Sunday
At this point it is Sunday night here, so I’ll just reflect on last night and this morning real quickly. I’ve still got some jet lag going on, so everything is very overwhelming. The people at the guest house are nice, all very different. There are a few that are my age, and the others are older. Everyone has very different backgrounds- political science to medical school. Everyone seems to get along very well and on Thursday another volunteer comes, so Molly and I will not be the new girls anymore. Today we went hiking through a mountain. No kidding, as I was trying to explain earlier, the mountains here are jagged and steep. As high as we got, we still encountered people and their homes. It was crazy how high up they lived and how far they would have to walk to get to the village. But when you turned around and looked out, the view was incredible. One of the girls I room with, Amy, and I sat for a while in the shade and just looked out. Again, I was just very overwhelmed- I was sitting on the side of a mountain in Africa looking over the villages and land of Uganda. Its going to take some time to really process all this and get in a routine.
I took my first cold bucket bath today. It was kind of refreshing, but definitely something I will have to get used to. There’s a lot I will have to get used to, but I’m sure once I get well rested and into a routine with my work, it will be no problem. I got to talk to my parents today also which was good. I know this is where I am supposed to be this summer, for sure, now that I am here I must be open to what God is trying to teach me. It is all extremely eye opening. Please continue to pray that I will have peace with everything that is going on here. Pray for good rest and for good friendships to develop. But most of all for an open heart and mind, because I don’t want to miss out on anything.
Monday
After a much needed good night’s sleep, I was ready to get started with work here. We went to the clinic in the morning, toured and met the doctors and clinic staff, then worked taking vitals for a little while. In the morning from 9-2 we see only children, but then in the afternoon adults can come. The clinic is small but they do so well with what they have. By our standards, they are lacking, but by their standards they are far advanced. All of their patient records are becoming computerized, they have a lab which they can test blood and look at it under a microscope to see if they have malaria. I think I am really going to enjoy working there, it reminds me a lot of our work in Jamaica.
Molly and I then had to go on a tour of the loop of Beduda that all new volunteers are required to go on. I don’t really understand the structure of the towns and cities here, but I think Beduda is probably like a county cause there are several villages within Beduda. On this tour we were going to see the different types of medical facilities here. They wanted us to see both ends of the spectrum and some of the shortcomings of the other clinics. FIMRC is the only non-government facility here, and in their words, they see what the government is doing and they want to do it better.
First we stopped at the market. Every Monday and Thursday there is a market here. People sell everything from fabrics, clothes, and shoes to goats and chickens. It was crazy. I think we got about 3 marriage proposals, but we are supposed to say that we are already taken haha. Plus our driver Rashid is with us at all times. He has worked for FIMRC for a couple years, driving volunteers places on his Boda (motorbike). He told us yesterday that he is saving to go to the university in the city to study to be an accountant. The land is so beautiful here and we got to see so much just riding from place to place yesterday. The next place we went was a government clinic. It was very small and less equipped than ours, but for many that is all the healthcare they had ever gotten.
The next place we visited was Beduda Hospital. It was built by the Japanese government. It was very large and very nice. Like marble floors and modern xray machine nice. But they were so poorly understaffed and lacking in the basics such as gloves and supplies. Mike (our FIMRC manager) said this is because the Japanese know if they build something nice that no one will come in and mess it up, but they will not give staff or supplies. At this hospital, a nurse sat down with us and explained how everything works and gave us a very thorough tour. They have many wards, pediatric-male-female-maternity-surgery-inpatient. It was very impressive. She also emphasized that if we wanted to come volunteer there that they would love to have us. She said the best way to learn is to do, if we came we could work with the doctors and watch surgeries and such. It was definitely a place that I would like to spend more time.
The final place we visited was another government clinic. It was bigger than the first, but the people there were amazing. A nurse showed us around to begin with and then we got to meet with Wilson, the clinic director. He asked us all about our school and where we were from, then explained how the clinic worked. He specialized in mental health so many of the mental health cases go to this clinic. His wife was also there helping him “get organized” but she was also very impressive. She is head teacher at a local school and works with special needs children. Great people. He also emphasized how lucky we are in the states to have ambulances standing by in case of emergencies. If something goes wrong at their clinic, they must carry the person to the local hospital, sometimes they may have a car, but many times that is when things go very wrong. It was all a very eye opening experience. We finished the day by going back to the clinic and doing vitals. After the school next door let out we went and played soccer with some of the children.
