Hi
I've decided it's time to start a new blog...
If you'd like to continue to check for updates, please go to
www.beyondthebulrushes.wordpress.com
See you there!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Bridget
Last Wednesday Ashley and I stopped by the Watoto Sponsorship office before going to work and I made arrangements to go out and have a visit with Bridget on Friday on her last day of break before returning to school.
The taxi arrived for me shortly after 9am and another volunteer, Debbie, and I rode out to Suubi village together. Debbie got dropped off by the babies home, then I got out and walked down the path to where Bridget lives. It was strange to me to be making a solo visit since the first time I had come to her home, my entire team had been with me. The view was still breath-taking and I enjoyed having a few minutes to myself before arriving on her doorstep. I wondered what we would talk about, if she had changed much in the two years since I had seen her, if she was as excited to see me as I was to see her...
Her two sisters, Tina and Harriet were outside cleaning off the front walkway when I arrived and they went to tell Mama Mary and Bridget that I had arrived. I was welcomed inside where I said hello to her sisters Christina and Rosemary and then sat down on the sofa and looked at some pictures for a couple of minutes until Bridget came out to say hi. She got a big smile on her face, did a little happy dance and came over and gave me a big hug. I couldn't have asked for a better welcome! While she went to have a quick shower (in true teenage fashion, Bridget had been up late and slept in....she gets that from me!) I sat with Christina, Tina, Harriet and Hadiya and looked at more pictures. Then we all spent the next hour and a half talking about school, boys, home, boys, church, boys, village news, boys, food and, yes, boys! Mama Mary called Bridget to the kitchen and she brought out a tray with a plate of food and a second plate keeping it warm. She set it in front of me and then told me to go ahead. Mama had made me a huge omelet with veggies in it and served it with cassava that she had cooked and some bottled water...however, since I was the guest, I was the only one she had cooked eggs for. I offered to share with the girls but they all insisted that I eat first. I ate some (and it was quite yummy!) and then the girls brought out a bowl of cassava to share. Eventually the girls shared some of the eggs with me and we all had our fill.
Close to 1pm I decided that I should head out for the babies home at Suubi so that I would have some time there to visit with some of the kids, staff and volunteers I knew before heading to the Bulrushes for my shift at 5pm. Bridget had also mentioned that she had some school work she needed to finish up so it seemed a good time to move on. I started to say goodbye and asked where Mama Mary had gone. She was just down at another house visiting and came running to say that she had been preparing lunch for us. LUNCH???? We had just eaten....and so Bridget explained that that had just been some breakfast to hold us over. I thought that since Mama was going to so much trouble we should wait for lunch, but Bridget said it was okay to go. I said Weebale Nnyo and Weeraba (thank you and goodbye) and started to go but I had company. Bridget, Christina, Harriet and Tina all walked down to the babies home with me and we hung out there until my taxi arrived at 3:45 to take me back into the city. We chatted some more while the babies napped and Bridget shared some information and stories with me about her life growing up. She also shared some information about her life here in Uganda and at Suubi and although I won't be posting it all here, let me assure you that teenagers are teenagers are teenagers...nuff said.
My wonderful visit ended hanging out with Bridget and Leila by the kiddie pool at the Suubi Babies Home and I felt very blessed to have lots of time with "my girls". I'm praying it's only the first of many happy days spent together while I am here.
The taxi arrived for me shortly after 9am and another volunteer, Debbie, and I rode out to Suubi village together. Debbie got dropped off by the babies home, then I got out and walked down the path to where Bridget lives. It was strange to me to be making a solo visit since the first time I had come to her home, my entire team had been with me. The view was still breath-taking and I enjoyed having a few minutes to myself before arriving on her doorstep. I wondered what we would talk about, if she had changed much in the two years since I had seen her, if she was as excited to see me as I was to see her...
