January 8, 2016
It was a wonderful, yet very hot, sometimes exasperating, sometimes humorous, and always a wonderful day with people of deep friendship, respect, and appreciation for my very presence; as if my being here somehow affirmed their life in Padibe, a mostly very poor area of Northern Uganda.
Christine, wife of Oyet Tommy, after morning mass.
See very closely this photo of Christine, the wife of our dear friend Tommy who has been to Milwaukee twice and worked with Three Holy Women for many years. Christine is a full time school teacher, spends many hours in the fields hoeing, planting, harvesting grains; is ready to give birth at any time of her fourth or fifth child, in addition to having three adopted children from relatives killed during he war. Look at her wonderful smile through which you can see a person of deep integrity, joy, and and incredible faith in God. Gazing on her photo should cause conversion!
Everyday I walk the two small streets in the village, stopping into the shops, greeting people, making jokes they do not expect from a mzungu (white person) and shaking hands with as many children that will dare to come near me. After all the mzungu is a scary and very unusual beast for them.
Otema Peter now works full time at the sunflower press in addition to being a major farmer in the parish.
Otema Peter and his wife Mary had my wife Mary and I to their home for dinner a couple of years ago. He is now full time at the sunflower press and his wife continues to teach full time.
The refuse from pressing the sunflower seeds is a high protein cake which is sold for animal feed.
Here are two of the men at the sunflower press crunching down the cake refuse left over from pressing the sunflower seeds. It is a high protein animal feed and is in high demand. The press sells all the cake to help make income so more can go to the farmer.
This afternoon’s rehearsal was to begin at 2 pm. At 2 pm there were four people there including me. I think we actually began rehearsing around 3:15 when an actor arrived who is in nearly every scene and has to be there. TIA!
Did you ever see the movie “Blood Diamond”? Leonardo De Caprio’s character coined that acronym to apply to every frustration with he African way of time and life: TIA = This is Africa!
We stayed an hour and a half past the stopping time since we started so late and accomplished much.
See you tomorrow.
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