tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277690262024-02-06T19:11:11.119-08:00Aaron in AfricaThe antics and adventures of Aaron Haazen while interning with Engineering Ministries International in Kampala, UgandaAaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-28687871197981733032012-07-23T08:12:00.002-07:002012-07-23T08:16:32.207-07:00Out West<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The building before we started</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demolition</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been a while and I really haven’t updated you all so I thought it was overdue. I want to make this update exciting but really life here is often quite ‘normal’. My life is not what I consider difficult it is just life and mine is much easier than the Ugandans around me. My life style would be similar to what most people experience going to a cabin in the woods. I have a room in a brick building with an iron sheet roof. Water is pumped from a bore hole through a filter using solar to a tap stand where people from the school and community get their water. My lunch and dinner are made for me and water is even boiled for me to bathe with. There is no electricity but all in all my living situation is nothing to complain about.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting the installation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephant!!!!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><span lang="EN-US">Now to get to what I have been doing for the last month. As I mentioned in my last post I am at the Western Uganda Baptist Theological College (WUBTC), a long name for a college to train pastors. The roof on the classroom building was 23 years old and had many bats and rodents living in it and needed to be replaced. eMi designed a new roof that included a row of windows that would allow more light to enter the dark class rooms. WUBTC asked eMi to send a construction manager to manage the construction of the new roof and windows. And that is why I have been in western Uganda for a month.</span></o:p></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some students and teachers</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trusses and first purlin installed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Akankwasa the mason</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shelling beans</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Porter, Brian, cutting bricks</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US">My role of construction manager has three main roles, ensure the quality, handle the finances and disciple the workers. Pretty much make sure everything runs smoothly. A subcontractor was hired to do the metal work. I also hired a few workers to do the masonry work. Working with subcontractors anywhere can be a real challenge add to that cultural differences and it goes to a whole new level of frustration. There are times were I just wanted to fire the sub and do the work myself. I had to remind myself that I am here to teach and often teaching isn’t easy. One of the things I am have been realizing more and more is how different this culture is. Also how long it takes to understand a different culture. I have been in Africa for 10 months now and all I know is that I know less than what I thought I knew after my first week in Africa. I am often challenging things that are very engrained in the culture. I expect the sub to come when he says he will or call me otherwise. I also expect him to be honest and take responsibility for his and his workers actions. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom sheets installed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost finished</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting Close</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US">Now you may say this sounds like the subs in Canada and it is true to some extent but is much different. Here is one example, he had not paid his workers for a month and I talked to him about it and he said he had an agreement with his workers that they could ask for an advance if they needed money before the end of the month. What he said was true but what but he did not mention that this was not the agreement with all his workers and he told the workers he did not have money to give them the advance. So did he tell me something that was untrue? You can be the judge of that. More and more I realize shame is a very big thing here and people will lie or not tell the whole truth just to avoid being shamed. So that is the main challenge I face here. The actual workers on site are good at what they do and a good to work with.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving 70 in a 30 zone and still getting passed</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US">Even though the work was not completely finished I had to go back to Kampala for some work related things. It was a little disappointing to not see it finished but that is part of life. So last Tuesday I drove back to Kampala it was not too bad of a drive. I did see hyenas when driving through the park. I did get frustrated with the stupidity of other drivers. I did enjoy driving halfway across a beautiful country.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US">Now that I am back in Kampala</span> I am saying good bye to all the other interns because they are leaving on Wednesday. I was supposed to go with them but things change and a ministry in South Sudan asked me to come there for a month. Then things changed again when the leader of Hope for Sudan was shot in an ambush while travel in eastern South Sudan last week. With our key person on the ground in South Sudan injured we thought that I would no longer be going but he is a fighter and is soon to be out of hospital and is making plans for me to come there still. I am not sure when I am going all I know is that I fly back to Canada on August 28. Here is more on what happened to Romano <a href="http://kimberlylsmithblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/romanos-narrow-escape.html">Romanos Narrow Escape.</a> Just to limit worrying the area I am going to is safe then were the attack occurred.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Need a mattress?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hyena!!!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US">Well that is what I have been up to. Please pray South Sudan, Romano and the work I will be doing there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Blessings,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Aaron<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span><br />
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-42982546887955620742012-06-06T00:48:00.000-07:002012-06-06T00:48:11.023-07:00A Choir Fit for a Queen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UY_mx2OoQN___GvGh0P1r5RCShjG9V6GIYXPYFnGKGZnVdz-_Qn_40FXuVWGpsBCQpR1wkMMraIUnt_ETjCamzimvnwtUYDJ0-3fGphCTpUsI7FqEaWB6W-KmSf1OXHZd-U7/s1600/MFL+Football+Pitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UY_mx2OoQN___GvGh0P1r5RCShjG9V6GIYXPYFnGKGZnVdz-_Qn_40FXuVWGpsBCQpR1wkMMraIUnt_ETjCamzimvnwtUYDJ0-3fGphCTpUsI7FqEaWB6W-KmSf1OXHZd-U7/s1600/MFL+Football+Pitch.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I know this is crazy another blog post so
soon but I thought you would have nothing better to do as your summer begins
then to read another blog post. This one is hopefully written gooder than my
last one as that one was tough to write because I had so many thoughts but I
had a tough time thinking them through.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For most of May I was out at the African Children’s
Choir Primary School just outside Kampala. The school asked EMI to provide the
construction management for construction of a football pitch so EMI sent me. It
definitely started off very challenging as it was the closest that I have work
with the same Ugandans for a long period of time. The longer I am in Africa the
more I notice the cultural differences. I realize how I am very direct and how
that can conflict with a very indirect culture. Ugandans use indirectness for
good and bad. Sometimes it helps the other person to save face and other times
people use it to save their own face. For me it is simple, just admit your
wrong and move on but that is not how it works here. This is one of the things
that I think about often is there a right way to interact and a wrong way and
how do we decide. Now we must look to the Bible how God interacted with his
people and told his people to interact with others. I look at God in the Old
Testament as being very direct often saying “do this or this will happen.”
Looking at God in the flesh it gets a little more complicated, Jesus was very
direct sometimes especially when talking with the proud like the Pharisees.
