Seasons Greetings

Woah, did Christmas already happen???  Something about the 80 degree days and a 250% decrease in Christmas-commercialization and build-up meant we had to actually remind ourselves pretty regularly that Christmas was coming.  But to help out with that, we both had pretty good breaks – Gary had two weeks off, and the teacher, not to be outdone, had three weeks off.  We spent a significant portion of our first week off baking and eating.  We enjoyed opportunities to get together with friends, eat some Christmas cookies, cut out paper snowflakes, and play card games.  So it wasn’t too long into our break before it started to feel like Christmas.  One of the large downtown churches had a Christmas cantata that we attended.  And we also managed to fit in a little shopping – but folks back home will have to wait until we get home to get their gifts – talk about stretching out Christmas!



While Kampala stores and markets and traffic in general got a bit busier leading up to the holiday; when Christmas came, everything got quiet.  Christmas in all parts of the world means spending time with family - and this was very clearly and strongly demonstrated for us in Uganda.  In such an open, community-oriented culture, the aspect of spending time with family and friends is certainly heightened.  And when the time came, the masses poured out of the city, heading to their home villages.  It was a remarkable display. 

As for us, we began Christmas day with a potluck breakfast at a friend’s house.  Then we headed off to church and then rushed home to continue cooking for Christmas dinner – a potluck FEAST with our eMi family.  When we sat down to Christmas dinner, it started to feel more real – there we were surrounded by great people, and stuffing our faces, and reflecting on the reason why we were celebrating – to show love to people and bring glory to the King who gave it all.  It was a very special and memorable Christmas, and we are so thankful how everything happened to allow us to be here.

And then…to add to our Christmas fun, Erin got a Christmas puppy!  She was walking down the road and saw the tiny, scared little girl wandering in the middle of the road as cars tried to dodge her.  Instead of just moving her off to the side of the road and moving on, Erin had a weak moment and brought her home..…much to Gary’s surprise.  Erin likes to keep Gary on his toes! We spent a few days grooming her (she was a bundle of all manner of pests and messiness) and getting her nutrition up to par.  Before long, she was one very happy, incredibly sweet little puppy.  We had more-than-one long conversation about it.  But unfortunately, we’re in no position to be puppy owners.  Nobody we knew could take her, but we were very thankful to find the USPCA which actually appeared to be a pretty nice shelter. There were several other puppies there, but none cuter than ours.  So we’re pretty confident that our little sweetie was adopted up pretty quickly.  As the attendant at the shelter looked her over and played with her, he confidently reassured us that, ‘She’ll do just fine.’  We were really thankful to have the opportunity to give her a better start at life.

Downtown Mbale

We spent several days of the following week on holiday with our good friends the Donahue family.  We all traveled to Mbale, Uganda via Post Bus – basically we hitched a ride with the mail from the Post Office in Kampala to the Post Office in Mbale.  That was an experience in itself!  Did you know you could easily stuff at least 70 people, their chickens, their beds, their boxes full of unidentified chirping things, etc. onto a standard coach?  And do you have any idea how high you can fly off the seat while bouncing around on the very back seat of this bus that’s zooming down African rural roads between Mbale and Kampala for hours??  It was something else.  But it was a beautiful drive.  The video below shows some a sample view of some of Africa as seen from the bus on the way to Mbale.  In Mbale, we enjoyed resting at a nice, clean hotel and reflecting on our time in Uganda and our hopes for the next stretch of time here.  To help with reflection, we enjoyed the phenomenal views of Sipi Falls just outside of Mbale.  And we even found some smoothies - the perfect touch to help guarantee a good vacation!

To wrap up our break, there was New Year’s.  Just about everybody in Kamapla was back in town, and there was a lot of celebrating and excitement.  All New Year’s Eve was filled with partying, yelling, and singing.  We even saw some fireworks.  Time-keeping isn’t quite as precise here, so every party around us had a slightly different idea of when midnight actually was.  So as we sat out on the porch, we got to experience the midnight celebration several times that night.  Luckily we are good sleepers, and as we settled in, we drifted off to the sounds of celebrations going on long throughout the night. 

We were a little surprised with the amount of hoopla that is centered on the New Year here.  Perhaps all the excitement is created from the hope of a better year or from a greater thankfulness for another year.  But regardless, it is nice.  Even two weeks after New Year’s, everyone you see still wishes you a “Happy New Year!” 

And so as we begin this 2012 journey, we will take a lesson from our neighbors and wish you a very Happy New Year!  We hope your holidays were filled with much happiness and all the comfort you love.  We hope you will keep up posted about what the New Year holds for you and your family.  We pray for health and happiness and abundant opportunities to honor God with whatever He brings your way.