A little R&R

Of all the cities in the world our favorite seems to be San Francisco. We had the pleasure of spending some time in "The City". We did some good tourist fun, Pier 39, Cable car, Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's wharf. WE had a great time. You will notice one of the pictures Toby was actually driving the cable car. Go figure??? He makes friends where ever we go. The driver set him up and then stepped out of the way so it appeared he was doing it all. After all the travel (Geoff slept in a different place 6 nights in a row) we really needed the family time. We splurged, eating fish and chips, mini donuts, and then everyone got their own chocolate bar :-) Not good on the tummy...but someone has got to do it. 3 weeks left in the states and we will try to eat our way through them. Merry Christmas everyone, may the full meaning of the holiday saturate your life.

Clear day in LA

2000 miles on the car and we are only half way into our time here in the states. We are currently staying in Long Beach with Mary's parents and really enjoying our time. Things have been busy, but a good busy. Friends, family and plenty of TACO'S!!! You never know how much you miss something until it is gone, and then until you have it again. If we could only import "Super Mex" to Uganda, I would be the best customer. Today we went to the top of Signal Hill in Long Beach and the air was clear (not normal for S. Cal) and you could see Catalina, the snowy mountains and downtown LA. It was great! One thing to note, in Uganda you get used to a different type of driving, lawless! But it all happens at a fairly slow speed. Well here in S. Cal I am having to get used to driving at full speed in heavy traffic. Try 70 MPH in nearly bumper to bumper...I guess I have lost something my driving touch because it now makes me quite nervous :-) Greetings from all the beach bums.

American Experiences

Well we are here. Enjoying all the blessings of the United States of America. "GOD BLESS AMERICA", and especially Walmart. I never thought I would say that, but after 18 months of living in the bush I am really appreciating the conviniences of America. Being able to run down to Safeway for ice cream, frozen burritos, Starbucks, driving in an orderly manner, no potholes and no cows to run over is really nice. Really the highlight of being home has been catching up with friends. Being able to hang out, talk and play games with old friends has been great. Not to mention hot showers. We are currently enjoying some time in Estes Park with Geoff's parents as we were blessed with 5 nights at a condo in the mountains. Thank you to the ones responsible. Another 7 days and we head to California, we will write again soon.

In Loving Memory

This past week we experienced a very sad event as we suddenly lost one of our beloved sons. Emmanuel Musinguzi Ruyondo, died at the age of 20 from a thromboembolism. Emma was a remarkable young man who always had a smile and loved everyone. In the 1 ½ years we have been here he left a huge impact on all of us by bringing into our home the joy God gave him. Few people I have met in life have touched as many as Emma did, yet he was only 20 years old. The founder of New Hope, Jay Dangers, was one of many who spoke at the very moving burial service. He shared that he could not recall even one complaint about Emma from a staff member or child. In thinking back over our time here, I realize the truth of what Jay shared. Nor do I remember Emma ever speaking ill of anyone either. He was loved by all who came in contact with him. The good that was in Emma was from God and we give Him praise and thanks for making Emma and for filling him with His spirit. Even though we don’t understand his death we are able to say “Praise be to the God of Emma!”

Isaiah 55:8-13 - For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways ," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. "For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the LORD for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

Village Sunday

Today was an exciting day! We held another baptism service today and baptized 18 people. It was loads of fun. Especially fun was that one of the 18 was Toby! He told me the last time we baptized that he wanted to be included, but I really didn't think he was ready. But a few weeks ago when we announced it he came and made his request again. So after losing one of his flip flops in the mud and getting over that he took the plunge. Also we saw a large group from one of our families here that less than one year ago was experiencing turmoil. With some good parenting and alot of prayer and healing many of them came to be baptized. Many of our young people are desperate for their lives to be changed and these children from "Jonathan" family are seeing it happen. PRAISE GOD!

On another note, todays offering was quite interesting as we saw money, clothes, a bunch of matoke (bananas you cook) and a cow...The funny thing was that while we were eating lunch here come some of the deacons with the cow. Yes that is right as the pastor they brought the cow to our house. What am I going to do with that cow???

Village delivery

For many days we had been telling Medie, our compound worker, to call us when it was "THE TIME" for his wife to go to the hospital to deliver their baby. But, when I woke up Friday morning, that was the last thing on my mind. Little did I know that I would be the one helping to deliver said baby!!!!! All the way to the hospital I kept telling Joyce, "Don't Push!!" It was obvious that she was very close to delivery and I definitely wanted to have some help as the new one made her debut!! Joyce had intensely quiet moments which alternated with "AUNTIE! AUNTIE!" Once we made it to the bed in the delivery area, she asked me to stay with her. With no doctor present, the midwife and I guided her through the last 15 minutes of labor and into delivery. The pictures are of their new little girl, "Miriam Mwonge" and of Medie, Joyce, Miriam and Acacia and Me back at their home the next day.

