Ask Us Anything: Life in Uganda

How are you schooling your children this year?

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.