Hi Honey:
Thanks for all you do for us. We love and appreciate you both so very much. This morning I was listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir while getting ready for the day and they sang that darling song, I am trying to be like Jesus, and I had a melt down, because I hear those sweet primary voices sing it and I thought of the boys and that was all it took. Otherwise, I am doing OK. We are having an incredible experience. I can't even explaine it. We just sent a message to Matt for the blog, so you will get to read somethings that we are doing, but everyday is a new experience. Our boss and his wife, Elder and Sister Mills from South Africa have been here all week, so we have been taking him out to meet some of our organizations and people that we are working with on projects. I haven't even had time to do my laundry, so I know I am overdue to write to you. While he was here we had a "hand-over" in Mukono so we invited them to go with us to participate and we also invited the new mission president and elder and sister Moore went also. This is where we officially hand over the things that the Church has provided for a project that we have accepted. We handed over rice seeds, fertilizer, a boda boda (motorcycle), computer and printer, insecticide and many more things for planting upland rice. Sixty farmers were selected to start this project. We met at the Mokono District Farmer's Asso. and they had set up benches and tables on a platform to honor us. They had the news media there and a representative from the King, a representative from the government and a representative from the District. We asked the Mission president and his wife to set on the stand with us They had also invited all the farmers that the church was helping and served refreshments and gave wonderful speeches honoring us and the church. They used the analogy of the church being the Good Samaritan. These things are always humbling and very nice. This humanitarian job is the best in the church. We get to do all kinds of wonderful things that help people and we also get to see their graditude first hand.
Yesterday, we took Elder and Sister Mills to Jinja, a charming city, which is on Lake Victoria and the source of the Nile. We rented a small boat with a tour guide and sailed right to the source. You could see where the the water flowed right from the Lake and into the Nile. We also saw the most wonderful birds, all shapes and sizes and sailed over to the monument erected to John Speck, the explorer who discovered the source. It was so interesting. We could hardly believe we were there. We also saw the falls where the guys were doing white water river rafting. It was incredible. It is supposed to be the best river rafting in the world, but it looked dangerous to me. Two weeks ago we went to the equator and stood on the line - one foot on one side and one on the other. We are so blessed to be having these experiences and being part of the Lord's blessings on these people. We are having people come from SLC in August to show them around and express what we thinkg Uganda needs in the way of humanaitarian assistance. We are going to be asking for 750 wheelchairs and some money to do quite a few clean water projects. I have been hearing about all the wonderful and fun things you guys are doing. Fill me in about the Trek, that really sounds wonderful. I know that Torri is there now and hope you guys are having fun together. I heard that the Rhino made it to Lynnwood and wish I could be there to celebtrate the birthday event with you guys. Thanks again for everything. I miss those darling boys and think about them always. Love and kisses. Nana.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Saturday, July 7, 2007
News from the Pearl of Africa
Kampala, Uganda
It is interesting how fast time seems to be going for us over here – and that is in direct opposition to the counsel given by Ssimbwa (our African helper) to just throw away our watches. Time does not seem to matter too much here. They will wait hours, take cab rides for hours, their patience is unbelievable. Muzungus (white people) always want to be on time! At any rate, we have just ended our second month as missionaries and looking at all that we have been involved in it seems much longer.
Sundays are kind of special – we go early and I meet with the Priesthood leaders of the branch, which usually means just me and the branch president for the first 30-45 minutes until the others trickle in. Transportation is such a problem as many have no money for a taxi, so it is a long walk for them, and throw in a downpour for good measure and we are on African time. Sacrament meeting does start on time but people come in throughout the meeting. Sandra is teaching the piano while I am in early meetings, she plays for the Sacrament meeting, and believe it or not I play for the Priesthood meeting (it certainly helps that many of them don’t know better!). We meet as couples in the afternoon for family home evening and it is a good time for us to chat and socialize. I used Luke 15 for the lesson this last week and the three parables therein.
