The rains have come. With them, a myriad of changes. The temperature dropped forty degrees in one week, the river separating our compounds from the main road and clinic is no longer dry, porch decoration is now damp laundry, toads and frogs are croaking happily,
life in karamoja
A few weeks ago, I had the honor of accompanying some of our health teachers while they taught in Nakaale village. One of our missionary associates, Leah Hopp, is presently on furlough in Canada, but during her absence she has hired and trained local women
One of the questions we are most often asked is how far are we from Mbale. The standard answer that I give is two to six hours, depending on the condition of the road. Saturday, we set a new personal record. We left Mbale around
As often as I’ve attended funerals in Karamoja, last week was my first time to witness the process in its entirety. I’m sure variations exist, but I am told that most of what happened on Monday is typical of the Karamojong funeral practice. When a
After two rough weeks at the Bible study at Nariko, we finally had the sort of study this week that is missionary-newsletter-worthy. I rode out with our teacher, Emmy, not sure what to expect. Sunday night, we had almost 4cm of rain, but Monday’s sun
When I began thinking about buying a bicycle, I asked our local bike expert how much a new ride would cost. UGX 130000 was the answer (about $50 US). I then asked what about a used bicycle, and was told UGX 120000. I couldn’t believe
Here’s one way to open a Bible study: What is more important—fighting baboons or listening to the Word of God? Such are the incongruities of which our lives are made in Karamoja. Incongruous in the developed world, perhaps, but not at all out of place
…When you realize that you’ve made good friends. I suppose that this story won’t find any purchase among the cellular telephone generation, but those of a more ancient persuasion might recall the anxious time of waiting for dinner guests who are late. In our case,
A universal of impending or newly acquired parenthood, is that it is a magnet for advice, stories, anecdotes, smiles from loved ones and strangers a like. You’ve all heard the stories of pregnant women being approached in grocery stores by a passerby who wants to
Our workers get a lot of flak for being lazy, often deservedly. Or we couch the accusation in anthropological terms—that taking advantage of those with more resources than you, viz. the employer, is an essential aspect of the Karimojong culture. That way, instead of saying
In lieu of Memorial Day, we have two holidays back-to-back—namely Martyrs’ Day and Heroes’ Day. I am unclear on the meaning of Heroes’ Day (which we celebrate on Monday), but it has been suggested that, lacking any other special vestment, I might get away with
The benefit of having an infant and traveling across ten time zones is that I didn’t suffer from jet lag, at all whatsoever. In fact, I arrived more refreshed than I’d been in days since I was actually sleeping when Carmel was sleeping on the