Although, when talking with others he used indirect communications such as
parables so it makes it difficult to know whether one way is better than
another. I find often here people use indirect communication more for their own
advantage than to save others from embarrassment. In the end I just had to sit
down with the contractor and talk about the need for directness even though it
may make him uncomfortable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were
still a few times the contractor used indirectness for his own advantage but in
general communication became much easier. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The construction went quite smooth except for
hitting some rock, the bull dozer getting stuck and it taking a whole day to
dig it out, and the project taking twice as long as anticipated.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The beginning of my time at the school was
very quiet because the students were gone for break leaving the school with an
eerie stillness. When the students got back from their break the school was
transformed into a vibrant chaos of children everywhere. As I would be working
in the morning I would hear the students singing and playing drums nothing like
being at an African Children’s Choir concert six days a week. They are so good
that a group of them will be going to England to sing at a lunch for the
Queen’s Jubilee celebration. The students were great and every day after school
there would be some soccer matches that I would often join in on and they would
always take my dishes before I had a chance to wash them. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It really was great getting to serve and
spend time with such awesome students and staff at the African Children’s
Choir.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As soon as I finished at the African
Children’s Choir school I got a few days in Kampala and then was off to western
Uganda where I am now. Now I am managing another but very different project at
the Western Uganda Baptist Theological College (WUBTC). We are doing a
replacing and renovating a roof on a building to allow more light in because
the school’s power comes from solar panels and the building is very dark during
the daytime. The area I am in is amazing I am sandwiched between the second
largest game park in Uganda and the snowcapped Rwenzori Mountains, although
they are more cloud capped and I have yet to see the snow.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Okay that is it for now take care and God
Bless,</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Aaron Haazen</span></div>Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-40792952215054555442012-05-17T13:27:00.001-07:002012-06-06T00:55:37.330-07:00A Long Time Coming<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPB9HtwaVDC64BNF_HwU8B37yiLmRb99oxm2FGvzNIXXm7iC_dpk28AFgl0RktSOCzxXFXe8I0kpUW3PwChsagfuzG2QrzwGS4ayVWNxVspqHtZxzxhm2KKyxNS6swq9kExs9D/s1600/DSC00968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPB9HtwaVDC64BNF_HwU8B37yiLmRb99oxm2FGvzNIXXm7iC_dpk28AFgl0RktSOCzxXFXe8I0kpUW3PwChsagfuzG2QrzwGS4ayVWNxVspqHtZxzxhm2KKyxNS6swq9kExs9D/s320/DSC00968.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US">Okay, so I know a few of you thought I have
been kidnapped or something like that and I guess it is something like that as
I have been to faraway places and near places and sometimes I feel like my time
has been kidnapped from me. The last months have gone by so quickly it is hard
to believe that it is the middle of May already. That brings me to what I have
been doing for the last three months. In February I went the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) to work on a nursing school at the Vanga hospital
and I started to write a blog post but it was just so negative and a lot of it
was just about the hopelessness of that is still in the DRC, so I never
finished it. Even now I am contemplating whether to finish it or write about
the hope of where I am right now at the African Children’s Choir Primary School
managing the construction of a football pitch.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Okay I have decided to write about my time
in the DRC so here it goes. At the end of January I went to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. It was a very impactful project trip in my life and I am
still trying to work out all I saw and experienced there. First I am first going
to give a few quick facts about the DRC.</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US">Holds 70% of the world’s Coltan
and 30% of the world’s diamonds</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US">Has 30% of the world’s
hydropower potential</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US">2/3 the size of Western Europe</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US">Average annual income of $320</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US">Ranks last on the UN human
development index</span></li>
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<span lang="EN-US">The DRC may be one of the most mineral rich
countries but since colonization it has been raped and pillaged by greedy and
corrupt people. There seems to be a great tolerance for the corruption in the
DRC. Okay I am going to try to keep this from becoming a rant but I am going to
talk about the bad first and then the good.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHB-AzwIrPBctF0hBg2bAjl55RIO1ncKDnMA8SByPgv4DEuOA-dAPTNF7ylx_aK8tvalVCfzEbU7fK05AGZ7jYv3R721xWb4c1j2JhXVwFtLPbk05JVEl-OY36jpHumK07qrNb/s1600/IMG_0114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHB-AzwIrPBctF0hBg2bAjl55RIO1ncKDnMA8SByPgv4DEuOA-dAPTNF7ylx_aK8tvalVCfzEbU7fK05AGZ7jYv3R721xWb4c1j2JhXVwFtLPbk05JVEl-OY36jpHumK07qrNb/s400/IMG_0114.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How many people can you fit into a van? Life in Kinshasa</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">You see corruption and bribes as a part of
life in Africa but it came to a new level when in the DRC. People government
officials would directly ask for money everywhere from the start of the trip going
through customs at the airport to the end leaving the airport. When we were
driving downtown Kinshasa with one of the ministry representatives and a police
officer walked into the middle of the road waving for us to pull over. The
driver calmly drove into the other lane around the cop and continued on. She
told us that you never give a cop your license you just put it against the
window or you will have to wait for hours as they wait for a bribe. Okay that
was just one example of the rampant corruption we saw but I will get onto the
good stuff.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUWjOJLTCrPNRizmVyjQ3dHTinjk71LtvA3oe34j0aVuQLZa0WScJ3VXWh4iTtzGmpMxIwi-T0n-zaz73-UqbSM5Adkvd43u3kAovQMChH4VGNEkBPoVWCuhnqfLn6tyLeLoQ4/s1600/DSC01408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUWjOJLTCrPNRizmVyjQ3dHTinjk71LtvA3oe34j0aVuQLZa0WScJ3VXWh4iTtzGmpMxIwi-T0n-zaz73-UqbSM5Adkvd43u3kAovQMChH4VGNEkBPoVWCuhnqfLn6tyLeLoQ4/s320/DSC01408.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanga from the air</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">My time in Kinshasa, the capital with 10
million people, was not inspiring but luckily our project was 500km east of the
city. Because of the state of the roads we took a Mission Aviation Fellowship
plane to Vanga it was super cool I got to sit co-pilot and enjoy the view as we
passed over small villages. We even stopped in a small village to pick someone
up it was super cool as we buzzed the trees coming in to land.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Once we arrived in Vanga things changed we
got away from the corruption to actually meeting people that are doing things