We went back to the house, hung out together, had dinner, and then played board games before we went to bed. Not much to do with not electricity so we all go to bed pretty early. I don’t hate that. God continues to show me that He is right here with me. Yesterday my devotion was on not planning too far in the future. “God has too much in store for you today for you to waste one minute on worrying about tomorrow. If you are living in His will for you today, then that will be plenty to prepare you for tomorrow.” And then my parents devotion was “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Just what I need. So much is going on here, all I can do is look one day at a time. And all I need to know is that He brought me here, so He will be with me all the time. Pray that I am reminded of that daily. Please continue to pray for the relationships being built between volunteers. Also that we will have electricity and internet, it helps so much to hear from home. I love the work I’m doing here, but there are moments when I miss home. They say the time will fly by here but right now 5 weeks seems like a pretty long time. Pray that I will have strength to serve and remember the reason that I am here. Love and miss you all!
In Him,
Becky
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Finally! Travel Days
I am safely in Uganda at this point. There is very little internet connection and very little power so whenever it is that I post this it will be several days worth. This is all just the highlights, there is so much more I wish I could share, little details, thoughts, observances.
Thursday
My favorite people in airports are the ones running with their luggage. My family (minus Kevin who’s at World Changers) drove to Atlanta, and we had lunch at my favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory. It was great. I got checked in then said good-bye to the family and went to my gate. Second favorite part of the day was getting to ride the train-thing to my concourse. Simple things.
As I said before, God has been doing some crazy things leading up to this trip. Let me clarify that this is a good kind of crazy. I talked to a good friend of mine the other day, and just listening to him talk about all God was doing in his life was awesome and so encouraging to me. It has been so clear to me all God is doing to pull this trip together, but to hear how much He is doing in other people’s lives at the same time is such a great reminder of how big our God is. I knew this was going to be a life changing trip, but I expected it to be while I was in Africa. But this past week, in the midst of running errands, packing, and seeing friends, the huge difference in the life I am leaving and the life I am going to has been constantly on my mind. I’ve had to answer a lot of questions about why I am going and, though its not been fun or easy, I know God is bringing my heart to the place where He can have complete control and teach me the things I need to learn while I am gone. Apart from me, I know 8 people who are in, going to, or have gone to Africa this summer! We’re going to different places for different reasons, but I am so excited for how God is going to use us all this summer.
To finish day one, I boarded my plane and made it safely to London!
Fun Fact: I have brushed my teeth in the airport and gotten to see lots of flight attendant hand motions…
Friday
I’m sitting next to Molly in the London airport writing this. I probably won’t get it posted until tomorrow or Sunday because internet cost money in airports. But here’s how today happened. They woke us up real early (like 3am your time) and fed us breakfast before we landed. We landed at 10 this time (5 your time) and went through customs and all that. The London airport is HUGE and when you get off the plane you are driven on a bus to the arrivals gate. I had planned to meet up with Molly at her gate, but since there was none, I went ahead and went through customs and hoped Molly would do the same. Good news- she did. We met up at baggage claims and we rode a bus to our terminal. More good news, they have Starbucks in London, so we hit that up and made a game plan for our day. Kenya airways wouldn’t let us check in til that afternoon, so we stored our bags while we went out to explore. We bought train tickets (not really a train, more like a subway, but that’s what they call it). We only had three hours before we had to be back at the airport, and the train took an hour to get into town. But according to the London locals we talked to, that was the quickest and the cheapest way. It was fun and we got to see some of the city and talk a lot while riding the train too. We got off at Green Park station and walked through the park. We saw some kids that looked like they went to Hogwarts, they had uniforms on that reminded us of the Gryffindor seal. Yes, Molly is a Harry Potter fan, a Starbucks fan, and, Perry, a Twilight fan. We’re going to get along fine. We walked to Buckingham palace, took touristy pictures, and then walked some more. There weren’t really any other notable sites within walking distance, though we could see the London Eye from where we were. But we saw tons of cute houses, and lots of embassies and some double-decker buses. And a big church. We came back to the airport, got our bags, got in another line to check our bags with the airline, went through security, and now here we are. And you guys probably just finished lunch. Tonight we’re going to Kenya, then tomorrow we’ll finally get to Uganda. Hopefully then we will have internet access! I’ll end again with some prayer requests but thanks so much for all your prayers thus far. Everything is going great!
