Week 42

Pam's brother, Dennis is here for Christmas...about 3 weeks total.  Saw a lot of sites in southern Uganda last week.  3 days of safaris this week as well as Senior Couples' Conference with our mission president and his wife.  Then to the Rhino park next week on the way back to Kampala.

Dennis is the greatest guy in the world.  A tireless worker, he has been in many countries building Habitat Homes, creating roads, or financing/assembling solar reflector ovens.  He is doing service work here in his spare time...never a minute wasted.  The worst part of his trip has been having to drive with me in the front seat in the city of Kampala.  It's worse than any scene you could imagine in NYC...really...trust me.  Keeps him on his toes.  When we finally made it home, we noticed somebody had dinged up the truck and left some blue paint on my grey truck.  Elder Jonson, there were two witnesses in my car at all times; Pam and Dennis, I am innocent of having dinged the truck up again.  I used to ask for a new truck.  Not anymore.  I don't want to be responsible for it.

Today we experienced some of the most inspiring meetings/classes in one of our local branches of anywhere we've been in the world. Progress is slow - as should be expected - with their lack of experiences, but we ARE seeing real progress.  It was heartwarming to see principles they have been taught being put into practice.  
 
We feel great joy during this wonderful Christmas season, especially being able to share the message of Christ's love with the people of Africa.  Yes, we would love being with our children and their families as well as our friends, but honestly, there's no place we'd rather be right now than serving here in Uganda.  Our love for these good, faithful people, all "babes" in the Gospel, continues to grow daily. We and our family have all been blessed by this experience.

Sorry, no time for individual letters, but we love you and wish for you your best Christmas season ever.
Pam and Brooks

Dennis getting down and funky at Ndere Cultural Center with the local natives.

 And not to be outdone by her brother, Sister Moore jukin and jivin!

I can't take a pic of myself dancing so I boogie up to the show's MC and we sing a duet in Swahili...actually I have no idea what language he was singing but it makes one want to move one's hips around.

 Dennis erecting a food/fruit dryer in the village of one of our prospective missionary's mom's place.

 Dennis digging post holes for a Tippy Tap.

Job well done, Dennis.  I told you he could work tirelessly.  Two verticle poles, one horizontal on which a jerry can of water is tied and a 1 and 1/2 liter of bottle of soapy water to wash one's hands.

This looks like a cucumber but it's not.  It is a sponge plant.   Grows on our compound wall.  Cut it off, try it out and use it to scrub one's back in the shower.

 Newly cut versus pealed and dried plant.

 Dried sponge...finished product.

Some of our senior couple friends in Kampala area.  The Wallaces on the left are bikers or should I say cyclers having recently moved to St George, UT from Canada  Before there mission they biked 5000 miles across Canada!

Pam insists on feeding the baboons and monkeys on the way to and from Kampala.  These are on the side of the road.  This baboon just yanked a banana from Pam's hand.

A little village girl looks like she's dressed in Hawaiian outfit.

We had "tea" at a members home recently.  Was actually coco stired in hot water and sugar.  A very nice place setting of tableware.  I asked a special blessing in my heart over this drink hoping that the water had been boiled long and hard enough to have rid it from impurities.

The first garbage truck I've seen in Gulu area.  Most garbage is burned on the premises of residents.

Family Home Evening for our young singles... playing some new games one evening.  They lined up in a circle, then sat down in each other's lap and attempted to walk 360 degrees around in the circle without falling over.  Played some other similar games.  They had a blast.  Lot's of laughing and camaraderie.

 Pam teaching her 4 piano keyboard students on our front porch.  Some are doing wonderfully.

 The Bardege Branch President's son...Smith.  I call him Brooksie.

Matoki...looks like a green banana which I guess it is but it never ripens to a yellow one.  Pretty tasty when cooked up.

 Francis on the left, one of our compoud guards.  A friend on the right.

The Ugandans just get it done.  Maybe a 5-6 ft set of sleeping mats being carted on a bike.  Bike is too heavy to pedal so it is simply pushed, perhaps for miles to the market.  These mats run about 2500 shillings each.  Less than $1.25.  Dennis and I are considering using these to rebuild our guards' outdoor latrine.  The old one has just about collapsed.  Perhaps stick some bamboo polls in the ground and wrap the poles/latrine with these mats providing adequate privacy.  The latrine is just outside out front door so we do have some vested interest in the project.

