Have Patience

Don't ask me how.... but thinking of the Dead Ant joke from the last post caused me to think of another song that I don't know much about.  At some point in my early childhood I learned the "Have Patience" song.

Here are the Words:

Have patience, have patience
Don't be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient
You always start to worry
Remember, remember
That God is patient too
And think of all the times
When others have to wait on you!

I have only met one other person, except my mother, who knew this song.  Mr. Kely Braswell sang it this summer while we were waiting on dinner to get ready, and I was SUPER excited to know that I was not the only one who had heard it!!

So if you recognize the lyrics and can give me more info on who sang it, how to find it.... anything, I would be ever so thankful!

Dead Ant...

Can anyone remember the joke that had the : dead ant, dead ant punch line that was sung to the Pink Panther tune??...  Well I was wishin' I had a reason to sing it the other day. 

It all started at night.  Kent and Brian ( the restaurant guy) were about to leave when they were attacked by fire ants. ( not the big red west Texas kind hat hurt when they bite, but the small yet equally painful type that swarm and attack you in large groups). The girls and I realized that there was trouble in paradise, when the guys came running up the steps, stripping off their pants yelling at us to turn off the lights.

After they had checked and double checked to make sure that they had removed all of the ants that had congregated in their tighty-whiteys, they proceeded to tell us how they were innocently standing in the drive way when they began experiencing pain in some very sensitive areas.  After they had redressed, we looked out on the sidewalk and discovered that it was moving.... like it was covered in small, black, swarming ants! CRAZY....

The next day the girls discovered this in the yard:

It was a pathway traveling from under the pomegranate tree to under the orange tree.  You can see the "walls" of the path with a steady stream of ants flowing in one direction.

Zoom out a little way and the path really begins to develop. See here there is even a fork in the road.

 Zoom out a little more, and you are looking at the Great Ant Wall of Uganda.  It was amazing..... I had to fight off a little panic as I started to imagine them invading my house, but I got over it quickly.

Antioch, Gulu

Sundays have been getting crazier and crazier... two weeks ago we had 45ish kids... last week we had almost 60!  Fortunately it is not just Miriam and myself any more.  We have added to our children's ministry team: Gladys and Francis.  THANK YOU JESUS!

This is Miriam with one of our babies... we have been trying to teach all the children in one large group, but now that help has arrived we will split into two groups.

After serving some ump-teen years in Children's Ministry both in Lubbock and in Waco, I  have TONs of experience.... I am a pro when it comes to planning, and preparing to teach children in America. In Uganda, however, we don't have the luxury of toy-filled nurseries, so finding ways to teach and entertain 20+ children in a dusty construction zone for an hour or more is a weekly challenge!

Every Sunday the children usually worship with the adults. After worship, baptisms and offering the children are dismissed to Sunday school.  Miriam usually tells the story, in both English and Luo. Then after she tells the story and asks the kids some questions, we color. We currently have a bag full of crayons that the children pass around. Every one gets 2-3 crayons and then they share/trade with their neighbor. Then while they are still coloring we have a snack. 

This is Baby Girl with her friend Rose.  Is is fun to see the girls developing friendships, even with the language barrier.

Ummmm..... this is the baptismal.  It works well, and it about the only other thing at our church picture worthy at the moment.

A day in the life of....

Most days start with Jesus time.  I get up, fix some tea and snuggle down into my big chair tucked into the quite corner of my bedroom.  I have my Bible, two journals, my ipod and my colored pens.  There is also the occasional book and stack of blank notecards. Sometimes I have the joy of having the whole morning to myself, other days I get to share it with one of the "babies".  (I wonder if we will ever stops calling the last to babies?)

After Jesus time, is breakfast.  Most mornings it is cereal.  We by boxes and boxes of it when we are in Kampala once a month. Mainly Kellogs Corn Flakes, but Kent and the big girls like this granola type cereal. On weekends we have the "special" cereal : Cocoa Pops.  We usually make pancakes once a week and of course there is always eggs!

As you can see, we love the master mix recipie and the pancakes we make from it. After breakfast we have God time. God time is the family devotional time, which is different from personal Jesus time. Right now we are in Genesis. After we pray it is off to the school room. 

