Minds a-racing

If you're hoping for Jeff's current thoughts on cross cultural missiology, he is sick. You are stuck with me (mwa-ha-ha-ha!).

I have spent the week at a veterinary conference here in Kampala. My mind is all atwitter and my heart aflutter. I know; I am a nerd.

Aside from the obvious observations that there were hardly any women in attendance and very few Westerners, the air conditioner was on so high I felt like a human popsicle.

Did you know Ankole cattle's meat has lower cholesterol levels than American choice grade beef? Can you say business opportunity for a niche market?

.....Rabies poses the greatest zoonotic risk to human health right now in Uganda. Any one game for darting the local stray dogs with rabies vaccine?

The government and NGO's restocking of cattle in the North has spread the range of brucellosis. This in turn has impacted trading of cattle with Rwanda.

Because of recent animal disease outbreaks and the necessary quarantines and movement restrictions, there has been a shift in Nakasongola agricultural activity from livestock keeping to cropping growing. If the trend continues it could threaten the national livestock industry.

The most interesting paper given was about perceptions of zoonotic disease risks and prevention among veterinary and medical workers in selected districts in Uganda. There wasn't much agreement of what diseases were of most importance, what animals posed the greatest threat, how to treat, etc. It made me wonder why, which wasn't part of the study. More food for thought in regards to the intersection of social/anthropology and animal disease prevention and control. Can we say MSc thesis topic? More on that later.

Noah's Birthday... #6

Better late than never... here's a look at Noah's Birthday Bash...

The day started at Didi's World... a favorite hang-out for the Atherstone Boys...

Christine made a chocolate cake and our friend Ian provided the fireworks on top...

Noah's mighty blow...

The must have been a sports theme... Noah got a tennis racket and baseball glove this year... here he is working on his mighty swing...

The Hair-cut...

Before...

After...

Update on everything...

I haven't gotten this far behind on communication since we moved to Uganda...

I am 3 months over-due on a newsletter to supporters, 1 month over-due on an update to GBI supporters, an email inbox that hasn't been clear in months, non-existent on my blog... and "Hi Mom and Dad! I'm still alive..."

About the only thing I am current on is the Dodgers! Congratulations Frank McCourt... and of course he hasn't returned any of my congratulatory emails...

But due to an unexpected 5 PM Sunday afternoon nap... I have enough energy to update the blog remnant on our life in Uganda...

Kadin... I shouldn't say this since I don't have a picture yet... but I'll say it anyway... during my nap he gave himself a haircut... his hair was down past his shoulders in the back and now is 3/4" all over... we are all grieving because he is so stink'n cute but it will grow back...

Last week he got sent to the Principal... but he wasn't in trouble... his teacher was just in shock because he brought a book to school and read it cover to cove to his entire class... the book is classed "Hot Dog" and he loves it because he loves meat, especially hotdogs... but there is also a line in the book that says "P.U. Dog" and he laughs hysterically every time we read it... the Principal was so impressed she put it in the school newsletter... good thing she has a sense of humor as well!

Noah turned 6 last Sunday... again, shame on me for not uploading pictures... he is soooo old... he ties his own shoes, which makes getting ready for school so much easier... he can read and understand what mom and dad are saying when we try to spell things to each other... and he joined a soccer club at school... this week he also went to his first birthday part without mom and dad... he was a little nervous but within 10 minutes waved me off and told me I could leave... I think I had a harder time with it than he did...

Christine... is now fully engaged in her masters program and had a booming week of business selling chicken... Friday was Ugandan Independence Day and as fireworks are to the US, chicken is to Uganda... I don't know if that sentence makes sense but the point is you can't celebrate a holiday in Uganda without eating chicken so it was a good week... the rabbits are booming but I'll leave the rest of the ag updates to her...

Jeff... I am currently training for the Kampala Marathon... I love running because I have this amazing screen saver program in my mind... it seems as soon as I lace my shoes all brain activity ends... the longer I run the more rested my mind feels... I am also learning that I run the exact same way I work... not with my mind turned off... but now I am talking about my pace... or my lack of pacing... in every race I have ever participate in I go out way too fast and then just let pride get me to the finish line (I can't stand walking when people are cheering at the end of a race)... currently between the fundraising trip, school accreditation process, Julius getting fired and imprisoned and the country breaking out into riots the first week of school I find myself completely exhausted... writing about being worn out isn't exactly the best material for a missionary update... but if you've read this far you are either completely bored or you love us and are praying for us... so I'm putting it out there...