Her two sisters, Tina and Harriet were outside cleaning off the front walkway when I arrived and they went to tell Mama Mary and Bridget that I had arrived. I was welcomed inside where I said hello to her sisters Christina and Rosemary and then sat down on the sofa and looked at some pictures for a couple of minutes until Bridget came out to say hi. She got a big smile on her face, did a little happy dance and came over and gave me a big hug. I couldn't have asked for a better welcome! While she went to have a quick shower (in true teenage fashion, Bridget had been up late and slept in....she gets that from me!) I sat with Christina, Tina, Harriet and Hadiya and looked at more pictures. Then we all spent the next hour and a half talking about school, boys, home, boys, church, boys, village news, boys, food and, yes, boys! Mama Mary called Bridget to the kitchen and she brought out a tray with a plate of food and a second plate keeping it warm. She set it in front of me and then told me to go ahead. Mama had made me a huge omelet with veggies in it and served it with cassava that she had cooked and some bottled water...however, since I was the guest, I was the only one she had cooked eggs for. I offered to share with the girls but they all insisted that I eat first. I ate some (and it was quite yummy!) and then the girls brought out a bowl of cassava to share. Eventually the girls shared some of the eggs with me and we all had our fill.
Close to 1pm I decided that I should head out for the babies home at Suubi so that I would have some time there to visit with some of the kids, staff and volunteers I knew before heading to the Bulrushes for my shift at 5pm. Bridget had also mentioned that she had some school work she needed to finish up so it seemed a good time to move on. I started to say goodbye and asked where Mama Mary had gone. She was just down at another house visiting and came running to say that she had been preparing lunch for us. LUNCH???? We had just eaten....and so Bridget explained that that had just been some breakfast to hold us over. I thought that since Mama was going to so much trouble we should wait for lunch, but Bridget said it was okay to go. I said Weebale Nnyo and Weeraba (thank you and goodbye) and started to go but I had company. Bridget, Christina, Harriet and Tina all walked down to the babies home with me and we hung out there until my taxi arrived at 3:45 to take me back into the city. We chatted some more while the babies napped and Bridget shared some information and stories with me about her life growing up. She also shared some information about her life here in Uganda and at Suubi and although I won't be posting it all here, let me assure you that teenagers are teenagers are teenagers...nuff said.
My wonderful visit ended hanging out with Bridget and Leila by the kiddie pool at the Suubi Babies Home and I felt very blessed to have lots of time with "my girls". I'm praying it's only the first of many happy days spent together while I am here.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
grocery shopping...
Ok....so I am not shopping at Loblaws now....that's for sure. I'm not at the markets bartering for things, but it's definitely different.
Part of adjusting to a new country...a new culture...is realizing that things you could normally get through on automatic pilot and quite quickly are now going to take more time.
The first day I was here, we needed to get some groceries. Thinking that we wouldn't do a full shop but just grab enough to get us through the first few days, Mitch, Anna and I decided that we would meet in 20 minutes to share a taxi ride home.
First of all, Garden City (where the Uchumi grocery store is) was on heightened security because of the bombings that had taken place before we arrived. Standing in line, having my bag checked, getting patted down and going through a metal detector is not standard operating procedure for grabbing some bread, milk and eggs at home. However, here I was passing the security checkpoint and feeling strangely reassured by the whole process.
Still thinking we could grab what we needed in 20 minutes, we headed into the store. First the produce section...what looked fresh? what did I want to eat? how much would everything cost? I made a couple of selections and then, as I was heading towards the next section, someone behind a counter was calling to me. Assuming they wanted to sell me something, I smiled politely and said, "No, thank you". They continued to call me over, and I turned to continue around the store. Then it was explained to me that here, you take your produce to be weighed and have a price sticker put on it BEFORE you get to the cash register.....oh. Now I know better and have been able to pass along this bit of information to others before they are politely declining to have their produce weighed.
