a simple shopping trip

If there is one thing I love (as many women do), it’s shopping! I could spend hours looking in and out of stores for things to buy… whether they are needed or not. However, now that we have moved to Gulu, shopping has become something else entirely. For example, if you needed to buy chicken, rice, avocados, a broom, a notebook, fabric, a hammer and packing tape… you could just drive on down to the nearest Walmart. After reading the signs above each aisle, you could make your way through the store (possibly stopping for a mocha frappe at McDonald’s?) and pick up your few items. Can I just say… that would be delightful! All those options in one convenient place? Or perhaps to spend the afternoon at a mall… eating Subway while checking out Chapters?

Well, in Northern Uganda… we have no Walmart and we definitely have no Chapters. We do have a Main Market where we stop in to purchase our meat (if it hasn’t been hanging there too long), eggs, fruits, vegetables, rice, dried beans, fresh fish, etc (most from items are bought from individual vendors). We pass by many stalls and chat with those along the way. On the second floor of the open-air market, you can purchase fabric and find a tailor to sew you a skirt, along with new and used clothing to be sorted through. All other items, can be found at the stores around town… if it’s in stock or even carried at that store. If not, a 5-hour drive to Kampala may (or may not) prove to be beneficial.

This week, we attempted to do a weeks-worth of grocery shopping & thought we’d put together a little look into our shopping experience:

Stop #1: Main Market (muzungu “rare imported foods” stall) – cucumbers, cilantro, red pepper & zucchini

Stop #2: Main Market (odii Stall) – a container of Odii (sesame seed paste (tahini) for making boo)

Stop #3: Main Market (banana stall) – bananas

Stop #4: Main Market – (fresh produce stall) – tomatoes, green pepper & leafy greens (Nightie, pastor of a small local church)

Stop #5: Main Market – (fresh produce stall) – Irish potatoes, onions & carrots

Stop #6: Main Market (fresh produce stall) – avocado, a cup of peas, and passion fruit

Stop #7: Main Market (dried goods) – dried beans

Stop #8: Main Market (tailoring stall) – to pick out some fabric to make Silas a Ugandan outfit (I did a Bible Study with these tailors back in 2010)

Stop #9: Main Market (egg stall) – eggs

Stop #10: Almasa – mustard

Stop #11: Mega Shoppers – bag of milk, flour & curry powder

Stop #12: Country Bakery – a loaf of bread & t-bits (dried chipati & the closest we get to tortilla chips)

Stop #13: Fresh Cuts – chicken

Stop #14: Households Store – 2 plastic chairs & plastic containers

Stop #15: Jayshree Hardware – a small can of varnish (our neighbor is the manager)

After 15 stops, 27 items, a mere 3 hours of grocery shopping, spending a total of 177 000 shillings ($38 for groceries & $15 for the chairs) & a relatively happy baby, we succeeded in finding the majority of the item on our list J. Most days we only pick up an item or two, but we will see if a bigger shopping trip saves us time throughout the rest of the week.

July Update

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ACHOLI LESSONS

Kopango! Itya nining? (Hello! How are you?)
We have been taking Acholi lessons for the past three weeks and enjoying every minute of it! Our teacher has been coming to our place for three hours a day, five days a week. It has actually been quite difficult to find the time to study on top of lessons, meeting up with people and adjusting to living in Africa with a toddler. So, as of this week, we have decided to take a break from daily lessons and take time to study what we have been learning with friends. We have also been using Acholi when shopping at the market and within our daily interactions with those in town. I (Janessa), even used a few vocabulary words in the message I spoke at a church this past Sunday. As you can imagine, it brought smiles and a whole lot of laughter.

Since language learning has been our primary focus for this trip, we haven't been as involved in ministry as we would like. However, our long term plan is to minister in the village areas where English isn’t as well known and without learning Acholi, we would be limited to using an interpreter.  We feel that taking the time to learn Acholi is a little like planting a garden. You can scatter and plant seeds quickly, in hopes that your garden will grow sooner. However, if you take the time to prepare the ground by breaking up the soil, digging holes and adding fertilizer, the harvest will come in the proper time. So, learning the language of Acholi is our ministry at the moment.  As we continue to use what we have been learning in daily conversations with those around us, we know we are planting seeds that result in us being able reach out to those we feel God leading us to in the future. 

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GULU & DISCIPLESHIP

Along with learning Acholi, the focus for our time spent here is getting reconnected in Gulu.  The city of Gulu has grown a lot since we lived here 5 ½ years ago.  It’s hard to find updated numbers but it has most likely doubled in population these past five or so years. Many displaced Acholi have been returning to their home after the war and as commerce is being re-established, more job opportunities are being created.  While the city has grown, so have the number of ministries taking place here including at least four ministries that are involved with discipleship.

I (Tim) have been able to meet with the leadership of those ministries and observed meetings for two of them. Hopefully, I'll be observing a third next week.  It’s exciting to see all of the discipleship taking place and at the same time presents us with different questions and opportunities for our future plans.  Please continue praying with us as we seek to hear from God if we should join in with one of these ministries or start a new program.  There is still plenty of need and desire for more discipleship especially outside of town and in the villages.

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MONTHLY UPDATES & BLOG

This month we wanted to take a moment to share with you about why we do a monthly update. The two main reasons we send our monthly update is for prayer and to keep in touch.  We know that prayer is so important and that our efforts and energy will be futile without God. We desire for God to be at the center and purpose of everything we do.  Secondly, to put it simply, we live far away from so many friends and family. We don’t want to lose these encouraging relationships or only be connected when we’re back in North America.

              At the same time, we try to keep or newsletter to bullet points of our lives so it doesn’t take you too long to read through it.  For more detail into what’s happening in our lives we also have a blog: http://cyphersinuganda.blogspot.com, where we try to post at least once or twice a week.  Since we have more space to write on our blog, this is where we expand on things we’re processing through, struggles we’re facing and mostly about our amazing experiences serving God while living in Uganda, Africa!

Click on the following links to read the blog posts that we (Janessa) shared this past month:
Bed by Boda & Other Things
A Dying Seed
Visiting Friends

We are hoping to write about the following topics soon:
Speaking at New Life Church
Grocery Shopping in Gulu
Moving Again
Praying for God’s Direction
Daily Life at Home

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PRAYER POINTS

- For partners to connect with us through prayer and finances

- For understanding and persevering through learning Acholi

- For good health

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We would love to hear from you!
E-mail us at:
cyphersinuganda@gmail.com

CANADA:
Attn: The Cyphers
Heartstrings World Mission
430 Lakewood Blvd
Winnipeg, MB R2J 4B6

USA:
Attn: The Cyphers
Harvest Alliance International
3620 Ocean Ranch Blvd
Oceanside, CA 92056