We do all the group stuff first.  Then the big girls work on their books while I help the babies with their books.  When Curly Sue is done with her assignments for the day, she and Sunggle bug head to the living room for playtime.  I have to be careful, otherwise I will sit and work till way past lunch time!  If the girls don't need much assistance, then I will work on a projet of some kind. I can't stand not having something to do, but I try not to leave the school room. If  I leave, the girls usually will start playing, so I try and stay as much as possible.

Lunch.... Untill recently lunch was either: leftovers, rice or a sandwhich. Sandwhiches are either PB&J's or tuna.  However, last month we discovered yummy lunch meat in Kampala, so we can now add that to the menu. With our sandwhiches we have one or two of the following:  pickles, fruit, popcorn, chips, carrots or the occasional cookie.

Afternoons vary depending on the day, most are filled by finishing school, washing dishes, preparing for supper, and my favorite activity: crafting. On Wedendays  I take a Boda Boda (motercycle taxi) into town and spend time with Miriam, our children's church teacher. We talk about the next lesson, and then we will go and visit some of the children from church at their homes.  Today I scheduled a weekely Bible Study for Friday afternoons with my neighbor and her friend. That will be a fun time!!

Evenings, after supper are usuallly spent taking baths, playing games, watching movies or reading a book. There have been many nights when the power is out and Mommy reading a book it the only source of entertaiment.  We really enjoy those nights.

Saturdays are chore days. We usually do one or more of the following tasks:  sweep and mop, clean bathrooms, scrubb bathmats and rugs, wash sheets, dry and put away clothes, work in the garden or flower bed.  Lest you worry about the picture below..... I didn't wash all those clothes. 

Our neighbor across the street uesd to wash our clothes, but they NEVER had enough time to dry, so they would always come back smelling mildewed.  So we started picking them up sooner so we could dry them ourselves.  This week Kevin started washing, at our house so they could dry... completely.  It has ben WONDERFUL wearing clothes that didn't smell gross!

I wasn't part of this Peanut planting party, but I did harvest the beans that used to be planted there! To plant peanuts (or g-nuts as they are called here) you need a partner. One digs the hole and the other one puts the seeds in the ground.

After chores we have free time.  I craft or start cooking while the girls get filthy playing with their friends from the neighborhood.

Sundays we have Church, then we have lunch, by the time we get home from all that there is just enough time to take a quick nap before starting to cook supper.

Well that is a quick look at my day in the life of  a: Stay at home mom... who is also a teacher... who is also trying to teach people how to follow Jesus!

Happy Birthday Kevin and Baby

( small disclaimer... I am writing this late at night AND the spell check is not working.... so who knows what my spelling will be like!!)

My neighbor's name is Kevin... she is a woman. She is an amazing woman and is also my friend! A week and a half ago I had the priveldge and honor of praying with her to recive salvation.  Three days later I had the blessing of delivering her baby.

The action started around midnight on Tuesday night. She called saying the pain was increasing, so I went over to her house for a first hand look at how close her contractions were.  Kevin is a first time mom, so when the contractions weren't too close together, I told her how to time them, and then told her to call me again when they were closer together.

I need to take the time to explain that Kevin was not alone, I am not cruel and heartless. She has a family friend that has been living with her for the past few months to help keep house as well as help with the baby when she arrived.  Her name is Kevin, too.

At three AM the phone rings again, and Mamma Kevin ;) says that the pain is too much.... she has thrown timing the contractions out the window, and is ready to go to the hospital.  After hearing MANY horror stories about some of the "free" hospitals, we asked if we could take her to the "private" hospital.

We arrived, and she was immeadeatly seen by the Doctor.  Kevin and I sat in the hall, while the DR examined her and determined that she was in true labor, and that she should be admitted to the hospital.  When he came out into the hall, I asked if either Kevin or I could be with Mamma Kevin, while she was delivering. He seemed shocked that I would ask! I explained that I was willing to gown up or whatever I needed, but we REALLY wanted one of us in the room.... we didn't want her alone. He gave me a vauge response about asking the gyn. and then started having the staff prepare the labor room.