Well, 20 minutes later we met each other at aisle #2 and decided that maybe this was going to take a bit longer than we originally thought. It takes a while when you aren't familiar with the labeling on items, you wonder what you want to eat, how things taste and what exactly 8000 Ugandan Shillings is in Canadian Dollars...
Close to 45 minutes later, we cashed out with our purchases and headed out past the security checkpoint, the anti-riot police and the street vendors to our taxi and headed home for the best tasting pb&j Uganda had to offer.
Part of adjusting to a new country...a new culture...is realizing that things you could normally get through on automatic pilot and quite quickly are now going to take more time.
The first day I was here, we needed to get some groceries. Thinking that we wouldn't do a full shop but just grab enough to get us through the first few days, Mitch, Anna and I decided that we would meet in 20 minutes to share a taxi ride home.
First of all, Garden City (where the Uchumi grocery store is) was on heightened security because of the bombings that had taken place before we arrived. Standing in line, having my bag checked, getting patted down and going through a metal detector is not standard operating procedure for grabbing some bread, milk and eggs at home. However, here I was passing the security checkpoint and feeling strangely reassured by the whole process.
Still thinking we could grab what we needed in 20 minutes, we headed into the store. First the produce section...what looked fresh? what did I want to eat? how much would everything cost? I made a couple of selections and then, as I was heading towards the next section, someone behind a counter was calling to me. Assuming they wanted to sell me something, I smiled politely and said, "No, thank you". They continued to call me over, and I turned to continue around the store. Then it was explained to me that here, you take your produce to be weighed and have a price sticker put on it BEFORE you get to the cash register.....oh. Now I know better and have been able to pass along this bit of information to others before they are politely declining to have their produce weighed.
Well, 20 minutes later we met each other at aisle #2 and decided that maybe this was going to take a bit longer than we originally thought. It takes a while when you aren't familiar with the labeling on items, you wonder what you want to eat, how things taste and what exactly 8000 Ugandan Shillings is in Canadian Dollars...
Close to 45 minutes later, we cashed out with our purchases and headed out past the security checkpoint, the anti-riot police and the street vendors to our taxi and headed home for the best tasting pb&j Uganda had to offer.
Well hello everyone!
It's been a while...
I know I have been able to connect with some of you, but others are probably thinking I've dropped off the face of the earth. Now that I am working nights, I have a bit time during the day to catch up on some things, including my blog. (And it helps that most of you are still fast asleep so I don't get distracted chatting on Facebook)
So, a quick recap of my arrival and first month here. Both of my flights went smoothly, there was no problem with any of my luggage and Sandra who works in the International Volunteers department at Watoto was there to meet me at the airport at 7:30am. On the flight from London to Entebbe I even met Anna who was to be my first roommate. Sandra helped us both to exchange some money, get SIM cards for our phones and then took us to our apartment in Kansanga. There we were introduced to Beatrice (from England), Yvonne (from Australia) and Mitch (from Australia). They helped get us settled and Yvonne offered us tea and bananas. The girls gave us numbers for taxis and arranged to help us get to the babies home for lunch and orientation. By the time orientation finished and we went grocery shopping then found a taxi back home, I had just enough energy to make a pb&j sandwich and head to bed.
The next couple of days were filled with trips to Bbira and Suubi for tours of the villages, more grocery shopping, a meeting for all Watoto international volunteers at Watoto Central and my first couple of shifts at The Bulrushes. I hope you'll understand my excitement and joy when I tell you this next part...Leila was sick!!! Now, I'm not excited and joyful that she was sick, but I was happy (what a weak word for how I really felt...) because she had been brought in from the Suubi Babies Home to recover. It was sooooooooo good to see her. The day I came into work and was told that she had been taken back home was bittersweet. I was glad that she was well enough to go back, but was sad it would be a while before we could spend time together again. This feeling didn't last long because with close to 50 babies at The Bulrushes, it's not long before feeding, playing, changing, bathing, singing, snuggling and laundry fills up your days and your arms.