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•President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988) of the First Presidency gave the following insight regarding the meaning of true conversion:
“Webster [dictionary] says the verb, ‘convert,’ means ‘to turn from one belief or course to another.’ That ‘conversion’ is ‘a spiritual and moral change. …’ As used in the scriptures, ‘converted’ generally implies not merely mental acceptance of Jesus and his teachings but also a motivating faith in him and in his gospel—a faith which works a transformation, an actual change in one’s understanding of life’s meaning and in his allegiance to God—in interest, in thought, and in conduct. …
“In one who is wholly converted, desire for things inimical [contrary] to the gospel of Jesus Christ has actually died, and substituted therefor is a love of God with a fixed and controlling determination to keep his commandments. …
“… From this it would appear that membership in the Church and conversion are not necessarily synonymous. Being converted … and having a testimony are not necessarily the same thing either. A testimony comes when the Holy Ghost gives the earnest seeker a witness of the truth. A moving testimony vitalizes faith; that is, it induces repentance and obedience to the commandments. Conversion, on the other hand, is the fruit of, or the reward for, repentance and obedience” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1963, 23–24).

Week 41

Recently I dropped by the police station just to pay a friendly visit.  The Gulu Branch had just installed some Tippy Taps at the police residence compound. (A fringe benefit for the policemen…they all live in the same fenced compound and some even have electricity.) Upon meeting the officer guarding the jail cells, I told him about what our Church had just done for his residential compound and he said he saw the branch members installing the hand washing devises. I emphasized to him that the Tippy Taps will be of no value unless someone keeps water in the jerry cans and soap in the soap bottles. He told me he was the Officer in Charge of the compound and would make certain these things would happen. He was humbly appreciative of the service provided by our Gulu Saints.  Coincidence I just happened to run into the OIC?  My goodness…we sure have had a lot of “coincidences” since we arrived in Gulu.

This is a typical Ugandan broom.  Straw base but that it all it is...a straw base tied together with a cord of some sort.  This broom might be 2 feet in length.  To sweep, one must bend way over.  Same with a wet mop...locals use a wet, soapy towel, bend over on their hands to sweep the towel back and forth across a dirty floor.  Few think about putting a stick on a mop or broom...no stick on a broom that is until I saw this fellow below.

He was sweeping the sidewalk at Lacor Hospital with a broom that had a stick handle on it.  What a novel idea!  First one I've seen here though there are certainly more around.  He was glad to have me take a picture of him.  People here are so humble and friendly. (There are those who will try to yank one's wife out of a moving car and then accuse you of biting them but they are few in number, far fewer than those in say Chicago, for example.)

Patrick Kumakech...home 4 months from his 2 year mission.  Home to Gulu where he felt he was needed.  And he is needed here so badly to help build the Church. A natural leader, experienced in meeting new people, talking to strangers while on his mission.   Unfortunately, there is no work in Gulu.  We've helped him with a resume, gotten him in the door of an American here who is just cranking up an ebook library business for locals.  Will pay good money but no indication Patrick will get hired on.  His parents migrated to Canada before he left on his mission 2 years ago.  They want him home, naturally, but neither they or Patrick have the means to fly there.  And then they would have to put up a $5000 bond with the Canadian government, after he gets a visa here. The bond is nonrefundable.  Things just don't look bright for Patrick at the moment but we are praying my American friend will hire him...400,000 shillings/month -- a LOT for this area.

Cassava root...pretty good when fried up in cooking oil and salted.  We've talked about this before...tastes like a potato wedge...but now you can see what it looks like out of the ground. (Cassava (Manihot esculenta), also called manioc, yuca, balinghoy, mogo, mandioca, kamoteng kahoy, tapioca-root (predominantly in India) and manioc root, a woody shrub  is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropicaland subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates.  No continent depends as much on root and tuber crops in feeding its population as does Africa. In the humid and subhumid areas of tropical Africa, it is either a primary staple food or a secondary co-staple).  In the U.S. tapioca comes from the cassava plant.

