Join us in a Day of Prayer for Rain, Thursday, Sept. 5th



Here in the Makondo area, the last rainy season ended abruptly in May, a few weeks earlier than expected, and there has been no rain since.  In the last weeks of July, the people of the area begin to prepare the grounds for planting of gardens.  No tractors, no rototillers, just good old manual labor digging up the dry parched soil from the dry season.  However, the fields are full of song and praise as the hard work is being done -- all in anticipation of the rains coming to revive the land and crops to grow.  Crops mean food, and hopefully money.  It is how the people of the village survive.  There are no King Soopers or Safeways around the corner -- food is all grown, harvested, and consumed by the family and what is left over is potentially sold as income.

Each person you meet here will tell you that the rains always come on Aug. 15 -- The Assumption of Mary, followed by two more weeks of sunshine to finish the planting, and then the rains come!  We still do not know quite what to expect during the rainy season, but it has been described to us as 2 to 4 hours of monsoon type rain each day.  The average rain fall here, in Uganda, during the monsoon season according the Internet is about 30 inches.  However, as of today in Makondo, there has been less than 1 inch of rain since May -- the worst drought that the people here can remember!

This Thursday, September 5, there will be a special prayer service held here at the parish along with adoration.  The people of the Makondo area truly believe that they have committed sins to the point that they are being punished by God.  They will gather together to pray and ask for forgiveness.  Let us join with them on Thursday asking God to send the rain to Makondo Parish and throughout Uganda. 

Kris & Dean

Milestone 50



(CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SJSS CONSTRUCTION PHOTO ALBUM)

Hello Friends! Kris and I apologize for the delay in putting up fresh new material on the blog. For our Nativity family, please look at the Nativity High School link for some new additions.

Today is day 50! Wow! It seems very hard to believe that we have been living in Uganda for the last 50 days. It seems to be much less. We are starting to get into a normal routine. Well, as normal as it can be living in Uganda. For instance, we live at the rectory with 3 priests. Fr. Pasqual, Fr. Joseph and Fr. Andrew. Our room is 12 x 11. In that 132 sq. feet, we have a full sized bed, two desks, two chairs and 5 suitcases that we use as dressers. We do have a small storage room inside of our room, 5ft x 1ft that I made into a closet for hanging clothes. That made Kris happy! The bathroom is down the hall and we all share it. We are in a drought, the water harvesting tanks are empty. Water is carried in 5 gallon “jerry cans” from a natural spring about 1 mile away. That means, no running water! Showers are taken using a basin and bucket, cold showers unless you take time to heat water on the fire! I am getting used to cold showers, especially after a run. Here we do have the luxury of electricity. 1 outlet in our room. You can only imagine how it looks with a power strip and about 6 things plugged into it!

We have a small motorbike we use for transportation. It is also used as our truck! So far, I have carried a 5 ft. piece of metal bar on it from Kiwangala (closest trading center) about 3 miles away, a full case of water and a bunch of bananas! Kris is sitting side saddle the bike. Women do not “straddle” the bike like the do in America. Kris has mastered the side saddle riding and is now more comfortable that way than straddling it. I think because now she can jump off more quickly. She had to jump off the day we were carrying the case of water! We were climbing a very steep hill with the water on the very back, I had to shift down half way up the hill! Well, with the extra weight of the water on the back, and the lower gear, the front tire came up very nicely making for a perfect wheelie! Kris had to bail off! We laugh now but it was a learning experience!

Kris and I are a team here in Uganda. My part as most of you know is the construction of the Fire Alarm Services Science Lab at the St. James Secondary School. All I can really tell you is that construction is going great and is ahead of schedule and a click under budget at this time. I take no credit for this! The Head Mistress Juliet and Vincent, the Chairman of the Board of Governors are watching every penny spent. The “Building Inspector” for the diocese is Fr. Kizito. He is looking at each phase of construction and bringing many great ideas to the project. So far, Fr. Kizito is very happy with the progress and the craftsmanship of the lab! Here are some pictures of phases 1-5 of the lab. The lab has a total of 9 phases, so we are almost half way done! The rains are coming soon, and that will slow progress.

I hope you enjoy the photos and please respond! We love to hear from all of our friends at home!

God Bless you all, and please keep us in your prayers!

Peace and all good,

Dean & Kris

A Celebration!

 

Friday was graduation, and Saturday was a time for celebration for several privileged young adults throughout Uganda who received diplomas.  We had the honor of attending the graduation party of Robert and Lydia, two Into Your Hands-Africa, Hands of Hope Scholar Students who received their diplomas from Kyotera Vocational Institute.  Robert received his diploma in Business Administration and Planning, Lydia received her diploma in Guidance and Counseling. 

As we celebrated this special day with them, they talked about their plans for the future, how they can possibly make a difference in their communities, and frequently spoke of how grateful they, and their families, are for their sponsors who helped them to achieve this day through their ongoing support.  The community also expressed their appreciation for the support they receive from Into Your Hands.

The party was at Lydia’s home as Robert’s parents were unable to attend due to illness.  He shared with us that his parents were very proud of him but are in the hospital.  We did not ask for him to share the reason on his special day, but only assume it is possibly AIDS – an illness which still impacts much of the Ugandan community and leaves many of the students, our program supports, as orphans. 

However, this day there were no grim faces in the crowd as the whole community joined in the celebration of this joyous occasion – one that is only recognized by a select few who are lucky enough to receive sponsors.  

Dressed in their best second-hand clothes for this special day, look at the faces of Robert and Lydia and imagine being there with them… and with us – truly a Kodak moment! 

 

Kris & Dean