Swimming Up Stream With the KRAGTS

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Long Time

"Long time" is a greeting you get when you haven't seen someone in a while or "you've been lost". Well both of those statements are accurate for this blog. I always have the best intentions but life gets in the way and I don't make it the priority it should be. So hopefully I'm getting a system in place to make sure I am updating more often. That being said, here is a bit of what we have been up to since we arrived in July.

I started school with the kids about a week after our return. It is a bit more challenging juggling both kids especially since Ellie needs a lot more help and attention. I think we are finally getting into a good routine even with some interruption here and there. If you or anyone you know wants to come teach my children for the next six months to a year I would love it. I think the kids would too!

On September 1st we moved into our house!!! There is still quite a bit that needs to be done but we are loving having our own space after a long time of sharing. The kids love sleeping in their hammocks. They sleep so much better than they used to. The house gets cooler at night too so that is a bonus especially as we are getting closer to the dry hot season.

As of September 25th we have been in Gulu for 1 year! (minus our time in the states) We are starting to pick up some of the greetings and really making this our home. We are making new friends both other missionaries and Ugandans.

We had some visitors in September also! We love having friends and family come and see our lives here. We love to show them what we are doing and see what everyday life looks like. They are a blessing to us in many ways. If you ever think maybe I would like to come sometime, you should!! We would love to have you.

I think that is all for now! I think next I will have the kids post about some of the animals we have had around the compound!

Christina

Monday, July 16, 2018

Greetings from Uganda!

Greetings from Uganda!! Wow what a week it has been. We left Tuesday morning to begin our journey. First the drive to Detroit, then the flights to Boston, Amsterdam, Kigali, and our final stop Entebbe, Uganda. We arrived at 10:30pm Wednesday night, got through immigration and customs with no problems and all our luggage arrived! We stayed in a nearby guest house that night. Thursday morning we met a friend for breakfast before we got on the road to Jinja.

Yes I meant to say Jinja and not Gulu. Our vehicle was not ready so we had to make a stop in Jinja before we could head to our house in Gulu. We stayed at our friends house in Jinja

Thursday night. They also have kids who are similar in age to Izaac and Ellie and they had a blast playing together. It also helped the kids to not get bored or take a nap as we are trying to get ourselves on this time zone (seven hours ahead of Michigan). The car was finally ready (it had been in the shop the last 4 months) Thursday afternoon so we would be able to head to Gulu Friday morning. We left around 11am and the first leg of the journey went well. About 2 and a half hours into our drive we stopped because of some noises under the hood and to check the luggage on top. Apparently the fuel injector pump was not bolted on properly and one of them was missing. Benj tightened the one bolt the best he could and we were on our way again about a half hour later.

A short while later we lost power in the vehicle and coasted to the side of the road so Benj could look under the hood again. Some wiring broke, so Benj got it back together and 10 minutes later we were going again. We broke down again a little while later. We added oil and tightened the fuel injector pump again and went to start the car and it wouldn’t start. We were 52 km from home so we called our team mates to see if they would come jump the car or at least pick us up if that didn’t work. About an hour later someone stopped to see if we needed help and we figured out our battery was bad. Almost the same time we got the car started our team mate Keith arrived. We were so happy but as we started to drive we couldn’t go more than 5 km/h. We were beyond frustrated at this point. Benj then remembered that he had a tow strap in the car. He attached the two vehicles and we began the drive again slowly but surely. We arrived home at 10pm. It was so good to finally be here! I am so thankful that Benj is able to do so much work on vehicle. I don’t think he will let anyone else work on it again (except his dad when he comes to visit). We have been adjusting slowly and are still dealing with jetlag. The kids seem the most back to normal. We both got back to work today. We are trying to get into our house as soon as possible. Well that about sums up our last week. Most of it was spent traveling but it is good to be home.

Thursday, March 8, 2018

US here we come!

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Progress on our house Part 2!

I was having trouble getting the blog to handle all the pictures I wanted so I had to split them up. These pictures are from when the 40ft container arrived until now.

The 40ft container finally arrived Dec. 23

I was a bit nervous as they were setting it on the foundation

Almost set

The containers joined and trusses up

Papyrus under the metal roof

Making progress on the roof

Priming the walls

Our closet/wall for the bathroom

Looking into our room

The bathroom

The hall shelves/bathroom wall

From the 40ft looking into the 20ft and outside room

The 20ft container will be a school room/playroom

Izaac & Ellie's bedroom will be in this space

Progress on our house Part 1!

In September we posted about building a house. It showed the design Benj came up with and that we started the foundation. Well I really thought that Benj would be the one to update more often on it but it turns out he would rather build it than blog about building it, go figure. So here is my attempt to update you on the house. Mostly I am posting pictures so if you have questions feel free to ask. We can't wait until it is finished and are excited to move in hopefully when we get back from furlough.