A close up shot of paper beads often sold here.  Just colored pages from newspapers, rolled up, wet and allowed to dry, then varnished.  Very pretty.  Some beads are made out of beans...the beans being soft enough to absorb a dye and then sun dried.  In southern Uganda where coffee is a big cash crop, jewelry is also made from the coffee beans.  They are very pretty.

 A couple of smokers/grills/ovens on the street for sale.  Only the wealthy could afford one of these.

 99.9% of Northern Ugandans can't afford one of the oven you see above but Pam did make contact with a Rotarian who heads up Aid Africa.  Among other things they provide a new cooking stove to Ugandan citizens, a Rocket Stove.  Very efficient, requires less fuel and not charcoal...just twigs of firewood. Charcoal costs money, firewood can be gathered up for free, thus preserving the environment.  Charcoal generates carbon monoxide.  Firewood does not.  AA agreed to meet with each of our two Church Branches recently and taught  them the benefits of the new stove as well as how to construct one...each made from 6 bricks.  We arrive at their facility and first load the truck with rice husks to prepare the bricks for transport.  We made two trips on two separate days and put 300 bricks in the truck each time.  Each load would provide 50 new stoves provided none of the bricks broke in transport back to the city...which they did so we netted about 40 ovens a trip.

 Finished/fired brick coming out of the oven, stacked and ready for loading into our truck.

 An open oven where the formed clay bricks are fired.  They are made out of clay, of course, plus sawdust.  They are very fragile and light.  Will actually float in water.

 There are about 10 locals who work the brickyard.  This is the type of mat they sleep on at night.

Interior of thatched roof storage building to keep the brick dry from the rain.  If the brick are rained on, they will crumble.  These bricks cannot be used for construction, obviously.

 Loading up the truck, one brick at a time.  Standing the bricks on their end onto the bed of rice husks.

Back at the chapel, assembling a stove.  Three long normally shaped bricks in the back, two bricks that have been formed to allow the final half brick to rest on the latter two bricks' notches.

After assembling the stove, wiring is wrapped around the top of it (look carefully) to hold all pieces of the stove together. The final stage is to then "mud" the stove with dirt and water from one's home.  The mud keeps the stove from being destroyed by rain water and also helps in heat retention.  A grill is placed on top of the stove and there you have it.  Ready to cook!  This is one of my very good fiends, William.  He is a young single adult, preparing his papers for a 2 year mission, just having completed the construction of his new stove.

Six bricks look and sound heavy but due to the unique way the bricks are built, one can actually carry them on the head.

Meanwhile, back at the bicycle shop...this fellow tightening the spokes so the wheel turns true.  I can't figure out why this is done so often here.  I don't ever remember having a bicycle get out of alignment...not back to my youngest days.  Don't recall any friend, now or then with this problem.  But these bikes here require hours of regular maintenance including tightening the wheel spokes.  I've got some biker buddies in the states...can you shed some light on what is going on here?  Is it simply a cheaply made bike? Or could it be all the potholes?

We got hung up in Kampla a couple weeks back.  A lot to do that was left undone. Attended Church there in the Ntinda Branch.  Here is their rented building.  Very well run meetings.

Maybe hard to see this notice on the Branch Bulletin board.  Notice the reference to a 2008 event.  Still something I am little OCD about...I like to run around our home ward chapel in Dallas and pull down old bulletin notices.  Bishop...that would make a great calling for me; "Bulletin Board Purger."

Always ready for the big game...whatever weekend it is.  Football season or not.  This new shirt from son Brooks.  Sometimes getting ready for the big game does no good, ie., Auburn-Bama.  Believe me though, I'll be pulling for the Tigers in the BCS game just to keep that trophy in the SEC and more importantly in the state of Alabama where it has been 4 years in a row.  Can the Aubby Barners beat Florida State? Probably not, but I didn't think they could beat Alabama either...and I wasn't alone...I didn't find a single Ugandan who thought the Cow Herders would win that game...I'm guessing I interviewed nearly 10,000 folks on the street. :)


This is our mission doc sitting on the right. Elder Jonson. His wife standing.  Having dinner at their apt one Sun evening in Kampala a few weeks ago with some other couples. The Jonson's leave to Utah from their mission in February.  We will hate to see them leave.

