Mass, we were invited to the CTC for breakfast with Father Joseph, Ron, and Denise. Mmmmm… Pancakes, French toast, honey, butter (the real stuff), ….. But the conversation was even better. Ron and Denise have been doing research about the history and conditions of the people in this area independently of each other. Father Joseph is steeped in such history from his childhood. We all became much more aware of the complexity of the current situation involving several nations, politics and economy. What a richness we were given!

Marion talked to the dentist and made an arrangement with him for Tuesday in Kampala; Tom did some more interviews; Pat and Amy managed to get Amy’s crutches adjusted to make her travel a bit simpler. St. Joseph really provided for that! You see, St. Joseph’s Workshop was actually closed, but the worker, Michael, just happened to come in for something and took care of our project.

Lunch that day was the last meal that Amy would have over at the Archbishop’s table so we brought vanilla pudding for dessert. What a hit that was! It is one the Archbishop’s favorites, and the other members of this community also enjoy it. Just about everyone has a sweet tooth!
We again traveled to Kampala early on December 30. We had two additional travelers with us this time, so the car was really full. One of those travelers was Consolate, the lady who has been designated by the Archbishop to help us get our work permits for Uganda. So after lunch Marion, Pat and Consolate went to the immigration office, while Olanya George took Amy and Tom to see the Shrine of the Martyrs at Namugongo. We were NOT successful in getting the permits, although this was Consolate’s fifth trip to complete the process. So when the others returned for us, we just had time to get Marion to the dentist’s office where her tooth was repaired. After that we were all happy to get to A.R.U. where we would eat and stay for the night.

Very early on the last day of 2008 we headed for the Entebbe airport to wave off Amy and Tom. From there we returned to the Immigration Office where we were again given the run-a-round. However, because of the connections made through Consolate, a gentleman was identified who had all the information needed, and made a special trip to the center to give the permits to us. What a relief that was for all of us!!! After lunch at a place similar to a McDonald’s, we arrived home here in Gulu around 6:45 pm, only to be called over to the Archbishop’s for his annual New Year’s Eve party for all the priests and religious in the nearby area!

We can’t imagine that there was no revelry at midnight, but neither of us heard any of it! We were exhausted!

It is now New Year’s Day and the two of us are taking advantage of the internet connection. May each of you be greatly blessed in the year 2009. Please pray for peace for the people of this area as well as for the world.

Heaven's Answer Hidden

2008-12-08T14:53:00.005-06:00

Let's see…. Where did we leave off on our last blog writing? Marion already mentioned the 275 Confirmations at Christ the King. But did we tell you about the Sunday afternoon we put on a "show" for Olanya George (our driver) and his family? Well, George and his wife have four children who haven't seen the things their daddy saw when he traveled with us. We especially wanted to share all the animals we had seen at Paraa Park back in June! So we set up our "sitting room" (half of a bedroom) as the theater and served orange soda (their choice) and cookies. Pat had compiled the photos taken by all five of us and had them on a thumb drive so we could show them on any computer. Marion attached the projector from her office so they would be enlarged on the wall. Pat ran the show from her computer. When pictures were showing up the second time, Pat started making "shadow animals" on the wall, and then taught the little ones to do it also. George later told us that the show was a great success!

On Saturday, November 22, Pat attended the day-long meeting held by St. Joseph's School. The previous such meeting had been in December of 2005! The school is having major problems, and the Headmaster had invited her to speak to the two Boards, parents, and officials present about her observations while she worked in the classrooms. He said people might listen differently if it came from an outsider. Well, the talk was so well-received that the Archbishop, Bishop, the media, and several others asked for a copy of her talk. A copy was also given to the Education Secretary. Apparently, no one has been doing anything for the good of the school for some time. Pat introduced a visiting priest to the Headmaster recently. He has some very practical ideas regarding steps that can be taken. It will be interesting to see if anything comes from all of this in the near future.

Did we already tell you about our haircuts? Jo has cut the hair of Marion and Pat. Pat has cut the hair of Jo and Marion. With Jo gone and Pat desperate, Marion did her maiden voyage haircut on someone other than herself… You can see how well she did in the mouse picture that follows!

Prayer is a little different without Jo in our presence, but we do still pray together. For example, on Friday evening (December 5) we vigil-ed the Feast of St. Nicholas. December 6 is special for us because it marks our arrival in Gulu six-months ago! Yes, indeed, we've been here in this house for six months now. We reflected on the many gifts God has given us and how we've used them for the poor and needy among us. After sharing our insights with each other, we closed with the song "Holy Darkness" by Dan Schutte. The refrain goes like this:

Holy darkness, blessed night,

Heaven's answer hidden from our sight.

As we await you, O God of silence,

We embrace your holy night.

Since we had thought we would have been in Amuru about three or more months ago, we felt this was very fitting and meaningful.

Speaking of Amuru…. No, we are not there as yet. No, nothing has actually begun regarding housing there. We are talking, but no specific action has taken place. In the meantime, each of us has found ways to make a difference in lives right here in Gulu.
Marion has already written about some of her activities. Right now she is "on loan" from her office to help in the Peace and Justice Office. They are planning a huge (3000 to 6000 persons) peace gathering in mid-January. She has been busy trying to help them get some things moving. The frustrations involved are great… Besides, computer parts not working all the time, and the copier being in a different building about 5 minutes away by foot, and toner cartridges disappearing into a printer in a different part of the building, the individuals who give direction are not readily available. However, at least she feels good about helping out.

Now that the schools have officially closed for the next two months (similar to our summer break), Pat has had to seek other ways of being useful. One of the sisters nearby has asked her to tutor her in math so she will be ready to enter College to continue her education. It's been so long since she studied math, she needs some help to understand it. Pat has had to take several hours to prepare… This is serious math with linear and quadratic equations and operations on matrices in the first chapter! It's been a while for her, too, for this level math. Pat is also helping the Dr. Alice with whom Jo was working. No, Pat isn't playing doctor or nurse… Dr. Alice wants her to create some flyers that will help her patients. Pat will download information from the internet and format it on the computer so that the end result will look professional. She has sought the assistance of organizations that already have brochures available, too. Someone here will translate them into Acoli, and then Pat can get them printed in both languages. Of an evening, Pat decorated her "gum boots" to be in competition with Jo's pretty ones. What do you think?
While we were in Kampala over Thanksgiving, we found the water filter we had been looking for "forever." It is now set up and functioning well. We had been purchasing bottled water since that was the only way we could guarantee safe drinking water. We had been boiling water for dishes and cleaning our vegetables, but even that was limited once we only had a single charcoal burner for cooking. So we decided the water filter will pay for itself (and be much better for the environment) in a couple of months.Earlier this week we were invited to an evening party for two of the priests. One was celebrating his feast day, and the other his anniversary of ordination. It was good to be able to celebrate with them. Pat took some pictures during the party. One of the priests was so excited to see himself on the camera… He grinned from "Easter to Christmas," as Monsignor would say. We are having a print made to give to him!

All of the puppies are gone. This compound has three guard dogs that terrified us when we first came. We had been told that the dogs are let out after supper, and we should be aware of that. Well, the two females had litters within days of each other. Thirteen puppies in all! We enjoyed watching them develop from little fur balls into active puppies. Most of them wouldn't come near us, although Pat managed to pet several of them. They were all sold, so that part of our entertainment is gone. The good part of all this is that the dogs are now more afraid of us than we are of them. When they see us coming, they go in a different direction!

Today Marion learned a great Acholi expression that captures our language struggle: Leb Acholi gidonyo ki wang ot ci gikato ki tungcel. [What enters through one window passes out windows on the other side… Or, What goes in one ear, goes out the other"] …And here's an idiom: Atye ka ryemo olwango ki leba. No, it doesn't exactly mean, "I'm chasing flies with my tongue;" rather, "I'm hungry!"

On the morning of December 5 we picked up some packages from the Post Office in town. Hooray! The long-awaited mouse traps were there! Well, we diligently set them and placed them around the house that evening. Around 2:40 a.m. the trap in Pat's room went off. For the next 25 minutes she heard flopping around off and on, then nothing. The flopping had sounded closer and closer to her bed, so she was hesitant to step down in the dark. However, after experimenting a bit, she managed to find the dead rat/mouse, larger than the trap, not too close to her bed. That was the only catch that night, though. We are sure there are more, judging by the amount of droppings each morning. We will keep
We are now awaiting the visit from Amy Hereford and her brother, Father Tom. We will be back in Kampala the night of December 16 to pick them up the next morning. We'll tell you all about the visit in the next blog. Have a blessed Advent!

[Ed. Note. I have experienced a great deal of difficulty getting the photos to go where I want them, and one or two inexplicably disappeared while I was putting this pot together. I am not sure what the problem is. I will continue to work on it. However, some of the photos mentioned above just couldn't seem to stay on here, in case you're looking for them!]