Next week the boys have a break from school so we are going to take some time off as a family... I know I need it...

Who knows when I will get a GBI update out... but if you are really interested... her is a list that the staff put together for me of all we accomplished in my first 60 days back from the US... it was a real pick me up... they're great!

STAFFING

Hired Librarian

New Student Dean

Promoted Registrar from within

Promoted Bursar from within

Updated appointment letters and job descriptions for all admin staff, lecturers and causal workers

Wrote and Edited New Human Resource Manual

Overcame staff dismissal

New staff room

New Finance Office with increased security

Staff increasingly effective and motivated during transition

Cook got married

STUDENTS

Revised Student Manual

No discipline issues with students thus far

Overcame country wide riots the first week of school

Hosted our first Spiritual Retreat for the Student Body

New Student Welfare office

FINANCE

New Finance Manual

New independent accounting system

Closed books on ARM

Financial accountability in place

New bank account

Direct wire transfer from US

New accounting software

Asset listing revised

All possible debt identified and paid off

Cut 15% out of our budget in Admin costs alone… saving over $15,000 for 2010

ADMINISTRATION

Completed 3yr strategic plan

Completed 1yr operational plan

Complete student registrar ’07-present

Organized Reception to be completely run by volunteers

LIBRARY

Library org according to subject matter

Library check-out process implemented

Library goals and vision completed

Purchased library supplies

I'm an egg snob!

I would like to rationalize and think that a good egg brings out some secret taste in a recipe that a mediocre egg won't or that a white yolked egg is just as good as a yellow yolked egg, but I must confess. I am an egg snob. I want to crack open my egg and it be a dark yellow, that the yolk stay intact as it hits the pan or bowl, that it doesn't emit an unegglike odor, that it has no little red spot or worse something larger than a red spot. Yes, I have almost scrambled two nearly whole chicks while living here.

I am anxiously counting the minutes until me new laying hens start laying. Sometime this month I will once again return to the blissful state of having the finest Ugandan eggs in my own backyard.

Three years with Joseline...

Three years ago today Joseline came to live with us... she has been with our family for so long it is weird to think of what our family would be like without her...

I don't even think I could begin to explain all that Joseline has meant to our family over the last three years...

Many of you know of her brave heroics from times she has beaten thieves in our home, killed snakes or watched over and protected the boys... but there is also a soft and gentle side to Joseline... times when we find her sitting under the jackfruit tree with the boys singing to them or telling them about Jesus...

I'll never forget the first time she cried as she heard me discipline Kadin... she thought I was beating him... like his father he can be a bit dramatic... she cried for over an hour as I explained to her that I discipline Kadin because I love him and want to see him grow to be a great man...

The next day she brought Kadin to me and asked me to discipline him again!

I have never doubted her loyalty or love for our family since that day... and that loyalty has been a constant help and encouragement to us over and over... whether she is helping us understand something about Uganda or Ugandan culture or she is warning us of people who are trying to take advantage of us... she has become the Ugandan member of our family and a part of our missions experience that God gave to us as part of His great care for us...

After what happened last week with Julius I think Joseline is also a great reminder to not close ourselves off to people... if we chose not to open ourselves up we will never experience the love and joy in relationships that God wants us to experience here in Uganda... the love and joy that our family has experienced by having Joseline in our home!

My current schemes

In my quest to one day rule my own planet, I will first run my own business. This idea has been simmering for a couple years now. Being someone who hates sitting in chair under flourescent lights for 40 hours a week, I needed to wait until I had a partner.

Why a business?

• because I can - I have the skill, knowledge, experience and desire
• aid isn't working; development of people and an ethical,efficient, profitable business excites me more and is needed
• I think malnourishment could be alleviated if the cost of protein was lower

Current business ideas

• rabbits for research
• commercial pork production
• poultry (East Africa export market only)

Where am I in the process:

• gathering data (consumption, demand, competitors, market gaps, labor costs, land costs, disease prevalence, etc)
• developing criteria (land, profitability, marketing gaps, capital investment amounts, etc)
• visiting model businesses and gathering information about running businesses, successes, failures, tips, etc

I am still very interested in offering education and training for women in livestock production. Having a business would provide the site and resources to offer training on a periodic basis.

Uganda Riots... and everything else...

It may not make the front page of the LA Times but if you google "uganda riots" you will get a glimpse into our last few days...

The president of Uganda and the king of Buganda have been at a stand off over the king's proposed appearance at a youth rally on Friday... the president blocked the king's trip to the youth rally saying that his appearance would spark violent protests... but in blocking the trip the president set off violent protests throughout Kampala and other surrounding regions...

