Into Your Hands Africa: A wedding and a funeral

Well, we have been in Makondo for three days. We arrived on Wednesday and as Rita says, "It seems like longer." So much is packed in each day and there are so many new sights and experiences. Here is a brief review of each day so far:

Tuesday: We arrived in Entebbe airport at 10:15 pm after stopping over in Kigale, Rwanda. Rwanda is a new country to put on our list! I say a stop-over even if you don't get off the plane still counts, don't you? The area surrounding Kigale was pitch black. No way to see what the country looks like... I have heard that it is similar to the south-western corner of Uganda with rolling hill. The shuttle driver from Sunset Motel was there to greet us and we loaded all 8 huge suitcases and 4 carry-ons into the van. You should have seen us! There were more suitcases in the van than people! Good thing they did not have any other guests to shuttle back to the hotel. The hotel staff were lovely and welcoming as was the hotel. Everyone was tired and we crashed! I have one interesting experience on the flight from Minneapolis to Amsterday to recount. Right behind my seat there was a young mother with two very young children. The children were obviously tired and upset and did not want to be on the plane! The two kids were as cute as could be, but they cried, screamed, squirmed, and used my backrest as a punching bag for most of the trip. I tried to think of it as a back massage, but that only got me so far. Even the headset and movie did not help. I know what it is like to travel with kids, so I did not complain. I did not realize, however, that the person sitting across the isle did complain on my and my seatmate's behalf. Suddenly we were flocked by flight attendants asking if we were ok. The end result: both my seatmate and I got moved up to first class for the remainder of the flight!!!! Wow! I did not even know how to use all the fancy controls for the seat. What started as a nightmare ended up as a fairy tale.

Jill and Dennis at the Equator!

Wednesday: After a restful night's sleep, we had a lovely breakfast and took a taxi to exchange currency. Right after we got back, James was there with the van to take us to Makondo. We loaded up our suitcases (again!) and made a quick stop at the botanical gardens to see Lake Victoria and get a little walk in before confining ourselves to a sitting position again. The road to Masaka has improved. Only a few sections are still under construction. Our novices, Rita and Dennis, were glued to the windows as the most unusual sights flashed by: tilapia tied to the front grill of cars driving along the road, the businesses of all sorts along the road between Entebbe and Kampala, and the stop on the equator along the way.

We arrived in Makondo at 6 pm, just in time to eat dinner with the MMM Sisters. There are new sisters taking the place of Sr. Rita, Josephine, and Celine. Sr. Celine leaves on Sept. 15 to retire in Ireland. She will be missed! The new MMM Sisters include Sr. Dumka from Nigeria whose most recent post was in Malawi and Sr. Maria from Brazil. It was nice to see Sr. Benedicta from Uganda and Sr. Chinereth from Nigeria who were here last year. I appologize for the misspelled names. What an amazing group of women they are. The newest addition to the MMM family is "Rascal" a dachshun who has become the center of attention. He was adopted by the MMM community after his original owners left to return to England. He will miss Sr. Celine as he thinks she is his new mother.

Thursday: On Thursday we went to St. Denis to greet the students and tour the projects. On the way up the road to the school, I met Emily, the Teach a Man To Fish intern on her way down to greet us. What a delightful young woman. She has done such an amazing job with the community. Her gentleness and her respect for the friends she has made shines in her face. She is really a perfect match. Because of her efforts, students are now eagerly signing up to work in the school businesses and learn how to manage them. Emily has done a marvelous job training the business managers. Because of her gentle manner, Emily has won the whole community over and made many friends. After songs, dances, and speeches, we all purchased items at the school store. We also toured the boys dormitory and girls dorm to see the new mosquito nets. Rita already has plans to teach the women in her sewing class how to make simple curtains for the windows to keep the mosquitos out.

St. Denis students welcoming the Into Your Hands "delegation."

Morning chores! Jill and I took this photo on one of our early morning walks.

Friday: Yesterday we went into Masaka which is the nearest big town. It is about 45 minutes away. You should have seen Rita striking up conversation with the streetside tailor. He offered to make her a traditional dress for 20,000 Uganda shillings ($9.50). She might take him up on it. Rita was amazed by how many people were packed into a small area and impressed by the fact that you can find anything you need. But you need to know were to look! Thankfully Justine was with us. On the way to Masaka we saw a bicycle carrying a coffin heading towards Makondo. We later found out that Bbira Luke's father passed away Thursday night. We stopped by the father's house as hosts of people were arriving for the funeral. The funeral was to take place later that day. The coffin we had seen on the back of the bicycle was under a tarp in front of Bbira's house. After paying our respects and giving our condolences to Bbira, he took us to view the body and meet his mother. Jill was moved to see 200 people drop everything to walk a great distance in the rain to comfort and stay with the family. People brought everything they needed to camp out at the family's compound.

People arriving at Bbira Luke's father's house for the funeral.

Both Jill and Rita were struck by the amount of respect given to the body. The body was laying on the bed in a shroud with the head bound in a white cloth. Surrounding the body were a group of about 10 women wailing and crying. We left quietly trying not to disturb the grieving family members and official mourners. The mourning period lasts 6 days and the family members will stay with Bbira's family for four days.

After we got back, we went up to the parish for dinner with Fr. Pascal. We met the new Father in Charge of Schools. Fr. Leonard was reassigned to teach at one of the National Seminaries and is being replaced by Fr. Andrew. We saw were Rita's sewing sessions are going to be held starting on Monday. So far there is no electricity to the buiding, but we were told that the electrician is scheduled to connect electricity to the building. We will see! Thankfully we purchased the three treaddle machines that are already assembled and ready to go!

Fr. Dennis started his Bible study classes for adults in the morning and students in the afternoon. He is a happy man. On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, he is scheduled to assist with over 100 baptisms. While Jill and I were observing the Bible study session with the students in the afternoon, low and behold, the bio-sand water filters which are part of the Rotary water project arrived! The bio-sand filters purify and filter water removing 99% of bacteria and parasites leaving the water potable. How exciting to be able to watch the technician install the filters!

The rest of the evening we were serenaded by music coming from a nearby village that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. A big engagement party was going on!