Uganda: A Crash Course!

Denise and I arrived in Uganda 11 days ago, but it feels like much longer. In many ways, we've been given a crash course in all things Ugandan since our arrival, including lake fly and flying ant invasions in our home, eating matooke (smashed bananas) and rice for almost every meal, being called "mazungu!" by most people who pass you in the street, navigating the commute to Kampala via matatu during morning rushour, and receiving wonderfully humbling Ugandan hospitality and welcome everywhere we go.

Father Stephen is down-to-earth, fun, and passionate - great attributes for a field education supervisor as well as a friend. He has done a great job planning for our coming, with all of its ambiguities, and making us feel right at home in this new country. The house we are staying in really does feel like a home away from home. And we've enjoyed getting to know our neighbors (though we can't say the same for the neighborhood stray dogs!).

We've also been exceedingly blessed by our first two weeks at Hospice Africa. It's an amazing organization helping the most vulnerable people in society live out the rest of their lives with dignity and without pain until they pass away, with hope, peacefully. We've spent a lot of time with palliative care doctors and nurses on home visits, seeing patients and perscribing medicine to meet their needs, free of charge. Many of these people are deeply impoverished, so HA also provides them with some basic food staples every few weeks. They are truly a model of hospice in Africa, and serve as such for the entire continent. Students from around Africa, as well as the world, come to HA to learn more, volunteer, and recieve training in palliative care. Besides ourselves, we have met individuals from the UK, Canada, the Congo, and Kenya who have come to HA for various internships and research projects. It truly is the place to be.

Denise and I took a really fun trip with Father Stephen's "minor seminary" students (ages 12-18) to the western (and in my opinion, most beautiful) part of Uganda this past weekend. We went along with 150 young Catholic school boys, as well as a handfull of priests. Besides the nurse and the school secretary, Denise and I were the only women in a sea of guys! We really had a blast, and hopefully we'll be able to provide more details about that soon.

I know Denise and I both really look forward to witnessing the ways God is moving in the lives of people here, particularly those who are suffering from terminal illnesses like cancer and HIV-AIDS. I have no doubt that God speaks to the vulnerable and, therefore, speaks to us through the vulnerable. All we must do is turn our ears towards those in need to hear the voice of God.