to change lives because the DRC government is doing little. Vanga hospital is a
400 bed hospital that serves 250 000 people and attached to it is a nursing
school. For 10 days we worked on the site performing preliminary designs for
the nursing school expansion. That was neat but the best part was talking to
the people there and hearing their stories. Stories of lives being changed,
people healed, rebels trying attack. Since this is very long already I will
leave it here, open-ended. Lots of stories to tell so feel free to message me
if you want to hear more.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0S_pAwKqNPRCtjBX03eUf7X2e92qwp1i1wbjHch9eCzYeAOC1oG2UyWa7tPnjsw86VRaOxdWr8Dfz3FkDyh_m30Zf09QBKP64EHpYJNNWI7OpG5M3DOFN8JAZGVYgxKem8wGm/s1600/IMG_1404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0S_pAwKqNPRCtjBX03eUf7X2e92qwp1i1wbjHch9eCzYeAOC1oG2UyWa7tPnjsw86VRaOxdWr8Dfz3FkDyh_m30Zf09QBKP64EHpYJNNWI7OpG5M3DOFN8JAZGVYgxKem8wGm/s400/IMG_1404.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being introduced to the class</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvmwux_mw2fMzFBnjYGuRZGP6-wld7mOzi8ZfiB_vrD0lsp_XLnI6Lm0X_8P7YYozSBeGhLlTuV5wUqdFviOXy-HkLydUH8iCvhNHd68xfALtXTkJda7SGvm3yHQNCrmPCZ_s/s1600/DSC_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvmwux_mw2fMzFBnjYGuRZGP6-wld7mOzi8ZfiB_vrD0lsp_XLnI6Lm0X_8P7YYozSBeGhLlTuV5wUqdFviOXy-HkLydUH8iCvhNHd68xfALtXTkJda7SGvm3yHQNCrmPCZ_s/s320/DSC_0581.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from where we stayed of the river I swam in everyday</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOdWHhLmaPnZV_09FLOsTUp_e59veL8Kgs-SDeHGfzyuO78BDZRtIh_14eXWuzdnt9FVTOiqrJTigOe0iYwiUcdJ4mZ9WG7yY62GoTNJ0zd5HrBsUcS1rjeqSynpGNb1sOUUp/s1600/IMG_1428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOdWHhLmaPnZV_09FLOsTUp_e59veL8Kgs-SDeHGfzyuO78BDZRtIh_14eXWuzdnt9FVTOiqrJTigOe0iYwiUcdJ4mZ9WG7yY62GoTNJ0zd5HrBsUcS1rjeqSynpGNb1sOUUp/s320/IMG_1428.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little break from work</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the meantime please pray for the people
of the DRC they really need it more than anywhere else I have been. Please keep
me in your prayers as I finish up at the African Children’s Choir Primary
School and head to western Uganda to manage a project for 6 weeks. Also please
pray for my support raising as it is still lacking and if you feel inclined
please donate.</span></div>Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-82298295000272359842012-01-11T13:16:00.000-08:002012-01-11T13:46:18.428-08:00Kampala Christmas and Coastal Adventure<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Christmas in Kampala didn’t feel like
Christmas until Christmas Eve. I am not sure whether it was the warm
temperature, being away from friends and family, and/or not doing any shopping
for presents. It wasn’t until Christmas Eve when I went to a Christmas Eve service
that it felt like Christmas. It got me thinking about what Christmas is
supposed to feel like. Christmas is about Jesus and Jesus is the same to
everyone everywhere. It does not matter where you are or who you are with; it
is about being thankful that God came to earth to forgive my sins and bring me
back into relationship with him.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi153Mu5YWfbEaumR6uhox1t31Th11NkkTQZcGSFpYSSTrodElcS-1AZYbV015nYavyEpF3jgt5IJbNE2RYMB_6xZor2Y2jZm1sbt9O5VHHShlpKF8eA4C5_DfsRHsW0tGabEpf/s1600/DSC_6356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi153Mu5YWfbEaumR6uhox1t31Th11NkkTQZcGSFpYSSTrodElcS-1AZYbV015nYavyEpF3jgt5IJbNE2RYMB_6xZor2Y2jZm1sbt9O5VHHShlpKF8eA4C5_DfsRHsW0tGabEpf/s320/DSC_6356.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US">After Christmas I made the long trek to the
Kenyan coast. I took the bus there and if you think roller coasters are scary guess
again. The first lag of the trip took me from Kampala to Nairobi (655 km). It
took 13hrs to complete and we passed three buses from the same company that
were broken down. The scenery was very nice we even got to do a 30km detour
along a narrow gravel road that wound through a hilly region with many tea
plantations. Our bus arrived two hours late at 9:45pm but the connecting bus
was supposed to leave at 9:00pm so I was expecting to sleep in the bus company’s
lounge but they actually waited for us. There were a number of us transferring
so they just kept the bus there for an extra hour. Well right off one bus and
back on another was not the best but it looked like a nice bus until I saw the
shattered windshield. Being a night bus I took comfort in being able to sleep
but at one point in the night I woke up as the bus was pulling a uturn. It then
went back off the main road to some small town. The bus driver pulls a tread
from a large tire, lying in the aisle, out the door and sells it to some guy. I
don’t remember the bus stopping to pick up a tire tread I really don’t know
where it came from I think it actually maybe from one of bus’ tires. Well the
next morning I wake up to a great sunrise and now the cracked glass in the
window is falling out. After another 650 km and 13hrs on the road we arrived in Mombasa with a
basketball size hole in the windshield.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLsYD3jUa8Du5yBV28_DHbq_kFIQ6HHbN8HgWU8qNJy4lIcOnU7J9dOcMadlXzmi42ffKO4GmJzSJjMTa52hxGhlnOup6DPUbrDQL0_2Q-UBIWMdFtdd2QHuZQle1vgK82ECf/s1600/DSC_6362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLsYD3jUa8Du5yBV28_DHbq_kFIQ6HHbN8HgWU8qNJy4lIcOnU7J9dOcMadlXzmi42ffKO4GmJzSJjMTa52hxGhlnOup6DPUbrDQL0_2Q-UBIWMdFtdd2QHuZQle1vgK82ECf/s320/DSC_6362.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Mombasa is a shipping port and where almost
all overseas goods go through to get to Uganda. It is on the Indian Ocean home
of white sand beaches, palm trees, warm water, and resorts. I do not know why I
decided on Mombasa but I was there and was not sure what to do. I had booked a
hostel and that is all I planned so I started walking it was weird to walk
around probably the biggest tourist area of Kenya and not see another white
person. After a few hours of walking I start to head to the hostel I had a
vague idea where it was but after another hour or so and being tired I picked a
boda to the hostel. Apparently it was actually quite far from town but I got in
a great walk. The hostel was nice after lunch and a quick jump in the pool and
fell asleep on the hammock.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoTKEq06fwchzu7y_LPBV9qHuAkHcsQEYJJ-SqkLqIikIwbuZb74DHU4h0_oB1RUS9kP57d-SUSB408E0ebNeu1DSPl2rn5FMUyl5LEqGDQG4fzDmWQHT1Qv47H1Ct7qIeeKh/s1600/DSC_6364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoTKEq06fwchzu7y_LPBV9qHuAkHcsQEYJJ-SqkLqIikIwbuZb74DHU4h0_oB1RUS9kP57d-SUSB408E0ebNeu1DSPl2rn5FMUyl5LEqGDQG4fzDmWQHT1Qv47H1Ct7qIeeKh/s200/DSC_6364.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8louvwk_zoYxpNgL7Jd3ZvDXO56C-z2pipmtpSaG8VmoyMv-4BnfIMSxAs-7GqKOyPF8TUMOYBbCfzhNb-8VLj-i9sQaTSVYXLZetz6jd80zpon15lM9HkRDOLLsmsOvf-xl/s1600/DSC_6368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8louvwk_zoYxpNgL7Jd3ZvDXO56C-z2pipmtpSaG8VmoyMv-4BnfIMSxAs-7GqKOyPF8TUMOYBbCfzhNb-8VLj-i9sQaTSVYXLZetz6jd80zpon15lM9HkRDOLLsmsOvf-xl/s400/DSC_6368.JPG" width="265" /></a><span lang="EN-US">Over the next few days there I met lots of
very interesting people with great stories. People I met included a man who
fled from Poland on foot finally making it to the US and now he is a CNC
programmer for machining of parts for the space shuttle thrusters. Another one
was an Iraqi man who owns a Safari company in Nairobi. There was a guy who
imports cars to South Sudan and a South African tourism professor that was on a
trip from Alexandria to Cape Town done on public transportation. I also met two