 Careful where you park a boda here.  This one about to get washed away.

 Pam went for a 31/2 hr jog/walk the other morning.  Seems that it doesn't matter what time of day one is in the sunshine near the equator.  She was burned pretty badly, but pleased that Melaleuca Oil and Melagel took away ALL the pain and prevented most of the blistering.

 This headline caught my attention.  MPS (Members of Parliament) wanting to rid Kampala of boda bodas.  I'd love to see it happen but no more chance of this occurring than New York City removing the taxi off the street.  You are talking employment, day to day transportation...this is a pretty silly idea.

 This hospital gurney laying on the ground smeared with mud outside a nearby hospital.

I keep mentioning how ingenious the Ugandans are.  They just figure out a way to get things done.  Here are maybe 10-12 empty jerry cans tied together on the back of a boda headed to market.  The empty can are used by locals to fill with water from a bore hole (water hole hand pumping station) for washing dishes, clothes and one's own body.  This is as essential to our northern Ugandans as sinks, washing machines and showers are to us in the West.


Segregation in Alabama!  

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This version will bring the Christmas Spirit into your home.

If it won't open for you, cut and paste into URL.

http://distractify.com/people/amazing/pentatonix-little-drummer-boy/

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One of the attributes that distinguished the Nephite people (of the Book of Mormon) was that “they had all things common among them” (4 Nephi 1:3). President Marion G. Romney described what this phrase means and how it worked:
“This procedure [the united order] preserved in every man the right of private ownership and management of his property. … Each man owned his portion, which, at his option, he could alienate, keep and operate, or otherwise treat as his own. …
“… He consecrated to the Church the surplus he produced above the needs and wants of his own family. This surplus went into a storehouse, from which stewardships were given to others, and from which the needs of the poor were supplied” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1977, 119; or Ensign, May 1977, 93).
President Romney also explained what leads a people to live in such a way: “When we reach the state of having the ‘pure love of Christ,’ our desire to serve one another will have grown to the point where we will be living fully the law of consecration. Living the law of consecration exalts the poor and humbles the rich. In the process, both are sanctified. The poor, released from the bondage and humiliating limitations of poverty, are enabled as free men to rise to their full potential, both temporally and spiritually. The rich, by consecration and the imparting of their surplus for the benefit of the poor, not by constraint, but willingly as an act of free will, evidence that charity for their fellowmen characterized by Mormon as ‘the pure love of Christ.’ (Moro. 7:47.) This will bring both the giver and receiver to the common ground on which the Spirit of God can meet them” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1981, 132–33; or Ensign, Nov. 1981, 93). 

This is a state of living we as Latter-day Saints are striving for.

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Week 40

Another tragedy and Ugandan Funeral

One of our young Church members, Teddy Okot, was murdered the Monday before Thanksgiving.  She was poisoned as well as attacked by “bouncers” or hit men.  Her colleague and roommate is under arrest, but they are looking for the accomplices.  It was well known that the roommate was jealous of Teddy’s promotion to head teacher and also was overtly angry about Teddy’s involvement with the church and her preparations for a mission

(As we read the Book of Mormon and its constant warnings about secret combinations or those who conspire for power, prestige or personal gain, we see an increase in these patterns of selfishness, hatred and murder taking place all around the world.  When people rejected Christ and His teachings, in its place they often embrace the evil designs of Satan and his followers. We cannot live in a vacuum of amorality.  Either men choose to follow good or choose to follow evil, but with those choices, the consequences will ultimately follow whether in this life or when we return to our Maker.)

We had been with Teddy on Saturday - just two days earlier at a young single adult activity.  She was the girl in white on the see-saw in the previous weeks blog post.  She was a happy, beautiful young woman striving to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The family opted for "post mortem" or an autopsy since they knew it was a murder.  The morning of the autopsy we went to that part of the hospital to assisst the family with some of the arrangements, but they had not yet arrived.  The only person there was the police detective and his assistant.  The doctors wanted/expected family to view the autopsy process, along with the detective.  They invited Pam to participate, which she did with Teddy's mother. 

Following the autopsy on Wednesday, the family wanted to have the burial that afternoon.