Thanksgiving, Times Two

2008-12-02T11:28:00.001-06:00

November 27, 2008
On Thanksgiving morning, we went to Kampala to take Sr. Jo Ann Geary to catch a midnight plane to Brussels and then to U.S. She is going to St. Louis to have emergency oral procedures she could not get here. She is a big loss to us and to the people in the diabetes and high blood pressure clinic at Gulu Hospital, so we ask your prayers that all goes well and she’ll be able to return here in January.
So we ate our “first” Thanksgiving dinner mid afternoon at the Rwenzori Restaurant in Kampala which we like-Pork chops, tilapia, and our driver George—in pix [coming]-- had chicken wings; and….a second and Boston-style complete Thanksgiving Dinner later at the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of Africa who happened to be next door to ARU [Assoc. of Religious of Uganda] where we had arranged to stay for the evening. The Franciscan sisters had heard we were coming and wanted us as their guests which was ok with the lovely women at ARU. There were three US sisters among the group and the woman from Boston had engineered it with help from their African cook. Turkey, dressing, potatoes, stuffed pumpkin, carrots overlaid with fresh rosemary sprigs, etc. Of course, pumpkin pie for dessert. We thought we had died and gone to heaven! Marcellina Otii had sent us a clever “pieless Thanksgiving note” but not to be! The cornucopia was stunning with African vegetables and fruits!

October News

2008-10-24T12:55:00.005-05:00

Well, it’s been too long since we last wrote for the blog. Hopefully, most of our readers have heard at least some of this from other sources. We apologize, but maintain our claim that this is the best we can do under the circumstances! Please forgive us….

Well, Barbara Moore and Toni Temporiti, CPPS, arrived in Kampala as planned and welcomed us to the overnight accommodations. (We were “bumped” from our original accommodations without our knowing it until the day before we left. We were disappointed in the fact that no air was stirring in several of the rooms since the windows opened onto an indoor area. We even had to share a room on the return trip – with no moving air again.) However, the time in between those Kampala visits were full of rest and good times, Gulu style. Attached are a few photos from those days…. A supper in our kitchen; a hot game of rummy (Contract, Liverpool, etc.), doing laundry,…. Oh… and a flat tire on our journey! Thank God for the good driver, Olanya George, who handled the car well, and was able to replace it with the spare which he has kept in good condition.

Amazingly, the electric power remained stable until their final evening here. They had to pack by flashlight and candlelight. Both Barbara and Toni were “good scouts,” without complaining. The longest we have been without power was six days. At that time we did lose some of the food in the freezer, but since then we have frozen medium size bottles filled with water, then left one in the freezer and put the other in the refrigerator portion to keep foods chilled until the power returned. Very successful!

Jo Ann has usually been working at Gulu Hospital Clinic with Dr. Alice. This has become a warm and happy relationship in which the patients are also benefiting. Dr. Alice has said that Sr. Jo Ann’s clinics are too crowded! The word got out among the people attesting to the fine care they are getting, and everyone wants to come on her days!

Jo Ann says: This has been a very different experience for me. There are no charts kept on any patient. They have these little 6x8 paper Budget Exercise Books that they carry with them to any /every medical visit – so you can imagine what some of them look like and what shade of white/yellow they are. This booklet is their chart. So you must do all your charting while you see them. There are no prescription pads – they take the book to the pharmacy and they fill what you have prescribed if they have the drug in stock. As you can imagine the list of stock drugs is very short. Often they have none in some categories. They do have a lab and can do some things with fingersticks but don’t have the reagents to do chemistries etc. They have an ancient EKG machine that doesn’t seem to work and no one seems to know how to read them. Gulu Hospital is a government hosp. that is a referral hosp. for the more complicated cases. Needless to say it’s been quite an adjustment. But I just love the patients and can’t seem to move on to where I know things are so much better. Dr. Alice is a great woman and cares so much for her people, I want to do all I can to help. Of course I still need a translator, but have a few phrases down pat. One is “Atwero konyi ningning.” How can I help you. Unfortunately then they answer very quickly and most of the time I haven’t understood nary a word. Enter the translator who I am very grateful to!

Fr. Santo has returned from abroad and will be going to Amuru this week as pastor so hopefully things can move there on our housing soon. Marion is working in the Pastoral Office with school fees for children sponsored by Team Africa in Denver. She also started teaching a class on Mondays and Tuesdays to 103 candidates at Sacred Heart Secondary School who hope to be Baptized and complete Christian Initiation before the term is up. This is short term at the request of our language teacher who was overwhelmed with all sorts of responsibilities.

Pat has been working at St. Joseph’s Primary School which is quite near the Cathedral area where we live. The headmaster turned over the two P7 classes to her on the second day. This wasn’t what she had anticipated! There are approximately 100 students in one class and 86 in the other. Students come late and leave in the middle; there is no bell to start or end; many of the students have neither exercise books (paper on which to write) nor writing tool. They are preparing for their exit exam from Primary which will take place in November. While they are supposed to understand and speak English, many of them do not…. They haven’t been in school all that much. Since she speaks and understands very little Acoli, there is much frustration on both sides of instruction. (There is no desk!) Test results should be interesting!

Speaking of the Acoli language development…. Here is a challenge for you:
Match the Acoli words with their English meanings
Ceng Sunday
Ru-piny Dawn
Cabit Day
Wor Year
Mwaka Night
Answers at the end of this post!

Or, here is another: Sort out: myero, twero, tworo, maro, mero, moro, malo, mato, mere, etc. Then there are the words that have different meanings according to whether your voice is high or low.… Our classes have not been as frequent as we had hoped, but folks say we are doing well. Is anyone interested in our dictionary? All of the words to which we have been exposed in classes are now in a spreadsheet so we can sort them by Acoli, English, part of speech, etc. We have over 830 words already!

Barogal Clinic has finally opened! The nurse who will staff the clinic on a regular basis has moved to a nearby camp with her children. The doctor will visit the clinic periodically, from what we have learned. The people in the area are quite happy to have the clinic so much closer than Gulu which is where they used to have to go. People would walk for miles/kilometers, even though they were sick, in order to wait most of the day to see a medical practitioner. Those in two camps will be close, now.

There was a huge celebration for Bishop Sabino and four of his classmates on September 13th. This was big for the whole Archdiocese! They were celebrating 25 years as priests. Actually, six of them were ordained in a single class, the largest ever for this place. One has died, and one is in Rome and didn’t come for this. The other four were fondly honored. The three of us offered to help decorate, and worked for about three hours. The lady “in charge” was new at this task, but a young man was very helpful. When he realized how much older we were, he was concerned that we were working too hard. Folks just aren’t very healthy by the time they reach our age in this culture. He was extremely grateful for our assistance!

Speaking of Bishop Sabino…. Can you imagine this happening with the Bishop in YOUR area? …. Friday evening the three of us, Marion, Jo, and Pat, were sitting at the kitchen table studying, when Pat noticed movement elsewhere. Something had scuttled from the counter behind the propane burner, down to the floor behind the propane tank. We all jumped up. (We have been trying to get rid of our mouse population since we arrived!) Marion and Pat moved the propane tank out from the wall, but as they did so, the mouse scooted under the tank. They dropped the tank and we heard “Eek! Eek!” several times. When we looked closely, we could see a furry tail sticking out. ??Furry?? Yes! Well, we couldn’t decide what to do. We prepared the trash can to capture it, but realized that none of us had the heart to kill it. We thought of getting “Bura Puss” from one of the workers, but about that time we saw car lights near the garage…. It was Bishop Sabino’s garage. Pat went out with her flashlight, braving the dogs, and enlisted Bishop’s assistance. Marion had the push broom by this time. Bishop immediately lifted the tank, releasing the mouse. We all jumped back at first, then Bishop cornered the poor creature, who had lost the fur on its tail by now, whacked it with the broom then stomped on it. Pat then used the brush part of the broom (which had separated from the handle) to throw it out the door. Did you notice that Jo wasn’t mentioned in this saga? Can you guess where she was? Yes, standing on a kitchen chair to observe! Bishop Sabino was our hero! The mouse was very small! We do hope this is the last one for the duration.

In the midst of all of this we had our second birthday celebration. Pat had a birthday on September 19th. We started with prayer, followed by supper, and then gifts.
There are two other photos this time. One is of the two resident donkeys. This photo was taken from our open door… They are almost house residents… One day they tried to follow us into the house!

The other photo shows a building under construction. Look closely to see that the supports that look like scaffolding are simply pieces of tree trunks. It is amazing to us that the structures don’t collapse!

Answers: Ceng=Day; Ru-piny=Dawn; Cabit=Sunday; Wor=Night; Mwaka=Year

Affirming God Present

2008-10-07T13:02:00.003-05:00

Everything in me wants to not turn my back on them, but to affirm the love of God that has sustained them and brought them and all the people of Acholiland through immense sufferings; to affirm God present in their midst and to be privileged to walk with them.
-- Marion Weinzapfel

Dear All,
Greetings from Uganda--this land of stunning sunrises and sunsets. I love walking over to the Cathedral in the morning getting the view through the large palm trees—tugu. Jo and I usually walk on a variety of little trails around here after supper and we time ourselves to be back as dusk becomes dark! We always walk with at least one flashlight and phone just in case!

On Monday morning Archbishop invited us to attend a celebration of cleansing at the Rwot Arcana or the place where the Paramount Chief and elders gather to carry on the traditions, called Kal Kwaro. Because he was also wanting to attend the priests' retreat day, he asked us to drive him. Jo and I were free to go. Pat has started teaching a morning math class at St. Joseph's school here. It was a really great experience. All of us, including the Archbishop had thought we'd be there just an hour or two. However, it turned out to be critically important for him to stay and speak. He was not on the original agenda; yet when he arrived, they asked him to say the opening prayer and put him on the long list to speak.