women had just taken a Permaculture (designing food systems not crops) course
in Nairobi. They were meeting with a local farmer one day and I tagged along it
was quite interesting what they said and I got to add my two bits about the proximity
of the well to the septic tank and a few other water issues. The same women were
going to a “resort” down the coast an hour and I joined them. It was amazing
right on the beach and quite rustic which was perfect for me. I spent three
days there just hanging out, snorkeling, and reading. New Year’s was spent on
the beach around a bonfire talking about how to save Africa.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmxYokd0mH8Zkbzpu8AJ0f9TM7kFqrQ3DoSd_kLMucxeMu3qwTihzy2yC6CMrb6-2X4w6JIwIrTlI7Q4ZCLdOLVEL1j6KcgldYJodsIbJZDSwjYWZHiSTKCmrY4L5EbDZR7dj/s1600/DSC_6450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCevTViXBIPjTzKqbY7wullKwwxL3ifezv0Vrh5x34pIQb8FetXvnIOqE3ClDFCZM7jwySP1gKKim8zpSAeT68-ofAA_-CGwoPaihkCvQsojXeRN2h6IGuoPiUWqT7-GqAewx/s1600/DSC_6458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCevTViXBIPjTzKqbY7wullKwwxL3ifezv0Vrh5x34pIQb8FetXvnIOqE3ClDFCZM7jwySP1gKKim8zpSAeT68-ofAA_-CGwoPaihkCvQsojXeRN2h6IGuoPiUWqT7-GqAewx/s320/DSC_6458.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KxPcvKDPFo4xAywi-XECx993Sj6UkFv-S5fjqFuQVBfLm2OfEkbV5bW0OBsisB6avG1aR22EipJxHD-QzbuyoEYY2hz0kzCc__B_McwwkxqFwxTSNWb8-LOjdxHDlNrILu_A/s1600/DSC_6432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5KxPcvKDPFo4xAywi-XECx993Sj6UkFv-S5fjqFuQVBfLm2OfEkbV5bW0OBsisB6avG1aR22EipJxHD-QzbuyoEYY2hz0kzCc__B_McwwkxqFwxTSNWb8-LOjdxHDlNrILu_A/s320/DSC_6432.JPG" width="212" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">The next day I was back on the move. I got
to town earlier than expected so I walked around and bought a Tottenham Jersey
(Everyone has to have an English Premier team here), had a soda a little stand
on the side of the road and walked to the train station. The train takes longer
to get back to Nairobi but I have been told that it is well worth it. It was
worth it, the train is old and sways side to side a lot. The train is much more
comfortable we had dinner and breakfast and I even got my own cabin. It was a
night train so much of the journey was a night but allowed me to watch the
stars as the train chugged through the darkness. The sun rose as we were seated
for breakfast. I have never travelled by train but I loved it I got to see so
much from many villages to animals like zebras and antelope. There was a couple
hour delay as our locomotive went to move a broken down train. The train goes
right through a huge slum before arriving in Nairobi which is always sad. To me
there is a big difference between poverty in villages and cities. I see much
more hope in villages maybe it is because people often go to the city in hope
of a prosperous life and it is not that way for many people. From Nairobi I
caught an uneventful night bus with a different bus company back to Kampala.
Back in Kampala I am glad I did the trip but it would be better to share the
long journey with close friends.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbZrsYxOWxLpnc5YBQpk_wcZnjT0It_EMVRSiMNXSFzi5x_EK3SH3nRAmfS-r9RIgY1E5DkGwfTt3UB55DbsNc8yJeMPLVUpr8w0Im0boEfRJJJPnZTZmKJb2cFDqsEo4heRq/s1600/DSC_6479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbZrsYxOWxLpnc5YBQpk_wcZnjT0It_EMVRSiMNXSFzi5x_EK3SH3nRAmfS-r9RIgY1E5DkGwfTt3UB55DbsNc8yJeMPLVUpr8w0Im0boEfRJJJPnZTZmKJb2cFDqsEo4heRq/s400/DSC_6479.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering Nairobi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4D2BJP4xVKH3n7dJgig9kELqVplBlYuASqyaweyouwtbBk9PmP1ic9uXKQ8jewFMyri3fDNfIIIZxo-M9ddGIeuOBTiYpmoF1HFPSdGp-s6G1idx7Y8CWEyivxgoCTHkGOI1/s1600/DSC_6462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4D2BJP4xVKH3n7dJgig9kELqVplBlYuASqyaweyouwtbBk9PmP1ic9uXKQ8jewFMyri3fDNfIIIZxo-M9ddGIeuOBTiYpmoF1HFPSdGp-s6G1idx7Y8CWEyivxgoCTHkGOI1/s200/DSC_6462.JPG" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">That is it for now, sorry for it being long
winded. Next time I plan to write about a day in my Ugandan life.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Blessings,</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Aaron</span></div>Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-66702018544091046092011-12-16T02:48:00.000-08:002012-01-04T00:56:30.506-08:00Out and about<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 1pt;"></span>
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I promised to post again soon since I have been not
posted very much in the last while but I started writing this about two weeks ago
and then just left it. So sorry for that. Of the interns I have definitely been the spoiled one
because I have done a bunch of things the others haven’t. Most recently I have
gone on two small project trips and done a few days of shadowing an eMi
construction manager in Jinja.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IirMmswW3lKGFZ3GPvN9f5mtk9IwsVMeshMIA-uUhnPm_sju7KkF8bzhxVYy91wa3G0lYB3seH1LBRkgUfay2FOfx2eH_ddlehl7u1TpCDtwWu4jqhUDAElf48QLCJXAcxq6/s1600/DSC_6117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IirMmswW3lKGFZ3GPvN9f5mtk9IwsVMeshMIA-uUhnPm_sju7KkF8bzhxVYy91wa3G0lYB3seH1LBRkgUfay2FOfx2eH_ddlehl7u1TpCDtwWu4jqhUDAElf48QLCJXAcxq6/s320/DSC_6117.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The COTN Site (Thrilling I know)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUWgIbknrJ328drrsjctnsyYie82UoCPMV8QVqcXFFXc0vnK3LfuYGxtLBTZ6Gq3ga00pF5PUw5h43YQ-zk_eW01CLkS3wmIHHqcwIFkamzl5C_3eG3gkWuEf2Wc9bZe7PCpJ/s1600/DSC_6119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUWgIbknrJ328drrsjctnsyYie82UoCPMV8QVqcXFFXc0vnK3LfuYGxtLBTZ6Gq3ga00pF5PUw5h43YQ-zk_eW01CLkS3wmIHHqcwIFkamzl5C_3eG3gkWuEf2Wc9bZe7PCpJ/s320/DSC_6119.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A well COTN built for the surrounding community</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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One small project I mention briefly in my last post but now
I will tell you about what happened on the trip. The organization had recently
bought some more land and they needed to revise their master plan so Robert, a
long-term architecture volunteer, and I went up to Lira which is a 5 hr drive
north of Kampala. Lira is much drier than Kampala but still green because it is
the rainy season. They have experienced a little of the drought that has been
affecting the horn of Africa but the affects have really been minimal when you
compare it to places like Somalia. Children of the Nations run a primary
school, children homes, and child sponsorship in Lira. I went to survey the
newly purchased land which seems pretty simple as it was not very large and was
very open. Of course it was not simple because the GPS survey unit would not
work and after 3 hrs in the sun trying to get it to work we gave up. I was able
to use the handheld GPS unit to roughly get the new boundaries and then we
called it a day as the afternoon rain was coming. The ministry urged us to stay
another night and attend their church the following morning. We stayed and
experienced a church service that makes the western Pentecostal church look
like an Anglican church. At one point some people pick up their chairs and were
dancing with them over their heads. The whole trip was a great time that I got
to meet some great people doing great work.</div>
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We did another small day project that was much more
successful with the GPS survey equipment. The project was located in Mbale in
the Mount Elgon foothills. It was a small medical centre and school that recently purchased some more land. Within 3hrs we
were back on the road and the long drive back to Kampala. It was a long day
