Real Life

It has been 3 months since our last update. 3 months. Our goal has been to write an update on this blog every month or at least every other month. We have found keeping up with this blog particularly difficult because for us, being here in Uganda, doing life, working, living, everything…it is just normal every day real life for us. Life doesn’t feel extraordinary or even worthy of writing an update about. This is why we’ve struggled to keep up. For that we apologize to our friends, family and supporters. We long so much for you to be a part of our lives here, and us yours. We will do better to update more regularly, even if just updating on our normal every day real life. 

Sunrise view from our front porch at Yahaya’s Plot.

In the past 3 months Uganda has undergone controversial Presidential elections and Inauguration, DOORS Mission and Primary Schools have finished their first school term of the year and are now on holiday, and we’ve (Matt & Ashley) spent time continuing to set up our home, work our jobs, and hang out with our community.

Ashley continues working at DOORS prepping for summer volunteers that arrive in early June, as well as overseeing the exciting projects starting at Yahaya’s Plot including a chicken meat-growing income generating project starting with 100 baby chicks and work programs for our pupils in the Secondary Sponsorship program. My first year as a science teacher at Heritage International School also came to close this week with finals and graduation. It has been an enjoyable experience and turns out, I really love teaching high school science. Though the course I taught this year is not offered next year, I hope to have the opportunity to teach again in the future. Most of my time has been spent wrapping up things at Heritage, and preparing for DOORS’ busy summer of short-term volunteers.

Baby chicks at Yahaya’s Plot for meat IGA. (They are now a month old.)

Matt continues to be busy at eMi. With two weeks remaining in the term before the interns leave there is going to be a crunch to finish in time. Matt is working on several design projects, phase 2 of the secondary school for Amazima Ministries, a land use plan for Hope Alive!, site plan and building design for Word in Deed Ministries. In addition to the design work Matt is providing in-office support to the construction teams for the choir training center for African Children’s choir, a hospital ward building at Kibuye Hope Hospital in Burundi, and the demolition and reconstruction of the community centre at UCBC. I will provide an update with more pictures once the projects have been wrapped up.

Aerial Photo of Amazima site phase 1 construction. EMI is currently designing phase 2

Most of our free time has been spent with our community, fixing up our house and preparing for Michelle’s visit! (Matt’s sister who is coming to stay with us for one month beginning May 27th), and going on our “52 Dates” gifted to us at our wedding. Thank you to each of you that have contributed to this! We’ve gotten amazing Mexican food in Kampala, had some dinners at our favorite local spots, and took a day hike at Mabira Forest…the last time we were here we were about to get engaged. We have really enjoyed getting these times together and look forward to the dates to come. We continue to spend Sunday mornings eating our favorite Ugandan “fast food” of rolexes (fried eggs in chapatti) after church and enjoying dinner with our community at our weekly dinner gathering. Saturdays are either spent at home or special events thrown by our friends such as a house warming party, or escorting the DOORS Home boys across Lake Victoria to participate in the monthly Jigger Digger hosted at Nakalanda Project.

Enjoying our Mexican food “52 Date” at a restaurant in Kampala. (We haven’t perfected the selfie yet…) 

DOORS kids serving at the Jigger Digger clinic across Lake Victoria hosted by our friends at another ministry, Nakalanda Project.

Also this month we took a fun trip to celebrate and attend the wedding of our very dear friend Angela (former staff of DOORS and close friend of Ashley’s) & Ibra in Dar es Salaam , Tanzania; and also got some relaxing beach vacation time in Zanzibar before the busy summer. The wedding was beautiful, small and intimate, right on the Indian Ocean. Our time in Zanzibar was peaceful and relaxing as it is slow season for tourists there. We were able to spend an afternoon touring Stone Town after taking a 2 hour ferry from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar, before heading to our beachside bungalow “hotel” that we had all to ourselves! With how far out the tide went each morning, we were able to walk all the way out to the coral reef, see a local woman fishing for octopus (which Matt later ate for dinner), and even got a little too up close and personal with sea urchins after stepping on one accidentally. It was a perfect vacation at the perfect time. (Though we are now very happy to be back home in Uganda).

Celebrating at Angela & Ibra’s wedding in Dar es Salaam. You can see how far out the tide goes! Water comes all the way back to right behind us in the afternoons.

Matt watching the sun rise over the Indian Ocean in Zanzibar.

Thank you to each one of your for your continued love and support of us and our life here in Uganda. We miss our family and friends in North America, as we continue to feel confident that God has us here in Uganda for this season for His reason. Below are some of our prayers and praises. We would love to come alongside of you too in celebrating praises and sharing prayers, please send us an email anytime!

Praises:
    -Great trip to Tanzania
    -Continued peace over Yahaya’s Plot where we live
    -Our car! Yes, God has blessed us and we recently purchased a car here in Uganda.
    -An inspiring year teaching high school science/public health for Ashley

Prayers:
    -God’s guidance during busier seasons that are coming that we may protect our marriage above all second to protecting our relationships with Him   
    -For Michelle as she comes to visit and stay with us in Uganda for a month
    -For DOORS’ summer volunteers arriving the beginning of June
    -God’s continued protection over us as we move and travel each day
    -For EMI trying to wrap up projects in the next two weeks before interns leave