Jiggers are fun, little parasitic bugs that burrow into skin and lay eggs which multiply and can damage tissue. These sand fleas are found in Sub Saharan climates and often live in the dirt in the villages of Uganda.
Wearing shoes and scrubbing feet well after visits to the village should keep the jiggers at bay...but sometimes it doesn't.
Dave's jigger egg sac
Halie's much smaller jigger egg sac I think she noticed it much sooner than Dave.
If you are at all squeamish, DO NOT WATCH THESE VIDEOS, but you may want to turn away and simply listen to the commentary...it is pretty comical!
If I knew more about video editting, this would be much easier for you to watch, but I don't, so if you choose to watch, you can enjoy 5 suspenseful episodes of:
"The Journey Out of Dave's Toe"
Narration and lack of focus by Dave
Guest Narration by the McMorris Kids
Safety Pin Operators Cara and David
Spoiler Alert: The dumb thing doesn't actually come out until the last video. At that time, it is absolutely disgusting.
Episode One: The One Where Everyone is Really Dramatic and Dave Thinks He Might Die
Episode Two: The One Where We Thought We Were Almost There
Episode Three: The One Where She Tries NOT To Break The Egg Sac and Release Hundreds of Jigger Babies
Episode Four: The One Where "We Have To Might Watch Out, Daddy"
You have been warned...THIS IS GROSS.
Episode Five: The One Where Dave Has a Gaping Hole In His Toe
This year we will be home schooling. Actually, since the
kids were in “school mode” when we arrived, we have just kept on going. We are
following the curriculum that they would have been following in Unit 5 the best
we can. We have the Common Core standards and many resources available online.
We also have some text books. We are not on a schedule yet, but in the mornings
when our schedule allows, we have school time from about 9-12. Dave and I
rotate between kids for instruction and help on their independent work.
What helped you and
Dave to make this life change?
God had been working in our hearts and in our lives for years leading up to this. Prior to acting in obedience, we were drawn closer to
God in amazing ways through prayer, Bible study, and great Christian
examples (Jacob’s Well Community Church and BN Great Banquet Community). We began to read God’s word and then pray about how it
would look for us to actually live that out as a family.
At one point, when we first were called to change the way we
were living we had even said, “If we ever think God is calling us to move to
Africa, we will KNOW that we are crazy!” We started by getting rid of cable,
then we stopped eating out, then we began to only purchase only things that we
needed rather than wanted. We believe that all of our resources really belong
to God, and we began living like that was true. If it didn't bring glory to
God, then we didn't do it, buy it, read it, watch it or listen to it. It was quite a convicting time for us. Now, we are proud to have crossed over to being
crazy about following in obedience wherever we are led.
My motto since we arrived has been, “Don’t forget in the
dark what God has shown you in the light.” When things get hard or negativity
creeps into my heart and mind, I remember how God’s hand was guiding each step
of our journey here so clearly. There is no doubt in my mind that God placed us
in this ministry, at this time. So, even when times are tough, I can fall back on the fact that God is faithful and will complete His call on our lives.
How did you know that God was calling you to this opportunity?
I explain God's call to my kids as that little feeling in your heart to do or say something. You may have a thought in your head 20 times and ignore it, or you can have it once and obey it. Either way, when it is God and He wants to use you, He will persist. It is best to obey even if it seems silly or pointless upon doing it. We never know how God will use each of our simple words or actions for His glory.
So, for the past 5 or 6 years, this has been a topic of conversation for our family. Through the process of foster parenting and pursuing adoption, our kids knew that we were making these choices because God was calling our family to do just that. When an adoption fell through and we were heartbroken, and when a foster situation was too much for our family, and it would have been easier to just quit, our kids knew that we were enduring because when God calls, He is faithful to complete His call on our lives. And because we didn't quit, we were able to witness His redemption of that process and welcome Brice, Halie and Jasmine into our family.
God had been pointing our lives towards Africa in little ways...hosting boys from a Ugandan orphan choir at our home, friends adopting from Ethiopia, an orphan conference, a book here, a book there. Dave, Chloe and I took a trip last summer to Uganda and Kenya, and we saw the amazing ways that God used that to grow and bless Chloe's life. We wanted all of our children to have that experience, so we planned to come for the summer and work with any ministry that could use a family of 8.
God is so gracious to only reveal His call in the measure that we can handle. Sometimes we can only handle the baby steps, so we were in prayer about a summer trip to Uganda. We eventually purchased the airline tickets for a summer trip, and we were ready to take this journey without disrupting any other parts of our lives.