Over the past few weeks I've worked the morning shift (7-3:30), the afternoon shift (11-7pm) and now, as I mentioned before, I'm working the evening shift (5pm-midnight).
There are quite a few volunteers here right now, but because everyone is here for different periods of time the number of people living in the apartment at any given time always differs. Beatrice and Yvonne have both gone back home now. Anna, who I met on the plane, has gone to Suubi Babies Home and so Mitch and I are the only ones left from the original group. Ashley (from Vancouver) is my new roomie and will be here for another week and a half and Kevin and Amanda, a married couple (from North Carolina) are here for nine months. Mitch is working with the Sports department and doing some coaching in the villages, Amanda is working with Living Hope teaching English as a Foreign Language to some of the ladies there and Kevin and Ashley are at The Bulrushes.
I will post some more stories about specific things that have happened this month, but to finish off, here are the top five things I am most thankful for...
5. Arriving safely and without any travel glitches
4. A wonderful home to live in
3. The chance to love on dozens of babies every day
2. Being able to still connect with friends and family back home
1. Spending some special time with Leila and being able to reconnect with her
Please know that even though I am not in touch often, I think about you every day and am so grateful to all of you. The other night I was talking with one of the supervisors at the babies home (Edith) and she was saying, not for the first time, how amazed she is that I would love everyone enough to come all the way here to help out. I let her know that even though I am the one here, there are a lot of other people around the world who love and care about them too and who have helped me to be here.
Your support, love, encouragement and prayers are all at work here every day...thank you!
It's been a while...
I know I have been able to connect with some of you, but others are probably thinking I've dropped off the face of the earth. Now that I am working nights, I have a bit time during the day to catch up on some things, including my blog. (And it helps that most of you are still fast asleep so I don't get distracted chatting on Facebook)
So, a quick recap of my arrival and first month here. Both of my flights went smoothly, there was no problem with any of my luggage and Sandra who works in the International Volunteers department at Watoto was there to meet me at the airport at 7:30am. On the flight from London to Entebbe I even met Anna who was to be my first roommate. Sandra helped us both to exchange some money, get SIM cards for our phones and then took us to our apartment in Kansanga. There we were introduced to Beatrice (from England), Yvonne (from Australia) and Mitch (from Australia). They helped get us settled and Yvonne offered us tea and bananas. The girls gave us numbers for taxis and arranged to help us get to the babies home for lunch and orientation. By the time orientation finished and we went grocery shopping then found a taxi back home, I had just enough energy to make a pb&j sandwich and head to bed.
The next couple of days were filled with trips to Bbira and Suubi for tours of the villages, more grocery shopping, a meeting for all Watoto international volunteers at Watoto Central and my first couple of shifts at The Bulrushes. I hope you'll understand my excitement and joy when I tell you this next part...Leila was sick!!! Now, I'm not excited and joyful that she was sick, but I was happy (what a weak word for how I really felt...) because she had been brought in from the Suubi Babies Home to recover. It was sooooooooo good to see her. The day I came into work and was told that she had been taken back home was bittersweet. I was glad that she was well enough to go back, but was sad it would be a while before we could spend time together again. This feeling didn't last long because with close to 50 babies at The Bulrushes, it's not long before feeding, playing, changing, bathing, singing, snuggling and laundry fills up your days and your arms.
Over the past few weeks I've worked the morning shift (7-3:30), the afternoon shift (11-7pm) and now, as I mentioned before, I'm working the evening shift (5pm-midnight).
There are quite a few volunteers here right now, but because everyone is here for different periods of time the number of people living in the apartment at any given time always differs. Beatrice and Yvonne have both gone back home now. Anna, who I met on the plane, has gone to Suubi Babies Home and so Mitch and I are the only ones left from the original group. Ashley (from Vancouver) is my new roomie and will be here for another week and a half and Kevin and Amanda, a married couple (from North Carolina) are here for nine months. Mitch is working with the Sports department and doing some coaching in the villages, Amanda is working with Living Hope teaching English as a Foreign Language to some of the ladies there and Kevin and Ashley are at The Bulrushes.