with over 14hrs of driving.</div>
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A few weeks back I was able to follow around an eMi project
manager for three days. Project management is something that I have interest in
and the three days gave a great glimpse into what it would be like. I
definitely saw the great differences between western and Ugandan management
styles such as direct vs. indirect communication. Many of the principles are
the same though and I look forward to possibly do some construction management work
next semester.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXN8ETWWbHS0KYkbc69eBJjow52j1iGFPrE9PysgWz9Ov5R1DOY3OcltTGau0f58bXeunavBLaZ6CmT-M7Hm8qWQs0gfini59rydBH9VeEYGtN8CPS0IHY6nOLzHU1kvdUUye/s1600/DSC_6271+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXN8ETWWbHS0KYkbc69eBJjow52j1iGFPrE9PysgWz9Ov5R1DOY3OcltTGau0f58bXeunavBLaZ6CmT-M7Hm8qWQs0gfini59rydBH9VeEYGtN8CPS0IHY6nOLzHU1kvdUUye/s400/DSC_6271+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving back from market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In the past week all the other fall interns have left, two
will return in mid-January, but it is sad to see them all go. It has definitely changed quite a bit over here as I am now the only person in a room with six desks.
The other interns were awesome and it was great to get to know them and I can
say for sure that they have been changed through their time here. We decided
that we needed to create a legacy before we left so we commissioned a local
welder to build a BBQ for us. It was made out of an oil drum and uses charcoal.
In the picture it is not quite finish but I will show you a picture of the
grill when it is finished because that will be the most amazing part. We used
the grill for the interns’ farewell dinner even though it was not quite
finished. We bought a goat few days prior and one for the guards killed it and
we butchered it into tasty shish kebabs that were marinated in a rosemary pineapple
marinate. Now before anyone can say that I am not a man for taking part in
killing the goat I was not there I had to go to the market to get food for
dinner and when I got back it was already skinned. All the Ugandans were astonished
that none of had killed a goat before then they became even more astonished
when one of the long-term volunteers said when she was younger she had one as a
pet and didn’t eat it. Honestly I like the taste of goat and think that I might
get a couple when I come back home. I will probably keep them at my village (mom’s
house) until they are ready to eat.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2QiQmWcat2IIx0mlsSD_c1oCqH4QwWihBC6FCVG5np63gP84cGTyJELCLqUSXI2bylCwTl9RblEJByGQiXKmyao5wi-UQosp2i_dW2kf3slZ9ZYfHCfutd-BxtdfaddAFjQE/s1600/DSC_6288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2QiQmWcat2IIx0mlsSD_c1oCqH4QwWihBC6FCVG5np63gP84cGTyJELCLqUSXI2bylCwTl9RblEJByGQiXKmyao5wi-UQosp2i_dW2kf3slZ9ZYfHCfutd-BxtdfaddAFjQE/s400/DSC_6288.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our BBQ!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO-peT9mXOZrXKy46eagKLmq_6WVdm1yPvN075chH3BK-jfUkls3vYPwUgmw7VGM5nJSw6uVaC5sLSO_nFrV69HJvVJEPrVKq3UZWKUcKBz2RS26r4O57huOxQSyZwcZtMnjE/s1600/DSC_6276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO-peT9mXOZrXKy46eagKLmq_6WVdm1yPvN075chH3BK-jfUkls3vYPwUgmw7VGM5nJSw6uVaC5sLSO_nFrV69HJvVJEPrVKq3UZWKUcKBz2RS26r4O57huOxQSyZwcZtMnjE/s320/DSC_6276.JPG" width="178" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erland with Dinner the goat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With Christmas coming in just a few days the office closes today
for two weeks. During the two weeks I will be traveling out to the Kenya coast
and back. During the journey I will go by bus and train; it will take me from
the tropical rainforest of Uganda through the eastern Rift Valley and to the
hot and dry coast along the Indian Ocean. Not sure what I will do there maybe
learn windsurfing do some swimming in a warm ocean, relax and read. It will definitely be weird being somewhere so hot for Christmas and away from my family for the first time.</div>
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Please pray for me and other eMi staff that are traveling during Christmas. Also keep the Democratic Republic of Congo in your prayers as there is great tension from the recent election results and eMi has two project trips planned there in February.</div>
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Blessings,</div>
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Aaron</div>
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<br /></div>Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-43575217907017668962011-11-25T08:00:00.001-08:002011-11-25T13:16:07.826-08:00Uganda the Beautiful<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXq5M3v2ifkwrOZlR6ikKF2tM0w3BnCCvJFATSnp-zfu64ZWFnvmwjJ-7oOWI69GyUlkzNUQAZ6YJ0EOO5NHjRtqMXz6XnaQkMU_eq_7NcymxILSjRg0Ia2-_ju3yHIVZed42L/s1600/lodge_small.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXq5M3v2ifkwrOZlR6ikKF2tM0w3BnCCvJFATSnp-zfu64ZWFnvmwjJ-7oOWI69GyUlkzNUQAZ6YJ0EOO5NHjRtqMXz6XnaQkMU_eq_7NcymxILSjRg0Ia2-_ju3yHIVZed42L/s640/lodge_small.bmp" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of the western rift valley from the lodge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It has been a while since my last update partially because
of the reason outlined in my last email update and because I have been quite
busy. During the past two weeks I have gone on a safari and seen many amazing
animals, visited the village of one of our local staff, and helped a ministry
that runs a school and homes for orphaned children some of which are victims of
the war called Children of the Nations</div>
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We went out to Queen Elizabeth National Park to which is a
6hr drive through this beautiful country. After a quick check in at the lodge
we went out for an evening game drive and our awesome driver was able to find a
lion with a kill in the little light left. The following morning we woke up
early to the amazing view of the western rift valley from our lodge an went on
another game drive and saw a pride of lions, cob, impalas, cape buffalo,
elephants, hippos and many amazing birds. God creation is absolutely stunning! I put a bunch of photos on facebook if you want to see what we got to see.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45pSPGpN_gYWJC9t03b8bfnG0U8uLzMk7Dk9_KCfdafNk5mNMsnRYyRRsAsWqRdllijQBVSYNXnB1qXfMEFyCiExg6n9P23hOdQ1XiR_D_zJ0J0GnXdR_wKAjsELrTvhRja5N/s1600/Crater+Lake_1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45pSPGpN_gYWJC9t03b8bfnG0U8uLzMk7Dk9_KCfdafNk5mNMsnRYyRRsAsWqRdllijQBVSYNXnB1qXfMEFyCiExg6n9P23hOdQ1XiR_D_zJ0J0GnXdR_wKAjsELrTvhRja5N/s640/Crater+Lake_1.bmp" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crater Lake in Queen Elizabeth Park, Uganda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZK6PlrjYkMFY31FWx4YmCPiYkozXtOtnf-oxLlpLhyM8zD4F7B1zk04kz_k8Ql6En5sKFL00WqaayNTUHglFLRo79Ca5ZLzVaIWp7jvLpazGnDvm6R_HOpfVbl5ls8ZPW5Ti/s1600/IMG_2480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZK6PlrjYkMFY31FWx4YmCPiYkozXtOtnf-oxLlpLhyM8zD4F7B1zk04kz_k8Ql6En5sKFL00WqaayNTUHglFLRo79Ca5ZLzVaIWp7jvLpazGnDvm6R_HOpfVbl5ls8ZPW5Ti/s200/IMG_2480.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The goat we bought for Stephen's dad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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That evening after leaving the park and searching a couple
of towns for fuel we made our way to the village of an EMI Uganda staff member,
Stephen. The directions to where he lives were “drive to the Congo border and
take a right.” It was literally the last road before the Congo border crossing.
