Wednesday, March 24, 2010

From tree to bean!

Just wanted to share with you our favorite home school extra curricular activity here in Arua! I remember praying quite a bit about coming back to Arua for our second time around. Since our time line doesn't correspond with the Ugandan school system, it's almost a requirement that I home school the kids. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like to teach from home, I do, most days! It's just sometimes I get that worried mom thing in me that questions whether or not Osobie and Fatu are getting to experience enough or will be able to be involved in fun kid things like sports, music, art, karate,..etc.. You get what I mean. So, as we were making the decision to come back again for 6 months I started asking God what I should do about home school this time around. What I felt like He told me was not to compare what kids in the states have versus what we will have in Arua. I also felt like he told me to teach them what they can learn from Africa. So... I have been doing just that. We have been learning about the animals, birds and insects of Uganda. We have been experimenting with cooking some local foods that we haven't tried before, as well as picking up on a little bit of Lugbarra. The one activity that's been the most fun has been....COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, anyone who knows me will know that obviously there is some "mama bias" in learning this one! Heck, even O and F are clued into my pretty serious coffee drinking habit! But, sincerely this has been so stinking fun!! I wish I had photos from our first excursion but I forgot the ole' camera.
We picked the ripe coffee beans from the trees at our friend Alice's house. Alice's grandma (De-de) Shalom is the lady in charge! She's probably 65 or 70? Anyway, she has coffee trees planted and she does all the work of harvesting, crushing, and roasting before she sells them in the market. So, for one afternoon we picked and picked and picked! It's no easy task I tell you! There are ants that hide in the bunches and they bite and crawl all over your arms and fingers as you pick. I'm sure most Ugandans don't think harvesting is that bad or hard to do, but for novices like us, it was an exciting and tiring afternoon! We picked loads of coffee beans until the tops of the trees were bare.
Next we put the beans out to dry at our house. De de Shalom gave us our very own batch to work on so we carried it home and laid them on the cement near the house. We dried them for many weeks.
Then came time to crush the shell and discover the precious coffee bean inside! This was the part I was most excited about...holding the mighty coffee bean! The kids were stoked too! So, we made another date with Alice and de-de Shalom and we all headed out to her house. We had so much fun! Alice and Shalom showed us the two different traditional ways of shucking the shell of the bean as well as the sifting.
As you can see, this is the first method. The wooden cylinder and heavy wooden smasher. Of course I forgot to get the Lugbarra name for both of these tools. They use these grinders for millet and various other grains, seeds, pods and such that all need crushing. The wooden pole is heavy! No wonder most African woman have intensely strong arms. Oh, and talking about strong...this photo and these coffee activities all took place at Alice's house on Saturday. The very next day, Sunday, around 3:30 pm Alice gave birth to a healthy baby girl! Talk about strong women, Alice wasn't only grinding and sifting coffee with us that day, she was also re- thatching her grass roof with her husband and a hired worker. Wow!!
Next came the second method of shucking the shell of the coffee bean, rock on rock. You use a large flat stone and place the dried coffee in a pile in the center. Then you position a sifter at the end of the rock. The rock should be slightly pointing downward so the beans and shells will slide down into the sifter. You then use another small hand held rock with a flat bottom and you pull back over the coffee shells and push down then rock forward again. It's got a little rhythm to it if you watch the professionals at work (Alice and grandma)! I started to get the hang of it and even Alice said, "Katie, she knows how to grind coffee!"
I have a new appreciation for coffee farmers and for coffee! It is a LOAD of work for such a small little nugget of love and caffeine! Jeff, myself and the kids all took turns with the grinding techniques and tried out our sifting skills! A handful of shells and coffee beans after being crushed in the wooden bowl.
Then the last part was the sifting. Here you can see Grandma Shalom working it! She sifted that whole bunch of coffee beans faster than the 4 of us did on our one batch. I practically threw half of the beans on the ground from my poor sifting and slow reflexes to pull back in time. I spent most of my time digging in the dirt picking up the tiny green coffee beans that I spilled !


Seriously though, once grandma or de-de Shalom took over she put us all to shame! That woman is strong and you can see the years of experience she has had grinding, shucking, and sifting! I was so impressed and so grateful for the opportunity for us to learn about coffee.

Walking home from Alice's house enjoying the green lush African landscape...and praying the makeshift bridge made of timber holds together for us!!
We have one last part of this whole coffee process, the roasting. We have some Dutch friends who drink Ugandan coffee that is roasted by their friend and house helper, Grace. So, our next and last field trip will be to their house next week to learn how to roast the bean! We'll let you know how it goes once we sip our very own Ugandan home brew!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The power of love!

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. Matthew 10:42

James Rwothmiro is a 13 year old boy from Olygarda village in Northwest Uganda. He lives in one of the villages where Jeff and his field staff performed plague research for the past few years. James was born with severe club feet that continue to cause him much hardship. He struggles quite a bit with walking. A colleague of Jeff’s from the plague lab has been moved to help this boy. She has been investigating a way to get his feet fixed. Linda found a hospital in Entebbe that specializes in orthopedic surgery, including severe club feet. A few weeks ago she took him for an exam and the hospital (CORSU, Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services Uganda, www.cbm.org) has offered to do the surgery for free! We all have been touched by James' story and we wanted to help raise money for the rest of his medical care and travel so the surgery could happen. He will be in the hospital for at least a month so his mom will be accompanying him on his trip to Entebbe. We had hoped to raise enough funds for the hospital stay, food, and travel, which would be around $250. James and Jeff's coworker Linda

WE ARE HAPPY TO SAY

ALL THE MONEY HAS BEEN RAISED

BY OUR HOME CHURCH ~BRIDESTONE!!!

We sent Jame's story to our church community in Colorado and within one week everyone gave enough so James could receive the surgery! Thank you for your sacrifice that is giving James hope for a brighter future. He is arriving today from the village then tomorrow he will take the bus with his mom and Linda to Entebbe. His surgery is scheduled for Friday. We are asking for your prayers for this little boy. We are praying that the Dr's will have success in resetting his feet properly. We are praying that this will be life changing for James! Also, that this would forever impact his heart by knowing without a doubt that he is loved, cherished and cared for by his Heavenly Father! We are praying that James will remember this moment and know that the love poured out in the form of medical and financial help is truly Jesus' love for him. We pray that he will know that even the very hairs of his head are all counted by God because He cares for James.

Thank you Linda for your heart!

THANK YOU BRIDESTONE!!!!

We love sharing life with you guys and being an extension of your hearts and your love for the people of Uganda!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

An Overflow of giving!

WE ARE CURRENTLY AT

75


BIRTHING KITS!

Wow...This is wonderful and you all are so amazing!! If you want to see some pictures of the baby shower of our friends Kami and Jeremy Johnson, go here!

THANKS everyone! We're super stoked to be able to bless so many Ugandan mama's with kits that will help them in the delivery of their precious babies. We will be ordering the kits once the final numbers are in and then off to the clinics to distribute! We will have pictures in some weeks ahead, so check back.

Please be praying for our dear friend Alice. She is a Ugandan mama of 3 and is due to have her 4th baby any day now! We are praying daily for her. Alice has given my sister the honor of naming her baby, so we're all excited for his or her arrival! Luckily for Alice, she will be having the baby in the hospital which is still a shocking site if you've not been to an African hospital. But there are doctors and nurses available to help during complications, so it is a better option for women who live near a town and have the money to cover the fees.
Alice and Fatu