He decided that since she was a "first timer" that he would check the baby's heart beat every hour, and then he would check her progress in about four hours. That being settled, he left and we all three walked down the hall to the labor room.  As soon as we entered, Mamma Kevin stripped down to her birthday suit, no back less hospital gown, no blanket.... Nothing!  THAT was a new experience for me, to say the least!

In Gulu, if you want your doctor to have supplies, and you don't want to have to pay and arm and a led for them you bring them yourself!  I can't imaginge with all the other thinking and planning a new mom has to do in preperation for a trip to a hospital, having to pack: gloves, gause, wool, plastic bed covers, toilet paper....... the things we take forgranted.

Mamma Kevin was amazing!  Once she realized that she was bleeding, she had Kevin place the plastic sheet on the bed.  While having intense contractions, we told me to put on a pair of gloves and start rubbing.... um... rubbing her bum.  I can barely think straight when I have pain meds..... she had nothing, and was still able to think!! 

We were in the labor room, (which is literaly two non-ajustable, metal beds; two baby warmers; a sink and a couple of chairs) for about..... 45 minuets, when she felt the urge to push.... She pushed, I suggested that maybe she shouldn't, to which she replied that she couldn't help it, it was happening on it's own. Kevin ran to get the doctor, he ran in and realized that she couldn't walk and ran to get the gurney.  By the time he returned, the baby had arrived and I had caught her!

Everyone was totally caught off gaurd..... remember, they were going to check the HEART BEAT in an hour and check her PROGRESS in 4 hours.  She was a "first timer" and the doctor said that she set the record for the fastest first timer.... like EVER.
 
I followed a doctor & the baby to the delivery room, and left the Kevins in the labor room with another DR. Kevin's  doctor was having to try SOO hard to keep everything steril and clean while he checked everything out. He didn't even take the time to put on a gown, or anything... he just had the nurse tuck his tie into his shirt! 
 
I had to help the nurse and Dr.  that was with the baby learn how to use the scale! (I think everyone was extremely frazzled by the sudden apperance of the baby.) When we finally got the baby on the correct scale, she weighed in at a whopping.... 2.4 Kilos.... or 4.9 ish pounds!..... Sweet Pea weighed twice that!! That may have something to do with why she slipped out so quickly.
 
So the fun part about all this.......

Mamma Kevin and baby have the same birthday! I think it is so much fun when that happens!!  Kent and the my girls decorated the porch for their arrival.

The baby's name.... Her local name is Apoyo Rot which means "thank God"

Her "Christian" name is Becky Ann.

How everwith two Kevins and two Beckies arround we would all be so confused,

so her nickname is "Acuc" wich means "Small one"

Acuc at one week old!

Happy Birthday Curly Sue & Sweet Pea

Movin right along.... we have CS and SP's birthday!! We were traveling in Kampala on CS actual birthday, and our friends couldn't come on SP's birthday, SO we celebrated on the day in between!!  This time the creative present presentation was......

Wrapping Fabric!  Gracefully draped in the largest cut of fabric that I had, was the best way to give the girls gifts. It was awesome... We had Pizza and Kool-aid for dinner and then cake and.... ICE CREAM for dessert!  Yes, you read that right..... Daddy somehow managed to find ice cream, in our city, that hadn't been thawed and re-frozen a million times.  It was very tasty!

We even had balloon games.  This was the second round. Brian missed the first round, so we willingly played again! We tried to see whose balloon could go the farthest, as well as a relay walking with a balloon between your knees. Everyone had a good time. After games and cake, we took time to love on, encourage and pray for both the girls..... that was really sweet.

Happy Birthday Snuggle Bug

Ok.... I know I am a little late in posting... .but better late then never, right??  So this was SB's 4th birthday party.  When there is not a Walmart around the corner, you have to get creative with the present presentation, so we planned a "scavanger hunt" that led the guest of honor all around the yard, and even had a few gifts tucked here and there.

While she was out hunting, I decorated for the party.... the tablecloth, cake and the remaining presents were displayed as elegently as I could make them.  She was tickled pink when she finished her hunting and came into her "party".  That is one of the nice things about living simply... anything can be exciting!!!

 

The trio blocks that she got were a HUGE hit!!! They all love playing with them and they loved the bead "pop-arty" too..... only they don't use the beads to make jewlery, they sort tnem and then "serve" them as food. :)  Today I was treated to a FEAST!