I am not sure when the last car actually made it up to his house but I would be
surprised if it wasn’t years ago. A little background here, in Uganda almost
everyone has a home in their village and many wives will stay in the village
while their husband goes and works in a larger city. It is a little difficult
to understand from our western views but it is very common here. On the six
acres Stephen’s grandfather owned there now lives his dad, mom, uncle, brothers,
cousins, children, and many people I don’t know their exact relation to him.
Another thing is anyone that is related is called brother, sister, or dad so it
was difficult to figure out what the relation was between everyone. We had an amazing
time and one day we went for a short drive from Stephen’s village through the
park and we saw a leopard it was awesome but it was too quick to get any
pictures. We rode the bus back to Kampala which in itself was an experience of
the crazy driving and buying meat on a stick from the bus window.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBiPPaibumMiNs0vrp7Qw3wJUT78FIG0HaF2ckk-one3aEeH3R2RZRcpag7Fr_j88NTyvJAQt8SAbSJzM4FFo9sPDRbX_ZBbEe9XzudwgrOycgOsduO-yAljGSgCSA8ObkSHb/s1600/20111112_Kasese_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBiPPaibumMiNs0vrp7Qw3wJUT78FIG0HaF2ckk-one3aEeH3R2RZRcpag7Fr_j88NTyvJAQt8SAbSJzM4FFo9sPDRbX_ZBbEe9XzudwgrOycgOsduO-yAljGSgCSA8ObkSHb/s320/20111112_Kasese_0011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stephen and his family in his village</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well I need to head to bed because I am off again tomorrow
to Sipi Falls. They are some water falls that come down the side of Mt Elgon
near the Nile river. I will be in Jinga for most of next week seeing what is
happening there on the construction management front and doing a short little
project trip for a day from there. Next time I will write about Children of the
Nations. I have lots to write about and plan to write more often so check back
soon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bye, Aaron</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-75232069321628994152011-09-29T14:11:00.000-07:002011-09-29T14:14:18.979-07:00Culture Shock, a Land of Paradoxes and Beauty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8U-G0lo1G_y9_XInWe-Ni2RNFmwJqRfnV539uLLSc_Qby4Za3oRbM_sF-il1TQw2B-dZHW2f_NOkENmO6Y7g3sXW1gXSgTZLQ8pBnu65F6VDr5FhN_biDLou7zvb6UqsesLF/s1600/296369_10100140366685895_6422235_46522751_759815537_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8U-G0lo1G_y9_XInWe-Ni2RNFmwJqRfnV539uLLSc_Qby4Za3oRbM_sF-il1TQw2B-dZHW2f_NOkENmO6Y7g3sXW1gXSgTZLQ8pBnu65F6VDr5FhN_biDLou7zvb6UqsesLF/s400/296369_10100140366685895_6422235_46522751_759815537_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Kijabe waiting to be shown the site </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Before I came to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Uganda</st1:country-region> I
was warned about the culture shock and I felt quite prepared as I got to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kampala</st1:place></st1:city>. The thing that I
had forgotten is that even in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> there are
large differences between cities. I arrived in Nairobi on Friday and I almost
forgot that I was in Africa the person picking us up drove a very new, power
everything, van and the highway was wide and had streetlights and then we had
to stop because there were some goats standing in the middle of the highway. My
view of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nairobi</st1:place></st1:city>
is definitely not complete as I am staying at the African International
University(AIU) which is located in outskirts of the city in one of the most
affluent areas of the city. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Our work for AIU was to a work with a Kenyan Architecture firm, that had
already done some preliminary design, to design the campus master plan and
campus center building. This was my first full project as we had a group of 10
that included structural, civil, electrical engineers and architects. It is not
too often that sort of group of professionals would work alongside each other
for more than just a meeting. We stuck it out and no architects were hurt
during the making of the master plan. Jason it this part is for you, one of the
challenges during this trip is the fact that the skills I used most on this
project were the ones I learned through summer work that was not related to
mechanical engineering. It was pretty easy to get over that because all the
awesome people there, people from all over <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place>
that are working towards masters and doctorates in biblical studies and
theology, but were not too busy to stop and talk.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbwtkbQgtAL5RzktdsLDUxrY0gGlE01DMLG_c4OKBFrY2tslzYICsCxQ3QD6_7_IEcUQPVMOvP0DH4McHMaV2gbasNvO4ue8OEnhOllwGeYTDoZbIHVevf7FmDV84KlD9qf25/s1600/299265_10100140370538175_6422235_46522817_1723508604_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbwtkbQgtAL5RzktdsLDUxrY0gGlE01DMLG_c4OKBFrY2tslzYICsCxQ3QD6_7_IEcUQPVMOvP0DH4McHMaV2gbasNvO4ue8OEnhOllwGeYTDoZbIHVevf7FmDV84KlD9qf25/s400/299265_10100140370538175_6422235_46522817_1723508604_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stephen(healthy again!) and I with the EMI CMs(The Taubitz)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Late in the week myself and another intern, Stephen, headed to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kijabe</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placetype></st1:place>
to do some surveying for a new wastewater treatment system. The old one was not
doing it job partially because it was undersized and partially because the thin
sewer pipes had broke and farmers were diverting the wastewater to water their
crops. The survey went poor straight from the start with the data collector
battery being dead because it had not been charging properly, then lately the
day I turned something I shouldn’t have and ruined part of the survey overall a
frustrating day. The good always seems to come with the bad because we had a
great dinner at the home of the EMI Construction Managers’(CM) and then I had
the best shower since I had come to Africa. It is weird that I, a person of
mediocre hygiene, would love a nice hot shower with good pressure so much. The
next morning we were up before dawn so we could ensure we finished the survey.
