Friday, August 20, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
A breaking heart
I know that I haven't been on here in a while, but I haven't been able to bring myself to write about Uganda. My heart has been aching for this place and for these people. I'm stuck in this place of waiting. I don't want to be here in this job, in this place.
Every day I go to work and I listen to nurses complain and doctors yell and my heart breaks. I wish that I could take them to this place that would turn their world upside down. I wish that they could see that the miracle of a healthy baby is enough to make this job worth it. I think of baby Lokute and how hard he fought for life and I just want to scream that it doesn't matter that they had to wait 5 minutes extra to start their surgery. There are kids dying all over the world and all these people care about are the delay in their surgery and kills me. Every day my heart breaks a little more and aches just a little more for Uganda.
Every day I go to work and I listen to nurses complain and doctors yell and my heart breaks. I wish that I could take them to this place that would turn their world upside down. I wish that they could see that the miracle of a healthy baby is enough to make this job worth it. I think of baby Lokute and how hard he fought for life and I just want to scream that it doesn't matter that they had to wait 5 minutes extra to start their surgery. There are kids dying all over the world and all these people care about are the delay in their surgery and kills me. Every day my heart breaks a little more and aches just a little more for Uganda.
Friday, April 2, 2010
The first diaper...
The Preemie Project's first diaper has been made!!
Now that you know it can be done... get sewing! (see a few posts below for patterns and let me know if you need help... the sewer of this diaper has offered to assist people if necessary)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Now that I have seen...
Now that I have seen, I am responsible.
Last night I lay in my bed, mind racing, the faces of the Ugandan people flashing in front of me. I can hear their laughs, their cries, their songs. I wish that I had the words to tell you what it feels like. I wish that I could make you feel it to. Because if you knew, you would never question why. You would never look at their pictures and then walk away. You would never pass by an opportunity. You would never tell me to stay here.
Now that I have seen, I am responsible.
Do you really want to see or would you rather just pass them by without taking a second glance? Because that's what most people do. They'd rather not see, because then they too would be responsible. But what is our faith worth if we deliberately choose not to see? If we walk by and pretend we didn't know? Does that really make it easier? I wish I could make you understand, that if you saw, I mean really saw, then you wouldn't want to look away again.
Now that I have seen, I am responsible.
They are standing right in front of you. I have carried them back with me and I have shown you. When you look at me, you are also seeing them, because they are part of me. I have held these sweet souls in my arms. I have seen them die because they didn't have the things they needed to live. I hold their hopes and dreams for the future in my heart. I have seen and thus I am responsible....
Last night I lay in my bed, mind racing, the faces of the Ugandan people flashing in front of me. I can hear their laughs, their cries, their songs. I wish that I had the words to tell you what it feels like. I wish that I could make you feel it to. Because if you knew, you would never question why. You would never look at their pictures and then walk away. You would never pass by an opportunity. You would never tell me to stay here.
Now that I have seen, I am responsible.
Do you really want to see or would you rather just pass them by without taking a second glance? Because that's what most people do. They'd rather not see, because then they too would be responsible. But what is our faith worth if we deliberately choose not to see? If we walk by and pretend we didn't know? Does that really make it easier? I wish I could make you understand, that if you saw, I mean really saw, then you wouldn't want to look away again.
Now that I have seen, I am responsible.
They are standing right in front of you. I have carried them back with me and I have shown you. When you look at me, you are also seeing them, because they are part of me. I have held these sweet souls in my arms. I have seen them die because they didn't have the things they needed to live. I hold their hopes and dreams for the future in my heart. I have seen and thus I am responsible....
Now that you have seen, You are responsible
(scroll to the very bottom of the page and click on the song "Alberdine" on the playlist and read along as you listen)
I am sitting stillI think of Angelique
her mothers voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent
And on a thosandth hill, I think of Albertine
there in her eyes what I don't see with my own
rwanda
now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are
I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Rwanda
I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine
I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, AlbertineTo Diana, Aisha, Cathy, Laticia, Doreen, Angelina, Benjamin, Pious, Daisy, Gloria, Gift, Matthew, Nicole, Ditte, Aligaya, Becca, Daphine, Esther, Fatuma, Getu, Elijah, Losira, Lydia, Rachael, Joshua, Sharon, Freda, Ruth, Lokute. I will tell them.