Monday we went with the UN in one of their souped up SUV’s with a van of media people following, forty miles past Mubende and then 32 KM into the villages for an official handover of the last of a large shipment that the church had sent for the refugee camps. This camp had 16,651 in it as well as over 3,000 Rwandan Refugees that have been denied asylum and refugee status. They have been placed on the outskirts of the camp, but they have some rights as asylum seekers, The bulk of the refugees are from the Congo, and as such have automatic refugee status. The rest come from Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Somali, and the Sudan. They receive a small plot of land to farm and something to place as a roof (plastic or sheet metal) and they build their own mud hut/home. It is hard to describe the conditions. They live in huts made out of mud and the roofs are either some kind of tin or grass. but I thought they were much better than I had imagined as this is a very fertile country and it is easy for them to grow things. The UN has also been supplying them with some food and brings in water. Sandra and I handed out hygiene kits and school kits at a middle school. These kids are about 12 to 15 years old. Think about being so excited and so grateful just to get soap, toothpaste and brushes, and writing tablets and something to write with, a pencil sharpener and a ruler and a book to read that is your very own. They hugged us and kept saying, thank you, thank you. We went to another part of the camp (it is 81 square KM in size) and handed out clothing to men, women and children. These were the same bundles of clothing that we saw being sorted at welfare square in SLC (good, clean, used). We gave each a pair of pants and a shirt of some kind. They were all lined up and were waiting patiently to get their turn in the building where we were sorting and handing out this clothing. It went on for a long time before and after we were there, but we were representing the church and got a lot of press coverage both in the papers and on TV. I guess we were on the nightly news twice the next evening and once the morning after. We did not see the program, but a lot of our church members saw us and told us about it. They even showed the picture of Sandra handing out balloons to the little kids. That was unbelievable. She had a sack of 100 balloons in her purse and little kids ran from all over and mobbed her, yelling, please madam give me one. All you could see were little arms reaching for a balloon and almost knocking her off balance. We wish people who contribute to the humanitarian fund could see the end results. These people are so grateful for this assistance and need it so badly. We actually stood there with tears in our eyes. We rode back with the press in the van (7or 8 of them) and the rode forty miles out of Kampala is actually very good – but those last miles into town in the dark are something else. Remember no stop lights, no street lights, no car lights on most, no striping on the roads, potholes galore, bikes, boda-bodas, and mass amounts of people (no sidewalks) and you understand why I was happy to have someone else drive. It was a wonderful experience though and we have some nice pictures.
Yesterday we went to the marketplace at the lake in Kampala where they bring the people over from the islands and bring in their fish. A kaleidoscope of color and confusion. I then drove down to the equator where we did some shopping, had a late lunch, and took the obligatory pictures to prove we were actually on the equator. On the way back home, we stopped at a small little shop where they make the African drums. They come in all sizes and are quite unique. They are made of animal hide and each one is unique and has a different sound. They were making them by hand, off the road and down in a gully, under some big trees – an interesting process – and we ordered one to be made. A fairly small one, but it only cost 20,000 shillings (approx. $12.00 US) and we will pick it up in 4-5 weeks when the skin is cured. We bought some fruit on the way back as it is really inexpensive when you get away from the big city. Our breakfast this morning was a huge papaya (with fresh lime juice), fresh pineapple, small sweet bananas, and orange juice to wash down our malaria pills! We don’t like the beef here, but we certainly don’t lack in food.
We are both doing well physically – losing a little weight – actually a good thing and looking ahead to a very busy summer as we have more than enough to keep us busy and I find out more and more coming our way. We have a folder full of potential water projects and we understand we are having some experts come from SLC in August to look over some of these. We are also making arrangements to get at least 500 wheelchairs sent here. We have talked with the organization that will help the church get them into this country and help with the distribution. We celebrated Independence Day with no power at our compound. The two young missionaries that live above the garage (whom we love) came over with marshmallows and cookies and we supplied the chocolate bars and we put a marshmallow on a fork and held it over the candle flame and made “some mores”. It actually was very fun. Elder Monson brought his CD player over (battery powered) and we played a CD of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing America. We ate “Some Mores” by candle light and the missionaries read the scriptures pertaining to America being prepared for the restoration of the gospel. It was fun and a lot more impressive by candle light. We love and miss our family very much and once in a while a “melt down” occurs because we miss you so, but we feel we really are of help here and that makes it worthwhile. Love to you all,
P.S. A few pics: women in camp, Sandra being mobbed for balloons, and clothes handout.
It is interesting how fast time seems to be going for us over here – and that is in direct opposition to the counsel given by Ssimbwa (our African helper) to just throw away our watches. Time does not seem to matter too much here. They will wait hours, take cab rides for hours, their patience is unbelievable. Muzungus (white people) always want to be on time! At any rate, we have just ended our second month as missionaries and looking at all that we have been involved in it seems much longer.
Sundays are kind of special – we go early and I meet with the Priesthood leaders of the branch, which usually means just me and the branch president for the first 30-45 minutes until the others trickle in. Transportation is such a problem as many have no money for a taxi, so it is a long walk for them, and throw in a downpour for good measure and we are on African time. Sacrament meeting does start on time but people come in throughout the meeting. Sandra is teaching the piano while I am in early meetings, she plays for the Sacrament meeting, and believe it or not I play for the Priesthood meeting (it certainly helps that many of them don’t know better!). We meet as couples in the afternoon for family home evening and it is a good time for us to chat and socialize. I used Luke 15 for the lesson this last week and the three parables therein.
