While CHE is our main activity in the office, and Alpha has been our main activity in the church, we also help out with other projects that are ongoing.
Something the agricultural department is doing this year is having handover ceremonies with farmer groups that received ox-ploughs from Emmanuel International in the past. Francis has continued to do ox-plough follow-up visits to monitor. Ox-ploughs greatly help people in agriculture. Since people don't have tractors, without ox-ploughs, people have to open their large fields by hand using a hoe. Ox-ploughs save a huge amount of labour, increase the area that a family is able to cultivate, and produce income through being rented to open other peoples' fields. Up until now, the office has retained the right to give the oxen and plough to another group if it was being misused. Now we have seen the groups have managed them well, and wanted to officially transfer full ownership of the ox-ploughs to the groups. And so we've been holding ceremonies to commemorate the transfer, encourage the groups to stand on their own, and sensitize them to the HIV project that is soon starting. You know, in Canada you can get away without ever thinking of how certain fruit and vegetables grow.
In case you didn't know (like Marianne a couple weeks ago), pineapples do NOT grow on trees, but rather grow on the ground. Like so! [Aside: You can check out many more new photos by clicking here.] Early this month we went down to Kampala to see Cindy and Archie and their boys, who are members of Bayview Glen Church (our home church in Toronto). We got to spend the afternoon at the Life Ministries (called Power To Change in Canada) team house in Kampala, with many little boys and dinosaurs, which we chatted and caught up. We suppose it's worth mentioning why we're wearing bike helmets! Well, Archie asked us before they came if we needed anything. We knew exactly what we needed - Clubhouse Cajun spice, Lifebrand oil-free moisturizer, and at least 1 bike helmet. We asked if we could order the helmet online and have it sent to their house. Archie said that he had an extra helmet they weren't using, and that he could bring it for us. We said, "Wonderful! Well, maybe we'll still order one, because we weren't sure if we'd order 1 or 2, and then you could bring that one?" Archie said he had a second helmet that we could also have. And so you see us sporting our "new" helmets! Now all is well in Marianne's conscience, which felt very bad about riding around without a helmet after spending 2 years working with head injury patient research at Sunnybrook Hospital ICU! [Incidentally, in Pader, most people have never seen a bike helmet before. One friend came up to Marianne and asked, "What's that funny, funny thing you have on your head?"] Back to Kampala... Our trip was supposed to be in the middle of May to see Archie and Cindy and our new interim Country Directors. However, it had to be pushed up because of some rather unpleasant health problems Marianne was experiencing. We're happy to report that she's now healthy and strong. We had also planned to go to the dentist in Kampala, which we did. Here are some other photos we took while walking around... We also got to see Chris and Jane from the CHE Ministry, and introduced them to Paul and Anita, our new interim Country Directors (not new to Uganda!). Unfortunately, we don't have a copy of that photo, but you'll just have to trust that they're all looking wonderful!
One of the organizations in town, called Christian Counseling Fellowship (the same organization that runs Pader Girls Secondary School for child mothers), boosts community spirit in Pader by holding monthly football (i.e. soccer) matches between the staff of CCF and various other community groups. Last month, the female staff of CCF battled the Mother's Union of Pader Town Church! And so, Robert, one of our church members, got the women practising! Easier said than done in a skirt, let Marianne tell you! Still, we "mothers" had a lot of fun preparing for the big day. When the big day came, dark clouds were looming over Pader. Marianne called Robert to see if the match was still on. He said it was. So we went to the Mayor's field for the game. The game was played - but in slow motion! You had to be very, very careful not to slip or wipe out when you ran from the grassy patches onto the muddy patches. The players were all soaked to the bone, head to toe. We must be fully acclimatized now to the temperatures, also, since Marianne was FREEZING when she stopped playing. After the game was over, she sought refuge in the kitchen of CCF, where they were roasting some meat for the after-game celebration!
In the end, the church Mother's Union lost 0-2...not a surprise since the CCF women staff were on average younger, fitter, and more practised in soccer. Still, Marianne is thankful for the great fun that preparing for the match brought. Thanks CCF for letting us play! |
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October 2021
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