The event was focused on welcoming back returned LRA. 7 young men and later 1 young woman joined the group. They stepped on an egg and walked through a line formed by the elders and chiefs. The idea is that when anyone returns to a community after many years they bring things from the outside that might bring evil or harm to the people. Thus they remind themselves that any experiences of death [broken egg] they've had outside should be left outside while they are brought back to their family and clans. They step over a lira, a stick or tool that is used to open the granary which holds the food for the village; being aware that they now need to safeguard what is inside the home. There is a second part where they tell the story of what has happened outside and then, if there has been killing, the next step of sending a trusted person to go to the clan where injury was done and arrange the very involved and lengthy reconciliation service of mato oput. In the course of this event, one young man spoke for the rest. He had been taken as a very young boy and had spent 20 years in the bush. He talked in general terms about looking ahead to a new life and leaving the past behind. The real truth telling occurs first in the families or with someone very trusted, usually the mother, aunt, or uncle. It was wonderful to have the Archbishop filling in these little details.

The event began with wonderful dancing and drumming and the dancers returned several times as part of the ritual interaction, before the chief spoke, and to entertain. The dance of royalty is the bwola dance that we have seen performed each year and in other events, but I've never seen it done for the Rwot for whom it is primarily intended. There were speeches—lots by some of the NGO's like GUSCO or US Aid or local organizations like the Amnesty Commission whose charge is threefold: to forgive, to build capacity in the returnees, and to reconcile the community.

Certainly not everyone agrees with the "Forward ever; backward never" determination of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (the Archbishop and his group) and the cultural leaders (chiefs and elders.) Yet, I think Northern Uganda is probably one of the few places on the face of the earth today where the individual dignity of even the perpetrators of this misery is held in high regard while dialog as a way to end violence forever is brought to a fine art. Archbishop Odama in his remarks first commended the cultural leaders on their initiative to celebrate the ancient ceremony of cleansing and welcome. He noted that earlier there seemed to be some question of how this was viewed; but that he strongly commends it. Then he focused on the young returnees and spoke to them in this vein: " You have come in to a holy place. Your home, clan, and tribe are holy. Remember what you have destroyed outside. Come and share the same granary and eat together. No more going back to the old way. Say to your family what went on outside and express sorrow to your family for what was done out there."

Both Jo Ann and I were moved to tears when the archbishop then knelt down and apologized to these young people for not having done more to prevent what happened to them. In this culture, women and children, especially, kneel to the Archbishop all the time; so this is all the more stunning.

Then the Archbishop commented on the peace process and said he "...personally accepts to be a fool for the peace process. We will not stop. Some of us have already died in the process of searching for peace. "

The chief concluded the speeches. He told the young people, "God can make a way for you coming back to your roots." He spoke to the parents there, the leaders, and community all to accept these young people because in many ways they are being rejected.

Afterwards we all ate a very nice meal and then the Archbishop went to greet the young people, some of whom he recognized from his several trips to the bush. I followed and was happy to shake hands and several of the parents were just elated. It was a privilege.

I tried to take some pictures with my camera phone but only today realized that I never removed the little plastic cover over the lens! Sheesh! Still haven't found the battery charger for my camera that is misplaced—maybe when we move…

So having gone about 10 AM we returned home later very deeply moved by this graced day.

Wishing everyone peace and love!
Marion

Animals of Uganda

2008-09-19T15:05:00.006-05:00

Photos by Monica Lubitz, CSJ.

Adapting

2008-08-30T21:30:00.005-05:00

Hello, all you dear readers of the Gulu Blog! We have had access to the internet for parts of two days in a row! Thus, we have put together a new edition of our lives in Uganda.
You have already heard from Pat Haire and Monica as they returned to their U.S. homes, so this will update you from around August 4, when the other three of us came home to Gulu after saying farewell to our housemates of two months.
That first week is a sort of blur as we adapted to living as a three-some instead of a five-some. We decided who would work with Esther, our cook, each day of the week, what days each of us would prepare prayer, who would do the shopping on which dates, and which Sunday each of us would prepare the meal since Esther was given that day off. So far, this has worked out for us. We realize that adaptation is good for us, so changes can be made at any time!
By the way, the folks around here have a very difficult time understanding that we really do operate without a “superior.” “How can you decide things?” they ask. We do our best to explain what collegial living is, but then they ask about the whole community, meaning the Provinces and Congregation. This is all new to them, Sisters, priests, and laity alike!
We finished our beginner’s language book with Mr. Okee, [top photo] and started a full week of classes with Sister Grace who works at the nearby Sacred Heart Academy. The girls (all boarders) are now gone for a month of vacation and will return in mid-September. Sister Grace also has plans to be away part of the time, and we, of course, have plans to go to Kampala twice for Barbara Moore and Toni Temporiti. Sharing our lives with them for the few days they will be here will be fun. Our language lessons with Grace will continue sporadically as our times allow. She is an “adult” teacher, much different from the vocabulary foundation given to us by Mr. Okee. We are picking up phrases, and trying our mouths at sentences. The people here are delighted to hear us saying things (or trying to), and are most helpful in offering suggestions or “extensions” of what we mean to say.
We have three negatively memorable dates to report… On the morning of August 12, we looked for something in a kitchen cupboard only to discover that the termites had made it their home in a major way in the previous week. Termites build “hills” in which they live, multiply, and build onto. Well, they had used (eaten) all sorts of things that were in that cupboard, including those green Scotch-Guard type pot scrapers. Their hill was so hard it had to be removed through the use of a hammer! After spraying the entire area several times, and sweeping up wings and bodies each time, we think that is under control for the time being. We were told that this entire building has termites which are underground, and surface anyplace at any time.
The next such memorable moment came on August 17. Marion was not home at the time, as she was doing her presentation at one of the various parishes. Jo and Pat were seated on opposite sides of the kitchen table doing some studying. The sky darkened somewhat and the winds picked up. Suddenly there was a flash of lightening followed immediately by the crash of thunder. It was so close that we heard the sizzle and felt the tingle through our bodies! Later we heard that the lightening struck a transformer right across the fence from us. Of course, that was the end of the electric for several days. The internet was also disabled for several days.
As some of you are aware, there are many days/hours when we have problems with electricity and internet access. We can no longer access the internet from our house. Instead, we walk up to the Catechist’s Training Center (CTC) and use their wireless – when it is running! This has provided us with more than internet, since we have been be-friended by Fr. Joseph and his young men (sort of technicians) from various countries. Philipp left us his Acholi dictionary and some other notes when he returned home to Austria.
Our third memorable event in August was the ant invasion. Pat M had been battling ants coming through her wall for some time, but sort of controlled the problem by spraying into the holes, then covering the holes with tape. Evidence of their continued efforts (new holes) was then covered by a piece of paper so she didn’t have to be reminded of their nearness! However, on the morning of August 18, while Marion and Jo were elsewhere, Pat came home to find a few ants in the kitchen near her room. She used the fly-swatter to kill them. She turned and found one on the stove (which doesn’t work). Well, that was the beginning! With one reverberating swat to that ant, a few more came from between stove and counter; then a few more, and…. Then they swarmed from every corner of the room. Here is a photo [second photo above] of one area AFTER spraying and sweeping up hundreds of others. The ants were everywhere for days – both inside the house and around the foundation outside. We went through several cans of insect spray those next days! Again, they are sort of under control by now.
We had more “memorable” days, but for non-traumatic reasons. On August 16 there was a “work day” in Barogal where the St. Louis Province has financed the building of a much-needed health clinic. The building is nearing completion, but much clean-up was necessary to make the place presentable. Mpora, the chairman of the Board, and his wife, a new medical doctor, Dr. Beatrice, met with the people a week or so earlier to enlist their “ownership” of the new clinic. Well, the people came out in force, many of them working very hard to slash the weeds, even the terrain, and haul away the cut grasses and trash. Keep in mind that there are no mechanical tools to assist... This is all very physical labor! The grasses are cut with hand wielded slashers; the cut grasses are hauled away by picking them up, piling them in large containers which are then carried on their heads to the rubbish pile. Later, all sat around for a meal of beans, rice, cabbage, and, cassava, all cooked over separate wood fires in large “washtubs.” This is a social occasion, and the people interacted with us in joyful ways, laughing with us over our attempts to converse in Acoli! The people ARE taking ownership of the clinic area.
Jo’s first birthday (in Gulu) occurred on August 19. Shortly after Mass and breakfast, Jo and Pat went into Gulu town for a special purpose: Jo was again trying to get her driving permit. She had been studying a book with 17 pages of road signs, 20 per page. Here in Gulu we only see about 5 different signs, which are very difficult to spot. The streets do not have names on them, although the locals know what they are called. Also, keep in mind that the term “street” is used very loosely, with “erosion” taking the place of “potholes”! On this memorable day, the permit was actually handed to her. The best birthday gift then occurred! The term “permit” really means her license to drive. She didn’t have to take a test of any sort! Jo is now an official driver for the whole of Eastern Africa, not just Uganda!
Jo then practiced driving under the tutelage of Olanya George. At the end of her journey she took Pat to the Camboni Sisters house, but had to “not look.” The Sisters had agreed to bake a birthday cake for us – in a wood stove! They fixed it up with a paper “Happy Birthday” sign around it and powdered sugar (they call it icing) on top. For dinner we had Reisling wine, spaghetti and meat sauce (thanks in part to Monica and Pat H), green beans, and bread. We couldn’t make garlic toast since we had no electricity. After dinner she was given her presents of a new fabric shoulder bag stuffed with a clipboard folder and several items she had wanted… various sizes of spiral notebooks!
On August 20 we finally got into the spaces in Amuru that we are expecting to use for our living there. A young man named Samuel, age 16, and his 16-year-old helper, Steven, had the needed keys and showed us everything we wanted to see. The condition of the place leaves much to be desired, so we came home and made a list of recommendations to give to Bishop Sabino, who has inherited the responsibility of preparing the place for us. The next morning we gave the list to Bishop, knowing that he was leaving for nearly two weeks. Would you believe that he made time for us right after breakfast, and that he had a 9:00 AM appointment with the architect who would work with us! Talk about Providence! (That also gives you a sense of the great person Bishop Sabino is!) This morning we went to Amuru with the architect. We are anxious to hear more about the possibilities of our recommendations.
While we were in Amuru on the 20th, we also met and visited briefly with Sister Dorothy, with whom Jo will most likely work once we settle in up there. She immediately whisked Jo off to see a patient, a woman who was trying to deliver her baby, but the baby had died in utero, and the contractions had stopped. She needed to be taken to the hospital in Gulu, but would have to wait till the ambulance took another patient there and then returned for her. There are so many sad situations that it breaks your heart. However, Sister Dorothy seems to be quite a character, in a good sense.
We will tell about our time with Barbara Moore and Toni Temporiti in our next blog.
Apwoyo matek pi wulego! (Thank you very much for your prayers… or something like that!)

