Yes...Its still available!

After a few months my condo is still available for rent.

The price is now listed at $1575 per month!

Email me at: 8710rental@sbcglobal.net if you are interested!

8710rental@sbcglobal.net

the BIG move....

Right after graduation, the staff and students at GBI geared up for our biggest move yet...our transfer to Buloba!

Here are a few snaps of the chaos!

My office...aka Staff PC holding room


The Moving Company brings in guys to help! Good thing...it took 5 full loads with an 18 wheeler and 3 trips with a lorry!



We took EVERYTHING...even dismantled the student lunch area and sold off the old tin roof!


This signs came down...with no trouble in the community! Yeah!


And Annet...well...the finance office can never shut down so Annet's office is now temporarily located in my living room...

It took a full 3 days to move everything...but for now...we are done!!! January will be when the tough job of unpacking and setting up the new offices begin...But until then...I'm on VACATION! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas #3 in UG

Christmas #1 - 2007 I remember it well because I was SICK...Everyone went to Mukono for Christmas that year and I stayed on the couch, watching TV with a trash can by my side...

Christmas #2 - 2009 Was also one I remember...partly because I had high hopes for it but I remember being sooo bored. I had gone to church, then had lunch, then went home and watched movies on my laptop while it poured outside.

Christmas #3 - 2010 Was WAY better! It met and exceeded all of my expectations! My family and I went to a new resort on the lake. I went to the spa, hung out by the pool, ate enough food to feed me for a year and slept in a bed big enough to hold 5 people! Here are a few of the pics...It was fabulous!

The Nativity - UG Style

The Hotel

The Aftermath of the Gift Opening

Face Painting - Kayiza wanted to be Spider man

Christmas Carols by the Pool

Lots of Buffets

and Watching TV with the Fam

Overall, A very merry Christmas! Too bad we cant do this every month!

GBI Graduates 48!!

On 10th December, GBI was privileged to send out 48 more workers into the field!

Some will stay in Uganda, while others will head back to their homes in Rwanda, Kenya, Congo, Tanzania and Burundi!

I am excited to see how God works through all of them to build up His Kingdom all over East Africa and I am so blessed to apart of it!!

Staff and Graduands!

GBI Staff, Showing off our Accreditation Certificate!!

Being Silly with Students and Staff!

Bday Fun

My birthday fell on a Sunday this year and Sundays here are always spent with my family...So I didn't really make plans...I just went home as usual...

When I got there, they had pasta for lunch (my fav), they had a yummy cake, champagne, and presents...they had even invited more people from the fam over to make the surprise extra special!

Cutting the Cake :)

Dad, Opening the Champagne

And of Course Kayiza...Helping me open the presents :)

The following day when I went to work...it was a busy day as usual, until I was getting ready to leave and my friend Joseline told me to be at my favorite restaurant at 6 sharp!!

I had no idea what they had in store for me but when I arrived...the party began!

We had LOTS of yummy food...


We did some dancing...the guy at the restaurant even put a happy birthday song on the stereo for us!


Then we all crammed into my car and went for ice cream!


Overall...it was definitely a good welcome into my 30's!

The Creation Story...Baganda Style

I find it interesting that most cultures, no matter where they are located have a Creation story...it is always interesting to me to see how they are related to the Biblical Creation story...kind of like playing a game of "telephone" where one person tells the story to another and it is passed along a chain of people, these creation stories re-iterate the factual ones but show how each culture had its own point of view per-se...this then is the creation story in the Buganda Tribe, one of the largest tribes here in Uganda, that occupies most of our central region and happens to be the tribe that my family is from...Enjoy..."Kintu the Legend"

Long ago, Kintu was the only person on the earth. He lived alone with his cow, which he loved so much. Ggulu the creator of all things lived up in heaven with his many children and other property. From time to time, Ggulu's children would come down to earth to play. On one such occasion, Ggulu's daughter Nambi and some of her brothers encountered Kintu who was with his cow in Buganda. Nambi was very fascinated with Kintu and she felt pity for him because he was living alone. She decided to marry and stay with him despite the opposition from her brothers. But because of her brothers' pleading, she decided to return to heaven with Kintu and ask for her father's permission for the union.

Ggulu was not pleased that his daughter wanted to get married to a human being and live with him on the earth. But Nambi pleaded with her father until she persuaded him to bless the union. After Ggulu decided to allow the marriage to proceed, he advised Kintu and Nambi to leave heaven secretly. He advised them to pack lightly and that on no condition were they to return to heaven even if they forgot anything. This admonition was so that Walumbe, one of Nambi's brothers should not find out about the marriage until they had left, otherwise he would insist on going with them and bring them misery. Kintu was very pleased to have been given a wife and together they followed Ggulu's instructions. Among the few things that Nambi packed, was her chicken. They set out for earth early the next morning.

