Tuesday, October 30, 2007

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."

Sunday, October 14, 2007

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???

Monday, October 8, 2007

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.

Friday, October 5, 2007

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.