Monday we went with the UN in one of their souped up SUV’s with a van of media people following, forty miles past Mubende and then 32 KM into the villages for an official handover of the last of a large shipment that the church had sent for the refugee camps. This camp had 16,651 in it as well as over 3,000 Rwandan Refugees that have been denied asylum and refugee status. They have been placed on the outskirts of the camp, but they have some rights as asylum seekers, The bulk of the refugees are from the Congo, and as such have automatic refugee status. The rest come from Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Somali, and the Sudan. They receive a small plot of land to farm and something to place as a roof (plastic or sheet metal) and they build their own mud hut/home. It is hard to describe the conditions. They live in huts made out of mud and the roofs are either some kind of tin or grass. but I thought they were much better than I had imagined as this is a very fertile country and it is easy for them to grow things. The UN has also been supplying them with some food and brings in water. Sandra and I handed out hygiene kits and school kits at a middle school. These kids are about 12 to 15 years old. Think about being so excited and so grateful just to get soap, toothpaste and brushes, and writing tablets and something to write with, a pencil sharpener and a ruler and a book to read that is your very own. They hugged us and kept saying, thank you, thank you. We went to another part of the camp (it is 81 square KM in size) and handed out clothing to men, women and children. These were the same bundles of clothing that we saw being sorted at welfare square in SLC (good, clean, used). We gave each a pair of pants and a shirt of some kind. They were all lined up and were waiting patiently to get their turn in the building where we were sorting and handing out this clothing. It went on for a long time before and after we were there, but we were representing the church and got a lot of press coverage both in the papers and on TV. I guess we were on the nightly news twice the next evening and once the morning after. We did not see the program, but a lot of our church members saw us and told us about it. They even showed the picture of Sandra handing out balloons to the little kids. That was unbelievable. She had a sack of 100 balloons in her purse and little kids ran from all over and mobbed her, yelling, please madam give me one. All you could see were little arms reaching for a balloon and almost knocking her off balance. We wish people who contribute to the humanitarian fund could see the end results. These people are so grateful for this assistance and need it so badly. We actually stood there with tears in our eyes. We rode back with the press in the van (7or 8 of them) and the rode forty miles out of Kampala is actually very good – but those last miles into town in the dark are something else. Remember no stop lights, no street lights, no car lights on most, no striping on the roads, potholes galore, bikes, boda-bodas, and mass amounts of people (no sidewalks) and you understand why I was happy to have someone else drive. It was a wonderful experience though and we have some nice pictures.
Yesterday we went to the marketplace at the lake in Kampala where they bring the people over from the islands and bring in their fish. A kaleidoscope of color and confusion. I then drove down to the equator where we did some shopping, had a late lunch, and took the obligatory pictures to prove we were actually on the equator. On the way back home, we stopped at a small little shop where they make the African drums. They come in all sizes and are quite unique. They are made of animal hide and each one is unique and has a different sound. They were making them by hand, off the road and down in a gully, under some big trees – an interesting process – and we ordered one to be made. A fairly small one, but it only cost 20,000 shillings (approx. $12.00 US) and we will pick it up in 4-5 weeks when the skin is cured. We bought some fruit on the way back as it is really inexpensive when you get away from the big city. Our breakfast this morning was a huge papaya (with fresh lime juice), fresh pineapple, small sweet bananas, and orange juice to wash down our malaria pills! We don’t like the beef here, but we certainly don’t lack in food.
We are both doing well physically – losing a little weight – actually a good thing and looking ahead to a very busy summer as we have more than enough to keep us busy and I find out more and more coming our way. We have a folder full of potential water projects and we understand we are having some experts come from SLC in August to look over some of these. We are also making arrangements to get at least 500 wheelchairs sent here. We have talked with the organization that will help the church get them into this country and help with the distribution. We celebrated Independence Day with no power at our compound. The two young missionaries that live above the garage (whom we love) came over with marshmallows and cookies and we supplied the chocolate bars and we put a marshmallow on a fork and held it over the candle flame and made “some mores”. It actually was very fun. Elder Monson brought his CD player over (battery powered) and we played a CD of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing America. We ate “Some Mores” by candle light and the missionaries read the scriptures pertaining to America being prepared for the restoration of the gospel. It was fun and a lot more impressive by candle light. We love and miss our family very much and once in a while a “melt down” occurs because we miss you so, but we feel we really are of help here and that makes it worthwhile. Love to you all,
P.S. A few pics: women in camp, Sandra being mobbed for balloons, and clothes handout.