Saturday
Last night was an ok flight. We got more sleep than we did the night before. Right now we are sitting in the Nairobi, Kenya airport waiting on our final flight to Entebbe. This morning, they woke us up at 4 am to serve us breakfast, but it was awesome because we got to watch the sun rise. It was so incredible, before we even saw the sun there was a rainbow of colors creeping up the horizon. Then as we were flying through the clouds we saw the tops of mountains peeking through. They were all sharp, jagged mountains, different from how ours look. On our descent, we came through the layer of clouds and got our first glimpse of Africa. It was amazing. I can’t believe we are here!
In Entebbe, we cleared customs, got our luggage and met the driver from the FIMRC. He took us to Kampala, where we met up with the Mike and Megan, FIMRC staff. We went and changed our money, walked through a Ugandan grocery store, then got back in the car to continue our drive to the village.
Our next stop was Jinja, where we ate lunch at a very nice Ugandan restaurant. We also walked around some of the shops where local artists have their crafts. We didn’t have a whole lot of time there but hopefully at some point we will be able to go back and buy some things. We then finished our drive to the village.
Finally here! More posts to follow!
In Him,
Becky
Thursday
My favorite people in airports are the ones running with their luggage. My family (minus Kevin who’s at World Changers) drove to Atlanta, and we had lunch at my favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory. It was great. I got checked in then said good-bye to the family and went to my gate. Second favorite part of the day was getting to ride the train-thing to my concourse. Simple things.
As I said before, God has been doing some crazy things leading up to this trip. Let me clarify that this is a good kind of crazy. I talked to a good friend of mine the other day, and just listening to him talk about all God was doing in his life was awesome and so encouraging to me. It has been so clear to me all God is doing to pull this trip together, but to hear how much He is doing in other people’s lives at the same time is such a great reminder of how big our God is. I knew this was going to be a life changing trip, but I expected it to be while I was in Africa. But this past week, in the midst of running errands, packing, and seeing friends, the huge difference in the life I am leaving and the life I am going to has been constantly on my mind. I’ve had to answer a lot of questions about why I am going and, though its not been fun or easy, I know God is bringing my heart to the place where He can have complete control and teach me the things I need to learn while I am gone. Apart from me, I know 8 people who are in, going to, or have gone to Africa this summer! We’re going to different places for different reasons, but I am so excited for how God is going to use us all this summer.
To finish day one, I boarded my plane and made it safely to London!
Fun Fact: I have brushed my teeth in the airport and gotten to see lots of flight attendant hand motions…
Friday
I’m sitting next to Molly in the London airport writing this. I probably won’t get it posted until tomorrow or Sunday because internet cost money in airports. But here’s how today happened. They woke us up real early (like 3am your time) and fed us breakfast before we landed. We landed at 10 this time (5 your time) and went through customs and all that. The London airport is HUGE and when you get off the plane you are driven on a bus to the arrivals gate. I had planned to meet up with Molly at her gate, but since there was none, I went ahead and went through customs and hoped Molly would do the same. Good news- she did. We met up at baggage claims and we rode a bus to our terminal. More good news, they have Starbucks in London, so we hit that up and made a game plan for our day. Kenya airways wouldn’t let us check in til that afternoon, so we stored our bags while we went out to explore. We bought train tickets (not really a train, more like a subway, but that’s what they call it). We only had three hours before we had to be back at the airport, and the train took an hour to get into town. But according to the London locals we talked to, that was the quickest and the cheapest way. It was fun and we got to see some of the city and talk a lot while riding the train too. We got off at Green Park station and walked through the park. We saw some kids that looked like they went to Hogwarts, they had uniforms on that reminded us of the Gryffindor seal. Yes, Molly is a Harry Potter fan, a Starbucks fan, and, Perry, a Twilight fan. We’re going to get along fine. We walked to Buckingham palace, took touristy pictures, and then walked some more. There weren’t really any other notable sites within walking distance, though we could see the London Eye from where we were. But we saw tons of cute houses, and lots of embassies and some double-decker buses. And a big church. We came back to the airport, got our bags, got in another line to check our bags with the airline, went through security, and now here we are. And you guys probably just finished lunch. Tonight we’re going to Kenya, then tomorrow we’ll finally get to Uganda. Hopefully then we will have internet access! I’ll end again with some prayer requests but thanks so much for all your prayers thus far. Everything is going great!