I will post some more stories about specific things that have happened this month, but to finish off, here are the top five things I am most thankful for...
5. Arriving safely and without any travel glitches
4. A wonderful home to live in
3. The chance to love on dozens of babies every day
2. Being able to still connect with friends and family back home
1. Spending some special time with Leila and being able to reconnect with her
Please know that even though I am not in touch often, I think about you every day and am so grateful to all of you. The other night I was talking with one of the supervisors at the babies home (Edith) and she was saying, not for the first time, how amazed she is that I would love everyone enough to come all the way here to help out. I let her know that even though I am the one here, there are a lot of other people around the world who love and care about them too and who have helped me to be here.
Your support, love, encouragement and prayers are all at work here every day...thank you!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Believe it or not, I have just eight more days until I leave for Uganda!
How in the world has two YEARS passed by so quickly? I think about those tiny preemies and newborns I posted pictures of during my last trip to Uganda and then try to imagine them as running, jumping, and TALKING two year olds. It feels very surreal at this point to know that in just a week or two I will get to visit with them and be back helping to care for a whole new group of infants and toddlers who have found their way to The Bulrushes.
I'm so excited with the direction God is allowing my life to go and I have lots of hope and anticipation about what this year is going to bring. I am amazed at the way things have come together. Last year, my mom and I were discussing the realities of preparing for a journey like this and she asked me how it was going to happen. There were flights to arrange, more vaccinations needed, funds to acquire for living expenses, paperwork to fill out, and medical issues to deal with. The lists of what needed to be "done" would seem impossibly long some days. And in my heart, even though I believed that my desire to return to Uganda and Baby Watoto was the direction I was to be heading, I wrestled with the fact that it would mean being separated from family and friends here. Making this choice also meant giving up full time employment and more importantly leaving two children I love to the moon and back. However, in the end I looked at Mom and said, "Well, we'll just have to see how God works things out".
How in the world has two YEARS passed by so quickly? I think about those tiny preemies and newborns I posted pictures of during my last trip to Uganda and then try to imagine them as running, jumping, and TALKING two year olds. It feels very surreal at this point to know that in just a week or two I will get to visit with them and be back helping to care for a whole new group of infants and toddlers who have found their way to The Bulrushes.
I'm so excited with the direction God is allowing my life to go and I have lots of hope and anticipation about what this year is going to bring. I am amazed at the way things have come together. Last year, my mom and I were discussing the realities of preparing for a journey like this and she asked me how it was going to happen. There were flights to arrange, more vaccinations needed, funds to acquire for living expenses, paperwork to fill out, and medical issues to deal with. The lists of what needed to be "done" would seem impossibly long some days. And in my heart, even though I believed that my desire to return to Uganda and Baby Watoto was the direction I was to be heading, I wrestled with the fact that it would mean being separated from family and friends here. Making this choice also meant giving up full time employment and more importantly leaving two children I love to the moon and back. However, in the end I looked at Mom and said, "Well, we'll just have to see how God works things out".
Now I sit here with just some last minute details and packing to take care of. God has been good enough to guide me through the year and help me check off that long "to-do list".
- I wondered if I could really do this and He gave me renewed strength and confidence to move forward.
- I questioned how to proceed and take care of the logistics and He brought people who had answers.
- I longed to share the great news of what God is doing through Watoto in Uganda and He brought people who listened and celebrated with me.
I am even finding the time to get together with people I care about and spend time together before I go. Ahhh....being given the gift of time with people you love...
I don't really feel like I've written enough here and yet I think I'm finished for now. Check back here whenever you can. I love to know that people are stopping by and reading so please leave a note for me...even if it's just to keep on me about writing more often. I'm looking forward to keeping connected with you through here.