Monday, June 25, 2007
New Pics
Here are some more pictures from the Beans!
Watch out for the gorilla!
The local Relief Society
Elder Bean has finally found someone to play (American) football with.
Watch out for the gorilla!
The local Relief Society
Elder Bean has finally found someone to play (American) football with.
Friday, June 22, 2007
United Nations and Visit to the Tomb of the Kings
We are going with the United Nations group on Monday to the refugee camps. we are going to represent the church in distributing some of the goods that the Church sent to
We had a fun morning. We were taken around this morning by a member of the church called Ssimbwa, who does a lot of things for all of us. He buys our blankets, mosquito nets, etc. that we take to the villages. He gets a better price because he is African. He picked Ron and I up and took us to the tomb of the KIngs and also to the martyr's site. It is so interesting. Love Nana and Ron
xoxoxoxoxo
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The Latest
Several things to tell you.
Elder and Sister Williams just barely left to go home to
Noel and her sister brought 3 full bags of little kid’s shoes and gave them to us to distribute. We gave them to a woman in one of the branches [so she could sell] the shoes to get a little money. It is so sad here. A lot of people in the branches only have one meal a day. President Call told us he went to one of the branches for a meeting and it was very dark in the room. He said to the branch president turn the light on and the branch president said, we only have one light bulb and that is for Sacrament meeting. Stealing is a big problem here and you cannot leave anything in your car, even if it is locked. We carry everything we don’t want stolen with us when we leave the car parked. The
We sent some pictures of our latest trip to one of the villages and a picture of the Relief Society sisters in our branch with our update to the blog, so hope they worked, we are still trying to master the new
Thank you again for heading up the hygiene kit project. When we were out in the village last week and all the little kids were following me around, I was wishing I had those kits to give out then. However, we still have a lot of time left here and will be going to the villages all the time. Wish I could kiss all the kids. I think of them constantly and miss you and Matt very much. I got an update from him about driving the NASCAR. Tell him the two missionaries that live in our compound are so impressed and so is Ron. WOW, heard you were also headed for SunRiver. What a fun summer you have planned. Has Torri arrived yet? We have not heard anything, but we have been out of contact too.
We really appreciate having you there – I often think of you and Matt and the kids as “Beans”. And I mean that in a wonderful way. Nana could not be a better companion – she is like a “pied piper” to all the children in the villages and the sisters in the branch all adore her. This is truly a blessed time in our life.
Anyhow, thanx for all you do, Ron
Thursday, June 7, 2007
First Picture from Uganda
Here it is. I'm told there is more to come. They already look like seasoned veterans, don't they?
Monday, June 4, 2007
Hospitals and Haircuts
The following is a compilation of a couple of letters. I wanted to make sure we got all the details. No in-country pictures yet. Elder and Sister Bean -- Send pictures!
_____________________
You must come to Africa. It is so interesting and so different. Each day is an adventure. Especially traveling the roads. We are in a fairly nice compound and love our neighbors, who are Elder & Sister Moore from Bountiful, Utah. Today, two new young elders moved into the apartment above the garage. They are from Phoenix, Arizona and North Ogden, Utah. So we are a compound of muzungu's (white people) from the United States. We definitely are in the minority here. Very few white people. When we drive around we never see anyone else of our kind, only at the larger malls and restaurants will you see maybe two or three.
This morning we went to check on a project at the Maluka hospital. We have a women we met named Angela, She is in a wheelchair and wants the church to contribute 120 blankets, sheet sets and pillows to the spinal injury ward at the hospital. We met her at the hospital today and toured the spinal injiury ward. It was so awful, you can not believe it. Of course this is the part of the hospital where they put the people who cannot pay. I just sort of looked straight ahead as we walked through this dirty, smelly place with all kinds of people with all kinds of things wrong with them in a bed. Anyway, we are going to help them with blankets, sheets, etc. How could you not?
On Wednesdays people come to our office to present their humanitarian projects and hope that we will partner with them and help them. The office is always crowded and we stay way past the time we are supposed to, just listening to needs and very sad stories. A lot of them are looking for ways to get clean water, and we & the church want to do a bunch of wells and help protect & maintain wells already in existence. So many needs, we wish we could help all of them. A lot of them are woman groups, wanting to go in together and raise poultry, pigs, pineapple, cattle and want the church to set them up. There are alot of single African women raising big families and no man in sight. It definitely is a man's world here, especially in the villages, where they still do things like caning (you know with a big cane or stick) The little kids are so cute and very shy. I love to smile at them and then they will smile back. I also love to see a woman walking along the road with a big basket of bananas on her head and a baby in a sling on her back. Driving to our office or to church, this is a very common sight. We go out to the villages to look at projects and to take mosquito nets, blankets, etc. and words cannot describe what you see.
