Here's me and Pius my language teacher....I am learning Runaynkore for 3 hours a day, 4 days a week. We usually break for tea and coffee about half way through....yes we have tea time. 

Here's one of our friends....they come out at night and usually jump out from behind the curtains if we aren't careful! Here is one in our kitchen....welcome to Africa!  

This shows some of the living conditions here...this is one of many slum areas. Poverty is the only life many Ugandans have ever known. Many try to come to the city from the village to "live the big life" but end up having to live on the streets because they can't make enough money. 

Fresh meat!...get your live chickens and notice the nice meat market in the back....don't worry we don't buy our meat here. 

Some of our friends on the roadside...it's typical to see these long-horned cows all over the city even crossing a busy street! 

Some of the fun roads we get to drive on....this one is actually not too bad! 

Christmas Enungi!

Christmas enungi is Runyankore (the language I am learning) and actually translates Good Christmas. It was a good Christmas...one I will never forget! I was sad to miss the celebration at home; but don't worry I wasn't alone for Christmas. Some other people from the states who are here serving as well invited us for brunch. We played cards all afternoon and then ended up staying for supper as well. It was a much different atmosphere than I am used to at Christmas back home, but it was nice to somewhat get away from all the presents and just fellowship with other believers. It's neat how when everyone is away from their family you become one big family!

It was also interesting to see how the Ugandans celebrate Christmas. Driving down the street it looked much like any other day...men selling chickens on the roadside, taxis running their normal route, people everywhere. etc. But many people were dressed up and were walking to church services that would last all morning and into the afternoon for some. We passed by a Catholic church and people were pouring out the doors because there were so many. It's interesting how since the focus is not on materialism and presents, they make worship a priority on Christmas Day. We in America sure could learn a lot from these people!

I'm Aunt Kari to a couple of pretty cute MK's here. Here I am with 3 yr old Rachel. Christmas Eve everyone from our organization here in Kampala ate a nice dinner together complete with a ham (it had to be special ordered from a butcher because they don't usually carry it here)! And yes there is a Christmas tree in the background. It sure doesn't seem like Christmas to me because of the warm weather, and a lot Ugandans don't do anything special because they don't have the money to celebrate. So you don't see the same sights of Christmas as you do at home. But I was reminded tonight that Christmas isn't about presents, or decorations, or even being with family. It is the day of the birth of our Savior. He is the reason I have come to Uganda and He derserves our praise! We can celebrate that no matter where we our. 

My new ride

No really...this is my car or I guess I should say truck! Can't you all picture me driving this massive thing? Ok you can stop laughing...It actually drives pretty good...of course it is a stick shift and the steering wheel is on the right side since we drive on the opposite side of the road than America. Thankfully it's a 4 wheel drive too since a lot of the roads here are dirt with huge crater size potholes....sounds fun, huh.

We stopped on the side of the road to buy some charcoal on our way back from Mbarara and these children ran from all over to come and see the "Muzungus" (white people). They just wanted to hold our hands and touch our skin....it breaks my heart to see the conditions these children live in, but look at their smiling faces...this is the only life they have ever known; but oh that they might come to know the Hope of Him who has sent me! 

All you proud Kentuckians out there will be glad to know KY is well represented here in Uganda! We have no idea what this place is...but saw this sign on the side of the road and were pretty excited....everybody knows Kentucky is the best state...even Ugandans! 

Last week we went to Mbarara (the town I will be living in...4 hours away from Kampala where I am now). It was so far we had to go to another hemisphere! Here we are at the equator...there is actually a line drawn across the road! I wil live in the Southern Hemisphere and Christy lives in the Northern Hemisphere. 

This is our househelper Judith...she has been such a blessing helping us get adjusted to life here in Uganda. She lives on our compound in the worker's quarters and helps us with daily chores. Here she is in the streets of Kampala one Sunday afternoon as we walked home part of the way from church because traffic was so bad we could not get to our house! Be praying for Judith...she is a believer but is alone and does not have many friends in the city. She will be leaving us in February, pray she will find friends at her new work location.  

Muyenga Church...

 muyangachurchsmall Originally uploaded by kariuganda

The past two Sundays we have worshipped at this open-air church called Muyenga Baptist Church. Services are lead in Luganda (the language spoken here in Kampala) and then translated in English. I feel like I have learned more from these faithful Ugandans than I have been of service to them so far. They sure know how to worship...services are from about 9:30-1pm full of dancing, singing, clapping, and beautiful smiling children. I have been really encouraged by a women who leads the woman's bible study before worship...she sure know her Bible...makes me want to study more! I don't know if we will make this our new church home, but this gives you an idea of what worship is like here in Uganda!

My temporary home

 My temporary home Originally uploaded by kariuganda.