Then, I received a phone call from the leader of my trip from last year asking if we would be interested in covering a furlough for a family of 7 who run a ministry in Uganda. Dave and I prayed, we read every blog post we could about the ministry and we took baby steps to pursue the opportunity.
We were careful to be in prayer and to follow God to see if this was His will for us. Each step of the way He was confirming our decision and blessing the process. We managed to truly follow rather than rushing ahead, and until the moment we stepped on the airplane, we still were praying, "God, only if this is your will." And it was, and still, by persevering, we know that we will be blessed in immeasurable ways as He completes this call on our lives.
Are you learning a
new language?
We are trying really, really hard to learn some Luganda. We
know a few songs and some words, but Ugandans would probably laugh at our
horrible accents.
Video note: Chloe’s word, ‘bulungi’ means ‘good’, not actually "hello" as she says...like I said, we are trying.
Here is a song we love to sing in circle time in the village.
Are the kids always happy to be there, or do they have rough days and melt downs?
Let me just say how in awe I am at the 6 children God has given me. Many of you have given Dave and I credit, but I swear, their flexibility and grace has come straight from God himself. The only person that has had rough days and meltdowns is ME!
At the end of each day, before our prayers, we go around and everyone shares the best and worst part of their days. Most nights, several of them will share 3 or 4 best parts and then say, "There is no worst part. I loved the whole day." It is such a blessing to me. If they were struggling then it would change the whole experience.
Do you use mosquito
spray?
We do! We try to be inside every day after dark, when the
female mosquitoes (the ones who bite) are active, but when we are out at dusk or
just feel the bugs, we do use Off. Some of us are more tasty to mosquitoes than
others, so we also use anti-itch cream often.
How do you wash your
clothes?
Our first month here we were hand-washing our clothing. That
requires breaking off a chunk from a long bar of soap, scrubbing each item with
the soap and a scrub brush, ringing it out, realizing that you missed a bunch
of dirt spots, doing that all over again and then rinsing it and ringing it out
again. It took me 3 or 4 hours just for the washing. This is the method that
most Ugandans use, but they are much more efficient than I will ever be. Still,
it is hard, physical work no matter who is doing it.
In the house that we are in now, there is a washing machine. Praise the Lord!
Once it is semi-clean, then begins the process of hanging it
outside to dry and praying that it won’t rain. When it does rain, you have to
bring in all of the clothes and then re-hang it once it stops raining or else
find places to hang it all around the house. Once night we had all our undies
hanging on every knob and hook that we had. It was not a good night for
company. J
Do you have regular
household appliances?
There are appliance stores in Uganda. Appliances are
a luxury though. For the first month, we had a single burner to cook on
and a charcoal stove, called a “sigiri”. You will find most people cooking over
charcoal.
Our appliances are a funny story right now, but we are so
thankful for the upgrade. We have an oven with 4 burners on top, some parts of
it are run off of our propane tank, and when we need to use the electric
components, we have to move the oven across the kitchen in order to reach an
outlet. The oven doesn’t have any temperature regulation, so it is either off
or warm, but we have figured out how to make an incredible coffee cake, so it
works!
Our house was used as a guest house before we moved in, so our fridge is a large pop cooler currently. We are in the process of purchasing a real refrigerator with a freezer.
What do you miss
most?
We miss parts of life, but none of the "stuff", funny enough. We miss people, and we often think of memories, but we continue to have more than enough even with the little that we packed.
Dave: Seeing Mara
Cara: Good, consistent sleep.
Chloe: Nothing. I brought all the items that I wanted. Maybe
I miss my own room.
Carter: My basketball hoop
Brice: Our cats
Halie: I miss my house, the playroom and our front and back
yard in America
Wren: My stuffed animals and my bike
Jasmine: My doll
How much do you miss
me, and how much does Chloe miss her BFFLTE?
Ashlee…tons and tons! We are excited to see what God does
with your time in ministry in China though!
Paige wants to know
if you have seen giraffes and zebras?
We are in a town that is quite busy, and doesn't resemble
the “safari atmosphere” that we imagine when we think of Africa. There is a
pool that we have gone to close to the Nile where monkeys run and swing and
climb all over. We have a herd of cows that roams our block every day, and we
see tons of goats, but that is the extent of our wildlife.
You mentioned
security. How dangerous is the region where you are located.