You must come visit. There are wonderful sights to see. The source of the Nile is in a city called Jinja, which we have and will visit often to get to some of the villages. If you want to read a good book that talks about searching for the source of the Niles and all the explorers that explored this area in the 1800's read: The White Nile. Very Very interesting. It is quite acceptable for us to have visitors. The couples that are here now all have had their families come and visit and stay with them. President Call and Sister Call, who are the acting mission president until the end of the month when the new mission president,arrives, went with their daughter and son-in-law to Ethopia to adopt two little sisters, ages 2 & 4 from an orphange and took them back to Wyoming. There is so much to tell you, but this is turning into a book. So hope you are having a wonderful time. Let us hear about your adventures too. We are going with President and Sister Call tomorrow to get haircuts. I hope she is as good as Csaba. I am also (for the time being) letting my hair go gray, don't know if I can last though.
__________________________
Yesterday we spent the day with President and sister Call. We all had our hair cut, that was pretty interesting. We all have a little different look today, but it just cost us 20,000 shillings a piece, which is around $10.00, not quite a Csaba cut, but not bad. We then drove out to an African Market and walked around and Ron bought some sandals and an African ball to throw around. It was made out of dried material like reeds, grass, not sure.
_____________________
You must come to Africa. It is so interesting and so different. Each day is an adventure. Especially traveling the roads. We are in a fairly nice compound and love our neighbors, who are Elder & Sister Moore from Bountiful, Utah. Today, two new young elders moved into the apartment above the garage. They are from Phoenix, Arizona and North Ogden, Utah. So we are a compound of muzungu's (white people) from the United States. We definitely are in the minority here. Very few white people. When we drive around we never see anyone else of our kind, only at the larger malls and restaurants will you see maybe two or three.
This morning we went to check on a project at the Maluka hospital. We have a women we met named Angela, She is in a wheelchair and wants the church to contribute 120 blankets, sheet sets and pillows to the spinal injury ward at the hospital. We met her at the hospital today and toured the spinal injiury ward. It was so awful, you can not believe it. Of course this is the part of the hospital where they put the people who cannot pay. I just sort of looked straight ahead as we walked through this dirty, smelly place with all kinds of people with all kinds of things wrong with them in a bed. Anyway, we are going to help them with blankets, sheets, etc. How could you not?
On Wednesdays people come to our office to present their humanitarian projects and hope that we will partner with them and help them. The office is always crowded and we stay way past the time we are supposed to, just listening to needs and very sad stories. A lot of them are looking for ways to get clean water, and we & the church want to do a bunch of wells and help protect & maintain wells already in existence. So many needs, we wish we could help all of them. A lot of them are woman groups, wanting to go in together and raise poultry, pigs, pineapple, cattle and want the church to set them up. There are alot of single African women raising big families and no man in sight. It definitely is a man's world here, especially in the villages, where they still do things like caning (you know with a big cane or stick) The little kids are so cute and very shy. I love to smile at them and then they will smile back. I also love to see a woman walking along the road with a big basket of bananas on her head and a baby in a sling on her back. Driving to our office or to church, this is a very common sight. We go out to the villages to look at projects and to take mosquito nets, blankets, etc. and words cannot describe what you see.
You must come visit. There are wonderful sights to see. The source of the Nile is in a city called Jinja, which we have and will visit often to get to some of the villages. If you want to read a good book that talks about searching for the source of the Niles and all the explorers that explored this area in the 1800's read: The White Nile. Very Very interesting. It is quite acceptable for us to have visitors. The couples that are here now all have had their families come and visit and stay with them. President Call and Sister Call, who are the acting mission president until the end of the month when the new mission president,arrives, went with their daughter and son-in-law to Ethopia to adopt two little sisters, ages 2 & 4 from an orphange and took them back to Wyoming. There is so much to tell you, but this is turning into a book. So hope you are having a wonderful time. Let us hear about your adventures too. We are going with President and Sister Call tomorrow to get haircuts. I hope she is as good as Csaba. I am also (for the time being) letting my hair go gray, don't know if I can last though.
__________________________
Yesterday we spent the day with President and sister Call. We all had our hair cut, that was pretty interesting. We all have a little different look today, but it just cost us 20,000 shillings a piece, which is around $10.00, not quite a Csaba cut, but not bad. We then drove out to an African Market and walked around and Ron bought some sandals and an African ball to throw around. It was made out of dried material like reeds, grass, not sure.
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