This is where Christy (my roommate for now) and I are living in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. This 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house is very nice compared to the average standard of living here. Of course there are a few things we are learning to live without...including electricity. The power goes off every other day and then the opposite night for a few hours. We don't have air-conditioning

and it does get pretty warm here...upper 80's-90 degrees here...how bout that for December!! Our house is guarded each night by an armed guard, Edward (please pray for his salvation...he is catholic by tradition, but showing interest in learning about becoming a born again Christian). Our house is surrounded by a gate with razor wire as well...I have felt very safe so far. And I have the ultimate Protection which is far better :)

Here's me in front of Big Ben...London was foggy that day just like I would picture it. It was a crazy day trying to see all the sites in a few hours, but it was worth it just to say I'd been there! 

Hello From Uganda....

Well, I made i made it to Uganda without problems on December 8th and even enjoyed a 10 hour layover in London seeing some of the sites (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, etc). Thankfully all of our luggage arrived as well! I am living with Christy in the capital of Uganda currently (Kampala). The first week was pretty rough, but each day seems to get a little better. We are learning to drive in some of the craziest traffic I have ever seen. Of course we are driving a stick shift on the opposite side of the road than America and the steering wheel is also on the opposite side! You have to be a good defensive driver here or you will not survive!! There are so many things to watch out for...people walking, cows, chickens, goats, boda bodas (motorcycle taxis), and taxis with about 100 people in them that pull out right in front of you. Not only are the roads chaos, but the side roads are dirt with huge craters in them. You can hardly ever shift out of first so it takes forever to go even a short distance! There is only one working stop light in this city of over a million people so they use roundabouts to keep traffic flowing. Each time I enter a roundabout I pray God will protect me! Our time here so far has been spent getting adjusted to our new surroundings and learning how to survive in Africa! Tomorrow I begin language study for one of Uganda's 40 languages...Runyankore. I will have a tutor for 3 hours each day probably for at least the next 4 weeks...so please pray for memory as I try to learn this language! We have finally gotten internet at our house (praise God!) but unfortunately I cannot put my pictures on this website for some reason. I am hoping to find a way to show pictures though because words cannot describe these experiences that is for sure!

Commissioning

It was exciting for my family to get to come to my commissioning service at orientation and share this experience with me. Here is my mom, Kathy, 14 yr-old brother Kaleb, and dad, Kenny. Please be praying for them especially as I leave for Uganda this Monday (December 6th)!! I believe it will be harder on them these first few weeks, while the reality of it all will probably hit me later down the road. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful loving and supportive family and I will miss them greatly. But I look with anticipation for what God has in store. Please pray I will trust Him in ALL THINGS during this time of transition. "He is before all things and in HIM all things hold together." Colossians 1:17

African dinner...

This past weekend we had an African dinner at our regional leader's house. Here Sharon, who lived in Uganda for 15 years, is teaching us how to make chapatis (flour, water, oil, salt to make a dough) rolled out into flat cakes and deepfried. After slaving away making the meal, the men got to eat at the kitchen table while the women had to sit on the ground!! Just so we could simulate African culture. And of course we used our hands which is always fun when you are eating rice!

Here are some other people who will also be serving in Africa. James and Billy are preparing "greens" and Sara and Christy are working on the fruit salad full of papya, pineapple, mango,and bananas. I can't wait to get to Uganda and have fresh fruit all year long!

Shots, shots, and more shots

One of the benefits of being a nurse here is getting to give everyone their shots to go overseas. We have had 3 "clinic days" while at orientation. Each clinic day all of us on the med team wear these red shirts that say "Today is a good day" based off Genesis 1:31 "And God saw everything that he had made; and behold, it was very good." Everyone loves the play on words. When the kids see our red shirts they know it is "shot day". Most people get between 3-5 shots each time. I received 9 shots total! Thankfully no major side effects though. Here I am with, Carol, who will be serving in the Southern part of Africa. See, it is a painless experience when I give shots :)

Nearing the finish line...

It's hard to believe that I only have a little over a week left here at Orientation and then will be leaving for Uganda December 6th! My time here has been amazing. I have made so many great friends and have grown so much from the conversations we have had. It seems like I am always being challenged to really think through why I believe what I believe and back it up with scripture. Even though I am so excited about what God has in store, it's going to be really hard to leave these people knowing I probably won't see most of them for at least 2 years. Please pray that I will have peace and know how to tie up friendships made here while trying to go home and pack and say goodbye to family there.

Precious friends

Our leader here at orientation, Elbert, is one of the most expressive people I have ever met. Some of the guys here decided to make iron-on shirts for everyone to wear to display Elbert's famous quotes. Here is one of my favorite little boys here at orientation, Daniel. He even got one of the pictures put on the back of his "onesie". My shirt says, "Don't leave here without that!". I'll explain more when I return home, but isn't this little guy precious. We are all "aunts" and "uncles" to the kids here and enjoy playing with them.