God bless and good night!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Well, here I am again. It's hard to believe that more than a year has passed since I posted on this blog but here we are in November of 2009!
I'd like to bring you up to speed on what's been happening since my last post, but before I get into any of that, I want to thank you. Thanks to those of you who have supported me in this journey in the past and thanks to those of you who have shown an interest in where I'm headed in the future. This is not something that happens independently. God has provided a way, and many people have come alongside in order to help me support the work that is being done through Watoto Child Care Ministries in Uganda. I am truly very thankful for all of you.
So let's get right to it! The fun stuff! An update! I have been so happy to be able to have news from time to time on how things are going at The Bulrushes since I came back to Canada. The Bulrushes is continuing to open their doors to children in need and already close to 150 children have "graduated" and moved into one of the Watoto Children's Villages or have been reunited with family. A second facility has been built on Watoto's Suubi Village property and construction on a third babies home has started in Gulu.
Most of the little ones I cared for on my last trip have now moved onto a Watoto Children's Village or in a few instances have been reunited with family. Tiny little Leila who I introduced to you last year after being able to help pick her up at the Mulago hospital is now a happy and healthy toddler and preparing to soon move into a home! I got this picture which was taken around the time of her first birthday in July from someone who is still working in Uganda. Thanks Megan!
And as you can see, Zeke, Vicky, Esther, and Jordan have all grown a lot in the past year as well.
I think keeping connected has only served to fuel my dreams and desires to return and continue working with Watoto to care for these little ones. So after a time of prayer and careful consideration, I decided to move forward with plans to do just that.
Last summer, I began working through a training program for Mid-Term Missionaries with Matt Janes of STM Network (STM=Short Term Missions). They helped me to connect with the Penecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) and since then I have been approved as a mid-term missionary with the PAOC and welcomed back by Watoto as a volunteer for a period of one year beginning July 2010.
ONE YEAR!!! Can you believe it? I am so excited for this opportunity! Over the next several months as I prepare to go, it is my hope that you will come along for the ride and be a part of this experience with me. I'll let you in on where things are at in the planning process, what has been happening on the front lines at The Bulrushes and let you know how you can get involved.
Please be sure to share with me, as well, how I can "bring you along" on this journey! You can leave me a message on here or feel free to e-mail me at sbriese@paoc.org . Hope to hear from you soon!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Well, let's see if we can let you have a look at Esther and Joe...
Little Man Joe was also snug and warm inside of an incubator when I arrived at the Bulrushes at the beginning of July. In fact, his was the first little angelic face I laid eyes on during my first visit and I still remember how excited I was when I got to hold and feed him.
Like Adrian, Joe grew quite a bit while I was there and was soon out of his incubator and getting to know all the other babies in the newborn room.
Little Man Joe was also snug and warm inside of an incubator when I arrived at the Bulrushes at the beginning of July. In fact, his was the first little angelic face I laid eyes on during my first visit and I still remember how excited I was when I got to hold and feed him.Like Adrian, Joe grew quite a bit while I was there and was soon out of his incubator and getting to know all the other babies in the newborn room.
Esther is a doll! She would often let anyone who would listen know when she wasn't happy (especially mid-way through nap time), but I think she was just trying to live up to the nickname "My little Queen" that she was given by her Nannies.
Well, these are the little ones I got to know the best while I was in Uganda. The last day that I was volunteering I held up well until after their 2pm feed. As I sat rocking Esther, Susie began changing the babies one by one, swaddling them and putting them down for their next nap. It was then that I realized that it would be a very long time before I had the chance to hold them in my arms again and that's when the tears came. Poor Esther probably wondered why it was raining on her head and why she was shaking so much, but instead of complaining, she just snuggled in closer to me and fell asleep.
A friend left me a message yesterday asking how I didn't come home without any of them and the only answer I can give to her is that they are really all right here in my heart. Sappy I know, but very, very true!
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