Saturday
Last night was an ok flight. We got more sleep than we did the night before. Right now we are sitting in the Nairobi, Kenya airport waiting on our final flight to Entebbe. This morning, they woke us up at 4 am to serve us breakfast, but it was awesome because we got to watch the sun rise. It was so incredible, before we even saw the sun there was a rainbow of colors creeping up the horizon. Then as we were flying through the clouds we saw the tops of mountains peeking through. They were all sharp, jagged mountains, different from how ours look. On our descent, we came through the layer of clouds and got our first glimpse of Africa. It was amazing. I can’t believe we are here!
In Entebbe, we cleared customs, got our luggage and met the driver from the FIMRC. He took us to Kampala, where we met up with the Mike and Megan, FIMRC staff. We went and changed our money, walked through a Ugandan grocery store, then got back in the car to continue our drive to the village.
Our next stop was Jinja, where we ate lunch at a very nice Ugandan restaurant. We also walked around some of the shops where local artists have their crafts. We didn’t have a whole lot of time there but hopefully at some point we will be able to go back and buy some things. We then finished our drive to the village.
Finally here! More posts to follow!
In Him,
Becky
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
This is just a really quick post because I want to share with you a prayer calendar my parents made for my trip while I'm gone!
Follow this link: http://docs.google.com/ViewDoc?docid=dd8stv9g_0fkrrmmhm
I'm planning on posting again tomorrow while I have some down time in the airport, because God has been doing some crazy things during the past couple weeks before my trip. Today I'm just doing some last minute things, like packing, and just hanging out with my fam before I leave! Thank you so much for all your prayers as I get ready to leave!!
In Him,
Becky
Macie Elizabeth, Cady, Lynsey, Kat, Rachel, Kristen Victoria- this is your shoutout. I tried to think of something funny to say, but I just couldn't. Surprising I know. You guys are awesome and I'm gonna miss you, but I'll be praying for you! Have a great summer :)
Follow this link: http://docs.google.com/ViewDoc?docid=dd8stv9g_0fkrrmmhm
I'm planning on posting again tomorrow while I have some down time in the airport, because God has been doing some crazy things during the past couple weeks before my trip. Today I'm just doing some last minute things, like packing, and just hanging out with my fam before I leave! Thank you so much for all your prayers as I get ready to leave!!
In Him,
Becky
Macie Elizabeth, Cady, Lynsey, Kat, Rachel, Kristen Victoria- this is your shoutout. I tried to think of something funny to say, but I just couldn't. Surprising I know. You guys are awesome and I'm gonna miss you, but I'll be praying for you! Have a great summer :)
Saturday, June 6, 2009
I’m back from Crossings with my middle school girls and it was an incredible week! I really expected it to be a great week for the students and just something fun for me to do, but it was incredible how much God hit me with during the week as well. The message was incredible, all about going “Beyond” your own ability and it was applicable to the middle school students, the high schoolers, and the adults. It was a great catalyst for my summer and my trip!
