sewing machines and graduations

Yesterday was a pretty relaxed day… I learned how to use a sewing machine here! I had to use it at House of Hope (the orphanage), and it was worth so it. They are the super cool old Singer machines that use no electricity. You have to use both of your feet to push the pedal back and forth—it is a real workout. I loved it so much that Angela and I might buy one. They are pretty inexpensive anyway. Plus, I miss being creative when I want to be. It was all really fun until two older men came in and started watching me and Angela. I love figuring things out for myself, so when the machine jammed, I didn’t ask for help. Plus, we were pretty sure they didn’t speak English since they never said a word to us. They thought my troubleshooting was the funniest/most amusing thing in the world and sat there staring. At first it was blank stares, then laughter. Thankfully Angela blocked their view of what was happening, because they were starting to make me angry. I’m not going to lie; it was pretty irritating. About an hour later, one of them finally told me what I was doing wrong. He spoke English all along.

Since we decided to buy our own machine, we figured we didn’t have to finish. After all, the kids were back from school and all of them wanted to shake our hands. It didn’t matter if I had the machine going. They would stick their hands directly in my way. It was time to stop! So we came back home to no electricity and no water. Thankfully the electricity came back on, but before it did, we sat under the stars in the cool air for a while. The mosquitoes haven’t been as irritating as they usually are, so it was okay to sit outside. It turns out that FOG is putting in a generator for us, so it was funny to sit outside because it seemed like everyone from FOG was outside installing it. They never got it to work, but we didn’t need it after all, so it was okay.

This morning, the water was back on. We went to devotions, where of course, Cosmos (a hilarious 40-something ADHD seeming man) decided he wanted me to play some worship songs. I had no idea it was coming, so it was pretty funny. After devotions, we went to the portable bible school in Minakulu for the graduation. It is the same place that we went to for three days a few weeks ago (not Palabek, which we hated, the other one). The portable bible school is a two month program for anyone who wants to attend. On the last day, all of the students get a bible from FOG. We drove there (about 45 minutes away) and they had a whole procession of students walking down the street. The “ceremony” was super unorganized in typical Uganda fashion, but it was fun nonetheless. They asked us to present the awards. When they called people’s names, they jumped up as if they were on The Price is Right; some of them were singing and dancing on their way! It was pretty funny.

The time came for lunch and we were told that we had to eat like the Ugandans, AKA with our hands! I was an absolute mess. It is so difficult to eat rice and soupy food with your hands. I don’t know how everyone was so neat. Angela was dying of laughter watching me. I had food EVERYWHERE. We finally left after lunch and I showered when we got back. Showers with running water can be such a beautiful thing at the end of a crazy day!

We just got back from dinner with Godfrey and Judith. We took them out for Godfrey’s birthday at Churchill. It was great to talk to them together as a couple; they are so cute. They told us all about how they met, then we talked to Judith about her passion for helping women in Uganda. It is really sucky how much men look down on women here. A lot of the women actually have to bow before their husbands when they serve them food or water. So crazy. Judith is really independent and flat out awesome though. She tries to instill freedom in the women that she encounters, and I think she succeeds. She is great.

Anyway, it has been a long day and I am tired. Time for bed! Goodnight family and friends!