Village Life

After a year of wanting to visit a friend's house in a nearby village, the pieces finally fell into place. Our friend is an excellent craftsman & carpenter who has made much of our furniture. When he learned that his dad would be visiting from western Uganda, he invited us and another New Hope staff member, plus his family members to spend an afternoon at his place DEEP in the bush. We drove for more than 30 minutes on washed out dirt roads and the occasional foot path to reach his house. He took us to his workshop where we laid our eyes on exquisite hand carved furniture. He even has a "wood refrigerator" which would bring a flood of memories back to those of you who had "ice boxes" when you were kids. The outside is beautifully finished hardwood and inside has a jug of water buried in charcoal. It is cool enough to keep milk, butter, eggs and jam, and large enough to keep much more. At the end of our visit we took this group photo. As we were saying goodbye we were given a large rooster (quite an honored gift.) WE have great memories of the day, but the rooster doesn't as he became dinner when we made a tasty chicken soup the next day. Yum. Yum.

And in other village news . . . I (Mary) helped deliver a baby today!!!!! Actually, lately I've been quite the village nurse. Last week was spent caring for the kids' teacher from England. She contracted malaria and by the time we caught it she was literally hours away from organ failure. So, I got to give injections, hang IV's, monitor progress. She is still recovering, but safely on the mend. TODAY, I was visiting with her and mentioned that our compound worker's (Medie) wife (Joyce) was due any day. Almost as soon as I finished the sentence he was at her door saying, "Auntie Mary, IT'S TIME!" I called Geoff who was in Kiwoko at the vocational school and he and the van flew down the road to get us and then onto Medie's home. It was obvious delivery wasn't far off when she fell to her knees twice on the walk to the van. Thankfully, we made it to the hospital (with more stopping to hug the ground on the way to the maternity ward) and met our friend and neighbor, Florence, who is a midwife there. Joyce asked me to stay and Florence asked me to assist. What fun! For all my nurse friends, let me just say . . . it's DIFFERENT here!! Blunt scissors for episiotomy, minimal pain med for suturing, the patient walks (carrying all her own supplies)to the postpartum area about 2 hours after delivery, and the baby is not given a bath until the second day. And for all you moms . . . how about delivery on a flat bed covered with a large green garbage bag, no stirrups, no pain meds, no IV, and after the baby is delivered, it is wrapped in whatever cloths you packed as the hospital cannot provide these items. Meanwhile, your family members leave for the nearby shops to buy tea and sweet bread as the hospital is also not able to provide food for you. A real joy for me was to help Joyce put the new baby girl to the breast and watch as both took the new experience as pros.

After Joyce was settled into her new bed with the baby at her side, I went home, but returned a few hours later with water, medications and snacks for her overnight stay. She will come home tomorrow and I plan to have the camera with me. Check back for pictures in the upcoming days!!!! Please pray for the health, peace and well being of Joyce, Medie and this precious little one. This is their second child. Their son, Michael died of malaria this past January at less than 13 months of age.

That is the reality of village life: the joy of birth in tandem with untimely, tragic death. After living here almost 17 months I am still greatly affected by the frequency of the death of children. In the past year we have seen death by malaria, tetanus, birth defects, poisoning and motor vehicle accidents. These are not deaths we read about in the newspaper. These are the deaths of the loved ones we know and interact with on a weekly basis. Thank you for your prayers for us and for those we live near us.

Poverty - What does it mean to you?

There are two sides to being aware of the world’s poverty. On one side, you are so isolated from poor people that you really have no idea how parts of the world are so ravaged by poverty. And the other side is that you get so accustomed to being around the poor that it no longer shocks you. When we first moved to Uganda I was deeply touched by the fact that many people in our area live on pennies a day. Living in a mud walled house, sleeping on a matt and owning only 1 pair of clothes and possibly owning no shoes is very common to the people of Uganda. In some ways I have become so accustomed to these things that they almost seem normal. Yet today sitting in church looking at a little girl wearing a dress that really was no more than a rag, 2 different flip flops that both should have been thrown into the trash I was reminded of how all around me people are desperately suffering. Here when someone says that they have no money, they really mean they have NO money. Think about that idea, having NO money, no access to money and sometimes not even a meal for the evening. It hit me again today…

The picture is of the skin from the illusive cobra that seems to live in our area. It has been seen once before and this past week we found the skin leading to a hole in our compound. We are estimating the length to be around 6 feet, the skin we found was around 4 feet yet was missing a good portion leading to the tail. ANOTHER GOOD REASON TO PRAY!