Some of her family live in “the village”about one half hour north of Gulu. People are buried on their family land. It may not be “their” land but where they have squatted for years.

The short notice gave the branch president only two hours to prepare everything.  We picked him up at the chapel, along with his wife and baby, one of his counselors and the Relief Society President (Teddy served as one of her counselors).   The BP and his counselor spoke at the service as well as our Institute President, Patrick Kumakech…one of Teddy’s peer leaders.

This was a traditional Ugandan funeral.  As we approached the covered seating area, there were perhaps a dozen of more women surrounding the casket singing a funeral dirge.  It had likely been going on for some time and continued for a while after we were seated in the covered area.  Everyone else sat in the open on the ground except “honored” guests, in this case, the males from our church and Pam.  We all had the covering and chairs.

We were surprised that before the funeral began, people were allowed to view Teddy.  Pam asked about this since a complete autopsy had been performed.  The viewing was actually of only a small part of her face.  When they were ready to conclude the viewing, some men covered Teddy's face.  Pam was deeply touched that a couple older women essentially shooed them aside to tuck in the coverings just so perfectly.  She thought, "so much like our compassionate Relief Society Sisters." 

The conclusion of the singing marked the time the service was to begin.   A number of individuals had been pre-selected to approach the casket and place some beautiful wild flowers on top.  There were more people than tiny bouquets, so the one of the directors would remove some of the flowers from the casket, put them back in the tub they came in and then hand them to the next person in line.

A family friend served as a funeral director and gave instructions to those attending…maybe close to 100 people. 

After the talks, the family placed a container and a picture of Teddy while people sang.    The container was for donations.  Those who wanted would come and drop whatever they wanted into the container.   People are very poor so those that are able may only give 100 -1,000 shillings – 4 – 39 cents.   Families are grateful for any donations.  The autopsy alone was over 400,000 shillings, not much by our standards, but exorbitant for Gulugans.

The family and neighbors always prepare a meal and drinks for all those who attend the burial.  “Honored”guests are first in line.  Some of the women assist with a jerry can of water and a bar soap to wash your hands.  There are no towels or paper for drying (any place)– you wipe on your clothes or a nearby wall.  The food is nearly always beans, posho and boiled goat meat in a savory sauce.  They have no eating utensils, you eat everything with your fingers, but posho is a thick mound, so pieces are broken off to use as kind of scoop along with your fingers.  It is all actually quite tasty.

There were a couple of local politicians who spoke following the official service.   Also some members of the army spoke.   By then people were eating and mingling but the politicians and military spoke to many who were still seated and interested in what they had to say.  The entire service was in the Acholi language so Pam and I understood nothing of what was said.

Teddy’s father and mother were very brave, even stoic.  Her Mom received a  priesthood blessing of comfort from the branch president and counselor before we departed.  Teddy’s older sister, however,  was overcome with grief and passed out on two separate occasions while standing.  She really fell hard hitting her head on the concrete-like ground on both occasions.  Following her second incident, I (Brooks) carried some bottled water to her and cooled her down splashing a little water on her arms and forehead while gently blowing a cool breath across her head.  She soon came around and was helped away. 

We are constantly learning from the resilience of these people.  In spite of their constant struggles -- or because of their constant struggles -- they do not lose faith in Christ.  They do not become bitter about their afflictions.  Even though they mourn the loss of their loved ones, their hope in a better life hereafter sustains them through all their suffering and afflictions. We are learning every day from the higher perspective of these good people.

Friends and family literally arrive by the truckload.  In the background is a 16 passenger taxi.  It is expensive to travel 30-45 minutes out.  There are a few cars.  Mostly taxi's and a two trucks like the one above.

"Special guests" sat under this makeshift tarp.  Support poles are from slender tree trunks.  The roof is a combination of plastic tarp and canvass...all tied together with banana leaves.

Mourners approach the casket with is partially open for viewing.  Only her eyes and nose and mouth are visible because of her autopsy.  The doctors discovered that she had bruises on her head and her neck had been broken.  Likely to finish off the poison she had ingested, as her cell showed she had tried to call her family for help.  The roommate was still in the hut whenTeddy was discovered dead.  She was sitting up pretending to be unconscious.  She was thoroughly checked out at Lacor hospital and nothing was wrong with her.