We are very, very safe. Jinja is a very peaceful town, and the risk here on a typical day is no more than it would be anywhere. The kids and I walk around our neighborhood and even into town. The people are wonderful and love that we have so many kids. They say that we look like a Ugandan family with this many!
It is typical to have guard dogs and askaris (guards) on every compound. We have wonderful guards that open and close our gate when we come and go, and are the eyes and ears of our property when we are away. We do have a cement wall around our property topped with barbed-wire, but again, this is fairly typical of all properties here.
Just because we lock our doors in America doesn't mean we expect someone to break in, and just because we have protection around our homes in Africa doesn't mean we expect anything to happen either. It is simply a smart security measure.
Other parts of Uganda may have volatile histories, but the Jinja area does not.
What is the most physically challenging part of living there?
Dave: The slower-paced, laid-back way of life is an adjustment. It takes much longer to get things done, and I am working on being okay with that.
Cara: Not letting negativity or worries invade my thoughts. In the idle time my imagination keeps itself busy, so I need to keep my mind focused on what is true.
Chloe: When Mom and Dad don’t know what to do (psssh...as if that ever happens.)
Carter: Answering all of these questions
Brice: Saying good-bye to people who leave here (Shout out to Greg, Kellie, Brittany, Elisa and the teams!)
Halie: Struggling through problems in the village with sick people or babies who aren't healthy
Wren: Saying my name loud when we are doing circle time
Jasmine: That Katie is going to leave (We can avoid this if we just keep her here!)
How hot is it and can you tolerate it?
On hot summer days in Illinois we used to always refer to it as “Africa hot”, but in reality, Uganda has been fairly mild. The temperature is consistently in the upper 70’s or lower 80’s…it is pretty close to perfect. Some days it is hot and sweaty, but nothing unbearable at all. We live about 2 blocks from Lake Victoria now, and there is a cool lake breeze at night even.
Today, I wore a sweatshirt all day and was still a little chilly.
I've noticed that Cara and the girls are always wearing skirts. Why?
It is tradition in this culture for women to wear long skirts, and as guests in the country we always want to be absolutely respectful of their culture. Breasts are no big deal here, but legs and thighs are to Ugandans the sex symbol that breasts can be in America.
I'm wondering when you are walking the dirt roads between towns or villages are you seeing snakes? And since I'm not a fan of spiders I have to ask about tarantulas!
We have not seen any spiders to write home about. Just regular little ones here and there.
We haven't seen many snakes, and the ones we have seen have been small. We have geckos all over our house, inside and out. One even fell on me from the ceiling when I was taking a shower. Not cool. Our friends have caught monitor lizards, and in the village there are chameleons all over.
What about bathrooms?
Out around town and in the villages, you will find “squatty potties” or pit latrines. At our house, we have a regular flush toilet and a shower though.
How is that sweet, little baby, Adonai Faith and can you give her some neck kisses from me?
Isn't she precious? She and her mother are doing well. Just prior to her birth, her father passed away, so life in the village as a single mom will not be easy, but thankfully, she truly does have a village to help her. I will give kisses as soon as I see her again!
How is little Esther?
She seems to be doing well. I was there while her father was visiting her, and it was amazing how strong and aware she was in his presence. There are a few other missionaries who visit and keep an eye on Esther as well, so I feel good to have other eyes and ears looking out for her and praying for her.
How did you NOT notice the ants in the soup?
Well, Selah, the thought of ants being in any of our food had not crossed our minds, honestly. It was a boiling pot of stew, so it doesn't make sense that ants would have been attracted to it. Evidently they had the idea at some point in the process prior to the boiling. Also, we were hungry, and the soup was good, so we just dug right in. Believe me, we will be looking at our food a little closer from now on.
How are you rationing the Jolly Ranchers?
Luckily, the kids don't ask for "sweeties" too much. We do have a bag that was left for us by one of the teams though. It is nice to be able to surprise the kids with a treat every now and then. Avery, Chloe only chooses the blue ones in honor of you!
Where do you buy your food? And what American 'staples' are not available? How are prices?
We go to the market, like a huge, year round farmer's market, once or twice per week to purchase all of the staples: beans, rice, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, g-nuts, potatoes, etc.All of that typically costs about $12. Amazing prices!
There are also "super markets" where we buy other necessities: toilet paper, eggs, bread, milk, peanut butter, jelly, pasta etc. Prices there are still pretty good, but higher than the market.
