Hanging the clothes out to dry...

We are well into the rainy season now which has its benefits but I am learning that there are some down sides as well.  The rains grow the crops and bring cooler weather.  I personally love the cooler weather but Goretty doesn't really like it. I have had to use a blanket at night a few times which when we moved here I didn't think would ever happen.  It doesn't rain everyday but it just so happens that every time Goretty does the wash for us (which is usually twice a week) it rains.  She washes everything by hand so it takes some time and then we hang everything on the line.  On a good day where it is warm and sunny, the clothes are dry by night. But now we have to put them on the line then take them down because it starts raining then put them back when it stops and then bring them inside overnight and then put them back the next day.  It's a lot of monkey business but if we want dry clothes then its the price we have to pay. I would love to get washing machine because it would get the clothes more dry so they wouldn't take so long to dry and because due to the rainy season, which lasts longer than I thought it did, the kids go through so many more clothes.  I love that they play outside and get wet and muddy but it is really hard on their clothes especially because they are hand washed. The scrubbing plus the sun really do a number on our clothes. But this is the means we have for washing and so this is what we will continue to do.  I just keep praying and asking God to provide a washing machine if and when the time is right.  So every time you use your washer and dryer you can think of us and if you are willing pray for us!

The Meat Department

I am not sure if these blogs things are suppose to go in any sort of order or if it's fine to jump around. I was thinking I should write more often and that it didn't really have to be about big things that happen but just every day things. And so today as I sat down to write I thought I would like to share about the meat market.  The meat section of the market (and the fish section) is probably my least favorite part of the market.  One it is really smelly and two the guys are really pushy to get you to buy from them.  Any time Ellie comes with me to the market she asks if we have to go by the stinky place. She plugs her nose the whole time and all the Ugandans laugh or smile because of it.  So besides those two things I am never really sure what to get/ask for.  The meat is just hanging there and then they hack off a piece and weigh it and that is what you get.  You can try to ask for different pieces but most of the time you get what you get.

 I have learned recently that you can ask for boneless but it costs a little bit more.  I am just not sure the best way to cook it when it comes in chunks with bone.  I usually only buy it that way (bone in) when our friend and house help Goretty is cooking dinner for us. (On a side note she said she would be willing to write a post from her perspective on living and working with us.) The main options are goat, beef, pork, turkey and chicken.  I have yet to buy a live chicken from the market but mostly because I don't want to carry it home alive.  Goat seems to be the most expensive. A guy tried to make me pay 15,000 per kilo which is the muzungu (foreigner) price but I knew it was too much so I decided not to get goat that day...It should only be 12,000 per kilo.  Beef is 9,000 per kilo with the bone and 10,000 per kilo with out. You can also get it minced for an extra 1,000. Pork is usually 9,000 per kilo but you can pay 10,000 per kilo sometimes. I am not even sure how much a live chicken costs.  I will get back to you when I find out/buy one.  I think because Jinja is close to Kampala and is almost a city (I think they are voting on it soon) we get things in the supermarkets that other towns don't get.  Like frozen meats.  I can get bacon, chicken breasts, drumsticks, minced beef, and lots more. Whenever my sister-in-law Jennifer comes to town she goes shopping before she heads back to Soroti. The meat you buy at the supermarket is more expensive but it is much more what I am used to.  I am slowly starting to learn but I would really love to learn which parts are which of the different animals and really get good cuts of meat.  I have a friend who is a butcher and I would love to have him come to experience the meat market here and show me how to pick the right stuff!

Immigration Office

Immigration Office

So we have officially been in Uganda for 3 months!!! I know this because our visas needed to be renewed.  Before we left we sent in our passports and got 6 month visas...or so we thought.  When we arrived in country they stamped our passports but only gave us 3 months.  Apparently no matter what you have the person sitting there can give you whatever they wish. So on Monday we headed to the office which isn't too far away, maybe 7 minutes or so. We are lucky that we didn't have to go to Kampala because we were just getting an extension. We arrived around noon and didn't have to wait to talk to someone.  They told us that we needed to get a special pass because Benj was working on getting a work permit and the kids needed student passes. He told us that we needed to get the organization to write a letter to let them know that we would be working with them and indeed were working on a work permit. So we left and headed to talk to the guy who needed to write the letter for us.  He was just leaving but would write it as soon as he got back. We went and had lunch and then got the letter and headed back to the immigration office around 2pm. Apparently it was lunch time so we stood around for ten minutes or so and watched Ellie chase a bunch of dragonflies (that Izaac thought were wasps).  We went back in and gave the guy the letter and then he told us that we needed to write a letter stating that we would be homeschooling Izaac and Ellie. (why he couldn't tell us that the first time we were there I can't be sure.) So we left again, this time asking if we all had to come back or if just Benj could. They said it was fine if just Benj came which was great because by this time is was already past rest time.  We got home and Benj typed up a letter, got the money out we needed to pay for the visas and then headed back to the office around 3/3:30pm. Finally we had given them everything they needed to process the visas. I figured that they would just stamp them and we would be good to go but they said it would take two days to process and we could come back on Wednesday to pick up our passports with the new visas.

Waiting outside while Benj is working on the Visas

Benj texted the guy on Wednesday asking what time he should come get the passports and he told him to come at 2pm. So Benj went at 2pm and the guy wasn't there. They told him to come back at 3:30pm. So Benj came home and went back at 3:30pm. The guy still was not there but this time he at least left the passports!! So Benj and I are good for another 3 months and hopefully will have work permits before that time is up and the kids are good for a year on their student passes.  Praise the Lord!!!  The kids did tell us however that they want Beckie and Ruudy to adopt them if we have to leave in 3 months since they can stay longer.  So thank you for praying for us and please continue to pray that we get our work permits!

Just jumping around while we wait!