 

Just some of the crowd attending the funeral.  The mourning family is so gracious, they refuse to sit under the canvas cover but give that to their guests and sit themselves on the ground under a tree.

After the service the casket is lowered into the ground.

 Loved one sprinkle some dirt on top of the casket to begin the burial.

At the conclusion, the flowers that were placed on the casket during the funeral service are gathered up and placed on top of the grave site. 

The meal that was prepared for all in attendance.  Beans, posho ( a dish of maize flour cooked with water to a porridge), beef. 

Sadly enough, a few months ago someone set fire to a hut where two children of one of the Gulu Branch families were sleeping…nearby the family's main residence.  One child, Brian, was burned to death and the second, Louis, lay in intensive care for several weeks, then the burn unit and then a surgical ward.  We visited him in the hospital on a number of occasions.  We visited the family just this Friday night in their home.  He is now doing great, has a beautiful smile, is very bright but terribly scarred on his arms and left leg.  Locking an occupant inside with a pad lock on the outside and setting a hut roof on fire, all of which are made of straw-thatch , is a common mode of revenge.  It appears those who set this hut on fire simply torched the wrong one. 

Alma Chapter 40 from the Book of Mormon

Christ brings to pass the resurrection of all men—The righteous dead go to paradise and the wicked to outer darkness to await the day of their resurrection—All things will be restored to their proper and perfect frame in the Resurrection. About 74 B.C.

1. Now my son, here is somewhat more I would say unto thee; for I perceive that thy mind is worried concerning the resurrection of the dead. 2. Behold, I say unto you, that there is no resurrection—or, I would say, in other words, that this mortal does not put on ^aimmortality, this corruption does not ^bput on incorruption—^cuntil after the coming of Christ.  3. Behold, he bringeth to pass the ^aresurrection of the dead. But behold, my son, the resurrection is not yet. Now, I unfold unto you a mystery; nevertheless, there are many ^bmysteries which are ^ckept, that no one knoweth them save God himself. But I show unto you one thing which I have inquired diligently of God that I might know—that is concerning the resurrection. 4. Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall ^acome forth from the dead. Now when this time cometh no one knows; but God knoweth the time which is appointed.  5. Now, whether there shall be one time, or a ^asecond time, or a third time, that men shall come forth from the dead, it mattereth not; for God ^bknoweth all these things; and it sufficeth me to know that this is the case—that there is a time appointed that all shall rise from the dead.  6. Now there must needs be a space betwixt the time of death and the time of the resurrection.  7. And now I would inquire what becometh of the ^asouls of men ^bfrom this time of death to the time appointed for the resurrection?  8. Now whether there is more than one ^atime appointed for men to rise it mattereth not; for all do not die at once, and this mattereth not; all is as one day with God, and time only is measured unto men.  9. Therefore, there is a time appointed unto men that they shall rise from the dead; and there is a space between the time of death and the resurrection. And now, concerning this space of time, what becometh of the souls of men is the thing which I have inquired diligently of the Lord to know; and this is the thing of which I do know.  10. And when the time cometh when all shall rise, then shall they know that God ^aknoweth all the ^btimes which are appointed unto man.  11. Now, concerning the ^astate of the soul between ^bdeath and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are ^ctaken ^dhome to that God who gave them life.  12.  And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of ^ahappiness, which is called ^bparadise, a state of rest, a state of ^cpeace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

Week 39 Post-Mortem

You will recall we did not send a blog over the weekend due to The Tigers beating the Crimson Tide...or should I say the Crimson Tide beating the Crimson Tide.  I play the game real hard for about 48 hours and then move on.  Time to move forward with the work in which we are engaged here.  So for the 1% of Americans who didn't care about the game, the 1% who were pulling for the Tide and the 98% of Tide haters, I am over it...not really, I'll probably never get over this one but as Dr Scott Peck says in the first sentence of the first paragraph on the first page of his his book...THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED, "Life is difficult."  (If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it!)Compared to what we see here in Gulu, the Bama game was meaningless.
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I awoke a little on the sullen side Monday.  Not feeling quite chirpy, a little down.  And then it dawned on m...this week marks the half-way  point of our mission.  There is so much we need to do yet and so many good Saints and citizens we have come to love.  It is sad to think we will be comiing home in 9 months.  I am still more humbled that we've had over 16,100 "pageviews" (hits) on our blog site.  Thanks again for your interest!  It encourages us to keep on keeping on.
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I mentioned earlier our young single adults held a combined activity a few miles outside of town at the Gulu Recreational Center.  They had a great time doing things they could never afford to do on their own...this was Church sponsored so the two Church branches incurred the costs.