I will tell them, Albertine
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Hello again...
Well, it seems that it's been quite a while since I've posted anything on here. But today we have internet at our house, so finally I am back.
Wanted to give an update on the Nets Not Caskets project...
Total to date: $900! (though thanks to the kids at SACC there's even more, I just have to count it)
Keep a watch out for more information on Uganda Movie Night! (tentative date: March 23)
On another note, I interviewed in Chicago last week for a labor and delivery position.
Wanted to give an update on the Nets Not Caskets project...
Total to date: $900! (though thanks to the kids at SACC there's even more, I just have to count it)
Keep a watch out for more information on Uganda Movie Night! (tentative date: March 23)
On another note, I interviewed in Chicago last week for a labor and delivery position.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Preemie Project: Patterns
So you're good with a sewing machine? Then thread your bobbins, measure your fabric, and get stitching... Here are your diapers patterns...
http://littlecomettails.kingstondesign.com/tightywhiteyhipsters.pdf
http://fernandfaerie.com/frugaldiapering.html -- this has a bunch of variations. Choose your favorite (but please stay away from ones that involved using safety pins (velcro is better).
http://mayna.livejournal.com/198548.html - cool pattern for the slightly more advanced sewer
http://www.zany-zebra.com/free-cloth-diaper-patterns.shtml - this has a whole big selection of patterns. choose your favorite.
A few specifications...
- Diapers should be made in preemie and newborn sizes. Feel free to alter patterns to make them to fit the littlest babes (below is a picture of Lokute to remind you just how small their little bottoms can be).
- Please use velcro or snaps... no pins.
- If you can include soakers, that would be great. They can be made out of old towels OR get an only wool coat or sweater, wash it, then run it through the dryer to shrink it down and cut to fit your diaper.
- Let me know if you need any fabrics (remember... old shirts/sweaters can be used too. Be creative!)
- Diapers can be brought to PCC and deposited in the box in the back.
THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE PREEMIE PROJECT!!
http://littlecomettails.kingstondesign.com/tightywhiteyhipsters.pdf
http://fernandfaerie.com/frugaldiapering.html -- this has a bunch of variations. Choose your favorite (but please stay away from ones that involved using safety pins (velcro is better).
http://mayna.livejournal.com/198548.html - cool pattern for the slightly more advanced sewer
http://www.zany-zebra.com/free-cloth-diaper-patterns.shtml - this has a whole big selection of patterns. choose your favorite.
A few specifications...
- Diapers should be made in preemie and newborn sizes. Feel free to alter patterns to make them to fit the littlest babes (below is a picture of Lokute to remind you just how small their little bottoms can be).
- Please use velcro or snaps... no pins.
- If you can include soakers, that would be great. They can be made out of old towels OR get an only wool coat or sweater, wash it, then run it through the dryer to shrink it down and cut to fit your diaper.
- Let me know if you need any fabrics (remember... old shirts/sweaters can be used too. Be creative!)
- Diapers can be brought to PCC and deposited in the box in the back.
THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE PREEMIE PROJECT!!
Note the very tiny bottom!
Missing you.
There are some days where there just are no words for what it feels like to be away from Uganda... today is one of those days.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Nets Not Caskets
This is my friends Tamara and Jeremy's latest blog (it relates to the Nets Not Caskets)....
"We keep a receipt as a bookmark in our Bible to remind us of Peter. It’s for the cost of his casket.
Peter was a young man, maybe 25, who worked in the furnace of the local steel plant. It’s a tough and dangerous job. His body evidenced this fact, pock-marked with bloated scars where molten steel had exploded onto his skin. And he was as strong as an ox. All those days working the mill gave him rock solid arms. We remember them well because we had to wrestle with him for hours. Out of the church, into the van, across town, through the clinic, strapping him to a ‘hospital’ bed. Then again we wrestled so nurses could test his blood, administer his IV and other medications. Peter didn’t know we were trying to help so he fought against us. In his mind we had bewitched him.