Everything seems to be coming together well for my trip. I leave for the beach tomorrow with my family, so then when I get back it will really be crunch time. But I wanted to go ahead and post about email while I have a few minutes. I don’t know what the internet access is like over there (my friend Kelly seems to be able to update her blog from Mozambique fairly often…) but they have given me some tips that should help. First and foremost, I have a new email address for the trip- bjohns723@gmail.com Internet access is charged by the minute, so I will be getting on, downloading my emails onto a flash drive, and then reading/replying to them later. So anything that will allow for a faster download is what we are going for here.
- Please set e-mail format to “plain text” rather than HTML or RTF format if possible or just make sure to use a standard font, no color, underlining, etc.
- Don’t hit reply to my emails, just start a new message; same goes for forwarding
- If the email is larger than 40 kilobytes (I have no idea how big that is, it’s just what they tell me)- please break it into two pieces and send
- Make sure antivirus software is up-to-date
I think that’s it, pretty easy stuff. Please, please don’t let those keep you from sending me emails. You have no idea how much it will encourage me to hear from home!
Finally, I have a little more info to answer the most common question "Is it safe there?!" Many are worried about travelers being attacked or the killings when Idi Amin was in power in the 70’s, but I have assured by the FIMRC staff and previous volunteers that the project site is very safe. The current government is much more democratic and civil than the previous, and the country has been relatively stable with little war during the past couple decades. The conflict that has occurred has been in the north along the Sudanese border, but over the past 3 years this has been mostly resolved with little trouble. Plus, I’m going to be in the south the whole time. FIMRC has given us many precautionary measures and as far as disease goes, I have had more shots and pills than I can count. Of course, prayers for safety during my travel and stay are still needed, but hopefully this will set some of your minds at ease. Again, I’ll end with some prayer requests. Let me know if there is something I have left out that you want to know! I’m working on getting this to update to Facebook as well…
Prayer Requests
-That the middle school students will carry what they learned this week into their everyday lives and continue to dig deeper
- My friend, Kelly, in Mozambique working with Iris Ministries for 11 weeks!
- Molly, another volunteer, as she packs and prepares
- My parents
-Travel and preparation- and those from the earlier post!
In Him, Becky
Everything seems to be coming together well for my trip. I leave for the beach tomorrow with my family, so then when I get back it will really be crunch time. But I wanted to go ahead and post about email while I have a few minutes. I don’t know what the internet access is like over there (my friend Kelly seems to be able to update her blog from Mozambique fairly often…) but they have given me some tips that should help. First and foremost, I have a new email address for the trip- bjohns723@gmail.com Internet access is charged by the minute, so I will be getting on, downloading my emails onto a flash drive, and then reading/replying to them later. So anything that will allow for a faster download is what we are going for here.
- Please set e-mail format to “plain text” rather than HTML or RTF format if possible or just make sure to use a standard font, no color, underlining, etc.
- Don’t hit reply to my emails, just start a new message; same goes for forwarding
- If the email is larger than 40 kilobytes (I have no idea how big that is, it’s just what they tell me)- please break it into two pieces and send
- Make sure antivirus software is up-to-date
I think that’s it, pretty easy stuff. Please, please don’t let those keep you from sending me emails. You have no idea how much it will encourage me to hear from home!
Finally, I have a little more info to answer the most common question "Is it safe there?!" Many are worried about travelers being attacked or the killings when Idi Amin was in power in the 70’s, but I have assured by the FIMRC staff and previous volunteers that the project site is very safe. The current government is much more democratic and civil than the previous, and the country has been relatively stable with little war during the past couple decades. The conflict that has occurred has been in the north along the Sudanese border, but over the past 3 years this has been mostly resolved with little trouble. Plus, I’m going to be in the south the whole time. FIMRC has given us many precautionary measures and as far as disease goes, I have had more shots and pills than I can count. Of course, prayers for safety during my travel and stay are still needed, but hopefully this will set some of your minds at ease. Again, I’ll end with some prayer requests. Let me know if there is something I have left out that you want to know! I’m working on getting this to update to Facebook as well…
Prayer Requests
-That the middle school students will carry what they learned this week into their everyday lives and continue to dig deeper
- My friend, Kelly, in Mozambique working with Iris Ministries for 11 weeks!
- Molly, another volunteer, as she packs and prepares
- My parents
-Travel and preparation- and those from the earlier post!