There was an inflatable raft a couple of kids got on.  There was a boat that looked liked one I saw on the shore of the Sea of Galilee a number of years ago. Matter of fact, the boat was so old it could have been His boat,  Merry-go round, slides, see-saw, football, hoola hoop.  A lot of laughter and fellowship.

Additionally, there was a nature walk Pam and I took.  Boy, were we surprised at what we saw.  Not just a nature walk but an actual safari.  We were really caught off guard and had a couple of near misses with the wildlife.  Some pics below.
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Our Anglican reverend who has been unfriendly on the radio towards the Church...we met with him for the third time last week.  Once before in a restaurant, in our home for dinner Monday night and again Friday at the restaurant.  He is developing trust in our mission and in our sincerity to help his people.  He is a very good man, a big heart and works tirelessly for the northern Ugandan poor.  The one thing he will not do is hand out money.  He teaches as we do...self-reliance and that means getting an education, learning a skill and putting that skill to work.
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The boat...pretty much rotted but will float.  Transom has dry rotted off the back of the boat. Notice on the back seat, a water bucket to bale out the water that leaks in.

Pam...oar in hand.

Inflatable raft.  Very hard to control.  Most of the kids that tried just turned round and round, couldn't go anywhere.

See-saw.  Tragically, as I was typing this blog post last week I received a phone call from the branch president of the girl on the ground in white blouse...Teddy Lakot.  She was planning on serving a mission having completed some of her paperwork She died last night in what appears to be a murder/poisoning by her roommate.   More on her funeral service in next weeks blog post.

Merry-go round...very fast and furious and made some of the riders very dizzy and left them with queezy stomachs.

On our safari, we first spotted this zebra...the first one we've seen in Uganda.  We were this close.  No zoom.

We rounded a corner and I was nearly mauled by this lion.  I barely escaped.  A few scratches on me but after a 2 hour struggle I finally strangled him to death.

After killing the lion, a few meters down the path I found Pam scared to death as this leopard was just about to attack her.  I used my pepper spray to chase him away.  He ran in the direction of the lion I had just strangled and was happily having supper on the lion's carcus.

This is a trick Pam learned while at the circus in Dallas last year.  We've been telling you these hippos are some of the most dangerous animals in Uganda...not so and this proves it.

Riding Big AL, Bama's Mascot, off into the sunset.  Just happened to have my new Bama shirt on.  As it turned out, I should have ridden him harder.  He was a little sluggish this day...an omen of the Bama-Auburn game.

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Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that all people have numerous opportunities to give the gift of service to their fellowmen and that their motives in serving are all-important:

“… Scriptures make clear that in order to purify our service in the Church and to our fellowmen, it is necessary to consider not only how we serve, but also why we serve.
“People serve one another for different reasons, and some reasons are better than others. … We should all strive to serve for the reasons that are highest and best.

“… By way of illustration, and without pretending to be exhaustive, I will suggest six reasons. I will discuss these in ascending order from the lesser to the greater reasons for service.
“[1] Some may serve for hope of earthly reward. …
“[2] Another reason for service … to obtain good companionship. …
“[3] Some may serve out of fear of punishment. …
“[4] Other persons may serve out of a sense of duty or out of loyalty to friends or family or traditions. …
“[5] One such higher reason for service is the hope of an eternal reward. …
“[6] … The highest reason of all. … Charity. …
“… It is not enough to serve God with all of our might and strength. He who looks into our hearts and knows our minds demands more than this. In order to stand blameless before God at the last day, we must also serve him with all our heart and mind.
“Service with all of our heart and mind is a high challenge for all of us. Such service must be free of selfish ambition. It must be motivated only by the pure love of Christ” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1984, 13–16; or Ensign, Nov. 1984, 12–15).