Still Alive

This picture gives you an idea of what it has been like. The photo was taken on what was supposed to be a day off trip. Well it turned out to be filled with work and much, much more business. We are glad to have our computer back after 3 weeks of it being out for repair. Thanks to some great friends it went back to the states, was repaired and returned to Uganda. All in only 3 weeks. More later, I just wanted you all to know we were still alive.

Proud of Cabbage

This past week I saw one of the most beautiful sites. A young man coming up our path carrying 4 cabbages and you wouldn't believe the smile on this boys face. Misaaki is a young man about 17 years of age who has a fifth grade education and most likely will not get any farther. One of the things I have been lobying for is young people to not be so education driven, but finding peace and contentment in the gifts and opportunities God is offering them. In a country where literally 95% of the population has no regular job, educated or un-educated the job market is tough. Yet the possibility for someone to develop their skills as a farmer or vocational worker can open the door for regular work and of course money. Misaaki is an example of how "The glory of God is man fully alive". He is confessing his desire to be a great farmer, standing before the church testifying of how good God is and working hard to see his desires come to pass. Needless to say we have bought two of his cabbages and are willing to pay top dollar to see this young man fulfilled. And actually his cabbages are some of the best we have seen in the area. Please continue to pray that the young people of Kasana will find peace in who God has made them and seek His plan for their lives.

Harvest time

Tonight we had a supper that was a taste of Ugandan culture. The local maize is coming ripe, and yesterday one of the children from Jonathan family brought us 8 ears of maize. For the most part maize is used to make posho which is like a thick cream of wheat and is a staple with most Ugandans. But during harvest time many people eat it fresh, roasted over fire. So tonight we light a fire roasted maize and enjoyed some fresh passion fruit juice. Not the most filling supper, but quite enjoyable. Over the next month the maize will be drying in the fields and people will begin the process of harvesting. This is the first of the two harvests that our part of Uganda will experience this year the sencond season comes with harvest in November. One of the many blessings Uganda has, 2 full harvest every year. Pray that this is significant spiritually as well.

Flying Ants

WEll this will be quick, not much battery left. One not so enjoyable part about living here is the termites. Often when it rains the termites send out one of their species that flies. I guess these are looking to start new colonies. All I know is they are anoying. They have 4 wings and after flying awhile, they shed their wings and crawl away. Well last night we were awakened by the sound of something flying outside our mosquito net. Well when we turned on the light, there were many flying termites in our room. Yuck!! So Geoff gets up to go and find the bug spray and as he passes the bathroom, the same noise is there, but only louder. Looking in AAARRRGH. MANY!!!!!!!! We live on a termite nest and they were coming in some holes in the floor and trying to repopulate our house. once again YUCK!!! then the power went out so we couldn't see where we were stepping, quick get some shoes on!! All this will surely wake you out of a deep sleep at 5am. Anyway, that was our night. One of the not so glorious parts of being a missionary. More on this one later

1 Year Anniversary

Yes, that is right, it was one year ago this week that we drove away from Pueblo, Colorado. Hard to believe isn't it??? So much has changed since then, one is Toby now speaks with some Hybrid Ugandan, British, American accent. And who is to blame? The boy in the picture is Joel Brown, his major influencer. They were having an 8 am meeting here, full of laughing and planning their day. Well a small price to pay for having such good friends here. We are coming home for a visit this November, so get ready to hear a 6 year old using the word trousers...

We have a winner

Congratulations Kara, you are the winner of a large bag of “Ensenene” or in our language “roasted grasshoppers”. Kara’s first guess at how many people fit in our van was 23, the actual number was 22. A tight squeeze.

I wanted to share a little more about one of the other works New Hope in doing here in Uganda. You may or may not know, but for some years there has been a rebel group operating in the northern part of the country. This has lead to thousands of “IDP” or “Internally Displaced People”, which are people who are refugees in their own country. These people live in camps that are little more than prison camps, yet are somehow safe from the night raids that are happening outside. The rebel group and their leader, Joseph Kony, mainly recruit forces by slaughtering a village and then kidnapping the children, which are then trained to be soldiers. Many of these children have been rescued or have escaped. Though they now may be free they still carry deep emotional scars from the torture they endured. New Hope is in the process of building another children’s center in Kumi district to bring hope to the future of these children. You may have heard of the “Invisible Children”, some of the children New Hope is helping are counted among them. Geoff will be traveling to this new site this weekend to attend a wedding and get a first hand view of this new project, more to come on his return.

