Back in the USA

Well I am back in the USA. I arrived in Jackson, MS about a week before Christmas after a few excruciatingly long flights. It has been great to see family, friends, and Jocelyn. I am still getting use to the US of A. It is a big change from Uganda. It is good to be back but I do miss Uganda and hopefully will go back in the future.

I had a nice Christmas. I spent sometime in Jackson, MS, with my family in Georgia, and with Jocelyn's family in Oxford.

The first thing I noticed when exploring London on my long layover, was how many white people there were and I how I sort of fit in.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Dallas' airport was the American accent. I have not heard the American accent in quite sometime since Uganda speaks a British English.

So anyway I will update the blog some more in the weeks ahead. I have a ton of video and pictures that I could not post in Uganda do to the internet speed.

So here are a few pics and a video from my last days in Uganda:

Most of the staff of eMi EA at our Christmas party. From left to right: Me, Semei, Kyle, Janet, Travis, Stella, Peter, Emmanuel, Wilson, Jaclyn, Janet. Front: Jill, Kahunda, Patrick

Getting a stool sample to check for worms and bacteria. Worm and bilharzia free!

In Downtown Kampala overlooking taxi park.

More video and pictures to come.

Beginning of the Goodbyes

So Tuesday night began the interns leaving Uganda and the day we all shaved off our beards into mustaches. We said goodbye to the Jinja interns and to our director as the Crawfords go on furlough.


The eMi EA interns.


Kampala boys with our mustaches

We also said goodbye to Stephen on Thursday cause he left for the village to see his new baby girl! It was sad to see Stephen go.


A nice typical Ugandan picture of no smiling.


Kampala interns with Stephen.

Stake out!!!

This past Monday a few of us went out to Masaka to do a building stake out for the buildings we designed for the site. We left early in the morning and spent all day there before heading back. Needless to say it was a long day.


Helping to clear an area with a panga (machete) to put down a building stake.


The African Bush


Overlooking the site after a long day of staking.

Published!!!!!!!!!!!!

WELL WE HAVE FINISHED OUR PROJECT!!!!

Our team has finished our project, published, and bound it.

Monday we go to Masaka to stake out places for the ministry to grade.


The cover and stack of printed copies.


Me with the bound copy

Oh and congrats to the Bulldogs! Egg Bowl Champions!

Thanksgiving with an Engagement - Ugandan Style

Hey all!

Hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving!

We did celebrate the US holiday here in Uganda. The staff and families got together at our director's house. We had turkey, stuffing, apple and pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce to name a few things.

It was a nice time and to top it all off, our office administrator, Semei, announced that he and his girlfriend are now engaged! Here are a few pics from it all:


The group that celebrated Thanksgiving


Brad carving the turkey.


Semei announcing his engagement to Winnie.

Cultural Lesson for the Day

I hope you are well. A little update for you:

My team has what we consider 90% of our project report complete. It is getting reviewed by other staff and the rest of our team. After we get back the comments and suggestions, we will then make some changes and then it is publishing time!

In the meantime, I got a quick cultural lesson today from Stephen, our head of security here at eMi EA, on how to de-wing and de-leg grasshoppers. You would then take the grasshoppers and fry them up and eat them. Anyway they taste like a really greasy potato chip. Most people love them and they are a particular favorite of Stephen's.

Taking off the wings!

Wingless grasshoppers waiting to be fried!

Eating Grasshoppers and My Last Month

Well I have been here a while and have a month left to go of being here in Uganda. Crazy to think that I have been here as long as I have been. Time has just flown by. Living here in Uganda is quite an adventure and everyday seems to bring something new.

I love worshiping with Ugandans. I feel like the best thing about being here is worshiping Jesus with a different nation of people. Its amazing! I love it.

I have developed a satisfaction in the killing of mosquitoes.

Riding on the back of a boda is definitely exhilarating.

Simple tasks can be quite challenging like walking half a kilometer across a pipe to go to the grocery store or washing clothes.

Trying to fix the office's binding machine.

I don't think I will ever get the red dirt of Uganda off my some clothes and shoes and I am okay with that.

The people here are extremely nice. I love waving to kids and I am pretty sure they like the fact that I wave back.

I don't think I could ever be a celebrity. Because I am a muzungu here, I get a lot of stares, I mean a lot! I guess growing up in the US, you are exposed to a lot of different skin colors. But here everyone is pretty much black. So I stick out like a sore thumb.

Anyway those are a few of my thoughts. We are about 2 weeks away from publishing our project and all the drawings. Please pray everything would go smoothly with printing and such.