Children of Gulu, Part III

2008-08-28T21:59:00.004-05:00

Photos by Monica Lubitz, CSJ.

Children of Gulu, Part II

2008-08-26T14:15:00.004-05:00

Photos by Monica Lubitz, CSJ.

Children of Gulu, Part I

2008-08-20T11:46:00.005-05:00

Photos by Monica Lubitz, CSJ

Welcome Home, Pat H. and Monica

2008-08-13T16:01:00.004-05:00

With great joy, awe and appreciation Sisters Monica Lubitz and Patricia Haire returned from Gulu safely last week to the Congregational Center in St. Louis . On Wednesday, August 6th , the Feast of the Transfiguration, they shared with us, the Congregational Leadership Team, and with a number of the Sisters serving in the St. Louis area, some of their experiences and learnings from meeting and being with the people of Gulu during the months of June and July, 2008. They shared meals daily at Archbishp Odama's table and traveled to their possible new ministry site in Amuru with (auxiliary) Bishop Sabino, who made delicious expresso and pasta for them on his portable outdoor stove!

While Pat heard the war stories of many individual primary and secondary school students and teachers, Monica cleaned, held and cared for orphan babies at nearby St. Jude's Orphanage and assisted child mothers with their babies at the health center. Members of the Congregational Team enjoyed welcoming Pat and Monica back, shared informal conversations at meals with them and treated them to "Fiddler on the Roof" performed at the Muny.

As Monica and Pat continue to share their experiences of being in Gulu, may we all continue to keep Archbishop Odama, Bishop Sabino, and all the pastoral leaders and people of Gulu and their efforts for enduring peace and resettlement in our prayers, inviting God’s great compassion and healing love to be fully present and active in all.

Thanks to all of you for helping us share this good news

-Susan, Franny, Elizabeth, Catherine and Laura

Photos: The Sisters and their driver, George, enjoyed American food at the Sheraton in Kampala before taking Monica and Pat to the airport for their trip home; and a street in Kampala. From the nearly 800 photos (!) brought home by Monica!)

Pat and Monica Head Home

2008-08-01T11:20:00.001-05:00

Monica writes: It is 9:45am here [on Friday, August 1]. Pat M., JoAnn and Marion are at language class, leaving Pat H. and I here to pack. They will be home soon. This morning at breakfast the Archbishop and Bishop presented Pat and me with a life history of two of the Ugandan Martyrs, some of their relics in a beautiful little case, a certificate of authenticity and a beautiful rosary that has a medal in the shape of Africa on the back of the cross. It was very touching. I can't tell you how wonderful they are. We had all of them (bishops and priests ) over to our house for a spaghetti supper Wed. night. Pat H. and I made the sauce, garlic bread etc. Everyone pitched in to make it a very memorable evening.
Thank you so much for all your prayers for us. Please continue. We leave here tomorrow morning [Saturday, August 2] at 6am [which is 10pm Friday night CDT] We are going to the source of the Nile near Jinga. Then on Sunday hope to go to the equator before they drop us off at the airport [to fly to the US].

Guests at Our Table

2008-07-28T10:28:00.005-05:00

July 20, 2008

It seems that much time has passed since our last writing, but it may only have been a short time…. We’ll let you be the judges of that!

Let’s begin with the visitors we’ve had. It seems that all the religious women in this area are interested in visiting us… with an invitation to come HERE to dinner. Sister Rose Alba was our first formal visitor. She has been so helpful to us in many ways, so we asked if she would be able to come to our cottage for dinner at 6:00 PM. Her response was so typical of her candor. “At six o’clock? By bedtime my stomach (as she rubbed her tummy area) will be so empty!” Jo Ann immediately responded: “If we wait till 8:00 (THEIR regular time), our stomachs will be…” (at which time Jo mimed acid- reflux) at bedtime.” We all had a good laugh! She arrived for 6:00 dinner the following evening and we all had a very enjoyable meal….left-overs of spaghetti and meat sauce made by Pat H and Monica. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Near the end of the meal Sister felt very hot (possibly a hot-flash) so Jo found her fan advertising the play “Menopause.” We all laughed, but then someone asked if she had herd of that word. She immediately replied “Yes,” then added that it meant “expired” or “off layers.” We tried to correct her, only to discover that she had the correct idea all along…. At menopause, the ovaries are expired, and are no longer laying eggs! Now how is that for a wonderful expression?

Another evening we were expecting Sister Mary, a sister who resides in Amuru where we are slated to go in September. We were very clear about the time…. “six of us at six PM.” Well, six o’clock came, then six fifteen, then… We decided she had forgotten. Just as we finished preparing a plate to save for her in case she showed up later, in walks Sister Mary… But she brought a companion. You should have seen us scramble to hide the prepared plate, to find another place setting and chair, and to make room at our already crowded table! You would have been proud of us!

Those who have ever visited Uganda (and maybe other parts of Africa), you will be happy to know that we purchased our first “Guest Book” to be signed by visitors. For those of you who do not know the custom…. Every place we have visited we have been invited to sign their guest book. In fact, if we visit one office and sign their book, you can be sure that we will be asked to sign again in every other office we went to! It becomes funny after a while, but is a custom. For the sake of archives, it might also be meaningful!

Lest you think we are suffering too much, you should know that Pat Haire has found a way to make wonderful fudge. Pat M has become the official spoon-licker, while Monica and Jo share the pot. We are a sight to behold…

Jo, Marion and Pat M are taking language lessons in Acholi. We have been very studious, but have had many a laugh at our attempts to pronounce a few new sounds… Our facial expressions, which are not necessary to correct pronunciation, when we are trying our hardest, often set off the giggles.

Our attempts to use the internet are still frustrating at every turn. Most of the time we cannot get on-line. When we ARE on-line, the power is likely to go off. Please understand if you have not heard from us personally. There are five of us sharing the computer (the only one that can get on-line in this house), so no one really has much of a chance to write much.

Pat H is still visiting two schools to work with some of the traumatized students. Monica spends time at St. Jude Orphanage with the youngest set of children, a couple of which were newborns, and also at the nursery area at Barogal. This latter place is near one of the camps, and holds tailoring classes for some of the young women (some child-mothers); the nursery cares for their children and other young ones in the camp. Pat M has begun teaching “business skills” to the tailoring class. Jo Ann has been working to try to get the Kairos Clinic completed on that campus so that it can be opened. This is the clinic that the St. Louis Province funded for construction a few years ago. In the meantime, Marion meets with teams of parish leaders who will be making the presentations to their parishioners and helps to structure and present material that is meant to focus on Eucharist and Family.

A week from today the five of us will be in Kampala for our “final fling” with Pat H and Monica before we take them to the airport in the evening. It doesn’t seem possible that two months will have passed by then! These two Sisters will be greatly missed both in our local community and in the places they have been serving.

We continue to encourage your prayer and concern for us and the people we serve. What these people have suffered is unimaginable. Yet, their faith is a constant inspiration to us. Till next time….

Jo Ann, Pat H, Monica, Pat M, and Marion

Visit to Amuru

2008-07-25T12:39:00.005-05:00

Francine spoke with the Sisters in Gulu by phone this morning, and here's the news:Bishop Sabino accompanied the sisters to Amuru yesterday, and he brought a picnic lunch and prepared coffee for all of them. Sr. Jennifer of Mary Immaculate Community went with them. They were met by people of the parish, members of the Parish Council and school children who performed a few dances for them. They toured the rectory in Amuru, and explored some ministry possibilities. One of their findings in Amuru was the closing of one elementary school that had been set up for children living in a part of the Displaced People Camp. The families had returned to their villages, to their land. This is a good sign that peace is becoming a reality in the Gulu district. The other reality of Amuru is the lack of electric power. The institutions rely on generators or solar power.
Marion, Pat and JoAnn have begun studying the Acholi language. The comedy of the study is the teacher's missing front teeth, so they cannot get the correct pronunciation. They have opportunities to try the language with the people in Gulu, but it is a challenge to speak the little they know with the people of Amuru where the dominant language is Acholi. The sisters have a great sense of humor. They laugh over their attempt to speak it.
Photo: A haircut in the kitchen.