It is hard to know what truly took place in the riots because 5 radio stations have been shut down... most of our news sources have been word of mouth...

Friday I got a call from a friend saying that he heard gun shots by Noah and Kadin's school... my heart raced the entire way to the school... people had thrown trash in the street and lit it on fire in attempts to block the road leading to the school... I didn't bother stopping to see what was taking place... the school was well guarded when I arrived and I felt like they had been well taken care of... they had been trying to call us for awhile but the phones were jammed from all the traffic...

This was the end to one of the most difficult weeks I have had personally in some time...

On Tuesday I got served papers that a loan I had co-signed had defaulted... but I didn't remember ever co-signing a loan for anyone...

Wednesday I requested that the bank some me the original loan papers...

Thursday I discovered that the documents had been forged by a young man that worked for me and that I have been mentoring for the last 18 months... he had used GBI letterhead, the GBI seal, made a false id for me from pictures in my desk and signed my name to over 20 documents... the day after we left for California in June...

All told while I was in the US he borrowed over $10,000 from banks, staff, students and individuals in the community with me as his personal reference on forged documents...

Due to the legal implications this could have on the school and the solid proof of forgery... my stamped passport... I had to turn him over to the bank and they handed him over to the police...

He is now in prison and facing 7 years for forgery...

Friday... after evacuating the boys from school... his fiance came to our home and I had to break the news...

Students report to GBI this weekend... and I have to believe that all these difficulties have a purpose... and that great things are still to come...

How White Are You?

I am 15% white. I would have scored higher, but being homeschooled gives me the distinct advantage of not knowing any of the pop culture people and music mentioned. I like coffee, diversity, marathons (at least the idea of one day running a marathon), indie music, sushi, and a handful of the other Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander. Need some good laughs? Here are a couple of my favorite zingers from the book....

"In many cultures when someone does not eat any food for days and survives only on a mixture of water, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup they are said to be in the midst of a famine. But when a white person does it, they are in the midst of a cleanse." (my last cleanse was in July)

"Apple products also come with stickers. Some people put them on their computers, some people put them on windows, but to take this to the pinnacle of whiteness, you need to put the Apple sticker in the rear window of your Prius, Jetta, BMW, Subaru 4WD station wago, or Audi. You then need to drive to a local coffeeshop and set up your Apple for the world to see. Thankfully, the Apple logo on the back will light up! So even in a dark place, people can see how unique and creative you (and the five other people next to you doing the same things) truly are!" (when I die, there will be no room to be buried next to Jeff; that spot is already reserved for his Powerbook)

"It is hardly a secret that all white people love being near water. And why wouldn't they? It provides so many of the activities that they love - swimming, kayaking, canoeing, sailing - and it's a perfect place to read. Before we move on, let's not gloss over the last point. White people love to be near a body of water so they can read a book while sitting nearby. The process of reading is somehow heightened through the process of doing it near water. Extreme reading!" (my dream is to one day own a house right on the ocean with a hammock for reading)

Trying to Simplify

With 300 chickens in our yard, I go through a lot of feed. I am trying to simplify life right now, delegate, say no, so that I have time for school. I called the feed mill last week and gave them a 4 day advance order on the chicken feed I needed. I arrived bright and early Monday morning - in part to avoid traffic in Kampala - to find that my order had not been processed. No electricity to mill the corn and soy. No problems, put the feed on a truck and send it to my house later in the day. No feed arrived on Monday.
Phone call Tuesday morning; feed left feed mill at 9am. Great, I had finished the last of my broiler finisher during the morning feeding, so 9am departure from the feed mill meant I should have it absolutely no later than 11am at my house.
Noon came and went. Phone call to feed mill. Truck had a flat tire and would be delayed until 2pm.
2pm came and went. Phone call to feed mill. No idea where truck was.
4pm. Phone call to feed mill to find out about feed and to make sure it was not sitting in the rain. Truck at mechanics near gas station. Drove to described gas station. No truck at mechanics. I am now beginning to hyperventilate that evening feeding time will come and go without chicken feed.
7pm. At friends birthday party. Phone call from truck driver. He is lost.
7:30pm. Jeff takes over to get truck driver to our house. Requires walking to main road in dark to find lost truck driver.
8:45pm. Feed arrives in the dark. No power. Unload into pile in our yard. Truck won't start and spends another 45 minutes in our driveway.

My idea to simplify feed procurement did not work this time!