As we were getting ready I asked Stephen how his sleep was and he replied “not
good” and went into some details that I will not mention here. He was a real
trooper and stuck it out until about half an hour before we had planned to
leave when he couldn’t continue. One of the CMs stepped in and we decided to
stay a second night there and allow Stephen to get better. It is interesting
how God works because we would have not finished the survey if Stephen had not
been sick and for some reason the place we were staying had us booked for 2
nights. Also it worked out that the team would come past Kijabe on way out to
where we would debrief. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPpuQpMMVmrbUnSXd8pvKIa98sT7O9I15bKCvxLRTr27MFRvGaOo9snSc1VfeOpGP5LiL-fVritmrbx2xKH7AQ4gewvRxyN0g7FiHTgjJgwUiTZbEN5hc1S-Ccd29QWpvO0Bm/s1600/DSC_5482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPpuQpMMVmrbUnSXd8pvKIa98sT7O9I15bKCvxLRTr27MFRvGaOo9snSc1VfeOpGP5LiL-fVritmrbx2xKH7AQ4gewvRxyN0g7FiHTgjJgwUiTZbEN5hc1S-Ccd29QWpvO0Bm/s320/DSC_5482.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Hippo on mom's back</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The debrief was amazing we went on a boat ride saw hippos and on a walking safari
(Pictures will be posted on Facebook) I did not expect to get to do all that
but a little relaxation was required after the long hours of the week of work. It
was sad to see everyone go but we all left know that we had used the gifts that
God had given us to bless others and bring glory to him.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPieOZxkbRAo-_WpN6NkUKEUK1DC0YZ3e2n1pyqzRLDLME3I60HZXdTVjqe050rPL-ZF5R_9N7whvEA5PctRqFwmotuta2xVMSJAU10V7LWLrkCvAKUtrnBEAjHwjt64sPc5lo/s1600/DSC_5462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPieOZxkbRAo-_WpN6NkUKEUK1DC0YZ3e2n1pyqzRLDLME3I60HZXdTVjqe050rPL-ZF5R_9N7whvEA5PctRqFwmotuta2xVMSJAU10V7LWLrkCvAKUtrnBEAjHwjt64sPc5lo/s640/DSC_5462.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh, Hi there!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PTqPDYV_kG828hlQbiUn6u4AnLNDLbo-5qKqdejsK6t4AVhE8pcGLNT_2R22uHsae2x79yrMfhNy8aItv3ZOOJdaH4cdwDSEZXZSIsHJ6AbCGwWIPV9iVylinEkzU7uIR-XF/s1600/DSC_5432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PTqPDYV_kG828hlQbiUn6u4AnLNDLbo-5qKqdejsK6t4AVhE8pcGLNT_2R22uHsae2x79yrMfhNy8aItv3ZOOJdaH4cdwDSEZXZSIsHJ6AbCGwWIPV9iVylinEkzU7uIR-XF/s320/DSC_5432.JPG" width="320" /></a>There are lots things that can be prayed about so I will make a list:</div>
-A team member David who has been sick since last week and is now on high dose penicillin.<br />
-The EMI disaster relief teams that are and will be working in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region> doing
drought relief work.<br />
-Good communication and relationship between EMI and the Kenyan Architecture
firm.<br />
-The other project trip that I will be going on (more details to come, maybe).<br />
-God’s leading for what I am to do in December.<br />
-That I get to know more Ugandans and learn more of the language.<br />
Aaron<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-7581984773482540142011-09-15T21:50:00.000-07:002011-09-16T04:38:54.443-07:00Seeing the countryside<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9q-AJPTd3aUKAMyd2locGBzrt6YURl269dh6V0MFYxv56aas-CXnc1BgH95a1QltLsCU1m9-LHniNa9LsB0U1or5FbPe9TO2jjSIzOdEOpQmX_lNTZPWD3PN5uNuxL09GLBro/s1600/DSC_5266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9q-AJPTd3aUKAMyd2locGBzrt6YURl269dh6V0MFYxv56aas-CXnc1BgH95a1QltLsCU1m9-LHniNa9LsB0U1or5FbPe9TO2jjSIzOdEOpQmX_lNTZPWD3PN5uNuxL09GLBro/s1600/DSC_5266.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The project team with the staff and locals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbY_Ry9sWOUiy9M8dJMOSdbLgTtw6ZA5Q1A31dPEPrLx6qvxbSRTTnJ0pJuBFQqCXgd_LudrBhbb6j3l72zwL8In1XcwiQEvQUy0mA-9CvFSNvHGtiSRLtDTKSZcdPdtFNvhp/s1600/DSC_5254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbY_Ry9sWOUiy9M8dJMOSdbLgTtw6ZA5Q1A31dPEPrLx6qvxbSRTTnJ0pJuBFQqCXgd_LudrBhbb6j3l72zwL8In1XcwiQEvQUy0mA-9CvFSNvHGtiSRLtDTKSZcdPdtFNvhp/s400/DSC_5254.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moms wait for their baby's checkup</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSG_w4S1VKNXxU7APRoChIOEN3FO1LINdfYuvLXoIsFbPtGz-lMLDbK-83tKcaIUJFjbGnAM3JEPNXxCT9g73lzB_rFoTMjjxYtR3lFYYj9PSqDR73eZaJODVp3rlOEjjWlpJ5/s1600/DSC_5243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSG_w4S1VKNXxU7APRoChIOEN3FO1LINdfYuvLXoIsFbPtGz-lMLDbK-83tKcaIUJFjbGnAM3JEPNXxCT9g73lzB_rFoTMjjxYtR3lFYYj9PSqDR73eZaJODVp3rlOEjjWlpJ5/s320/DSC_5243.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting up to discuss the project</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
It feels like I have been here for a long time already but it has only been 2 weeks. Last week I had the privilege of going on two trips to small villages. The first one was for a medical clinic approx 5hrs west of <city w:st="on">Kampala</city> near <place w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">Fort</placetype> <placename w:st="on">Portal</placename></place>. It was my second experience going to a small Ugandan village but this time it was to do work there instead of seeing the work already done. This small clinic has three full time staff but they are not enough to serve the people from the village and the ones that come from the nearby <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Rwenzori</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Mountains</placetype></place>. Right now they have a small day clinic and a three room maternity ward both of which are not large enough. We were called to complete a master plan for the site so they could plan for future buildings. It took about 45mins for the introductions and greetings at the site. Is always a difficult thing on project trips where Ugandan culture is more concerned about relationships and we are more concerned about finishing in the time we have. With all the greetings done and a group following us we set up the RTK unit which looks like something they would put on the moon. I got to use the GPS Survey equipment for the first time and after being there for 4hrs we had completed the topographic survey for the property. The next morning we met with the local medical staff and some Canadian doctors(who are helping there for 2 weeks) to show them the site plan and we discussed where future buildings will go and services they will provide. It will be very exciting to see what this site looks like five years from now, I feel like I will say that about everywhere I go.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdYKPRT3sptLsHsV-a10IRNerbPg_k9jXWFu42kqwDgIWvkzVvXGHg6twpRZs7qR8WkjStjpxew8hbJ7xaION4wAqyuajANB_BAaCBQHgE2M9rcISEwdz-eudDk6zm7dUpK-f/s1600/DSC_5305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdYKPRT3sptLsHsV-a10IRNerbPg_k9jXWFu42kqwDgIWvkzVvXGHg6twpRZs7qR8WkjStjpxew8hbJ7xaION4wAqyuajANB_BAaCBQHgE2M9rcISEwdz-eudDk6zm7dUpK-f/s400/DSC_5305.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erland surveying with the local wilflife</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_PHr6ceDtB7aHbFS045Z0DUbzhiB88wPGmuEDKurZx9aY_gz6LJ3yPqhPbxaxC0uNGBgsKbmOWcxDCqq0BFQoOUzIWObnY7Bo0DS57doOOsJsZO-syU57s3toagjtWe3TP3o/s1600/DSC_5285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_PHr6ceDtB7aHbFS045Z0DUbzhiB88wPGmuEDKurZx9aY_gz6LJ3yPqhPbxaxC0uNGBgsKbmOWcxDCqq0BFQoOUzIWObnY7Bo0DS57doOOsJsZO-syU57s3toagjtWe3TP3o/s320/DSC_5285.