Ethiopian Meal

Here are some of my friends who will also be serving in different parts of Africa. After visiting the Ugandan Embassy in D.C. we enjoyed an Ethiopian meal. I had lamb meat with jalepeno peppers, tomatoes, onions, and the interesting part was the bread. It looked like a sponge with the texture of a pancake and kind of tasted like a mixture of the two! But surprisingly the food was good. Yet another reminder of the many new experiences I will have in the days to come.

Ugandan Embassy

Last friday we spent all day in Washington D.C. Our assignment was to try to find people from our people group as well as embrace the different cultures represented. I was able to visit the Ugandan Embassy and had a wonderful experience there. The girl working the front desk was so excited when I told her I was going to be moving to Uganda; she said it is the most beautiful country in all of Africa! She was from Uganda and is in the states now going to college. Her mother is actually from the town I will be living in and she even gave me her phone number to reach her when I get to Uganda! She also spoke my language; Runyankore and taught me how to say "hi"..."Angandi". Then I spent about half an hour talking with the Ambassador of the Embassy who gladly welcomed us into his office to share about Uganda. Being there gave me a renewed passion for what I am about to encounter. The Ugandan people are so friendly and open to the gospel...I can't wait to see what God is doing there. Here I am at the embassy; the man in the picture is Uganda's president, Museveni.

Worship....African style

Tonight was African worship night, here Carmel (going to Southern Africa) and I dressed in our colorful African attire, got to participate in the service. Most African worship services are a good 3-4 hours, ours was not nearly that long, but we praised God singing and clapping to songs in Swahili. Then people gathered and prayed around the 11 of us who will be serving in Africa (not including North Africa, they are part of the Middle East region). When I start to think about what it is going to be like to actually live in Uganda I get so excited!! We have been learning about African hospitality. Despite their poor living conditions and devastation of AIDS throughout their villages, they are always ready to welcome a guest. I look forward to showing that same hospitality to new Ugandan friends as I invite them into my new home.

Fall....

The campus here at MLC is beautiful especially now that it is fall. Being in the countryside we have a lake to enjoy and great paths to walk. Everywhere I look I am reminded of our Creator. It amazes me how people can see the beauty of creation without praising God! Here I am with some of my "quad-mates" (minus Amy)...Carrie, Lindsey, Amy, me, Carmel, and Jasmine.

Killin' Chickens (Beware the picture below might bother some of you)...

This afternoon at "Gore Fest 2004" we learned how to kill and prepare a chicken and also fillet a fish! Believe me I have many more grusome pictures but I figured I better spare you guys. The saying "running round like a chicken with it's head cut off" has a new meaning for me now. While I probably won't be required to kill my own food in Africa, you never know!!

Special Meals

Trying new foods is an interesting part of our orientation experience. This week we have had two "special meals". Tuesday was Middle Eastern food (lamb meatballs, cucumber salad that we got to eat with our hands!!) Today was really pretty good...Middle American/Carribean food (corn tortillas, pork, beans, rice, salsa, and plantains, which look kind of like bananas but don't taste like them!). As we try these new foods we pray for these areas of the world, that they might come to know the saving grace of our Lord.

Uganda Bound

Christy (also a proud Kentuckian) will also be serving in Uganda, but in the capital city about 4 hours from where I will live. We are going through orientation here together and will live together for the first month or so when we get to Uganda and do language/cultural study. Fun times :)

Game Night

Games are a common pass time here. It's funny no matter how tired we are from class, the jmen are always up for some fun at night. Here we are playing a game, guys vs. girls. Unfortunately the guys won, but there's plenty of time for a rematch!

Mmmm...cheesecake!

New friends...(me, Carmel, Amy, Conan, Doug, Kim, Becca) enjoying cheesecake on a night away from MLC! The Jmen are always anxious for what we like to call "social time".

Cultural worship

Lindsey (also from Kentucky) and Carrie are 2 of my 7 "quad mates". We are dressed for a cultural worship experience. This was a really neat time. The women had to cover their heads and sit separately from the men. We all brought "prayer mats" and sang in differnt languages to simulate what we will all be experiencing in about 6 weeks. As we praised the One True God, 1.3 billion people around the world bowed to a god that doesn't even exist!!

Orientation

Before heading overseas I am spending October and November in orientation at a place called MLC in Virginia with around 100 other people (couples, families, and other single jmen like me). Our time here is spent learning about culture and how we can better serve the people we will be working with. It has been a very encouraging time, and I have made many new friends. God continues to teach me more each day!