How Many People Can Fit In Our Van?

Today we tried to figure that out. I just wish we had a picture to verify. Actually lets make this a game for all of you that read this blog. Leave your guess as a comment and next Saturday we will notify you of the winner. Usually these things come with prizes, we will have to figure out something for the one who comes closest.

Today I, Geoff that is, was part of a team that went to a prison to minister. The church here has had a team of people that have been visiting a prison in the area for the past 3 years. We took soap, bread and juice for the prisoners. It is not like the cushy prisons of America, these men and women sleep on mats on the floor, are fed one meal a day and often are the subject of abuse. Sounds like what prison was meant to be huh? The place is located deep, and I mean deep, in the bush, about a 45 minute drive from where we live down some roads that you might call a jeep trail. There we found a small prison that houses 50-60 people. When they entered most had no shoes and all looked tired and hopeless. Many are inflicted with AIDS and don’t have much hope of a productive life ahead. Yet when we left many were smiling and thankful that we came. The message of hope we brought along with the small tokens of our love made their day seem a little more bearable. The ride home was livelier as the young people in our van drummed and sang the entire way home, with the exception of when we were stuck behind a charcoal truck waiting for them to get it fixed. That is another story...

Baptism African Style

Nothing like a smelly pond, a drum and 125 people excited about Jesus to get your blood flowing on a Sunday afternoon. Yesterday we baptized 65 people in a cattle feeding pond about 1 mile down the road from home. And praise God, no snakes in the water. This was something that had me worried. It was great fun! Of course when it was all done Toby was asking if he could go swimming. "Sorry not today son, lets wait for water that is just a bit cleaner..."

Where are the kids?

As I came home the other day, I expected to find the usual noise and mayhem of the children. But lowe and behold it was quiet. Great I thought, but I couldn't help asking where are the kids? Mary then proceeds to tell me they went to kill a "Black Momba". Great I thought!!! Is someone with them, and where is the snake? Turns out it was already dead by the time they arived. "PRASE GOD", another adventure in the day of the Britton children.

THE CHICKEN HUNTING EXPEDITION

When you live in the bush of Africa, you don't live alone. There are the things "exotic"--chameleons, pink transluscent frogs, various snakes, bats, monkey birds, toucans, etc. And then there are the things "not exotic at all"--the chickens, pigs, cows, dogs and cats. Of this last bunch we find the chickens to be the most annoying by far. They wander more freely than even the children and are disturbingly efficient at wiping out newly planted cilantro destined for salsa. The "New Hope" rule on roaming chickens is that they are fair game for anyone who catches them, as they are supposed to be contained at all times. Not being particularly versed in catching and killing chickens, we have yet to get our hands on even one chicken to date. Thus, all the parts for our chicken soup have come from the grocery store in Kampala.

The children are now adept at hearing an approaching chicken and often take chase. Recently they decided they needed to take more decisive action and donned "chicken hunting expedition outfits"--mud boots, backpacks, sticks, and snacks (in case it took awhile.)--see picture--

Unfortunately for them, as soon as they disappeared beyond the neighboring buildings, Geoff and I heard a very plump chicken 10 feet from our house in our front yard. The children, now out of sight had no idea that from the beginning their expedition was ill-fated. But, hey, they had snacks and were "far from home" hunting a ghastly beast . . . that was the real fun!!! When they returned home, they had lots of stories, but no chicken. They'll never know how close they had been because we didn't have the heart to tell them. Oh, well, maybe next time.

Childlike faith

Well tonight as I came home from a meeting I was greeted by 3 screaming kids yelling "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!". Toby then with a look of sheer excitement tells me, "I got saved!". Wow!!! After some very deep questions Toby has asked Jesus to be his personal savior. Over the past few weeks he has had many a thought provoking question, and tonight he put all the answers together and asked Mary "Mom, am I saved?". Well like any good mother she then helped him to fully understand the question, and of course the answer. He gave me a good explanation as I asked him what that means. So tonight rejoice with us as Toby has stepped out with child like faith and as we all must do and begin to trust Jesus as our savior.

WELCOME!

Well I never thought I would have a "blog spot" but again 15 years ago I never would have thought that I would be a missionary in Africa either. :)

With the additon of wireless internet, we are now able to do things like this right from home. And to boot we even have government power so I can work into the evening.

I will have to get practiced at this, so check back for some deep thoughts or just plain old current events for the Britton family.