Tater Tots in Gulu

2008-07-21T12:50:00.006-05:00

Monica called Sunday morning. Everyone is doing fine, and Marion is much improved after a course of antibiotics. The group does their own cooking on Sunday evenings, and Monica was about to make tater tot hotdish, a Minnesota staple, for supper:

TATER TOT HOTDISH
1/2 bag tater tots
1 lb. hamburger
2 cans cream of celery soup
2 TBSP minced onions
pinch of salt
Brown hamburger in pan with minced onions. Drain the fat. Mix hamburger, cream of celery soup, and salt in a casserole dish. Cover mixture with tater tots. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Monica was going to attempt to make this on the stovetop, rather than in the oven. The sisters eat breakfast and lunch at the Archbishop's residence, and have a woman who cooks for them most evenings.
Monica and Pat H. will be leaving Gulu in early August, and expect to be back in St. Louis on about the 5th.

Photos of Uganda I

2008-07-18T15:26:00.003-05:00

photos by Susan Hames, CSJ

...and a tiny bit of news from Monica, who called on July 17:
Marion is returning to health, thankfully, and everyone else is doing fine.

Catching Up II

2008-07-12T16:02:00.003-05:00

June 24, the feast of St. John the Baptist, is also the feast day of our Archbishop. It is a custom here to celebrate feast days rather than birthdays. Doesn’t that sound familiar to those of us brought up in the traditional days of Postulate and Novitiate? We brought wine and cake to supper that night. The other community of religious women were also there and brought gifts. We all enjoyed ourselves… especially the Archbishop!
It is now July 7, and we are still experiencing difficulty with getting ourselves set up with an internet connection. Right now, we can’t even use the borrowed computer for the internet… Yesterday morning we woke up to find a blinking red light on the phone indicating that it was “in use.” Believe it or not, this lack of internet access seems to be our greatest source of frustration. It has been very time-consuming for all of us. We are so spoiled with fast connectivity at home in the U.S.A.! Sharing a computer that takes nearly five minutes to boot up, and then have no guarantee that we can actually connect to the internet, has caused endless frustration. We have tried to write out our messages on our other computers, then use a flash drive to change to the computer that might get us on the internet, but we need to remove the internet connection to have a place to insert the flash drive! Ahhhh! Life is difficult!
We are learning some new words and phrases in Acholi. We are pleased with ourselves and seem to be a never-ending source of entertainment to some of the Acholi people listening. Most are very understanding and offer some assistance with pronunciation. This morning Marion, Jo Ann, and Pat M began formal lessons to help us communicate with the people among whom we minister. Monica has been making herself useful at St. Jude’s Orphanage; Pat Haire does some counseling at Mary Immaculate School in P7. Marion is getting involved with the Parish Office in Father Santo’s absence, while Jo Ann and Pat Murphy are still contemplating their options. Jo is working towards setting up the clinic at Barogal. Pat Murphy is working up a curriculum to teach some basic business math to the child-mothers (and others) in the tailoring class in the same place.
We’ve all had our tongues hanging out for chocolate, so Pat H indulged us with another of her talents. She made fudge (without a recipe) the evening of July 5; it was so good that we devoured all of it prior to our going to bed! The next morning we were invited to supper at the convent of the Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate up the road from us. Pat made another batch of fudge so we could bring them a gift. They provided us with a wonderful meal of local foods, along with a juice beverage composed of mango, banana, pineapple, and passion fruit. Then they discovered the new plate of fudge and the wine we brought. We ended our time together with dance, drink, and fudge. It was a big hit!
Rain had been scarce during the month of June, except for the two heavy storms we had early in our stay here. But rain has been more “normal” for this area in the past few days… Roads were full of puddles when we returned from our early July trip to Kampala. It has rained two more days since then. So far, none of us has suffered greatly from the rains, but now we are more alert to mosquitoes! Hopefully, our mosquito nets will protect us enough that none of us will get sick.

Life at the Orphanage

2008-07-09T21:39:00.005-05:00

Sister Monica writes:
Life at the orphanage is tough. One thing that's hard to see is that one of the "Mommies" goes around and wipes about ten noses with the same piece of toliet paper. And they have no toys. I bought one ball that was large enough not to go into the waste trough. They loved it. The next time I went out there I brought four more.
They call me "Baba" which means daddy. I asked one of the Mommies why and she said they call all "Zulu's" that because the white ladies almost always wear pants. I said, but I have a skirt on. She said well they just see the white face and arms. Oh well, that is fine.
Anyway they all flocked around me and were real excited about the balls. At first they were not real excited about sharing but I sat them in a semicircle and actually got them to roll it back and forth.
Sister JoAnn went to a clinic yesterday, and a lots of the patients had and were being tested for AIDS and Typhoid.
About snail mail we do have a mail box but no key yet. Strange, but that is how things can be here. I will send the number later or someone will.

Catching Up

2008-07-08T12:51:00.005-05:00

Baya writes: Up to this point, almost all the blog posts here have been culled from emails sent from the sisters in Gulu to the CLT. This morning, I was quite happy to see an email directly from Pat Murphy in my mailbox, with several photos and three pieces written for posting on the blog. Here are the first two, which cover the time period from arrival in Uganda through June 12, their first days. Some of these stories have already made an appearance here, but these two missives fill in a few more details. The third piece Pat sent will be posted later this week.

June 8, 2008

Sunday, June 4, 2008, was such an absolutely beautiful yet simple ceremony of blessing. We were all deeply touched at every turn, with the faces, the music, and the blessings given by nearly everyone present.
The actual physical journey of Team Gulu began on Wednesday, June 4, 2008. The send-off from Carondelet was fabulous, and made us fully aware of the love going to Gulu with us. The
singing of “Sancte Joseph” was especially moving. A special thank you to each of those who
put their work aside to come outside to hug us and wave us off!
Once at the airport, we also had an entourage with us who showed much loving concern for our
well-being. They remained within view, waving, until we were through security and were ready
to move. It was a very long two days that followed!
Our first night (Thursday) in Uganda was spent in Kisubi, at a guest house called Ulrika,
each room with its own cold shower and bed. The following morning we headed for Gulu, via
some shopping in the city of Kampala. Now THERE is a city of traffic! Between Kisubi and
Gulu, most roads consist of two unmarked lanes. The road is used by pedestrians, bicyclists,
and “Boda-Boda” (motorcycle) drivers, all of whose lives are endangered by automobiles which
pass at reckless speeds, zig-zagging across all lanes to avoid huge potholes which could
break an axle. ...To say nothing of the effect on lumbar regions! WE try not to look at what
is directly ahead, lest we distract the driver with our “back-seat” exclamations of fear.…
The photo above is of one of the baboons we saw along the roadside.
We arrived at our “cottage” in Gulu a little after 6:00 PM on Friday, June 6, Gulu time. We
are able to laugh at ourselves and each other, which helps us stay grounded. Each of us has
pitched in to help set up our household, lost at least one item, and had good laughs as we
attempted to say one thing, but words reported something entirely different. We feel that we
are all doing very well during these first few days.
The people have been so very welcoming. Many seemed especially happy to see Sister Marion
Weinzapfel, who is warmly remembered. So far, we have been eating at the Bishop’s house,
although he has not been here in town as yet. Three priests are generally present at our
meals, and we are getting a very interesting education about the politics and religions of
the area during our meal conversations.
In the two days we’ve been here we’ve had both heavy rain and hot sun. We aren’t sure what
the temperature is, but most of us have pulled up the wool blankets on our beds at least one
of the two nights we’ve been here. However, at this moment it is very hot in the sun, but OK
in the house. The food is plentiful, and the fresh-off-the-tree/plant fruit is ever so
scrumptious! Tangerine, pineapple, mango, two kinds of bananas…. And papaya is coming!
We held our first “house meeting” today, and had our first formal prayer session before
dinner. Tomorrow, Monday, we hope to make huge progress by meeting our cook and an on-site coordinator for this compound, who will assist us with solving any problems we may encounter
on the premises.
Watch for more news to come from Team Gulu! Peace to each of you!
Reporter: Pat Murphy

