Adventures With Mark

Yes, me in a fancy suit for a Ugandan wedding. I never thought I would see the day in Uganda when I would be upfront standing beside some very dressed up gentlemen in a church. It was an honor to stand up for Ivan as he married his sweetheart, Sarah (not my Sarah, but another Sarah). What a great day and lot of fun.

I will admit that there were many things that were very similar to a wedding back in North America, but it did seem like things were bigger and had a little bit more of a beat to them. There were seven of us groomsmen, yes a fairly big wedding by western standards but more of an average size for Uganda.

The wedding was huge as there were more than 500 people at the reception and wow was it impressive. We came marching in down a hillside to the bottom where there was a swimming pool with bridges on either side. We made our way across and sat at extravagantly decorated tables encircling the pool. The program was very similar, but the most noticeable difference in my opinion was the wedding cake. It was huge and I do mean huge… Usually in a Ugandan wedding the cake consists of several cakes as the groom and brides families and employers would all receive there own cake to take home. The remaining cake was cut up and distributed to everyone. This was the biggest I’d ever seen!

A second part is that towards the end the wedding party leaves and returns in more casual dress as least the ladies do. Well, not a problem, but everyone comes dancing in and yes it was a long dance as we covered a lot of ground. I was thankful that my too left feet were a little bit hidden as I was in the middle of the pack. However, my white skin did stick out a bit, but luckily there were three other westerners and I do believe one of them had even worse left feet than me. Yes, it is possible…

All in all it was a great day and a very special moment for me to stand up for Ivan and experience a Ugandan wedding. I was very happy for them both.

On a side note since we are talking about weddings a huge congratulations to a good buddy back home who tied the knot this past weekend. Dave Sundlie you know I wanted to be there for the big day, but all the best to you and Sue!

Adventures With Sarah

I’ve been thinking so much of home because I will be going soon! Seth and I will fly from here on August 22. We’ll spend a night in London and then head on to Vancouver. We’ll recover from jet lag, renew my driver’s license in Abbotsford, pick up some baby necessities from our garage and then head on to my grandpa and grandma’s to wait for this little one to arrive! Mark will join us there on Sept 23. We have many tentative travel plans after baby comes (due Oct. 3) but we have to keep them all soft until the baby’s passport process is complete. We will let you know when this all gets organized because we will need your prayers! At this point it seems very certain that Mark will have to return to Uganda towards the end of October and then come back Dec. 9 for Christmas holidays.

Anyway, all of that to say….. as I look ahead to the flight for Seth and me, I shudder to think how long it could seem. We will be sharing one seat and this mama will be 8 and a half months pregnant (I’m flying at the very end of the 36 week airline limit). Seth is a good boy but very active. He’ll be confined for 9 hours plus and then the next leg will be 8 hours. Both flights are during the day so he will have a nap and that’s it for sleep reprieve. We’ll also have a bulk head seat which gives much more leg room and also allows for a little seat for him to sleep in (providing there is no turbulence… every time the seat belt light comes on they demand you put your baby on your lap and strap him in with you even if it means waking them from their sleep and even if it is for only 2 or 3 minutes because turbulence is so unpredictable). Please everyone! Pray with us about this long trip!

You know, I’ve learned something from the Ugandan people about prayer and faith. Many of them pray for things they don’t have in a different way than we do. I’ve also been hearing lots of teaching about my mouth and my mind having more impact on my circumstances than I ever imagined! So, as I pray about this trip I have begun believing already that God is going to bring along people to help in the airport or at any time that I need it. I’ve also begun believing that He will provide an extra seat next to us on the plane! Or maybe there will be children on the plane that Seth can play with. I have no idea how God is going to bless us but I am convinced that He will either provide these things or give me tremendous grace and a very good boy! And by the way, I am already seeing his provision! We have a good friend visiting us for a few days from the UK and he was asking about my trip home. I told him we were spending a night near the airport in London and he was explaining what I would need to do to catch a bus to the hotel. Then he promptly whipped out 40 pounds from his money belt and said, ‘There… now you don’t have to stop at the cash machine to pay for the bus!’ The chore of getting pounds hadn’t crossed my mind yet! God’s way ahead of me!

That’s all from me except to say, I am looking forward to seeing so many of you. My first stop in Abbotsford will be very quick so please don’t worry if you don’t see me! We will all be coming through for some good visits in January before heading back to Uganda. I love you, my friends and family! We miss you all lots and we pray for you often. Sarah

Adventures With Seth

You know what everybody? I’m growing up so much. I help mom and dad empty the garbage cans and put them back and I help dad look for strawberries in the garden every night when he gets home.

And I say so much stuff! I’ll tell you me newest most fun stuff to say.

I like to say ‘I love you’ but my best way to say it is ‘a woo’
When mommy says ‘what is your name?’ I say, ‘sef!’ then she says ‘how old are you?’ and I hold up one finger and say ‘one!’

Then last night at dinner time we were all just eating our food (oh guess what? I can eat with my little fork by myself! but then I have to have a bath right away) any way, when we are all just eating I said ‘one, two, free!’ Mommy started laughing and said ‘yes! One, two, three!’ and then I said, ‘Four!’ daddy says I feel like a smarty pants because when they get excited about my new words I just smile like the whole world is full of sunshine because of me!

And another thing I really like to do is pray. Always before bed I say, ‘pay? Pay?’ and I fold my hands. And before we eat I fold my hands so we can pray. Then when daddy gets done I say, ‘more.’ I like when we pray about lots of stuff.

I guess I better go. Dad says he’s going to take me for a ride in the car and I really like that. On the way home When we get close to our house I get to be out of my car seat and help dad steer down the bumpy road and honk the horn at our gate. I see chickens and goats and dogs and sometimes cows by our house so it’s lots of fun. Good bye! I have to go driving! Seth

I am a boy!

Yes, mom and dad say I am all boy. I love to climb and they say I love to test the limits.

See My Smile

I brought the camera to mom and sat down just like this so she could take my picture.

Yum!

There is nothing like some cool watermelon on a hot Ugandan day. Very juicy and it runs all over my face, but very good.

Adventures With Mark

The last three weekends have been a little on the short side as we had first Visitation Day at the school, then a burial and an introduction on the third weekend. Yes, the first two are self explanatory, but a ‘kwangala’ (or ‘introduction’… held months or weeks before the wedding) I am guessing is a new event to many of you. The lovely picture of me in a dress is actually called a ‘kanzu’ and is part of the tradition. In a nut shell, if any of you have a daughter in the marrying age it would be a good idea to move to Uganda soon.
The day begins with the groom-to-be organizing at a central meeting place with the group of people he is allowed to bring to meet his bride-to-be’s parents. Most grooms would be allowed to bring about 25 people or so. Yes men, imagine inviting only 25 people to attend this event and that would include your family too. At the gathering point everyone gets ready with the men putting on their kanzus and the ladies their ‘gomazes’ (equally surprising to the North American eye). Once everyone is ready the entire group is given a specific time in which they are supposed to arrive at the bride’s home and being late usually will mean a fine for the groom. Vehicles are loaded with gifts to be brought to the event in hope of pleasing the possible in-laws.
Fortunately for me, this particular introduction is a little on the shorter side. Usually the party would have to proceed to the village or area where the girl’s parents reside. In this case we had a short 10 minute trip from our house and we were there. Forming a line for the men and one for the ladies we were greeted, a flowery thing pinned on our jackets and we entered. We were ushered to a tent on one side with the opposing tent having the relatives and friends of the lady’s side. There is another tent on the side between the two to seat more guests. The front rows have couches for the important guests.