In Him, Becky
Monday, May 18, 2009
I’ve been putting off starting this for a while cause I don’t know how to start it, or what to say, or what people want to know. So I’m just going to start by telling you what I know…
I’m spending five weeks this summer in Uganda at Project Bumwalukani (hence the blog name). I’m going with the Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children aka FIMRC. This is their website for my project http://fimrc.org/projects/project-bumwalukani-uganda you can navigate from there to look at their whole site and all the different projects.
I am leaving June 18 and flying through London and Kenya before I arrive in Uganda on Saturday, June 20. Don’t worry- I found out this week that I am meeting up with another volunteer, Molly, in London and then flying with her to Uganda. Once there, we will be met by the FIMRC staff and take an 8ish hour taxi ride to the village at the base of Mt. Elgon.
At this project, FIMRC is partnered with Arlington Academy of Hope, a non-profit organization that provides education to the village community. FIMRC is able to provide basic healthcare to the 300 students and teacher which attend the school, as well as the needs of the surrounding community. While I’m there I will be helping the Ugandan medical staff treat patients, take patient histories, collect data and statistics of illnesses/symptoms to help better serve the needs of the people, and give health education lessons at Arlington Academy and the other five primary schools in the area.
I am confident that this is where God has called me this summer and that His work does not begin when I get there, but has already begun. This is not a Christian or church-affiliated organization, but people who desire to create an easier and better quality of life for the people of Uganda. Recently I have come to realize that my mission field and the people I am ministering to are not just the Ugandan people, but the FIMRC staff and other volunteers that are there as well.
To close this I’ll list a few prayer requests. I don’t know when I’ll update this again, maybe not until I’m on my way- or maybe sooner if there are updates or things I have forgotten!
Prayer Requests
- Travel
- Molly, a nursing student from Wisconsin who will be spending 4 weeks in Uganda
- The people of Uganda, specifically those in Bumwalukani associated with this project
- The other volunteers and FIMRC staff in Bumwalukani
- Preparation- spiritual, packing, collecting supplies
- Middle school camp where I will be with girls from my church the first week of June
Thank you for your prayers and support!
In Him,
Becky
I’m spending five weeks this summer in Uganda at Project Bumwalukani (hence the blog name). I’m going with the Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children aka FIMRC. This is their website for my project http://fimrc.org/projects/project-bumwalukani-uganda you can navigate from there to look at their whole site and all the different projects.
I am leaving June 18 and flying through London and Kenya before I arrive in Uganda on Saturday, June 20. Don’t worry- I found out this week that I am meeting up with another volunteer, Molly, in London and then flying with her to Uganda. Once there, we will be met by the FIMRC staff and take an 8ish hour taxi ride to the village at the base of Mt. Elgon.
At this project, FIMRC is partnered with Arlington Academy of Hope, a non-profit organization that provides education to the village community. FIMRC is able to provide basic healthcare to the 300 students and teacher which attend the school, as well as the needs of the surrounding community. While I’m there I will be helping the Ugandan medical staff treat patients, take patient histories, collect data and statistics of illnesses/symptoms to help better serve the needs of the people, and give health education lessons at Arlington Academy and the other five primary schools in the area.
I am confident that this is where God has called me this summer and that His work does not begin when I get there, but has already begun. This is not a Christian or church-affiliated organization, but people who desire to create an easier and better quality of life for the people of Uganda. Recently I have come to realize that my mission field and the people I am ministering to are not just the Ugandan people, but the FIMRC staff and other volunteers that are there as well.
To close this I’ll list a few prayer requests. I don’t know when I’ll update this again, maybe not until I’m on my way- or maybe sooner if there are updates or things I have forgotten!
Prayer Requests
- Travel
- Molly, a nursing student from Wisconsin who will be spending 4 weeks in Uganda
- The people of Uganda, specifically those in Bumwalukani associated with this project
- The other volunteers and FIMRC staff in Bumwalukani
- Preparation- spiritual, packing, collecting supplies
- Middle school camp where I will be with girls from my church the first week of June
Thank you for your prayers and support!
In Him,
Becky
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