Monday through Wednesday (06/09-06/12)
Well, you may have noticed that we did not get on-line on Monday as hoped. Rather, Father
Santo sent his computer with phone connection over to us, along with his secretary (Richard)
to set it up. By our standards, the computer has an extremely slow processor, little memory,
and a dial-up connection. With five of us trying to retrieve mail and send a few messages,
none of us accomplished much that evening. The following morning, we accidentally erased
Father’s login name, and we spent a few hours attempting to get around the issue to no
avail. We got back on-line Wednesday morning with the aid of Richard, and spent most of the
day with the computer on-line. However, we hesitated to attempt to set up the blog because
of the time it would take to upload the photos.
We actually did other things during those days… Some workers have been sent to us to help
correct some problem areas, so we took turns staying around the house to welcome and direct
them. We met a very efficient Doreen Grace, coordinator of workers on the compound; Eunice
and Esther, who did our laundry by hand over at the priest’s area (also ironed); Esther will
be also be our cook, beginning in a couple of weeks. Some carpenters came and put up poles
on our beds so we could put up our mosquito nets, and a plumber, Jacob, worked for
three-quarters of a day trying to make our toilet flush without using a pan to fill the tank
or bowl. Jacob was quite thrilled that we wanted to know his name, and then we thanked him
using his name. He finally smiled!
On Tuesday four of us paid a visit to Sister Helen at Mary Immaculate Primary School. Very
impressive! Some classes are as large as 115 in a single room with a single teacher. A class
of 145 was divided into two groups. Primary consists of our grades 1 through 7, mostly
boarders, but many of the children are much older than our U.S. norm, since many are
returning from captivity without any formal schooling. There are many very sad stories we
have heard. We visited the infirmary where we saw two bunk beds, but nine sick children,
mostly from malaria. In one dormitory we saw triple-decker beds, not all of which had
mattresses – family couldn’t provide one! Unreal for us.
While four of us were visiting the school, Marion and Father Santo went to Kampala to settle
the paperwork on the car and purchase a refrigerator and other supplies for us. Well, the
first evening there the car was broken into while they were at dinner. Much time was spent
with the police since much was stolen! Police aren’t anxious to help speed things up unless
you “grease their palm.” At least neither of them was harmed.
When we were reminded of the meetings going on in Albany, we thought about the time frame
for the Gulu dream. We entertained a “pregnant moment” when Marion said she presented her
dream to the CLG last September, and here we are, nine months later, sitting in our Gulu
cottage!
The Archbishop has returned from the “bush” where he had tried to make the signing of the
peace treaty a reality. He is a brave and humble man with a great sense of humor. Very
human! He invited us to participate in a special liturgy tomorrow, celebrating the postponed
feast of the Sacred Heart.

Shrine of the Martyrs

2008-07-06T09:44:00.001-05:00

Took Santo to the Airport,did shopping, returning things etc, but the high light was visiting the Shrine of the Martyrs. Benedict, he was quick to tell us proudly just like the pope) gave us a tour. The shrine is beautiful - the young men (really boys/ some aged 14and 15) who willingly gave their lives for their faith - are really an inspiration. They were tortured severly and then burned as slowly as possible. It makes one shiver. These young boys were all working for the king. When it came time to pledge allegiance and take an oath to the king they would not - thus they were sentenced to death - after many opportunities to change their mind. None waver. We were told that this same king later became a christian. There is always hope! We received two wardrobes from the workshop which have been very helpful in terms of not so much living out of suitcases for everything. Just makes life a little easier. Yes everyday we realize in some way that we are accustomed to so very much. However I think I can speak for all of us when I say we really are adjusting quite well. Will talk with you in a couple of days!! Hope this attachment goes through. God speed and thank you and all the sisters for their continued support and prayers - we surely feel them. Love JoAnn G.

Safari and More

2008-07-05T21:24:00.000-05:00

Greetings, All, Thanks you again for the messages!
On Thursday and Friday have had a delightful trip to Kalabega or Murchison Falls National Park. We enjoyed seeing many antelopes and a number of giraffe as we drove into the park to Paraa Safari Lodge. At one point along the road our convoy of three vechicles halted and the first car began to back up. We had just spotted an elephant and were manuevering to get pictures and realized that the elephant was heading for us! We were in his path as he was crossing a portion of the road. We had experienced drivers, Fr. Santo and Fr. Lawrence with a group from the US as well as our own driver, so thank goodness they knew to back up and keep quiet. The elephant went his way! Dinner at the Lodge was very special--Nile Perch!
The next morning we went out on Safari and our guide was very knowledgabe. We saw many cape buffalo, many more giraffes, warthogs, many, many antelope and some interesting birds. During the afternoon we took a boat of the Nile--of happy memory when Marcellina treated our first 2004 Team Africa group to this experience and again, it was spectacular. Actually before we boarded the boat we saw a group of elephants, a large male and two medium ones as well as three little ones all crossing the road we had just driven by and people did not back up and stood there watching them as they were headed in the opposite direction down by the river. Beautiful! Herds and herds of elephants came to the river and hippos were there by the hundreds. We learned that the edges of the River Nile are shallow and the hippos with their short horns and eyes showing were actually standing up! At several points they were crossing a wetland in between the shallow and the main part of the river and would end up sort of belly flopping off into the deeper water! Also, a hippo was grazing ont the front lawn of the lodge as we drove down to the boatride! We have great pictures of all of this. Hope to send some of those when we get more efficient internet service. Our tech, Philipp, is off on vacation until this week.
We saw crocodiles under trees just before reaching the Falls which are so beautiful. The squeezing of the expansive Nile into this small area results in vast power as it drops down. The waters churn so much that you have to stop at a certain point. It was truly the most relaxing thing we've done.
Yesterday I went to town to catch Atim Otii and the Girls Basketball Camp. It was great. She and her group were in full swing with the two groups really enjoying their workout. Half of the group had had previous learning and they were going to work with them again in the afternoon. Atim had great rapport with the girls and all was going beautifully. They will be here this week. Also met Doreen and Angela and Emmanuel on the way into town. Several of the sisters were doing the shopping with the help of Esther our cook, and Alonga George our driver, to set up our kitchen for our supper. We are now having supper at our cottage.
While waiting, I had a very interesting conversation with two security men Atim had hired. They were young guys working now for the Gulu police dept. One had been a UPDF soldier and then run away. He worked first in Kampala and now for Gulu. He also works at the Sudanese embassy here. He said their main problem in town is theft but nothing like Kampala! I asked him if there were police in Amuru and he said yes; that the area is secure. Actually, he said things are pretty good right now all through the north except for the Karamong, cattlle-rustlers who readily kill in the Northeast. They are trying to do something about them. He's a member at Holy Rosary and just a delightful young man. His companion was younger and shyer.
We are meeting at Christ the King Demonstration School tomorrow to talk with a man who teaches there and might become our language tutor. Sr. Rosalba whom some of you know is now headmistress of the Demonstration School for the Teacher Training College.
Mass this morning was beautiful as always. Had a chance last Tues. to interview the retired Anglican Bishop of Kitgum was is an old buddy of the Archbishop and was talking about the justice system here. He began by telling me the old old story of two brothers that caused the people to reflect and begin to change their ways. I have it written and am not sure yet what to do with it. I've also got another story of two brothers that Archbishop Odama told that shows restorative justice--full circle from the old violent story. The Anglican Bishop also spelled out the whole system of Mato Oput, the Forgiveness and Restoration of the community. I've heard and read snatches but it was rich to get it from this man who has been in the bush with our Archbishop and the Acholi Religious Leaders meeting the LRA and trying all these years to firm up the peace process.
On Tues. we will take Fr. Santo to Kampala for his plane to GB on Wed. We will stop at the US Embassy to register and visit Namugongo, the shrine of the Martyrs and who knows what else. Hoping to get back to Plumpy'nut for a demonstration and back to Barogal by the end of the week. Our psychologist is doing some work at the nearby school. Others making contact here and there.
This afternoon I go with Fr. Santo to meet with the church leaders at Holy Rosary to form our team presentation for the Sundays in July and August in all of Gulu vicariate. So--worked on my presentation yesterday and together we will tweak our presentations today. Enough!
Love you all, think of you--eg the Cure d'Ars community especially at Sunday Mass, and family, sisters, friends. Love, Marion

