Dr. Jean signing in

We are finally back home, to Uganda, the place where God first called me in 1998.

The sun is rising over Moru Angibui (“the mountains of the hyenas”); bleating flocks of sheep and goats, bellowing cattle are dusting up the path between me and the Karamojong sunrise as I pen this to you. Since I left, the livestock no longer bed down in their own village kraal, but rather are protected by night in the nearby army barracks; this has cut down on cattle rustling, but has increased animal disease (overcrowding) and milk loss (into the tummies of the army blokes).
After Tom finishes exercising and Ryan sets down his guitar we’ll head over to our garden and clear the sunflower stalks and plant some greens using local hoes and machetes. We bought some local cow-pea seeds (the leaves can be plucked and cooked in 4 weeks) and Lucy Hirsh gave us some succulent spinach vine seeds from Kansas City to try out. All around us, neighbors are harvesting sorghum and sunflower from their gardens.
Karamoja has been receiving more than normal rains, which is a mixed blessing. This is the first time I have ever seen maize-corn growing in Nabilatuk (“the place cows get broken” akibil-break, ngaatuk – cows). Typically maize is only grown near the mountains of Napak or Kadam – where Josephine (Iriiri) and Joshua (Namalu) live, respectively – but this year, with the combination of rains and more NGOs in Karamoja than ever before, including FAO giving out seeds, Nabilatuk is enjoying a new crop. Unfortunately, the foothills of Napak & Kadam have gotten too much rain – so their harvest has been poor. It would have been a good year for rice and sweet potatoes. Sorghum, a more drought resistant crop that the plains people use as their main staple, was looking good – but, the heavy rains have caused rot and crop loss. But I’ve also witnessed square fields with straight rows. Tractors have come!
Still, we have also come. Tom and I moved up to Karamoja with our teammate Ryan in mid July, the roads (as usual) were awful – over 60 vehicles were stuck on the way. Our old Landcruiser made it, thanks to Don and Penny Harris for the new tires they outfitted the beast with. (INSERT PHOTO).
So where do we live? Tom) and I have never owned our own home before, but we do now. We call it the ‘Pine-Lodge’, well; Eureka calls it their Pine Lodge too. (INSERT PHOTO) Thanks to David and Kim Carney from Tazewell, TN (near beautiful Cumberland Gap) for helping us become first time home owners! We haven’t been one place since we left Ghent, Belgium in August 09 – a full year ago, on the road living out of a suitcase. Thanks Mileen!

What are we doing? Daily we meet with our language helpers for half the day. Tom is guiding us with a program called PILOT, he attended a 2 week course at Colorado’s Missionary Training Institute last October. Setting up house has consumed most of the rest of our time – pitching our tents (with continuous readjusting with fierce winds and overpowering rains bending the poles), making shades to lessen the harsh sun and rain for over the tents, setting up a gazebo hut, putting up solar and wind power, setting up water conservation system, walking to the borehole (not so much now that we have barrels and gutters!), making shelves, cooking – wow this takes a lot of time, going to the market, washing clothes (of course by hand), planting living fences, visiting communities, knocking down termites, thatching the hut, drinking tea and shooting the breeze with visitors and old friends, introducing the KKAB team to church and government officials – all in all, just settling in. On Thursday evening we have fellowship with the KACHEP team, and on Friday morning we go to Okutuut village where Tom stories while Joshua translates. We have been able to clear the building site and string out our huts, gather sand and gravel. (INSERT PHOTO of Ryan and the guys in Okutuut)

Pray for us as we patiently wait for our friend Bob Wright to visit and guide us in building techniques – he’s a busy man pulled in 7 directions, but once he gives us the nod and puts in the borehole that KACHEP has been approved for – the work will really kick in. Come join us! Meanwhile – we have plenty to keep us busy.

Pray for team unity and language acquisition. Pray for patience and understanding in culture and for our neighbors to likewise have patience with us.

Preparing the land, planting His seeds


Jean
PS – look for KKAB updates at www.KaramojaKaabongandBeyond.blogspot.com