The night before, Peter had stumbled to church from the factory where he slept outside, on the ground, exposed to the elements. He came for healing. By then he was really sick. Sick enough to die. And that’s how we found him. He was face down on the church alter, writhing in pain, sweat pouring from his brow, eyes bulging, legs paralyzed, his saliva making a paste of the dirt floor underneath him. He spoke to people who weren’t in the room, and spit on those who were. It was a terrible scene, like out of a fiction book. Having never seen anything like it we found ourselves asking, “Is this man possessed?”. Our friends replied,“We’ve been praying for him all night. He became calm and then the demon’s once again entered his head”. We knelt around him and prayed again but the chaos of his condition persisted. We assured them that God was big enough to set the man free with a single, humble prayer. Suggesting the problem was physical, we made our way to the clinic.
Not even the tranquilizers could calm Peter from the effects of cerebral malaria. But the convoluted outbursts filled with fear and anger mellowed before nightfall. We thought we’d turned the corner and sighed relief. Peter began to speak with us coherently and, for a brief moment, we began to see the young man beneath the madness of this cruel disease. He was scared, he was thankful and he wanted to live. Tragically, this was the calm before the storm. By sunrise Peter had died. “Maybe it was an aneurism or he aspirated on his own vomit” the doctor said. Either way, there was a dead body and we were responsible. We searched until we found his sister and a few friends. Together, the few of us tied his body properly, bought him a casket, loaded him into a pickup truck and returned his body to the church where he’d come for help the day before.
The slum was electric with curiosity about Peter and the church who’d fought for his life. They stopped in to take a peek at his body, mourn and thank members of the church for giving him a respectable end. That’s a lot more than people typically get in Masese Slum. Often, with no money for caskets and no land, families don’t know what to do with the bodies.
But can’t we do better than this? Better than a respectable end? Better than caskets?
We think so. We know so. That’s why we keep Peter’s receipt. To remind us, not only that we can do better, but that we are called by Christ to do better. According to Philippians 1:10, the love of Christ ‘approves the things that are excellent’. Likewise, the love of Christ disapproves of things that aren’t excellent. Plain and simple, love disapproves of merely buying caskets for those who’ve died when there’s a more excellent way.
Of course, we all want to ACT NOW. But it’s important to note that the answer isn’t plain and simple and that our action must be more than just passionate. The same passage in Philippians tells us that love is filled with ‘true knowledge’ and ‘all discernment’. Our response must be girded with wisdom if it’s going to be loving. A loving response takes the time to understand and find the most excellent way.
There’s a more excellent way than white people buying 1,500 mosquito nets, giving them away and leaving. The people who live in Masese Slum wouldn’t see their value, they’d sell them for food, they may not even know how to use them and we’d miss out on bigger opportunities to effect sustainable change. To do this right people need awareness of the issue, ownership of the solution, training and follow-up to give them the best chance of malaria prevention long-term. And this project could be the right platform for the church to begin doing what it was intended to do. While it’s certain to be a drawn out, messy process, every step of the way is an opportunity to engage the people of Masese with the message of Christ’s excellent love.
Peter came to the church for healing...now is the time for the church to take healing to Peter."
Don't forget to come on Sunday evening... this is what you'll be supporting.
"We keep a receipt as a bookmark in our Bible to remind us of Peter. It’s for the cost of his casket.
Peter was a young man, maybe 25, who worked in the furnace of the local steel plant. It’s a tough and dangerous job. His body evidenced this fact, pock-marked with bloated scars where molten steel had exploded onto his skin. And he was as strong as an ox. All those days working the mill gave him rock solid arms. We remember them well because we had to wrestle with him for hours. Out of the church, into the van, across town, through the clinic, strapping him to a ‘hospital’ bed. Then again we wrestled so nurses could test his blood, administer his IV and other medications. Peter didn’t know we were trying to help so he fought against us. In his mind we had bewitched him.
The night before, Peter had stumbled to church from the factory where he slept outside, on the ground, exposed to the elements. He came for healing. By then he was really sick. Sick enough to die. And that’s how we found him. He was face down on the church alter, writhing in pain, sweat pouring from his brow, eyes bulging, legs paralyzed, his saliva making a paste of the dirt floor underneath him. He spoke to people who weren’t in the room, and spit on those who were. It was a terrible scene, like out of a fiction book. Having never seen anything like it we found ourselves asking, “Is this man possessed?”. Our friends replied,“We’ve been praying for him all night. He became calm and then the demon’s once again entered his head”. We knelt around him and prayed again but the chaos of his condition persisted. We assured them that God was big enough to set the man free with a single, humble prayer. Suggesting the problem was physical, we made our way to the clinic.