Heinz ketchup is everywhere in Uganda and tastes completely like we are used to. That surprised us. They sell Pringles, Twix, Oreos and M&M's, but we have heard that we will NOT be happy with how they taste. Milk chocolate is not a thing here, so chocolate chips and such are a no-go.
All of the soda is made with pure sugar rather than corn syrup, so it is sweeter.
Dairy products are almost non-existent...no sour cream, milk, cheese, or cream cheese. We have heard that there is a place to get cheese, but that it is very expensive. For cooking we are using a "milk" that comes in a box and doesn't need refrigeration, so I am not sure what that truly is.
Maple syrup is available, but costs 15,000 shillings (almost $8) for a small bottle. That is the case with most American items, if you can find them, then they are too expensive to afford on a regular basis.
What is sort of nice is that there is not an abundance of choices, so if you want peanut butter, you buy the one brand offered. I am one who hates the overwhelming options at Walmart, so I like how effortless choosing what to purchase is here.
Have you found any native foods or dishes that you really like?
Not really. There is an option called a rolex that they make on the side of the road throughout town, and we eat those every Sunday after church. A rolex is like a scrambled egg wrapped in a greasy tortilla with some veggies thrown in. The kids love them. My stomach can't take them every week. They are quick and easy to pick up though.
Every day for lunch we have rice and beans, which are delicious and filling now that I know how to make them. I could even see us eating these more when we come back to America.
Other dinners include, pancakes (with cinnamon-sugar on top), Veggie Beef Stew (sometimes with ants), Spaghetti with a killer fresh vegetable, homemade sauce and fresh bread from a bakery in town, and Potato Soup. Each week we do try out new recipes, but still, they are very American.
July 9, 2014 Today I went to a baby home.. I played with little kids and babies. This little girl named Elsa loves me. She just never lets go of me. I saw her bite another baby so I picked up Elsa and calmed her down. Also I picked the baby who got bit then after he calmed down I tried to set him down but he started crying. Then when it was time for dinner for the babies and kids. I fed this boy named Fahad and he could not sit up or stand I fed him rice and beans on tile ground. I used my hands to keep his food in his mouth and he had to eat a lot. He finished his whole plate and he burped and that meant that he was full. He maybe had never been that full before.
Halie McMorris- 8 years old
Tonight, I saw Jesus.
After a long, hot day in the village, with shirts covered in red dirt and feet to match, I didn't see a nice, clean Jesus. I saw a sweaty, dirty Jesus who knew that loving others, caring for others often requires our hands and our clothes and our feet to get filthy.
It was overwhelming, and the enormity of the moment was not lost on me.
Halie and Carter thought nothing of it...they never do. They were simply doing what needed to be done. To them, it was just a simple task. To me it was a divine moment.
There are several children we have been visiting who are very weak, and it is obvious that what they need more than anything is good nourishment. Unfortunately, they can not feed themselves. They can't even cry out or speak to say that they are hungry or to beg to be fed. And they are in an orphanage with few "aunties" to care for almost 30 children.
Tonight, we stayed until dinner time. Carter, Halie, our friend, Brittany and I didn't know if we could simply observe, or if we could actually feed these children, but we wanted to be sure that they were actually getting fed. We carried the children inside, and were told to lay them on a tile floor in a dark room. Instead, we sat on that tile floor and continued to hold them. Eventually, we were handed plates of food for the children. Brittany and I were each holding little girls, Esther and Ana, and there was a child lying on the ground who was much bigger, and more severely disabled. Brittany and I began feeding the girls, who struggled physically with the eating process, but who were eager.
Without a moment of hesitation, Carter and Halie grabbed a plate for the bigger child and began scooping bites of food up with their fingers and encouraging him as they placed each bite in his mouth. In this dark little room, I saw Jesus. His hands were sticky with bean juice and Fahad's saliva, but He just smiled and was so happy that Fahad was getting the nourishment he so desperately needed. I saw Jesus in Halie.
Even as Fahad struggled and half of eat bite came back out of his mouth, Carter scooped it up, cleaned off his face with his hands and tried again. Never asking for a bib or a cloth to wipe, Carter must have known that none would be provided. I saw Jesus in Carter.
With their bare hands they fed a hungry boy who could not feed himself. Look at the way his eyes look up at Halie. I am in awe.
