Being a Mudslinger

The last couple days have been amazing as we left the comforts of home and went out into the bush. We drove through some very eroded roads and communities to get to the community of Bulungabe. It was quite a distance from Kampala, taking a couple hours. Of course, the view of the country life kept us all mesmarized as we gazed upon the people's daily life! Tiny shops with people working and cleaning, women sitting nursing babies, children of all sizes out either going to school, playing with makeshift toys, or just 'hanging out' with the fam, men repairing bikes or building items in their shops, and many residents just sitting around their homes as if they are just exhausted with life. It seems all that we see is evidence of daily survival. People riding bicycles or scooters were everywhere hauling products either to or from the market. Even though the red dust of Uganda coats everything, there is beauty all around us. Colorful trees and flowers are everywhere and we saw many traditional dresses worn by the women. Some homes and businesses were painted bright colors which contrasted to the red mud and brick homes that were more the norm.
Our first day in our community was a more formal day where we were introduced to the owner of the home we were going to build. Her name was Christine and her husband had died earlier and before he passed away, he had sold their home and property, leaving her and their six children homeless. She had a temporary residence but needed her own place. Her GFR sponsorship allowed her to save money to purchase this ground and she was happy to greet us in the name of the Lord. We were surrounded by the neighbors and friends of this family and others from the community. This was definitely God's chosen people as they were a group of poor souls like I've never seen before.

Children were wearing dirty rags if they had clothes at all. Many of the adults also showed signs of extreme poverty. BUT they were courteous, grateful and gracious as we were introduced.

Idah was with us and she explained that there was not enough corrugated roofing material to complete the roof so more must be purchased. We gave them money for that. Our team's main chore the first day was gathering water in the large 5 gallon jerry cans. Our walk to the water hole was about a 10 minute walk to get there, but considerable longer getting backk with the filled containers. The older women and children chuckled as the MZUNGU's struggled with the weight of the water containers. The jugs were emptied into a hole in the ground where dirt had been upturned. A gentleman stood barefoot in this mud with a giant hoe combining these two into a perfectly mixed concoction. We trekked to the water hole only one more time before the children took over our job. It was a VERY strenuous job that is part of their daily routine—not sure I'd ever have the stamina to keep up that job for very long!! Oh, wait a minute!!!!!! They don't have that option—it's their life!!

Throughout of day, we teased with the children, teaching them games and songs, and listening to some of their songs. How joyous that was to witness these happy children under such dreary circumstances. Several of the team members brought new t-shirts and we were able to hand those to some of the 'shabbiest' dressed children. Happiness can now be best described by me as seeing a deprived Ugandan child receiving a best new shirt. Another precious baby was obviously ill and Jessica was determined to see that the child was given money for medical care. With Idah's help, we were able to see that 'momma' got the help she needed. We also met a very unfortunate 30 year old gentleman who had a bad case of possible “elephantitis” (excuse spelling error) His mother had already lost 4 of her 5 children and was determined that this last remaining child not die. She had a sponsorship which was behind because of a bank error so our team was able to give her money for medicine for her son as well as pay a debt she has accumulated because of lack of sponsorship money.

We TRIED to eat our lunch in the minibus as conspicuously as possible but the children and adults surrounded us as we ate our pb&j sandwiches. As we completed our meal, we took our leftover buns and divided them between everyone. Many knelt in gratitude as they received this gift of food. How humbling this was to give so little and feel like we have shared THE BEST to them. Luke and Gene brought a soccer ball that was given to the group of kids—it was a trade. “YOU GIVE ME YOUR RAG BALL AND WE'LL GIVE YOU THIS SOCCERBALL.” They didn't think twice!! The joy was absolutely contagious as we felt joyous at witnessing such a glorious act of kindness. God was blessing us every step of our journey.

The second day at Bulungabe was THE MOST MEMORABLE DAY OF MY MISSION TRIP TO UGANDA!! Our team became MUDSLINGERS!! When we arrived, the new roof was about done and the mud was nearly 'perfect'. We had brought sturdy work gloves to build a home of brick and stone, only to discover too late that they would not work for this project. However, the men were happy with their new gift! The bamboo frame will support the mud as it was packed tightly between the framework. We were shown by the professionals, then we began our adventure of MUDSLINGING. The piles of wet mud was packed,working bottom to top, in no particular order. Piles of mud were carried from the original mud hole by both men and women to our work area and we worked the mud into the frame.

The children surrounded us as we entertained them with our work. Many of the men knew English and we chatted as we worked and enjoyed the fellowship greatly as we developed a deeper relationship. At one point, we decided that the Ugandans were more efficient at packing the mud so our team made an assembly line to pass heaps of mud from the front to the back where the men were working. It certainly speeded up the process!!! When the mud was depleted from its original pile, WE WERE DONE!! Photos galore were taken throughout this process as we all agreed that this was the most special day we have experienced.

Again, we were able to hand out t-shirts to a few extra needy children. One young child gave us his tattered t-shirt as a trade-off of the new shirt. We are hoping that we can use this old shirt as a way to encourage others to join us in our excitement for missions in UGANDA!!! We gave candy to the kids which was a huge hit with them. One young lady who had probably been born with polio had been extremely shy with us the day before but was just joyous beyond words when I handed her a 'ring pop' candy. She squealed and hobbled away to show her friends. Not sure how she is accepted by people because of her obvious disability. Thank you God for showing me this dear woman who I was able to bless in such a tiny way. I wish I could go back with clothing for her as the one shirt I saw her wearing for 2 days exposed her breasts, which broke my heart.

Our drive back to the house was filled with brainstorming about how we might improved our efforts to serve God's people. I am filled with joy!! The time I'm spending with these friends from the states has also blessed me!!! Please continue your prayers for me and this team!!! SO MUCH MORE to come for us!!!