Safari

2008-07-02T18:05:00.000-05:00

Dear Sisters,
We had a marvelous time at Murchison Falls! We were to leave here Thursday morning around 9:30, but didn't actually move until 11:00. Our "Olanyo George" is a very responsible driver and is also a car mechanic, so we know we are in good hands. My own camera didn't have a memory card in it (which I hadn't realized) so my photos were limited, but the others have some fabulous shots which we hope to be able to share some day. Even before we arrived at the lodge we saw a huge variety of animals.
Our accommodations were very nice. We were welcomed with a small glass of juice and a warm wet towel. Shortly after we arrived, there was a group of baboons who climbed to the second story balcony of one of the rooms and stole their food. One of the young people traveling with us got photos of them in action! There was also a hippo that made itself at home on our front lawn....
The safari trip began around 7:20 AM Friday morning... Our guide was Henry, who has been a guide for two years in this park, but three years in another park. He spoke good English so we could ask lots of questions and understand his replies. There was an exciting moment when he noticed that the animals were not acting in a normal fashion. Once he pointed this out, we also became aware. The animals were all standing very still facing in one direction. He had George drive off-road, and then stood on the door-jam with binoculars to scan the horizon. We thought we might be going to see a lion! But, no... There were some people gathering firewood near-by which had alerted the creatures. Not a problem. So we piled back into the van and continued.
We were going to return to Gulu by a different route by crossing the Nile on the ferry, but the ferry broke down. Our secondary plan was arranged to take the boat up to the falls. We were all down at the river front awaiting the captain, but I suddenly felt nauseous and light-headed. I decided to stay at the lodge this time, assuming that there would be another opportunity during the three years here. The others had a wonderful time and have exciting photos to share. (I am doing fine, now.)
On the way down to the Nile for the boat ride a group of elephants were munching on the trees and sauntered across the road. The guards encouraged the photographers to get out of the vehicle to take pictures, saying it was safe as long as we stayed on our side of the gate. Two babies were with them. Again, great photos! Wait till you see how close they were to us!
Herds of giraffes were another common site. We even found a small turtle crossing the road. Of course, we also saw some very unusual and beautiful birds like the ibis, guinea fowl, egrets sitting on the backs of hippos, storks, and crested cranes.
We arrived home in Gulu around 7:30, fixed supper in hysterical laughter, and all went to bed very shortly. The laughter surrounded our supper preparations.... On the way home we had discussed having fried egg sandwiches or buying "take-home." Egg sandwiches won out, so we stopped and purchased bread and eggs. However, we then discovered we had no fry pan! We ended up with boiled eggs and sliced avocado.... Not bad, but you had to be here to appreciate the fun.
This morning it took two hours before the computer was up and running, and the first e-mail went through. We had started the process at 7:00 AM, but the lines were sporadic in availability. Then we had some guests... Esther had arrived at 8:15 to go shopping, but started cleaning since the shoppers weren't ready. Then George came to get the key for the car. Then a Jesuit, Father Tony, stopped by just to make connections. He is working on setting up a secondary school near Lacor and had communicated with Jo Ann earlier. And before anyone could leave for errands, Father Matthew arrived to meet Father Tony! Can't you picture all of us gathered in this little kitchen? Tony glanced back and said something to the effect of "And all five of you are in this tiny place?" We assured him that we were, but that we were also handling it amazingly well.
Gratefully and prayerfully,
Pat Murphy

Leaning Into Peace

2008-06-26T12:02:00.002-05:00

Hope all is well and things going great. Appreciate your notes and in time will respond personally.

We are doing amazingly well—everybody healthy and taking things in stride. We’ve learned that the “bombs” dropping on our tin roof are only mangoes! And, with expert advice we all know have about 3 different ways to go at eating them! Albert, you would be proud of us! I’ve always avoided mangoes because I never could slice them well. No longer!!!

On Wednesday we went out to Amuru—not time to walk through the camps and we hadn’t arranged to walk through buildings, but it was a great opportunity to see it overall. The land is more beautiful than I remembered, the people very, very poor and what’s tremendously hopeful is that there is a new town building up as this is a new government district. The town has one beautiful building complete—administration—and a health center, water dept. etc. in process. This is all in stark contrast to the huts around. The current pastor has looked at some 30 acres of land that will be available to the church for a new church or other development.

From what I can read and see, about half the population of the various camps have returned home to try to rebuild villages. Some fear rides just below the surface as the people have lived so long with this war. The bishops and priests here are trying to encourage the people as they feel that the potential for all to be well is much higher than for anything to turn around again. In our Trauma work Team Africa did last summer we had the story about a woman who had run out of any food and then put on a pot of stones to boil for her hungry children as she went out in the bush to see if she couldn’t find something. Leaning into peace is more productive than waiting for war.

We have also visited Lacor Hospital which I appreciate much more this round. Toured it in 2004 and the stark contrast to our hospitals was so overwhelming that I didn’t see anything else. Earlier in the week we went to Barogal to see the child mothers and look at the progress on the clinic our CSJ’s are building. We were late so we missed most of the child mothers but will see them Tuesday if not Monday when we go to Plumpy’nut. The clinic is coming along.

We now have a driver! This really helps us feel like we can start managing ourselves a little. His name is Olanya George and he’s very pleasant. He actually did the driving to Amuru [with Fr. Santo] and since, he’s taken us to town and various places. Amuru took about 1 and ½ hours but I think it’s only about 30 miles. The first third or so is on the Juba Road which is terrible because of all the lorries that go to the Sudan [just keep rutting the road] but the last 2/3 rd’s isn’t so bad.

Electricity went out today but came on again this evening. Most of the pieces and parts of our little cottage are now functioning pretty well. Staff here are really nice and quite skilled.

We have our own post office box now—think it’s 409—don’t have the key yet as they still had to change the lock. Will confirm later. We have done a little banking business and are treated very well. Actually, privileged, but right now it’s extremely helpful.

We might take a little trip to Murchison Falls next week before Fr. Santo leaves so that Monica and Pat Haire will have a chance to see it.

Monica is concentrating on St. Jude’s Orphanage; Pat H. on Mary Immaculate School where she will start some group sessions Sat. The rest of us are still feeling our way for the work of the next two months.

Thanks so much for your prayers and know that you are remembered in ours.

Love,Marion

A Letter from Marion

2008-06-23T22:25:00.004-05:00

From the CLT: All are doing well. Team members are meeting many people on visits to St. Jude's Orphanage, two primary schools in Gulu, Kairos Health Center, Lacor Hospital, and Plumpynut agency. They report beginning to get ideas for where they can serve best. They have visited Amuru, met people in the camp there and Fr. Romano, the pastor. Amid adjusting to new foods, new living quarters and learning a lot at meals in the archbishop's residence, they are in very good spirits and eager to be able to communicate more. Working on computer is slow; internet connections are slow and sporadic; electrical connections are on and off; all this and trips away and ministry visits leave a limited amount of time for communicating more directly so far. Here are excerpts from letters from Marion we can share:

June 15, 2008
We are really doing very well thanks to the welcome of the people and all your prayers and energy sent this way. Of course there are little hitches but we are dealing with the major stuff and have learned not to sweat the small stuff. All of this makes for great bonding at the hip among us. Everyone has pitched in and we've had some great sharing. I did have to go back to Kampala with Fr. Santo over last weekend to drop papers concerning the title of the car and to buy a refrigerator, etc. and change money. Unfortunately our car was broken into as we sat in a very nice Italian restaurant with a garden. Fr. Santo saw the light go on in the car and he, his niece Irene [incredibly helpful to me in shopping] and Bosco, a mechanic who was driving us in Kampala all went to see and of course the car next to ours drove away with all our stuff. I lost $$$ and little things, but Fr. Santo lost more. The next day as we went to arrange transport for the refrigerator, you can bet I wore my coat zipped up through the crowds! We are fine, just a little more aware and I've learned that all those little things you thought you really needed aren't even close to being important! Wonderful meetings with the Archbishop and Bishop Sabino who is the one we will work closely with.

We are slated for Amuru which the Bishop feels is quite safe at this time, especially as it backs up on two sides to the national forrest. We are going out there Wednesday. We had a great meeting yesterday with Dr. Beatrice and her husband Mpora. She will organize an effort at Barogal where our St. Louis CSJ ministry fund has built a small dispensary/clinic. Ultimately they hope to make this a small NGO with outreach at other sites in the Gulu Archdiocese. It's known as Kyros. Her husband, a teacher at Gulu U., is also managing the planning to get it up and going. It's to be a wholistic health center. It will probably be July when the building is finished but we are going to use Kyros as a stepping stone for our acclamatization to learn to know the people and situation which then we'll transfer to Amuru for more concentrated work there.

We won't go to Amuru until Fr. Santo gets back from UK--end of Aug or so. Meanwhile we will go down there next Tues. with the two teachers from last summer--Christine and Sr. Rosalba. I'm looking forward to seeing the child mothers. While I was gone to K, the sisters here visited several schools. Monday evening we all stopped by St. Jude's orphanage to play with the children. The headmistress and workers are still there! Tomorrow some of us might go back there because it's in walking distance.

We are learning an incredible amount at the table for meals and on the veranda waiting for meals. The two bishops, a professor at a college, the priest for the novitiate of LSMI, and the new head of the Tribunal which is just opening. It was a little awkward at first but I think they are actually enjoying us now. The discussion of the war situation, peace struggle, and historical bits is really interesting.

Today we went to the 10 Mass which is the children's Mass--no kidding--98 percent children with little ones toting little ones. They were amazingly well behaved and it was very moving to me to pray and sing with them. Our loving God can't help but hear their needs and praise. There is a change for the better here from last summer in that the spirit seems lighter. However you only scratch a bit and there's deep sadness--our driver into town just now said one of his children died last year--poisoned. I am so happy and feel very privileged to be here!

I do hope everyone is doing well--thinking of all the Cure d'Ars family, Mary Kay and the Denver sisters, and so many of you throughout the USA. Susan and Francine of the congregational office are just marvelous. We talk at length every few days. By the way our second phone number is 0752-391-328. I had given out an incorrect number at first. We are eight hours ahead of St. Louis and nine ahead of Denver. With great love and gratitude for you care and prayers.

S. Marion

Daily Life

2008-06-18T11:46:00.005-05:00

Baya writes: Here are some excerpts from an email message which arrived this morning from one of the sisters in Gulu:

"We go to daily Mass at 7:00am so our day starts fairly early. After that we go to the Archbishop's dining room, which is very simple. We have been eating with him and about 5 priests. The Archbishop is a wonderful man, a very common man who exudes peace and calm. We have had a good education at the table and a lot of laughs.

"The roads are very narrow, filled with people walking, bicycles, motorcycles and animals.

"The drumming here is wonderful.

"Our meal times are about 8:00am, 1:00pm and about 730-8:00pm. The food here has been good and plentiful. There are some new foods. The meat is very tough.