Tonight, as we walked home from the orphanage, my kids had a new understanding of how Jesus' hands must have looked and felt on most days. I pray that as a family, as the Body of Christ, we never hesitate to get our hands dirty. I pray that we remember that our Savior is not the white-robed, glowing, clean Jesus that we see in pictures. We serve a dirty Jesus who showed us that loving requires us to jump right in and join others in the midst of all of their messes.
1. There are many grades of rice.It is worth the few extra shillings per kilo to get the better rice. We are now eating wonderful, fluffy, white rice.
2. Charcoal goes on TOP of the sigiri, not in the little compartment on the bottom.
3. Beans will only cook if you are using the sigiri the way it was intended to be used. We all (even WREN!!) are eating delicious, filling beans every day for lunch.
4. You can NOT trust the pot of beans to balance on the sigiri. Charcoal moves as it burns and your pot will spill a week's worth of beans all over your back porch.
5. You know when you feel something and you think it's a bug, and then you look, and it's just a hair tickling you. Well, in Africa, it is always really and truly a bug. Never assume it's just a hair.
6. Children in ministry are phenomenal. When the adults are busy planning and organizing, the kids are observing, loving and allowing God to freely lead them. The kids cover more ground more quickly than we adults ever could, and in doing so, have found children needing medical attention, a new mom who had passed out due to high blood pressure, and chameleons...they find so, so many chameleons.
7. I need to check my attitude and my heart multiple times every single day. I can wake up on the right track, but one negative thought can completely derail me for the entire day. In my down time, my thoughts get the best of me if I am not being proactive and getting my focus on God. I don't know who said it, but "Don't forget in the dark what God promised you in the light" has been such a great reminder for me. God's hand was over the preparation and planning for this journey in an incredible way, and I have no reason to doubt that even the hard times are in His will.
8. Dogs can be sweet.
9. As hard as it was to leave home and as much as I miss parts of our old life, I can already sense how difficult it will be to leave Uganda when the time comes. As I build relationships and begin to truly love people here, I understand what it means to leave part of your heart somewhere.
10. Love grows best in little houses. 8 people can share a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment for a month with no internet and be perfectly happy and have so much fun together. Just last week, we moved to a much bigger guest home, where we will live for the remainder of our year, and we have great wi-fi. We also are playing less card games and spending less time in good conversation and prayer as a family at night. Boo! How do we get so easily distracted? We MUST be intentional with our time.
With the directors of Healing Faith, Dave has been leading teams who visit from the US on malaria education days. These are long days of walking for miles, visiting homes in the village one at a time, hanging nets, documenting who has been covered and teaching about malaria. On these days, due to vehicle space, and not wanting to overwhelm the kids quite yet, the kids and I have been staying back at the house.
A friend of mine mentioned a baby home that she visits, and invited us to join her. We went one time, and the kids fell in love. They want to be there constantly. We have been visiting a few times per week, and the "aunties" who care for the babies are very welcoming. All of the Mc kids are incredibly helpful, and they do such a great job with all of the children in the orphanage. There are children ranging in age from newborn to 5 or 6 years old, some with severe special needs, and some completely typically developing...if such a thing exists in an orphanage.
I love that the kids love going, but it is hard on my heart. We continue to visit, and God is absolutely working in our time there.
Some of the children with special needs are immobile, several cannot sit up on their own even though they are 2 or 3 years old. One of those children is a little girl who is 2 1/2 years old named Esther. She is a real-life starving child in Africa. She has the stereotypical dirty face with flies,weak, scrawny arms and legs, and she can barely hold her head up, yet all day she is left lying on a blanket on the hard ground. What is absolutely atypical though, is this precious girl's smile! It lights up in such a big, wonderful, dimply way!
Many of the kids can be found running and playing happily, but God drew me to this child.
I have virtually no experience with special needs. I have no experience with orphanages. I can not speak the language of those caring for this child. I need God to guide this in a big way. If there is some way that I can help here in my time here, I want to be obedient to that. If I can provide nourishment in some way, or get her medical care that might help, I will, but I need to be acting in the center of God's will. I will not act on emotion or logic or to comfort my mama heart. It is so complicated, in so many ways.
Esther has a mom and a dad, who she had been living with for the first 2 years of her life. I don't know anything about that life or what went wrong, but her mother decided at some point, for some reason, that this beautiful girl was possessed by evil spirits, and she needed to leave their home.
3 months ago, they brought her to this orphanage. I have met Esther's father. He came to visit her, which the "aunties" say happens often. She was such a happy girl when her father was here. He lit up at seeing his little girl. I pray for restoration. They need each other.
