Rice to the rescue

So... this past week hasn't been my shining moment that's for sure. I have my fair share of clutzy moments, and a couple of those clutzy moments involve electronics and water. Last time I checked, you are NOT supposed to mix those two. Apparently I forgot that fact of life.

Incident #1: I was heading to the bathroom, pulled down my gauchos and heard a caplunk. Ipod in toilet! Ahhh. (Clean toilet, don't worry.) Grab Ipod out, take off case, shake, shake, shake... pray it still works. Shake head at self while trying to dry out Ipod. Finish using the toilet. Inspect Ipod closer, and discover ... IT WORKS! Phew. Apparently that case is good for more than I realized. Water damage, nil!

Incident #2: Cooking in the kitchen with Leah. Chatting it up. Kitchen is a bit of a dead zone for cell reception, so I propped my phone in the window. Normal, but chose a bad window this time. You know, the window over the sink... full of water. Go on with dinner prep, phone rings and vibrates itself off the window! CaPLUNK. It fell directly into the soapy water. Not good. Disassemble phone. Shake. Shake. Shake. Remember that rice withdraws moisture. Prepare cup of rice, and "immerse" phone in rice. Leave overnight. VICTORY! Phone works once again! Phew.

Moral of the story: Beware of water when using electronic devices, and if you find your electronics encountering water... try rice. It works!

Oh and try not to be a clutz like me ;)

When I wake...

I do not expect to hear people shouting outside my banda. It's true.

This morning, however, I awoke to the unexpected: the watchmen shouting, the dogs running, and quite the ruckus being raised just outside my banda. It was a full moon, so there was some dim lighting in the banda. I saw shadows moving outside, and I heard the noise punctuated with horrific shrieking sounds. Wide awake and curious, I lay in my bed wondering what kind of animal had invaded our compound. I heard the animal shriek, and one of the dogs shriek in response. A few moments later, the noises drifted away, and the shrieking stopped. Heather and I were wide awake now, but there was no what to do. It was 2:30 in the morning, and our watchmen had done their job. We would have to wait a few more hours until morning to find out what had happened. Heather and I speculated about what it could have been, and then eventually fell back to sleep. Our alarms woke us to a much quieter tone and more peaceful environment. Unfortunately it was raining outside, and our poor Ugandan blood was far to cold to get out from under the covers. We finally worked up the courage, got dressed, and headed to the house for breakfast. The watchman came running towards us, and we both wondered "Oh no, did something go terribly wrong in the hunt last night?" We greeted him, and asked if everything was ok. "Yes" He replied, "Everything is fine. Can you assist me with some few matches?" We agreed and asked what they had found last night. "We killed a wild animal." "What wild animal?" I asked. "A wild animal. The enemy of the chickens" He replied. We got the matches, and followed him towards the outdoor kitchen. They drug out the kill for us to see: A badger. We were all happy. The badger had been stopped in his crime: Attacking the chickens. The watchmen had an unexpected breakfast! :)

It isn't every morning you wake up like that!

It is Finished

Christ came to earth. He stooped to our level from the heavenly places, and lived among us. He humbled Himself. He faced temptations. He faced rejection. He suffered. He lived among us and was without sin so that He could be the spotless lamb, the perfect sacrifice for sin. The promises of the ages were fulfilled in Christ. He really lived and He really died. He hung on the cross, he bled, and he died in my place. He was the final sacrifice. In Him “It is finished.” He defeated sin, and He redeemed His people.

I was sitting in worship this morning hearing how my savior lived, died and rose again to bring me into fellowship with the Father. That day on the cross He put my sin to death. God looks on me and sees perfect righteousness, and that is not of my own. Yesterday I struggled with sin. Today I struggle with sin. Tomorrow I will struggle with sin. The beauty of the redemption of Christ is that all of my sins are covered. Does this give me an excuse to live in sin? May it never be (as Paul the apostle says)! It gives me peace and assurance. It lets me rest in the hope that I am safe in Christ. No one can snatch me out of the Father’s hand. He has redeemed every aspect of my life. Lord, let me be more like you day by day!

What a blessing! Praise be to God!

Dinner Party... Karimojong style

The doctor has moved into his new house and the staffs (yes I said staffs…. that is what you say here in Uganda) were eagerly waiting to see his new place. It was decided after much discussion to have dinner together on Thursday night. The menu was planned with care, the cost was determined, the food was bought, and finally the day arrived. The staffs agreed to prepare the food, and the medical students eagerly awaited the adventure of preparing a traditional meal.

We finished up with work at the clinic by three, and the preparations began. Seeing how our main dish was still alive… we probably should have gotten an early start, but there was no what to do now. So we began with the main dish: the goat. This meal preparation was not for the weak of heart or the squeamish (or the vegetarians or the animal lovers, sorry). We recruited our mighty watchman and watched as he expertly slit the goat’s throat, drained the blood and then went directly at the task of skinning the animal. I decided to be a vegetarian for the evening. I don’t mind assisting in the meal preparation, but I have yet to be able to eat meat that I helped prepare in this fashion. Finally we got started on the other aspects of the meal: frying the beans, frying the greens, mixing chapatti dough, frying chapatti’s, etc. I lent my hand and made the chapatti dough, and was told that I am well on my way to becoming a “senior” (aka a pro). There was a general buzz of activity and the food was well its way. We had to shuffle pots a bit to fit all the food, but all in all it worked out. Several hours later as my eyelids were turning to lead, they declared that the food was ready. However, they themselves were not ready. Thirty minutes later everyone is bathed and dressed smart except for me J. I am still in my work clothes and have chapatti all over my shirt. Ahh well, what to do?

We load up the food and the people into the vehicle and proceed to Doctor’s house. I am warned to drive carefully and not hit the bumps so as to not spill the food. I just laugh. If you have driven on our roads you know it is impossible to not hit the bumps even on the less than 1-kilometer stretch between the clinic and Doctor’s house.

Arriving at Doctor’s house we carry the food in, arrange ourselves and get the party started. Here in Uganda it the custom to wash your guests hands before the meal, but seeing how we have running water we asked them all to use the bathroom and wash their hands. The other custom is for the hosts to serve food to the guests, so Jim and I got to work dishing up the food. We piled rice, meat, beans, greens, and chapatti on everyone’s plate. The plates were overflowing with food! It was so fun to fill their plates, and watch them come back for more. The most impressive eaters were Lotee and Lomuria. They are our slashers (grounds crew) and they speak almost no English. Although we did discover Lomuria’s new phrase is “It’s ok” which he said about 20 times throughout the night. J Anyway, back to their eating abilities, WOW! Those guys can pack it away! Of course they “couldn’t” serve themselves so I would sit down to start eating, and one of them would come back for more. I think they must have filled their plates four or five times! They promised they would have plenty of strength for slashing the next day! ;)

We were finishing dinner, and enjoying one another’s company when Leah and I looked at each other aghast as we realized we were getting front row auditory privileges we didn’t want. You see we thought people were just going to wash their hands in the bathroom again, but no they were relieving themselves and somehow did not realize it would be proper etiquette to close the door. Oh my. Note to self: Teach our friends to close the door behind them.

All in all it was a lovely evening despite my otherwise exhausted state of being. The doctor was welcomed to his house, and good food was enjoyed by all!