"Three dogs are turned loose around 9:30pm and put in about 6:40am and we do not go out at all when they are out. We also have two donkeys, goats, and pigs and chickens. The rooster is very noisy.

"We are getting ready to leave for Amuro where the main ministry will be once Fr. Santo is back from his two month Sabbatical in England.

"Hopefully soon we will have steady [internet] connections."

The photo is by Susan Hames, CSJ, and shows the house where the sisters live in Gulu.

Highlights from the June 1 Ritual

2008-06-13T18:56:00.004-05:00

Here are the brief statements the five Gulu Sisters made at the ritual blessing at Carondelet on June 1.
Scroll down to view a 7-minute video of highlights of that blessing.

Sister Pat Haire (LA)

In Phil 3:12-13 we read, “Christ has taken hold of me so I keep on running.” It was sixty –one years ago that I said “yes” to God and entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Today, I feel humbled and honored to be a part of our Congregation’s new “Project Uganda.”
My love and special attraction for people of African roots was evident even as a very small child. I begged my parents to buy me a black baby doll I saw in the window of our neighborhood hardware store. They gave it to me for my fourth birthday. It is still my most treasured possession. My early attraction to and respect for my black brothers and sisters has deepened and grown over the years.
Once again, Christ has taken hold of me so I keep on running. I feel so privileged to be called to serve the people in the Diocese of Gulu, Uganda.

Sister JoAnn Geary (SL)

For me it’s about connections, it’s about relationships, it’s about recognizing needs. So it’s my connection with Marion (Weinzapfel), her relationship and subsequently mine, with Marcellina and Albert (Otii) and its hearing the stories of Marion being with the people—a people suffering under the violence of war for more than 20 years, the fear and horror of children being kidnapped to be child soldiers and the devastation of the mind, body and spirit that results. And yet, you hear of the beauty of the people, their deep faith and resilience and their energizing capacity to forgive.
And so I offer myself and my gifts to be used as the people see fit. As we walk with the people we’ll figure it out together. My past experience tells me I have much to learn from the Acholi people. And I fell ready to open to receive their gifts and their wisdom as I humbly offer mine.

Sister Monica Lubitz (SP)

Two of my childhood dreams have come true within the last ten years. The first one was in 2003 when I made my final vows as a sister. The second one is happening now. When I was a little girl I used to get a white dishtowel and put it on my head and get all my dolls out and pretend that I was a sister taking care of the babies in Africa. I am ready to go and minister to all the people there in any way I can. I worked as a Pediatric nurse for over 30 years and I will put those skills and any others that I have to help the people. I feel very fortunate and blessed to have this opportunity. I am grateful and thank all of you who made this possible.

Sister Pat Murphy (SL)

When the invitation came to join the discerning group in Denver in late February I responded affirmatively. The Sunday following that, the opening song at Mass was "The Summons" … "Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?" I cried through the first three verses. Towards the end of our time in Denver we were given time to go off on our own to discern our response to what we had heard. God gave me a different song this time: "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord; plans of fullness, not of harm, to give you a future and a hope." I sensed that I was being told that I should not be afraid to say yes, and that the future and hope was for the people of Uganda. Time has passed, and much activity has taken place. This morning, as I was thinking about my call, I was given a new song: “Amazing Grace." Nothing else but Grace would sustain me and keep me so peaceful inside.

Sister Marion Weinzapfel (SL)

With the invitation from Marcellina and Albert Otii, our Team Africa from Denver went to Uganda in 2004. My heart was caught by the night commuters who walked to town to sleep in safety.In 2007 we returned…several of us stayed over and attended vocational school with the Barogal child mothers…We offered little beyond our simple presence and came to know that it was important and appreciated.
Everything in me wants not to turn my back on them but to affirm the love of God that has sustained them and brought them and all the people of Acholiland through immense suffering; to affirm God present in their midst, and to be privileged to walk with them.
In scripture, the discernment of spirits or gifts lies in the community. I am overwhelmed today at the support given first of all by my provincial team egging me on and then amazingly by the congregational leadership past and present who have taken this up, even to visiting Uganda themselves. I am overwhelmed as we stand here in the heartbeat of God’s love for us with our faces turned toward the Acholi people of northern Uganda.

This video is 7 minues long and includes sound. It may take a few minutes to get started.

The Acholi Language

2008-06-12T19:46:00.007-05:00

Morembe!
Hello!

Baya writes: I had a brief phone call last Sunday morning from Pat Murphy and Monica Lubitz in Uganda. At that time they had not yet worked out a way to have internet access. Since they themselves have not yet posted anything to their blog, I'm assuming that means they're still working on getting it. So I figure, while we wait for them to speak for themselves, maybe we could improve ourselves by learning to speak a few words of the language of Gulu!

Our sisters are ministering among the Acholi people, who speak the Acholi language. Acholi is a language primarily spoken by the Acholi people in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, a region known as Acholiland in northern Uganda. Acholi is also spoken in the southern part of the Opari District of Sudan. Acholi is a Western Nilotic language, classified as Luo, and is mutually intelligible with Lango and other Luo languages. As of 1996 there were reported approximately 773,800 Acholi speakers in the world.
Acholi has vowel harmony: all vowels in a word have to belong to a single class. There are two sets of five vowels.Acholi is also a tonal language. Thus, some words may be distinguished by tone alone, e.g. bèl (low) 'wrinkled' vs. bél (high) 'corn' and kàl (low) 'place enclosed by a palisade' vs. kál (high) 'millet'. Tone furthermore plays a role in verb conjugation.

Download Essentials of Acholi, a small language textbook for speakers of English.

Get a short Acholi-English ~ English-Acholi Dictionary.

They've Arrived!

2008-06-06T11:04:00.005-05:00

Great News! The Sisters headed to Gulu have arrived safely in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. There they planned to get a good night's sleep at a guest house in preparation for driving to Gulu today. The Congregational Leadership Team talked with them by phone at 3:00 pm St. Louis time yesterday. Their flights and connections were good. Fr. Santo met them in Entebbe. They send greetings and love to all! Thank you for your prayers and continuing support!

On Their Way...

2008-06-05T09:52:00.001-05:00

Amy Hereford, CSJ, from the St. Louis Province, is studying in Belgium this year. She met the five sisters who are on their way to Uganda this morning when their flight landed in Brussels. See the photos and read her story at her blog.

Blessing for Uganda Ministry

2008-06-03T16:01:00.003-05:00

The five sisters going to Gulu, Uganda for ministry were blessed by the congregation at Carondelet, St. Louis, Missouri, on Sunday, June 1, 2008.

Marion Weinzapfel, Susan Hames, Marceline, Joanne Geary, Monica Lubitz, Albert, Pat Haire, Pat Murphy, Francine Costello

The Sisters going to Gulu were invited to form a circle in the middle.

Each one was then blessed by everyone present.

Laly Leigh prays a blessing with Pat Haire.

Let us pray: Bin Tipu Maleng- Come Holy Spirit-

You who call us to be in solidarity with the Acholi people of Gulu

and the people of Uganda.

We witness your call in Jo Ann Geary, Marion Weinzapfel,

Monica Lubitz, Patricia Murphy, and Patricia Haire.

Today we pray your deepest blessing upon them

and give them our love and support anew.

Pour out, in and through them, the great Mystery and More

of your love, your wisdom, your sheer aliveness,

your forgiveness and your peace.

Accompany them and bind us all together with them
and the people of Uganda in ever deepening communion.

May the suffering of the Acholi people lead, through your love,

to liberation and full, integral life.

In the name of Jesus, our beloved elder brother

and You, Holy Spirit- Tipu Maleng- we pray now and always.

Amen.

About Uganda

2008-05-25T23:02:00.001-05:00

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa, bordered on the east by Kenya, the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, within which it shares borders with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.
Uganda is home to many different ethnic groups, none of whom form a majority of the population. Around forty different languages are regularly and currently in use in the country. English became the official language of Uganda after independence.
The most widely spoken local language in Uganda is Luganda, spoken predominantly in the urban concentrations of Kampala, the capital city, and in towns and localities in the Buganda region of Uganda which encompasses Kampala. The Lusoga and Runyankore languages follow, spoken predominantly in the south-eastern & south-western parts of Uganda respectively.
Swahili, a widely used language throughout eastern and central Africa, was approved as the country's second official national language in 2005, though this is somewhat politically sensitive. Though the language has not been favoured by the Bantu-speaking populations of the south and southwest of the country, it is an important lingua franca in the northern regions. It is also widely used in the police and military forces, which may be a historical result of the disproportionate recruitment of northerners into the security forces during the colonial period. The status of Swahili has thus alternated with the political group in power. For example, Amin, who came from the northwest, declared Swahili to be the national language.
According to the census of 2002, Christians made up about 84% of Uganda's population. The Catholic Church has the largest number of adherents (41.9%), followed by the Anglican Church of Uganda (35.9%). The next most reported religion of Uganda is Islam, with Muslims representing 12% of the population.
The Census lists only 1% of Uganda's population as following Traditional Religions, and 0.7% are classified as 'Other Non-Christians,' including Hindus. Judaism is also practised in Uganda by a small number of native Ugandans known as the Abayudaya. One of the seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship is located on the outskirts of Kampala.
Uganda has a very young population, with a median age of 15 years.
This information is from Wikipedia. Click here to read the entire article.