Greetings from the mazungus at Labowa!
We are busy with life here. Sally is helping with implementing ongoing change for the clinic as directed by the Board. She has also been helping several children with specific medical needs. One girl, Alice, will have ear and adenoid surgery in a few weeks, which hopefully will improve her hearing and decrease the number of infections. She took Sylvia to the hospital today and in the morning Sylvia will have bilateral cataract surgery. Please pray that this will significantly improve her vision as she is a very bright 6-year old girl. She is very eager to see well enough to learn to write. Then on Thursday Sally takes Enoch to a pediatric neurologist. Enoch is a two-year old that came to the medical clinic that the team did back in late June. He appears to have some serious neuromuscular disease so hopefully an accurate diagnosis can be made that will help the parents assist the child. He is not able to sit, crawl, walk, or talk. Unfortunately there are not the early intervention resources here that are prevalent in the states.
The construction project races on. We anticipate finishing five of the seven buildings in the next week. Then we will focus our attention and limited resources on the final 2 two-story buildings. The final roofing has begun and we hope to attain usable status for both buildings. The promised finances for the buildings include an end-of-the year gift that will come later to complete the structures but we hope to have them ready for occupancy even though not completely finished. This is the third time I have reduced the crew size due to lack of finances.
Now to the latest scoop. August 20 was our anniversary (31 years) and August 21 was Sally’s latest birthday past 30-something. We read in our Lonely Planet book of East Africa that there is an actual boat here that was used in the filming of the movie, The African Queen, which gives dinner cruises on Lake Victoria. However, no one in our immediate African family knew any information about the boat. Our adventure began at 6:00 AM on the 20th with a long taxi ride to the docks at Entebbe. The taxis are minivans, usually packed with about 16 people that are the public transportation system here. After (1) locating the correct part of town (2) getting a boda boda (motorcycle) ride to the dock and (3) realizing that most of the people around the dock did not speak English, we realized that no one had heard of the boat. We began to realize that without more information our quest was impractical at best. We again consulted our book, which gives only part information, and decided that there may be other options for the berth of the “Queen.” We again took a taxi and went to Kampala and had morning coffee. We then took another taxi to Port Bell, another dock close to the city, but alas no “Queen” to be found. We did however find a guide with a boat who took us on an island excursion on the lake. We visited a small island inhabited by 250-300 people living mostly in one community. Housing was of sticks and mud for walls and thatch or tin for roofs. The folks are totally self-sufficient by fishing as well as farming the island because of the rich soil and constant water supply. They have a 12-month growing season so crop rotation is the key to success. There is no school, clinic or buildings of business, other than what is sold from windows out of the huts. There are hundreds of such islands on Lake Victoria and many are hours away from any major port or city. It is quite possible to be born, live your life, and die without ever leaving the island and its immediate waters.
A taxi back to Kampala and another taxi to Gabba Beach, our last option to search for the “Queen” this day. Another port, more fish and fishmen, boats, and ferries did abound, but alas no “Queen.” We had been informed by friends of a great restaurant up on the hill overlooking the lake and the city so we took a culinary detour as we foraged for food. We could see the island we had just explored as we sat at a table and enjoyed an outstanding meal. More bodas and taxis to make it back home ended a very memorable 31st anniversary and we have preserved the quest for the “Queen” for another day of adventure. Sally received roses for her birthday and a beautiful set of soapstone coasters.
Our time of fellowship with the singles continues and we are working on their upcoming retreat. We are excited to be a part and honored to be included in the planning.
Please pray for:
1. Sylvia’s surgery tomorrow
2. The singles retreat (September 5-7)
3. The work project
4. Finances for the project
5. Changes at the clinic
6. Wisdom as we enter our last month here (we would like to finish well)
7. Gorden’s knee which is injured and painful
8. Wisdom in relationships
9. Our son Ben arrives here September 3 and will stay until we leave the 23rd
Thank you for your prayers and financial support, both of which sustain us.
Gorden and Sally
PS we have attached some photos as we received a great used digital camera from a friend of our daughter. Hope you enjoy!
Admin building
Dorm
Two-Story Classroom
Temporary Library
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