But while they were descending, Nambi remembered that she had forgotten to bring the millet that her chicken would feed on. "I have left my chickens' millet on the porch, let me return and fetch it," she begged Kintu. But Kintu refused and said, "Don't go back. If you do, you will meet Walumbe and he will surely insist on coming with you." Nambi, however, did not listen to her husband, and leaving him on the way she returned to fetch the millet. When she reached the house, she took the millet from the porch, but on her way back, she suddenly met Walumbe who asked: "My sister, where are you going so early in the morning? Nambi did not know what to say. Filled with curiosity, Walumbe insisted on going with her. Therefore Kintu and Nambi were forced to go to earth together with Walumbe.

It did not take long for Kintu and Nambi to get children. One day, Walumbe went to Kintu's home and asked his brother-in-law to give him a child to help him with the chores in his (Walumbe's) house. But remembering Ggulu's warning, Kintu would not hear of it. Walumbe became very angry with Kintu for refusing him the simple favor he had asked. That very night, he went and killed Kintu's son. Naturally, this caused a deep rift between them. Kintu went back to heaven to report Walumbe's actions to Ggulu. Ggulu rebuked Kintu, reminding him of the original warning he had disregarded. Kintu blamed Nambi for returning to get the millet. Ggulu then sent another of his sons, Kayikuuzi, to go back to earth with Kintu and try to persuade Walumbe to return to heaven or if necessary return him by force.

On reaching earth, Kayikuuzi tried to persuade Walumbe to go back to heaven but Walumbe would not hear of it. "I like it here on earth and I am not coming back with you" he said. Kayikuuzi decided to capture Walumbe by force, and a great fight broke out between them. But as Walumbe was about to be overpowered, he escaped and disappeared into the ground. Kayikuuzi went after him, digging huge holes in the ground to try and find his brother. When Kayikuuzi got to where he was hiding, Walumbe run back out to the earth. Further struggle between the brothers ensued but once again Walumbe escaped into the ground. The famous caves that are found today at Ttanda in Ssingo are said to be the ones that were dug by Kayikuuzi in the fight with his brother Walumbe.

The struggle went on for several days and by now, Kayikuuzi was close to exhaustion. So he went and talked to Kintu and Nambi as follows: "I am going back into the ground one more time to get Walumbe. You and your children must stay indoors. You must strictly not allow your children not to make any noise if they see Walumbe. I know he is also getting tired so when he comes out of the ground, I will come upon him secretly and grab him." Kintu and Nambi went into their house, but some of the kids did not go in. Kayikuuzi once again went underground to find Walumbe. After a struggle, Walumbe came back out to the surface with Kayikuuzi in pursuit. Kintu's children who were outside at the time saw Walumbe coming and sreamed in terror. On hearing the screams, Walumbe went underground once again. Kayikuuzi was furious with Kintu and Nambi for not having followed his instructions. He told them that if they did not care to do the simple thing he had asked of them, he was also giving up the fight. Kintu in his embarrassment had nothing more to say. So he told Kayikuuzi "You return to heaven. If Walumbe wants to kill my children, let him do so, I will keep having more. The more he kills, the more I will get and he will never be able to kill off all my children". Ttanda, where the fight between Walumbe and Kayikuuzi allegedly took place is figuratively referred to as the place of death.

So that is the legend of creation, and how sickness and death started. Nonetheless, Kintu's descendants will always remain as Kintu said in his last words to Kayikuuzi. Hence the Kiganda saying "Abaana ba Kintu tebalifa kuggwaawo". Which means that Kintu's children will never be wiped off the face of the earth.

Onion anyone?

Lets just say, I will try most things once...

So as you know, I have been sick (and honestly, I hate being sick!) So when my dad told me about a remedy for my sickness...I said...sure, why not try it!

The remedy, cut an onion in half, put it on a plate and put it on your bed while you sleep...supposedly the onion absorbs a bunch of germs?! haha...Now I don't know if this is scientifically fact or not but my nose does feel a little clearer today..

Lets see if I feel better for the whole day, or if this feeling of a clearer nose is just attributed to the 9 hours of sleep I just got!

Saturday..here I come!

You know when...

your eyes are droopy

your pj's are on at 7pm

your bed is your favorite place

you sleep long hours

you yawn all day

you would rather sleep then eat

that you are....

NO NO NO...NOT OLD...NO NO NO...NOT DEPRESSED!

YOU know you are SICK!

And yes...i have had a little head cold for the week and as i type i am ready for bed at 8pm! Its not a sign of old age...at least not this time...but if you are thinking i am old, shame on you!!! It is true though, in 3 short days i will enter into my 3rd phase of life...haha...figure that one out why don't you!

But alas, for now i say farewell to blogger and hello to my comfy bed! Trust me...its better this way, with my sickly brain you never know what i might write!!!

Goodnight world, we will talk again soon!