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the drive</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After arriving home on Thursday night we were off once again on Friday to rough in and take grades for some school buildings and a chapel. Getting to this small village was awesome we drove on rutted dirt roads for about an hour passing through little villages, coffee and matooke farms until we finally arrive at a large clearing. The background of this area is that it saw very heavy fighting and the rebels did awful things to the local people during the civil war. The closest school is about 7km and that is pretty far to walk everyday. It is a very cool site and I know that God will use it to teach and heal the people from the surrounding area. <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I leave for <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Kenya</country-region></place> tomorrow we are flying instead of driving because it will be a tenth of the time. I will be doing more surveying; it seems that my many summers of surveying are going to good use over here. It is one of the interesting ways that God works, how he prepares use for things even when they aren’t even thoughts in our heads. This trip should be great we will be working with a Kenyan Architecture firm and there will also be a Kenyan civil engineer on the EMI team. The main project will be at the <placename w:st="on">Africa</placename> <placename w:st="on">International</placename> <placetype w:st="on">University</placetype> but I will going to do some surveying for the <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Kijabe</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Hospital</placetype></place>. More details to come on both those projects. Please prayer for safe travel for all the people coming on this project trip especially the volunteers coming from <place w:st="on">North America</place>. And as always that God is given the glory. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Blessing, Aaron </div>
Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-54404659847277013602011-09-05T13:38:00.000-07:002011-09-05T13:38:15.970-07:00 <br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><strong>Getting Settled in Kampala</strong></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This blog post is a little late in coming but here it goes. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We left <st1:state w:st="on">Colorado</st1:state> at 8:40pm on Monday (Aug 29) and Arrived in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Kampala</st1:city></st1:place> at 7:45am on Wednesday(Aug 31). It was a long journey but we were able to go to central <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> during our 9 hr layover in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>. As I stepped off the plane the warm most air Ugandan hit my face and it became real I am in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region>. My first two experiences in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region> were seeing Jeremy Clarkson in front of me in the customs line and then seeing a bird control officer shoot a monkey in the parking lot. From that time we went straight to the EMI office where we met some of the staff and we shown where we will be living for the next 3.5 months. The guys are staying in the same compound that the office is in. It is quite different compared to <st1:state w:st="on">Victoria</st1:state> where we don’t lock our doors to here in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region> where we have a compound surrounded with topped with razor wire and a guard 24 hrs a day. During the day safety is not an issue but after dark it is not advisable to go places by yourself.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well let me get on a happier note because if I continue on that stream you may never want to come to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region> and you would miss out meeting these amazing people and seeing a beautiful country. Ugandans are super friendly and will spend the time to make sure you feel welcome. The food is delicious with so many fresh local fruits and vegetables incorporated into it. We have not had too much of a chance to explore the area on our own but through the orientation from Wednesday to Sunday we have got to see little snippets of the Ugandan way of life. Whoot, the power just came back on in time to go to bed(One of the things you get adjusted to here). We have been to downtown <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kampala</st1:place></st1:city> which is the busiest place I have ever been and is just awesome there are taxis and motorbikes (called bodas) everywhere. The taxis are ‘14’ passenger vans that often have 18 people in them and on the bodas there can be 3 people plus cargo like rebar or clumps of bananas. Wow this is getting long so I will end it here for now. But before I end could you keep a few things in prayer- the local people we meet everyday that we can connect well with them and develop good friendships; the people and ministries that we are designing buildings and systems for.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Blessings,</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Aaron </div><br />
Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27769026.post-21159529139057455242011-08-20T19:45:00.000-07:002011-08-20T19:50:16.750-07:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><b>The Journey Begins</b> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So I guess it is about time to get posting on this blog thing. As most of you know I am not great at English, maybe I will find my true first language in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Uganda</st1:country-region>, but I will do my best to write posts that are easy to read and give you insight in what the Lord is doing in my life and journeys to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Uganda</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Right now I am in the <st1:city w:st="on">Denver</st1:city> airport waiting for a connecting flight to <st1:city w:st="on">Colorado Springs</st1:city> where I will do a week of orientation before going out to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kampala</st1:place></st1:city>. During my flights and layovers today I have been reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mack & Leean’s Guide to Short Term Missions</i> and it seems the more I read it the more it applies to our daily walk with Jesus. One thing that stuck out to me is the Missions Mindset- 1) knows Christ is Lord 2) missions are the responsibility of every Christian 3) calls people to move out 4) God uses all people to the change the world, even you!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My hope an prayer that by reading this blog you are encouraged in your faith and God is given glory.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Please prayer specifically for each of the 5 interns that are going over- Jake, Katie, Erland, Kevin, and Me that we mesh well together. Also the projects that we will be working on but mainly the people the these projects are for. And travel that goes smoothly, that we will meet interesting people and have good conversations.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Blessings, Aaron </div><br />
Aaron in Africahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240936793923720088noreply@blogger.com1