Not even the tranquilizers could calm Peter from the effects of cerebral malaria. But the convoluted outbursts filled with fear and anger mellowed before nightfall. We thought we’d turned the corner and sighed relief. Peter began to speak with us coherently and, for a brief moment, we began to see the young man beneath the madness of this cruel disease. He was scared, he was thankful and he wanted to live. Tragically, this was the calm before the storm. By sunrise Peter had died. “Maybe it was an aneurism or he aspirated on his own vomit” the doctor said. Either way, there was a dead body and we were responsible. We searched until we found his sister and a few friends. Together, the few of us tied his body properly, bought him a casket, loaded him into a pickup truck and returned his body to the church where he’d come for help the day before.
The slum was electric with curiosity about Peter and the church who’d fought for his life. They stopped in to take a peek at his body, mourn and thank members of the church for giving him a respectable end. That’s a lot more than people typically get in Masese Slum. Often, with no money for caskets and no land, families don’t know what to do with the bodies.
But can’t we do better than this? Better than a respectable end? Better than caskets?
We think so. We know so. That’s why we keep Peter’s receipt. To remind us, not only that we can do better, but that we are called by Christ to do better. According to Philippians 1:10, the love of Christ ‘approves the things that are excellent’. Likewise, the love of Christ disapproves of things that aren’t excellent. Plain and simple, love disapproves of merely buying caskets for those who’ve died when there’s a more excellent way.
Of course, we all want to ACT NOW. But it’s important to note that the answer isn’t plain and simple and that our action must be more than just passionate. The same passage in Philippians tells us that love is filled with ‘true knowledge’ and ‘all discernment’. Our response must be girded with wisdom if it’s going to be loving. A loving response takes the time to understand and find the most excellent way.
There’s a more excellent way than white people buying 1,500 mosquito nets, giving them away and leaving. The people who live in Masese Slum wouldn’t see their value, they’d sell them for food, they may not even know how to use them and we’d miss out on bigger opportunities to effect sustainable change. To do this right people need awareness of the issue, ownership of the solution, training and follow-up to give them the best chance of malaria prevention long-term. And this project could be the right platform for the church to begin doing what it was intended to do. While it’s certain to be a drawn out, messy process, every step of the way is an opportunity to engage the people of Masese with the message of Christ’s excellent love.
Peter came to the church for healing...now is the time for the church to take healing to Peter."
Don't forget to come on Sunday evening... this is what you'll be supporting.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The Preemie Project
How would you feel if your 2 lb baby was being heated over a charcoal stove or wrapped in a urine soaked blanket? This is the reality of life for premature babies in Uganda. I'm guessing that most of you know instictively that the smoke from a fire would not be good for immature lungs and that lying in one's own filth does not promote a health immune system. Now stop and think about why you know that.
Figure it out yet?
It's because you're educated. Because you grew up in a world where those kinds of things are basic knowledge, where you could flip on TLC and watch a show about babies or see something on the news about new medical technology.
Now here's the shocker... they don't know that in Uganda. Why? Because nobody ever told them!
Now here's the shocker... they don't know that in Uganda. Why? Because nobody ever told them!
The Preemie Project is seeking to provide a few basic things to one small community to help them care for the premature babies in their village and to equipt the people there with the education to teach the villagers these simple facts and save the lives of babies like Lokute.
There are 2 things that you can do for the Preemie Project...
1. Buy a hot water bottle
2. Make a cloth diaper
For patterns, go to this site: http://www.zany-zebra.com/free-cloth-diaper-patterns.shtml
My favorite is the first link with a pattern for a cloth diaper made out of recycled shirts. So get out your sewing machine and start stiching. It's OK if it's not the most attractive diaper... the babies won't mind.
And don't forget... Feb. 28 @ 7:30 pm. PCC Fireside Room.
Be there!
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